History
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[
"Carl Switzer",
"Personal life",
"what songs did Switzer produce?",
"I don't know.",
"Whats so important about Switzer's personal life?",
"Switzer was getting into his car in front of a bar in Studio City, when a bullet smashed through the window and struck him in the upper right arm.",
"how did he overcome this tragedy?",
"The gunman was never caught.",
"when did this tragedy happen?",
"January 1958",
"who is his family member",
"Switzer and Collingwood got along well and married in Las Vegas three months later.",
"who is collingwood?",
"Diantha (Dian) Collingwood, heiress of grain elevator empire Collingwood Grain.",
"is there anything else important?",
"he was arrested in Sequoia National Forest for cutting down 15 pine trees;"
] | C_78202db6c019496eaf52f5cddf28794e_0 | where did this arrest happen? | 8 | where did Carl Switzer's arrest happen? | Carl Switzer | In early 1954, Switzer went on a blind date with Diantha (Dian) Collingwood, heiress of grain elevator empire Collingwood Grain. Collingwood had moved with her mother and sister to California in 1953 because her sister wanted to become an actress. Switzer and Collingwood got along well and married in Las Vegas three months later. In 1956, with his money running out and Diantha pregnant, his mother-in-law offered them a farm near Pretty Prairie, Kansas, west of Wichita. Their son, Justin Lance Collingwood Switzer (now Eldridge), was born that year. They divorced in 1957. In 1987, former Our Gang co-star George "Spanky" McFarland recalled a meeting with Switzer when they spoke about the farm: The last time I saw Carl was 1957. It was a tough time for me--and him. I was starting a tour of theme parks and county fairs in the Midwest. Carl had married this girl whose father owned a pretty good size farm near Wichita. When I came through town, he heard about it and called. He told me he was helping to run the farm, but he finally had to put a radio on the tractor while he was out there plowing. Knowing Carl, I knew that wasn't going to last. He may have come from Paris, Illinois, but he wasn't a farmer! We hadn't seen each other since we left the 'Gang.' So we had lunch. We talked about all the things you'd expect. And then I never saw him again. He looked pretty much the same. He was just Carl Switzer--kind of cocky, a little antsy--and I thought to myself he hadn't changed that much. He still talked big. He just grew up. In January 1958 Switzer was getting into his car in front of a bar in Studio City, when a bullet smashed through the window and struck him in the upper right arm. The gunman was never caught. That December he was arrested in Sequoia National Forest for cutting down 15 pine trees; he was sentenced to a year's probation and ordered to pay a $225 fine. CANNOTANSWER | Sequoia National Forest | false | [
"Leslie Rowson (1903-1977) was a British cinematographer. Rowson collaborated on several films with the director Michael Powell.\n\nSelected filmography\n The Crimson Circle (1929)\n The Man They Couldn't Arrest (1931)\n The Ghost Train (1931)\n Jack's the Boy (1932)\n Lord Babs (1932)\n Leave It to Smith (1933)\n Soldiers of the King (1933)\n The Man from Toronto (1933)\n Road House (1934)\n My Old Dutch (1934)\n The Iron Duke (1934)\n Man of the Moment (1935)\n Royal Cavalcade (1935)\n Her Last Affaire (1936)\n Things Happen at Night (1947)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\n1903 births\n1977 deaths\nBritish cinematographers\nMass media people from Manchester",
"Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, 585 U.S. ___ (2018), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court decided that the mere existence of probable cause for an arrest did not bar a plaintiff's First Amendment retaliatory arrest claim. The Supreme Court, in reversing a lower appellate panel, explained that the public criticism Lozman expressed at a city council meeting, where he had been arrested, was protected speech. The existence of a cause to arrest him for his outburst did not override the city's potential liability in retaliating against him for his public criticism. \n\nThe Court sent the case back to the lower court to reconsider its dismissal of Lozman's claim.\n\nBackground\n\nFane Lozman sued the city of Riviera Beach, Florida over a planned use of eminent domain, arguing the city had violated open-meeting laws in approving a private development plan. Afterwards, he alleged the city council held a closed-door session where several city council members proposed an effort to \"intimidate\" Lozman and others who had filed lawsuits against the city.\" Lozman later appeared at a meeting of the city council, criticizing their work with a separate manner, when he was instructed to stop speaking. After refusing, Lozman was arrested.\n\nAfterwards, Lozman filed suit against the city, alleging retaliation against his speech.\n\nOpinion of the Court\nThe majority opinion by Justice Anthony Kennedy held that the existence of probable cause to arrest Lozman, which had been the reason lower courts dismissed his suit, did not immunize the city from the retaliatory arrest claim. Kennedy stressed that the decision was narrow, based on the circumstances of Lozman's specific case. \n\nJustice Clarence Thomas dissented from the Court's judgement, writing that the plaintiff \"must plead and prove a lack of probable cause as an element of a First Amendment retaliatory-arrest claim.\"\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nUnited States Supreme Court cases\n2018 in United States case law\nUnited States Supreme Court cases of the Roberts Court\nUnited States Free Speech Clause case law\nUnited States constitutional torts case law",
"Casa & Vídeo (also written CASA&VIDEO) is a department store chain, founded in Rio de Janeiro in 1988. Currently, the company has 79 stores in 28 municipalities of the state of Rio de Janeiro.\n\nThe business begun in 1988, when a store was opened in the 5th floor of a building in Copacabana, selling television mounts and, soon later, ceiling fans. The name of the store came from these products they used to sell: CASA (\"Home\", in Portuguese), from the utility of the fans, and VIDEO, from the TV mounts.\n\nIn 2008, when it had 70 stores, became involved in a financial crisis after the arrest of executives and seizure of goods by Federal Police. The chain then had its assets and liabilities disposed judicially.\n\nThe chain resumed operations in 2009, as part of a judicial reorganization plan. Lojas Americanas negotiated the purchase of Casa & Video, but the deal did not happen.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n \n\nCompanies based in Rio de Janeiro (city)\nDepartment stores of Brazil"
] |
|
[
"Carl Switzer",
"Personal life",
"what songs did Switzer produce?",
"I don't know.",
"Whats so important about Switzer's personal life?",
"Switzer was getting into his car in front of a bar in Studio City, when a bullet smashed through the window and struck him in the upper right arm.",
"how did he overcome this tragedy?",
"The gunman was never caught.",
"when did this tragedy happen?",
"January 1958",
"who is his family member",
"Switzer and Collingwood got along well and married in Las Vegas three months later.",
"who is collingwood?",
"Diantha (Dian) Collingwood, heiress of grain elevator empire Collingwood Grain.",
"is there anything else important?",
"he was arrested in Sequoia National Forest for cutting down 15 pine trees;",
"where did this arrest happen?",
"Sequoia National Forest"
] | C_78202db6c019496eaf52f5cddf28794e_0 | in what year was he arrested? | 9 | in what year was Carl Switzer arrested? | Carl Switzer | In early 1954, Switzer went on a blind date with Diantha (Dian) Collingwood, heiress of grain elevator empire Collingwood Grain. Collingwood had moved with her mother and sister to California in 1953 because her sister wanted to become an actress. Switzer and Collingwood got along well and married in Las Vegas three months later. In 1956, with his money running out and Diantha pregnant, his mother-in-law offered them a farm near Pretty Prairie, Kansas, west of Wichita. Their son, Justin Lance Collingwood Switzer (now Eldridge), was born that year. They divorced in 1957. In 1987, former Our Gang co-star George "Spanky" McFarland recalled a meeting with Switzer when they spoke about the farm: The last time I saw Carl was 1957. It was a tough time for me--and him. I was starting a tour of theme parks and county fairs in the Midwest. Carl had married this girl whose father owned a pretty good size farm near Wichita. When I came through town, he heard about it and called. He told me he was helping to run the farm, but he finally had to put a radio on the tractor while he was out there plowing. Knowing Carl, I knew that wasn't going to last. He may have come from Paris, Illinois, but he wasn't a farmer! We hadn't seen each other since we left the 'Gang.' So we had lunch. We talked about all the things you'd expect. And then I never saw him again. He looked pretty much the same. He was just Carl Switzer--kind of cocky, a little antsy--and I thought to myself he hadn't changed that much. He still talked big. He just grew up. In January 1958 Switzer was getting into his car in front of a bar in Studio City, when a bullet smashed through the window and struck him in the upper right arm. The gunman was never caught. That December he was arrested in Sequoia National Forest for cutting down 15 pine trees; he was sentenced to a year's probation and ordered to pay a $225 fine. CANNOTANSWER | 1958 | false | [
"Clyde Pete Hall is a former player in the National Football League. He was drafted in the twelfth round of the 1960 NFL Draft by the New York Giants and later played with the team during the 1961 NFL season.\n\nPersonal life \nAfter football, Hall became a financial analyst. However, what Hall truly did was enter a life of crime, being arrested numerous times for possession of cocaine and general con artist schemes. He was arrested in 2010 for investment fraud after stealing more than four million dollars from investors, and his wife was arrested along with him for the scheme. He spent over a decade defrauding people. Hall had defrauded investors with fake letters from big banks, stole $80,000 from an ex-wife, and filed phony bankruptcy claims. For this crime, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.\n\nHe was also arrested in the past for wire fraud and other offenses. Hall was released from prison into home confinement due to the pandemic, and while in home confinement he arranged for a cocaine deal with undercover agents and was arrested once again in his apartment in April of 2021.\n\nHall's son, Alexander, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2007 for shooting at and murdering a random passerby in anger after getting kicked out of a club for smoking.\n\nReferences\n\nPeople from Sharon, Pennsylvania\nNew York Giants players\nMarquette Golden Avalanche football players\n1939 births\nLiving people\nPlayers of American football from Pennsylvania",
"On the evening of 13 August 2018 in Sweden, 89 vehicles were set on fire in several districts in Gothenburg and Trollhättan, in what police assumed was a coordinated attack. In total, 11 different locations were targeted. In Trollhättan a road was barricaded and rocks were thrown at police. The unidentified assailants were described as \"youth\". There were no injured persons and nobody was apprehended at the scenes. In Trollhättan, Police had \"concerned dialogues\" with youths that were at the scene without taking part and with their parents. The following day, two individuals were arrested on suspicion of aggravated arson. The following night, five cars were set on fire in Mölndal, Borås, Vänersborg and Frölunda. A third suspect, 18 years old, was arrested in Turkey when he tried to enter that country. He had planned to travel to Antalya, but was stopped at the border to Turkey as police in Sweden had issued an alert which prevented his entry ot that country and he was locked into a cell in the transit area. He was later transferred to Denmark.\n\nSwedish prime minister Stefan Löfven visited the affected Tynnered district.\n\nA 20-year-old suspect was detained for three months but was released.\n\nIn November 2018, a suspect described as young and male was arrested for participation in the extensive vandalism.\n\nIn February 2019, arson attacks were noted in the annual report of the Swedish Institute. The report noted that the arson attacks had been internationally noted in English-language and Spanish-language alternative media which tended to be critical of immigration.\n\nReferences \n\n2010s in Gothenburg\n2018 in Sweden\nArson in Sweden\nTrollhättan",
"Ako Kurdnasab was a Kurdish journalist for the weekly Kurdish journal Krafto. Krafto, which is based in Sanandaj, the capital of the Kurdistan province of Iran, was closed by the authorities last year.\n\nKurdnasab was arrested in a polling station in December 2006 while covering municipal elections. Reporters Without Borders and other organizations condemned his arrest.\n\nKurdnasab was released on bail on January 3, 2007 but re-arrested on July 23, 2007, because he expressed support for imprisoned journalists Adnan Hassanpour and Abdolwahed Butimar. On September 10, 2007, Kurdnasab was charged with \"espionage,\" \"actions against national security,\" and \"attempts to overthrow the government by means of journalistic activities.\" He was sentenced to three years in prison. His sentence was reduced to six months in prison on November 13, 2007, after an appeals court overturned the espionage charge but confirmed the charge of “trying to overthrow the government by means of journalistic activities.” “We welcome the quashing of Kurdnasab’s espionage conviction but the fact remains that a journalist should not be imprisoned for what he writes and we therefore call for the entire conviction to be overturned and for him to be released unconditionally,” Reporters Without Borders said. The European Union also called for Kurdnasab's release.\n\nAko Kurdnasab was released from prison on January 17, 2008.\n\nKurdnasab was arrested on November 12, 2009, following his participation in protests of the execution of Ehsan Fatahian. He was released on bail on November 30.\n\nReferences\n\nYear of birth missing (living people)\nLiving people\nKurdish journalists\nIranian journalists\nIranian activists"
] |
|
[
"Patti LuPone",
"Film and television work"
] | C_bee97d42ce1d4af6990c3b7cf68f57e6_1 | What film was she in? | 1 | What film was Patti LuPone in? | Patti LuPone | Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy, King of the Gypsies, 1941, Wise Guys, Nancy Savoca's The 24 Hour Woman and Savoca's Union Square (in post-production, late 2010), Family Prayers, and City by the Sea. She has also worked with playwright David Mamet on The Water Engine, the critically acclaimed State and Main, and Heist. In 2011, the feature film Union Square, co-written and directed by the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Award Winner, Nancy Savoca, was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In it, LuPone co-starred with Mira Sorvino, Tammy Blanchard, Mike Doyle, Michael Rispoli and Daphne Rubin-Vega. She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, LBJ: The Early Years (1987). LuPone played Libby Thatcher on the television drama Life Goes On, which ran on ABC from 1989 to 1993. In the 1990s she had a recurring role as defense attorney Ruth Miller on Law & Order. She has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award: for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995, Daytime Emmy Award nominee), and for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series on Frasier in 1998. She had a cameo as herself that year on an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Kelsey Grammer. LuPone's TV work also included a recurring role on her cousin Tom Fontana's HBO series in its final season, Oz (2003). She appeared as herself on a February 2005 episode of Will & Grace. She also appeared on the series Ugly Betty in March 2007 as the mother of Marc St. James (played by Michael Urie). LuPone had a recurring guest role as Frank Rossitano's mother on 30 Rock. LuPone appeared as herself in the season two finale of the television series Glee. LuPone guest starred on Army Wives on July 8, 2012. She reunited with fellow guest star Kellie Martin as her mother once again. LuPone appeared in the 2013 film Parker, an action-thriller. In 2013, LuPone was cast in the third season of the FX series American Horror Story as Joan Ramsey, a religious mother with a hidden past, and played herself in the third season of HBO's Girls. In 2015, she appeared in several episodes of the Showtime horror series Penny Dreadful as a cantankerous yet powerful white witch. She returned to the show in 2016 in the role of Dr. Seward, an alienist aiding Eva Green's character. Seward is an adaptation of John Seward from Bram Stoker's Dracula, and claims to be a descendant of Joan Clayton, the character LuPone portrayed in the second season. Also in 2016, she began appearing in Steven Universe as the voice of Yellow Diamond. CANNOTANSWER | Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy, | Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in stage musicals. She has won two Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fame.
LuPone began her professional career with The Acting Company in 1972 and made her Broadway debut in Three Sisters in 1973. She received the first of seven Tony Award nominations for the 1975 musical The Robber Bridegroom. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Eva Perón in the 1979 original Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita. She played Fantine in the original London cast of Les Misérables and Moll in The Cradle Will Rock, winning the 1985 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in both. She won a second Tony Award for her role as Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy and a second Olivier Award in 2019, winning Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her role as Joanne in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company. She has two Grammy Awards for the recording of the 2007 Los Angeles Opera production of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
Other stage musical performances include her Tony-nominated role as Reno Sweeney in the 1987 Broadway revival of Anything Goes, her Olivier-nominated role as Norma Desmond in the 1993 original production of Sunset Boulevard in London, her Tony-nominated role as Mrs. Lovett in the new 2005 Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, her Tony-nominated role as Lucia in the 2010 original Broadway production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and her Tony-nominated role as Helena Rubenstein in the 2017 original Broadway production of War Paint. She is currently starring in the Broadway transfer of the successful West End revival of Company alongside Katrina Lenk.
On television, she starred in the drama series Life Goes On (1989–1993) and received Emmy Award nominations for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995) and her guest role in the sitcom Frasier (1998). She also had appeared in three Ryan Murphy series, American Horror Story: Coven (2013–2014), and Pose (2019) both on FX, and Hollywood (2020) on Netflix. She guest starred in Penny Dreadful (2014–2016) before returning in a lead role. She voices the character Yellow Diamond in the animated series Steven Universe (2013–2019) and Steven Universe Future (2019–2020). She also appeared on The CW comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as Rabbi Shari (2017). Her film appearances include Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979), Spike Lee's Summer of Sam (1999), Peter Weir's Witness (1985), as well as Driving Miss Daisy (1989), State and Main (2000), and The Comedian (2016).
Early life and training
LuPone was born on April 21, 1949, in Northport, New York, on Long Island, the daughter of Angela Louise (née Patti), a library administrator at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, and Orlando Joseph LuPone, a school administrator and English teacher at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington, Long Island. Her great-great aunt was 19th-century opera singer Adelina Patti. Her older brother Robert LuPone is a Tony-nominated actor, dancer, and director who originated the role of Zach, the director, in A Chorus Line. LuPone is Italian-American and Roman Catholic.
LuPone was part of the first graduating class of Juilliard's Drama Division (1968–1972: Group 1), which also included actors Kevin Kline and David Ogden Stiers. She graduated from Juilliard in 1972 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. LuPone has a mezzo-soprano vocal range, and she is famous for her strong/high "Broadway" belt singing voice. In a 2008 interview, she maintained that she was "an actor who sings", and thankful she "had a voice".
Career
Theatre
1970s: Early career
In 1972, LuPone became one of the original members of The Acting Company, formed by John Houseman. The Acting Company is a nationally touring repertory theater company. LuPone's stint with the company lasted from 1972 to 1976, and she appeared in many of their productions, such as The Cradle Will Rock, The School for Scandal, Women Beware Women, The Beggar’s Opera, The Time of Your Life, The Lower Depths, The Hostage, Next Time I’ll Sing to You, Measure for Measure, Scapin, Edward II, The Orchestra, Love’s Labours Lost, Arms and the Man, and The Way of the World. She made her Broadway debut in the play The Three Sisters as Irina in 1973. For her work in The Robber Bridegroom (1975) she received her first Tony Award nomination, for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. The Acting Company honored LuPone on March 12, 2012 in an event called "Patti's Turn" at the Kaye Playhouse.
In 1976, producer David Merrick hired LuPone as a replacement to play Genevieve, the title role of the troubled pre-Broadway production of The Baker's Wife. The production toured at length but Merrick deemed it unworthy of Broadway and it closed out of town.
Since 1977, LuPone has been a frequent collaborator with David Mamet, appearing in his plays The Woods, All Men Are Whores, The Blue Hour, The Water Engine (1978), Edmond and The Old Neighborhood (1997). The New York Times reviewer wrote of LuPone in The Old Neighborhood, "Those who know Ms. LuPone only as a musical comedy star will be stunned by the naturalistic fire she delivers here. As Jolly, a part inspired by Mr. Mamet's real-life sister and his realized female character, Ms. LuPone finds conflicting layers of past and present selves in practically every line. She emerges as both loving matriarch and wounded adolescent, sentimental and devastatingly clear-eyed." In 1978, she appeared in the Broadway musical adaptation of Studs Terkel's Working, which ran for only 24 performances.
In 1979 LuPone starred in the original Broadway production of Evita, the musical based on the life of Eva Perón, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and directed by Harold Prince. Although LuPone was hailed by critics, she has since said that her time in Evita was not an enjoyable one. In a 2007 interview, she stated " 'Evita' was the worst experience of my life," she said. "I was screaming my way through a part that could only have been written by a man who hates women. And I had no support from the producers, who wanted a star performance onstage but treated me as an unknown backstage. It was like Beirut, and I fought like a banshee." Despite the trouble, LuPone won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. It was not until she had reprised the role in a production in Sydney when she had finally enjoyed the part and felt comfortable singing the score. LuPone and her co-star, Mandy Patinkin, remained close friends both on and off the stage.
1980s
In May 1983, founding alumni of The Acting Company reunited for an off-Broadway revival of Marc Blitzstein's landmark labor musical The Cradle Will Rock at the American Place Theater. It was narrated by John Houseman with LuPone in the roles of Moll and Sister Mister. and Kent, Connecticut.
In February 2022, Lupone tested positive for COVID-19.
Acting credits
Theatre
Sources: Playbill Vault; Internet Broadway Database; Internet Off-Broadway Database
Film
Sources: TCM; AllMovie
Television
Sources: TCM; AllMovie
Discography
Selected recordings include:
The Baker’s Wife (Original cast recording)
Evita (Original Broadway cast recording)
The Cradle Will Rock (The Acting Company recording)
Les Misérables (Original London Cast recording)
Anything Goes (New Broadway Cast Recording)
Heat Wave (John Mauceri conducting the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra)
Patti LuPone Live (Solo Album)
Sunset Boulevard (World Premiere/Original London Cast Recording)
Matters of the Heart (Solo Album)
Sweeney Todd (New York Philharmonic recording)
Sweeney Todd (2005 Broadway Cast recording)
The Lady with the Torch (Solo Album)
The Lady With the Torch...Still Burning (Solo Album)
To Hell and Back (Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra World Premier recording)
Gypsy (2008 Broadway Revival Cast Recording)
Patti LuPone At Les Mouches (Live Solo Recording of 1980 club act)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Far Away Places (Solo Album)
Company (New York Philharmonic recording)
War Paint (Original Broadway cast recording)
Don't Monkey with Broadway (Solo Album)
Company (Revival London cast recording)
Her live performance of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" at the Grammy Awards was released on the 1994 album Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume IV.
In 2009 LuPone's 1985 recording of "I Dreamed a Dream" reached #45 on the UK Singles Chart It also reached the Billboard magazine Hot Digital Songs and Hot Singles Recurrents charts in the US.
LuPone recorded a duet with Seth MacFarlane (who was in character as Glenn Quagmire) on the 2005 album Family Guy: Live In Vegas.
A live concert special film, An Evening with Patti LuPone, was filmed in July 2012 and released in November 2012 on SethTv.com with 104 minutes of Patti LuPone songs and stories with host Seth Rudetsky.
A new CD of one of her shows, The Lady with the Torch, was released in 2006 on Sh-K-Boom Records. In December she released bonus tracks for that CD only available on iTunes and the Sh-K-Boom website.
Bibliography
LuPone wrote a memoir recounting her life and career from childhood to the present, which was released in September 2010. It was simply titled Patti LuPone: A Memoir, which was, according to LuPone, the winner of the competition she held to name the book.
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Patti LuPone on IOBDB
Patti LuPone Interview
InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse: Patti LuPone (TV Interview)
Patti LuPone – Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org
University of the Arts Show Music Magazine Database
Patti LuPone concert special on SethTV.com. Filmed July, 2012.
Patti LuPone Papers at the Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library, New York, NY
1949 births
Living people
American women singers
American film actresses
American musical theatre actresses
American television actresses
American mezzo-sopranos
American Roman Catholics
Drama Desk Award winners
Grammy Award winners
American people of Italian descent
Juilliard School alumni
People from Northport, New York
Laurence Olivier Award winners
Tony Award winners
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from New York (state)
People from Edisto Island, South Carolina | false | [
"Virginia Hammond (August 20, 1893 – April 6, 1972) was an American film and theatre actress.\n\nBorn in Staunton, Virginia. Hammond was the daughter of a Confederate army major.\n\nHammond began her career in 1907, where she made her theatre debut in the Broadway play, titled, John the Baptist. She continued her career, mainly appearing on theatre, in which her credits includes, Our American Cousin, The Famous Mrs. Fair, Tumble In, What's Your Husband Doing?, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Arsene Lupin, What the Doctor Ordered and Desert Sands, among others. Her final theatre credit was from the Broadway play, titled, Craig's Wife, in which she played the role of \"Mrs. Frazier\", in 1947.\n\nHammond then began her film career in 1916, when she appeared in the silent film Vultures of Society, in which she played the role of \"Mrs. Upperwon\". In her film career, Hammond starred and co-starred in films, such as, Anybody's Woman, The Great Impersonation, The Virginia Judge, The Kiss, Charlie Chan's Courage and Chandu the Magician. Her final credit was from 1936 film Romeo and Juliet, in which she played the role of \"Lady Montague.\n\nHammond died in April 1972 in Washington, D.C., at the age of 78. She was buried in Fort Lincoln Cemetery.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\nRotten Tomatoes profile\n\n1893 births\n1972 deaths\nPeople from Staunton, Virginia\nActresses from Virginia\nAmerican film actresses\nAmerican stage actresses\nAmerican silent film actresses\n20th-century American actresses\nBurials in Washington (state)",
"Mary Walter (September 10, 1912 – February 25, 1993) was a Filipina actress whose eight decade-long film acting career saw her transformation from a romantic lead in the silent film era into a wizened fixture in horror movies in the late 1980s and early 1990s. For her body of work accomplished in an especially long career, she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from both the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences and the Gawad Urian.\n\nBiography\n \nWalter was born to a German father in what is now Sorsogon City, Sorsogon. As a teen, Walter appeared on the Manila bodabil circuit as a chorus girl in the stage shows of Katy de la Cruz. She began her film career as a bit player. Walter first came into fame in 1927, when she starred in Ang Lumang Simbahan, staged from the popular novel by Florentino Collantes. Her leading man in that film was Gregorio Fernandez, with whom she would be romantically paired in a succession of silent films, constituting perhaps the first \"love-team\" in Filipino cinema.\n\nAfter appearing in many silent films, Walter easily made the transition when sound film emerged in the Philippines in the mid-1930s. In 1939, she appeared in the film Mariposang Berde with then up and coming actress Malou \"Chumams\" Nocedo. She was among the stars who appeared in the 1942 LVN film Prinsipe Teñoso, the only film produced by a Filipino film studio during the Japanese Occupation.\n\nIn 1948, after a 21-year film career, Walter retired to her hometown in Sorsogon. Ten years later, she was induced to act again, and she appeared in LVN's Kastilaloy. She was cast as a matron or mother in her forties. As she further aged, Walter became one of the most identifiable character actresses in Philippine cinema. Fair, petite and gaunt, she became inalienably identified in grandmother roles. A chain-smoker, her gravelly voice made her ideally cast in villainous roles, most prominently in the 1974 Lino Brocka film Tatlo, Dalawa, Isa. By the 1980s, she was a memorable presence in popular horror films such as Shake, Rattle and Roll (1984) and Tiyanak (1988).\n\nIn 1980, Walter received the FAMAS Lifetime Achievement Award. A similar award, this time from the Gawad Urian, was given to Walter in 1992.\n\nContrary to what is published in her IMDB biography, Walter was not the actress engaged in the first kissing scene in Philippine cinema (that distinction belongs to Dimples Cooper). Walter never retired again after returning to film in 1958. She died on February 25, 1993, after having a stroke in Quezon City.\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1912 births\n1993 deaths\nFilipino child actresses\nFilipino film actresses\nFilipino television personalities\nFilipino silent film actresses\nBicolano people\nFilipino people of German descent\nPeople from Sorsogon\n20th-century Filipino actresses\nBicolano actors"
] |
[
"Patti LuPone",
"Film and television work",
"What film was she in?",
"Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy,"
] | C_bee97d42ce1d4af6990c3b7cf68f57e6_1 | did she have a starring role in any film? | 2 | did Patti LuPone have a starring role in any film? | Patti LuPone | Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy, King of the Gypsies, 1941, Wise Guys, Nancy Savoca's The 24 Hour Woman and Savoca's Union Square (in post-production, late 2010), Family Prayers, and City by the Sea. She has also worked with playwright David Mamet on The Water Engine, the critically acclaimed State and Main, and Heist. In 2011, the feature film Union Square, co-written and directed by the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Award Winner, Nancy Savoca, was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In it, LuPone co-starred with Mira Sorvino, Tammy Blanchard, Mike Doyle, Michael Rispoli and Daphne Rubin-Vega. She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, LBJ: The Early Years (1987). LuPone played Libby Thatcher on the television drama Life Goes On, which ran on ABC from 1989 to 1993. In the 1990s she had a recurring role as defense attorney Ruth Miller on Law & Order. She has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award: for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995, Daytime Emmy Award nominee), and for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series on Frasier in 1998. She had a cameo as herself that year on an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Kelsey Grammer. LuPone's TV work also included a recurring role on her cousin Tom Fontana's HBO series in its final season, Oz (2003). She appeared as herself on a February 2005 episode of Will & Grace. She also appeared on the series Ugly Betty in March 2007 as the mother of Marc St. James (played by Michael Urie). LuPone had a recurring guest role as Frank Rossitano's mother on 30 Rock. LuPone appeared as herself in the season two finale of the television series Glee. LuPone guest starred on Army Wives on July 8, 2012. She reunited with fellow guest star Kellie Martin as her mother once again. LuPone appeared in the 2013 film Parker, an action-thriller. In 2013, LuPone was cast in the third season of the FX series American Horror Story as Joan Ramsey, a religious mother with a hidden past, and played herself in the third season of HBO's Girls. In 2015, she appeared in several episodes of the Showtime horror series Penny Dreadful as a cantankerous yet powerful white witch. She returned to the show in 2016 in the role of Dr. Seward, an alienist aiding Eva Green's character. Seward is an adaptation of John Seward from Bram Stoker's Dracula, and claims to be a descendant of Joan Clayton, the character LuPone portrayed in the second season. Also in 2016, she began appearing in Steven Universe as the voice of Yellow Diamond. CANNOTANSWER | She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, LBJ: The Early Years (1987). | Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in stage musicals. She has won two Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fame.
LuPone began her professional career with The Acting Company in 1972 and made her Broadway debut in Three Sisters in 1973. She received the first of seven Tony Award nominations for the 1975 musical The Robber Bridegroom. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Eva Perón in the 1979 original Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita. She played Fantine in the original London cast of Les Misérables and Moll in The Cradle Will Rock, winning the 1985 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in both. She won a second Tony Award for her role as Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy and a second Olivier Award in 2019, winning Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her role as Joanne in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company. She has two Grammy Awards for the recording of the 2007 Los Angeles Opera production of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
Other stage musical performances include her Tony-nominated role as Reno Sweeney in the 1987 Broadway revival of Anything Goes, her Olivier-nominated role as Norma Desmond in the 1993 original production of Sunset Boulevard in London, her Tony-nominated role as Mrs. Lovett in the new 2005 Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, her Tony-nominated role as Lucia in the 2010 original Broadway production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and her Tony-nominated role as Helena Rubenstein in the 2017 original Broadway production of War Paint. She is currently starring in the Broadway transfer of the successful West End revival of Company alongside Katrina Lenk.
On television, she starred in the drama series Life Goes On (1989–1993) and received Emmy Award nominations for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995) and her guest role in the sitcom Frasier (1998). She also had appeared in three Ryan Murphy series, American Horror Story: Coven (2013–2014), and Pose (2019) both on FX, and Hollywood (2020) on Netflix. She guest starred in Penny Dreadful (2014–2016) before returning in a lead role. She voices the character Yellow Diamond in the animated series Steven Universe (2013–2019) and Steven Universe Future (2019–2020). She also appeared on The CW comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as Rabbi Shari (2017). Her film appearances include Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979), Spike Lee's Summer of Sam (1999), Peter Weir's Witness (1985), as well as Driving Miss Daisy (1989), State and Main (2000), and The Comedian (2016).
Early life and training
LuPone was born on April 21, 1949, in Northport, New York, on Long Island, the daughter of Angela Louise (née Patti), a library administrator at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, and Orlando Joseph LuPone, a school administrator and English teacher at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington, Long Island. Her great-great aunt was 19th-century opera singer Adelina Patti. Her older brother Robert LuPone is a Tony-nominated actor, dancer, and director who originated the role of Zach, the director, in A Chorus Line. LuPone is Italian-American and Roman Catholic.
LuPone was part of the first graduating class of Juilliard's Drama Division (1968–1972: Group 1), which also included actors Kevin Kline and David Ogden Stiers. She graduated from Juilliard in 1972 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. LuPone has a mezzo-soprano vocal range, and she is famous for her strong/high "Broadway" belt singing voice. In a 2008 interview, she maintained that she was "an actor who sings", and thankful she "had a voice".
Career
Theatre
1970s: Early career
In 1972, LuPone became one of the original members of The Acting Company, formed by John Houseman. The Acting Company is a nationally touring repertory theater company. LuPone's stint with the company lasted from 1972 to 1976, and she appeared in many of their productions, such as The Cradle Will Rock, The School for Scandal, Women Beware Women, The Beggar’s Opera, The Time of Your Life, The Lower Depths, The Hostage, Next Time I’ll Sing to You, Measure for Measure, Scapin, Edward II, The Orchestra, Love’s Labours Lost, Arms and the Man, and The Way of the World. She made her Broadway debut in the play The Three Sisters as Irina in 1973. For her work in The Robber Bridegroom (1975) she received her first Tony Award nomination, for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. The Acting Company honored LuPone on March 12, 2012 in an event called "Patti's Turn" at the Kaye Playhouse.
In 1976, producer David Merrick hired LuPone as a replacement to play Genevieve, the title role of the troubled pre-Broadway production of The Baker's Wife. The production toured at length but Merrick deemed it unworthy of Broadway and it closed out of town.
Since 1977, LuPone has been a frequent collaborator with David Mamet, appearing in his plays The Woods, All Men Are Whores, The Blue Hour, The Water Engine (1978), Edmond and The Old Neighborhood (1997). The New York Times reviewer wrote of LuPone in The Old Neighborhood, "Those who know Ms. LuPone only as a musical comedy star will be stunned by the naturalistic fire she delivers here. As Jolly, a part inspired by Mr. Mamet's real-life sister and his realized female character, Ms. LuPone finds conflicting layers of past and present selves in practically every line. She emerges as both loving matriarch and wounded adolescent, sentimental and devastatingly clear-eyed." In 1978, she appeared in the Broadway musical adaptation of Studs Terkel's Working, which ran for only 24 performances.
In 1979 LuPone starred in the original Broadway production of Evita, the musical based on the life of Eva Perón, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and directed by Harold Prince. Although LuPone was hailed by critics, she has since said that her time in Evita was not an enjoyable one. In a 2007 interview, she stated " 'Evita' was the worst experience of my life," she said. "I was screaming my way through a part that could only have been written by a man who hates women. And I had no support from the producers, who wanted a star performance onstage but treated me as an unknown backstage. It was like Beirut, and I fought like a banshee." Despite the trouble, LuPone won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. It was not until she had reprised the role in a production in Sydney when she had finally enjoyed the part and felt comfortable singing the score. LuPone and her co-star, Mandy Patinkin, remained close friends both on and off the stage.
1980s
In May 1983, founding alumni of The Acting Company reunited for an off-Broadway revival of Marc Blitzstein's landmark labor musical The Cradle Will Rock at the American Place Theater. It was narrated by John Houseman with LuPone in the roles of Moll and Sister Mister. and Kent, Connecticut.
In February 2022, Lupone tested positive for COVID-19.
Acting credits
Theatre
Sources: Playbill Vault; Internet Broadway Database; Internet Off-Broadway Database
Film
Sources: TCM; AllMovie
Television
Sources: TCM; AllMovie
Discography
Selected recordings include:
The Baker’s Wife (Original cast recording)
Evita (Original Broadway cast recording)
The Cradle Will Rock (The Acting Company recording)
Les Misérables (Original London Cast recording)
Anything Goes (New Broadway Cast Recording)
Heat Wave (John Mauceri conducting the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra)
Patti LuPone Live (Solo Album)
Sunset Boulevard (World Premiere/Original London Cast Recording)
Matters of the Heart (Solo Album)
Sweeney Todd (New York Philharmonic recording)
Sweeney Todd (2005 Broadway Cast recording)
The Lady with the Torch (Solo Album)
The Lady With the Torch...Still Burning (Solo Album)
To Hell and Back (Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra World Premier recording)
Gypsy (2008 Broadway Revival Cast Recording)
Patti LuPone At Les Mouches (Live Solo Recording of 1980 club act)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Far Away Places (Solo Album)
Company (New York Philharmonic recording)
War Paint (Original Broadway cast recording)
Don't Monkey with Broadway (Solo Album)
Company (Revival London cast recording)
Her live performance of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" at the Grammy Awards was released on the 1994 album Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume IV.
In 2009 LuPone's 1985 recording of "I Dreamed a Dream" reached #45 on the UK Singles Chart It also reached the Billboard magazine Hot Digital Songs and Hot Singles Recurrents charts in the US.
LuPone recorded a duet with Seth MacFarlane (who was in character as Glenn Quagmire) on the 2005 album Family Guy: Live In Vegas.
A live concert special film, An Evening with Patti LuPone, was filmed in July 2012 and released in November 2012 on SethTv.com with 104 minutes of Patti LuPone songs and stories with host Seth Rudetsky.
A new CD of one of her shows, The Lady with the Torch, was released in 2006 on Sh-K-Boom Records. In December she released bonus tracks for that CD only available on iTunes and the Sh-K-Boom website.
Bibliography
LuPone wrote a memoir recounting her life and career from childhood to the present, which was released in September 2010. It was simply titled Patti LuPone: A Memoir, which was, according to LuPone, the winner of the competition she held to name the book.
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Patti LuPone on IOBDB
Patti LuPone Interview
InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse: Patti LuPone (TV Interview)
Patti LuPone – Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org
University of the Arts Show Music Magazine Database
Patti LuPone concert special on SethTV.com. Filmed July, 2012.
Patti LuPone Papers at the Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library, New York, NY
1949 births
Living people
American women singers
American film actresses
American musical theatre actresses
American television actresses
American mezzo-sopranos
American Roman Catholics
Drama Desk Award winners
Grammy Award winners
American people of Italian descent
Juilliard School alumni
People from Northport, New York
Laurence Olivier Award winners
Tony Award winners
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from New York (state)
People from Edisto Island, South Carolina | false | [
"Shahara () is a Bangladeshi film actress. She made her debut through the film Rukhe Daraw in 2004 with Shakib Khan. Her career lasted from 2003 to 2013, the year her last movie was released. She did not sign any movie contract after that and is thought to have retired after getting married in 2015.\n\nCareer\n\nShahara started her career in 2004 with the film Rukhe Darao. Shahara was a superb addition to Bangladeshi film industry during the days action films in the middle part of last decade. Her start in the film industry was not a smooth ride. \"Rukhe Darao\", her first movie, did not do well in the box office as she was deemed to be too conservative for films. She was under pressure to change this tag and appeared in a bolder role in her next movie \"Varate Khuni\". She then signed several new action films, the most coveted genre of that era. One of them named \"Bishakto Chokh\", a big budget movie starring super star Rubel and Reaz. She landed several roles as a glamour girl.\n\nIn 2008, she starred in blockbuster \"Priya Amar Priya\".\n\nFilmography\n\nSee also\n Symon Sadik\n Mahiya Mahi\n Bappy Chowdhury\n\nReferences\n\nLiving people\nBangladeshi film actresses\nPeople from Dhaka\nYear of birth missing (living people)",
"Fatima Abdul Raheem () (born October 15, 1975) is a Bahraini actress.\n\nRaheem began her career in youth theater in 1989. Since then, she has acted in serials, plays and several movies.\n\nBiography\nShe did not aim to have an acting career and studied a science until unforeseen circumstances interrupted her studies and she pursued a modeling career. In 1996, she made her commercial acting debut in the television serial Ajayeb Zaman. Her first starring role was in the 1998 Saudi series Ailat Abu Ruwaished, leading to many more featured performances and her film debut in the 2004 horror film Za’er.\n\nPersonal life\nShe is divorced from the father of her children, Noah and Layal.\n\nWorks\n\nTelevision series\n\nTheatre\n\nFilm\n\nAwards\n 2009 “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” at the 10th Gulf Theater Festival for her role in the play Noura\n 2009: Dubai International Film Festival Muhr Award for “Best Actress” in the film ''Marimy''\n\nExternal links\n\n El Cinema page\n\nReferences\n\n1975 births\nLiving people\nBahraini television actresses\n20th-century actresses\n21st-century actresses\nBahraini film actresses\nBahraini stage actresses"
] |
[
"Patti LuPone",
"Film and television work",
"What film was she in?",
"Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy,",
"did she have a starring role in any film?",
"She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, LBJ: The Early Years (1987)."
] | C_bee97d42ce1d4af6990c3b7cf68f57e6_1 | When year is the movie? | 3 | When year is the movie Patti LuPone starred in? | Patti LuPone | Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy, King of the Gypsies, 1941, Wise Guys, Nancy Savoca's The 24 Hour Woman and Savoca's Union Square (in post-production, late 2010), Family Prayers, and City by the Sea. She has also worked with playwright David Mamet on The Water Engine, the critically acclaimed State and Main, and Heist. In 2011, the feature film Union Square, co-written and directed by the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Award Winner, Nancy Savoca, was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In it, LuPone co-starred with Mira Sorvino, Tammy Blanchard, Mike Doyle, Michael Rispoli and Daphne Rubin-Vega. She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, LBJ: The Early Years (1987). LuPone played Libby Thatcher on the television drama Life Goes On, which ran on ABC from 1989 to 1993. In the 1990s she had a recurring role as defense attorney Ruth Miller on Law & Order. She has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award: for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995, Daytime Emmy Award nominee), and for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series on Frasier in 1998. She had a cameo as herself that year on an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Kelsey Grammer. LuPone's TV work also included a recurring role on her cousin Tom Fontana's HBO series in its final season, Oz (2003). She appeared as herself on a February 2005 episode of Will & Grace. She also appeared on the series Ugly Betty in March 2007 as the mother of Marc St. James (played by Michael Urie). LuPone had a recurring guest role as Frank Rossitano's mother on 30 Rock. LuPone appeared as herself in the season two finale of the television series Glee. LuPone guest starred on Army Wives on July 8, 2012. She reunited with fellow guest star Kellie Martin as her mother once again. LuPone appeared in the 2013 film Parker, an action-thriller. In 2013, LuPone was cast in the third season of the FX series American Horror Story as Joan Ramsey, a religious mother with a hidden past, and played herself in the third season of HBO's Girls. In 2015, she appeared in several episodes of the Showtime horror series Penny Dreadful as a cantankerous yet powerful white witch. She returned to the show in 2016 in the role of Dr. Seward, an alienist aiding Eva Green's character. Seward is an adaptation of John Seward from Bram Stoker's Dracula, and claims to be a descendant of Joan Clayton, the character LuPone portrayed in the second season. Also in 2016, she began appearing in Steven Universe as the voice of Yellow Diamond. CANNOTANSWER | 1987 | Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in stage musicals. She has won two Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fame.
LuPone began her professional career with The Acting Company in 1972 and made her Broadway debut in Three Sisters in 1973. She received the first of seven Tony Award nominations for the 1975 musical The Robber Bridegroom. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Eva Perón in the 1979 original Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita. She played Fantine in the original London cast of Les Misérables and Moll in The Cradle Will Rock, winning the 1985 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in both. She won a second Tony Award for her role as Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy and a second Olivier Award in 2019, winning Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her role as Joanne in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company. She has two Grammy Awards for the recording of the 2007 Los Angeles Opera production of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
Other stage musical performances include her Tony-nominated role as Reno Sweeney in the 1987 Broadway revival of Anything Goes, her Olivier-nominated role as Norma Desmond in the 1993 original production of Sunset Boulevard in London, her Tony-nominated role as Mrs. Lovett in the new 2005 Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, her Tony-nominated role as Lucia in the 2010 original Broadway production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and her Tony-nominated role as Helena Rubenstein in the 2017 original Broadway production of War Paint. She is currently starring in the Broadway transfer of the successful West End revival of Company alongside Katrina Lenk.
On television, she starred in the drama series Life Goes On (1989–1993) and received Emmy Award nominations for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995) and her guest role in the sitcom Frasier (1998). She also had appeared in three Ryan Murphy series, American Horror Story: Coven (2013–2014), and Pose (2019) both on FX, and Hollywood (2020) on Netflix. She guest starred in Penny Dreadful (2014–2016) before returning in a lead role. She voices the character Yellow Diamond in the animated series Steven Universe (2013–2019) and Steven Universe Future (2019–2020). She also appeared on The CW comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as Rabbi Shari (2017). Her film appearances include Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979), Spike Lee's Summer of Sam (1999), Peter Weir's Witness (1985), as well as Driving Miss Daisy (1989), State and Main (2000), and The Comedian (2016).
Early life and training
LuPone was born on April 21, 1949, in Northport, New York, on Long Island, the daughter of Angela Louise (née Patti), a library administrator at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, and Orlando Joseph LuPone, a school administrator and English teacher at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington, Long Island. Her great-great aunt was 19th-century opera singer Adelina Patti. Her older brother Robert LuPone is a Tony-nominated actor, dancer, and director who originated the role of Zach, the director, in A Chorus Line. LuPone is Italian-American and Roman Catholic.
LuPone was part of the first graduating class of Juilliard's Drama Division (1968–1972: Group 1), which also included actors Kevin Kline and David Ogden Stiers. She graduated from Juilliard in 1972 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. LuPone has a mezzo-soprano vocal range, and she is famous for her strong/high "Broadway" belt singing voice. In a 2008 interview, she maintained that she was "an actor who sings", and thankful she "had a voice".
Career
Theatre
1970s: Early career
In 1972, LuPone became one of the original members of The Acting Company, formed by John Houseman. The Acting Company is a nationally touring repertory theater company. LuPone's stint with the company lasted from 1972 to 1976, and she appeared in many of their productions, such as The Cradle Will Rock, The School for Scandal, Women Beware Women, The Beggar’s Opera, The Time of Your Life, The Lower Depths, The Hostage, Next Time I’ll Sing to You, Measure for Measure, Scapin, Edward II, The Orchestra, Love’s Labours Lost, Arms and the Man, and The Way of the World. She made her Broadway debut in the play The Three Sisters as Irina in 1973. For her work in The Robber Bridegroom (1975) she received her first Tony Award nomination, for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. The Acting Company honored LuPone on March 12, 2012 in an event called "Patti's Turn" at the Kaye Playhouse.
In 1976, producer David Merrick hired LuPone as a replacement to play Genevieve, the title role of the troubled pre-Broadway production of The Baker's Wife. The production toured at length but Merrick deemed it unworthy of Broadway and it closed out of town.
Since 1977, LuPone has been a frequent collaborator with David Mamet, appearing in his plays The Woods, All Men Are Whores, The Blue Hour, The Water Engine (1978), Edmond and The Old Neighborhood (1997). The New York Times reviewer wrote of LuPone in The Old Neighborhood, "Those who know Ms. LuPone only as a musical comedy star will be stunned by the naturalistic fire she delivers here. As Jolly, a part inspired by Mr. Mamet's real-life sister and his realized female character, Ms. LuPone finds conflicting layers of past and present selves in practically every line. She emerges as both loving matriarch and wounded adolescent, sentimental and devastatingly clear-eyed." In 1978, she appeared in the Broadway musical adaptation of Studs Terkel's Working, which ran for only 24 performances.
In 1979 LuPone starred in the original Broadway production of Evita, the musical based on the life of Eva Perón, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and directed by Harold Prince. Although LuPone was hailed by critics, she has since said that her time in Evita was not an enjoyable one. In a 2007 interview, she stated " 'Evita' was the worst experience of my life," she said. "I was screaming my way through a part that could only have been written by a man who hates women. And I had no support from the producers, who wanted a star performance onstage but treated me as an unknown backstage. It was like Beirut, and I fought like a banshee." Despite the trouble, LuPone won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. It was not until she had reprised the role in a production in Sydney when she had finally enjoyed the part and felt comfortable singing the score. LuPone and her co-star, Mandy Patinkin, remained close friends both on and off the stage.
1980s
In May 1983, founding alumni of The Acting Company reunited for an off-Broadway revival of Marc Blitzstein's landmark labor musical The Cradle Will Rock at the American Place Theater. It was narrated by John Houseman with LuPone in the roles of Moll and Sister Mister. and Kent, Connecticut.
In February 2022, Lupone tested positive for COVID-19.
Acting credits
Theatre
Sources: Playbill Vault; Internet Broadway Database; Internet Off-Broadway Database
Film
Sources: TCM; AllMovie
Television
Sources: TCM; AllMovie
Discography
Selected recordings include:
The Baker’s Wife (Original cast recording)
Evita (Original Broadway cast recording)
The Cradle Will Rock (The Acting Company recording)
Les Misérables (Original London Cast recording)
Anything Goes (New Broadway Cast Recording)
Heat Wave (John Mauceri conducting the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra)
Patti LuPone Live (Solo Album)
Sunset Boulevard (World Premiere/Original London Cast Recording)
Matters of the Heart (Solo Album)
Sweeney Todd (New York Philharmonic recording)
Sweeney Todd (2005 Broadway Cast recording)
The Lady with the Torch (Solo Album)
The Lady With the Torch...Still Burning (Solo Album)
To Hell and Back (Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra World Premier recording)
Gypsy (2008 Broadway Revival Cast Recording)
Patti LuPone At Les Mouches (Live Solo Recording of 1980 club act)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Far Away Places (Solo Album)
Company (New York Philharmonic recording)
War Paint (Original Broadway cast recording)
Don't Monkey with Broadway (Solo Album)
Company (Revival London cast recording)
Her live performance of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" at the Grammy Awards was released on the 1994 album Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume IV.
In 2009 LuPone's 1985 recording of "I Dreamed a Dream" reached #45 on the UK Singles Chart It also reached the Billboard magazine Hot Digital Songs and Hot Singles Recurrents charts in the US.
LuPone recorded a duet with Seth MacFarlane (who was in character as Glenn Quagmire) on the 2005 album Family Guy: Live In Vegas.
A live concert special film, An Evening with Patti LuPone, was filmed in July 2012 and released in November 2012 on SethTv.com with 104 minutes of Patti LuPone songs and stories with host Seth Rudetsky.
A new CD of one of her shows, The Lady with the Torch, was released in 2006 on Sh-K-Boom Records. In December she released bonus tracks for that CD only available on iTunes and the Sh-K-Boom website.
Bibliography
LuPone wrote a memoir recounting her life and career from childhood to the present, which was released in September 2010. It was simply titled Patti LuPone: A Memoir, which was, according to LuPone, the winner of the competition she held to name the book.
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Patti LuPone on IOBDB
Patti LuPone Interview
InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse: Patti LuPone (TV Interview)
Patti LuPone – Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org
University of the Arts Show Music Magazine Database
Patti LuPone concert special on SethTV.com. Filmed July, 2012.
Patti LuPone Papers at the Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library, New York, NY
1949 births
Living people
American women singers
American film actresses
American musical theatre actresses
American television actresses
American mezzo-sopranos
American Roman Catholics
Drama Desk Award winners
Grammy Award winners
American people of Italian descent
Juilliard School alumni
People from Northport, New York
Laurence Olivier Award winners
Tony Award winners
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from New York (state)
People from Edisto Island, South Carolina | true | [
"\"The Moon Is Not Blue\" was the 248th episode of the M*A*S*H television series, and the eighth of season eleven. The episode aired on December 13, 1982.\n\nPlot\n\nEveryone is frustrated by the unrelenting hot weather, and Hawkeye and B.J. are bored with the movies the unit is sent. After reading about a newly released movie The Moon Is Blue and its supposedly salacious content in a Boston newspaper, they decide it's the movie they want sent to the camp. They are determined to get their hands on this film, despite being warned not to get their expectations up by Charles Winchester, who tells them not to put too much stock in the fact that the film is \"Banned in Boston\" because Boston would ban Pinocchio. They attempt to pull strings with the delivery driver, Corporal Bannister, in exchange for pills (placebos sent to the hospital in error) to help him control his nerves in advance of a date. He leads them to Major Frankenheimer, who agrees to send the movie if Hawkeye and B.J. can get hold of a copy on his behalf. When the movie arrives, Frankenheimer goes against his word and schedules the movie to be sent to his \"A-list\" first. Bannister helps them by switching labels on the movie can with State Fair, only to have the switch backfire when their request for the film is approved and State Fair is sent to camp.\n\nSome weeks later, The Moon Is Blue arrives at the camp and is screened to a full house. Hawkeye and B.J. are disappointed by its lack of promised sexually explicit content. Hawkeye declares that he's never seen a cleaner movie in his life. Father Mulcahy points out that \"One of the actors did say 'virgin'\", to which Hawkeye replies, exasperated, \"That's because everyone was!\"\n\nHistorical notes\nIngo Preminger, producer of the theatrical version of MASH, is the brother of Otto Preminger, director of The Moon Is Blue.\n\nThe Moon is Blue was released in the USA on July 8, 1953, only nineteen days before the armistice for the Korean War was signed. The episode plot suggests the action took place over a considerably longer time, and there is no mention of the end of the war being in sight.\n\nHarry Morgan, who played Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H, has a small role early in the film State Fair as a ring-toss operator.\n\nHigh Noon was a 1952 movie with Gary Cooper and would have been a year old when The Moon is Blue was released.\n\nHawkeye's \"revenuers\" comment, after the still is confiscated, refers to the U.S. Prohibition agents who worked indirectly for the United States Bureau of Internal Revenue, a plot common to the 1950s Appalachian-themed cartoon comics, Li'l Abner, and Barney Google and Snuffy Smith.\n\nBusby Berkeley was a choreographer and movie director in the early to mid 20th Century. Hawkeye references him when he sees all the movie posters in Frankenheimer's office.\n\nExternal links\n \n\nM*A*S*H (season 11) episodes\n1982 American television episodes",
"This Is My Battlefield is a 2004 album by the Norwegian industrial music project Panzer AG.\n\nTrack listing\n “Introduction Of The Damned” – 1:41\n “Filth God” – 4:45\n “Battlefield” – 5:00\n “Chemical Breed” – 4:05\n “When Death Embrace Me” – 4:43\n “Bereit” (vocals: Aleksandra Skrzypczak) – 3:53\n “Totale Luftherrschaft” – 3:46\n “Sick Is The One Who Adores Me” – 5:27\n “Panzer” – 4:21\n “Tides That Kill” (Panzer AG vs. Symbiont; Collaboration: Symbiont; lyrics: Symbiont) – 5:24\n “God Eats God” – 4:11\n “It Is All In Your Head” – 4:37\n “Behind A Gasmask” – 4:08\n “Pure Tension” – 4:21\n “Drukne I Taarer” – 6:54\n\nTrivia\n\nThe track \"Battlefield\" contains two samples from the movie Day of the Dead repeated throughout the song. It also features a sample of \"Dracula -The Beginning\" by Wojciech Kilar from the movie Bram Stoker's Dracula\nThe track \"When Death Embrace Me\" contains a sample from the movie The Usual Suspects\nThe track \"Sick Is The One Who Adores Me\" contains a line from the movie Memento\nThe track \"Drukne I Taarer\" contains samples from the movie Lost Souls\nThe track \"God Eats God\" contains a sample from the movie Full Metal Jacket\n\nReferences\n\n2004 albums\nPanzer AG albums\nAccession Records albums\nMetropolis Records albums"
] |
[
"Patti LuPone",
"Film and television work",
"What film was she in?",
"Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy,",
"did she have a starring role in any film?",
"She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, LBJ: The Early Years (1987).",
"When year is the movie?",
"1987"
] | C_bee97d42ce1d4af6990c3b7cf68f57e6_1 | Did she win any awards for movies or tv shows? | 4 | Did Patti LuPone win any awards for movies or tv shows? | Patti LuPone | Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy, King of the Gypsies, 1941, Wise Guys, Nancy Savoca's The 24 Hour Woman and Savoca's Union Square (in post-production, late 2010), Family Prayers, and City by the Sea. She has also worked with playwright David Mamet on The Water Engine, the critically acclaimed State and Main, and Heist. In 2011, the feature film Union Square, co-written and directed by the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Award Winner, Nancy Savoca, was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In it, LuPone co-starred with Mira Sorvino, Tammy Blanchard, Mike Doyle, Michael Rispoli and Daphne Rubin-Vega. She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, LBJ: The Early Years (1987). LuPone played Libby Thatcher on the television drama Life Goes On, which ran on ABC from 1989 to 1993. In the 1990s she had a recurring role as defense attorney Ruth Miller on Law & Order. She has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award: for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995, Daytime Emmy Award nominee), and for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series on Frasier in 1998. She had a cameo as herself that year on an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Kelsey Grammer. LuPone's TV work also included a recurring role on her cousin Tom Fontana's HBO series in its final season, Oz (2003). She appeared as herself on a February 2005 episode of Will & Grace. She also appeared on the series Ugly Betty in March 2007 as the mother of Marc St. James (played by Michael Urie). LuPone had a recurring guest role as Frank Rossitano's mother on 30 Rock. LuPone appeared as herself in the season two finale of the television series Glee. LuPone guest starred on Army Wives on July 8, 2012. She reunited with fellow guest star Kellie Martin as her mother once again. LuPone appeared in the 2013 film Parker, an action-thriller. In 2013, LuPone was cast in the third season of the FX series American Horror Story as Joan Ramsey, a religious mother with a hidden past, and played herself in the third season of HBO's Girls. In 2015, she appeared in several episodes of the Showtime horror series Penny Dreadful as a cantankerous yet powerful white witch. She returned to the show in 2016 in the role of Dr. Seward, an alienist aiding Eva Green's character. Seward is an adaptation of John Seward from Bram Stoker's Dracula, and claims to be a descendant of Joan Clayton, the character LuPone portrayed in the second season. Also in 2016, she began appearing in Steven Universe as the voice of Yellow Diamond. CANNOTANSWER | She has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award: | Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in stage musicals. She has won two Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fame.
LuPone began her professional career with The Acting Company in 1972 and made her Broadway debut in Three Sisters in 1973. She received the first of seven Tony Award nominations for the 1975 musical The Robber Bridegroom. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Eva Perón in the 1979 original Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita. She played Fantine in the original London cast of Les Misérables and Moll in The Cradle Will Rock, winning the 1985 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in both. She won a second Tony Award for her role as Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy and a second Olivier Award in 2019, winning Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her role as Joanne in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company. She has two Grammy Awards for the recording of the 2007 Los Angeles Opera production of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
Other stage musical performances include her Tony-nominated role as Reno Sweeney in the 1987 Broadway revival of Anything Goes, her Olivier-nominated role as Norma Desmond in the 1993 original production of Sunset Boulevard in London, her Tony-nominated role as Mrs. Lovett in the new 2005 Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, her Tony-nominated role as Lucia in the 2010 original Broadway production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and her Tony-nominated role as Helena Rubenstein in the 2017 original Broadway production of War Paint. She is currently starring in the Broadway transfer of the successful West End revival of Company alongside Katrina Lenk.
On television, she starred in the drama series Life Goes On (1989–1993) and received Emmy Award nominations for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995) and her guest role in the sitcom Frasier (1998). She also had appeared in three Ryan Murphy series, American Horror Story: Coven (2013–2014), and Pose (2019) both on FX, and Hollywood (2020) on Netflix. She guest starred in Penny Dreadful (2014–2016) before returning in a lead role. She voices the character Yellow Diamond in the animated series Steven Universe (2013–2019) and Steven Universe Future (2019–2020). She also appeared on The CW comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as Rabbi Shari (2017). Her film appearances include Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979), Spike Lee's Summer of Sam (1999), Peter Weir's Witness (1985), as well as Driving Miss Daisy (1989), State and Main (2000), and The Comedian (2016).
Early life and training
LuPone was born on April 21, 1949, in Northport, New York, on Long Island, the daughter of Angela Louise (née Patti), a library administrator at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, and Orlando Joseph LuPone, a school administrator and English teacher at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington, Long Island. Her great-great aunt was 19th-century opera singer Adelina Patti. Her older brother Robert LuPone is a Tony-nominated actor, dancer, and director who originated the role of Zach, the director, in A Chorus Line. LuPone is Italian-American and Roman Catholic.
LuPone was part of the first graduating class of Juilliard's Drama Division (1968–1972: Group 1), which also included actors Kevin Kline and David Ogden Stiers. She graduated from Juilliard in 1972 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. LuPone has a mezzo-soprano vocal range, and she is famous for her strong/high "Broadway" belt singing voice. In a 2008 interview, she maintained that she was "an actor who sings", and thankful she "had a voice".
Career
Theatre
1970s: Early career
In 1972, LuPone became one of the original members of The Acting Company, formed by John Houseman. The Acting Company is a nationally touring repertory theater company. LuPone's stint with the company lasted from 1972 to 1976, and she appeared in many of their productions, such as The Cradle Will Rock, The School for Scandal, Women Beware Women, The Beggar’s Opera, The Time of Your Life, The Lower Depths, The Hostage, Next Time I’ll Sing to You, Measure for Measure, Scapin, Edward II, The Orchestra, Love’s Labours Lost, Arms and the Man, and The Way of the World. She made her Broadway debut in the play The Three Sisters as Irina in 1973. For her work in The Robber Bridegroom (1975) she received her first Tony Award nomination, for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. The Acting Company honored LuPone on March 12, 2012 in an event called "Patti's Turn" at the Kaye Playhouse.
In 1976, producer David Merrick hired LuPone as a replacement to play Genevieve, the title role of the troubled pre-Broadway production of The Baker's Wife. The production toured at length but Merrick deemed it unworthy of Broadway and it closed out of town.
Since 1977, LuPone has been a frequent collaborator with David Mamet, appearing in his plays The Woods, All Men Are Whores, The Blue Hour, The Water Engine (1978), Edmond and The Old Neighborhood (1997). The New York Times reviewer wrote of LuPone in The Old Neighborhood, "Those who know Ms. LuPone only as a musical comedy star will be stunned by the naturalistic fire she delivers here. As Jolly, a part inspired by Mr. Mamet's real-life sister and his realized female character, Ms. LuPone finds conflicting layers of past and present selves in practically every line. She emerges as both loving matriarch and wounded adolescent, sentimental and devastatingly clear-eyed." In 1978, she appeared in the Broadway musical adaptation of Studs Terkel's Working, which ran for only 24 performances.
In 1979 LuPone starred in the original Broadway production of Evita, the musical based on the life of Eva Perón, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and directed by Harold Prince. Although LuPone was hailed by critics, she has since said that her time in Evita was not an enjoyable one. In a 2007 interview, she stated " 'Evita' was the worst experience of my life," she said. "I was screaming my way through a part that could only have been written by a man who hates women. And I had no support from the producers, who wanted a star performance onstage but treated me as an unknown backstage. It was like Beirut, and I fought like a banshee." Despite the trouble, LuPone won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. It was not until she had reprised the role in a production in Sydney when she had finally enjoyed the part and felt comfortable singing the score. LuPone and her co-star, Mandy Patinkin, remained close friends both on and off the stage.
1980s
In May 1983, founding alumni of The Acting Company reunited for an off-Broadway revival of Marc Blitzstein's landmark labor musical The Cradle Will Rock at the American Place Theater. It was narrated by John Houseman with LuPone in the roles of Moll and Sister Mister. and Kent, Connecticut.
In February 2022, Lupone tested positive for COVID-19.
Acting credits
Theatre
Sources: Playbill Vault; Internet Broadway Database; Internet Off-Broadway Database
Film
Sources: TCM; AllMovie
Television
Sources: TCM; AllMovie
Discography
Selected recordings include:
The Baker’s Wife (Original cast recording)
Evita (Original Broadway cast recording)
The Cradle Will Rock (The Acting Company recording)
Les Misérables (Original London Cast recording)
Anything Goes (New Broadway Cast Recording)
Heat Wave (John Mauceri conducting the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra)
Patti LuPone Live (Solo Album)
Sunset Boulevard (World Premiere/Original London Cast Recording)
Matters of the Heart (Solo Album)
Sweeney Todd (New York Philharmonic recording)
Sweeney Todd (2005 Broadway Cast recording)
The Lady with the Torch (Solo Album)
The Lady With the Torch...Still Burning (Solo Album)
To Hell and Back (Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra World Premier recording)
Gypsy (2008 Broadway Revival Cast Recording)
Patti LuPone At Les Mouches (Live Solo Recording of 1980 club act)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Far Away Places (Solo Album)
Company (New York Philharmonic recording)
War Paint (Original Broadway cast recording)
Don't Monkey with Broadway (Solo Album)
Company (Revival London cast recording)
Her live performance of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" at the Grammy Awards was released on the 1994 album Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume IV.
In 2009 LuPone's 1985 recording of "I Dreamed a Dream" reached #45 on the UK Singles Chart It also reached the Billboard magazine Hot Digital Songs and Hot Singles Recurrents charts in the US.
LuPone recorded a duet with Seth MacFarlane (who was in character as Glenn Quagmire) on the 2005 album Family Guy: Live In Vegas.
A live concert special film, An Evening with Patti LuPone, was filmed in July 2012 and released in November 2012 on SethTv.com with 104 minutes of Patti LuPone songs and stories with host Seth Rudetsky.
A new CD of one of her shows, The Lady with the Torch, was released in 2006 on Sh-K-Boom Records. In December she released bonus tracks for that CD only available on iTunes and the Sh-K-Boom website.
Bibliography
LuPone wrote a memoir recounting her life and career from childhood to the present, which was released in September 2010. It was simply titled Patti LuPone: A Memoir, which was, according to LuPone, the winner of the competition she held to name the book.
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Patti LuPone on IOBDB
Patti LuPone Interview
InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse: Patti LuPone (TV Interview)
Patti LuPone – Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org
University of the Arts Show Music Magazine Database
Patti LuPone concert special on SethTV.com. Filmed July, 2012.
Patti LuPone Papers at the Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library, New York, NY
1949 births
Living people
American women singers
American film actresses
American musical theatre actresses
American television actresses
American mezzo-sopranos
American Roman Catholics
Drama Desk Award winners
Grammy Award winners
American people of Italian descent
Juilliard School alumni
People from Northport, New York
Laurence Olivier Award winners
Tony Award winners
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from New York (state)
People from Edisto Island, South Carolina | false | [
"Jennifer Aniston has been honored with numerous accolades throughout her career. She received nominations for seven Primetime Emmy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, and eleven Screen Actors Guild Awards. She also received a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.\n\nFor her role in the sitcom Friends, Aniston won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 1996, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2002, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 2003. She earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 2009 for her guest starring role on the sitcom 30 Rock. For her performance in the 2014 drama Cake, she received Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe Award nominations. For the Apple TV+ drama series The Morning Show, she won a Screen Actors Guild Award, and earned nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globes.\n\nMajor Awards\n\nDirectors Guild Awards \nThe Directors Guild Awards are issued by the Directors Guild of America.\n\n0 wins of 1 nomination\n\nGolden Globe Awards \nThe Golden Globe Awards are issued by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA).\n\n1 win of 7 nominations\n\nIndependent Spirit Awards \n0 wins of 1 nomination\n\nPrimetime Emmy Awards \nThe Primetime Emmy Awards are issued by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS).\n\n1 win of 8 nominations\n\nScreen Actors Guild Awards \nThe Screen Actors Guild Awards are issued by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Arts (SAG-AFTRA).\n\n2 win of 13 nominations\n\nAudience Awards\n\nGolden Schmoes Awards \n1 win of 2 nominations\n\nGuys Choice Awards \n1 win of 1 nomination\n\nMTV Movie + TV Awards \n2 wins of 7 nominations\n\nNickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards \n0 wins of 7 nominations\n\nPeople's Choice Awards \n8 wins of 17 nominations\n\nTeen Choice Awards \n6 wins of 16 nominations\n\nCritic & Association Awards\n\nAlliance of Women Film Journalists Awards \n2 wins of 4 nominations\n\nCritics Choice Awards \n0 wins of 1 nomination\n\nGLAAD Media Awards \n1 win of 1 nomination\n\nHollywood Film Awards \n1 win of 1 nomination\n\nOnline Film & Television Association Awards \n2 wins of 12 nominations\n\nOnline Film Critics Society Awards \n0 wins of 1 nomination\n\nSAG-AFTRA Foundation \n1 win of 1 nominations\n\nVillage Voice Film Poll \n1 win of 1 nominations\n\nWomen's Image Network Awards \n1 win of 2 nominations\n\nFilm Festival Awards\n\nCapri-Hollywood International Film Festival Awards \n1 win of 1 nomination\n\nCineVegas International Film Festival Awards \n1 win of 1 nomination\n\nGiffoni Film Festival Awards \n1 win of 1 nomination\n\nSanta Barbara International Film Festival Awards \n1 win of 1 nomination\n\nShoWest Convention Awards \n1 win of 1 nomination\n\nInternational Awards\n\nAftonbladet TV Prize Awards \n4 wins of 4 nominations\n\nAmerican Comedy Awards \n0 wins of 3 nominations\n\nJupiter Awards \n0 wins of 1 nomination\n\nLogie Awards \n1 win of 1 nomination\n\nNational Movie Awards \n0 wins of 1 nomination\n\nRussian National Movie Awards \n0 wins of 3 nominations\n\nMiscellaneous Awards\n\nAARP Movies for Grownups Awards \n0 win of 1 nomination\n\nElle Women in Hollywood Awards \n1 win of 1 nomination\n\nGolden Raspberry Awards \n0 wins of 5 nominations\n\nGracie Allen Awards \n1 win of 1 nomination\n\nPeople Magazine Awards \n1 win of 1 nomination\n\nSatellite Awards \n0 wins of 3 nominations\n\nShorty Awards \n0 wins of 1 nomination\n\nThe Hollywood Reporter \n1 win of 1 nomination\n\nTV Guide Awards \n1 win of 1 nomination\n\nTV Land Awards \n0 wins of 5 nominations\n\nWalk of Fame Star \n1 win of 1 nomination\n\nWomen in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards \n1 win of 1 nomination\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Jennifer Aniston at Yahoo! Movies\n \n\nJennifer Aniston\nLists of awards received by actor",
"Reena Basheer is an Indian film actress and dancer. She works in the Malayalam film industry and television.\n\nEarly life\nReena Basheer came into lime light through reality show on Amrita TV titled Vanitharatnam. Later she got featured in feature movies, advertisements, television serials and other shows. She is well known for her presentation of programmes especially cookery.\n\nCareer\nShe made her film debut in the Malayalam film Mulla in 2008 and later appeared in many movies. She won the Second Best Actress Award at the Kerala State Television Awards 2016 for her serial, Pokkuveyil.\n\nPersonal life\nShe married Basheer and they have two children: Basheer Binu and Basheer Anjala.\n\nFilmography\n\nTelevision\n\nOther Shows\nAs Guest\n Nammal Thammil (Asianet)\n Entertainment News (Asianet News)\n Varthaprabhatham (Asianet News)\n Don't Do Don't Do (Asianet Plus)\n India Voice (Mazhavil Manorama)\n Celluloid (Manorama News)\n Smart Show (Flowers TV)\n Flowers TV Awards (Flowers TV)\n Rhythm (Kairali TV)\n\nEndorsements\n Nirapara\n Radhas Soap\n Thomson Multiwood\n Ruchi\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nLiving people\nYear of birth missing (living people)\nActresses in Malayalam cinema\n21st-century Indian actresses\nActresses in Malayalam television"
] |
[
"Patti LuPone",
"Film and television work",
"What film was she in?",
"Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy,",
"did she have a starring role in any film?",
"She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, LBJ: The Early Years (1987).",
"When year is the movie?",
"1987",
"Did she win any awards for movies or tv shows?",
"She has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award:"
] | C_bee97d42ce1d4af6990c3b7cf68f57e6_1 | For what role? | 5 | For what role did Patti LuPone win an award? | Patti LuPone | Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy, King of the Gypsies, 1941, Wise Guys, Nancy Savoca's The 24 Hour Woman and Savoca's Union Square (in post-production, late 2010), Family Prayers, and City by the Sea. She has also worked with playwright David Mamet on The Water Engine, the critically acclaimed State and Main, and Heist. In 2011, the feature film Union Square, co-written and directed by the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Award Winner, Nancy Savoca, was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In it, LuPone co-starred with Mira Sorvino, Tammy Blanchard, Mike Doyle, Michael Rispoli and Daphne Rubin-Vega. She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, LBJ: The Early Years (1987). LuPone played Libby Thatcher on the television drama Life Goes On, which ran on ABC from 1989 to 1993. In the 1990s she had a recurring role as defense attorney Ruth Miller on Law & Order. She has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award: for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995, Daytime Emmy Award nominee), and for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series on Frasier in 1998. She had a cameo as herself that year on an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Kelsey Grammer. LuPone's TV work also included a recurring role on her cousin Tom Fontana's HBO series in its final season, Oz (2003). She appeared as herself on a February 2005 episode of Will & Grace. She also appeared on the series Ugly Betty in March 2007 as the mother of Marc St. James (played by Michael Urie). LuPone had a recurring guest role as Frank Rossitano's mother on 30 Rock. LuPone appeared as herself in the season two finale of the television series Glee. LuPone guest starred on Army Wives on July 8, 2012. She reunited with fellow guest star Kellie Martin as her mother once again. LuPone appeared in the 2013 film Parker, an action-thriller. In 2013, LuPone was cast in the third season of the FX series American Horror Story as Joan Ramsey, a religious mother with a hidden past, and played herself in the third season of HBO's Girls. In 2015, she appeared in several episodes of the Showtime horror series Penny Dreadful as a cantankerous yet powerful white witch. She returned to the show in 2016 in the role of Dr. Seward, an alienist aiding Eva Green's character. Seward is an adaptation of John Seward from Bram Stoker's Dracula, and claims to be a descendant of Joan Clayton, the character LuPone portrayed in the second season. Also in 2016, she began appearing in Steven Universe as the voice of Yellow Diamond. CANNOTANSWER | for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995, Daytime Emmy Award nominee), and for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series on Frasier in 1998. | Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in stage musicals. She has won two Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fame.
LuPone began her professional career with The Acting Company in 1972 and made her Broadway debut in Three Sisters in 1973. She received the first of seven Tony Award nominations for the 1975 musical The Robber Bridegroom. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Eva Perón in the 1979 original Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita. She played Fantine in the original London cast of Les Misérables and Moll in The Cradle Will Rock, winning the 1985 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in both. She won a second Tony Award for her role as Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy and a second Olivier Award in 2019, winning Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her role as Joanne in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company. She has two Grammy Awards for the recording of the 2007 Los Angeles Opera production of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
Other stage musical performances include her Tony-nominated role as Reno Sweeney in the 1987 Broadway revival of Anything Goes, her Olivier-nominated role as Norma Desmond in the 1993 original production of Sunset Boulevard in London, her Tony-nominated role as Mrs. Lovett in the new 2005 Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, her Tony-nominated role as Lucia in the 2010 original Broadway production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and her Tony-nominated role as Helena Rubenstein in the 2017 original Broadway production of War Paint. She is currently starring in the Broadway transfer of the successful West End revival of Company alongside Katrina Lenk.
On television, she starred in the drama series Life Goes On (1989–1993) and received Emmy Award nominations for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995) and her guest role in the sitcom Frasier (1998). She also had appeared in three Ryan Murphy series, American Horror Story: Coven (2013–2014), and Pose (2019) both on FX, and Hollywood (2020) on Netflix. She guest starred in Penny Dreadful (2014–2016) before returning in a lead role. She voices the character Yellow Diamond in the animated series Steven Universe (2013–2019) and Steven Universe Future (2019–2020). She also appeared on The CW comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as Rabbi Shari (2017). Her film appearances include Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979), Spike Lee's Summer of Sam (1999), Peter Weir's Witness (1985), as well as Driving Miss Daisy (1989), State and Main (2000), and The Comedian (2016).
Early life and training
LuPone was born on April 21, 1949, in Northport, New York, on Long Island, the daughter of Angela Louise (née Patti), a library administrator at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, and Orlando Joseph LuPone, a school administrator and English teacher at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington, Long Island. Her great-great aunt was 19th-century opera singer Adelina Patti. Her older brother Robert LuPone is a Tony-nominated actor, dancer, and director who originated the role of Zach, the director, in A Chorus Line. LuPone is Italian-American and Roman Catholic.
LuPone was part of the first graduating class of Juilliard's Drama Division (1968–1972: Group 1), which also included actors Kevin Kline and David Ogden Stiers. She graduated from Juilliard in 1972 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. LuPone has a mezzo-soprano vocal range, and she is famous for her strong/high "Broadway" belt singing voice. In a 2008 interview, she maintained that she was "an actor who sings", and thankful she "had a voice".
Career
Theatre
1970s: Early career
In 1972, LuPone became one of the original members of The Acting Company, formed by John Houseman. The Acting Company is a nationally touring repertory theater company. LuPone's stint with the company lasted from 1972 to 1976, and she appeared in many of their productions, such as The Cradle Will Rock, The School for Scandal, Women Beware Women, The Beggar’s Opera, The Time of Your Life, The Lower Depths, The Hostage, Next Time I’ll Sing to You, Measure for Measure, Scapin, Edward II, The Orchestra, Love’s Labours Lost, Arms and the Man, and The Way of the World. She made her Broadway debut in the play The Three Sisters as Irina in 1973. For her work in The Robber Bridegroom (1975) she received her first Tony Award nomination, for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. The Acting Company honored LuPone on March 12, 2012 in an event called "Patti's Turn" at the Kaye Playhouse.
In 1976, producer David Merrick hired LuPone as a replacement to play Genevieve, the title role of the troubled pre-Broadway production of The Baker's Wife. The production toured at length but Merrick deemed it unworthy of Broadway and it closed out of town.
Since 1977, LuPone has been a frequent collaborator with David Mamet, appearing in his plays The Woods, All Men Are Whores, The Blue Hour, The Water Engine (1978), Edmond and The Old Neighborhood (1997). The New York Times reviewer wrote of LuPone in The Old Neighborhood, "Those who know Ms. LuPone only as a musical comedy star will be stunned by the naturalistic fire she delivers here. As Jolly, a part inspired by Mr. Mamet's real-life sister and his realized female character, Ms. LuPone finds conflicting layers of past and present selves in practically every line. She emerges as both loving matriarch and wounded adolescent, sentimental and devastatingly clear-eyed." In 1978, she appeared in the Broadway musical adaptation of Studs Terkel's Working, which ran for only 24 performances.
In 1979 LuPone starred in the original Broadway production of Evita, the musical based on the life of Eva Perón, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and directed by Harold Prince. Although LuPone was hailed by critics, she has since said that her time in Evita was not an enjoyable one. In a 2007 interview, she stated " 'Evita' was the worst experience of my life," she said. "I was screaming my way through a part that could only have been written by a man who hates women. And I had no support from the producers, who wanted a star performance onstage but treated me as an unknown backstage. It was like Beirut, and I fought like a banshee." Despite the trouble, LuPone won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. It was not until she had reprised the role in a production in Sydney when she had finally enjoyed the part and felt comfortable singing the score. LuPone and her co-star, Mandy Patinkin, remained close friends both on and off the stage.
1980s
In May 1983, founding alumni of The Acting Company reunited for an off-Broadway revival of Marc Blitzstein's landmark labor musical The Cradle Will Rock at the American Place Theater. It was narrated by John Houseman with LuPone in the roles of Moll and Sister Mister. and Kent, Connecticut.
In February 2022, Lupone tested positive for COVID-19.
Acting credits
Theatre
Sources: Playbill Vault; Internet Broadway Database; Internet Off-Broadway Database
Film
Sources: TCM; AllMovie
Television
Sources: TCM; AllMovie
Discography
Selected recordings include:
The Baker’s Wife (Original cast recording)
Evita (Original Broadway cast recording)
The Cradle Will Rock (The Acting Company recording)
Les Misérables (Original London Cast recording)
Anything Goes (New Broadway Cast Recording)
Heat Wave (John Mauceri conducting the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra)
Patti LuPone Live (Solo Album)
Sunset Boulevard (World Premiere/Original London Cast Recording)
Matters of the Heart (Solo Album)
Sweeney Todd (New York Philharmonic recording)
Sweeney Todd (2005 Broadway Cast recording)
The Lady with the Torch (Solo Album)
The Lady With the Torch...Still Burning (Solo Album)
To Hell and Back (Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra World Premier recording)
Gypsy (2008 Broadway Revival Cast Recording)
Patti LuPone At Les Mouches (Live Solo Recording of 1980 club act)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Far Away Places (Solo Album)
Company (New York Philharmonic recording)
War Paint (Original Broadway cast recording)
Don't Monkey with Broadway (Solo Album)
Company (Revival London cast recording)
Her live performance of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" at the Grammy Awards was released on the 1994 album Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume IV.
In 2009 LuPone's 1985 recording of "I Dreamed a Dream" reached #45 on the UK Singles Chart It also reached the Billboard magazine Hot Digital Songs and Hot Singles Recurrents charts in the US.
LuPone recorded a duet with Seth MacFarlane (who was in character as Glenn Quagmire) on the 2005 album Family Guy: Live In Vegas.
A live concert special film, An Evening with Patti LuPone, was filmed in July 2012 and released in November 2012 on SethTv.com with 104 minutes of Patti LuPone songs and stories with host Seth Rudetsky.
A new CD of one of her shows, The Lady with the Torch, was released in 2006 on Sh-K-Boom Records. In December she released bonus tracks for that CD only available on iTunes and the Sh-K-Boom website.
Bibliography
LuPone wrote a memoir recounting her life and career from childhood to the present, which was released in September 2010. It was simply titled Patti LuPone: A Memoir, which was, according to LuPone, the winner of the competition she held to name the book.
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Patti LuPone on IOBDB
Patti LuPone Interview
InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse: Patti LuPone (TV Interview)
Patti LuPone – Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org
University of the Arts Show Music Magazine Database
Patti LuPone concert special on SethTV.com. Filmed July, 2012.
Patti LuPone Papers at the Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library, New York, NY
1949 births
Living people
American women singers
American film actresses
American musical theatre actresses
American television actresses
American mezzo-sopranos
American Roman Catholics
Drama Desk Award winners
Grammy Award winners
American people of Italian descent
Juilliard School alumni
People from Northport, New York
Laurence Olivier Award winners
Tony Award winners
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from New York (state)
People from Edisto Island, South Carolina | false | [
"The Bodil Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role () is one of the merit categories presented by the Danish Film Critics Association at the annual Bodil Awards. Created in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe, and it honours the best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a Danish produced film. The jury can decide not to hand out the award, which happened numerous times between 1950 and 1985. Since 1986, it has been awarded every year.\n\nHonorees\n\n1940s \n 1948: Ellen Gottschalch won for her role in \n 1949: Karin Nellemose won for her role in\n\n1950s \n 1950: Not awarded\n 1951: Not awarded\n 1952: Sigrid Neiiendam won for her role in \n 1953: Not awarded\n 1954: Not awarded\n 1955: Not awarded\n 1956: Not awarded\n 1957: Not awarded\n 1958: Not awarded\n 1959: Not awarded\n\n1960s \n 1960: Not awarded\n 1961: Not awarded\n 1962: Not awarded\n 1963: Not awarded\n 1964: Not awarded\n 1965: Not awarded\n 1966: Not awarded\n 1967: Not awarded\n 1968: Not awarded\n 1969: won for her role in\n\n1970s \n 1970: Not awarded\n 1971: Not awarded\n 1972: Not awarded\n 1973: won for her role in Oh, to Be on the Bandwagon!\n 1974: Not awarded\n 1975: Not awarded\n 1976: won for her role as Sylvie in A Happy Divorce\n 1977: Bodil Kjer won for her role as Sabine Lund in Strømer\n 1978: Not awarded\n 1979: Grethe Holmer won for her role as Kirsten's mother in In My Life\n\n1980s \n 1980: Berthe Qvistgaard won for her role in Johnny Larsen\n 1981: Helle Fastrup won for her role in \n 1982: Ghita Nørby won for her role in \n 1983: Not awarded\n 1984: Birgitte Raaberg won for her role in In the Middle of the Night\n 1985: Not awarded\n 1986: Catherine Poul Jupont for her role in The Dark Side of the Moon\n 1987: Sofie Gråbøl won for her role in The Wolf at the Door\n 1988: won for her role in Pelle the Conqueror\n 1989: won for her role in Katinka\n\n1990s \n 1990: Kirsten Rolffes won for her role in Waltzing Regitze\n 1991: won for her role in \n 1992: Ditte Gråbøl won for her role in \n 1993: Birthe Neumann won for her role in Pain of Love\n 1994: Pernille Højmark won for her role in Black Harvest\n 1995: won for her role in Nightwatch\n 1996: Anneke von der Lippe won for her role as Eva in Pan\n 1997: Katrin Cartlidge won for her role in Breaking the Waves\n 1998: Birgitte Raaberg won for her role as Judith Petersen in Riget II\n 1999: Anne Louise Hassing won for her role in The Idiots\n\n2000s \n 2000: Paprika Steen won for her role as Stella in The One and Only\n 2001: Lene Tiemroth won for her role as Karen's mother in Italian for Beginners\n was nominated for her role as Liv in The Bench\n was nominated for her role as Connie in The Bench\n 2002: won for her role as Heidi in One-Hand Clapping\n Birthe Neumann was nominated for her role as Elly in Chop Chop\n 2003: Paprika Steen won for her role as Maria in Open Hearts\n Julia Davis was nominated for her role as Moira in Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself\n was nominated for her role in Minor Mishaps\n Birthe Neumann was nominated for her role as Hanne in Open Hearts\n 2004: Ditte Gråbøl won for her role in Move Me\n Bronagh Gallagher was nominated for her role as Sophie in Skagerrak\n Lisa Werlinder was nominated for her role as Maria in The Inheritance\n 2005: Trine Dyrholm won for her role in In Your Hands\n was nominated for her role as Lone Kjeldsen in King's Game\n was nominated for her role in Aftermath\n Sonja Richter was nominated for her role in In Your Hands\n was nominated for her role in \n 2006: Charlotte Fich won for her role as Lisbeth in Manslaughter\n was nominated for her role in Murk\n Tuva Novotny was nominated for her role in Bang Bang Orangutang\n Pernille Valentin Brandt was nominated for her role as Gunnar in Nordkraft\n 2007: Stine Fischer Christensen won for her role in After the Wedding\n Mette Riber Christoffersen was nominated for her role in Life Hits\n Bodil Jørgensen was nominated for her role in \n Sofie Stougaard was nominated for her role in Lotto\n Mia Lyhne was nominated for her role in The Boss of It All\n 2008: Charlotte Fich won for her role as Mette in Just Another Love Story\n was nominated for her role in \n Stine Fischer Christensen was nominated for her role in Echo\n Trine Dyrholm was nominated for her role as Eva in Daisy Diamond\n was nominated for her role as Mother in The Art of Crying\n 2009: won for her role as Karen in Worlds Apart\n was nominated for her role as Selma in Fear Me Not'\n Ghita Nørby was nominated for her role as Sigrid in What No One Knows Paprika Steen was nominated for her role in Fear Me Not 2010s \n 2010: won for her role as Scarlett in Deliver Us from Evil was nominated for her role in Love and Rage Charlotte Fich was nominated for her role in Love and Rage Solbjørg Højfeldt was nominated for her role in Lea Høyer was nominated for her role in 2011: Patricia Schumann won for her role as Sofie in Submarino was nominated for her role as Helena in Everything Will Be Fine Laura Skaarup Jensen was nominated for her role as Karen in The Experiment Rosalinde Mynster was nominated for her role as Julie in Truth About Men Paprika Steen was nominated for her role as Siri in Everything Will Be Fine 2012: Paprika Steen won for her role as Anna in SuperClásico was nominated for her role as Susan in Rebounce Charlotte Gainsbourg was nominated for her role as Claire in Melancholia Anne Louise Hassing was nominated for her role as Sanne in A Family Charlotte Rampling was nominated for her role as Gaby in Melancholia 2013: Frederikke Dahl Hansen won for her role as Maria in You & Me Forever Emilie Kruse was nominated for her role as Christine in You & Me Forever Elsebeth Stentoft was nominated for her role as Ingrid in Teddy Bear was nominated for her role in Trine Dyrholm was nominated for her role as Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in A Royal Affair 2014: Susse Wold won for her role as Grethe in The Hunt Anne Louise Hassing was nominated for her role as Agnes in The Hunt Kristin Scott Thomas was nominated for her role as Crystal in Only God Forgives Sonja Richter was nominated for her role as Merete Lynggaard in The Keeper of Lost Causes Uma Thurman was nominated for her role as Mrs H in Nymphomaniac 2015: won for her role in Klumpfisken 2016: Trine Pallesen won for her role as Katrine in Key House Mirror 2017: won for her role in In the Blood 2018: Julie Christiansen won for her role in : won for her role in A Fortunate Man 2020s \n : won for her role in Daniel : Sidse Babett Knudsen won for her role in ''\n\nSee also \n\n Robert Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role\n\nReferences\n\nSources\n\nFurther reading\n\nExternal links \n \n\n1948 establishments in Denmark\nAwards established in 1948\nActress in a supporting role\nFilm awards for supporting actress",
"This is a list of awards won by American actress and singer Idina Menzel.\n\nTheatre Awards\n\nObie Awards\nMenzel won an Obie Award for Special Citations for her part in the 1995 off-Broadway production of Rent.\n\nBroadway.com Audience Awards\nIn 2004, Menzel won three Broadway.com Audience Awards for her role in Wicked; one for Favorite Actress in a Musical, one for Favorite Diva Performance, and one for Best Onstage Pair, which she won with co-star Kristin Chenoweth. In 2014, she won two more, for If/Then; Favorite Leading Actress in a Musical, and Favorite Onstage Pair, which she won with James Snyder. She was also nominated for Favorite Diva Performance, but lost to Neil Patrick Harris for Hedwig and the Angry Inch.\n\nDrama Desk Awards\nIn 2000, Menzel was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her role of Kate in the off-Broadway show The Wild Party. She then was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical in 2004 for her role in Wicked, and was nominated again in 2005 for her roles of Kesa, Lily, and Deanna in the off-Broadway musical See What I Wanna See, and in 2014 for her role in If/Then.\n\nDrama League Awards\nMenzel was first nominated for the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance in 2004 for her role in Wicked. She was nominated again in 2005 for See What I Wanna See and in 2014 for If/Then. Menzel received the 2018 Musical Achievement Award.\n\nTony Awards\nIn 1996, Menzel was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Maureen Johnson in the Rent. In 2004, she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Elphaba in Wicked. She was nominated again in 2014 for her performance as Elizabeth Vaughan in the musical If/Then.\n\nFilm and Television Awards\n\nTeen Choice Awards\nShe was nominated in 2010 for Choice Music: Group for Glee and in 2014 for Choice Music: Single for Let it Go. She also won one for Choice Animated Movie: Voice for Frozen.\n\nSatellite Award\nIn 2014, she was nominated for Best Original Song for Let it Go.\n\nBehind the Voice Actors Awards\nMenzel won Best Female Vocal Performance in a Lead Role and Breakthrough Voice Actress of the Year for Frozen in 2014.\n\nMusic Awards\n\nAmerican Music Awards\nShe won the American Music Award for Top Soundtrack for the Frozen soundtrack in 2014.\n\nBillboard Music Awards\nMenzel won the 2014 Billboard Breakthrough Artist Award. She was nominated for a Top Streaming Award in 2015 for Let it Go, and won a Top Soundtrack Award for the soundtrack to Frozen.\\\n\nOther Awards\n\nCritics Awards\nMenzel was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2004 for her part in Wicked. She was nominated for a Washington D.C. Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble for the film version of Rent in 2005, as well as two Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for Best Ensemble and Best Song Performance, two Northeastern Critics Award for Best Ensemble and Best Supporting Actress, and an Online Film & Television Association Award for Best Adapted Song. She was nominated for another one for Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on Glee in 2010, and for Best Voice Over Performance for Frozen in 2014, for which she won a Best Original Song one for singing Let it Go. For that role, she was also nominated for an Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Animated Female, a St. Louis Film Critics Association Award for Special Merit, and a world soundtrack award for Best Song Written for Film.\n\nOther Choice Awards\nShe won the Whatsonstage.com Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2006 for Wicked in the West End. In 2010, she won Gay People's Choice Awards for Best Ensemble and Best Music Duo or Group for Glee. She was also nominated for a Lesbian/Bi People's Choice Award for Best Music Duo or Group.\n\nReferences\n\nMenzel, Idina"
] |
[
"Patti LuPone",
"Film and television work",
"What film was she in?",
"Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy,",
"did she have a starring role in any film?",
"She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, LBJ: The Early Years (1987).",
"When year is the movie?",
"1987",
"Did she win any awards for movies or tv shows?",
"She has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award:",
"For what role?",
"for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995, Daytime Emmy Award nominee), and for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series on Frasier in 1998."
] | C_bee97d42ce1d4af6990c3b7cf68f57e6_1 | Who is a co star she had in a film or tv show? | 6 | Who is a co star Patti LuPone had in a film or tv show? | Patti LuPone | Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy, King of the Gypsies, 1941, Wise Guys, Nancy Savoca's The 24 Hour Woman and Savoca's Union Square (in post-production, late 2010), Family Prayers, and City by the Sea. She has also worked with playwright David Mamet on The Water Engine, the critically acclaimed State and Main, and Heist. In 2011, the feature film Union Square, co-written and directed by the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Award Winner, Nancy Savoca, was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In it, LuPone co-starred with Mira Sorvino, Tammy Blanchard, Mike Doyle, Michael Rispoli and Daphne Rubin-Vega. She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, LBJ: The Early Years (1987). LuPone played Libby Thatcher on the television drama Life Goes On, which ran on ABC from 1989 to 1993. In the 1990s she had a recurring role as defense attorney Ruth Miller on Law & Order. She has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award: for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995, Daytime Emmy Award nominee), and for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series on Frasier in 1998. She had a cameo as herself that year on an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Kelsey Grammer. LuPone's TV work also included a recurring role on her cousin Tom Fontana's HBO series in its final season, Oz (2003). She appeared as herself on a February 2005 episode of Will & Grace. She also appeared on the series Ugly Betty in March 2007 as the mother of Marc St. James (played by Michael Urie). LuPone had a recurring guest role as Frank Rossitano's mother on 30 Rock. LuPone appeared as herself in the season two finale of the television series Glee. LuPone guest starred on Army Wives on July 8, 2012. She reunited with fellow guest star Kellie Martin as her mother once again. LuPone appeared in the 2013 film Parker, an action-thriller. In 2013, LuPone was cast in the third season of the FX series American Horror Story as Joan Ramsey, a religious mother with a hidden past, and played herself in the third season of HBO's Girls. In 2015, she appeared in several episodes of the Showtime horror series Penny Dreadful as a cantankerous yet powerful white witch. She returned to the show in 2016 in the role of Dr. Seward, an alienist aiding Eva Green's character. Seward is an adaptation of John Seward from Bram Stoker's Dracula, and claims to be a descendant of Joan Clayton, the character LuPone portrayed in the second season. Also in 2016, she began appearing in Steven Universe as the voice of Yellow Diamond. CANNOTANSWER | Kelsey Grammer. | Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in stage musicals. She has won two Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fame.
LuPone began her professional career with The Acting Company in 1972 and made her Broadway debut in Three Sisters in 1973. She received the first of seven Tony Award nominations for the 1975 musical The Robber Bridegroom. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Eva Perón in the 1979 original Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita. She played Fantine in the original London cast of Les Misérables and Moll in The Cradle Will Rock, winning the 1985 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in both. She won a second Tony Award for her role as Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy and a second Olivier Award in 2019, winning Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her role as Joanne in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company. She has two Grammy Awards for the recording of the 2007 Los Angeles Opera production of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
Other stage musical performances include her Tony-nominated role as Reno Sweeney in the 1987 Broadway revival of Anything Goes, her Olivier-nominated role as Norma Desmond in the 1993 original production of Sunset Boulevard in London, her Tony-nominated role as Mrs. Lovett in the new 2005 Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, her Tony-nominated role as Lucia in the 2010 original Broadway production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and her Tony-nominated role as Helena Rubenstein in the 2017 original Broadway production of War Paint. She is currently starring in the Broadway transfer of the successful West End revival of Company alongside Katrina Lenk.
On television, she starred in the drama series Life Goes On (1989–1993) and received Emmy Award nominations for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995) and her guest role in the sitcom Frasier (1998). She also had appeared in three Ryan Murphy series, American Horror Story: Coven (2013–2014), and Pose (2019) both on FX, and Hollywood (2020) on Netflix. She guest starred in Penny Dreadful (2014–2016) before returning in a lead role. She voices the character Yellow Diamond in the animated series Steven Universe (2013–2019) and Steven Universe Future (2019–2020). She also appeared on The CW comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as Rabbi Shari (2017). Her film appearances include Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979), Spike Lee's Summer of Sam (1999), Peter Weir's Witness (1985), as well as Driving Miss Daisy (1989), State and Main (2000), and The Comedian (2016).
Early life and training
LuPone was born on April 21, 1949, in Northport, New York, on Long Island, the daughter of Angela Louise (née Patti), a library administrator at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, and Orlando Joseph LuPone, a school administrator and English teacher at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington, Long Island. Her great-great aunt was 19th-century opera singer Adelina Patti. Her older brother Robert LuPone is a Tony-nominated actor, dancer, and director who originated the role of Zach, the director, in A Chorus Line. LuPone is Italian-American and Roman Catholic.
LuPone was part of the first graduating class of Juilliard's Drama Division (1968–1972: Group 1), which also included actors Kevin Kline and David Ogden Stiers. She graduated from Juilliard in 1972 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. LuPone has a mezzo-soprano vocal range, and she is famous for her strong/high "Broadway" belt singing voice. In a 2008 interview, she maintained that she was "an actor who sings", and thankful she "had a voice".
Career
Theatre
1970s: Early career
In 1972, LuPone became one of the original members of The Acting Company, formed by John Houseman. The Acting Company is a nationally touring repertory theater company. LuPone's stint with the company lasted from 1972 to 1976, and she appeared in many of their productions, such as The Cradle Will Rock, The School for Scandal, Women Beware Women, The Beggar’s Opera, The Time of Your Life, The Lower Depths, The Hostage, Next Time I’ll Sing to You, Measure for Measure, Scapin, Edward II, The Orchestra, Love’s Labours Lost, Arms and the Man, and The Way of the World. She made her Broadway debut in the play The Three Sisters as Irina in 1973. For her work in The Robber Bridegroom (1975) she received her first Tony Award nomination, for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. The Acting Company honored LuPone on March 12, 2012 in an event called "Patti's Turn" at the Kaye Playhouse.
In 1976, producer David Merrick hired LuPone as a replacement to play Genevieve, the title role of the troubled pre-Broadway production of The Baker's Wife. The production toured at length but Merrick deemed it unworthy of Broadway and it closed out of town.
Since 1977, LuPone has been a frequent collaborator with David Mamet, appearing in his plays The Woods, All Men Are Whores, The Blue Hour, The Water Engine (1978), Edmond and The Old Neighborhood (1997). The New York Times reviewer wrote of LuPone in The Old Neighborhood, "Those who know Ms. LuPone only as a musical comedy star will be stunned by the naturalistic fire she delivers here. As Jolly, a part inspired by Mr. Mamet's real-life sister and his realized female character, Ms. LuPone finds conflicting layers of past and present selves in practically every line. She emerges as both loving matriarch and wounded adolescent, sentimental and devastatingly clear-eyed." In 1978, she appeared in the Broadway musical adaptation of Studs Terkel's Working, which ran for only 24 performances.
In 1979 LuPone starred in the original Broadway production of Evita, the musical based on the life of Eva Perón, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and directed by Harold Prince. Although LuPone was hailed by critics, she has since said that her time in Evita was not an enjoyable one. In a 2007 interview, she stated " 'Evita' was the worst experience of my life," she said. "I was screaming my way through a part that could only have been written by a man who hates women. And I had no support from the producers, who wanted a star performance onstage but treated me as an unknown backstage. It was like Beirut, and I fought like a banshee." Despite the trouble, LuPone won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. It was not until she had reprised the role in a production in Sydney when she had finally enjoyed the part and felt comfortable singing the score. LuPone and her co-star, Mandy Patinkin, remained close friends both on and off the stage.
1980s
In May 1983, founding alumni of The Acting Company reunited for an off-Broadway revival of Marc Blitzstein's landmark labor musical The Cradle Will Rock at the American Place Theater. It was narrated by John Houseman with LuPone in the roles of Moll and Sister Mister. and Kent, Connecticut.
In February 2022, Lupone tested positive for COVID-19.
Acting credits
Theatre
Sources: Playbill Vault; Internet Broadway Database; Internet Off-Broadway Database
Film
Sources: TCM; AllMovie
Television
Sources: TCM; AllMovie
Discography
Selected recordings include:
The Baker’s Wife (Original cast recording)
Evita (Original Broadway cast recording)
The Cradle Will Rock (The Acting Company recording)
Les Misérables (Original London Cast recording)
Anything Goes (New Broadway Cast Recording)
Heat Wave (John Mauceri conducting the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra)
Patti LuPone Live (Solo Album)
Sunset Boulevard (World Premiere/Original London Cast Recording)
Matters of the Heart (Solo Album)
Sweeney Todd (New York Philharmonic recording)
Sweeney Todd (2005 Broadway Cast recording)
The Lady with the Torch (Solo Album)
The Lady With the Torch...Still Burning (Solo Album)
To Hell and Back (Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra World Premier recording)
Gypsy (2008 Broadway Revival Cast Recording)
Patti LuPone At Les Mouches (Live Solo Recording of 1980 club act)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Far Away Places (Solo Album)
Company (New York Philharmonic recording)
War Paint (Original Broadway cast recording)
Don't Monkey with Broadway (Solo Album)
Company (Revival London cast recording)
Her live performance of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" at the Grammy Awards was released on the 1994 album Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume IV.
In 2009 LuPone's 1985 recording of "I Dreamed a Dream" reached #45 on the UK Singles Chart It also reached the Billboard magazine Hot Digital Songs and Hot Singles Recurrents charts in the US.
LuPone recorded a duet with Seth MacFarlane (who was in character as Glenn Quagmire) on the 2005 album Family Guy: Live In Vegas.
A live concert special film, An Evening with Patti LuPone, was filmed in July 2012 and released in November 2012 on SethTv.com with 104 minutes of Patti LuPone songs and stories with host Seth Rudetsky.
A new CD of one of her shows, The Lady with the Torch, was released in 2006 on Sh-K-Boom Records. In December she released bonus tracks for that CD only available on iTunes and the Sh-K-Boom website.
Bibliography
LuPone wrote a memoir recounting her life and career from childhood to the present, which was released in September 2010. It was simply titled Patti LuPone: A Memoir, which was, according to LuPone, the winner of the competition she held to name the book.
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Patti LuPone on IOBDB
Patti LuPone Interview
InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse: Patti LuPone (TV Interview)
Patti LuPone – Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org
University of the Arts Show Music Magazine Database
Patti LuPone concert special on SethTV.com. Filmed July, 2012.
Patti LuPone Papers at the Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library, New York, NY
1949 births
Living people
American women singers
American film actresses
American musical theatre actresses
American television actresses
American mezzo-sopranos
American Roman Catholics
Drama Desk Award winners
Grammy Award winners
American people of Italian descent
Juilliard School alumni
People from Northport, New York
Laurence Olivier Award winners
Tony Award winners
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from New York (state)
People from Edisto Island, South Carolina | false | [
"Suma Kanakala (née Paachavital; born 22 March 1974) is an Indian television presenter, actress, and television producer who predominantly works in Telugu television. She is best known for hosting in ETV's Star Mahila, a Telugu TV game show, which is the longest running TV game show in India.\n\nEarly life\nSuma was born on 22 March 1974 in Kerala, India. Her parents are P. N. L Pranavi and P. Vimala who were in Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh (now in Telangana), India for a very long time. She married actor Rajeev Kanakala in 1999. In addition to her mother tongue in Malayalam, she is fluent in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, and English.\n\nCareer\nA presenter from the age of 21, she has hosted many Telugu film audio launches, film awards and functions. She is a Malayali from Kerala, but speaks Telugu fluently. Apart from Malayalam and Telugu, she is also fluent in Hindi, English, and Tamil. She has acted in various films from 1991 in Malayalam and Telugu, Tamil languages and then she entered serials and telefilms in 1995, but her breakthrough came with the boom in satellite channels. Swayamvaram, Anveshitha, Geetanjali, and Ravoyi Chandamama were her major serials. She didn't have any interest in working in films.\n\nSuma's flagship show is Star Mahila on ETV, which attracted many female audiences. She created a record by this show becoming one of the longest running women game show in India.\n\nHer versatility is evident in Panchavataram on TV9. Cash on ETV and Start music on MAA TV are her current prime time shows. Suma started her own production house named K. Suma Rajeev Creations on 26 December 2012 and has produced a show named Lakku Kikku which is telecast on Zee Telugu. She also worked in a Tamil show named Genes (game show). Her Kevvu Keka on MAA TV with co-star Mano and produced by K. Suma Rajeev Creations. Suma also sang \"Suya Suya\" song from the 2017 Telugu film Winner.\n\nShe is well known for her spontaneous and humorous remarks during her shows.\n\nFilmography\n\nAs actress\n\nFilms\n\nTelevision\n Amaravathi ki Kathayein (1994–1995)\n Anveshitha\n Veyi padagalu\nSwayamvaram\nGeetanjali\nSoundarya Lahari\nHouse of Hungama (2020) on Star Maa\n\nAs host\n\nGames shows\n\n Avakaya on Star Maa\n Lady boss on maaTV now Star Maa\n Pattukunte Pattu Cheera on Teja TV now Gemini Movies\nStar Mahila on ETV\nSwarabhishekam on ETV\nPanchavataram on TV9 \nPelli Choopulu along with Pradeep Machiraju on Star Maa\nCash on ETV\nBhale Chance Le on Star Maa\nLakku Kikku on Zee Telugu (also producer)\nGenes on ETV\nKevvu Keka on MAA TV\nConnexion on MAA TV\nAvvakayara on MAA TV\nT TIME\nPattukunte Pattucheera for Gemini TV\nGenes on Zee Tamil\nE Junction on ETV Plus\nGENES 2.0 on ETV\nJujubi Tv on YouTube\nSell Me The Answer on Star Maa\nF3 – Fun, family & Frustration on Star Maa\nWife Chetilo Life on Star Maa\nBig Celebrity Challenge (Season 3) on Zee Telugu\nStart Music (Season 3) on Star Maa\n\nTelevision specials\n 8th SIIMA 2019\n CineMAA Awards 2013\n CineMAA Awards 2012\n Cinema Audio release functions\n Gemini Puraskaaralu\n Apsara awards\n\nOther shows\nBigg Boss S1 on Star Maa as inspection officer\nJabardasth on ETV as guest\nDhee Juniors 2 on ETV as guest\nMemu Saitham on Gemini TV as guest\nMeelo Evaru Koteeswarudu on Star Maa as guest\nCoffee with Yamuna as guest\nBigg Boss S3 on Star Maa as guest\nBigg Boss S4 on Star Maa as guest\nBigg Boss S5 on Star Maa as guest\nAll Is Well on Aha\n\nAwards\n Nandi Award for Best TV Anchor 2010- Panchavataram (Suma)\n Limca Fresh Face Award 2009\n Local TV Media Awards Best Anchor - Star Mahila (2010)\n Cinegoer Award Best Anchor - Star Mahila (2010)\n Got placed in Limca Book of World Records for successful completion of Star Mahila's 2000 episodes.\nApsaraawards 2018: Entertainer of the year\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nIndian women television presenters\nIndian television presenters\nLiving people\nActresses in Malayalam cinema\nIndian film actresses\nActresses from Kerala\n1974 births\nTelugu television anchors\n20th-century Indian actresses\n21st-century Indian actresses\nActresses in Telugu television\nActresses in Telugu cinema\nIndian game show hosts\nIndian soap opera actresses\nIndian television talk show hosts",
"Chandana Sharma (born 7 August 1982) is an Indian television actress. She is the daughter of Anjana Bhowmik. Her sister Nilanjana Sharma is also an actress. She made her debut in director Rabi Kinagi's Premi.\n\nTelevision career\n\nShe started her acting career with the role of Aditi in the popular TV show Just Mohabbat which aired on Sony TV. While filming Just Mohabbat, she bagged another role in the show Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin opposite Vishal Singh, she played Diya, who falls in love with a man who is struggling with love in his life. She also starred in Dhak Dhak in Dubai on 9X Channel.\n\nShe played the role of Tara Arora in the serial Yeh Dil Chahe More telecast on STAR One. She was the anchor of a lifestyle show Home Shanti Home on STAR One.\n\nShe worked in her hit show Love Ne Mila Di Jodi as a strong independent women Damini Gujral, that aired on STAR One. She also made an appearance in one episode of Rishta.com on Sony TV and in Ssshhhh...Phir Koi Hai.\n\nShe has also shot an ad film for \"Airtel\" with Shah Rukh Khan.\n\nFilmography\n Premi (Bengali film 2004)\n Mumbai Mast Kalandar (Marathi film 2011)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nLiving people\nActresses in Marathi cinema\nIndian film actresses\n1979 births\nActresses in Hindi television"
] |
[
"Patti LuPone",
"Film and television work",
"What film was she in?",
"Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy,",
"did she have a starring role in any film?",
"She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, LBJ: The Early Years (1987).",
"When year is the movie?",
"1987",
"Did she win any awards for movies or tv shows?",
"She has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award:",
"For what role?",
"for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995, Daytime Emmy Award nominee), and for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series on Frasier in 1998.",
"Who is a co star she had in a film or tv show?",
"Kelsey Grammer."
] | C_bee97d42ce1d4af6990c3b7cf68f57e6_1 | What show or movie was that on? | 7 | What show or movie was Patti LuPone with a co star? | Patti LuPone | Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy, King of the Gypsies, 1941, Wise Guys, Nancy Savoca's The 24 Hour Woman and Savoca's Union Square (in post-production, late 2010), Family Prayers, and City by the Sea. She has also worked with playwright David Mamet on The Water Engine, the critically acclaimed State and Main, and Heist. In 2011, the feature film Union Square, co-written and directed by the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Award Winner, Nancy Savoca, was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In it, LuPone co-starred with Mira Sorvino, Tammy Blanchard, Mike Doyle, Michael Rispoli and Daphne Rubin-Vega. She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, LBJ: The Early Years (1987). LuPone played Libby Thatcher on the television drama Life Goes On, which ran on ABC from 1989 to 1993. In the 1990s she had a recurring role as defense attorney Ruth Miller on Law & Order. She has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award: for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995, Daytime Emmy Award nominee), and for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series on Frasier in 1998. She had a cameo as herself that year on an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Kelsey Grammer. LuPone's TV work also included a recurring role on her cousin Tom Fontana's HBO series in its final season, Oz (2003). She appeared as herself on a February 2005 episode of Will & Grace. She also appeared on the series Ugly Betty in March 2007 as the mother of Marc St. James (played by Michael Urie). LuPone had a recurring guest role as Frank Rossitano's mother on 30 Rock. LuPone appeared as herself in the season two finale of the television series Glee. LuPone guest starred on Army Wives on July 8, 2012. She reunited with fellow guest star Kellie Martin as her mother once again. LuPone appeared in the 2013 film Parker, an action-thriller. In 2013, LuPone was cast in the third season of the FX series American Horror Story as Joan Ramsey, a religious mother with a hidden past, and played herself in the third season of HBO's Girls. In 2015, she appeared in several episodes of the Showtime horror series Penny Dreadful as a cantankerous yet powerful white witch. She returned to the show in 2016 in the role of Dr. Seward, an alienist aiding Eva Green's character. Seward is an adaptation of John Seward from Bram Stoker's Dracula, and claims to be a descendant of Joan Clayton, the character LuPone portrayed in the second season. Also in 2016, she began appearing in Steven Universe as the voice of Yellow Diamond. CANNOTANSWER | Frasier | Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in stage musicals. She has won two Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fame.
LuPone began her professional career with The Acting Company in 1972 and made her Broadway debut in Three Sisters in 1973. She received the first of seven Tony Award nominations for the 1975 musical The Robber Bridegroom. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Eva Perón in the 1979 original Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita. She played Fantine in the original London cast of Les Misérables and Moll in The Cradle Will Rock, winning the 1985 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in both. She won a second Tony Award for her role as Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy and a second Olivier Award in 2019, winning Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her role as Joanne in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company. She has two Grammy Awards for the recording of the 2007 Los Angeles Opera production of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
Other stage musical performances include her Tony-nominated role as Reno Sweeney in the 1987 Broadway revival of Anything Goes, her Olivier-nominated role as Norma Desmond in the 1993 original production of Sunset Boulevard in London, her Tony-nominated role as Mrs. Lovett in the new 2005 Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, her Tony-nominated role as Lucia in the 2010 original Broadway production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and her Tony-nominated role as Helena Rubenstein in the 2017 original Broadway production of War Paint. She is currently starring in the Broadway transfer of the successful West End revival of Company alongside Katrina Lenk.
On television, she starred in the drama series Life Goes On (1989–1993) and received Emmy Award nominations for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995) and her guest role in the sitcom Frasier (1998). She also had appeared in three Ryan Murphy series, American Horror Story: Coven (2013–2014), and Pose (2019) both on FX, and Hollywood (2020) on Netflix. She guest starred in Penny Dreadful (2014–2016) before returning in a lead role. She voices the character Yellow Diamond in the animated series Steven Universe (2013–2019) and Steven Universe Future (2019–2020). She also appeared on The CW comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as Rabbi Shari (2017). Her film appearances include Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979), Spike Lee's Summer of Sam (1999), Peter Weir's Witness (1985), as well as Driving Miss Daisy (1989), State and Main (2000), and The Comedian (2016).
Early life and training
LuPone was born on April 21, 1949, in Northport, New York, on Long Island, the daughter of Angela Louise (née Patti), a library administrator at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, and Orlando Joseph LuPone, a school administrator and English teacher at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington, Long Island. Her great-great aunt was 19th-century opera singer Adelina Patti. Her older brother Robert LuPone is a Tony-nominated actor, dancer, and director who originated the role of Zach, the director, in A Chorus Line. LuPone is Italian-American and Roman Catholic.
LuPone was part of the first graduating class of Juilliard's Drama Division (1968–1972: Group 1), which also included actors Kevin Kline and David Ogden Stiers. She graduated from Juilliard in 1972 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. LuPone has a mezzo-soprano vocal range, and she is famous for her strong/high "Broadway" belt singing voice. In a 2008 interview, she maintained that she was "an actor who sings", and thankful she "had a voice".
Career
Theatre
1970s: Early career
In 1972, LuPone became one of the original members of The Acting Company, formed by John Houseman. The Acting Company is a nationally touring repertory theater company. LuPone's stint with the company lasted from 1972 to 1976, and she appeared in many of their productions, such as The Cradle Will Rock, The School for Scandal, Women Beware Women, The Beggar’s Opera, The Time of Your Life, The Lower Depths, The Hostage, Next Time I’ll Sing to You, Measure for Measure, Scapin, Edward II, The Orchestra, Love’s Labours Lost, Arms and the Man, and The Way of the World. She made her Broadway debut in the play The Three Sisters as Irina in 1973. For her work in The Robber Bridegroom (1975) she received her first Tony Award nomination, for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. The Acting Company honored LuPone on March 12, 2012 in an event called "Patti's Turn" at the Kaye Playhouse.
In 1976, producer David Merrick hired LuPone as a replacement to play Genevieve, the title role of the troubled pre-Broadway production of The Baker's Wife. The production toured at length but Merrick deemed it unworthy of Broadway and it closed out of town.
Since 1977, LuPone has been a frequent collaborator with David Mamet, appearing in his plays The Woods, All Men Are Whores, The Blue Hour, The Water Engine (1978), Edmond and The Old Neighborhood (1997). The New York Times reviewer wrote of LuPone in The Old Neighborhood, "Those who know Ms. LuPone only as a musical comedy star will be stunned by the naturalistic fire she delivers here. As Jolly, a part inspired by Mr. Mamet's real-life sister and his realized female character, Ms. LuPone finds conflicting layers of past and present selves in practically every line. She emerges as both loving matriarch and wounded adolescent, sentimental and devastatingly clear-eyed." In 1978, she appeared in the Broadway musical adaptation of Studs Terkel's Working, which ran for only 24 performances.
In 1979 LuPone starred in the original Broadway production of Evita, the musical based on the life of Eva Perón, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and directed by Harold Prince. Although LuPone was hailed by critics, she has since said that her time in Evita was not an enjoyable one. In a 2007 interview, she stated " 'Evita' was the worst experience of my life," she said. "I was screaming my way through a part that could only have been written by a man who hates women. And I had no support from the producers, who wanted a star performance onstage but treated me as an unknown backstage. It was like Beirut, and I fought like a banshee." Despite the trouble, LuPone won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. It was not until she had reprised the role in a production in Sydney when she had finally enjoyed the part and felt comfortable singing the score. LuPone and her co-star, Mandy Patinkin, remained close friends both on and off the stage.
1980s
In May 1983, founding alumni of The Acting Company reunited for an off-Broadway revival of Marc Blitzstein's landmark labor musical The Cradle Will Rock at the American Place Theater. It was narrated by John Houseman with LuPone in the roles of Moll and Sister Mister. and Kent, Connecticut.
In February 2022, Lupone tested positive for COVID-19.
Acting credits
Theatre
Sources: Playbill Vault; Internet Broadway Database; Internet Off-Broadway Database
Film
Sources: TCM; AllMovie
Television
Sources: TCM; AllMovie
Discography
Selected recordings include:
The Baker’s Wife (Original cast recording)
Evita (Original Broadway cast recording)
The Cradle Will Rock (The Acting Company recording)
Les Misérables (Original London Cast recording)
Anything Goes (New Broadway Cast Recording)
Heat Wave (John Mauceri conducting the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra)
Patti LuPone Live (Solo Album)
Sunset Boulevard (World Premiere/Original London Cast Recording)
Matters of the Heart (Solo Album)
Sweeney Todd (New York Philharmonic recording)
Sweeney Todd (2005 Broadway Cast recording)
The Lady with the Torch (Solo Album)
The Lady With the Torch...Still Burning (Solo Album)
To Hell and Back (Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra World Premier recording)
Gypsy (2008 Broadway Revival Cast Recording)
Patti LuPone At Les Mouches (Live Solo Recording of 1980 club act)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Far Away Places (Solo Album)
Company (New York Philharmonic recording)
War Paint (Original Broadway cast recording)
Don't Monkey with Broadway (Solo Album)
Company (Revival London cast recording)
Her live performance of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" at the Grammy Awards was released on the 1994 album Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume IV.
In 2009 LuPone's 1985 recording of "I Dreamed a Dream" reached #45 on the UK Singles Chart It also reached the Billboard magazine Hot Digital Songs and Hot Singles Recurrents charts in the US.
LuPone recorded a duet with Seth MacFarlane (who was in character as Glenn Quagmire) on the 2005 album Family Guy: Live In Vegas.
A live concert special film, An Evening with Patti LuPone, was filmed in July 2012 and released in November 2012 on SethTv.com with 104 minutes of Patti LuPone songs and stories with host Seth Rudetsky.
A new CD of one of her shows, The Lady with the Torch, was released in 2006 on Sh-K-Boom Records. In December she released bonus tracks for that CD only available on iTunes and the Sh-K-Boom website.
Bibliography
LuPone wrote a memoir recounting her life and career from childhood to the present, which was released in September 2010. It was simply titled Patti LuPone: A Memoir, which was, according to LuPone, the winner of the competition she held to name the book.
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Patti LuPone on IOBDB
Patti LuPone Interview
InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse: Patti LuPone (TV Interview)
Patti LuPone – Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org
University of the Arts Show Music Magazine Database
Patti LuPone concert special on SethTV.com. Filmed July, 2012.
Patti LuPone Papers at the Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library, New York, NY
1949 births
Living people
American women singers
American film actresses
American musical theatre actresses
American television actresses
American mezzo-sopranos
American Roman Catholics
Drama Desk Award winners
Grammy Award winners
American people of Italian descent
Juilliard School alumni
People from Northport, New York
Laurence Olivier Award winners
Tony Award winners
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from New York (state)
People from Edisto Island, South Carolina | true | [
"The 4:30 Movie was a television program that aired weekday afternoons on WABC-TV (Channel 7) in New York from 1968 to 1981. The program was mainly known for individual theme weeks devoted to theatrical feature films or made-for-TV movies starring a certain actor or actress, or to a particular genre, or to films that spawned sequels. The more popular episodes were \"Monster Week,\" \"Planet of the Apes Week\" and \"Vincent Price Week.\" Some films, such as Ben-Hur and How the West Was Won, were of such length that an entire week was devoted to running the whole movie. Other films that ran longer than the program's 90-minute length were often divided into two parts and shown over two days.\n\nOften, The 4:30 Movie would rebroadcast installments of the nationally telecast ABC Movie of the Week.\n\nVariations of The 4:30 Movie were aired on other stations around the United States, most notably those also owned and operated by WABC-TV's parent network, ABC.\n\nHistory\n\nThe 4:30 Movie got its start on January 8, 1968. In its first year in that time slot, it was broadcast under the title The Big Show. This earlier title dated back to September 16, 1963, when WABC first aired movies in the late afternoons to compete with WCBS-TV's long-running The Early Show and WNBC-TV's Movie Four. The movies were shown at 5:00 until December 31, 1965, and at 6:00 from January 3, 1966, to January 5, 1968. (From the autumn of 1966 to the 1968 time change, it was called The 6 O'Clock Movie, a title which was also used by sister stations KABC-TV in Los Angeles and KGO-TV in San Francisco until 1971.)\n\nIn its first twenty months in its soon-to-be titular time slot, The Big Show / 4:30 Movie was two hours, but after the early evening Eyewitness News was expanded from 30 minutes to an hour on September 8, 1969, the movie show's length was set at 90 minutes, which it would remain for the rest of its run. After the autumn of 1972, the program was preempted once a month on Wednesday in the school months to run an episode of the ABC Afterschool Special.\n\nThe announcer and off-camera host for The Big Show, and The 4:30 Movie was Scott Vincent from January 1968 to December 1978. At Scott Vincent's request, Gilbert Hodges assumed his duties during his illness in 1979. Following Vincent's death, announcing on promos was divided among Hodges, Fred Foy, Joel Crager and Ernie Anderson. The copy for The 4:30 Movie'''s openings, bumpers, and promos was written by Jon Kal.\n\nThe instrumental used as the theme music to The 4:30 Movie was an original composition, \"Big Show Theme,\" composed by Walter Raim, written and originally recorded in the waning months of WABC's using The Big Show title. The piece was commissioned by ABC in 1968 for use on flagship station WABC-TV and was later applied to the local movie shows of the network's O&Os.\n \nThe first opening title sequence associated with The 4:30 Movie was a motif of a film crew setting up studio lights and adjusting a movie camera, and ending with a director sitting in a chair and holding a bullhorn before the title zoomed in; this was used from 1969 until circa 1973. The most famous image associated with the show's opening, a silhouetted image of a \"rotating cameraman\" operating a 35 mm movie camera, was animated by Harry Marks and used on WABC-TV from around 1973 to 1980. This opening was also applied to the station's other movie shows, and was used for their Saturday Night Movie and Sunday Night Movie as late as 1987, with the theme music still in use up to 1991. The \"rotating cameraman\" footage originated from the opening titles for the weekend edition of the ABC Movie of the Week in 1971 . From 1980 to the end, The 4:30 Movies opening titles were similar to what was used for The ABC Sunday Night Movie and The ABC Friday Night Movie in the late 1970s, except with different theme music (\"Skippin' \" by Ramsey Lewis, from his 1977 album Tequila Mockingbird).\n\nThe 4:30 Movie was cancelled by WABC-TV in November 1981, and was replaced effective November 30 by The People's Court and a 5:00 edition of Eyewitness News. As with many once-popular movie shows on both the networks and local television stations, the factors most commonly cited in The 4:30 Movies demise ranged from the proliferation of cable television channels such as HBO, Cinemax and Showtime, to the increasing popularity of videocassette recorders.\n\nEquivalents in other cities\nChicago\n\nOn WLS-TV, formerly WBKB-TV this show was called The 3:30 Movie, which was a nearly identical show, except for the title. The station ran movies in that time slot under the title of The Big Show''' as early as 1962, and first assumed The 3:30 Movie title in September 1968. From July 21, 1980, until its final airing on July 26, 1984, it would air a half-hour earlier as The 3:00 Movie. \n\nLos Angeles\n\nKABC-TV's weekday movie show debuted on August 31, 1964, at 6 PM. For most of its time at that slot, the umbrella was called The 6 O'Clock Movie, remaining there until September 10, 1971. On September 13, 1971, it moved a half-hour later as The Six-Thirty Movie (also known as The 6:30 Movie), lasting at that time slot through March 29, 1974, and after April 1, 1974, it was known as The 3:30 Movie. The program aired for the last time on September 12, 1980; effective September 15, KABC added a 4:00 edition of Eyewitness News, anchored by Jerry Dunphy and Tawny Little.\n\nDetroit\n\nWXYZ-TV's afternoon movie show, like WABC's, was known for years as The 4:30 Movie; it debuted on May 20, 1968, when the 6PM movie and the 4:30PM newscast switched places.In fact, WXYZ-TV was the first to use The 4:30 Movie title, from the very point their movie series moved into that time slot. Beginning September 20, 1976, it had moved ahead a half-hour and was retitled The 4:00 Movie. The program lasted until October 22, 1982, after which it was replaced by the ultimately short-lived Good Afternoon Detroit. , \n\nSan Francisco\n\nOn KGO-TV, the equivalent was The 6 O'Clock Movie up to 1971, and then The Six-Thirty Movie through 1974; thereafter, following a change in time slot, it became The 3:30 Movie. The program was cancelled in 1986 to make room for Oprah at 3:00 p.m. and Donahue at 4:00 p.m.\n\nIn virtually all the above cases, these movie umbrellas originally went by the same title of The Big Show as WABC, with KGO's movie show running as early as 1962. The programs changed to the later titles around the same time as the New York station.\n\nFrom 1982 to 1983, WOR-TV in New York ran a late afternoon movie program called The 4:30 Movie, but it bore no relation to WABC's movie umbrella. This was also the case for sister station KHJ's The 3:30 Movie in the Los Angeles market.\n\n==List of The 4:30 Movies theme weeks==\n\nActors and actresses\n\n Vincent Price Week\n Elvis Presley Week (sometimes The Beatles and Elvis Presley Week, including A Hard Day's Night and Help! surrounded and separated by three Elvis films)\n John Wayne Week\n Raquel Welch Week\n Ann-Margret Week\n Martin & Lewis Week\n Dean Martin Week\n Jerry Lewis Week\n Bob Hope Week\n Marilyn Monroe Week\n Sidney Poitier Week\n Anthony Quinn Week\n Susan Hayward Week\n Troy Donahue Week\n Frank Sinatra Week\n Burt Lancaster Week\n James Stewart Week\n Tony Curtis Week\n Steve McQueen Week (including The Great Escape shown over three days, with a half hour from the end of part one and the beginning of part three included in the second part) \n Doris Day Week\n Tony Randall Week\n Paul Newman Week\n Bing Crosby Week\n Cary Grant Week\n Fonda Week, with Henry and Jane Fonda\n Natalie Wood Week\n Charlton Heston Week\n Burt Reynolds Week\n Jack Lemmon Week\n Robert Mitchum Week\n Elizabeth Taylor Week\n Richard Burton Week\n William Holden Week\n\nContinuing movie series\n\n Gidget Week\n Lassie Week\n Matt Helm Week\n Our Man Flint Week\n Planet of the Apes Week with the first film in the series divided over two days, with about a half hour shown at the end of part one repeated at the start of part two\n\nMovie genres\n\n Monster Week\n Beach Party Week\n Fantasy Week\n Western Week\n Epic Week\n Adventure Week\n Laugh-a-Thon Week\n Sci-Fi Week\n Strange Worlds Week\n Secret Agent Week\n Swinger Week\n Supernatural Week\n A Fistful of Heroes Week\n International Women's Week\n Suspense Week\n Bad Girls Week\n Presidential Week\n Romance Week\n Caper Week\n War Week\n Love and Marriage Week\n Edgar Allan Poe Week\n\nIndividual movies airing the whole week\n\n Ben-Hur Week\n How the West Was Won Week\n QB VII Week\n Bridge on the River Kwai Week\n\nOn occasion, The 4:30 Movie repeated some miniseries that originally aired nationally on ABC a few years before, most notably Roots, as well as Rich Man, Poor Man and its sequel. The length of each of these films was such that two whole weeks were dedicated to running the entire movie, rather than just one week.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nDVD Drive-In's The 4:30 Movie page\nThe 4:30 Movie fan site in the Wayback Machine\n UHF Nocturne page for KGO's 3:30 Movie\n EpGuides.com list of movies shown on WLS's 3:30 Movie (1968–1980)\n EpGuides.com list of movies shown on WLS's 3:00 Movie (1980–1984)\n\n1968 American television series debuts\n1981 American television series endings\n1960s American television series\n1970s American television series\n1980s American television series\nCulture of New York City\nLocal motion picture television series\nFranchised television formats",
"Movie 4 (also known as Movie Four) was a television program that aired at various times, but predominantly weekday afternoons, on various television stations on channel 4, including WNBC-TV in New York City from 1956 to 1974. WNBC's program aired top-rank first-run movies and other future classics from Hollywood, as well as foreign films. As with other movie shows of 90-minute length, films that ran longer were often divided into two parts.\n\nThough it achieved a degree of success, for most of its run the WNBC show usually ran in the shadow of rival WCBS-TV's The Early Show on weekdays and The Late Show on weekends. Despite its being a major player among the local movie shows for nearly 18 years, the program today is largely forgotten in relation to WABC-TV's better-known The 4:30 Movie.\n\nThe Movie 4 title was also used at varying times until the 1970s by NBC's two other owned-and-operated stations on channel 4, WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. and (to a considerably lesser degree) KNBC in Los Angeles. The network's Chicago outlet, WMAQ-TV, used the title Movie 5 for its movie shows from the late 1950s up to the 1980s; and during NBC's ownership of Philadelphia station WRCV-TV (now KYW-TV), their movie umbrella was known as Movie 3.\n\nEarly history\nWhat became Movie 4 debuted on what was then WRCA-TV on June 4, 1956. In its first eight months on the air, the program was known as Evening Theatre, and was hosted by staff announcer Johnny Andrews. Prior to its debut, WRCA-TV had been the least committed to airing old movies among the New York television stations. The show was started in large part as the station's attempt to compete with WCBS-TV's aforementioned movie shows and WOR-TV's Million Dollar Movie, as well as capitalizing on the recent release of major pre- and post-1948 films from the top Hollywood studios for television. Only a month into the show's run, and to show that the station was in the game for keeps, WRCA-TV appointed whom they called a \"film director\" to oversee the purchase of first-run feature films, and to advise NBC's O&O's and affiliates. The program's title switched to Movie 4 on or about February 3, 1957.\n\nPeak years\nThe heyday for Movie 4 was in the late 1950s and early 1960s. During this period, many films that became classics had their New York television premieres. Among these films were The Bells of St. Mary's, High Noon, The Quiet Man, The Men, and East of Eden. For the most part, top-line features were usually reserved for the Saturday and Sunday night airings, while more standard fare was run on weekdays and weekend afternoons.\n\nPrestigious foreign films—mainly from England but also from other countries—also had their first showings on Movie 4 over the years. For example, in the autumn of 1960, New York viewers saw the 1955 Peter Sellers–Alec Guinness version of The Ladykillers for the first time on television, as well as Fernandel's The Sheep Has Five Legs, the 1954 Rossano Brazzi film Flesh and Desire, the 1957 French release Les Louves (Demoniac), the 1955 Spanish movie The Miracle of Marcelino, and the 1950 Italian film Prima comunione (Father's Dilemma).\n\nIn the program's last years, several films became recurring staples of Movie 4s schedule, including North by Northwest, Home from the Hill, Soldier in the Rain, Captain Newman, M.D., Father Goose, The Time Machine, The Babe Ruth Story, and the respective pilots for Columbo (both Prescription: Murder and Ransom for a Dead Man) and Ironside. Some of Elvis Presley's films also saw play on Movie 4, among them Flaming Star, Kissin' Cousins and It Happened at the World's Fair. The show was also among the first times New Yorkers saw the Doctor Who character, via the theatrical releases Dr. Who and the Daleks and Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. with Peter Cushing as the title character. The station also had its share of Japanese monster movies, including Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster and Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, but such titles were minuscule compared with the number of such films that ran on rival WABC-TV's The 4:30 Movie.\n\nOther films shown on Movie 4 were Visit to a Small Planet, Crawlspace (1972), Lover Come Back (1961), Ten Little Indians (1965), and I'd Rather Be Rich, and such MGM musicals as Annie Get Your Gun, The Band Wagon, Singin' in the Rain, High Society, Kiss Me Kate, and Les Girls.\n\nTime slots\nWhen Evening Theatre began in 1956, it ran Mondays through Fridays from 5:30 to 6:45 pm On January 20, 1957, a few weeks prior to its title change to Movie 4, a Sunday night airing commencing at 10:30 pm was added, as well as a screening on Saturday at 5 pm After another scheduling change, a Saturday night edition starting at 11:15 pm went on the air on April 20, 1957. On June 30, 1958, the weekday airings were rescheduled to the 5:00 to 6:30 pm time slot, which largely held, with notable exceptions, through 1965. (In the 1961–62 season, a five-minute program fronted by Kukla and Ollie pushed Movie 4'''s starting time to 5:05 pm) By 1961, the weekend movies began on both nights at 11:15 pm (There were also early afternoon weekend films run by WNBC throughout this period, usually under the banner of Movie 4 Matinee.) In 1963, WNBC-TV began offering a late-night weeknight movie program that would come to be called The Great Great Show (a play on the title of WCBS-TV's overnight movie series The Late Late Show, with a logo reminiscent of the TV series The Wild Wild West).\n\nAs the years went on, the frequency of Movie 4s airings began to be gradually reduced. In October 1960, the late Saturday afternoon editions were discontinued (they would appear on and off on the weekend afternoon schedule in later years, but such airings were never considered part of the series proper). The program's Sunday night airings ended on September 23, 1962, and was replaced the next week by reruns of Desilu Playhouse. From December 1962 to April 1963, the weekday airings were temporarily cancelled by WNBC due to the 1962 New York City newspaper strike, while special newscasts ran in their place; the strike ultimately led to the creation of a 30-minute newscast, The Pressman–Ryan Report, anchored by Gabe Pressman and Bill Ryan.The extra length may have also been the prototype for their eventual two-hour NewsCenter4. The Saturday night airings of Movie 4 came to an end on January 2, 1965; the following week, weekend reruns of The Tonight Show took their place.TV Guide, New York-Metropolitan Edition, January 9–15, 1965. Thereafter, Movie 4 generally aired weekdays only. After WNBC-TV's early-evening local newscast was expanded from 30 minutes to an hour on May 10, 1965, Movie 4 moved to its final time slot of 4:30 to 6 pm, where it remained for the rest of its run.\n\nOpening and closing themesMovie 4 went through several different opening and closing title segments over the years. One such set, made in 1964 and used to about 1966, has shown up online. They were produced by an animation studio that had done bumpers for WNBC-TV at the time. The opening theme, \"Silhouette of a Dream,\" was composed by Stan Zabka, a former associate director of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and the closing theme was an easy listening version of \"Petite Fleur (Little Flower).\"\n\nLater years\nUp to the beginning of 1968, Movie 4 had largely played second fiddle to WCBS's The Early Show. However, in the space of two months in early 1968, came the premiere of what became known as The 4:30 Movie on WABC-TV in January, followed by the cancellation of weekday airings of The Early Show on WCBS-TV and its replacement with The Mike Douglas Show in March. While the series had some up-and-down moments afterwards, these moves eventually consigned Movie 4 to also-ran status, and the show's ratings began to decline. To make matters worse, WNBC-TV's own ratings plunged to last place among the city's network O&O's in the early 1970s, dragging Movie 4 down with it. This was despite a series of promotional advertisements for Movie 4 published in TV Guide and the Daily News with illustrations by Robert Grossman, and later caricatures of individual films' stars by Al Hirschfeld, as run during 1972. In addition, in the show's final years WNBC's inventory of films was becoming alarmingly low, due to their loss of rights to movies that wound up on WCBS-TV, WNEW-TV, WOR-TV and, ironically enough, WABC-TV.\n\nThe cancellation of Movie 4 was announced by WNBC-TV on December 12, 1973, as part of its plans for an expanded two-hour newscast that would debut on April 29, 1974 as NewsCenter4. The last Movie 4, a repeat of The Time Machine, was aired on April 26, 1974. The resulting half-hour void left by the cancellation of Movie 4 was filled by reruns of Room 222, whose run on ABC had ended only a few months earlier. Movie 4's demise left WABC-TV as the only network O&O to have an afternoon movie show (The 4:30 Movie, which ran until 1981). The end also preceded by nearly two years the introduction of home videocassette recorders, and by several more years the beginning of the growth of cable television.\n\nPostscript and aftermath\nThe end of Movie 4 in 1974 effectively brought to a close WNBC-TV's run as a movie showcase. While the station initially retained some of the films that were aired during Movie 4's final years, most of the packages in their library subsequently went to other New York stations, such as 1960s films from Universal Studios that wound up on rival WPIX, which aired several of the titles (including Father Goose and the Columbo and Ironside pilots) as part of its own The Eight O'Clock Movie that ran from December 1974 until the premiere of The WB Television Network in 1995.\n\nAs the years went on, the quality of films shown on WNBC-TV became increasingly inferior, with some coming almost exclusively from the public domain. From 1977 or so, the station began using the all-purpose umbrella title Cinema 4 to replace various individual titles that had been in use since the mid-1960s. Cinema 4'' ran with decreasing frequency, in its last years confined to occasional weekend airings and overnight weekend showings, until the late 1980s.\n\nList of theme weeks on Movie 4\n\nActors\nFrank Sinatra Week\nElvis Week\nRock Hudson Week\n\nIndividual genres\nWomen's Lib Week\nMale Animal Week\nMurder Mystery Week\nLove and Marriage Week\nHollywood Lives Week\nRomance Week\nFlying Week\n\nMiscellaneous weeks and months\nAbbondanza Month\nForeign Film Week\nAcademy Award Month\nMarch of Hits Month\nColor Week\nMGM Musicals Week\n\nReferences and footnotes\n\nExternal links\n Video clips of 1964 opening and closing titles of Movie 4 (YouTube.com)\n\n1956 American television series debuts\nCulture of New York City\n1974 American television series endings\n1950s American television series\n1960s American television series\n1970s American television series\nLocal motion picture television series"
] |
[
"Patti LuPone",
"Film and television work",
"What film was she in?",
"Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy,",
"did she have a starring role in any film?",
"She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, LBJ: The Early Years (1987).",
"When year is the movie?",
"1987",
"Did she win any awards for movies or tv shows?",
"She has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award:",
"For what role?",
"for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995, Daytime Emmy Award nominee), and for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series on Frasier in 1998.",
"Who is a co star she had in a film or tv show?",
"Kelsey Grammer.",
"What show or movie was that on?",
"Frasier"
] | C_bee97d42ce1d4af6990c3b7cf68f57e6_1 | what other tv show has she been on? | 8 | Besides film works, what other tv show has Patti LuPone been on? | Patti LuPone | Among LuPone's film credits are Fighting Back, Witness, Just Looking, The Victim, Summer of Sam, Driving Miss Daisy, King of the Gypsies, 1941, Wise Guys, Nancy Savoca's The 24 Hour Woman and Savoca's Union Square (in post-production, late 2010), Family Prayers, and City by the Sea. She has also worked with playwright David Mamet on The Water Engine, the critically acclaimed State and Main, and Heist. In 2011, the feature film Union Square, co-written and directed by the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Award Winner, Nancy Savoca, was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In it, LuPone co-starred with Mira Sorvino, Tammy Blanchard, Mike Doyle, Michael Rispoli and Daphne Rubin-Vega. She played Lady Bird Johnson in the TV movie, LBJ: The Early Years (1987). LuPone played Libby Thatcher on the television drama Life Goes On, which ran on ABC from 1989 to 1993. In the 1990s she had a recurring role as defense attorney Ruth Miller on Law & Order. She has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award: for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995, Daytime Emmy Award nominee), and for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series on Frasier in 1998. She had a cameo as herself that year on an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Kelsey Grammer. LuPone's TV work also included a recurring role on her cousin Tom Fontana's HBO series in its final season, Oz (2003). She appeared as herself on a February 2005 episode of Will & Grace. She also appeared on the series Ugly Betty in March 2007 as the mother of Marc St. James (played by Michael Urie). LuPone had a recurring guest role as Frank Rossitano's mother on 30 Rock. LuPone appeared as herself in the season two finale of the television series Glee. LuPone guest starred on Army Wives on July 8, 2012. She reunited with fellow guest star Kellie Martin as her mother once again. LuPone appeared in the 2013 film Parker, an action-thriller. In 2013, LuPone was cast in the third season of the FX series American Horror Story as Joan Ramsey, a religious mother with a hidden past, and played herself in the third season of HBO's Girls. In 2015, she appeared in several episodes of the Showtime horror series Penny Dreadful as a cantankerous yet powerful white witch. She returned to the show in 2016 in the role of Dr. Seward, an alienist aiding Eva Green's character. Seward is an adaptation of John Seward from Bram Stoker's Dracula, and claims to be a descendant of Joan Clayton, the character LuPone portrayed in the second season. Also in 2016, she began appearing in Steven Universe as the voice of Yellow Diamond. CANNOTANSWER | HBO series in its final season, Oz (2003). | Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in stage musicals. She has won two Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fame.
LuPone began her professional career with The Acting Company in 1972 and made her Broadway debut in Three Sisters in 1973. She received the first of seven Tony Award nominations for the 1975 musical The Robber Bridegroom. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Eva Perón in the 1979 original Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita. She played Fantine in the original London cast of Les Misérables and Moll in The Cradle Will Rock, winning the 1985 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her work in both. She won a second Tony Award for her role as Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy and a second Olivier Award in 2019, winning Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her role as Joanne in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company. She has two Grammy Awards for the recording of the 2007 Los Angeles Opera production of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
Other stage musical performances include her Tony-nominated role as Reno Sweeney in the 1987 Broadway revival of Anything Goes, her Olivier-nominated role as Norma Desmond in the 1993 original production of Sunset Boulevard in London, her Tony-nominated role as Mrs. Lovett in the new 2005 Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, her Tony-nominated role as Lucia in the 2010 original Broadway production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and her Tony-nominated role as Helena Rubenstein in the 2017 original Broadway production of War Paint. She is currently starring in the Broadway transfer of the successful West End revival of Company alongside Katrina Lenk.
On television, she starred in the drama series Life Goes On (1989–1993) and received Emmy Award nominations for the TV movie The Song Spinner (1995) and her guest role in the sitcom Frasier (1998). She also had appeared in three Ryan Murphy series, American Horror Story: Coven (2013–2014), and Pose (2019) both on FX, and Hollywood (2020) on Netflix. She guest starred in Penny Dreadful (2014–2016) before returning in a lead role. She voices the character Yellow Diamond in the animated series Steven Universe (2013–2019) and Steven Universe Future (2019–2020). She also appeared on The CW comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as Rabbi Shari (2017). Her film appearances include Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979), Spike Lee's Summer of Sam (1999), Peter Weir's Witness (1985), as well as Driving Miss Daisy (1989), State and Main (2000), and The Comedian (2016).
Early life and training
LuPone was born on April 21, 1949, in Northport, New York, on Long Island, the daughter of Angela Louise (née Patti), a library administrator at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, and Orlando Joseph LuPone, a school administrator and English teacher at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington, Long Island. Her great-great aunt was 19th-century opera singer Adelina Patti. Her older brother Robert LuPone is a Tony-nominated actor, dancer, and director who originated the role of Zach, the director, in A Chorus Line. LuPone is Italian-American and Roman Catholic.
LuPone was part of the first graduating class of Juilliard's Drama Division (1968–1972: Group 1), which also included actors Kevin Kline and David Ogden Stiers. She graduated from Juilliard in 1972 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. LuPone has a mezzo-soprano vocal range, and she is famous for her strong/high "Broadway" belt singing voice. In a 2008 interview, she maintained that she was "an actor who sings", and thankful she "had a voice".
Career
Theatre
1970s: Early career
In 1972, LuPone became one of the original members of The Acting Company, formed by John Houseman. The Acting Company is a nationally touring repertory theater company. LuPone's stint with the company lasted from 1972 to 1976, and she appeared in many of their productions, such as The Cradle Will Rock, The School for Scandal, Women Beware Women, The Beggar’s Opera, The Time of Your Life, The Lower Depths, The Hostage, Next Time I’ll Sing to You, Measure for Measure, Scapin, Edward II, The Orchestra, Love’s Labours Lost, Arms and the Man, and The Way of the World. She made her Broadway debut in the play The Three Sisters as Irina in 1973. For her work in The Robber Bridegroom (1975) she received her first Tony Award nomination, for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. The Acting Company honored LuPone on March 12, 2012 in an event called "Patti's Turn" at the Kaye Playhouse.
In 1976, producer David Merrick hired LuPone as a replacement to play Genevieve, the title role of the troubled pre-Broadway production of The Baker's Wife. The production toured at length but Merrick deemed it unworthy of Broadway and it closed out of town.
Since 1977, LuPone has been a frequent collaborator with David Mamet, appearing in his plays The Woods, All Men Are Whores, The Blue Hour, The Water Engine (1978), Edmond and The Old Neighborhood (1997). The New York Times reviewer wrote of LuPone in The Old Neighborhood, "Those who know Ms. LuPone only as a musical comedy star will be stunned by the naturalistic fire she delivers here. As Jolly, a part inspired by Mr. Mamet's real-life sister and his realized female character, Ms. LuPone finds conflicting layers of past and present selves in practically every line. She emerges as both loving matriarch and wounded adolescent, sentimental and devastatingly clear-eyed." In 1978, she appeared in the Broadway musical adaptation of Studs Terkel's Working, which ran for only 24 performances.
In 1979 LuPone starred in the original Broadway production of Evita, the musical based on the life of Eva Perón, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and directed by Harold Prince. Although LuPone was hailed by critics, she has since said that her time in Evita was not an enjoyable one. In a 2007 interview, she stated " 'Evita' was the worst experience of my life," she said. "I was screaming my way through a part that could only have been written by a man who hates women. And I had no support from the producers, who wanted a star performance onstage but treated me as an unknown backstage. It was like Beirut, and I fought like a banshee." Despite the trouble, LuPone won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. It was not until she had reprised the role in a production in Sydney when she had finally enjoyed the part and felt comfortable singing the score. LuPone and her co-star, Mandy Patinkin, remained close friends both on and off the stage.
1980s
In May 1983, founding alumni of The Acting Company reunited for an off-Broadway revival of Marc Blitzstein's landmark labor musical The Cradle Will Rock at the American Place Theater. It was narrated by John Houseman with LuPone in the roles of Moll and Sister Mister. and Kent, Connecticut.
In February 2022, Lupone tested positive for COVID-19.
Acting credits
Theatre
Sources: Playbill Vault; Internet Broadway Database; Internet Off-Broadway Database
Film
Sources: TCM; AllMovie
Television
Sources: TCM; AllMovie
Discography
Selected recordings include:
The Baker’s Wife (Original cast recording)
Evita (Original Broadway cast recording)
The Cradle Will Rock (The Acting Company recording)
Les Misérables (Original London Cast recording)
Anything Goes (New Broadway Cast Recording)
Heat Wave (John Mauceri conducting the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra)
Patti LuPone Live (Solo Album)
Sunset Boulevard (World Premiere/Original London Cast Recording)
Matters of the Heart (Solo Album)
Sweeney Todd (New York Philharmonic recording)
Sweeney Todd (2005 Broadway Cast recording)
The Lady with the Torch (Solo Album)
The Lady With the Torch...Still Burning (Solo Album)
To Hell and Back (Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra World Premier recording)
Gypsy (2008 Broadway Revival Cast Recording)
Patti LuPone At Les Mouches (Live Solo Recording of 1980 club act)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Far Away Places (Solo Album)
Company (New York Philharmonic recording)
War Paint (Original Broadway cast recording)
Don't Monkey with Broadway (Solo Album)
Company (Revival London cast recording)
Her live performance of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" at the Grammy Awards was released on the 1994 album Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume IV.
In 2009 LuPone's 1985 recording of "I Dreamed a Dream" reached #45 on the UK Singles Chart It also reached the Billboard magazine Hot Digital Songs and Hot Singles Recurrents charts in the US.
LuPone recorded a duet with Seth MacFarlane (who was in character as Glenn Quagmire) on the 2005 album Family Guy: Live In Vegas.
A live concert special film, An Evening with Patti LuPone, was filmed in July 2012 and released in November 2012 on SethTv.com with 104 minutes of Patti LuPone songs and stories with host Seth Rudetsky.
A new CD of one of her shows, The Lady with the Torch, was released in 2006 on Sh-K-Boom Records. In December she released bonus tracks for that CD only available on iTunes and the Sh-K-Boom website.
Bibliography
LuPone wrote a memoir recounting her life and career from childhood to the present, which was released in September 2010. It was simply titled Patti LuPone: A Memoir, which was, according to LuPone, the winner of the competition she held to name the book.
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Patti LuPone on IOBDB
Patti LuPone Interview
InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse: Patti LuPone (TV Interview)
Patti LuPone – Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org
University of the Arts Show Music Magazine Database
Patti LuPone concert special on SethTV.com. Filmed July, 2012.
Patti LuPone Papers at the Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library, New York, NY
1949 births
Living people
American women singers
American film actresses
American musical theatre actresses
American television actresses
American mezzo-sopranos
American Roman Catholics
Drama Desk Award winners
Grammy Award winners
American people of Italian descent
Juilliard School alumni
People from Northport, New York
Laurence Olivier Award winners
Tony Award winners
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from New York (state)
People from Edisto Island, South Carolina | false | [
"Beverly \"Bevy\" Smith (born November 2, 1966) is an American television personality and business woman. She is best known for her work as a co-host on Bravo's fashion-themed talk show Fashion Queens. Smith is the creator of \"Dinner with Bevy\", a dinner party series in which she brings together people from across entertainment, fashion and media.\n\nLife and career\nBevy Smith was born, raised, and still resides in Harlem, New York. Smith would later become the senior director of luxury fashion advertising at Rolling Stone and fashion and beauty advertising director for Vibe magazine. Smith had been cast in Tim Gunn's Guide to Style but ended up passing on the opportunity. She also had a planned series on Oxygen, titled Bevy: Queen of Shops, but she also passed on that offer. Bevy later accepted a job at BET prior to her becoming a co-host on Fashion Queens.\n\nOn February 18, 2012, as a BET News correspondent, Smith hosted BET Remembers Whitney Houston. The live special featured Smith as she interviewed several friends of Houston to share memories. In February and September 2012, Smith appeared as a guest on the VH1 talk show, Big Morning Buzz Live. In December 2012, Smith appeared on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live with Jenna Jameson and Jennifer Tilly. Smith has made several appearances on the talk show, Bethenny. On June 3, 2014, Smith appeared as guest co-host on the talk show, The View.\n\nSince 2015, she has been hosting a daily, one hour radio show on SiriusXM's RadioAndy called Bevelations. She also appears on BET's Wendy's Style Squad, where she recaps award show fashion with Wendy Williams and other co-hosts.\n\nSince 2017, she has co-hosted the entertainment news show Page Six TV. Page Six TV is the television version of the well known Page Six section of The New York Post.\n\nIn 2021, she will publish her memoir Bevelations: Lessons from a Mutha, Auntie, Bestie.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nAfrican-American television talk show hosts\nAfrican-American television personalities\nAmerican television talk show hosts\nAfrican-American women writers\nAfrican-American writers\nAmerican writers\nPeople from Harlem\nLiving people\nRolling Stone people\n1966 births\n21st-century African-American people\n21st-century African-American women\n20th-century African-American people\n20th-century African-American women",
"Stanija Dobrojević (; born 17 March 1985) is a Serbian Starlet. She rose to prominence as a contestant on Survivor Srbija VIP: Costa Rica in 2012 and gained further fame by winning \nthe sixth season of reality show Farma in 2015.\n\nStanija is recognised as a sex symbol and has been featured in numerous magazines, such as Maxim, FHM and Playboy.\n\nShe lives between Ruma, Serbia and Ocean City, New Jersey.\n\nLife and career\nStanija was born on 17 March 1985 in Virovitica in SR Croatia, at the time part of Yugoslavia. As a child, she lost her father. They eventually settled down in Ruma, where she grew up. She graduated economics at the state University of Novi Sad.\n\nDobrojević became the first Serbian playmate to live in the Playboy Mansion.\n\nIn 2012, Stanija rose to wider public exposure on the reality TV show Survivor Srbija VIP: Costa Rica aired on TV Prva, where she got disqualified following a physical altercation with Macedonian model Aleksandra Nakova.\n\nA year later, Dobrojević appeared on the fourth Serbian season of The Farm on TV Pink, finishing in the second place.\n\nShe returned for the show's sixth series in 2015, winning the main prize of €50,000.\n\nIn July 2016, Stanija ventured into music with her debut single \"Glavni akteri\" (Main Characters). After releasing three other songs—\"Na kraju balade\" (At the End of the Ballad), \"Sveta Marija\" (Saint Mary) and \"Šta te to loži\" (What's Turning You On)—she retired from singing the following year.\n\nBetween 2018 and 2019, Stanija was a contestant on Zadruga 2. She ended third overall behind reality TV stars Luna Đogani and Marko Miljković.\n\nTelevision appearances\n Survivor Srbija VIP: Costa Rica (2012) - ejected\n Farma 4 (2013) - runner-up\n Farma 6 (2015) - winner\n Zadruga 2 (2018/19) - second runner-up\n\nSee also\nList of glamour models\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nStanija Dobrojević on Instagram\n\n1985 births\nPeople from Virovitica\nPeople from Ruma\nSerbs of Croatia\nLiving people\nReality television participants\nReality show winners\nSerbian television personalities\nSerbian female models\nYugoslav Wars refugees"
] |
[
"J. Paul Getty",
"Later years & death"
] | C_15c44bbbd0894d0999396f8aa91e2aaf_0 | what did Getty do in his later years? | 1 | what did J. Paul Getty do in his later years? | J. Paul Getty | On June 30, 1960, Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relation of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly-purchased Sutton Place. 1,200 guests consisting of the cream of British society were invited. Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. At about 10pm the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls, causing an estimated L20,000 in damages. A valuable silver ewer by the 18th century silversmith Paul de Lamerie was stolen, but returned anonymously when the London newspapers began covering the theft. The failure of the event made the newly-arrived Getty the object of ridicule, and he never threw another large party again. Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world. The Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War of October 1973 caused a worldwide oil shortage for years to come. In this period, the value of Getty Oil shares quadrupled, with Getty enjoying personal earnings of $25.8 million in 1975 (appr. $120 million in 2018 USD). His insatiable appetite for women and sex also continued well into his 80s. He used an experimental drug, "H3", to maintain his potency. Getty met the English interior designer Penelope Kitson in the 1950s and entrusted her with decorating his homes and the public rooms of the oil tankers he was launching. From 1960 she resided in a cottage on the grounds of Sutton Place, and, though she did not have a sexual relationship with him, Getty held her in high respect and trust. Other mistresses who resided at Sutton Place included the married Mary Teissier, a distant cousin of the last Tsar of Russia, Lady Ursula d'Abo, who had close connections to the British Royal Family, and Nicaraguan-born Rosabella Burch. The New York Times wrote of Getty's domestic arrangement that: "[Getty] ended his life with a collection of desperately hopeful women, all living together in his Tudor mansion in England, none of them aware that his favorite pastime was rewriting his will, changing his insultingly small bequests: $209 a month to one, $1,167 to another." Only Penelope Kitson received a handsome bequest upon Getty's death: 5,000 Getty Oil shares (appr. $826,500 in 1976), which doubled in value during the 1980s, and a $1,167 monthly income. Getty died June 6, 1976, in Sutton Place near Guildford, Surrey, England. He was buried in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California at the Getty Villa. The gravesite is not open to the public. CANNOTANSWER | Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world. | Jean Paul Getty Sr. (; December 15, 1892 – June 6, 1976) was an American-born British petroleum industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942 and was the patriarch of the Getty family. A native of Minneapolis, he was the son of pioneer oilman George Getty. In 1957, Fortune magazine named him the richest living American, while the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, worth an estimated $1.2 billion (approximately $ billion in ). At his death, he was worth more than $6 billion (approximately $ billion in ). A book published in 1996 ranked him as the 67th richest American who ever lived, based on his wealth as a percentage of the concurrent gross national product.
Despite his vast wealth, Getty was famously frugal, notably negotiating his grandson's kidnapping ransom in 1973. He had five children and divorced five times. Getty was an avid collector of art and antiquities. His collection formed the basis of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles; more than $661 million of his estate was left to the museum after his death. He established the J. Paul Getty Trust in 1953. The trust, which is the world's wealthiest art institution, operates the J. Paul Getty Museum Complexes: the Getty Center, the Getty Villa and the Getty Foundation, the Getty Research Institute, as well as the Getty Conservation Institute.
Early life and education
Getty was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Sarah Catherine McPherson (Risher) and George Getty, who was an attorney in the insurance industry. Getty was raised as a Methodist by his parents. His father was a devout Christian Scientist and both were strict teetotalers. He was of part Scottish descent. In 1903, when Getty was 10 years old, George Getty traveled to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and bought the mineral rights for 1,100 acres of land. The Getty family subsequently moved to Bartlesville, where J. Paul Getty attended the Garfield School. Within a few years Getty had established wells on the land that were producing 100,000 barrels of crude oil a month.
As newly minted millionaires, the family moved to Los Angeles. But, J. Paul Getty later returned to Oklahoma. At age 14, Getty attended Harvard Military School for a year, followed by Polytechnic High School, where he was given the nickname "Dictionary Getty" because of his love of reading. He became fluent in French, German and Italian. Getty was also conversational in Spanish, Greek, Arabic and Russian. A love of the classics led Getty to acquire reading proficiency in Ancient Greek and Latin.
He enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, but did not complete a degree. Enamored with Europe after traveling abroad with his parents in 1910, Getty enrolled at the University of Oxford on November 28, 1912. A letter of introduction by then-President of the United States William Howard Taft enabled him to gain independent instruction from tutors at Magdalen College. Although he was not registered at Magdalen, he claimed the aristocratic students "accepted me as one of their own" and he fondly boasted of the friends he made, including Edward VIII, the future King of the United Kingdom. He obtained a diploma in economics and political science from Oxford in June 1913, then spent months traveling throughout Europe and Egypt before meeting his parents in Paris and returning with them to America in June 1914.
Career
In the autumn of 1914, George Getty gave his son $10,000 to invest in expanding the family's oil field holdings in Oklahoma. The first lot he bought, the Nancy Taylor No. 1 Oil Well Site near Haskell, Oklahoma was crucial to his early financial success. The well struck oil in August 1915 and by the next summer the 40 percent net production royalty he accrued from it had made him a millionaire.
In 1919, Getty returned to business in Oklahoma. During the 1920s, he added about $3 million to his already sizable estate. His succession of marriages and divorces so distressed his father that Getty inherited only $500,000 of the $10 million fortune his father left at the time of his death in 1930. Getty was left with one-third of the stock from George Getty Inc., while his mother received the remaining two-thirds, giving her a controlling interest.
In 1936, Getty's mother convinced him to contribute to the establishment of a $3.3 million investment trust, called the Sarah C. Getty Trust, to ensure the family's ever-growing wealth could be channeled into a tax-free, secure income for future generations of the Getty family. The trust enabled Getty to have easy access to ready capital, which he was funneling into the purchase of Tidewater Petroleum stock.
Shrewdly investing his resources during the Great Depression, Getty acquired Pacific Western Oil Corporation and began the acquisition (completed in 1953) of the Mission Corporation, which included Tidewater Oil and Skelly Oil. In 1967, Getty merged these holdings into Getty Oil.
In 1948–1949, Getty paid Ibn Saud $9.5 million in cash, guaranteed $1 million a year, and a royalty of 55 cents a barrel for the Saudi Arabian Neutral Zone concession. Oil was finally discovered in March 1953. Since 1953, Getty's gamble produced 16 million barrels a year, which contributed greatly to the fortune responsible for making him one of the richest people in the world.
Getty's wealth and ability to speak Arabic enabled his unparalleled expansion into the Middle East. Getty owned the controlling interest in about 200 businesses, including Getty Oil. Getty owned Getty Oil, Getty Inc., George F. Getty Inc., Pacific Western Oil Corporation, Mission Corporation, Mission Development Company, Tidewater Oil, Skelly Oil, Mexican Seaboard Oil, Petroleum Corporation of America, Spartan Aircraft Company, Spartan Cafeteria Company, Minnehoma Insurance Company, Minnehoma Financial Company, Pierre Hotel, Pierre Marques Hotel, a 15th-century palace and nearby castle at Ladispoli on the coast northwest of Rome, a Malibu ranch home, and Sutton Place, a 72-room mansion near Guildford, Surrey.
Art collection
Getty's first forays into collecting began in the late 1930s, when he took inspiration from the collection of 18th-century French paintings and furniture owned by the landlord of his New York City penthouse, Amy Guest, a relation of Sir Winston Churchill. A fan of 18th-century France, Getty began buying furniture from the period at reduced prices because of the depressed art market. He wrote several books on collecting, including Europe and the 18th Century (1949), Collector's Choice: The Chronicle of an Artistic Odyssey through Europe (1955) and The Joys of Collecting (1965). His stinginess limited the range of his collecting because he refused to pay full price. Getty's companion in later life, Penelope Kitson, said "Paul was really too mean ever to allow himself to buy a great painting." Nonetheless, at the time of his death he owned more than 600 items valued at more than $4 million, including paintings by Rubens, Titian, Gainsborough, Renoir, Tintoretto, Degas, and Monet. During the 1950s, Getty's interests shifted to Greco-Roman sculpture, which led to the building of the Getty Villa in the 1970s to house the collection. These items were transferred to the Getty Museum and the Getty Villa in Los Angeles after his death.
Marriages, divorces and children
Getty was a notorious womanizer from the time of his youth, something that horrified his conservative Christian parents. His lawyer, Robin Lund, once said that, "Paul could hardly ever say 'no' to a woman, or 'yes' to a man." Lord Beaverbrook had called him "Priapic" and "ever-ready" in his sexual habits.
In 1917, when he was 25, a paternity suit was filed against Getty in Los Angeles by Elsie Eckstrom, who claimed he was the father of her daughter, Paula. Eckstrom claimed that Getty had taken her virginity and fathered the child, while his legal team tried to undermine her credibility by claiming that she had a history of promiscuity. Getty agreed to a settlement of $10,000, upon which Eckstrom left town with the baby.
Getty was married and divorced five times. He had five sons with four of his wives:
Jeanette Demont (married 1923 – divorced 1926); one son, George F. Getty II (1924–1973).
Allene Ashby (1926–1928); no children. Getty met 17-year-old Ashby, the daughter of a Texas rancher, in Mexico City while he was studying Spanish and overseeing his family's business interests. They eloped to Cuernavaca, Mexico, but the marriage was bigamous as he was not yet divorced from Jeanette. The two quickly decided to dissolve the union while still in Mexico.
Adolphine Helmle (1928–1932); one son, Jean Ronald Getty (1929–2009), whose son, Christopher Ronald Getty, married Pia Miller, sister of Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece. Like his first and second wives, Adolphine was 17 years old when Getty met her in Vienna. She was the daughter of a prominent German doctor who was opposed to her marrying the twice-divorced, 36-year-old Getty. The two eloped to Cuernavaca, where he had married Allene Ashby, then settled in Los Angeles. Following the birth of their son, Getty lost interest in her and her father convinced her to return to Germany with their child in 1929. After a protracted and contentious battle, their divorce was finalized in August 1932, with Adolphine receiving a huge sum for punitive damages and full custody of Ronald.
Ann Rork (1932–1936); two sons, John Paul Getty Jr. (1932–2003) and Gordon Peter Getty (born 1933). Getty was introduced to Rork when she was 14 years old, but she did not become his romantic partner until she was 21 in 1930. Because he was in the midst of his divorce from Adolphine, the couple had to wait two years before they married. He was largely absent during their marriage, staying for long stretches of time in Europe. She sued him for divorce in 1936 alleging emotional abuse and neglect. She described an incident while the two were abroad in Italy in which she claimed Getty forced her to climb to view the crater of Mount Vesuvius while she was pregnant with their first son. The court decided in her favor and she was awarded $2,500 per month alimony plus $1,000 each in child support for her sons.
Louise Dudley "Teddy" Lynch (1939–1958); one son, Timothy Ware Getty (1946–1958).
In 2013 at age 99, Getty's fifth wife, Louise, known as Teddy Getty Gaston, published a memoir reporting how Getty had scolded her for spending money too freely in the 1950s on the treatment of their six-year-old son, Timmy, who had become blind from a brain tumor. Timmy died at age 12, and Getty, living in England apart from his family who were in the U.S., did not attend the funeral. Gaston divorced Getty that year. Teddy Gaston died in April 2017 at the age of 103.
Getty was quoted as saying "A lasting relationship with a woman is only possible if you are a business failure," and, "I hate to be a failure. I hate and regret the failure of my marriages. I would gladly give all my millions for just one lasting marital success."
Kidnapping of grandson John Paul Getty III
In Rome on July 10, 1973, 'Ndrangheta kidnappers abducted Getty's 16-year-old grandson, John Paul Getty III, and demanded a $17 million (equivalent to $ in ) payment for his safe return. However, the family suspected a ploy by the rebellious teenager to extract money from his miserly grandfather. John Paul Getty Jr. asked his father for the money, but was refused, arguing that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnap targets if he paid.
In November 1973, an envelope containing a lock of hair and a human ear arrived at a daily newspaper. The second demand had been delayed three weeks by an Italian postal strike. The demand threatened that Paul would be further mutilated unless the victims paid $3.2 million. The demand stated "This is Paul's ear. If we don't get some money within 10 days, then the other ear will arrive. In other words, he will arrive in little bits."
When the kidnappers finally reduced their demands to $3 million, Getty agreed to pay no more than $2.2 million (equivalent to $ in ), the maximum that would be tax-deductible. He lent his son the remaining $800,000 at four percent interest. Getty's grandson was found alive on December 15, 1973, in a Lauria filling station, in the province of Potenza, shortly after the ransom was paid. After his release, the younger Getty called his grandfather to thank him for paying the ransom but Getty refused to come to the phone. Nine people associated with 'Ndrangheta were later arrested for the kidnapping, but only two were convicted. Getty III was permanently affected by the trauma and became a drug addict. After a stroke, brought on by a cocktail of drugs and alcohol in 1981, Getty III was rendered speechless, nearly blind and partially paralyzed for the rest of his life. He died on February 5, 2011, at the age of 54.
Getty defended his initial refusal to pay the ransom on two points. He argued that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnap targets if he paid, and also stated, "The second reason for my refusal was much broader-based. I contend that acceding to the demands of criminals and terrorists merely guarantees the continuing increase and spread of lawlessness, violence and such outrages as terror-bombings, "skyjackings" and the slaughter of hostages that plague our present-day world."
Nine of the kidnappers were apprehended, including Girolamo Piromalli and Saverio Mammoliti, high-ranking members of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia organization in Calabria. Two of the kidnappers were convicted and sent to prison; the others were acquitted for lack of evidence, including the 'Ndrangheta bosses. Most of the ransom money was never recovered.
Reputation for frugality
Many anecdotal stories exist of Getty's reputed thriftiness and parsimony, which struck observers as comical, even perverse, because of his extreme wealth. The two most widely known examples are his reluctance to pay his grandson's $17 million kidnapping ransom, and a notorious pay-phone he had installed at Sutton Place. A darker incident was his fifth wife's claim that Getty had scolded her for spending too much on their terminally ill son's medical treatment, though he was worth tens of millions of dollars at the time. He was well known for bargaining on almost everything to obtain the lowest possible price, including suites at luxury hotels and virtually all purchases of artwork and real estate. In 1959, Sutton Place, a 72-room mansion, was purchased from George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland, for £60,000, about half of what the Duke paid for it 40 years earlier.
Getty's secretary claimed that Getty did his laundry by hand because he didn't want to pay for his clothes to be laundered. When his shirts became frayed at the cuffs, he would trim the frayed part instead of purchasing new shirts.
Re-using stationery was another obsession of Getty's. He had a habit of writing responses to letters on the margins or back sides and mailing them back, rather than using a new sheet of paper. He also carefully saved and re-used manila envelopes, rubber bands and other office supplies.
When Getty took a group of friends to a dog show in London, he made them walk around the block for 10 minutes until the tickets became half-priced at 5 pm, because he didn't want to pay the full 5 shillings per head.
Getty moved to Sutton Place in part because the cost of living was cheaper than in London, where he had resided at the Ritz. He once boasted to American columnist Art Buchwald that it cost 10 cents for a rum and coke at Sutton Place, whereas at the Ritz it was more than a dollar.
Author John Pearson attributed part of Getty's extreme penny-pinching to the Methodist sensibility of Getty's upbringing, which emphasized modest living and personal economy. His business acumen was also a major factor in Getty's thriftiness. "He would allow himself no self-indulgence in the purchase of a place to live, a work of art, even a piece of furniture, unless he could convince himself that it would appreciate in value."
Getty claimed his frugality towards others was a response to people taking advantage of him and not paying their fair share. "It's not the money I object to, it's the principle of the thing that bothers me ..."
Coin-box telephone
Getty famously had a payphone installed at Sutton Place, helping to seal his reputation as a miser. Getty placed dial-locks on all the regular telephones, limiting their use to authorized staff, and the coin-box telephone was installed for others. In his autobiography, he described his reasons:
When speaking in a televised interview with Alan Whicker in February 1963, Getty said that he thought guests would want to use a payphone. After 18 months, Getty explained, "the in-and-out traffic flow at Sutton subsided. Management and operation of the house settled into a reasonable routine. With that, the pay-telephone [was] removed, and the dial-locks were taken off the telephones in the house."
Later years and death
On June 30, 1960, Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relative of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly purchased Sutton Place. Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. At about 10 p.m. the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls and causing an estimated £20,000 in damage. A valuable silver ewer by the 18th century silversmith Paul de Lamerie was stolen, but returned anonymously when the London newspapers began covering the theft. The failure of the event made Getty the object of ridicule and he never threw another large party again.
Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world. The value of Getty Oil shares quadrupled during the Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War of October 1973, which caused a worldwide oil shortage for years. Getty's earnings topped $25.8 million in 1975.
Getty's insatiable appetite for sex also continued into his 80s. He used an experimental drug, H3, to maintain his potency. Getty met the English interior designer Penelope Kitson in the 1950s and entrusted her with decorating his homes and the public rooms of the oil tankers he was launching. From 1960, Kitson resided in a cottage on the grounds of Sutton Place. Getty and Kitson maintained a platonic relationship and Getty held her in high respect and trust. Other mistresses who resided at Sutton Place included the married Mary Teissier, a distant cousin of the last Tsar of Russia, Lady Ursula d'Abo, who had close connections to the British Royal Family, and Nicaraguan-born Rosabella Burch.
The New York Times wrote of Getty's domestic arrangement: "[Getty] ended his life with a collection of desperately hopeful women, all living together in his Tudor mansion in England, none of them aware that his favorite pastime was rewriting his will, changing his insultingly small bequests: $209 a month to one, $1,167 to another." Only Kitson received a significant bequest upon Getty's death, receiving 5,000 shares of Getty Oil, which doubled in value during the 1980s, and a $1,167 monthly income.
Getty died of heart failure at the age of 83 on June 6, 1976, in Sutton Place near Guildford, Surrey. He was buried in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California at the Getty Villa. The gravesite is not open to the public.
Media portrayals
Christopher Plummer portrayed Getty in the 2017 film All the Money in the World, which dramatizes the kidnapping of his grandson. Getty was originally portrayed by Kevin Spacey, but after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced against Spacey ahead of the film's premiere, Plummer was cast to re-film his scenes. For his performance, Plummer received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
The kidnapping is also dramatized in the first season of the American anthology drama series Trust, where Getty is portrayed by Donald Sutherland.
Quotations
J. Paul Getty has one entry in the 8th Edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.
“If you can actually count your money, then you are not really a rich man.”
Published works
Getty, J. Paul. The history of the bigger oil business of George F.S. F. and J. Paul Getty from 1903 to 1939. Los Angeles?, 1941,
Getty, J. Paul. Europe in the Eighteenth Century. [Santa Monica, Calif.]: privately printed, 1949,
Le Vane, Ethel, and J. Paul Getty. Collector's Choice: The Chronicle of an Artistic Odyssey through Europe. London: W.H. Allen, 1955,
Getty, J. Paul. My Life and Fortunes. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1963,
Getty, J. Paul. The Joys of Collecting. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1965,
Getty, J. Paul. How to be Rich. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1965,
Getty, J. Paul. The Golden Age. New York: Trident Press, 1968,
Getty, J. Paul. How to be a Successful Executive. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1971,
Getty, J. Paul. As I See It: The Autobiography of J. Paul Getty. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, 1976. ,
See also
List of richest Americans in history
List of wealthiest historical figures
References
Further reading
Hewins, Ralph. The Richest American: J. Paul Getty. New York: Dutton, 1960.
Lund, Robina. The Getty I Knew. Kansas City: Sheed Andrews and McMeel, 1977. .
Miller, Russell. The House of Getty. New York: Henry Holt, 1985. .
de Chair, Somerset Struben. Getty on Getty: a man in a billion. London: Cassell, 1989. .
Pearson, John. Painfully Rich: J. Paul Getty and His Heirs. London: Macmillan, 1995. .
Wooster, Martin Morse. Philanthropy Hall of Fame, J. Paul Getty. philanthropyroundtable.org.
External links
J. Paul Getty diaries, 1938–1946, 1948–1976 finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
J. Paul Getty family collected papers, 1880s–1989, undated (bulk 1911–1977) finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
J. Paul Getty and Ashby sisters papers, 1926-1992, finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
1892 births
1976 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
American art collectors
American autobiographers
American business writers
American businesspeople in the oil industry
American billionaires
American emigrants to England
American people of Scotch-Irish descent
American philanthropists
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Businesspeople from Minneapolis
Businesspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma
English people of Irish descent
Museum founders
J. Paul
J
John H. Francis Polytechnic High School alumni
Philanthropists from California
University of California, Berkeley alumni | true | [
"George Franklin Getty (October 17, 1855 – May 31, 1930) was an American lawyer, pioneer oilman, father of industrialist J. Paul Getty, and patriarch of the Getty family.\n\n\nLife and career\nGetty was born in 1855 in Allegany County, Maryland, to Martha Ann (Wily) and John Getty (1835-1861), who was the son of James Getty and the grandson of another John Getty, a Presbyterian Ulster Scots peasant who immigrated to America and claimed kinship with the namesake of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. However, Robert Lenzner wrote in his book The Great Getty that Gettysburg was founded by the Gettys family, not Getty. Shortly after his birth Getty's family moved from Maryland to Ohio where his father died in 1861. Getty was forced to work at a young age until his uncle, Joseph Getty, provided funds for George to attend school. Getty earned a Bachelor of Science from Ohio Northern University in 1879.\n\nEventually Getty married and attended law school at the University of Michigan Law School and was admitted to the bar. In 1884, George F. Getty moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota where he specialized in insurance and corporate law and made a good living in what was the \"flour capital\" of America. In 1890 his first child, a daughter, died in a typhoid epidemic that hit the city. In 1892, the Gettys had another child, a son, Jean Paul Getty (later known as J. Paul Getty).\n\nIn 1904, the Gettys moved from Minnesota to Oklahoma, where George began a career as an independent oilman. Within two years, he had amassed a fortune from his Minnehoma Oil Company and moved his family to Los Angeles, California. In 1913, George lent his son Jean Paul (then aged 21) money to invest in oil wells. By 1915, Jean Paul had made his first million and the following year George and Jean Paul incorporated the Getty Oil Company, later to become Getty Oil.\n\nGeorge never approved of Jean Paul's lifestyle. Perhaps this is why he did not leave the company in the sole control of his son. George F. Getty died in 1930. He left his estate, in the form of the controlling interest in the family firm \"George F. Getty, Inc.\", and valued at between $10 million and $15 million U.S. ($ million and $ million, respectively, in ), to his wife Sarah, although Jean Paul Getty became President of the firm.\n\nGeorge Getty II\nJean Paul Getty's eldest son, George Franklin Getty's grandson, was named George Franklin Getty II (1924–1973), and was an executive in the Getty Oil company until his death. His residence, Getty House, was then donated to the city, and became the official residence of the serving Mayor of Los Angeles.\n\nReferences\n\nGeorge F\nHistory of Los Angeles\nPetroleum in the United States\nAmerican people of Scotch-Irish descent\n1855 births\n1930 deaths\nUniversity of Michigan Law School alumni\n19th-century American businesspeople",
"Brigadier General Robert Nelson Getty (January 17, 1855 – April 15, 1941) was a United States Army officer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He served in several conflicts, including the Sioux Wars, Spanish–American War, and World War I. He was the son of Major General George W. Getty.\n\nMilitary career\nGetty was born in Fort Hamilton on January 17, 1855. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1878.\n\nGetty was commissioned into the 22nd Infantry Regiment, and he did frontier duty from 1878 to 1896. During this time, he participated in the Ute War on 1884 and the Sioux War on 1890 and 1891. Getty also participated in the Spanish–American War, taking part in the Battle of El Caney, the Battle of San Juan Hill, and the Siege of Santiago. He served in the Sanitary Corps and received a Silver Star for his efforts there. After serving in the Philippines from 1900 to 1911, Getty commanded the Recruit Depot at Fort Logan from 1914 to 1917.\n\nGetty was promoted to the rank of brigadier general on August 5, 1917, shortly after the American entry into World War I, and he commanded the 175th Infantry Brigade at Camp Dodge. From November 27, 1917, to February 19, 1918, and again from March 15 to May 24, 1918, Getty commanded the 88th Division, which did not go into combat. Getty retired from the Army in 1919 at his permanent rank of colonel.\n\nGetty lived in Warrenton, Virginia, during his retirement. Congress restored his brigadier general rank in June 1930. He died in California on April 15, 1941.\n\nPersonal life\nGetty married Cornelia T. Colegate on October 14, 1885.\n\nReferences\n\nBibliography\n\n|-\n\n1855 births\n1941 deaths\nPeople from Warrenton, Virginia\nAmerican military personnel of the Spanish–American War\nUnited States Army generals\nRecipients of the Silver Star\nUnited States Military Academy alumni\nUnited States Army generals of World War I\nBurials at San Francisco National Cemetery"
] |
[
"J. Paul Getty",
"Later years & death",
"what did Getty do in his later years?",
"Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world."
] | C_15c44bbbd0894d0999396f8aa91e2aaf_0 | was he a wealthy man? | 2 | Was J. Paul Getty a wealthy man? | J. Paul Getty | On June 30, 1960, Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relation of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly-purchased Sutton Place. 1,200 guests consisting of the cream of British society were invited. Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. At about 10pm the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls, causing an estimated L20,000 in damages. A valuable silver ewer by the 18th century silversmith Paul de Lamerie was stolen, but returned anonymously when the London newspapers began covering the theft. The failure of the event made the newly-arrived Getty the object of ridicule, and he never threw another large party again. Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world. The Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War of October 1973 caused a worldwide oil shortage for years to come. In this period, the value of Getty Oil shares quadrupled, with Getty enjoying personal earnings of $25.8 million in 1975 (appr. $120 million in 2018 USD). His insatiable appetite for women and sex also continued well into his 80s. He used an experimental drug, "H3", to maintain his potency. Getty met the English interior designer Penelope Kitson in the 1950s and entrusted her with decorating his homes and the public rooms of the oil tankers he was launching. From 1960 she resided in a cottage on the grounds of Sutton Place, and, though she did not have a sexual relationship with him, Getty held her in high respect and trust. Other mistresses who resided at Sutton Place included the married Mary Teissier, a distant cousin of the last Tsar of Russia, Lady Ursula d'Abo, who had close connections to the British Royal Family, and Nicaraguan-born Rosabella Burch. The New York Times wrote of Getty's domestic arrangement that: "[Getty] ended his life with a collection of desperately hopeful women, all living together in his Tudor mansion in England, none of them aware that his favorite pastime was rewriting his will, changing his insultingly small bequests: $209 a month to one, $1,167 to another." Only Penelope Kitson received a handsome bequest upon Getty's death: 5,000 Getty Oil shares (appr. $826,500 in 1976), which doubled in value during the 1980s, and a $1,167 monthly income. Getty died June 6, 1976, in Sutton Place near Guildford, Surrey, England. He was buried in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California at the Getty Villa. The gravesite is not open to the public. CANNOTANSWER | Getty enjoying personal earnings of $25.8 million in 1975 (appr. $120 million in 2018 USD). | Jean Paul Getty Sr. (; December 15, 1892 – June 6, 1976) was an American-born British petroleum industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942 and was the patriarch of the Getty family. A native of Minneapolis, he was the son of pioneer oilman George Getty. In 1957, Fortune magazine named him the richest living American, while the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, worth an estimated $1.2 billion (approximately $ billion in ). At his death, he was worth more than $6 billion (approximately $ billion in ). A book published in 1996 ranked him as the 67th richest American who ever lived, based on his wealth as a percentage of the concurrent gross national product.
Despite his vast wealth, Getty was famously frugal, notably negotiating his grandson's kidnapping ransom in 1973. He had five children and divorced five times. Getty was an avid collector of art and antiquities. His collection formed the basis of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles; more than $661 million of his estate was left to the museum after his death. He established the J. Paul Getty Trust in 1953. The trust, which is the world's wealthiest art institution, operates the J. Paul Getty Museum Complexes: the Getty Center, the Getty Villa and the Getty Foundation, the Getty Research Institute, as well as the Getty Conservation Institute.
Early life and education
Getty was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Sarah Catherine McPherson (Risher) and George Getty, who was an attorney in the insurance industry. Getty was raised as a Methodist by his parents. His father was a devout Christian Scientist and both were strict teetotalers. He was of part Scottish descent. In 1903, when Getty was 10 years old, George Getty traveled to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and bought the mineral rights for 1,100 acres of land. The Getty family subsequently moved to Bartlesville, where J. Paul Getty attended the Garfield School. Within a few years Getty had established wells on the land that were producing 100,000 barrels of crude oil a month.
As newly minted millionaires, the family moved to Los Angeles. But, J. Paul Getty later returned to Oklahoma. At age 14, Getty attended Harvard Military School for a year, followed by Polytechnic High School, where he was given the nickname "Dictionary Getty" because of his love of reading. He became fluent in French, German and Italian. Getty was also conversational in Spanish, Greek, Arabic and Russian. A love of the classics led Getty to acquire reading proficiency in Ancient Greek and Latin.
He enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, but did not complete a degree. Enamored with Europe after traveling abroad with his parents in 1910, Getty enrolled at the University of Oxford on November 28, 1912. A letter of introduction by then-President of the United States William Howard Taft enabled him to gain independent instruction from tutors at Magdalen College. Although he was not registered at Magdalen, he claimed the aristocratic students "accepted me as one of their own" and he fondly boasted of the friends he made, including Edward VIII, the future King of the United Kingdom. He obtained a diploma in economics and political science from Oxford in June 1913, then spent months traveling throughout Europe and Egypt before meeting his parents in Paris and returning with them to America in June 1914.
Career
In the autumn of 1914, George Getty gave his son $10,000 to invest in expanding the family's oil field holdings in Oklahoma. The first lot he bought, the Nancy Taylor No. 1 Oil Well Site near Haskell, Oklahoma was crucial to his early financial success. The well struck oil in August 1915 and by the next summer the 40 percent net production royalty he accrued from it had made him a millionaire.
In 1919, Getty returned to business in Oklahoma. During the 1920s, he added about $3 million to his already sizable estate. His succession of marriages and divorces so distressed his father that Getty inherited only $500,000 of the $10 million fortune his father left at the time of his death in 1930. Getty was left with one-third of the stock from George Getty Inc., while his mother received the remaining two-thirds, giving her a controlling interest.
In 1936, Getty's mother convinced him to contribute to the establishment of a $3.3 million investment trust, called the Sarah C. Getty Trust, to ensure the family's ever-growing wealth could be channeled into a tax-free, secure income for future generations of the Getty family. The trust enabled Getty to have easy access to ready capital, which he was funneling into the purchase of Tidewater Petroleum stock.
Shrewdly investing his resources during the Great Depression, Getty acquired Pacific Western Oil Corporation and began the acquisition (completed in 1953) of the Mission Corporation, which included Tidewater Oil and Skelly Oil. In 1967, Getty merged these holdings into Getty Oil.
In 1948–1949, Getty paid Ibn Saud $9.5 million in cash, guaranteed $1 million a year, and a royalty of 55 cents a barrel for the Saudi Arabian Neutral Zone concession. Oil was finally discovered in March 1953. Since 1953, Getty's gamble produced 16 million barrels a year, which contributed greatly to the fortune responsible for making him one of the richest people in the world.
Getty's wealth and ability to speak Arabic enabled his unparalleled expansion into the Middle East. Getty owned the controlling interest in about 200 businesses, including Getty Oil. Getty owned Getty Oil, Getty Inc., George F. Getty Inc., Pacific Western Oil Corporation, Mission Corporation, Mission Development Company, Tidewater Oil, Skelly Oil, Mexican Seaboard Oil, Petroleum Corporation of America, Spartan Aircraft Company, Spartan Cafeteria Company, Minnehoma Insurance Company, Minnehoma Financial Company, Pierre Hotel, Pierre Marques Hotel, a 15th-century palace and nearby castle at Ladispoli on the coast northwest of Rome, a Malibu ranch home, and Sutton Place, a 72-room mansion near Guildford, Surrey.
Art collection
Getty's first forays into collecting began in the late 1930s, when he took inspiration from the collection of 18th-century French paintings and furniture owned by the landlord of his New York City penthouse, Amy Guest, a relation of Sir Winston Churchill. A fan of 18th-century France, Getty began buying furniture from the period at reduced prices because of the depressed art market. He wrote several books on collecting, including Europe and the 18th Century (1949), Collector's Choice: The Chronicle of an Artistic Odyssey through Europe (1955) and The Joys of Collecting (1965). His stinginess limited the range of his collecting because he refused to pay full price. Getty's companion in later life, Penelope Kitson, said "Paul was really too mean ever to allow himself to buy a great painting." Nonetheless, at the time of his death he owned more than 600 items valued at more than $4 million, including paintings by Rubens, Titian, Gainsborough, Renoir, Tintoretto, Degas, and Monet. During the 1950s, Getty's interests shifted to Greco-Roman sculpture, which led to the building of the Getty Villa in the 1970s to house the collection. These items were transferred to the Getty Museum and the Getty Villa in Los Angeles after his death.
Marriages, divorces and children
Getty was a notorious womanizer from the time of his youth, something that horrified his conservative Christian parents. His lawyer, Robin Lund, once said that, "Paul could hardly ever say 'no' to a woman, or 'yes' to a man." Lord Beaverbrook had called him "Priapic" and "ever-ready" in his sexual habits.
In 1917, when he was 25, a paternity suit was filed against Getty in Los Angeles by Elsie Eckstrom, who claimed he was the father of her daughter, Paula. Eckstrom claimed that Getty had taken her virginity and fathered the child, while his legal team tried to undermine her credibility by claiming that she had a history of promiscuity. Getty agreed to a settlement of $10,000, upon which Eckstrom left town with the baby.
Getty was married and divorced five times. He had five sons with four of his wives:
Jeanette Demont (married 1923 – divorced 1926); one son, George F. Getty II (1924–1973).
Allene Ashby (1926–1928); no children. Getty met 17-year-old Ashby, the daughter of a Texas rancher, in Mexico City while he was studying Spanish and overseeing his family's business interests. They eloped to Cuernavaca, Mexico, but the marriage was bigamous as he was not yet divorced from Jeanette. The two quickly decided to dissolve the union while still in Mexico.
Adolphine Helmle (1928–1932); one son, Jean Ronald Getty (1929–2009), whose son, Christopher Ronald Getty, married Pia Miller, sister of Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece. Like his first and second wives, Adolphine was 17 years old when Getty met her in Vienna. She was the daughter of a prominent German doctor who was opposed to her marrying the twice-divorced, 36-year-old Getty. The two eloped to Cuernavaca, where he had married Allene Ashby, then settled in Los Angeles. Following the birth of their son, Getty lost interest in her and her father convinced her to return to Germany with their child in 1929. After a protracted and contentious battle, their divorce was finalized in August 1932, with Adolphine receiving a huge sum for punitive damages and full custody of Ronald.
Ann Rork (1932–1936); two sons, John Paul Getty Jr. (1932–2003) and Gordon Peter Getty (born 1933). Getty was introduced to Rork when she was 14 years old, but she did not become his romantic partner until she was 21 in 1930. Because he was in the midst of his divorce from Adolphine, the couple had to wait two years before they married. He was largely absent during their marriage, staying for long stretches of time in Europe. She sued him for divorce in 1936 alleging emotional abuse and neglect. She described an incident while the two were abroad in Italy in which she claimed Getty forced her to climb to view the crater of Mount Vesuvius while she was pregnant with their first son. The court decided in her favor and she was awarded $2,500 per month alimony plus $1,000 each in child support for her sons.
Louise Dudley "Teddy" Lynch (1939–1958); one son, Timothy Ware Getty (1946–1958).
In 2013 at age 99, Getty's fifth wife, Louise, known as Teddy Getty Gaston, published a memoir reporting how Getty had scolded her for spending money too freely in the 1950s on the treatment of their six-year-old son, Timmy, who had become blind from a brain tumor. Timmy died at age 12, and Getty, living in England apart from his family who were in the U.S., did not attend the funeral. Gaston divorced Getty that year. Teddy Gaston died in April 2017 at the age of 103.
Getty was quoted as saying "A lasting relationship with a woman is only possible if you are a business failure," and, "I hate to be a failure. I hate and regret the failure of my marriages. I would gladly give all my millions for just one lasting marital success."
Kidnapping of grandson John Paul Getty III
In Rome on July 10, 1973, 'Ndrangheta kidnappers abducted Getty's 16-year-old grandson, John Paul Getty III, and demanded a $17 million (equivalent to $ in ) payment for his safe return. However, the family suspected a ploy by the rebellious teenager to extract money from his miserly grandfather. John Paul Getty Jr. asked his father for the money, but was refused, arguing that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnap targets if he paid.
In November 1973, an envelope containing a lock of hair and a human ear arrived at a daily newspaper. The second demand had been delayed three weeks by an Italian postal strike. The demand threatened that Paul would be further mutilated unless the victims paid $3.2 million. The demand stated "This is Paul's ear. If we don't get some money within 10 days, then the other ear will arrive. In other words, he will arrive in little bits."
When the kidnappers finally reduced their demands to $3 million, Getty agreed to pay no more than $2.2 million (equivalent to $ in ), the maximum that would be tax-deductible. He lent his son the remaining $800,000 at four percent interest. Getty's grandson was found alive on December 15, 1973, in a Lauria filling station, in the province of Potenza, shortly after the ransom was paid. After his release, the younger Getty called his grandfather to thank him for paying the ransom but Getty refused to come to the phone. Nine people associated with 'Ndrangheta were later arrested for the kidnapping, but only two were convicted. Getty III was permanently affected by the trauma and became a drug addict. After a stroke, brought on by a cocktail of drugs and alcohol in 1981, Getty III was rendered speechless, nearly blind and partially paralyzed for the rest of his life. He died on February 5, 2011, at the age of 54.
Getty defended his initial refusal to pay the ransom on two points. He argued that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnap targets if he paid, and also stated, "The second reason for my refusal was much broader-based. I contend that acceding to the demands of criminals and terrorists merely guarantees the continuing increase and spread of lawlessness, violence and such outrages as terror-bombings, "skyjackings" and the slaughter of hostages that plague our present-day world."
Nine of the kidnappers were apprehended, including Girolamo Piromalli and Saverio Mammoliti, high-ranking members of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia organization in Calabria. Two of the kidnappers were convicted and sent to prison; the others were acquitted for lack of evidence, including the 'Ndrangheta bosses. Most of the ransom money was never recovered.
Reputation for frugality
Many anecdotal stories exist of Getty's reputed thriftiness and parsimony, which struck observers as comical, even perverse, because of his extreme wealth. The two most widely known examples are his reluctance to pay his grandson's $17 million kidnapping ransom, and a notorious pay-phone he had installed at Sutton Place. A darker incident was his fifth wife's claim that Getty had scolded her for spending too much on their terminally ill son's medical treatment, though he was worth tens of millions of dollars at the time. He was well known for bargaining on almost everything to obtain the lowest possible price, including suites at luxury hotels and virtually all purchases of artwork and real estate. In 1959, Sutton Place, a 72-room mansion, was purchased from George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland, for £60,000, about half of what the Duke paid for it 40 years earlier.
Getty's secretary claimed that Getty did his laundry by hand because he didn't want to pay for his clothes to be laundered. When his shirts became frayed at the cuffs, he would trim the frayed part instead of purchasing new shirts.
Re-using stationery was another obsession of Getty's. He had a habit of writing responses to letters on the margins or back sides and mailing them back, rather than using a new sheet of paper. He also carefully saved and re-used manila envelopes, rubber bands and other office supplies.
When Getty took a group of friends to a dog show in London, he made them walk around the block for 10 minutes until the tickets became half-priced at 5 pm, because he didn't want to pay the full 5 shillings per head.
Getty moved to Sutton Place in part because the cost of living was cheaper than in London, where he had resided at the Ritz. He once boasted to American columnist Art Buchwald that it cost 10 cents for a rum and coke at Sutton Place, whereas at the Ritz it was more than a dollar.
Author John Pearson attributed part of Getty's extreme penny-pinching to the Methodist sensibility of Getty's upbringing, which emphasized modest living and personal economy. His business acumen was also a major factor in Getty's thriftiness. "He would allow himself no self-indulgence in the purchase of a place to live, a work of art, even a piece of furniture, unless he could convince himself that it would appreciate in value."
Getty claimed his frugality towards others was a response to people taking advantage of him and not paying their fair share. "It's not the money I object to, it's the principle of the thing that bothers me ..."
Coin-box telephone
Getty famously had a payphone installed at Sutton Place, helping to seal his reputation as a miser. Getty placed dial-locks on all the regular telephones, limiting their use to authorized staff, and the coin-box telephone was installed for others. In his autobiography, he described his reasons:
When speaking in a televised interview with Alan Whicker in February 1963, Getty said that he thought guests would want to use a payphone. After 18 months, Getty explained, "the in-and-out traffic flow at Sutton subsided. Management and operation of the house settled into a reasonable routine. With that, the pay-telephone [was] removed, and the dial-locks were taken off the telephones in the house."
Later years and death
On June 30, 1960, Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relative of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly purchased Sutton Place. Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. At about 10 p.m. the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls and causing an estimated £20,000 in damage. A valuable silver ewer by the 18th century silversmith Paul de Lamerie was stolen, but returned anonymously when the London newspapers began covering the theft. The failure of the event made Getty the object of ridicule and he never threw another large party again.
Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world. The value of Getty Oil shares quadrupled during the Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War of October 1973, which caused a worldwide oil shortage for years. Getty's earnings topped $25.8 million in 1975.
Getty's insatiable appetite for sex also continued into his 80s. He used an experimental drug, H3, to maintain his potency. Getty met the English interior designer Penelope Kitson in the 1950s and entrusted her with decorating his homes and the public rooms of the oil tankers he was launching. From 1960, Kitson resided in a cottage on the grounds of Sutton Place. Getty and Kitson maintained a platonic relationship and Getty held her in high respect and trust. Other mistresses who resided at Sutton Place included the married Mary Teissier, a distant cousin of the last Tsar of Russia, Lady Ursula d'Abo, who had close connections to the British Royal Family, and Nicaraguan-born Rosabella Burch.
The New York Times wrote of Getty's domestic arrangement: "[Getty] ended his life with a collection of desperately hopeful women, all living together in his Tudor mansion in England, none of them aware that his favorite pastime was rewriting his will, changing his insultingly small bequests: $209 a month to one, $1,167 to another." Only Kitson received a significant bequest upon Getty's death, receiving 5,000 shares of Getty Oil, which doubled in value during the 1980s, and a $1,167 monthly income.
Getty died of heart failure at the age of 83 on June 6, 1976, in Sutton Place near Guildford, Surrey. He was buried in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California at the Getty Villa. The gravesite is not open to the public.
Media portrayals
Christopher Plummer portrayed Getty in the 2017 film All the Money in the World, which dramatizes the kidnapping of his grandson. Getty was originally portrayed by Kevin Spacey, but after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced against Spacey ahead of the film's premiere, Plummer was cast to re-film his scenes. For his performance, Plummer received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
The kidnapping is also dramatized in the first season of the American anthology drama series Trust, where Getty is portrayed by Donald Sutherland.
Quotations
J. Paul Getty has one entry in the 8th Edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.
“If you can actually count your money, then you are not really a rich man.”
Published works
Getty, J. Paul. The history of the bigger oil business of George F.S. F. and J. Paul Getty from 1903 to 1939. Los Angeles?, 1941,
Getty, J. Paul. Europe in the Eighteenth Century. [Santa Monica, Calif.]: privately printed, 1949,
Le Vane, Ethel, and J. Paul Getty. Collector's Choice: The Chronicle of an Artistic Odyssey through Europe. London: W.H. Allen, 1955,
Getty, J. Paul. My Life and Fortunes. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1963,
Getty, J. Paul. The Joys of Collecting. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1965,
Getty, J. Paul. How to be Rich. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1965,
Getty, J. Paul. The Golden Age. New York: Trident Press, 1968,
Getty, J. Paul. How to be a Successful Executive. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1971,
Getty, J. Paul. As I See It: The Autobiography of J. Paul Getty. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, 1976. ,
See also
List of richest Americans in history
List of wealthiest historical figures
References
Further reading
Hewins, Ralph. The Richest American: J. Paul Getty. New York: Dutton, 1960.
Lund, Robina. The Getty I Knew. Kansas City: Sheed Andrews and McMeel, 1977. .
Miller, Russell. The House of Getty. New York: Henry Holt, 1985. .
de Chair, Somerset Struben. Getty on Getty: a man in a billion. London: Cassell, 1989. .
Pearson, John. Painfully Rich: J. Paul Getty and His Heirs. London: Macmillan, 1995. .
Wooster, Martin Morse. Philanthropy Hall of Fame, J. Paul Getty. philanthropyroundtable.org.
External links
J. Paul Getty diaries, 1938–1946, 1948–1976 finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
J. Paul Getty family collected papers, 1880s–1989, undated (bulk 1911–1977) finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
J. Paul Getty and Ashby sisters papers, 1926-1992, finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
1892 births
1976 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
American art collectors
American autobiographers
American business writers
American businesspeople in the oil industry
American billionaires
American emigrants to England
American people of Scotch-Irish descent
American philanthropists
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Businesspeople from Minneapolis
Businesspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma
English people of Irish descent
Museum founders
J. Paul
J
John H. Francis Polytechnic High School alumni
Philanthropists from California
University of California, Berkeley alumni | false | [
"Giacomo Antonio Arland (c. 1668–1743) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was born in Genoa, and at age 20, he traveled to Paris, where he was patronized by the Duke of Orleans. He became renowned as a portrait miniature painter. He returns in 1729 to Genoa, as a wealthy man.\n\nReferences\n\n1668 births\n1743 deaths\nPortrait miniaturists\n17th-century Italian painters\nItalian male painters\n18th-century Italian painters\nPainters from Genoa\nItalian Baroque painters",
"Apollonius of Drepanum or Drepana (modern Trapani), son of Nicon, was a man of Sicily of the 1st century BCE. He was a profligate but wealthy person, who had accumulated great treasures by robbing orphans of their property, and was spoiled in his turn by Verres. He obtained the Roman franchise, and then received the Roman name of A. Clodius.\n\nNotes\n\n1st-century BC Romans\nPeople from Trapani"
] |
[
"J. Paul Getty",
"Later years & death",
"what did Getty do in his later years?",
"Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world.",
"was he a wealthy man?",
"Getty enjoying personal earnings of $25.8 million in 1975 (appr. $120 million in 2018 USD)."
] | C_15c44bbbd0894d0999396f8aa91e2aaf_0 | was he married? | 3 | Was J. Paul Getty married? | J. Paul Getty | On June 30, 1960, Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relation of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly-purchased Sutton Place. 1,200 guests consisting of the cream of British society were invited. Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. At about 10pm the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls, causing an estimated L20,000 in damages. A valuable silver ewer by the 18th century silversmith Paul de Lamerie was stolen, but returned anonymously when the London newspapers began covering the theft. The failure of the event made the newly-arrived Getty the object of ridicule, and he never threw another large party again. Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world. The Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War of October 1973 caused a worldwide oil shortage for years to come. In this period, the value of Getty Oil shares quadrupled, with Getty enjoying personal earnings of $25.8 million in 1975 (appr. $120 million in 2018 USD). His insatiable appetite for women and sex also continued well into his 80s. He used an experimental drug, "H3", to maintain his potency. Getty met the English interior designer Penelope Kitson in the 1950s and entrusted her with decorating his homes and the public rooms of the oil tankers he was launching. From 1960 she resided in a cottage on the grounds of Sutton Place, and, though she did not have a sexual relationship with him, Getty held her in high respect and trust. Other mistresses who resided at Sutton Place included the married Mary Teissier, a distant cousin of the last Tsar of Russia, Lady Ursula d'Abo, who had close connections to the British Royal Family, and Nicaraguan-born Rosabella Burch. The New York Times wrote of Getty's domestic arrangement that: "[Getty] ended his life with a collection of desperately hopeful women, all living together in his Tudor mansion in England, none of them aware that his favorite pastime was rewriting his will, changing his insultingly small bequests: $209 a month to one, $1,167 to another." Only Penelope Kitson received a handsome bequest upon Getty's death: 5,000 Getty Oil shares (appr. $826,500 in 1976), which doubled in value during the 1980s, and a $1,167 monthly income. Getty died June 6, 1976, in Sutton Place near Guildford, Surrey, England. He was buried in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California at the Getty Villa. The gravesite is not open to the public. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Jean Paul Getty Sr. (; December 15, 1892 – June 6, 1976) was an American-born British petroleum industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942 and was the patriarch of the Getty family. A native of Minneapolis, he was the son of pioneer oilman George Getty. In 1957, Fortune magazine named him the richest living American, while the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, worth an estimated $1.2 billion (approximately $ billion in ). At his death, he was worth more than $6 billion (approximately $ billion in ). A book published in 1996 ranked him as the 67th richest American who ever lived, based on his wealth as a percentage of the concurrent gross national product.
Despite his vast wealth, Getty was famously frugal, notably negotiating his grandson's kidnapping ransom in 1973. He had five children and divorced five times. Getty was an avid collector of art and antiquities. His collection formed the basis of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles; more than $661 million of his estate was left to the museum after his death. He established the J. Paul Getty Trust in 1953. The trust, which is the world's wealthiest art institution, operates the J. Paul Getty Museum Complexes: the Getty Center, the Getty Villa and the Getty Foundation, the Getty Research Institute, as well as the Getty Conservation Institute.
Early life and education
Getty was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Sarah Catherine McPherson (Risher) and George Getty, who was an attorney in the insurance industry. Getty was raised as a Methodist by his parents. His father was a devout Christian Scientist and both were strict teetotalers. He was of part Scottish descent. In 1903, when Getty was 10 years old, George Getty traveled to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and bought the mineral rights for 1,100 acres of land. The Getty family subsequently moved to Bartlesville, where J. Paul Getty attended the Garfield School. Within a few years Getty had established wells on the land that were producing 100,000 barrels of crude oil a month.
As newly minted millionaires, the family moved to Los Angeles. But, J. Paul Getty later returned to Oklahoma. At age 14, Getty attended Harvard Military School for a year, followed by Polytechnic High School, where he was given the nickname "Dictionary Getty" because of his love of reading. He became fluent in French, German and Italian. Getty was also conversational in Spanish, Greek, Arabic and Russian. A love of the classics led Getty to acquire reading proficiency in Ancient Greek and Latin.
He enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, but did not complete a degree. Enamored with Europe after traveling abroad with his parents in 1910, Getty enrolled at the University of Oxford on November 28, 1912. A letter of introduction by then-President of the United States William Howard Taft enabled him to gain independent instruction from tutors at Magdalen College. Although he was not registered at Magdalen, he claimed the aristocratic students "accepted me as one of their own" and he fondly boasted of the friends he made, including Edward VIII, the future King of the United Kingdom. He obtained a diploma in economics and political science from Oxford in June 1913, then spent months traveling throughout Europe and Egypt before meeting his parents in Paris and returning with them to America in June 1914.
Career
In the autumn of 1914, George Getty gave his son $10,000 to invest in expanding the family's oil field holdings in Oklahoma. The first lot he bought, the Nancy Taylor No. 1 Oil Well Site near Haskell, Oklahoma was crucial to his early financial success. The well struck oil in August 1915 and by the next summer the 40 percent net production royalty he accrued from it had made him a millionaire.
In 1919, Getty returned to business in Oklahoma. During the 1920s, he added about $3 million to his already sizable estate. His succession of marriages and divorces so distressed his father that Getty inherited only $500,000 of the $10 million fortune his father left at the time of his death in 1930. Getty was left with one-third of the stock from George Getty Inc., while his mother received the remaining two-thirds, giving her a controlling interest.
In 1936, Getty's mother convinced him to contribute to the establishment of a $3.3 million investment trust, called the Sarah C. Getty Trust, to ensure the family's ever-growing wealth could be channeled into a tax-free, secure income for future generations of the Getty family. The trust enabled Getty to have easy access to ready capital, which he was funneling into the purchase of Tidewater Petroleum stock.
Shrewdly investing his resources during the Great Depression, Getty acquired Pacific Western Oil Corporation and began the acquisition (completed in 1953) of the Mission Corporation, which included Tidewater Oil and Skelly Oil. In 1967, Getty merged these holdings into Getty Oil.
In 1948–1949, Getty paid Ibn Saud $9.5 million in cash, guaranteed $1 million a year, and a royalty of 55 cents a barrel for the Saudi Arabian Neutral Zone concession. Oil was finally discovered in March 1953. Since 1953, Getty's gamble produced 16 million barrels a year, which contributed greatly to the fortune responsible for making him one of the richest people in the world.
Getty's wealth and ability to speak Arabic enabled his unparalleled expansion into the Middle East. Getty owned the controlling interest in about 200 businesses, including Getty Oil. Getty owned Getty Oil, Getty Inc., George F. Getty Inc., Pacific Western Oil Corporation, Mission Corporation, Mission Development Company, Tidewater Oil, Skelly Oil, Mexican Seaboard Oil, Petroleum Corporation of America, Spartan Aircraft Company, Spartan Cafeteria Company, Minnehoma Insurance Company, Minnehoma Financial Company, Pierre Hotel, Pierre Marques Hotel, a 15th-century palace and nearby castle at Ladispoli on the coast northwest of Rome, a Malibu ranch home, and Sutton Place, a 72-room mansion near Guildford, Surrey.
Art collection
Getty's first forays into collecting began in the late 1930s, when he took inspiration from the collection of 18th-century French paintings and furniture owned by the landlord of his New York City penthouse, Amy Guest, a relation of Sir Winston Churchill. A fan of 18th-century France, Getty began buying furniture from the period at reduced prices because of the depressed art market. He wrote several books on collecting, including Europe and the 18th Century (1949), Collector's Choice: The Chronicle of an Artistic Odyssey through Europe (1955) and The Joys of Collecting (1965). His stinginess limited the range of his collecting because he refused to pay full price. Getty's companion in later life, Penelope Kitson, said "Paul was really too mean ever to allow himself to buy a great painting." Nonetheless, at the time of his death he owned more than 600 items valued at more than $4 million, including paintings by Rubens, Titian, Gainsborough, Renoir, Tintoretto, Degas, and Monet. During the 1950s, Getty's interests shifted to Greco-Roman sculpture, which led to the building of the Getty Villa in the 1970s to house the collection. These items were transferred to the Getty Museum and the Getty Villa in Los Angeles after his death.
Marriages, divorces and children
Getty was a notorious womanizer from the time of his youth, something that horrified his conservative Christian parents. His lawyer, Robin Lund, once said that, "Paul could hardly ever say 'no' to a woman, or 'yes' to a man." Lord Beaverbrook had called him "Priapic" and "ever-ready" in his sexual habits.
In 1917, when he was 25, a paternity suit was filed against Getty in Los Angeles by Elsie Eckstrom, who claimed he was the father of her daughter, Paula. Eckstrom claimed that Getty had taken her virginity and fathered the child, while his legal team tried to undermine her credibility by claiming that she had a history of promiscuity. Getty agreed to a settlement of $10,000, upon which Eckstrom left town with the baby.
Getty was married and divorced five times. He had five sons with four of his wives:
Jeanette Demont (married 1923 – divorced 1926); one son, George F. Getty II (1924–1973).
Allene Ashby (1926–1928); no children. Getty met 17-year-old Ashby, the daughter of a Texas rancher, in Mexico City while he was studying Spanish and overseeing his family's business interests. They eloped to Cuernavaca, Mexico, but the marriage was bigamous as he was not yet divorced from Jeanette. The two quickly decided to dissolve the union while still in Mexico.
Adolphine Helmle (1928–1932); one son, Jean Ronald Getty (1929–2009), whose son, Christopher Ronald Getty, married Pia Miller, sister of Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece. Like his first and second wives, Adolphine was 17 years old when Getty met her in Vienna. She was the daughter of a prominent German doctor who was opposed to her marrying the twice-divorced, 36-year-old Getty. The two eloped to Cuernavaca, where he had married Allene Ashby, then settled in Los Angeles. Following the birth of their son, Getty lost interest in her and her father convinced her to return to Germany with their child in 1929. After a protracted and contentious battle, their divorce was finalized in August 1932, with Adolphine receiving a huge sum for punitive damages and full custody of Ronald.
Ann Rork (1932–1936); two sons, John Paul Getty Jr. (1932–2003) and Gordon Peter Getty (born 1933). Getty was introduced to Rork when she was 14 years old, but she did not become his romantic partner until she was 21 in 1930. Because he was in the midst of his divorce from Adolphine, the couple had to wait two years before they married. He was largely absent during their marriage, staying for long stretches of time in Europe. She sued him for divorce in 1936 alleging emotional abuse and neglect. She described an incident while the two were abroad in Italy in which she claimed Getty forced her to climb to view the crater of Mount Vesuvius while she was pregnant with their first son. The court decided in her favor and she was awarded $2,500 per month alimony plus $1,000 each in child support for her sons.
Louise Dudley "Teddy" Lynch (1939–1958); one son, Timothy Ware Getty (1946–1958).
In 2013 at age 99, Getty's fifth wife, Louise, known as Teddy Getty Gaston, published a memoir reporting how Getty had scolded her for spending money too freely in the 1950s on the treatment of their six-year-old son, Timmy, who had become blind from a brain tumor. Timmy died at age 12, and Getty, living in England apart from his family who were in the U.S., did not attend the funeral. Gaston divorced Getty that year. Teddy Gaston died in April 2017 at the age of 103.
Getty was quoted as saying "A lasting relationship with a woman is only possible if you are a business failure," and, "I hate to be a failure. I hate and regret the failure of my marriages. I would gladly give all my millions for just one lasting marital success."
Kidnapping of grandson John Paul Getty III
In Rome on July 10, 1973, 'Ndrangheta kidnappers abducted Getty's 16-year-old grandson, John Paul Getty III, and demanded a $17 million (equivalent to $ in ) payment for his safe return. However, the family suspected a ploy by the rebellious teenager to extract money from his miserly grandfather. John Paul Getty Jr. asked his father for the money, but was refused, arguing that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnap targets if he paid.
In November 1973, an envelope containing a lock of hair and a human ear arrived at a daily newspaper. The second demand had been delayed three weeks by an Italian postal strike. The demand threatened that Paul would be further mutilated unless the victims paid $3.2 million. The demand stated "This is Paul's ear. If we don't get some money within 10 days, then the other ear will arrive. In other words, he will arrive in little bits."
When the kidnappers finally reduced their demands to $3 million, Getty agreed to pay no more than $2.2 million (equivalent to $ in ), the maximum that would be tax-deductible. He lent his son the remaining $800,000 at four percent interest. Getty's grandson was found alive on December 15, 1973, in a Lauria filling station, in the province of Potenza, shortly after the ransom was paid. After his release, the younger Getty called his grandfather to thank him for paying the ransom but Getty refused to come to the phone. Nine people associated with 'Ndrangheta were later arrested for the kidnapping, but only two were convicted. Getty III was permanently affected by the trauma and became a drug addict. After a stroke, brought on by a cocktail of drugs and alcohol in 1981, Getty III was rendered speechless, nearly blind and partially paralyzed for the rest of his life. He died on February 5, 2011, at the age of 54.
Getty defended his initial refusal to pay the ransom on two points. He argued that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnap targets if he paid, and also stated, "The second reason for my refusal was much broader-based. I contend that acceding to the demands of criminals and terrorists merely guarantees the continuing increase and spread of lawlessness, violence and such outrages as terror-bombings, "skyjackings" and the slaughter of hostages that plague our present-day world."
Nine of the kidnappers were apprehended, including Girolamo Piromalli and Saverio Mammoliti, high-ranking members of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia organization in Calabria. Two of the kidnappers were convicted and sent to prison; the others were acquitted for lack of evidence, including the 'Ndrangheta bosses. Most of the ransom money was never recovered.
Reputation for frugality
Many anecdotal stories exist of Getty's reputed thriftiness and parsimony, which struck observers as comical, even perverse, because of his extreme wealth. The two most widely known examples are his reluctance to pay his grandson's $17 million kidnapping ransom, and a notorious pay-phone he had installed at Sutton Place. A darker incident was his fifth wife's claim that Getty had scolded her for spending too much on their terminally ill son's medical treatment, though he was worth tens of millions of dollars at the time. He was well known for bargaining on almost everything to obtain the lowest possible price, including suites at luxury hotels and virtually all purchases of artwork and real estate. In 1959, Sutton Place, a 72-room mansion, was purchased from George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland, for £60,000, about half of what the Duke paid for it 40 years earlier.
Getty's secretary claimed that Getty did his laundry by hand because he didn't want to pay for his clothes to be laundered. When his shirts became frayed at the cuffs, he would trim the frayed part instead of purchasing new shirts.
Re-using stationery was another obsession of Getty's. He had a habit of writing responses to letters on the margins or back sides and mailing them back, rather than using a new sheet of paper. He also carefully saved and re-used manila envelopes, rubber bands and other office supplies.
When Getty took a group of friends to a dog show in London, he made them walk around the block for 10 minutes until the tickets became half-priced at 5 pm, because he didn't want to pay the full 5 shillings per head.
Getty moved to Sutton Place in part because the cost of living was cheaper than in London, where he had resided at the Ritz. He once boasted to American columnist Art Buchwald that it cost 10 cents for a rum and coke at Sutton Place, whereas at the Ritz it was more than a dollar.
Author John Pearson attributed part of Getty's extreme penny-pinching to the Methodist sensibility of Getty's upbringing, which emphasized modest living and personal economy. His business acumen was also a major factor in Getty's thriftiness. "He would allow himself no self-indulgence in the purchase of a place to live, a work of art, even a piece of furniture, unless he could convince himself that it would appreciate in value."
Getty claimed his frugality towards others was a response to people taking advantage of him and not paying their fair share. "It's not the money I object to, it's the principle of the thing that bothers me ..."
Coin-box telephone
Getty famously had a payphone installed at Sutton Place, helping to seal his reputation as a miser. Getty placed dial-locks on all the regular telephones, limiting their use to authorized staff, and the coin-box telephone was installed for others. In his autobiography, he described his reasons:
When speaking in a televised interview with Alan Whicker in February 1963, Getty said that he thought guests would want to use a payphone. After 18 months, Getty explained, "the in-and-out traffic flow at Sutton subsided. Management and operation of the house settled into a reasonable routine. With that, the pay-telephone [was] removed, and the dial-locks were taken off the telephones in the house."
Later years and death
On June 30, 1960, Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relative of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly purchased Sutton Place. Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. At about 10 p.m. the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls and causing an estimated £20,000 in damage. A valuable silver ewer by the 18th century silversmith Paul de Lamerie was stolen, but returned anonymously when the London newspapers began covering the theft. The failure of the event made Getty the object of ridicule and he never threw another large party again.
Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world. The value of Getty Oil shares quadrupled during the Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War of October 1973, which caused a worldwide oil shortage for years. Getty's earnings topped $25.8 million in 1975.
Getty's insatiable appetite for sex also continued into his 80s. He used an experimental drug, H3, to maintain his potency. Getty met the English interior designer Penelope Kitson in the 1950s and entrusted her with decorating his homes and the public rooms of the oil tankers he was launching. From 1960, Kitson resided in a cottage on the grounds of Sutton Place. Getty and Kitson maintained a platonic relationship and Getty held her in high respect and trust. Other mistresses who resided at Sutton Place included the married Mary Teissier, a distant cousin of the last Tsar of Russia, Lady Ursula d'Abo, who had close connections to the British Royal Family, and Nicaraguan-born Rosabella Burch.
The New York Times wrote of Getty's domestic arrangement: "[Getty] ended his life with a collection of desperately hopeful women, all living together in his Tudor mansion in England, none of them aware that his favorite pastime was rewriting his will, changing his insultingly small bequests: $209 a month to one, $1,167 to another." Only Kitson received a significant bequest upon Getty's death, receiving 5,000 shares of Getty Oil, which doubled in value during the 1980s, and a $1,167 monthly income.
Getty died of heart failure at the age of 83 on June 6, 1976, in Sutton Place near Guildford, Surrey. He was buried in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California at the Getty Villa. The gravesite is not open to the public.
Media portrayals
Christopher Plummer portrayed Getty in the 2017 film All the Money in the World, which dramatizes the kidnapping of his grandson. Getty was originally portrayed by Kevin Spacey, but after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced against Spacey ahead of the film's premiere, Plummer was cast to re-film his scenes. For his performance, Plummer received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
The kidnapping is also dramatized in the first season of the American anthology drama series Trust, where Getty is portrayed by Donald Sutherland.
Quotations
J. Paul Getty has one entry in the 8th Edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.
“If you can actually count your money, then you are not really a rich man.”
Published works
Getty, J. Paul. The history of the bigger oil business of George F.S. F. and J. Paul Getty from 1903 to 1939. Los Angeles?, 1941,
Getty, J. Paul. Europe in the Eighteenth Century. [Santa Monica, Calif.]: privately printed, 1949,
Le Vane, Ethel, and J. Paul Getty. Collector's Choice: The Chronicle of an Artistic Odyssey through Europe. London: W.H. Allen, 1955,
Getty, J. Paul. My Life and Fortunes. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1963,
Getty, J. Paul. The Joys of Collecting. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1965,
Getty, J. Paul. How to be Rich. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1965,
Getty, J. Paul. The Golden Age. New York: Trident Press, 1968,
Getty, J. Paul. How to be a Successful Executive. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1971,
Getty, J. Paul. As I See It: The Autobiography of J. Paul Getty. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, 1976. ,
See also
List of richest Americans in history
List of wealthiest historical figures
References
Further reading
Hewins, Ralph. The Richest American: J. Paul Getty. New York: Dutton, 1960.
Lund, Robina. The Getty I Knew. Kansas City: Sheed Andrews and McMeel, 1977. .
Miller, Russell. The House of Getty. New York: Henry Holt, 1985. .
de Chair, Somerset Struben. Getty on Getty: a man in a billion. London: Cassell, 1989. .
Pearson, John. Painfully Rich: J. Paul Getty and His Heirs. London: Macmillan, 1995. .
Wooster, Martin Morse. Philanthropy Hall of Fame, J. Paul Getty. philanthropyroundtable.org.
External links
J. Paul Getty diaries, 1938–1946, 1948–1976 finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
J. Paul Getty family collected papers, 1880s–1989, undated (bulk 1911–1977) finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
J. Paul Getty and Ashby sisters papers, 1926-1992, finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
1892 births
1976 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
American art collectors
American autobiographers
American business writers
American businesspeople in the oil industry
American billionaires
American emigrants to England
American people of Scotch-Irish descent
American philanthropists
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Businesspeople from Minneapolis
Businesspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma
English people of Irish descent
Museum founders
J. Paul
J
John H. Francis Polytechnic High School alumni
Philanthropists from California
University of California, Berkeley alumni | false | [
"This article contains a list of child bridegrooms or child husbands wherein notable or historically significant examples have been singled out.\n\nList\n\nAntiquity \n Tutankhamun was married before the age of nine years to his half-sister Ankhesenamun (aged about 16).\n\n8th century \n The future Emperor Shōmu (aged about 16) was married to in Asukabe-hime (aged 16) .\n\n10th century \n The future Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor (aged 16/17), was married to Theophanu (aged about 17) in 972.\n\n The future Louis V of France (aged about 15) was married to the twice-widowed Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou (aged 40) in 982.\n\n The future Emperor Ichijō (aged 10) was married to Fujiwara no Teishi (about 12/13) in October 990.\n\n11th century \n Fujiwara no Shōshi (aged about 12) was married to the future Emperor Ichijō (aged 19/20) in 1000.\n\n The future Emperor Go-Ichijō (aged 10) married his aunt Fujiwara no Ishi (aged 19) in 1018.\n\n The future Emperor Horikawa (aged 14) was married to his paternal aunt Princess Tokushi (aged about 33) in 1093.\n\n12th century \n Pons, Count of Tripoli (aged 13/14), was married to Cecile of France (aged 14/15) in 1112.\n\n William Adelin (aged 15), son and heir of Henry I of England, was married to Matilda of Anjou (aged about 13) in 1119.\n\n Louis VII of France (aged 17) married Eleanor of Aquitaine (aged about 15) in 1137; their marriage was annulled in 1152.\n\n Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne (aged about 12/13), was married to Constance of France (aged about 15/16) in 1140.\n\n Philip I, Count of Flanders (aged 15/16), was married to Elisabeth of Vermandois (aged 16) in 1159.\n\n The future Emperor Nijō (aged 15) was married to his paternal aunt Princess Yoshiko (aged 17) in March 1159.\n\n Alfonso VIII of Castile (aged 14/15) married Eleanor of England in 1170, when she was about 9-years-old.\n\n Henry the Young King (aged 17) was married to Margaret of France (aged 13/14) in 1172. They had been betrothed since 1160, when Henry was 5 and Margaret was about 2.\n\n Canute VI of Denmark (aged about 13/14) was married to Gertrude of Bavaria (aged 22 or 25) in 1177. They had been engaged since 1171, since he was about 7/8 and she was about 16 or 19.\n\n Henry I, Duke of Brabant (aged about 14), was married to Matilda of Boulogne (aged 9) in 1179.\n\n Alexios II Komnenos was 10 when he is reported to have married Agnes of France (aged 9) in 1180.\n\n Philip II of France (aged 14) married Isabella of Hainault (aged 10) in 1180.\n\n Humphrey IV of Toron (aged about 17) married Isabella of Jerusalem (aged 10/11) in 1183. They had been betrothed when Humphrey was about 14/15 and Isabella was 8-years-old.\n\n Conrad II, Duke of Swabia (aged 13/14), married Berengaria of Castile in 1187, when she was about 8-years-old. The marriage was never consummated due to Berengaria's young age.\n\n William IV, Count of Ponthieu (aged 15/16), was married to Alys of France, Countess of Vexin (aged 34), in 1195.\n\n13th century \n Henry VI, Count Palatine of the Rhine (aged about 16), was married to Matilda of Brabant (aged about 12) in 1212.\n\n Henry I of Castile married his cousin Mafalda of Portugal (aged about 20) in 1215, when he was either 10- or 11-years-old. The marriage was never consummated due to Henry's young age; and the marriage was annulled by the Pope in 1216 on the grounds of consanguinity. Later that year, Henry was betrothed to his second cousin Sancha, heiress of León, but he died in 1217 at the age of 13.\n\n Baldwin II of Constantinople (aged about 17) was married to Marie of Brienne (aged about 10) in 1234.\n\n Alexander III of Scotland (aged 10) was married to Margaret of England (aged 11) in December 1251.\n\n Edward I of England (aged 15) was married to Eleanor of Castile (aged 13) in 1254.\n\n The future Philip III of France (aged 17) was married to Isabella of Aragon (aged 13/14) in May 1262. They had been betrothed since May 1258, when he was 13 and she was 9/10.\n\n John I, Duke of Brabant (17/18), was married to Margaret of France (aged 15/16) in 1270.\n\n The future Ladislaus IV of Hungary (aged 7/8) was married to Elizabeth of Sicily (aged 8/9) in 1270.\n\n Philip of Sicily (aged about 15/16) was married to Isabella of Villehardouin (aged either 8 or 11) in May 1271.\n\n The future Philip IV of France (aged 16) was married to Joan I of Navarre (aged 11) in August 1285.\n\n Wenceslaus II of Bohemia (aged 13) was married to Judith of Habsburg (aged 13) in January 1285.\n\n John II, Duke of Brabant (aged 14), was married to Margaret of England (aged 15) in 1290. John and Margaret had been betrothed since they were 2 and 3, respectively.\n\n Henry, Count of Luxembourg (aged about 13/14), was married to Margaret of Brabant (aged 15) in July 1292.\n\n John I, Count of Holland (aged 12/13), was married to Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (aged 14) in 1297.\n\n14th century \n Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March (aged 14), was married to Joan de Geneville (aged 15) in 1301.\n\n The future Gaston I, Count of Foix (aged 13/14), was married to Joan of Artois (aged 11/12) in 1301.\n\n The future Louis X of France (aged 15) was married to Margaret of Burgundy (aged about 15) in 1305.\n\n Philip V of France (aged about 13/14) was married to Joan of Burgundy (aged 14/15) in 1307.\n\n The future Charles IV of France (aged 13) was married to Blanche of Burgundy (aged about 11/12) in January 1308.\n\n John of Luxembourg (aged 14) was married to Elizabeth of Bohemia (aged 18) in September 1310.\n\n John III, Duke of Brabant (aged 10/11), was married to Marie of Évreux (aged 7/8) in 1311.\n\n Edmund Mortimer (aged about 13/14, possibly younger) was married to Elizabeth de Badlesmere (aged 3) in 1316.\n\n Thomas Beauchamp (aged about 6) was married to Katherine Mortimer (aged about 5) in 1319.\n\n Louis I, Count of Flanders (aged about 15/16), was married to Margaret of France (aged 9/10) in 1320.\n\n Guigues VIII of Viennois (aged 13/14) was married to Isabella of France (aged 10/11) in 1323.\n\n Alfonso XI of Castile (aged 13/14) was married to Constanza Manuel of Villena (aged at most 10) in 1325. He had the marriage annulled two years later, and in 1328, at the age of 16/17, married his double first cousin Maria of Portugal (aged 14/15).\n \n Edward III of England (aged 15) was married to Philippa of Hainault (between the ages of 12 and 17) in 1327.\n\n The future David II of Scotland (aged 4) was married to Joan of the Tower (aged 7) in 1328.\n\n Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke (aged about 9/10), was married to Agnes Mortimer (aged about 11/12) in 1328 or 1329. Laurence was a ward of Agnes's father, Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March.\n\n Charles IV, King of Bohemia (aged about 12/13; later Holy Roman Emperor), was married to Blanche of Valois (aged about 12/13) in 1329.\n\n Reginald II, Duke of Guelders (aged about 16), was married to Sophia Berthout in 1311. After Sophia's death in 1329, he married Eleanor of Woodstock (aged 13) in 1332, when he was about 37-years-old.\n\n John, Duke of Normandy (aged 13), was married to Bonne of Luxembourg (aged 17) in July 1332.\n\n Andrew of Hungary (aged 6) was married to the future Joanna I of Naples (aged about 6/7) in 1333.\n\n William IV, Count of Holland (aged 10/11), was married to Joanna of Brabant (aged 11/12) in 1334.\n\n Marie de Namur (aged about 13/14) was married to Henry II, Graf of Vianden, in 1335/36. Henry was murdered in 1337; about three years later, in 1340, Marie (now about 17/18) was married to Theobald of Bar, Seigneur de Pierrepont (aged about 25/26), her second cousin, once removed.\n\n Philip of Burgundy (aged about 14/15) was married to Joan I, Countess of Auvergne (aged about 11/12), circa 1338.\n\n William Montagu (aged 12) was married to Joan of Kent (aged 13) in either late 1340 or early 1341. In 1348, it was revealed that Joan had secretly married Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent, in 1340; and, as a result, Montagu's marriage to Joan was annulled.\n\n Gaston III, Count of Foix (aged 16/17), was married to Agnes of Navarre (aged 13/14) in 1348.\n\n Charles V of France (aged 12) was married Joanna of Bourbon (aged 12) to in April 1350.\n\n Thomas de Vere, 8th Earl of Oxford (aged about 15), was married to Maud de Ufford (born 1345/46) sometime before 10 June 1350, when Maud was about 5-years-old.\n\n Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence (aged 13/14), was married to Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster (aged 20), in 1352.\n\n Philip I, Duke of Burgundy (aged 10/11), was married to the future Margaret III, Countess of Flanders (aged 6/7), in 1357.\n\n Richard Fitzalan (aged 12/13) was married to Elizabeth de Bohun (aged about 9) in 1359.\n\n John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (aged 11), was married to Margaret of England (aged 12), daughter of Henry III of England, in 1359.\n\n Gian Galeazzo Visconti (aged 8) was married to Isabella of Valois (aged 11/12) in October 1360, about a week before Gian's 9th birthday.\n\n Albert III, Duke of Austria (aged 16/17), was married to Elisabeth of Bohemia (aged 7/8) in 1366.\n\n Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March (aged 15/16), was married to Philippa of Clarence (aged 12/13) in 1368.\n\n The future Charles III of Navarre (aged 13/14) was married to Eleanor of Castile (aged about 12) in May 1375.\n\n John V, Lord of Arkel (aged 14), was married to Joanna of Jülich in October 1376.\n\n John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (aged 8), was married to Elizabeth of Lancaster (aged 17) in 1380. The marriage remained unconsummated due to John's age, and was annulled after Elizabeth became pregnant by John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, whom she later married.\n\n Henry Bolingbroke (aged 13; later King Henry IV of England) was married to Mary de Bohun (aged about 10/11) in 1380.\n\n Richard II of England (aged 15) was married to Anne of Bohemia (aged 15) in January 1382.\n\n John, Count of Nevers (aged 14) was married to Margaret of Bavaria (aged 21/22) in April 1385.\n\n The future John V, Duke of Brittany (aged 6/7), was married to Joan of France (aged 4/5) in 1396.\n\n John of Perche (aged 10/11) was married to Marie of Brittany (aged 5) in July 1396.\n\n15th century \n Louis, Duke of Guyenne (aged 7), married Margaret of Nevers (aged 10) in August 1404.\nCharles, Duke of Orléans (aged 11), married his cousin Isabella of Valois (aged 16) in June 1406.\n\n Philip the Good (aged 12) was married to Michelle of Valois (aged 14) in June 1409.\n\n John, Duke of Touraine (aged 16), was married to Jacqueline of Hainaut (aged 14) in 1415.\n\n John IV, Duke of Brabant (aged 14), was married to Jacqueline of Hainaut (aged 16) in March 1418, following her first husband's death the year before.\n\n John II, Duke of Alençon (aged 15), married Joan of Valois (aged 15), daughter of Charles, Duke of Orléans, in 1424.\n\n Louis, Dauphin of France (aged 12), was married to Margaret Stewart (aged 11), daughter of James I of Scotland, in June 1436. The wedding took place a little over a week before Louis's thirteenth birthday.\n\n Henry IV of Castile (aged 14/15) was married to his cousin Blanche of Navarre (aged 15/16) in 1440.\n\n Afonso V of Portugal (aged 15) was married to Isabel of Coimbra (aged 15) in May 1447.\n\n John de la Pole (age 7) was married to Margaret Beaufort, (age 7; approximately) in 1450 by the arrangement John's father. The marriage was annulled in 1453.\n\n Ferdinand II of Aragon (aged 17) was married to his second cousin Infanta Isabella of Castile (aged 18; later Isabella I of Castile) in 1469. They became the parents of Catherine of Aragon.\n\n John, Prince of Portugal (aged 14) was married to his first cousin Eleanor of Viseu (aged 11) in January 1470.\n\n Louis, Duke of Orléans (aged 14) was married to his cousin Joan of France, Duchess of Berry (age 12), in 1476.\n\n Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York (age 4), was married to Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk (age 6), in 1477. She died at age 10 and he, as one of the Princes in the Tower, is believed to have been murdered at age 10.\n\n Afonso, Prince of Portugal (aged about 15), was married by proxy to Isabella of Aragon (aged 19) in the spring of 1490.\n\n16th century \n Arthur, Prince of Wales (aged 15), was married to Catherine of Aragon (aged 15) in 1501. He died a few months later and she eventually married his younger brother, Henry VIII of England.\n\n Charles, Count of Montpensier (aged 15), was married to Suzanne, Duchess of Bourbon (aged 14), in 1505.\n\n Henry VIII of England (aged 17), married Catherine of Aragon (aged 23) in June 1509, a couple of weeks before his 18th birthday.\n\n Claude, Duke of Guise (aged 16), was married to Antoinette de Bourbon (aged 18) in 1513.\n\n Henry, Duke of Orléans (aged 14), was married to Catherine de' Medici (aged 14) in 1533.\n\n Henry Grey, Marquess of Dorset (aged 15/16), was married to Lady Frances Brandon (aged 15/16) in 1533.\n\n Henry Clifford (aged 17/18) was married to Lady Eleanor Brandon (aged 15/16) in 1535.\n\n Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma (aged 14), grandson of Pope Paul III, was married to Margaret of Parma (aged 15), illegitimate daughter of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, in November 1538.\n\n Philip, Prince of Asturias (aged 16; later Philip II of Spain), was married to Maria Manuela, Princess of Portugal (aged 16), in 1543.\n\n João Manuel, Prince of Portugal (aged 14), was married to his double first cousin Joanna of Austria (aged 16) in 1552.\n\n Lord Guildford Dudley (aged about 17/18) was married to Lady Jane Grey (aged about 16/17) in 1553.\n\n Henry, Lord Herbert, was at most 15-years-old, was married to Lady Katherine Grey (aged 12), younger sister of Lady Jane Grey, in 1553. The marriage was annulled in 1554.\n\n Francis, Dauphin of France (aged 13/14), was married to Mary, Queen of Scots (aged 15/16), in 1558. The pair had been betrothed since Mary was five and Francis was three.\n\n Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (aged 15), was married to Claude of France (aged 11), daughter of Henry II of France, in 1559.\n\n17th century \n Alfonso, Hereditary Prince of Modena (aged 16/17), was married to Isabella of Savoy (aged 16) in 1608.\n\n César, Duke of Vendôme (aged 14), was married to Françoise de Lorraine (aged 15/16) in July 1608.\n\n Frederick V, Elector Palatine (aged 16), married Elizabeth Stuart (aged 16), eldest daughter of James VI and I and Anne of Denmark, in 1613.\n\n Louis XIII of France (aged 14) was married to his second cousin Anne of Austria (aged 14) in November 1615.\n\n The future Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (aged 14), was married to Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy (aged 14) in December 1650.\n\n The future William II, Prince of Orange (aged 15), married Mary, Princess Royal (aged 9), in 1641. The marriage was reported to not have been consummated for a number of years due to the bride's age.\n\n Walter Scott of Highchester (aged 14) was married to Mary Scott, 3rd Countess of Buccleuch (aged 11), in 1659.\n\n James Crofts, 1st Duke of Monmouth (aged 14), illegitimate son of Charles II of England and his mistress Lucy Walter, was married to Anne Scott, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch (aged 12), in April 1663.\n\n Sir Edward Lee (aged 14) was married to Lady Charlotte FitzRoy (aged 13) in 1677. They had been betrothed since 1674, before Charlotte's tenth birthday.\n\n Ivan V of Russia (aged 17) was married to Praskovia Saltykova (aged 18/19) in either late 1683 or early 1684.\n\n Louis, Prince of Condé (aged 16), was married to his distant cousin Louise Françoise de Bourbon (aged 11) in 1685.\n\n Philippe, Duke of Chartres (aged 17), married his first cousin Françoise Marie de Bourbon (aged 14), legitimated daughter of Louis XIV, in February 1692.\n\n Louis, Duke of Burgundy (aged 15), was married to Marie Adélaïde of Savoy (aged 12) in December 1697.\n\n18th century \n Philip V of Spain (aged 17) was married to Maria Luisa Gabriela of Savoy (aged 12) in September 1701, five days before Maria Luisa's 13th birthday.\n\n Louis Armand II, Prince of Conti (aged 17), was married to Louise Élisabeth de Bourbon (aged 19) in July 1713.\n\n Jules, Prince of Soubise (aged 17), was married to Anne Julie de Melun (aged 15/16) in September 1714.\n\n Louis, Prince of Asturias (aged 14), was married by proxy to Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans (aged 11) in November 1721.\n\n Louis XV of France (aged 15) was married to Marie Leszczyńska (aged 22) in 1725.\n\n José, Prince of Brazil (aged 14), was married to Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain (aged 10) in January 1729.\n\n Louis François, Prince of Conti (aged 14), was married to Louise Diane d'Orléans (aged 15) in January 1732.\n\n Gaston, Count of Marsan (aged 17), was married to Marie Louise de Rohan (aged 16) in June 1736.\n\n Ercole Rinaldo d'Este (aged 13/14) was married to Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, Duchess of Massa (aged 15/16) in 1741.\n\n Louis, Dauphin of France (aged 15), was married to Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain (aged 18) in 1744. After Maria Teresa's death in early 1746, Louis was required to remarry quickly in order to secure the succession to the French crown. Thus, he married again in February 1747, at the age of 17, to Duchess Maria Josepha of Saxony (aged 15).\n\n Peter of Holstein-Gottorp (later Peter III of Russia) was 17-years-old when he married his 16-year-old second cousin Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst (later known as Catherine the Great) in 1745.\n\n Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé (aged 16), was married to Charlotte de Rohan (aged 15) in 1753.\n\n Christian VII of Denmark (aged 17) was married to Princess Caroline Matilda of Great Britain (aged 15) in 1766.\n\n Ferdinand IV & III of Naples and Sicily (aged 17) was married by proxy to Maria Carolina of Austria (aged 15) in April 1768.\n\n Louis Henri, Duke of Enghien (aged 14), was married to Bathilde d'Orléans (aged 19) in 1770.\n\n Louis-Auguste, Dauphin of France (aged 15), was married to Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria (aged 14; later known as Marie Antoinette) in April 1770.\n\n Louis Stanislas, Count of Provence (aged 15; the future King Louis XVIII of France), was married to Marie Joséphine of Savoy (aged 17) in 1771.\n\n Charles Philippe, Duke of Artois (aged 16; later Charles X of France), was married to Princess Maria Theresa of Savoy (aged 17) in 1773.\n\n The future Alexander I of Russia (aged 15) married Princess Louise of Baden (aged 14) in 1793.\n\n19th century\n Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias (aged 17; later Ferdinand VII of Spain), was married to his first cousin Princess Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily (aged 17) in October 1802, about a week before his 18th birthday.\n\n Tokugawa Iemochi (aged 15) was married to Chikako, Princess Kazu (aged 15), daughter of Emperor Ninkō, in February 1862.\n\nCeremonial marriages\n\nSanele Masilela, a nine year old South African boy married 62-year-old Helen Shabangu.\nJose Griggs, at the age of seven, married nine-year-old Jayla Cooper\n\nSee also\nList of child brides\nTeen marriage\n\nReferences\n\nLists of men\nHusbands",
"Lachlan Og MacLean, 1st Laird of Torloisk was the second son of Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean and the first Laird of Torloisk.\n\nBiography\nHe was the second son of Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean, and he received from his father a charter of the lands of Lehire-Torloisk, forfeited by the son of Ailean nan Sop, which was afterward confirmed by royal grant. He was present at the Battle of Gruinnart, and was severely wounded. He was a witness to a charter given by his father to Martin MacGillivray of Pennyghael, and subscribed himself in the Irish characters, Mise Lachin Mhac Gilleoin. He was an important man in his day, and was so influential that he was compelled to make his appearance before the privy council.\n\nHe was first married to Marian, daughter of Sir Duncan Campbell of Achnabreck and had:\nHector MacLean, 2nd Laird of Torloisk\nHe was a second time married to Margaret, daughter of Captain Stewart of Dumbarton, but had no children. \nHe was a third time married to Marian, daughter of Donald MacDonald of Clanranald, and had:\nHector Maclean\nLachlan Og Maclean, who died unmarried but had a son Donald Maclean\nLachlan Catanach Maclean was killed at Inverkeithing\nEwen Maclean\nJohn Diuriach Maclean married the daughter of John Maclean, Laird of Ardgour and had Allan and several daughters\nOther children include: \nAllan Maclean who died unmarried at Harris\nNeil Maclean who married a daughter of Lochbuie, by whom he had a daughter\nLachlan, who died a lieutenant-colonel in the British service\nJannet Maclean, married Hector, first MacLean of Kinlochaline \nMary Maclean, married John Garbh, eldest son of John Dubh of Morvern \nCatherine Maclean, married John, brother to MacNeil of Barra\nJulian Maclean, married Allan MacLean, brother of Lochbuie\nIsabella Maclean, married Martin MacGillivray of Pennyghael\n\nLachlan Og lived to an advanced age, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Hector MacLean, 2nd Laird of Torloisk.\n\nReferences\n\nYear of birth missing\nYear of death missing\nLachlan Og MacLean, 1st Laird of Torloisk\nLachlan"
] |
[
"J. Paul Getty",
"Later years & death",
"what did Getty do in his later years?",
"Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world.",
"was he a wealthy man?",
"Getty enjoying personal earnings of $25.8 million in 1975 (appr. $120 million in 2018 USD).",
"was he married?",
"I don't know."
] | C_15c44bbbd0894d0999396f8aa91e2aaf_0 | what was his greatest accomplishment? | 4 | What was J. Paul Getty's greatest accomplishment? | J. Paul Getty | On June 30, 1960, Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relation of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly-purchased Sutton Place. 1,200 guests consisting of the cream of British society were invited. Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. At about 10pm the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls, causing an estimated L20,000 in damages. A valuable silver ewer by the 18th century silversmith Paul de Lamerie was stolen, but returned anonymously when the London newspapers began covering the theft. The failure of the event made the newly-arrived Getty the object of ridicule, and he never threw another large party again. Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world. The Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War of October 1973 caused a worldwide oil shortage for years to come. In this period, the value of Getty Oil shares quadrupled, with Getty enjoying personal earnings of $25.8 million in 1975 (appr. $120 million in 2018 USD). His insatiable appetite for women and sex also continued well into his 80s. He used an experimental drug, "H3", to maintain his potency. Getty met the English interior designer Penelope Kitson in the 1950s and entrusted her with decorating his homes and the public rooms of the oil tankers he was launching. From 1960 she resided in a cottage on the grounds of Sutton Place, and, though she did not have a sexual relationship with him, Getty held her in high respect and trust. Other mistresses who resided at Sutton Place included the married Mary Teissier, a distant cousin of the last Tsar of Russia, Lady Ursula d'Abo, who had close connections to the British Royal Family, and Nicaraguan-born Rosabella Burch. The New York Times wrote of Getty's domestic arrangement that: "[Getty] ended his life with a collection of desperately hopeful women, all living together in his Tudor mansion in England, none of them aware that his favorite pastime was rewriting his will, changing his insultingly small bequests: $209 a month to one, $1,167 to another." Only Penelope Kitson received a handsome bequest upon Getty's death: 5,000 Getty Oil shares (appr. $826,500 in 1976), which doubled in value during the 1980s, and a $1,167 monthly income. Getty died June 6, 1976, in Sutton Place near Guildford, Surrey, England. He was buried in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California at the Getty Villa. The gravesite is not open to the public. CANNOTANSWER | Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relation of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly-purchased Sutton Place. | Jean Paul Getty Sr. (; December 15, 1892 – June 6, 1976) was an American-born British petroleum industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942 and was the patriarch of the Getty family. A native of Minneapolis, he was the son of pioneer oilman George Getty. In 1957, Fortune magazine named him the richest living American, while the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, worth an estimated $1.2 billion (approximately $ billion in ). At his death, he was worth more than $6 billion (approximately $ billion in ). A book published in 1996 ranked him as the 67th richest American who ever lived, based on his wealth as a percentage of the concurrent gross national product.
Despite his vast wealth, Getty was famously frugal, notably negotiating his grandson's kidnapping ransom in 1973. He had five children and divorced five times. Getty was an avid collector of art and antiquities. His collection formed the basis of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles; more than $661 million of his estate was left to the museum after his death. He established the J. Paul Getty Trust in 1953. The trust, which is the world's wealthiest art institution, operates the J. Paul Getty Museum Complexes: the Getty Center, the Getty Villa and the Getty Foundation, the Getty Research Institute, as well as the Getty Conservation Institute.
Early life and education
Getty was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Sarah Catherine McPherson (Risher) and George Getty, who was an attorney in the insurance industry. Getty was raised as a Methodist by his parents. His father was a devout Christian Scientist and both were strict teetotalers. He was of part Scottish descent. In 1903, when Getty was 10 years old, George Getty traveled to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and bought the mineral rights for 1,100 acres of land. The Getty family subsequently moved to Bartlesville, where J. Paul Getty attended the Garfield School. Within a few years Getty had established wells on the land that were producing 100,000 barrels of crude oil a month.
As newly minted millionaires, the family moved to Los Angeles. But, J. Paul Getty later returned to Oklahoma. At age 14, Getty attended Harvard Military School for a year, followed by Polytechnic High School, where he was given the nickname "Dictionary Getty" because of his love of reading. He became fluent in French, German and Italian. Getty was also conversational in Spanish, Greek, Arabic and Russian. A love of the classics led Getty to acquire reading proficiency in Ancient Greek and Latin.
He enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, but did not complete a degree. Enamored with Europe after traveling abroad with his parents in 1910, Getty enrolled at the University of Oxford on November 28, 1912. A letter of introduction by then-President of the United States William Howard Taft enabled him to gain independent instruction from tutors at Magdalen College. Although he was not registered at Magdalen, he claimed the aristocratic students "accepted me as one of their own" and he fondly boasted of the friends he made, including Edward VIII, the future King of the United Kingdom. He obtained a diploma in economics and political science from Oxford in June 1913, then spent months traveling throughout Europe and Egypt before meeting his parents in Paris and returning with them to America in June 1914.
Career
In the autumn of 1914, George Getty gave his son $10,000 to invest in expanding the family's oil field holdings in Oklahoma. The first lot he bought, the Nancy Taylor No. 1 Oil Well Site near Haskell, Oklahoma was crucial to his early financial success. The well struck oil in August 1915 and by the next summer the 40 percent net production royalty he accrued from it had made him a millionaire.
In 1919, Getty returned to business in Oklahoma. During the 1920s, he added about $3 million to his already sizable estate. His succession of marriages and divorces so distressed his father that Getty inherited only $500,000 of the $10 million fortune his father left at the time of his death in 1930. Getty was left with one-third of the stock from George Getty Inc., while his mother received the remaining two-thirds, giving her a controlling interest.
In 1936, Getty's mother convinced him to contribute to the establishment of a $3.3 million investment trust, called the Sarah C. Getty Trust, to ensure the family's ever-growing wealth could be channeled into a tax-free, secure income for future generations of the Getty family. The trust enabled Getty to have easy access to ready capital, which he was funneling into the purchase of Tidewater Petroleum stock.
Shrewdly investing his resources during the Great Depression, Getty acquired Pacific Western Oil Corporation and began the acquisition (completed in 1953) of the Mission Corporation, which included Tidewater Oil and Skelly Oil. In 1967, Getty merged these holdings into Getty Oil.
In 1948–1949, Getty paid Ibn Saud $9.5 million in cash, guaranteed $1 million a year, and a royalty of 55 cents a barrel for the Saudi Arabian Neutral Zone concession. Oil was finally discovered in March 1953. Since 1953, Getty's gamble produced 16 million barrels a year, which contributed greatly to the fortune responsible for making him one of the richest people in the world.
Getty's wealth and ability to speak Arabic enabled his unparalleled expansion into the Middle East. Getty owned the controlling interest in about 200 businesses, including Getty Oil. Getty owned Getty Oil, Getty Inc., George F. Getty Inc., Pacific Western Oil Corporation, Mission Corporation, Mission Development Company, Tidewater Oil, Skelly Oil, Mexican Seaboard Oil, Petroleum Corporation of America, Spartan Aircraft Company, Spartan Cafeteria Company, Minnehoma Insurance Company, Minnehoma Financial Company, Pierre Hotel, Pierre Marques Hotel, a 15th-century palace and nearby castle at Ladispoli on the coast northwest of Rome, a Malibu ranch home, and Sutton Place, a 72-room mansion near Guildford, Surrey.
Art collection
Getty's first forays into collecting began in the late 1930s, when he took inspiration from the collection of 18th-century French paintings and furniture owned by the landlord of his New York City penthouse, Amy Guest, a relation of Sir Winston Churchill. A fan of 18th-century France, Getty began buying furniture from the period at reduced prices because of the depressed art market. He wrote several books on collecting, including Europe and the 18th Century (1949), Collector's Choice: The Chronicle of an Artistic Odyssey through Europe (1955) and The Joys of Collecting (1965). His stinginess limited the range of his collecting because he refused to pay full price. Getty's companion in later life, Penelope Kitson, said "Paul was really too mean ever to allow himself to buy a great painting." Nonetheless, at the time of his death he owned more than 600 items valued at more than $4 million, including paintings by Rubens, Titian, Gainsborough, Renoir, Tintoretto, Degas, and Monet. During the 1950s, Getty's interests shifted to Greco-Roman sculpture, which led to the building of the Getty Villa in the 1970s to house the collection. These items were transferred to the Getty Museum and the Getty Villa in Los Angeles after his death.
Marriages, divorces and children
Getty was a notorious womanizer from the time of his youth, something that horrified his conservative Christian parents. His lawyer, Robin Lund, once said that, "Paul could hardly ever say 'no' to a woman, or 'yes' to a man." Lord Beaverbrook had called him "Priapic" and "ever-ready" in his sexual habits.
In 1917, when he was 25, a paternity suit was filed against Getty in Los Angeles by Elsie Eckstrom, who claimed he was the father of her daughter, Paula. Eckstrom claimed that Getty had taken her virginity and fathered the child, while his legal team tried to undermine her credibility by claiming that she had a history of promiscuity. Getty agreed to a settlement of $10,000, upon which Eckstrom left town with the baby.
Getty was married and divorced five times. He had five sons with four of his wives:
Jeanette Demont (married 1923 – divorced 1926); one son, George F. Getty II (1924–1973).
Allene Ashby (1926–1928); no children. Getty met 17-year-old Ashby, the daughter of a Texas rancher, in Mexico City while he was studying Spanish and overseeing his family's business interests. They eloped to Cuernavaca, Mexico, but the marriage was bigamous as he was not yet divorced from Jeanette. The two quickly decided to dissolve the union while still in Mexico.
Adolphine Helmle (1928–1932); one son, Jean Ronald Getty (1929–2009), whose son, Christopher Ronald Getty, married Pia Miller, sister of Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece. Like his first and second wives, Adolphine was 17 years old when Getty met her in Vienna. She was the daughter of a prominent German doctor who was opposed to her marrying the twice-divorced, 36-year-old Getty. The two eloped to Cuernavaca, where he had married Allene Ashby, then settled in Los Angeles. Following the birth of their son, Getty lost interest in her and her father convinced her to return to Germany with their child in 1929. After a protracted and contentious battle, their divorce was finalized in August 1932, with Adolphine receiving a huge sum for punitive damages and full custody of Ronald.
Ann Rork (1932–1936); two sons, John Paul Getty Jr. (1932–2003) and Gordon Peter Getty (born 1933). Getty was introduced to Rork when she was 14 years old, but she did not become his romantic partner until she was 21 in 1930. Because he was in the midst of his divorce from Adolphine, the couple had to wait two years before they married. He was largely absent during their marriage, staying for long stretches of time in Europe. She sued him for divorce in 1936 alleging emotional abuse and neglect. She described an incident while the two were abroad in Italy in which she claimed Getty forced her to climb to view the crater of Mount Vesuvius while she was pregnant with their first son. The court decided in her favor and she was awarded $2,500 per month alimony plus $1,000 each in child support for her sons.
Louise Dudley "Teddy" Lynch (1939–1958); one son, Timothy Ware Getty (1946–1958).
In 2013 at age 99, Getty's fifth wife, Louise, known as Teddy Getty Gaston, published a memoir reporting how Getty had scolded her for spending money too freely in the 1950s on the treatment of their six-year-old son, Timmy, who had become blind from a brain tumor. Timmy died at age 12, and Getty, living in England apart from his family who were in the U.S., did not attend the funeral. Gaston divorced Getty that year. Teddy Gaston died in April 2017 at the age of 103.
Getty was quoted as saying "A lasting relationship with a woman is only possible if you are a business failure," and, "I hate to be a failure. I hate and regret the failure of my marriages. I would gladly give all my millions for just one lasting marital success."
Kidnapping of grandson John Paul Getty III
In Rome on July 10, 1973, 'Ndrangheta kidnappers abducted Getty's 16-year-old grandson, John Paul Getty III, and demanded a $17 million (equivalent to $ in ) payment for his safe return. However, the family suspected a ploy by the rebellious teenager to extract money from his miserly grandfather. John Paul Getty Jr. asked his father for the money, but was refused, arguing that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnap targets if he paid.
In November 1973, an envelope containing a lock of hair and a human ear arrived at a daily newspaper. The second demand had been delayed three weeks by an Italian postal strike. The demand threatened that Paul would be further mutilated unless the victims paid $3.2 million. The demand stated "This is Paul's ear. If we don't get some money within 10 days, then the other ear will arrive. In other words, he will arrive in little bits."
When the kidnappers finally reduced their demands to $3 million, Getty agreed to pay no more than $2.2 million (equivalent to $ in ), the maximum that would be tax-deductible. He lent his son the remaining $800,000 at four percent interest. Getty's grandson was found alive on December 15, 1973, in a Lauria filling station, in the province of Potenza, shortly after the ransom was paid. After his release, the younger Getty called his grandfather to thank him for paying the ransom but Getty refused to come to the phone. Nine people associated with 'Ndrangheta were later arrested for the kidnapping, but only two were convicted. Getty III was permanently affected by the trauma and became a drug addict. After a stroke, brought on by a cocktail of drugs and alcohol in 1981, Getty III was rendered speechless, nearly blind and partially paralyzed for the rest of his life. He died on February 5, 2011, at the age of 54.
Getty defended his initial refusal to pay the ransom on two points. He argued that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnap targets if he paid, and also stated, "The second reason for my refusal was much broader-based. I contend that acceding to the demands of criminals and terrorists merely guarantees the continuing increase and spread of lawlessness, violence and such outrages as terror-bombings, "skyjackings" and the slaughter of hostages that plague our present-day world."
Nine of the kidnappers were apprehended, including Girolamo Piromalli and Saverio Mammoliti, high-ranking members of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia organization in Calabria. Two of the kidnappers were convicted and sent to prison; the others were acquitted for lack of evidence, including the 'Ndrangheta bosses. Most of the ransom money was never recovered.
Reputation for frugality
Many anecdotal stories exist of Getty's reputed thriftiness and parsimony, which struck observers as comical, even perverse, because of his extreme wealth. The two most widely known examples are his reluctance to pay his grandson's $17 million kidnapping ransom, and a notorious pay-phone he had installed at Sutton Place. A darker incident was his fifth wife's claim that Getty had scolded her for spending too much on their terminally ill son's medical treatment, though he was worth tens of millions of dollars at the time. He was well known for bargaining on almost everything to obtain the lowest possible price, including suites at luxury hotels and virtually all purchases of artwork and real estate. In 1959, Sutton Place, a 72-room mansion, was purchased from George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland, for £60,000, about half of what the Duke paid for it 40 years earlier.
Getty's secretary claimed that Getty did his laundry by hand because he didn't want to pay for his clothes to be laundered. When his shirts became frayed at the cuffs, he would trim the frayed part instead of purchasing new shirts.
Re-using stationery was another obsession of Getty's. He had a habit of writing responses to letters on the margins or back sides and mailing them back, rather than using a new sheet of paper. He also carefully saved and re-used manila envelopes, rubber bands and other office supplies.
When Getty took a group of friends to a dog show in London, he made them walk around the block for 10 minutes until the tickets became half-priced at 5 pm, because he didn't want to pay the full 5 shillings per head.
Getty moved to Sutton Place in part because the cost of living was cheaper than in London, where he had resided at the Ritz. He once boasted to American columnist Art Buchwald that it cost 10 cents for a rum and coke at Sutton Place, whereas at the Ritz it was more than a dollar.
Author John Pearson attributed part of Getty's extreme penny-pinching to the Methodist sensibility of Getty's upbringing, which emphasized modest living and personal economy. His business acumen was also a major factor in Getty's thriftiness. "He would allow himself no self-indulgence in the purchase of a place to live, a work of art, even a piece of furniture, unless he could convince himself that it would appreciate in value."
Getty claimed his frugality towards others was a response to people taking advantage of him and not paying their fair share. "It's not the money I object to, it's the principle of the thing that bothers me ..."
Coin-box telephone
Getty famously had a payphone installed at Sutton Place, helping to seal his reputation as a miser. Getty placed dial-locks on all the regular telephones, limiting their use to authorized staff, and the coin-box telephone was installed for others. In his autobiography, he described his reasons:
When speaking in a televised interview with Alan Whicker in February 1963, Getty said that he thought guests would want to use a payphone. After 18 months, Getty explained, "the in-and-out traffic flow at Sutton subsided. Management and operation of the house settled into a reasonable routine. With that, the pay-telephone [was] removed, and the dial-locks were taken off the telephones in the house."
Later years and death
On June 30, 1960, Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relative of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly purchased Sutton Place. Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. At about 10 p.m. the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls and causing an estimated £20,000 in damage. A valuable silver ewer by the 18th century silversmith Paul de Lamerie was stolen, but returned anonymously when the London newspapers began covering the theft. The failure of the event made Getty the object of ridicule and he never threw another large party again.
Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world. The value of Getty Oil shares quadrupled during the Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War of October 1973, which caused a worldwide oil shortage for years. Getty's earnings topped $25.8 million in 1975.
Getty's insatiable appetite for sex also continued into his 80s. He used an experimental drug, H3, to maintain his potency. Getty met the English interior designer Penelope Kitson in the 1950s and entrusted her with decorating his homes and the public rooms of the oil tankers he was launching. From 1960, Kitson resided in a cottage on the grounds of Sutton Place. Getty and Kitson maintained a platonic relationship and Getty held her in high respect and trust. Other mistresses who resided at Sutton Place included the married Mary Teissier, a distant cousin of the last Tsar of Russia, Lady Ursula d'Abo, who had close connections to the British Royal Family, and Nicaraguan-born Rosabella Burch.
The New York Times wrote of Getty's domestic arrangement: "[Getty] ended his life with a collection of desperately hopeful women, all living together in his Tudor mansion in England, none of them aware that his favorite pastime was rewriting his will, changing his insultingly small bequests: $209 a month to one, $1,167 to another." Only Kitson received a significant bequest upon Getty's death, receiving 5,000 shares of Getty Oil, which doubled in value during the 1980s, and a $1,167 monthly income.
Getty died of heart failure at the age of 83 on June 6, 1976, in Sutton Place near Guildford, Surrey. He was buried in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California at the Getty Villa. The gravesite is not open to the public.
Media portrayals
Christopher Plummer portrayed Getty in the 2017 film All the Money in the World, which dramatizes the kidnapping of his grandson. Getty was originally portrayed by Kevin Spacey, but after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced against Spacey ahead of the film's premiere, Plummer was cast to re-film his scenes. For his performance, Plummer received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
The kidnapping is also dramatized in the first season of the American anthology drama series Trust, where Getty is portrayed by Donald Sutherland.
Quotations
J. Paul Getty has one entry in the 8th Edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.
“If you can actually count your money, then you are not really a rich man.”
Published works
Getty, J. Paul. The history of the bigger oil business of George F.S. F. and J. Paul Getty from 1903 to 1939. Los Angeles?, 1941,
Getty, J. Paul. Europe in the Eighteenth Century. [Santa Monica, Calif.]: privately printed, 1949,
Le Vane, Ethel, and J. Paul Getty. Collector's Choice: The Chronicle of an Artistic Odyssey through Europe. London: W.H. Allen, 1955,
Getty, J. Paul. My Life and Fortunes. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1963,
Getty, J. Paul. The Joys of Collecting. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1965,
Getty, J. Paul. How to be Rich. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1965,
Getty, J. Paul. The Golden Age. New York: Trident Press, 1968,
Getty, J. Paul. How to be a Successful Executive. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1971,
Getty, J. Paul. As I See It: The Autobiography of J. Paul Getty. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, 1976. ,
See also
List of richest Americans in history
List of wealthiest historical figures
References
Further reading
Hewins, Ralph. The Richest American: J. Paul Getty. New York: Dutton, 1960.
Lund, Robina. The Getty I Knew. Kansas City: Sheed Andrews and McMeel, 1977. .
Miller, Russell. The House of Getty. New York: Henry Holt, 1985. .
de Chair, Somerset Struben. Getty on Getty: a man in a billion. London: Cassell, 1989. .
Pearson, John. Painfully Rich: J. Paul Getty and His Heirs. London: Macmillan, 1995. .
Wooster, Martin Morse. Philanthropy Hall of Fame, J. Paul Getty. philanthropyroundtable.org.
External links
J. Paul Getty diaries, 1938–1946, 1948–1976 finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
J. Paul Getty family collected papers, 1880s–1989, undated (bulk 1911–1977) finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
J. Paul Getty and Ashby sisters papers, 1926-1992, finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
1892 births
1976 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
American art collectors
American autobiographers
American business writers
American businesspeople in the oil industry
American billionaires
American emigrants to England
American people of Scotch-Irish descent
American philanthropists
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Businesspeople from Minneapolis
Businesspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma
English people of Irish descent
Museum founders
J. Paul
J
John H. Francis Polytechnic High School alumni
Philanthropists from California
University of California, Berkeley alumni | false | [
"was a professional Go player.\n\nHe is well known in the Western go world for his book Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go.\n\nBiography \nKageyama was born in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In 1948, he won the biggest amateur Go tournament in Japan, the All-Amateur Honinbo. The year after that, he passed the pro exam. \n\nFor two years straight, Kageyama was runner up for the Prime Minister Cup. First, against Otake Hideo, then Hoshino Toshi. His style was a very calm one with deep calculations, similar to what Ishida Yoshio would use later on. The greatest accomplishment of his life, in his own opinion, was beating Rin Kaiho in the Prime Minister Cup semi-finals. At the time, Rin was the Meijin, the top player in Japan. Kageyama gave a commentary on this game in his book \"Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go\", where he wrote\n\nPromotion record\n\nRunners-up\n\nAwards\nTakamatsu-no-miya Prize once (1967)\n\nBibliography \nLessons in the Fundamentals of Go \nKage's Secret Chronicles of Handicap Go\n\nReferences\n\n1926 births\n1990 deaths\nJapanese Go players\nGo writers",
"Hans Christian Harald Tegner, known as Hans Tegner (30 November 1853 – 2 April 1932), was a Danish artist and illustrator. He is primarily known for his illustrations of literary works by Hans Christian Andersen and Ludvig Holberg and for his work for the Bing & Grøndahl porcelain factory.\n\nEarly life and education\nSon of lithographer Isac Wilhelm Tegner, Hans studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1869 to 1878.\n\nCareer\nHis first art exhibition was in 1882, featuring watercolour illustrations of Hans Christian Andersen's story The Tinderbox. His second, and last, exhibition in 1889 was a watercolour painting celebrating the 50-year jubilee of the Constitution of Denmark, and was bought by king Christian IX of Denmark. From 1883 to 1888, Tegner painted a series of illustrations for the works of Ludvig Holberg, his greatest artistic accomplishment. The second great accomplishment of Tegner, was his exquisite illustrations produced for the so-called international selection () of Andersen's fairy tales, finished in 1901.\n\nTegner was made professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1897. He illustrated a number of other books, as well as postal stamps, and the first 5-Danish krone note in 1898. He was the leader of Kunsthåndværkerskolen (a part of what is now Danmarks Designskole) from 1901 to 1917, and chief designer at porcelain manufacturer Bing & Grøndahl from 1907 to 1932. He died on April 2, 1932, in Fredensborg.\n\npersonal life\n\nTegner married Helga Byberg (13 January 1862 - 26 February 1945), a daughter of merchant Ole Strib Hansen Byberg (1812–82) and Karen Møller (1821–89), on 24 November 1896 in Sundby.\n\nHe died on 2 April 1932 and is buried in Asminderød Cemetery\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1853 births\n1932 deaths\nDanish artists\nRoyal Danish Academy of Fine Arts faculty\nRoyal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni\n19th-century illustrators of fairy tales\n20th-century illustrators of fairy tales"
] |
[
"J. Paul Getty",
"Later years & death",
"what did Getty do in his later years?",
"Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world.",
"was he a wealthy man?",
"Getty enjoying personal earnings of $25.8 million in 1975 (appr. $120 million in 2018 USD).",
"was he married?",
"I don't know.",
"what was his greatest accomplishment?",
"Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relation of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly-purchased Sutton Place."
] | C_15c44bbbd0894d0999396f8aa91e2aaf_0 | was the party a success? | 5 | Was the 21st birthday party J.Paul Getty threw for the 16th Duke of Norfolk a success? | J. Paul Getty | On June 30, 1960, Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relation of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly-purchased Sutton Place. 1,200 guests consisting of the cream of British society were invited. Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. At about 10pm the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls, causing an estimated L20,000 in damages. A valuable silver ewer by the 18th century silversmith Paul de Lamerie was stolen, but returned anonymously when the London newspapers began covering the theft. The failure of the event made the newly-arrived Getty the object of ridicule, and he never threw another large party again. Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world. The Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War of October 1973 caused a worldwide oil shortage for years to come. In this period, the value of Getty Oil shares quadrupled, with Getty enjoying personal earnings of $25.8 million in 1975 (appr. $120 million in 2018 USD). His insatiable appetite for women and sex also continued well into his 80s. He used an experimental drug, "H3", to maintain his potency. Getty met the English interior designer Penelope Kitson in the 1950s and entrusted her with decorating his homes and the public rooms of the oil tankers he was launching. From 1960 she resided in a cottage on the grounds of Sutton Place, and, though she did not have a sexual relationship with him, Getty held her in high respect and trust. Other mistresses who resided at Sutton Place included the married Mary Teissier, a distant cousin of the last Tsar of Russia, Lady Ursula d'Abo, who had close connections to the British Royal Family, and Nicaraguan-born Rosabella Burch. The New York Times wrote of Getty's domestic arrangement that: "[Getty] ended his life with a collection of desperately hopeful women, all living together in his Tudor mansion in England, none of them aware that his favorite pastime was rewriting his will, changing his insultingly small bequests: $209 a month to one, $1,167 to another." Only Penelope Kitson received a handsome bequest upon Getty's death: 5,000 Getty Oil shares (appr. $826,500 in 1976), which doubled in value during the 1980s, and a $1,167 monthly income. Getty died June 6, 1976, in Sutton Place near Guildford, Surrey, England. He was buried in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California at the Getty Villa. The gravesite is not open to the public. CANNOTANSWER | Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. | Jean Paul Getty Sr. (; December 15, 1892 – June 6, 1976) was an American-born British petroleum industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942 and was the patriarch of the Getty family. A native of Minneapolis, he was the son of pioneer oilman George Getty. In 1957, Fortune magazine named him the richest living American, while the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, worth an estimated $1.2 billion (approximately $ billion in ). At his death, he was worth more than $6 billion (approximately $ billion in ). A book published in 1996 ranked him as the 67th richest American who ever lived, based on his wealth as a percentage of the concurrent gross national product.
Despite his vast wealth, Getty was famously frugal, notably negotiating his grandson's kidnapping ransom in 1973. He had five children and divorced five times. Getty was an avid collector of art and antiquities. His collection formed the basis of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles; more than $661 million of his estate was left to the museum after his death. He established the J. Paul Getty Trust in 1953. The trust, which is the world's wealthiest art institution, operates the J. Paul Getty Museum Complexes: the Getty Center, the Getty Villa and the Getty Foundation, the Getty Research Institute, as well as the Getty Conservation Institute.
Early life and education
Getty was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Sarah Catherine McPherson (Risher) and George Getty, who was an attorney in the insurance industry. Getty was raised as a Methodist by his parents. His father was a devout Christian Scientist and both were strict teetotalers. He was of part Scottish descent. In 1903, when Getty was 10 years old, George Getty traveled to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and bought the mineral rights for 1,100 acres of land. The Getty family subsequently moved to Bartlesville, where J. Paul Getty attended the Garfield School. Within a few years Getty had established wells on the land that were producing 100,000 barrels of crude oil a month.
As newly minted millionaires, the family moved to Los Angeles. But, J. Paul Getty later returned to Oklahoma. At age 14, Getty attended Harvard Military School for a year, followed by Polytechnic High School, where he was given the nickname "Dictionary Getty" because of his love of reading. He became fluent in French, German and Italian. Getty was also conversational in Spanish, Greek, Arabic and Russian. A love of the classics led Getty to acquire reading proficiency in Ancient Greek and Latin.
He enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, but did not complete a degree. Enamored with Europe after traveling abroad with his parents in 1910, Getty enrolled at the University of Oxford on November 28, 1912. A letter of introduction by then-President of the United States William Howard Taft enabled him to gain independent instruction from tutors at Magdalen College. Although he was not registered at Magdalen, he claimed the aristocratic students "accepted me as one of their own" and he fondly boasted of the friends he made, including Edward VIII, the future King of the United Kingdom. He obtained a diploma in economics and political science from Oxford in June 1913, then spent months traveling throughout Europe and Egypt before meeting his parents in Paris and returning with them to America in June 1914.
Career
In the autumn of 1914, George Getty gave his son $10,000 to invest in expanding the family's oil field holdings in Oklahoma. The first lot he bought, the Nancy Taylor No. 1 Oil Well Site near Haskell, Oklahoma was crucial to his early financial success. The well struck oil in August 1915 and by the next summer the 40 percent net production royalty he accrued from it had made him a millionaire.
In 1919, Getty returned to business in Oklahoma. During the 1920s, he added about $3 million to his already sizable estate. His succession of marriages and divorces so distressed his father that Getty inherited only $500,000 of the $10 million fortune his father left at the time of his death in 1930. Getty was left with one-third of the stock from George Getty Inc., while his mother received the remaining two-thirds, giving her a controlling interest.
In 1936, Getty's mother convinced him to contribute to the establishment of a $3.3 million investment trust, called the Sarah C. Getty Trust, to ensure the family's ever-growing wealth could be channeled into a tax-free, secure income for future generations of the Getty family. The trust enabled Getty to have easy access to ready capital, which he was funneling into the purchase of Tidewater Petroleum stock.
Shrewdly investing his resources during the Great Depression, Getty acquired Pacific Western Oil Corporation and began the acquisition (completed in 1953) of the Mission Corporation, which included Tidewater Oil and Skelly Oil. In 1967, Getty merged these holdings into Getty Oil.
In 1948–1949, Getty paid Ibn Saud $9.5 million in cash, guaranteed $1 million a year, and a royalty of 55 cents a barrel for the Saudi Arabian Neutral Zone concession. Oil was finally discovered in March 1953. Since 1953, Getty's gamble produced 16 million barrels a year, which contributed greatly to the fortune responsible for making him one of the richest people in the world.
Getty's wealth and ability to speak Arabic enabled his unparalleled expansion into the Middle East. Getty owned the controlling interest in about 200 businesses, including Getty Oil. Getty owned Getty Oil, Getty Inc., George F. Getty Inc., Pacific Western Oil Corporation, Mission Corporation, Mission Development Company, Tidewater Oil, Skelly Oil, Mexican Seaboard Oil, Petroleum Corporation of America, Spartan Aircraft Company, Spartan Cafeteria Company, Minnehoma Insurance Company, Minnehoma Financial Company, Pierre Hotel, Pierre Marques Hotel, a 15th-century palace and nearby castle at Ladispoli on the coast northwest of Rome, a Malibu ranch home, and Sutton Place, a 72-room mansion near Guildford, Surrey.
Art collection
Getty's first forays into collecting began in the late 1930s, when he took inspiration from the collection of 18th-century French paintings and furniture owned by the landlord of his New York City penthouse, Amy Guest, a relation of Sir Winston Churchill. A fan of 18th-century France, Getty began buying furniture from the period at reduced prices because of the depressed art market. He wrote several books on collecting, including Europe and the 18th Century (1949), Collector's Choice: The Chronicle of an Artistic Odyssey through Europe (1955) and The Joys of Collecting (1965). His stinginess limited the range of his collecting because he refused to pay full price. Getty's companion in later life, Penelope Kitson, said "Paul was really too mean ever to allow himself to buy a great painting." Nonetheless, at the time of his death he owned more than 600 items valued at more than $4 million, including paintings by Rubens, Titian, Gainsborough, Renoir, Tintoretto, Degas, and Monet. During the 1950s, Getty's interests shifted to Greco-Roman sculpture, which led to the building of the Getty Villa in the 1970s to house the collection. These items were transferred to the Getty Museum and the Getty Villa in Los Angeles after his death.
Marriages, divorces and children
Getty was a notorious womanizer from the time of his youth, something that horrified his conservative Christian parents. His lawyer, Robin Lund, once said that, "Paul could hardly ever say 'no' to a woman, or 'yes' to a man." Lord Beaverbrook had called him "Priapic" and "ever-ready" in his sexual habits.
In 1917, when he was 25, a paternity suit was filed against Getty in Los Angeles by Elsie Eckstrom, who claimed he was the father of her daughter, Paula. Eckstrom claimed that Getty had taken her virginity and fathered the child, while his legal team tried to undermine her credibility by claiming that she had a history of promiscuity. Getty agreed to a settlement of $10,000, upon which Eckstrom left town with the baby.
Getty was married and divorced five times. He had five sons with four of his wives:
Jeanette Demont (married 1923 – divorced 1926); one son, George F. Getty II (1924–1973).
Allene Ashby (1926–1928); no children. Getty met 17-year-old Ashby, the daughter of a Texas rancher, in Mexico City while he was studying Spanish and overseeing his family's business interests. They eloped to Cuernavaca, Mexico, but the marriage was bigamous as he was not yet divorced from Jeanette. The two quickly decided to dissolve the union while still in Mexico.
Adolphine Helmle (1928–1932); one son, Jean Ronald Getty (1929–2009), whose son, Christopher Ronald Getty, married Pia Miller, sister of Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece. Like his first and second wives, Adolphine was 17 years old when Getty met her in Vienna. She was the daughter of a prominent German doctor who was opposed to her marrying the twice-divorced, 36-year-old Getty. The two eloped to Cuernavaca, where he had married Allene Ashby, then settled in Los Angeles. Following the birth of their son, Getty lost interest in her and her father convinced her to return to Germany with their child in 1929. After a protracted and contentious battle, their divorce was finalized in August 1932, with Adolphine receiving a huge sum for punitive damages and full custody of Ronald.
Ann Rork (1932–1936); two sons, John Paul Getty Jr. (1932–2003) and Gordon Peter Getty (born 1933). Getty was introduced to Rork when she was 14 years old, but she did not become his romantic partner until she was 21 in 1930. Because he was in the midst of his divorce from Adolphine, the couple had to wait two years before they married. He was largely absent during their marriage, staying for long stretches of time in Europe. She sued him for divorce in 1936 alleging emotional abuse and neglect. She described an incident while the two were abroad in Italy in which she claimed Getty forced her to climb to view the crater of Mount Vesuvius while she was pregnant with their first son. The court decided in her favor and she was awarded $2,500 per month alimony plus $1,000 each in child support for her sons.
Louise Dudley "Teddy" Lynch (1939–1958); one son, Timothy Ware Getty (1946–1958).
In 2013 at age 99, Getty's fifth wife, Louise, known as Teddy Getty Gaston, published a memoir reporting how Getty had scolded her for spending money too freely in the 1950s on the treatment of their six-year-old son, Timmy, who had become blind from a brain tumor. Timmy died at age 12, and Getty, living in England apart from his family who were in the U.S., did not attend the funeral. Gaston divorced Getty that year. Teddy Gaston died in April 2017 at the age of 103.
Getty was quoted as saying "A lasting relationship with a woman is only possible if you are a business failure," and, "I hate to be a failure. I hate and regret the failure of my marriages. I would gladly give all my millions for just one lasting marital success."
Kidnapping of grandson John Paul Getty III
In Rome on July 10, 1973, 'Ndrangheta kidnappers abducted Getty's 16-year-old grandson, John Paul Getty III, and demanded a $17 million (equivalent to $ in ) payment for his safe return. However, the family suspected a ploy by the rebellious teenager to extract money from his miserly grandfather. John Paul Getty Jr. asked his father for the money, but was refused, arguing that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnap targets if he paid.
In November 1973, an envelope containing a lock of hair and a human ear arrived at a daily newspaper. The second demand had been delayed three weeks by an Italian postal strike. The demand threatened that Paul would be further mutilated unless the victims paid $3.2 million. The demand stated "This is Paul's ear. If we don't get some money within 10 days, then the other ear will arrive. In other words, he will arrive in little bits."
When the kidnappers finally reduced their demands to $3 million, Getty agreed to pay no more than $2.2 million (equivalent to $ in ), the maximum that would be tax-deductible. He lent his son the remaining $800,000 at four percent interest. Getty's grandson was found alive on December 15, 1973, in a Lauria filling station, in the province of Potenza, shortly after the ransom was paid. After his release, the younger Getty called his grandfather to thank him for paying the ransom but Getty refused to come to the phone. Nine people associated with 'Ndrangheta were later arrested for the kidnapping, but only two were convicted. Getty III was permanently affected by the trauma and became a drug addict. After a stroke, brought on by a cocktail of drugs and alcohol in 1981, Getty III was rendered speechless, nearly blind and partially paralyzed for the rest of his life. He died on February 5, 2011, at the age of 54.
Getty defended his initial refusal to pay the ransom on two points. He argued that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnap targets if he paid, and also stated, "The second reason for my refusal was much broader-based. I contend that acceding to the demands of criminals and terrorists merely guarantees the continuing increase and spread of lawlessness, violence and such outrages as terror-bombings, "skyjackings" and the slaughter of hostages that plague our present-day world."
Nine of the kidnappers were apprehended, including Girolamo Piromalli and Saverio Mammoliti, high-ranking members of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia organization in Calabria. Two of the kidnappers were convicted and sent to prison; the others were acquitted for lack of evidence, including the 'Ndrangheta bosses. Most of the ransom money was never recovered.
Reputation for frugality
Many anecdotal stories exist of Getty's reputed thriftiness and parsimony, which struck observers as comical, even perverse, because of his extreme wealth. The two most widely known examples are his reluctance to pay his grandson's $17 million kidnapping ransom, and a notorious pay-phone he had installed at Sutton Place. A darker incident was his fifth wife's claim that Getty had scolded her for spending too much on their terminally ill son's medical treatment, though he was worth tens of millions of dollars at the time. He was well known for bargaining on almost everything to obtain the lowest possible price, including suites at luxury hotels and virtually all purchases of artwork and real estate. In 1959, Sutton Place, a 72-room mansion, was purchased from George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland, for £60,000, about half of what the Duke paid for it 40 years earlier.
Getty's secretary claimed that Getty did his laundry by hand because he didn't want to pay for his clothes to be laundered. When his shirts became frayed at the cuffs, he would trim the frayed part instead of purchasing new shirts.
Re-using stationery was another obsession of Getty's. He had a habit of writing responses to letters on the margins or back sides and mailing them back, rather than using a new sheet of paper. He also carefully saved and re-used manila envelopes, rubber bands and other office supplies.
When Getty took a group of friends to a dog show in London, he made them walk around the block for 10 minutes until the tickets became half-priced at 5 pm, because he didn't want to pay the full 5 shillings per head.
Getty moved to Sutton Place in part because the cost of living was cheaper than in London, where he had resided at the Ritz. He once boasted to American columnist Art Buchwald that it cost 10 cents for a rum and coke at Sutton Place, whereas at the Ritz it was more than a dollar.
Author John Pearson attributed part of Getty's extreme penny-pinching to the Methodist sensibility of Getty's upbringing, which emphasized modest living and personal economy. His business acumen was also a major factor in Getty's thriftiness. "He would allow himself no self-indulgence in the purchase of a place to live, a work of art, even a piece of furniture, unless he could convince himself that it would appreciate in value."
Getty claimed his frugality towards others was a response to people taking advantage of him and not paying their fair share. "It's not the money I object to, it's the principle of the thing that bothers me ..."
Coin-box telephone
Getty famously had a payphone installed at Sutton Place, helping to seal his reputation as a miser. Getty placed dial-locks on all the regular telephones, limiting their use to authorized staff, and the coin-box telephone was installed for others. In his autobiography, he described his reasons:
When speaking in a televised interview with Alan Whicker in February 1963, Getty said that he thought guests would want to use a payphone. After 18 months, Getty explained, "the in-and-out traffic flow at Sutton subsided. Management and operation of the house settled into a reasonable routine. With that, the pay-telephone [was] removed, and the dial-locks were taken off the telephones in the house."
Later years and death
On June 30, 1960, Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relative of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly purchased Sutton Place. Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. At about 10 p.m. the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls and causing an estimated £20,000 in damage. A valuable silver ewer by the 18th century silversmith Paul de Lamerie was stolen, but returned anonymously when the London newspapers began covering the theft. The failure of the event made Getty the object of ridicule and he never threw another large party again.
Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world. The value of Getty Oil shares quadrupled during the Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War of October 1973, which caused a worldwide oil shortage for years. Getty's earnings topped $25.8 million in 1975.
Getty's insatiable appetite for sex also continued into his 80s. He used an experimental drug, H3, to maintain his potency. Getty met the English interior designer Penelope Kitson in the 1950s and entrusted her with decorating his homes and the public rooms of the oil tankers he was launching. From 1960, Kitson resided in a cottage on the grounds of Sutton Place. Getty and Kitson maintained a platonic relationship and Getty held her in high respect and trust. Other mistresses who resided at Sutton Place included the married Mary Teissier, a distant cousin of the last Tsar of Russia, Lady Ursula d'Abo, who had close connections to the British Royal Family, and Nicaraguan-born Rosabella Burch.
The New York Times wrote of Getty's domestic arrangement: "[Getty] ended his life with a collection of desperately hopeful women, all living together in his Tudor mansion in England, none of them aware that his favorite pastime was rewriting his will, changing his insultingly small bequests: $209 a month to one, $1,167 to another." Only Kitson received a significant bequest upon Getty's death, receiving 5,000 shares of Getty Oil, which doubled in value during the 1980s, and a $1,167 monthly income.
Getty died of heart failure at the age of 83 on June 6, 1976, in Sutton Place near Guildford, Surrey. He was buried in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California at the Getty Villa. The gravesite is not open to the public.
Media portrayals
Christopher Plummer portrayed Getty in the 2017 film All the Money in the World, which dramatizes the kidnapping of his grandson. Getty was originally portrayed by Kevin Spacey, but after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced against Spacey ahead of the film's premiere, Plummer was cast to re-film his scenes. For his performance, Plummer received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
The kidnapping is also dramatized in the first season of the American anthology drama series Trust, where Getty is portrayed by Donald Sutherland.
Quotations
J. Paul Getty has one entry in the 8th Edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.
“If you can actually count your money, then you are not really a rich man.”
Published works
Getty, J. Paul. The history of the bigger oil business of George F.S. F. and J. Paul Getty from 1903 to 1939. Los Angeles?, 1941,
Getty, J. Paul. Europe in the Eighteenth Century. [Santa Monica, Calif.]: privately printed, 1949,
Le Vane, Ethel, and J. Paul Getty. Collector's Choice: The Chronicle of an Artistic Odyssey through Europe. London: W.H. Allen, 1955,
Getty, J. Paul. My Life and Fortunes. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1963,
Getty, J. Paul. The Joys of Collecting. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1965,
Getty, J. Paul. How to be Rich. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1965,
Getty, J. Paul. The Golden Age. New York: Trident Press, 1968,
Getty, J. Paul. How to be a Successful Executive. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1971,
Getty, J. Paul. As I See It: The Autobiography of J. Paul Getty. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, 1976. ,
See also
List of richest Americans in history
List of wealthiest historical figures
References
Further reading
Hewins, Ralph. The Richest American: J. Paul Getty. New York: Dutton, 1960.
Lund, Robina. The Getty I Knew. Kansas City: Sheed Andrews and McMeel, 1977. .
Miller, Russell. The House of Getty. New York: Henry Holt, 1985. .
de Chair, Somerset Struben. Getty on Getty: a man in a billion. London: Cassell, 1989. .
Pearson, John. Painfully Rich: J. Paul Getty and His Heirs. London: Macmillan, 1995. .
Wooster, Martin Morse. Philanthropy Hall of Fame, J. Paul Getty. philanthropyroundtable.org.
External links
J. Paul Getty diaries, 1938–1946, 1948–1976 finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
J. Paul Getty family collected papers, 1880s–1989, undated (bulk 1911–1977) finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
J. Paul Getty and Ashby sisters papers, 1926-1992, finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
1892 births
1976 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
American art collectors
American autobiographers
American business writers
American businesspeople in the oil industry
American billionaires
American emigrants to England
American people of Scotch-Irish descent
American philanthropists
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Businesspeople from Minneapolis
Businesspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma
English people of Irish descent
Museum founders
J. Paul
J
John H. Francis Polytechnic High School alumni
Philanthropists from California
University of California, Berkeley alumni | true | [
"Party Monsters Cabo is a reality TV show airing on E!. The show involves party planners competing at the LG Villa in Cabo to see who can throw the \"ultimate party\" for Hollywood's A-Listers to win a contract with LG for their partys. The show is hosted by Brian Worley and Michele Merkin.\n\nEpisodes\n\nEpisode 1: Lil' Jon \nFirst aired Dec. 2 2008\n\nIn this first episode the contestants had to plan a party for Lil' Jon\n\nEvent Planner(s): Brian\n\nParty Success: No\n\nBottom Two/Three: Brian, Jilina, Ebony\n\nEliminated: Brian\n\nEpisode 2: Diddy\nFirst aired Dec. 9 2008\n\nThe remaining contestants plan a party for Diddy\n\nEvent Planner(s): Brett, Kinsey\n\nParty Success: Yes\n\nBottom Two/Three: Ebony, Jilina, Tania\n\nEliminated: Ebony\n\nEpisode 3: Brody Jenner & Frankie Delgado\nFirst aired Dec. 16 2008\n\nThe planners learned that they would be planning for Brody Jenner's best friend Frankie Delgado, to forget about his last break-up. They split up into teams (Adrial, Cori, & Tania; Brett & Jilina; Kinsey & Tyler Barnett) and planned an event to present to the judges, including Brody. The team of Adrial, Cori, and Tania became the event planners for Frankie's party. Kinsey was in charge of getting hot girls to mud wrestle, but planned to sabotage the party by hiring ugly women to wrestle. Jilina was in charge of catering and getting an ice sculpture, but shortly after she almost broke her ankle, and couldn't do the job. Kinsey, Brett, and Tyler Barnett were away for seven hours, and no one was able to reach them. Once they got back, Jilina told them what happened and said she ordered a smaller block of ice, but when the sculptor came, he brought a bigger one than expected. Brett argued with him and said that the ice will leak all over the place, and people will slip and fall. Jilina was furious and told the man to not worry about it and finish the job, but he left angrily and left the block of ice standing in front of the pool. Brett was now in charge of getting rid of the block of ice, while Jilina feared of being up for elimination after what Brett did. The party began with people entering on a red carpet and greeted with either a vodka or tequila shot. The other three girls asked Kinsey where are the mud wrestlers and were told that they would be there shortly, and for Brody to introduce them to Frankie. When the wrestlers arrived everyone quickly realized that they were transvestites, and said that whoever is responsible for them has to jump in and wrestle instead. Tania and Cori took one for the team, and wrestled each other in their bikinis which made the guys feel much better. Later on that night, Frankie got completely wasted and was being obnoxious. He went into the living room to get his pants, and Tania told him to get out of the living room several times and Frankie claimed that she yelled at him. When he finally left the room, Adrial also got completely wasted and acted very unprofessional near the end of the party. The next day it was time for the results of the party with Frankie and Brody also judging. Michele and Brian called down the party planners while Frankie expressed his opinion of them, and first started with Tania, bringing up how he felt the party was ruined because she yelled at him. But Tania claimed that she didn't yell at him, and asked him more than once to leave the living room to keep it clean. Michele then asked for anything else that they would like to say, and Tania apologized if Frankie felt that she yelled at him, Cori said she didn't deserve to go home because she did her part well, while Adrial also felt he did his part and calling Frankie \"intoxicated\" which ended up insulting him. They then asked for everybody to go back to house while they deliberate. Frankie told them that he would like to do the elimination since it was his party, and that he wasn't sure if Tania or Adrial should go home. The judges called the bottom three back down, and in the end Tania was once again spared, sending Adrial home.\n\nEvent Planners: Adrial, Cori, Tania\n\nParty Success: No\n\nBottom Two/Three: Cori, Adrial, Tania\n\nEliminated: Adrial\n\nEpisode 4: Khloé & Kourtney Kardashian\nFirst aired Dec. 23 2008\n\nKhloé and Kourtney Kardashian throw a party for two friends that have never been to Mexico. They wanted a sexy Mexican party with all the traditional food and drinks. They chose Jilina and Kinsey to be the party planners. Tania was in the entrance giving flowers to every girl so they can put the flower in their hair. Before the party started the buffet caught fire but they had more food and tablecloths and they make it work. Everyone had a good time in the party, they had margaritas and tequila, they also had a pinata. The Kardashians and their friends decided that the party was a success. Tania was not helping in the party as she should, she was upstairs during the party, that's the reason why she was sent home.\n\nEvent Planners: Jilina & Kinsey\n\nParty Success: Yes\n\nBottom Two/Three: Brett, Cori, Tania\n\nEliminated: Tania\n\nEpisode 5: Carmen Electra\nCarmen Electra wants to throw a party for her boyfriend, Rob Patterson. She asked for a childish but sexy birthday party for Rob. Carmen chose Cori to be the event planner. Carmen wanted to pop out of a cake and give Rob a sexy surprise but the cake that Cori gave her was small and Carmen did not pop out of it, instead they looked for a girl at the party and Jilina asked if she wanted to pop out of the cake and give Rob a lap dance. She agreed. In the end Carmen said that the party had fun moments but it was not a success.\n\nEvent Planners: Cori\n\nParty Success: No\n\nBottom Two/Three: Cori, Tyler Barnett, Jilina\n\nEliminated: Tyler\n\nEpisode 6: 50 Cent\n50 Cent wants to celebrate his upcoming releases: A movie, a videogame and his new CD. He wanted a party that represented him. His assistant helped him decide who the party planners should be. There were two teams, Kinsey & Brett and Cori & Jilina. The assistant ended up choosing Kinsey and Brett to be the party planners. Cori was in charge of the catering and Brett asked Jilina to decorate the Game Room. This room was the most important part of the night, that's the room were people could try the videogame and it had to be sexy. 50 also asked for a stage because he wanted to perform. Jilina and Brett fight a lot during this episode. In the elimination 50 decided that the party was a success, and Cori and Jilina were up for elimination. During the party Cori asked 50 Cent what alcoholic drink he wanted, he got offended because he doesn't drink; Jilina was in charge of the game room and it was not sexy as 50 asked. Jilina was sent home.\n\nEvent Planners: Kinsey & Brett\n\nParty Success: Yes\n\nBottom Two/Three: Cori, Jilina\n\nEliminated: Jilina\n\nEpisode 7: Missy Elliott\nThe remaining contestants plan a party for Missy Elliott.\n\nEvent Planners: Cori\n\nParty Success: No\n\nBottom Two/Three: Cori, Kinsey, Brett\n\nEliminated: Cori\n\nContestant List\n\n The contestant was eliminated.\n The contestant was eliminated and was the party planner.\n The contestant was chosen to be in the bottom two/three.\n The contestant was the party planner\n The contestant was the party planner and in the bottom two/three\n The contestant won Party Monsters Cabo.\n\nReferences\n\n2000s American reality television series\n2008 American television series debuts\n2008 American television series endings\nE! original programming\nEnglish-language television shows",
"\"The Theme (It's Party Time)\" is the lead single released from Tracey Lee's debut album, Many Facez. The song was produced by D-Dot, Ron \"Amen-Ra\" Lawrence and was a mild success, making it to 4 different Billboard charts, including 55 on the Billboard Hot 100.\n\nThe official remix, entitled \"The After Party (The Theme II)\" featured rappers, Busta Rhymes and Pirate and was also featured on the Many Facez album and was given both a single release and a music video. An additional remix was also released featuring Rampage.\n\nSingle track listing\n\"The Theme (It's Party Time)\" (Radio Edit)- 3:57 \n\"The Theme (It's Party Time)\" (Party Edit)- 4:00 \n\"The Theme (It's Party Time)\" (Album Version)- 4:37 \n\"The Theme (It's Party Time)\" (Acappella)- 4:39 \n\"The Theme (It's Party Time)\" (Instrumental)- 4:25\n\nCharts\n\n1997 debut singles\n1996 songs\nUniversal Music Group singles"
] |
[
"J. Paul Getty",
"Later years & death",
"what did Getty do in his later years?",
"Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world.",
"was he a wealthy man?",
"Getty enjoying personal earnings of $25.8 million in 1975 (appr. $120 million in 2018 USD).",
"was he married?",
"I don't know.",
"what was his greatest accomplishment?",
"Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relation of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly-purchased Sutton Place.",
"was the party a success?",
"Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside."
] | C_15c44bbbd0894d0999396f8aa91e2aaf_0 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 6 | Other than not having any cigarettes for the guests, are there any other interesting aspects about J. Paul Getty's party for the 16th Duke of Norfolk? | J. Paul Getty | On June 30, 1960, Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relation of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly-purchased Sutton Place. 1,200 guests consisting of the cream of British society were invited. Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. At about 10pm the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls, causing an estimated L20,000 in damages. A valuable silver ewer by the 18th century silversmith Paul de Lamerie was stolen, but returned anonymously when the London newspapers began covering the theft. The failure of the event made the newly-arrived Getty the object of ridicule, and he never threw another large party again. Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world. The Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War of October 1973 caused a worldwide oil shortage for years to come. In this period, the value of Getty Oil shares quadrupled, with Getty enjoying personal earnings of $25.8 million in 1975 (appr. $120 million in 2018 USD). His insatiable appetite for women and sex also continued well into his 80s. He used an experimental drug, "H3", to maintain his potency. Getty met the English interior designer Penelope Kitson in the 1950s and entrusted her with decorating his homes and the public rooms of the oil tankers he was launching. From 1960 she resided in a cottage on the grounds of Sutton Place, and, though she did not have a sexual relationship with him, Getty held her in high respect and trust. Other mistresses who resided at Sutton Place included the married Mary Teissier, a distant cousin of the last Tsar of Russia, Lady Ursula d'Abo, who had close connections to the British Royal Family, and Nicaraguan-born Rosabella Burch. The New York Times wrote of Getty's domestic arrangement that: "[Getty] ended his life with a collection of desperately hopeful women, all living together in his Tudor mansion in England, none of them aware that his favorite pastime was rewriting his will, changing his insultingly small bequests: $209 a month to one, $1,167 to another." Only Penelope Kitson received a handsome bequest upon Getty's death: 5,000 Getty Oil shares (appr. $826,500 in 1976), which doubled in value during the 1980s, and a $1,167 monthly income. Getty died June 6, 1976, in Sutton Place near Guildford, Surrey, England. He was buried in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California at the Getty Villa. The gravesite is not open to the public. CANNOTANSWER | At about 10pm the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls, causing an estimated L20,000 in damages. | Jean Paul Getty Sr. (; December 15, 1892 – June 6, 1976) was an American-born British petroleum industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942 and was the patriarch of the Getty family. A native of Minneapolis, he was the son of pioneer oilman George Getty. In 1957, Fortune magazine named him the richest living American, while the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, worth an estimated $1.2 billion (approximately $ billion in ). At his death, he was worth more than $6 billion (approximately $ billion in ). A book published in 1996 ranked him as the 67th richest American who ever lived, based on his wealth as a percentage of the concurrent gross national product.
Despite his vast wealth, Getty was famously frugal, notably negotiating his grandson's kidnapping ransom in 1973. He had five children and divorced five times. Getty was an avid collector of art and antiquities. His collection formed the basis of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles; more than $661 million of his estate was left to the museum after his death. He established the J. Paul Getty Trust in 1953. The trust, which is the world's wealthiest art institution, operates the J. Paul Getty Museum Complexes: the Getty Center, the Getty Villa and the Getty Foundation, the Getty Research Institute, as well as the Getty Conservation Institute.
Early life and education
Getty was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Sarah Catherine McPherson (Risher) and George Getty, who was an attorney in the insurance industry. Getty was raised as a Methodist by his parents. His father was a devout Christian Scientist and both were strict teetotalers. He was of part Scottish descent. In 1903, when Getty was 10 years old, George Getty traveled to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and bought the mineral rights for 1,100 acres of land. The Getty family subsequently moved to Bartlesville, where J. Paul Getty attended the Garfield School. Within a few years Getty had established wells on the land that were producing 100,000 barrels of crude oil a month.
As newly minted millionaires, the family moved to Los Angeles. But, J. Paul Getty later returned to Oklahoma. At age 14, Getty attended Harvard Military School for a year, followed by Polytechnic High School, where he was given the nickname "Dictionary Getty" because of his love of reading. He became fluent in French, German and Italian. Getty was also conversational in Spanish, Greek, Arabic and Russian. A love of the classics led Getty to acquire reading proficiency in Ancient Greek and Latin.
He enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, but did not complete a degree. Enamored with Europe after traveling abroad with his parents in 1910, Getty enrolled at the University of Oxford on November 28, 1912. A letter of introduction by then-President of the United States William Howard Taft enabled him to gain independent instruction from tutors at Magdalen College. Although he was not registered at Magdalen, he claimed the aristocratic students "accepted me as one of their own" and he fondly boasted of the friends he made, including Edward VIII, the future King of the United Kingdom. He obtained a diploma in economics and political science from Oxford in June 1913, then spent months traveling throughout Europe and Egypt before meeting his parents in Paris and returning with them to America in June 1914.
Career
In the autumn of 1914, George Getty gave his son $10,000 to invest in expanding the family's oil field holdings in Oklahoma. The first lot he bought, the Nancy Taylor No. 1 Oil Well Site near Haskell, Oklahoma was crucial to his early financial success. The well struck oil in August 1915 and by the next summer the 40 percent net production royalty he accrued from it had made him a millionaire.
In 1919, Getty returned to business in Oklahoma. During the 1920s, he added about $3 million to his already sizable estate. His succession of marriages and divorces so distressed his father that Getty inherited only $500,000 of the $10 million fortune his father left at the time of his death in 1930. Getty was left with one-third of the stock from George Getty Inc., while his mother received the remaining two-thirds, giving her a controlling interest.
In 1936, Getty's mother convinced him to contribute to the establishment of a $3.3 million investment trust, called the Sarah C. Getty Trust, to ensure the family's ever-growing wealth could be channeled into a tax-free, secure income for future generations of the Getty family. The trust enabled Getty to have easy access to ready capital, which he was funneling into the purchase of Tidewater Petroleum stock.
Shrewdly investing his resources during the Great Depression, Getty acquired Pacific Western Oil Corporation and began the acquisition (completed in 1953) of the Mission Corporation, which included Tidewater Oil and Skelly Oil. In 1967, Getty merged these holdings into Getty Oil.
In 1948–1949, Getty paid Ibn Saud $9.5 million in cash, guaranteed $1 million a year, and a royalty of 55 cents a barrel for the Saudi Arabian Neutral Zone concession. Oil was finally discovered in March 1953. Since 1953, Getty's gamble produced 16 million barrels a year, which contributed greatly to the fortune responsible for making him one of the richest people in the world.
Getty's wealth and ability to speak Arabic enabled his unparalleled expansion into the Middle East. Getty owned the controlling interest in about 200 businesses, including Getty Oil. Getty owned Getty Oil, Getty Inc., George F. Getty Inc., Pacific Western Oil Corporation, Mission Corporation, Mission Development Company, Tidewater Oil, Skelly Oil, Mexican Seaboard Oil, Petroleum Corporation of America, Spartan Aircraft Company, Spartan Cafeteria Company, Minnehoma Insurance Company, Minnehoma Financial Company, Pierre Hotel, Pierre Marques Hotel, a 15th-century palace and nearby castle at Ladispoli on the coast northwest of Rome, a Malibu ranch home, and Sutton Place, a 72-room mansion near Guildford, Surrey.
Art collection
Getty's first forays into collecting began in the late 1930s, when he took inspiration from the collection of 18th-century French paintings and furniture owned by the landlord of his New York City penthouse, Amy Guest, a relation of Sir Winston Churchill. A fan of 18th-century France, Getty began buying furniture from the period at reduced prices because of the depressed art market. He wrote several books on collecting, including Europe and the 18th Century (1949), Collector's Choice: The Chronicle of an Artistic Odyssey through Europe (1955) and The Joys of Collecting (1965). His stinginess limited the range of his collecting because he refused to pay full price. Getty's companion in later life, Penelope Kitson, said "Paul was really too mean ever to allow himself to buy a great painting." Nonetheless, at the time of his death he owned more than 600 items valued at more than $4 million, including paintings by Rubens, Titian, Gainsborough, Renoir, Tintoretto, Degas, and Monet. During the 1950s, Getty's interests shifted to Greco-Roman sculpture, which led to the building of the Getty Villa in the 1970s to house the collection. These items were transferred to the Getty Museum and the Getty Villa in Los Angeles after his death.
Marriages, divorces and children
Getty was a notorious womanizer from the time of his youth, something that horrified his conservative Christian parents. His lawyer, Robin Lund, once said that, "Paul could hardly ever say 'no' to a woman, or 'yes' to a man." Lord Beaverbrook had called him "Priapic" and "ever-ready" in his sexual habits.
In 1917, when he was 25, a paternity suit was filed against Getty in Los Angeles by Elsie Eckstrom, who claimed he was the father of her daughter, Paula. Eckstrom claimed that Getty had taken her virginity and fathered the child, while his legal team tried to undermine her credibility by claiming that she had a history of promiscuity. Getty agreed to a settlement of $10,000, upon which Eckstrom left town with the baby.
Getty was married and divorced five times. He had five sons with four of his wives:
Jeanette Demont (married 1923 – divorced 1926); one son, George F. Getty II (1924–1973).
Allene Ashby (1926–1928); no children. Getty met 17-year-old Ashby, the daughter of a Texas rancher, in Mexico City while he was studying Spanish and overseeing his family's business interests. They eloped to Cuernavaca, Mexico, but the marriage was bigamous as he was not yet divorced from Jeanette. The two quickly decided to dissolve the union while still in Mexico.
Adolphine Helmle (1928–1932); one son, Jean Ronald Getty (1929–2009), whose son, Christopher Ronald Getty, married Pia Miller, sister of Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece. Like his first and second wives, Adolphine was 17 years old when Getty met her in Vienna. She was the daughter of a prominent German doctor who was opposed to her marrying the twice-divorced, 36-year-old Getty. The two eloped to Cuernavaca, where he had married Allene Ashby, then settled in Los Angeles. Following the birth of their son, Getty lost interest in her and her father convinced her to return to Germany with their child in 1929. After a protracted and contentious battle, their divorce was finalized in August 1932, with Adolphine receiving a huge sum for punitive damages and full custody of Ronald.
Ann Rork (1932–1936); two sons, John Paul Getty Jr. (1932–2003) and Gordon Peter Getty (born 1933). Getty was introduced to Rork when she was 14 years old, but she did not become his romantic partner until she was 21 in 1930. Because he was in the midst of his divorce from Adolphine, the couple had to wait two years before they married. He was largely absent during their marriage, staying for long stretches of time in Europe. She sued him for divorce in 1936 alleging emotional abuse and neglect. She described an incident while the two were abroad in Italy in which she claimed Getty forced her to climb to view the crater of Mount Vesuvius while she was pregnant with their first son. The court decided in her favor and she was awarded $2,500 per month alimony plus $1,000 each in child support for her sons.
Louise Dudley "Teddy" Lynch (1939–1958); one son, Timothy Ware Getty (1946–1958).
In 2013 at age 99, Getty's fifth wife, Louise, known as Teddy Getty Gaston, published a memoir reporting how Getty had scolded her for spending money too freely in the 1950s on the treatment of their six-year-old son, Timmy, who had become blind from a brain tumor. Timmy died at age 12, and Getty, living in England apart from his family who were in the U.S., did not attend the funeral. Gaston divorced Getty that year. Teddy Gaston died in April 2017 at the age of 103.
Getty was quoted as saying "A lasting relationship with a woman is only possible if you are a business failure," and, "I hate to be a failure. I hate and regret the failure of my marriages. I would gladly give all my millions for just one lasting marital success."
Kidnapping of grandson John Paul Getty III
In Rome on July 10, 1973, 'Ndrangheta kidnappers abducted Getty's 16-year-old grandson, John Paul Getty III, and demanded a $17 million (equivalent to $ in ) payment for his safe return. However, the family suspected a ploy by the rebellious teenager to extract money from his miserly grandfather. John Paul Getty Jr. asked his father for the money, but was refused, arguing that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnap targets if he paid.
In November 1973, an envelope containing a lock of hair and a human ear arrived at a daily newspaper. The second demand had been delayed three weeks by an Italian postal strike. The demand threatened that Paul would be further mutilated unless the victims paid $3.2 million. The demand stated "This is Paul's ear. If we don't get some money within 10 days, then the other ear will arrive. In other words, he will arrive in little bits."
When the kidnappers finally reduced their demands to $3 million, Getty agreed to pay no more than $2.2 million (equivalent to $ in ), the maximum that would be tax-deductible. He lent his son the remaining $800,000 at four percent interest. Getty's grandson was found alive on December 15, 1973, in a Lauria filling station, in the province of Potenza, shortly after the ransom was paid. After his release, the younger Getty called his grandfather to thank him for paying the ransom but Getty refused to come to the phone. Nine people associated with 'Ndrangheta were later arrested for the kidnapping, but only two were convicted. Getty III was permanently affected by the trauma and became a drug addict. After a stroke, brought on by a cocktail of drugs and alcohol in 1981, Getty III was rendered speechless, nearly blind and partially paralyzed for the rest of his life. He died on February 5, 2011, at the age of 54.
Getty defended his initial refusal to pay the ransom on two points. He argued that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnap targets if he paid, and also stated, "The second reason for my refusal was much broader-based. I contend that acceding to the demands of criminals and terrorists merely guarantees the continuing increase and spread of lawlessness, violence and such outrages as terror-bombings, "skyjackings" and the slaughter of hostages that plague our present-day world."
Nine of the kidnappers were apprehended, including Girolamo Piromalli and Saverio Mammoliti, high-ranking members of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia organization in Calabria. Two of the kidnappers were convicted and sent to prison; the others were acquitted for lack of evidence, including the 'Ndrangheta bosses. Most of the ransom money was never recovered.
Reputation for frugality
Many anecdotal stories exist of Getty's reputed thriftiness and parsimony, which struck observers as comical, even perverse, because of his extreme wealth. The two most widely known examples are his reluctance to pay his grandson's $17 million kidnapping ransom, and a notorious pay-phone he had installed at Sutton Place. A darker incident was his fifth wife's claim that Getty had scolded her for spending too much on their terminally ill son's medical treatment, though he was worth tens of millions of dollars at the time. He was well known for bargaining on almost everything to obtain the lowest possible price, including suites at luxury hotels and virtually all purchases of artwork and real estate. In 1959, Sutton Place, a 72-room mansion, was purchased from George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland, for £60,000, about half of what the Duke paid for it 40 years earlier.
Getty's secretary claimed that Getty did his laundry by hand because he didn't want to pay for his clothes to be laundered. When his shirts became frayed at the cuffs, he would trim the frayed part instead of purchasing new shirts.
Re-using stationery was another obsession of Getty's. He had a habit of writing responses to letters on the margins or back sides and mailing them back, rather than using a new sheet of paper. He also carefully saved and re-used manila envelopes, rubber bands and other office supplies.
When Getty took a group of friends to a dog show in London, he made them walk around the block for 10 minutes until the tickets became half-priced at 5 pm, because he didn't want to pay the full 5 shillings per head.
Getty moved to Sutton Place in part because the cost of living was cheaper than in London, where he had resided at the Ritz. He once boasted to American columnist Art Buchwald that it cost 10 cents for a rum and coke at Sutton Place, whereas at the Ritz it was more than a dollar.
Author John Pearson attributed part of Getty's extreme penny-pinching to the Methodist sensibility of Getty's upbringing, which emphasized modest living and personal economy. His business acumen was also a major factor in Getty's thriftiness. "He would allow himself no self-indulgence in the purchase of a place to live, a work of art, even a piece of furniture, unless he could convince himself that it would appreciate in value."
Getty claimed his frugality towards others was a response to people taking advantage of him and not paying their fair share. "It's not the money I object to, it's the principle of the thing that bothers me ..."
Coin-box telephone
Getty famously had a payphone installed at Sutton Place, helping to seal his reputation as a miser. Getty placed dial-locks on all the regular telephones, limiting their use to authorized staff, and the coin-box telephone was installed for others. In his autobiography, he described his reasons:
When speaking in a televised interview with Alan Whicker in February 1963, Getty said that he thought guests would want to use a payphone. After 18 months, Getty explained, "the in-and-out traffic flow at Sutton subsided. Management and operation of the house settled into a reasonable routine. With that, the pay-telephone [was] removed, and the dial-locks were taken off the telephones in the house."
Later years and death
On June 30, 1960, Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relative of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly purchased Sutton Place. Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. At about 10 p.m. the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls and causing an estimated £20,000 in damage. A valuable silver ewer by the 18th century silversmith Paul de Lamerie was stolen, but returned anonymously when the London newspapers began covering the theft. The failure of the event made Getty the object of ridicule and he never threw another large party again.
Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world. The value of Getty Oil shares quadrupled during the Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War of October 1973, which caused a worldwide oil shortage for years. Getty's earnings topped $25.8 million in 1975.
Getty's insatiable appetite for sex also continued into his 80s. He used an experimental drug, H3, to maintain his potency. Getty met the English interior designer Penelope Kitson in the 1950s and entrusted her with decorating his homes and the public rooms of the oil tankers he was launching. From 1960, Kitson resided in a cottage on the grounds of Sutton Place. Getty and Kitson maintained a platonic relationship and Getty held her in high respect and trust. Other mistresses who resided at Sutton Place included the married Mary Teissier, a distant cousin of the last Tsar of Russia, Lady Ursula d'Abo, who had close connections to the British Royal Family, and Nicaraguan-born Rosabella Burch.
The New York Times wrote of Getty's domestic arrangement: "[Getty] ended his life with a collection of desperately hopeful women, all living together in his Tudor mansion in England, none of them aware that his favorite pastime was rewriting his will, changing his insultingly small bequests: $209 a month to one, $1,167 to another." Only Kitson received a significant bequest upon Getty's death, receiving 5,000 shares of Getty Oil, which doubled in value during the 1980s, and a $1,167 monthly income.
Getty died of heart failure at the age of 83 on June 6, 1976, in Sutton Place near Guildford, Surrey. He was buried in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California at the Getty Villa. The gravesite is not open to the public.
Media portrayals
Christopher Plummer portrayed Getty in the 2017 film All the Money in the World, which dramatizes the kidnapping of his grandson. Getty was originally portrayed by Kevin Spacey, but after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced against Spacey ahead of the film's premiere, Plummer was cast to re-film his scenes. For his performance, Plummer received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
The kidnapping is also dramatized in the first season of the American anthology drama series Trust, where Getty is portrayed by Donald Sutherland.
Quotations
J. Paul Getty has one entry in the 8th Edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.
“If you can actually count your money, then you are not really a rich man.”
Published works
Getty, J. Paul. The history of the bigger oil business of George F.S. F. and J. Paul Getty from 1903 to 1939. Los Angeles?, 1941,
Getty, J. Paul. Europe in the Eighteenth Century. [Santa Monica, Calif.]: privately printed, 1949,
Le Vane, Ethel, and J. Paul Getty. Collector's Choice: The Chronicle of an Artistic Odyssey through Europe. London: W.H. Allen, 1955,
Getty, J. Paul. My Life and Fortunes. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1963,
Getty, J. Paul. The Joys of Collecting. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1965,
Getty, J. Paul. How to be Rich. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1965,
Getty, J. Paul. The Golden Age. New York: Trident Press, 1968,
Getty, J. Paul. How to be a Successful Executive. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1971,
Getty, J. Paul. As I See It: The Autobiography of J. Paul Getty. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, 1976. ,
See also
List of richest Americans in history
List of wealthiest historical figures
References
Further reading
Hewins, Ralph. The Richest American: J. Paul Getty. New York: Dutton, 1960.
Lund, Robina. The Getty I Knew. Kansas City: Sheed Andrews and McMeel, 1977. .
Miller, Russell. The House of Getty. New York: Henry Holt, 1985. .
de Chair, Somerset Struben. Getty on Getty: a man in a billion. London: Cassell, 1989. .
Pearson, John. Painfully Rich: J. Paul Getty and His Heirs. London: Macmillan, 1995. .
Wooster, Martin Morse. Philanthropy Hall of Fame, J. Paul Getty. philanthropyroundtable.org.
External links
J. Paul Getty diaries, 1938–1946, 1948–1976 finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
J. Paul Getty family collected papers, 1880s–1989, undated (bulk 1911–1977) finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
J. Paul Getty and Ashby sisters papers, 1926-1992, finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
1892 births
1976 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
American art collectors
American autobiographers
American business writers
American businesspeople in the oil industry
American billionaires
American emigrants to England
American people of Scotch-Irish descent
American philanthropists
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Businesspeople from Minneapolis
Businesspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma
English people of Irish descent
Museum founders
J. Paul
J
John H. Francis Polytechnic High School alumni
Philanthropists from California
University of California, Berkeley alumni | false | [
"Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region",
"Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts"
] |
[
"J. Paul Getty",
"Later years & death",
"what did Getty do in his later years?",
"Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world.",
"was he a wealthy man?",
"Getty enjoying personal earnings of $25.8 million in 1975 (appr. $120 million in 2018 USD).",
"was he married?",
"I don't know.",
"what was his greatest accomplishment?",
"Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relation of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly-purchased Sutton Place.",
"was the party a success?",
"Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"At about 10pm the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls, causing an estimated L20,000 in damages."
] | C_15c44bbbd0894d0999396f8aa91e2aaf_0 | what is the most important fact in this article? | 7 | What is the most important fact about the party that J. Paul Getty threw for the 16th Duke of Norfolk? | J. Paul Getty | On June 30, 1960, Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relation of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly-purchased Sutton Place. 1,200 guests consisting of the cream of British society were invited. Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. At about 10pm the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls, causing an estimated L20,000 in damages. A valuable silver ewer by the 18th century silversmith Paul de Lamerie was stolen, but returned anonymously when the London newspapers began covering the theft. The failure of the event made the newly-arrived Getty the object of ridicule, and he never threw another large party again. Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world. The Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War of October 1973 caused a worldwide oil shortage for years to come. In this period, the value of Getty Oil shares quadrupled, with Getty enjoying personal earnings of $25.8 million in 1975 (appr. $120 million in 2018 USD). His insatiable appetite for women and sex also continued well into his 80s. He used an experimental drug, "H3", to maintain his potency. Getty met the English interior designer Penelope Kitson in the 1950s and entrusted her with decorating his homes and the public rooms of the oil tankers he was launching. From 1960 she resided in a cottage on the grounds of Sutton Place, and, though she did not have a sexual relationship with him, Getty held her in high respect and trust. Other mistresses who resided at Sutton Place included the married Mary Teissier, a distant cousin of the last Tsar of Russia, Lady Ursula d'Abo, who had close connections to the British Royal Family, and Nicaraguan-born Rosabella Burch. The New York Times wrote of Getty's domestic arrangement that: "[Getty] ended his life with a collection of desperately hopeful women, all living together in his Tudor mansion in England, none of them aware that his favorite pastime was rewriting his will, changing his insultingly small bequests: $209 a month to one, $1,167 to another." Only Penelope Kitson received a handsome bequest upon Getty's death: 5,000 Getty Oil shares (appr. $826,500 in 1976), which doubled in value during the 1980s, and a $1,167 monthly income. Getty died June 6, 1976, in Sutton Place near Guildford, Surrey, England. He was buried in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California at the Getty Villa. The gravesite is not open to the public. CANNOTANSWER | The failure of the event made the newly-arrived Getty the object of ridicule, and he never threw another large party again. | Jean Paul Getty Sr. (; December 15, 1892 – June 6, 1976) was an American-born British petroleum industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942 and was the patriarch of the Getty family. A native of Minneapolis, he was the son of pioneer oilman George Getty. In 1957, Fortune magazine named him the richest living American, while the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, worth an estimated $1.2 billion (approximately $ billion in ). At his death, he was worth more than $6 billion (approximately $ billion in ). A book published in 1996 ranked him as the 67th richest American who ever lived, based on his wealth as a percentage of the concurrent gross national product.
Despite his vast wealth, Getty was famously frugal, notably negotiating his grandson's kidnapping ransom in 1973. He had five children and divorced five times. Getty was an avid collector of art and antiquities. His collection formed the basis of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles; more than $661 million of his estate was left to the museum after his death. He established the J. Paul Getty Trust in 1953. The trust, which is the world's wealthiest art institution, operates the J. Paul Getty Museum Complexes: the Getty Center, the Getty Villa and the Getty Foundation, the Getty Research Institute, as well as the Getty Conservation Institute.
Early life and education
Getty was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Sarah Catherine McPherson (Risher) and George Getty, who was an attorney in the insurance industry. Getty was raised as a Methodist by his parents. His father was a devout Christian Scientist and both were strict teetotalers. He was of part Scottish descent. In 1903, when Getty was 10 years old, George Getty traveled to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and bought the mineral rights for 1,100 acres of land. The Getty family subsequently moved to Bartlesville, where J. Paul Getty attended the Garfield School. Within a few years Getty had established wells on the land that were producing 100,000 barrels of crude oil a month.
As newly minted millionaires, the family moved to Los Angeles. But, J. Paul Getty later returned to Oklahoma. At age 14, Getty attended Harvard Military School for a year, followed by Polytechnic High School, where he was given the nickname "Dictionary Getty" because of his love of reading. He became fluent in French, German and Italian. Getty was also conversational in Spanish, Greek, Arabic and Russian. A love of the classics led Getty to acquire reading proficiency in Ancient Greek and Latin.
He enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, but did not complete a degree. Enamored with Europe after traveling abroad with his parents in 1910, Getty enrolled at the University of Oxford on November 28, 1912. A letter of introduction by then-President of the United States William Howard Taft enabled him to gain independent instruction from tutors at Magdalen College. Although he was not registered at Magdalen, he claimed the aristocratic students "accepted me as one of their own" and he fondly boasted of the friends he made, including Edward VIII, the future King of the United Kingdom. He obtained a diploma in economics and political science from Oxford in June 1913, then spent months traveling throughout Europe and Egypt before meeting his parents in Paris and returning with them to America in June 1914.
Career
In the autumn of 1914, George Getty gave his son $10,000 to invest in expanding the family's oil field holdings in Oklahoma. The first lot he bought, the Nancy Taylor No. 1 Oil Well Site near Haskell, Oklahoma was crucial to his early financial success. The well struck oil in August 1915 and by the next summer the 40 percent net production royalty he accrued from it had made him a millionaire.
In 1919, Getty returned to business in Oklahoma. During the 1920s, he added about $3 million to his already sizable estate. His succession of marriages and divorces so distressed his father that Getty inherited only $500,000 of the $10 million fortune his father left at the time of his death in 1930. Getty was left with one-third of the stock from George Getty Inc., while his mother received the remaining two-thirds, giving her a controlling interest.
In 1936, Getty's mother convinced him to contribute to the establishment of a $3.3 million investment trust, called the Sarah C. Getty Trust, to ensure the family's ever-growing wealth could be channeled into a tax-free, secure income for future generations of the Getty family. The trust enabled Getty to have easy access to ready capital, which he was funneling into the purchase of Tidewater Petroleum stock.
Shrewdly investing his resources during the Great Depression, Getty acquired Pacific Western Oil Corporation and began the acquisition (completed in 1953) of the Mission Corporation, which included Tidewater Oil and Skelly Oil. In 1967, Getty merged these holdings into Getty Oil.
In 1948–1949, Getty paid Ibn Saud $9.5 million in cash, guaranteed $1 million a year, and a royalty of 55 cents a barrel for the Saudi Arabian Neutral Zone concession. Oil was finally discovered in March 1953. Since 1953, Getty's gamble produced 16 million barrels a year, which contributed greatly to the fortune responsible for making him one of the richest people in the world.
Getty's wealth and ability to speak Arabic enabled his unparalleled expansion into the Middle East. Getty owned the controlling interest in about 200 businesses, including Getty Oil. Getty owned Getty Oil, Getty Inc., George F. Getty Inc., Pacific Western Oil Corporation, Mission Corporation, Mission Development Company, Tidewater Oil, Skelly Oil, Mexican Seaboard Oil, Petroleum Corporation of America, Spartan Aircraft Company, Spartan Cafeteria Company, Minnehoma Insurance Company, Minnehoma Financial Company, Pierre Hotel, Pierre Marques Hotel, a 15th-century palace and nearby castle at Ladispoli on the coast northwest of Rome, a Malibu ranch home, and Sutton Place, a 72-room mansion near Guildford, Surrey.
Art collection
Getty's first forays into collecting began in the late 1930s, when he took inspiration from the collection of 18th-century French paintings and furniture owned by the landlord of his New York City penthouse, Amy Guest, a relation of Sir Winston Churchill. A fan of 18th-century France, Getty began buying furniture from the period at reduced prices because of the depressed art market. He wrote several books on collecting, including Europe and the 18th Century (1949), Collector's Choice: The Chronicle of an Artistic Odyssey through Europe (1955) and The Joys of Collecting (1965). His stinginess limited the range of his collecting because he refused to pay full price. Getty's companion in later life, Penelope Kitson, said "Paul was really too mean ever to allow himself to buy a great painting." Nonetheless, at the time of his death he owned more than 600 items valued at more than $4 million, including paintings by Rubens, Titian, Gainsborough, Renoir, Tintoretto, Degas, and Monet. During the 1950s, Getty's interests shifted to Greco-Roman sculpture, which led to the building of the Getty Villa in the 1970s to house the collection. These items were transferred to the Getty Museum and the Getty Villa in Los Angeles after his death.
Marriages, divorces and children
Getty was a notorious womanizer from the time of his youth, something that horrified his conservative Christian parents. His lawyer, Robin Lund, once said that, "Paul could hardly ever say 'no' to a woman, or 'yes' to a man." Lord Beaverbrook had called him "Priapic" and "ever-ready" in his sexual habits.
In 1917, when he was 25, a paternity suit was filed against Getty in Los Angeles by Elsie Eckstrom, who claimed he was the father of her daughter, Paula. Eckstrom claimed that Getty had taken her virginity and fathered the child, while his legal team tried to undermine her credibility by claiming that she had a history of promiscuity. Getty agreed to a settlement of $10,000, upon which Eckstrom left town with the baby.
Getty was married and divorced five times. He had five sons with four of his wives:
Jeanette Demont (married 1923 – divorced 1926); one son, George F. Getty II (1924–1973).
Allene Ashby (1926–1928); no children. Getty met 17-year-old Ashby, the daughter of a Texas rancher, in Mexico City while he was studying Spanish and overseeing his family's business interests. They eloped to Cuernavaca, Mexico, but the marriage was bigamous as he was not yet divorced from Jeanette. The two quickly decided to dissolve the union while still in Mexico.
Adolphine Helmle (1928–1932); one son, Jean Ronald Getty (1929–2009), whose son, Christopher Ronald Getty, married Pia Miller, sister of Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece. Like his first and second wives, Adolphine was 17 years old when Getty met her in Vienna. She was the daughter of a prominent German doctor who was opposed to her marrying the twice-divorced, 36-year-old Getty. The two eloped to Cuernavaca, where he had married Allene Ashby, then settled in Los Angeles. Following the birth of their son, Getty lost interest in her and her father convinced her to return to Germany with their child in 1929. After a protracted and contentious battle, their divorce was finalized in August 1932, with Adolphine receiving a huge sum for punitive damages and full custody of Ronald.
Ann Rork (1932–1936); two sons, John Paul Getty Jr. (1932–2003) and Gordon Peter Getty (born 1933). Getty was introduced to Rork when she was 14 years old, but she did not become his romantic partner until she was 21 in 1930. Because he was in the midst of his divorce from Adolphine, the couple had to wait two years before they married. He was largely absent during their marriage, staying for long stretches of time in Europe. She sued him for divorce in 1936 alleging emotional abuse and neglect. She described an incident while the two were abroad in Italy in which she claimed Getty forced her to climb to view the crater of Mount Vesuvius while she was pregnant with their first son. The court decided in her favor and she was awarded $2,500 per month alimony plus $1,000 each in child support for her sons.
Louise Dudley "Teddy" Lynch (1939–1958); one son, Timothy Ware Getty (1946–1958).
In 2013 at age 99, Getty's fifth wife, Louise, known as Teddy Getty Gaston, published a memoir reporting how Getty had scolded her for spending money too freely in the 1950s on the treatment of their six-year-old son, Timmy, who had become blind from a brain tumor. Timmy died at age 12, and Getty, living in England apart from his family who were in the U.S., did not attend the funeral. Gaston divorced Getty that year. Teddy Gaston died in April 2017 at the age of 103.
Getty was quoted as saying "A lasting relationship with a woman is only possible if you are a business failure," and, "I hate to be a failure. I hate and regret the failure of my marriages. I would gladly give all my millions for just one lasting marital success."
Kidnapping of grandson John Paul Getty III
In Rome on July 10, 1973, 'Ndrangheta kidnappers abducted Getty's 16-year-old grandson, John Paul Getty III, and demanded a $17 million (equivalent to $ in ) payment for his safe return. However, the family suspected a ploy by the rebellious teenager to extract money from his miserly grandfather. John Paul Getty Jr. asked his father for the money, but was refused, arguing that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnap targets if he paid.
In November 1973, an envelope containing a lock of hair and a human ear arrived at a daily newspaper. The second demand had been delayed three weeks by an Italian postal strike. The demand threatened that Paul would be further mutilated unless the victims paid $3.2 million. The demand stated "This is Paul's ear. If we don't get some money within 10 days, then the other ear will arrive. In other words, he will arrive in little bits."
When the kidnappers finally reduced their demands to $3 million, Getty agreed to pay no more than $2.2 million (equivalent to $ in ), the maximum that would be tax-deductible. He lent his son the remaining $800,000 at four percent interest. Getty's grandson was found alive on December 15, 1973, in a Lauria filling station, in the province of Potenza, shortly after the ransom was paid. After his release, the younger Getty called his grandfather to thank him for paying the ransom but Getty refused to come to the phone. Nine people associated with 'Ndrangheta were later arrested for the kidnapping, but only two were convicted. Getty III was permanently affected by the trauma and became a drug addict. After a stroke, brought on by a cocktail of drugs and alcohol in 1981, Getty III was rendered speechless, nearly blind and partially paralyzed for the rest of his life. He died on February 5, 2011, at the age of 54.
Getty defended his initial refusal to pay the ransom on two points. He argued that his 13 other grandchildren could also become kidnap targets if he paid, and also stated, "The second reason for my refusal was much broader-based. I contend that acceding to the demands of criminals and terrorists merely guarantees the continuing increase and spread of lawlessness, violence and such outrages as terror-bombings, "skyjackings" and the slaughter of hostages that plague our present-day world."
Nine of the kidnappers were apprehended, including Girolamo Piromalli and Saverio Mammoliti, high-ranking members of the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia organization in Calabria. Two of the kidnappers were convicted and sent to prison; the others were acquitted for lack of evidence, including the 'Ndrangheta bosses. Most of the ransom money was never recovered.
Reputation for frugality
Many anecdotal stories exist of Getty's reputed thriftiness and parsimony, which struck observers as comical, even perverse, because of his extreme wealth. The two most widely known examples are his reluctance to pay his grandson's $17 million kidnapping ransom, and a notorious pay-phone he had installed at Sutton Place. A darker incident was his fifth wife's claim that Getty had scolded her for spending too much on their terminally ill son's medical treatment, though he was worth tens of millions of dollars at the time. He was well known for bargaining on almost everything to obtain the lowest possible price, including suites at luxury hotels and virtually all purchases of artwork and real estate. In 1959, Sutton Place, a 72-room mansion, was purchased from George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland, for £60,000, about half of what the Duke paid for it 40 years earlier.
Getty's secretary claimed that Getty did his laundry by hand because he didn't want to pay for his clothes to be laundered. When his shirts became frayed at the cuffs, he would trim the frayed part instead of purchasing new shirts.
Re-using stationery was another obsession of Getty's. He had a habit of writing responses to letters on the margins or back sides and mailing them back, rather than using a new sheet of paper. He also carefully saved and re-used manila envelopes, rubber bands and other office supplies.
When Getty took a group of friends to a dog show in London, he made them walk around the block for 10 minutes until the tickets became half-priced at 5 pm, because he didn't want to pay the full 5 shillings per head.
Getty moved to Sutton Place in part because the cost of living was cheaper than in London, where he had resided at the Ritz. He once boasted to American columnist Art Buchwald that it cost 10 cents for a rum and coke at Sutton Place, whereas at the Ritz it was more than a dollar.
Author John Pearson attributed part of Getty's extreme penny-pinching to the Methodist sensibility of Getty's upbringing, which emphasized modest living and personal economy. His business acumen was also a major factor in Getty's thriftiness. "He would allow himself no self-indulgence in the purchase of a place to live, a work of art, even a piece of furniture, unless he could convince himself that it would appreciate in value."
Getty claimed his frugality towards others was a response to people taking advantage of him and not paying their fair share. "It's not the money I object to, it's the principle of the thing that bothers me ..."
Coin-box telephone
Getty famously had a payphone installed at Sutton Place, helping to seal his reputation as a miser. Getty placed dial-locks on all the regular telephones, limiting their use to authorized staff, and the coin-box telephone was installed for others. In his autobiography, he described his reasons:
When speaking in a televised interview with Alan Whicker in February 1963, Getty said that he thought guests would want to use a payphone. After 18 months, Getty explained, "the in-and-out traffic flow at Sutton subsided. Management and operation of the house settled into a reasonable routine. With that, the pay-telephone [was] removed, and the dial-locks were taken off the telephones in the house."
Later years and death
On June 30, 1960, Getty threw a 21st birthday party for a relative of his friend, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, which served as a housewarming party for the newly purchased Sutton Place. Party goers were irritated by Getty's stinginess, such as not providing cigarettes and relegating everyone to using creosote portable toilets outside. At about 10 p.m. the party descended into pandemonium as party crashers arrived from London, swelling the already overcrowded halls and causing an estimated £20,000 in damage. A valuable silver ewer by the 18th century silversmith Paul de Lamerie was stolen, but returned anonymously when the London newspapers began covering the theft. The failure of the event made Getty the object of ridicule and he never threw another large party again.
Getty remained an inveterate hard worker, boasting at age 74 that he often worked 16 to 18 hours per day overseeing his operations across the world. The value of Getty Oil shares quadrupled during the Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur War of October 1973, which caused a worldwide oil shortage for years. Getty's earnings topped $25.8 million in 1975.
Getty's insatiable appetite for sex also continued into his 80s. He used an experimental drug, H3, to maintain his potency. Getty met the English interior designer Penelope Kitson in the 1950s and entrusted her with decorating his homes and the public rooms of the oil tankers he was launching. From 1960, Kitson resided in a cottage on the grounds of Sutton Place. Getty and Kitson maintained a platonic relationship and Getty held her in high respect and trust. Other mistresses who resided at Sutton Place included the married Mary Teissier, a distant cousin of the last Tsar of Russia, Lady Ursula d'Abo, who had close connections to the British Royal Family, and Nicaraguan-born Rosabella Burch.
The New York Times wrote of Getty's domestic arrangement: "[Getty] ended his life with a collection of desperately hopeful women, all living together in his Tudor mansion in England, none of them aware that his favorite pastime was rewriting his will, changing his insultingly small bequests: $209 a month to one, $1,167 to another." Only Kitson received a significant bequest upon Getty's death, receiving 5,000 shares of Getty Oil, which doubled in value during the 1980s, and a $1,167 monthly income.
Getty died of heart failure at the age of 83 on June 6, 1976, in Sutton Place near Guildford, Surrey. He was buried in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles County, California at the Getty Villa. The gravesite is not open to the public.
Media portrayals
Christopher Plummer portrayed Getty in the 2017 film All the Money in the World, which dramatizes the kidnapping of his grandson. Getty was originally portrayed by Kevin Spacey, but after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced against Spacey ahead of the film's premiere, Plummer was cast to re-film his scenes. For his performance, Plummer received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
The kidnapping is also dramatized in the first season of the American anthology drama series Trust, where Getty is portrayed by Donald Sutherland.
Quotations
J. Paul Getty has one entry in the 8th Edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.
“If you can actually count your money, then you are not really a rich man.”
Published works
Getty, J. Paul. The history of the bigger oil business of George F.S. F. and J. Paul Getty from 1903 to 1939. Los Angeles?, 1941,
Getty, J. Paul. Europe in the Eighteenth Century. [Santa Monica, Calif.]: privately printed, 1949,
Le Vane, Ethel, and J. Paul Getty. Collector's Choice: The Chronicle of an Artistic Odyssey through Europe. London: W.H. Allen, 1955,
Getty, J. Paul. My Life and Fortunes. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1963,
Getty, J. Paul. The Joys of Collecting. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1965,
Getty, J. Paul. How to be Rich. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1965,
Getty, J. Paul. The Golden Age. New York: Trident Press, 1968,
Getty, J. Paul. How to be a Successful Executive. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1971,
Getty, J. Paul. As I See It: The Autobiography of J. Paul Getty. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, 1976. ,
See also
List of richest Americans in history
List of wealthiest historical figures
References
Further reading
Hewins, Ralph. The Richest American: J. Paul Getty. New York: Dutton, 1960.
Lund, Robina. The Getty I Knew. Kansas City: Sheed Andrews and McMeel, 1977. .
Miller, Russell. The House of Getty. New York: Henry Holt, 1985. .
de Chair, Somerset Struben. Getty on Getty: a man in a billion. London: Cassell, 1989. .
Pearson, John. Painfully Rich: J. Paul Getty and His Heirs. London: Macmillan, 1995. .
Wooster, Martin Morse. Philanthropy Hall of Fame, J. Paul Getty. philanthropyroundtable.org.
External links
J. Paul Getty diaries, 1938–1946, 1948–1976 finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
J. Paul Getty family collected papers, 1880s–1989, undated (bulk 1911–1977) finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
J. Paul Getty and Ashby sisters papers, 1926-1992, finding aid, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.
1892 births
1976 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
American art collectors
American autobiographers
American business writers
American businesspeople in the oil industry
American billionaires
American emigrants to England
American people of Scotch-Irish descent
American philanthropists
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Businesspeople from Minneapolis
Businesspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma
English people of Irish descent
Museum founders
J. Paul
J
John H. Francis Polytechnic High School alumni
Philanthropists from California
University of California, Berkeley alumni | false | [
"\"Toward a Fair Use Standard\", 103 Harv. L. Rev. 1105 (1990), is a law review article on the fair use doctrine in US copyright law, written by then-District Court Judge Pierre N. Leval. The article argued that the most critical element of the fair use analysis is the transformativeness of a work, the first of the statutory factors listed in the Copyright Act of 1976, . \n\nLeval's article is cited in the Supreme Court's 1994 decision in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., which marked a shift in judicial treatment of fair use toward a transformativeness analysis and away from emphasizing the \"commerciality\" analysis of the fourth factor. Prior to Leval's article, the fourth factor had often been described as the most important of the factors. \n\nIn his article, Leval noted: \nI believe the answer to the question of justification turns primarily on whether, and to what extent, the challenged use is transformative. The use must be productive and must employ the quoted matter in a different manner or for a different purpose from the original. ...[If] the secondary use adds value to the original—if the quoted matter is used as raw material, transformed in the creation of new information, new aesthetics, new insights and understandings—this is the very type of activity that the fair use doctrine intends to protect for the enrichment of society.\n\nTransformative uses may include criticizing the quoted work, exposing the character of the original author, proving a fact, or summarizing an idea argued in the original in order to defend or rebut it. They also may include parody, symbolism, aesthetic declarations, and innumerable other uses.\n\nLeval's article was published with an accompanying article by Lloyd Weinreb \"Fair's Fair: A Comment on the Fair Use Doctrine\", 103 Harvard Law Review 1137 (1990), which generally critiqued Leval's thesis.\n\nFurther reading \n \n \n\n1990 essays\n1990 in law\nFair use\nCopyright law literature\nLegal literature\nWorks originally published in the Harvard Law Review\nUnited States copyright law",
"In Caspar Hare's theory of perspectival realism, there is a defining intrinsic property that the things that are in perceptual awareness have. Consider seeing object A but not object B. Of course, we can say that the visual experience of A is present to you, and no visual experience of B is present to you. But, it can be argued, this misses the fact that the visual experience of A is simply present, not relative to anything. This is what Hare's perspectival realism attempts to capture, resulting in a weak version of metaphysical solipsism.\n\nAs Hare points out, the same type of argument is often used in the philosophy of time to support theories such as presentism. Of course, we can say that A is happening on [insert today's date]. But, it can be argued, this misses the fact that A is simply happening (right now), not relative to anything.\n\nHare's theory of perspectival realism is closely related to his theory of egocentric presentism.\nSeveral other philosophers have written reviews of Hare's work on this topic.\n\nSee also\n Metaphysical subjectivism\n Centered worlds\n Benj Hellie's vertiginous question\n J.J. Valberg's personal horizon\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Hare, Caspar. Self-Bias, Time-Bias, and the Metaphysics of Self and Time. Preprint of article in The Journal of Philosophy (2007).\n Hare, Caspar. On Myself, and Other, Less Important Subjects. Early draft of book published by Princeton University Press (2009).\n Hare, Caspar. Realism About Tense and Perspective. Preprint of article in Philosophy Compass (2010).\n\nEpistemological theories\nMetaphysics of mind\nPhilosophical realism\nPhilosophy of time\nTheory of mind"
] |
[
"Jeff Tweedy",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"
] | C_53d05845d3ff482296f7050423c4143e_1 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 1 | Are there any other interesting aspects about the Jeff Tweedy article besides Yankee Hotel Foxtrot ? | Jeff Tweedy | Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments about how the album should sound between songs. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Jay Bennett was a collective decision. Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise records under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies. CANNOTANSWER | Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. | Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high school in his band The Plebes with Jay Farrar, which subsequently transitioned into the alternative country band Uncle Tupelo. After Uncle Tupelo broke up, Tweedy formed Wilco which found critical and commercial success, most notably with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born, the latter of which received a Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2005.
Across his career Tweedy has released 20 studio albums, including four with Uncle Tupelo, eleven with Wilco, one with his son Spencer, a solo acoustic album, three solo studio albums, along with numerous collaborations with other musicians, most notably Mermaid Avenue with Billy Bragg.
Early life
Tweedy was born in Belleville, Illinois, on August 25, 1967, the fourth child of Bob and JoAnn Tweedy (née Werkmeister). Bob Tweedy (died Aug. 4, 2017) worked at Alton & Southern Railroad in East St. Louis while JoAnn was a kitchen designer. Tweedy has three siblings: older brother Greg Tweedy (died in 2013), brother Steven Tweedy, and sister Debbie Voll.
Tweedy's mother bought him his first guitar when he was six years old, although he did not begin to play it seriously until he was twelve. Apparently Tweedy told people that he knew how to play the guitar once he got his first guitar, even though he couldn't. When he was twelve, Tweedy was injured in a bicycle accident and was laid up for the summer. He decided to learn how to play a few chords before somebody "called him out" on the lie. In 1981, when Tweedy was fourteen years old, he befriended Jay Farrar in an English class at Belleville Township High School West. All of the members of Farrar's family enjoyed playing music, so Farrar already had knowledge of the musical elements of rock and roll. By this time, Tweedy was a fan of The Ramones and country music while Farrar enjoyed The Sex Pistols.
Tweedy attended Belleville Area College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Career
Early music
In the early 1980s, Tweedy joined a rockabilly band called The Plebes with brothers Wade and Dade Farrar, which Tweedy joined in order to qualify for a battle of the bands competition, which they won. Tweedy pushed The Plebes away from the rockabilly music that they had been playing, which caused Dade Farrar to leave the band. The band renamed themselves The Primitives in 1984, taking their name from a song by garage rock band The Groupies. Wade Farrar sang lead vocals and played harmonica, Jay Farrar played guitar, Tweedy played bass guitar, and Mike Heidorn played drums. In late 1986, the band decided to change their name to Uncle Tupelo, because a more popular British band was also using the name "The Primitives". Mike Heidorn's liner notes for No Depression, which were included in the 2003 re-issue of the album. The Primitives went on hiatus in 1986 after Wade Farrar left the band to finish his engineering degree at Southern Illinois University. While waiting for Wade to return from campus, Farrar, Tweedy, and Heidorn formed Uncle Tupelo.
Uncle Tupelo (1987–1994)
At his parents' request, Tweedy enrolled at several universities, but dropped out of them so that he could concentrate on Uncle Tupelo. While moonlighting as a record store clerk at Euclid Records in St. Louis, Tweedy met Tony Margherita. After Margherita saw the band perform at an acoustic concert in 1988, he decided to become the band's manager. The band began playing regular shows at Cicero's basement bar in the Delmar Loop near Washington University with other bands playing in a similar style. Uncle Tupelo recorded a ten-track demo tape entitled Not Forever, Just For Now in 1989, attracting the attention of Giant/Rockville Records. The independent label signed the band, and Uncle Tupelo's first album, No Depression, was released the next year. The title song, originally performed by the Carter Family, became strongly associated with the alternative country scene, and became the name of an influential alternative country periodical called No Depression.
During times when Uncle Tupelo was not touring, Tweedy and Farrar played as Coffee Creek, a short-lived cover band with The Bottle Rockets' Brian Henneman and Mark Ortmann. Around this time, Tweedy began developing problems with alcohol, leading to tensions between Tweedy and Farrar. While he never refused to play a gig, Tweedy was forced to sit out in place of Henneman at some performances. Tweedy quit drinking entirely after meeting future wife Sue Miller, although he replaced this habit with smoking marijuana. However, after developing a dependence on marijuana, he quickly quit using it, as well. After releasing Still Feel Gone, the band formed a friendship with Peter Buck of R.E.M., who produced their third album March 16–20, 1992 for free. Uncle Tupelo left the Rockville label in favor of Sire Records (Warner) later in 1992 because Rockville refused to pay the band any royalties for their albums. After the signing, Max Johnston and John Stirratt joined the band as Mike Heidorn was replaced by Bill Belzer who was later replaced by Ken Coomer. The five-piece band recorded Anodyne, which sold over 150,000 copies and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, but was the last album Uncle Tupelo released.
Breakup
In January 1994, Farrar called Tony Margherita to tell him that the band was breaking up, saying that he was not having any fun in the band anymore and was not getting along with Tweedy. Tweedy was enraged that Farrar decided to break up the band without notifying him, and this led to a series of harsh verbal exchanges. Farrar and Tweedy agreed to a final Uncle Tupelo tour, but the concerts were marred by the two not participating in each other's songs. The band decided to play Tweedy's "The Long Cut" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which further distanced Farrar and Tweedy. Farrar began to assemble a new band named Son Volt with Mike Heidorn, bassist Jim Boquist, and his brother Dave Boquist. At the same time, Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco with Stirratt, Johnston, and Coomer.
Wilco (1995–present)
In 1994, Tweedy formed Wilco with John Stirratt, Max Johnston, and Ken Coomer. Wilco has released ten albums and found commercial success with their albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco. The band also released two collaboration albums with Billy Bragg and one with The Minus 5. Jeff Tweedy has been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Album for A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy has also participated in a number of side groups including Golden Smog and Loose Fur, published a book of poems, and released a DVD of solo performances. He was originally influenced by punk and country music, but has later reflected more experimental themes in his music.
Wilco signed with Reprise/Warner Bros. Records and began recording AM almost as soon as the band was formed. After recording, Tweedy was introduced to Jay Bennett, who then joined the band. Also during this time, Tweedy quit smoking marijuana after a particularly bad experience with some cannabis brownies. A.M. did not fare as well commercially in comparison to Son Volt's first album, only reaching number 27 on the Heatseekers chart while Son Volt's debut Trace hit the Billboard 200. Dan Murphy of Soul Asylum invited Tweedy to join him in a supergroup named Golden Smog with Gary Louris and Marc Perlman of the Jayhawks, Kraig Johnson of Run Westy Run, and Noah Levy of The Honeydogs. Under the pseudonym Scott Summit, Tweedy released Down by the Old Mainstream with Golden Smog in 1996.
Tweedy and Wilco began to explore new styles and broke from the style of previous recordings on the seminal sprawling double album Being There in 1996. Tweedy did not write music for many of the songs ahead of time, and welcomed unexpected sounds into the recording. Wilco recorded nineteen songs for the double-CD album, and wanted the label to release it with a retail price comparable to a single-CD release. Being There was a commercial success, selling 300,000 copies and peaking in the top half of the Billboard 200. Reprise records invested $100,000 in the single "Outta Mind (Outtasite)", but received little radio exposure. While on tour, Tweedy began to spend time reading books by William H. Gass, Henry Miller, and John Fante. As he read their books, Tweedy decided to place more of an emphasis on writing. Representatives in the A&R department of Reprise wanted a radio single from Summerteeth, and Wilco reluctantly agreed to a re-working of "Can't Stand It". The single was a top five hit on adult album alternative radio stations, but failed to cross over to a larger audience.
Before the release of Summerteeth, the daughter of the late folk legend Woody Guthrie contacted folk rock singer Billy Bragg, who in turn contacted Tweedy about recording an album of unreleased Woody Guthrie songs. Tweedy was indifferent to the idea of working with Bragg, but Jay Bennett's enthusiasm about the idea convinced Tweedy to get the band involved in the project. As a result of Tweedy's feelings on the political nature of some of the lyrics, Bragg recorded mostly political songs while Wilco recorded more neutral songs. Almost all of the songs that appeared on Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II were recorded over a six-day period in December 1997. The first Mermaid Avenue album and a second Golden Smog album (Weird Tales) were released in 1998, Summerteeth was released in early 1999, and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II was released in 2000. Tweedy received his first Grammy nomination when Mermaid Avenue was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1999.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments between songs about how the album should sound. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Bennett around this time, believing (according to Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Bennett was a collective decision.
Reprise Records' parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies.
A Ghost Is Born
Scott McCaughey contacted Tweedy about recording an album together for a The Minus 5 release. They scheduled a meeting for September 11, 2001, but were reluctant to enter the recording studio after the terrorist attacks. At night, McCaughey and Tweedy decided to begin recording songs as a way to calm down. A few more tracks were later added to the album with the rest of Wilco, and it was released with the name Down with Wilco in 2003.
In November 2003, Wilco began recording a fifth studio album. Unlike their previous albums, all of the songs were originally performed in the studio and then later adapted for playing at concerts. Wilco released A Ghost Is Born on June 22, 2004, and it attained a top ten peak on the Billboard 200. The album was awarded with Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package in 2005. A few weeks before the album's release, Tweedy released a book of forty-three poems entitled Adult Head on Zoo Press. The following year, the band released their first live album, a two-disc set entitled Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, recorded at The Vic Theater.
Subsequent Wilco albums
Wilco recorded twelve tracks for a sixth studio album entitled Sky Blue Sky, which was released on May 15, 2007. Sky Blue Sky debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, the band's highest debut yet. It sold over 87,000 copies in its first week of release.
In early May 2009, former Wilco member Jay Bennett sued Tweedy for breach of contract. Bennett died later that month of an apparent accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl. In June 2009 Wilco released their seventh studio album Wilco (The Album), followed by The Whole Love in 2011, Star Wars in 2015, Schmilco in 2016 and Ode to Joy in 2019.
Other work
Jeff Tweedy has performed several solo tours, on which he typically plays acoustic music. He also recorded the song "Simple Twist of Fate" for the soundtrack to I'm Not There. On October 24, 2006 Nonesuch Records released Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, a live DVD by Tweedy. The disc includes performances and conversations gathered over five nights on Tweedy's February 2006 solo acoustic tour, with footage from concerts at Seattle's Moore Theater, Portland's Crystal Ballroom, Eugene's McDonald Theatre, Arcata's Humboldt State University, and The Fillmore in San Francisco. The DVD was directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi's Brendan Canty, the creators of the documentary series Burn to Shine.
Tweedy has partnered with Mavis Staples on three acclaimed albums. In 2010 they released You Are Not Alone, in 2013, One True Vine, and in 2017 If All I Was Was Black. Tweedy played an array of instruments on these albums and wrote many of the songs.
Tweedy worked with the psychedelic-influenced garage rock group White Denim on their record Corsicana Lemonade, recording some songs at Wilco's Chicago studio The Loft. In 2015 the album Still by Richard Thompson was released. The album was produced by Tweedy in The Loft Studios and features Tweedy on guitar and backing vocals.
Tweedy has appeared as a fictional singer-songwriter on 2014 episodes of Parks and Recreation and Portlandia.
On June 4, 2014, it was announced that he had formed a new band called Tweedy with his son Spencer. The band's debut album Sukierae was released on September 16. The release was followed by a world tour in which half of the set consisted of new songs off Sukierae performed by a touring band including Spencer. The latter half of the set Tweedy plays solo, typically performing Wilco and Uncle Tupelo classics.
In June 2017 Jeff Tweedy released a solo acoustic album of eleven songs spanning his career from Wilco, Loose Fur, and Golden Smog titled Together at Last. In November 2018 Jeff Tweedy released a memoir titled Let's Go (So We Can Get Back) and his first solo album of new material, titled Warm. A companion album to Warm titled Warmer was released on April 13, 2019 as a Record Store Day exclusive.
In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic Susan Tweedy and her family created a recurring video series on Instagram dubbed The Tweedy Show featuring Jeff and their sons performing original and cover songs. During the shelter-in-place Jeff Tweedy also wrote and recorded his third solo album titled Love Is the King which was announced to release on October 23, 2020 and wrote his second book titled How to Write One Song which was announced to release on October 13, 2020 on the E. P. Dutton publishing label.
Musical style
Tweedy's musical style has varied over his music career. Tweedy's vocal style is considered nasal, emotional, and raspy, and has been compared to that of Neil Young. His first exposure to music was through gramophone records that his siblings left behind when they attended college, and he particularly liked The Beatles' White Album. Tweedy would frequently read issues of magazines such as Rolling Stone, and began to purchase punk rock albums such as The Clash's London Calling and X's Wild Gift. Belleville crowds did not respond well to punk music, so while Tweedy was a member of The Primitives they played covers of country songs at much faster tempos. When Uncle Tupelo formed, the band began composing its own songs influenced by Jason & the Scorchers and The Minutemen. Wilco's first album shared many musical similarities with the four previous Uncle Tupelo albums, but on Being There, Tweedy began introducing more experimental themes into his music. He claims that he wanted to rebel against the belief spread by the No Depression magazine that Wilco was primarily a country band. One of the most influential albums for Tweedy was Bad Timing by Jim O'Rourke, which helped to inspire Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy uses a 1957 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, as well as a 1965 Fender Jazzmaster, at least three different Telecasters, an Epiphone Casino, a Rickenbacker 360, and a Gibson SG Standard. He has vintage SGs from '62 and '65 as well as a 2007 Custom Shop model and a 2008 Custom Shop Vintage Original Spec (V.O.S.) that are all rigged with Maestro tremolo bars. He also has been known to use a Breedlove 000 and even designed a limited edition 000 for Breedlove in 2007. His amplifier of choice is a Vox AC30.
Personal life
Tweedy has been prone to migraines throughout his entire life, forcing him to miss forty days of elementary school in one year. While he attempted to regulate his use of painkillers, he was never able to stop their use for more than five weeks. Tweedy attributes this to comorbidity with major depressive disorder and severe panic attacks. In 2004, he entered a dual diagnosis rehabilitation clinic in order to receive treatment for an addiction to prescription painkiller Vicodin. Tweedy quit smoking the next year; John Stirratt claimed afterward that this significantly improved the focus of the band.
Tweedy is married to former talent agent Sue Miller and lives in the Irving Park area of Chicago. Tweedy first met Miller when he was trying to get Uncle Tupelo booked at Cubby Bear, where Miller worked. Miller opened a club in Chicago named Lounge Ax in 1989, and booked Uncle Tupelo for 16 shows over four years. Miller and Tweedy began dating in 1991 and they were married on August 9, 1995. Sue was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Tweedy said "she's doing great now." Tweedy also said that music is a healthy distraction in such difficult times. They have two sons: Spencer and Sam. Spencer was the drummer for pre-teen rock band The Blisters and a new band called Tully Monster. In 2008, Spencer joined Wilco on stage at Madison Square Garden to play drums on their song "The Late Greats," while opening for Neil Young.
Tweedy has converted to Judaism. His wife is Jewish, and their sons both had Bar Mitzvah ceremonies. During the ceremony for his oldest son, Tweedy played an acoustic version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young".
In November 2019 Tweedy's home in Irving Park was shot at least seven times in an attack described by his son as "not targeted". No injuries were reported.
Selected discography
Solo
Together at Last (2017)
Warm (2018)
Warmer (2019)
Love Is the King (2020)
Live Is The King (2021)
With Uncle Tupelo
No Depression (1990)
Still Feel Gone (1991)
March 16–20, 1992 (1992)
Anodyne (1993)
With Wilco
A.M. (1995)
Being There (1996)
Summerteeth (1999)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)
A Ghost Is Born (2004)
Sky Blue Sky (2007)
Wilco (The Album) (2009)
The Whole Love (2011)
Star Wars (2015)
Schmilco (2016)
Ode to Joy (2019)
With Tweedy
Sukierae (2014)
Works or publications
Tweedy, Jeff. Adult Head: Poems. Lincoln, Neb: Zoo Press, 2004.
Tweedy, Jeff (Narrator). Lincoln in the Bardo, Audiobook. Random House Audio, 2017 ASIN: B01N1NU4K2
Tweedy, Jeff. Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc., autobiography, Dutton Books, 2018.
Tweedy, Jeff. How to Write One Song, Dutton Books, 2020.
See also
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco
Wilco: Learning How to Die
Uncle Tupelo
Wilco
New Multitudes
Notes and references
Further reading
Buchanan-Smith, Peter, and Daniel Nadel. The Wilco Book. New York: Kaput, 2004.
Grierson, Tim. Wilco: Sunken Treasure. 2013.
Kot, Greg. Wilco: Learning How to Die. New York: Broadway Books, 2004.
External links
Who Owns Culture? – Jeff Tweedy and Lawrence Lessig in conversation with Steven Johnson, New York Public Library on April 7, 2005. Internet Archive, Community Audio.
Wilco (official website)
1967 births
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American male television actors
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
Jewish American musicians
Grammy Award winners
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Belleville, Illinois
Drag City (record label) artists
Wilco members
Uncle Tupelo members
The Minus 5 members
Guitarists from Illinois
DBpm Records artists
20th-century American guitarists
Dutch East India Trading artists
Sire Records artists
Reprise Records artists
Nonesuch Records artists
Golden Smog members
Converts to Judaism
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American guitarists
20th-century American writers
21st-century American writers
Belleville High School-West alumni
Autobiographies | true | [
"Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region",
"Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts"
] |
[
"Jeff Tweedy",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing."
] | C_53d05845d3ff482296f7050423c4143e_1 | Who did he choose | 2 | Who did Jeff Tweedy choose for the Noise Pop festival? | Jeff Tweedy | Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments about how the album should sound between songs. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Jay Bennett was a collective decision. Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise records under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies. CANNOTANSWER | Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, | Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high school in his band The Plebes with Jay Farrar, which subsequently transitioned into the alternative country band Uncle Tupelo. After Uncle Tupelo broke up, Tweedy formed Wilco which found critical and commercial success, most notably with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born, the latter of which received a Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2005.
Across his career Tweedy has released 20 studio albums, including four with Uncle Tupelo, eleven with Wilco, one with his son Spencer, a solo acoustic album, three solo studio albums, along with numerous collaborations with other musicians, most notably Mermaid Avenue with Billy Bragg.
Early life
Tweedy was born in Belleville, Illinois, on August 25, 1967, the fourth child of Bob and JoAnn Tweedy (née Werkmeister). Bob Tweedy (died Aug. 4, 2017) worked at Alton & Southern Railroad in East St. Louis while JoAnn was a kitchen designer. Tweedy has three siblings: older brother Greg Tweedy (died in 2013), brother Steven Tweedy, and sister Debbie Voll.
Tweedy's mother bought him his first guitar when he was six years old, although he did not begin to play it seriously until he was twelve. Apparently Tweedy told people that he knew how to play the guitar once he got his first guitar, even though he couldn't. When he was twelve, Tweedy was injured in a bicycle accident and was laid up for the summer. He decided to learn how to play a few chords before somebody "called him out" on the lie. In 1981, when Tweedy was fourteen years old, he befriended Jay Farrar in an English class at Belleville Township High School West. All of the members of Farrar's family enjoyed playing music, so Farrar already had knowledge of the musical elements of rock and roll. By this time, Tweedy was a fan of The Ramones and country music while Farrar enjoyed The Sex Pistols.
Tweedy attended Belleville Area College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Career
Early music
In the early 1980s, Tweedy joined a rockabilly band called The Plebes with brothers Wade and Dade Farrar, which Tweedy joined in order to qualify for a battle of the bands competition, which they won. Tweedy pushed The Plebes away from the rockabilly music that they had been playing, which caused Dade Farrar to leave the band. The band renamed themselves The Primitives in 1984, taking their name from a song by garage rock band The Groupies. Wade Farrar sang lead vocals and played harmonica, Jay Farrar played guitar, Tweedy played bass guitar, and Mike Heidorn played drums. In late 1986, the band decided to change their name to Uncle Tupelo, because a more popular British band was also using the name "The Primitives". Mike Heidorn's liner notes for No Depression, which were included in the 2003 re-issue of the album. The Primitives went on hiatus in 1986 after Wade Farrar left the band to finish his engineering degree at Southern Illinois University. While waiting for Wade to return from campus, Farrar, Tweedy, and Heidorn formed Uncle Tupelo.
Uncle Tupelo (1987–1994)
At his parents' request, Tweedy enrolled at several universities, but dropped out of them so that he could concentrate on Uncle Tupelo. While moonlighting as a record store clerk at Euclid Records in St. Louis, Tweedy met Tony Margherita. After Margherita saw the band perform at an acoustic concert in 1988, he decided to become the band's manager. The band began playing regular shows at Cicero's basement bar in the Delmar Loop near Washington University with other bands playing in a similar style. Uncle Tupelo recorded a ten-track demo tape entitled Not Forever, Just For Now in 1989, attracting the attention of Giant/Rockville Records. The independent label signed the band, and Uncle Tupelo's first album, No Depression, was released the next year. The title song, originally performed by the Carter Family, became strongly associated with the alternative country scene, and became the name of an influential alternative country periodical called No Depression.
During times when Uncle Tupelo was not touring, Tweedy and Farrar played as Coffee Creek, a short-lived cover band with The Bottle Rockets' Brian Henneman and Mark Ortmann. Around this time, Tweedy began developing problems with alcohol, leading to tensions between Tweedy and Farrar. While he never refused to play a gig, Tweedy was forced to sit out in place of Henneman at some performances. Tweedy quit drinking entirely after meeting future wife Sue Miller, although he replaced this habit with smoking marijuana. However, after developing a dependence on marijuana, he quickly quit using it, as well. After releasing Still Feel Gone, the band formed a friendship with Peter Buck of R.E.M., who produced their third album March 16–20, 1992 for free. Uncle Tupelo left the Rockville label in favor of Sire Records (Warner) later in 1992 because Rockville refused to pay the band any royalties for their albums. After the signing, Max Johnston and John Stirratt joined the band as Mike Heidorn was replaced by Bill Belzer who was later replaced by Ken Coomer. The five-piece band recorded Anodyne, which sold over 150,000 copies and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, but was the last album Uncle Tupelo released.
Breakup
In January 1994, Farrar called Tony Margherita to tell him that the band was breaking up, saying that he was not having any fun in the band anymore and was not getting along with Tweedy. Tweedy was enraged that Farrar decided to break up the band without notifying him, and this led to a series of harsh verbal exchanges. Farrar and Tweedy agreed to a final Uncle Tupelo tour, but the concerts were marred by the two not participating in each other's songs. The band decided to play Tweedy's "The Long Cut" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which further distanced Farrar and Tweedy. Farrar began to assemble a new band named Son Volt with Mike Heidorn, bassist Jim Boquist, and his brother Dave Boquist. At the same time, Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco with Stirratt, Johnston, and Coomer.
Wilco (1995–present)
In 1994, Tweedy formed Wilco with John Stirratt, Max Johnston, and Ken Coomer. Wilco has released ten albums and found commercial success with their albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco. The band also released two collaboration albums with Billy Bragg and one with The Minus 5. Jeff Tweedy has been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Album for A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy has also participated in a number of side groups including Golden Smog and Loose Fur, published a book of poems, and released a DVD of solo performances. He was originally influenced by punk and country music, but has later reflected more experimental themes in his music.
Wilco signed with Reprise/Warner Bros. Records and began recording AM almost as soon as the band was formed. After recording, Tweedy was introduced to Jay Bennett, who then joined the band. Also during this time, Tweedy quit smoking marijuana after a particularly bad experience with some cannabis brownies. A.M. did not fare as well commercially in comparison to Son Volt's first album, only reaching number 27 on the Heatseekers chart while Son Volt's debut Trace hit the Billboard 200. Dan Murphy of Soul Asylum invited Tweedy to join him in a supergroup named Golden Smog with Gary Louris and Marc Perlman of the Jayhawks, Kraig Johnson of Run Westy Run, and Noah Levy of The Honeydogs. Under the pseudonym Scott Summit, Tweedy released Down by the Old Mainstream with Golden Smog in 1996.
Tweedy and Wilco began to explore new styles and broke from the style of previous recordings on the seminal sprawling double album Being There in 1996. Tweedy did not write music for many of the songs ahead of time, and welcomed unexpected sounds into the recording. Wilco recorded nineteen songs for the double-CD album, and wanted the label to release it with a retail price comparable to a single-CD release. Being There was a commercial success, selling 300,000 copies and peaking in the top half of the Billboard 200. Reprise records invested $100,000 in the single "Outta Mind (Outtasite)", but received little radio exposure. While on tour, Tweedy began to spend time reading books by William H. Gass, Henry Miller, and John Fante. As he read their books, Tweedy decided to place more of an emphasis on writing. Representatives in the A&R department of Reprise wanted a radio single from Summerteeth, and Wilco reluctantly agreed to a re-working of "Can't Stand It". The single was a top five hit on adult album alternative radio stations, but failed to cross over to a larger audience.
Before the release of Summerteeth, the daughter of the late folk legend Woody Guthrie contacted folk rock singer Billy Bragg, who in turn contacted Tweedy about recording an album of unreleased Woody Guthrie songs. Tweedy was indifferent to the idea of working with Bragg, but Jay Bennett's enthusiasm about the idea convinced Tweedy to get the band involved in the project. As a result of Tweedy's feelings on the political nature of some of the lyrics, Bragg recorded mostly political songs while Wilco recorded more neutral songs. Almost all of the songs that appeared on Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II were recorded over a six-day period in December 1997. The first Mermaid Avenue album and a second Golden Smog album (Weird Tales) were released in 1998, Summerteeth was released in early 1999, and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II was released in 2000. Tweedy received his first Grammy nomination when Mermaid Avenue was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1999.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments between songs about how the album should sound. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Bennett around this time, believing (according to Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Bennett was a collective decision.
Reprise Records' parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies.
A Ghost Is Born
Scott McCaughey contacted Tweedy about recording an album together for a The Minus 5 release. They scheduled a meeting for September 11, 2001, but were reluctant to enter the recording studio after the terrorist attacks. At night, McCaughey and Tweedy decided to begin recording songs as a way to calm down. A few more tracks were later added to the album with the rest of Wilco, and it was released with the name Down with Wilco in 2003.
In November 2003, Wilco began recording a fifth studio album. Unlike their previous albums, all of the songs were originally performed in the studio and then later adapted for playing at concerts. Wilco released A Ghost Is Born on June 22, 2004, and it attained a top ten peak on the Billboard 200. The album was awarded with Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package in 2005. A few weeks before the album's release, Tweedy released a book of forty-three poems entitled Adult Head on Zoo Press. The following year, the band released their first live album, a two-disc set entitled Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, recorded at The Vic Theater.
Subsequent Wilco albums
Wilco recorded twelve tracks for a sixth studio album entitled Sky Blue Sky, which was released on May 15, 2007. Sky Blue Sky debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, the band's highest debut yet. It sold over 87,000 copies in its first week of release.
In early May 2009, former Wilco member Jay Bennett sued Tweedy for breach of contract. Bennett died later that month of an apparent accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl. In June 2009 Wilco released their seventh studio album Wilco (The Album), followed by The Whole Love in 2011, Star Wars in 2015, Schmilco in 2016 and Ode to Joy in 2019.
Other work
Jeff Tweedy has performed several solo tours, on which he typically plays acoustic music. He also recorded the song "Simple Twist of Fate" for the soundtrack to I'm Not There. On October 24, 2006 Nonesuch Records released Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, a live DVD by Tweedy. The disc includes performances and conversations gathered over five nights on Tweedy's February 2006 solo acoustic tour, with footage from concerts at Seattle's Moore Theater, Portland's Crystal Ballroom, Eugene's McDonald Theatre, Arcata's Humboldt State University, and The Fillmore in San Francisco. The DVD was directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi's Brendan Canty, the creators of the documentary series Burn to Shine.
Tweedy has partnered with Mavis Staples on three acclaimed albums. In 2010 they released You Are Not Alone, in 2013, One True Vine, and in 2017 If All I Was Was Black. Tweedy played an array of instruments on these albums and wrote many of the songs.
Tweedy worked with the psychedelic-influenced garage rock group White Denim on their record Corsicana Lemonade, recording some songs at Wilco's Chicago studio The Loft. In 2015 the album Still by Richard Thompson was released. The album was produced by Tweedy in The Loft Studios and features Tweedy on guitar and backing vocals.
Tweedy has appeared as a fictional singer-songwriter on 2014 episodes of Parks and Recreation and Portlandia.
On June 4, 2014, it was announced that he had formed a new band called Tweedy with his son Spencer. The band's debut album Sukierae was released on September 16. The release was followed by a world tour in which half of the set consisted of new songs off Sukierae performed by a touring band including Spencer. The latter half of the set Tweedy plays solo, typically performing Wilco and Uncle Tupelo classics.
In June 2017 Jeff Tweedy released a solo acoustic album of eleven songs spanning his career from Wilco, Loose Fur, and Golden Smog titled Together at Last. In November 2018 Jeff Tweedy released a memoir titled Let's Go (So We Can Get Back) and his first solo album of new material, titled Warm. A companion album to Warm titled Warmer was released on April 13, 2019 as a Record Store Day exclusive.
In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic Susan Tweedy and her family created a recurring video series on Instagram dubbed The Tweedy Show featuring Jeff and their sons performing original and cover songs. During the shelter-in-place Jeff Tweedy also wrote and recorded his third solo album titled Love Is the King which was announced to release on October 23, 2020 and wrote his second book titled How to Write One Song which was announced to release on October 13, 2020 on the E. P. Dutton publishing label.
Musical style
Tweedy's musical style has varied over his music career. Tweedy's vocal style is considered nasal, emotional, and raspy, and has been compared to that of Neil Young. His first exposure to music was through gramophone records that his siblings left behind when they attended college, and he particularly liked The Beatles' White Album. Tweedy would frequently read issues of magazines such as Rolling Stone, and began to purchase punk rock albums such as The Clash's London Calling and X's Wild Gift. Belleville crowds did not respond well to punk music, so while Tweedy was a member of The Primitives they played covers of country songs at much faster tempos. When Uncle Tupelo formed, the band began composing its own songs influenced by Jason & the Scorchers and The Minutemen. Wilco's first album shared many musical similarities with the four previous Uncle Tupelo albums, but on Being There, Tweedy began introducing more experimental themes into his music. He claims that he wanted to rebel against the belief spread by the No Depression magazine that Wilco was primarily a country band. One of the most influential albums for Tweedy was Bad Timing by Jim O'Rourke, which helped to inspire Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy uses a 1957 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, as well as a 1965 Fender Jazzmaster, at least three different Telecasters, an Epiphone Casino, a Rickenbacker 360, and a Gibson SG Standard. He has vintage SGs from '62 and '65 as well as a 2007 Custom Shop model and a 2008 Custom Shop Vintage Original Spec (V.O.S.) that are all rigged with Maestro tremolo bars. He also has been known to use a Breedlove 000 and even designed a limited edition 000 for Breedlove in 2007. His amplifier of choice is a Vox AC30.
Personal life
Tweedy has been prone to migraines throughout his entire life, forcing him to miss forty days of elementary school in one year. While he attempted to regulate his use of painkillers, he was never able to stop their use for more than five weeks. Tweedy attributes this to comorbidity with major depressive disorder and severe panic attacks. In 2004, he entered a dual diagnosis rehabilitation clinic in order to receive treatment for an addiction to prescription painkiller Vicodin. Tweedy quit smoking the next year; John Stirratt claimed afterward that this significantly improved the focus of the band.
Tweedy is married to former talent agent Sue Miller and lives in the Irving Park area of Chicago. Tweedy first met Miller when he was trying to get Uncle Tupelo booked at Cubby Bear, where Miller worked. Miller opened a club in Chicago named Lounge Ax in 1989, and booked Uncle Tupelo for 16 shows over four years. Miller and Tweedy began dating in 1991 and they were married on August 9, 1995. Sue was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Tweedy said "she's doing great now." Tweedy also said that music is a healthy distraction in such difficult times. They have two sons: Spencer and Sam. Spencer was the drummer for pre-teen rock band The Blisters and a new band called Tully Monster. In 2008, Spencer joined Wilco on stage at Madison Square Garden to play drums on their song "The Late Greats," while opening for Neil Young.
Tweedy has converted to Judaism. His wife is Jewish, and their sons both had Bar Mitzvah ceremonies. During the ceremony for his oldest son, Tweedy played an acoustic version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young".
In November 2019 Tweedy's home in Irving Park was shot at least seven times in an attack described by his son as "not targeted". No injuries were reported.
Selected discography
Solo
Together at Last (2017)
Warm (2018)
Warmer (2019)
Love Is the King (2020)
Live Is The King (2021)
With Uncle Tupelo
No Depression (1990)
Still Feel Gone (1991)
March 16–20, 1992 (1992)
Anodyne (1993)
With Wilco
A.M. (1995)
Being There (1996)
Summerteeth (1999)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)
A Ghost Is Born (2004)
Sky Blue Sky (2007)
Wilco (The Album) (2009)
The Whole Love (2011)
Star Wars (2015)
Schmilco (2016)
Ode to Joy (2019)
With Tweedy
Sukierae (2014)
Works or publications
Tweedy, Jeff. Adult Head: Poems. Lincoln, Neb: Zoo Press, 2004.
Tweedy, Jeff (Narrator). Lincoln in the Bardo, Audiobook. Random House Audio, 2017 ASIN: B01N1NU4K2
Tweedy, Jeff. Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc., autobiography, Dutton Books, 2018.
Tweedy, Jeff. How to Write One Song, Dutton Books, 2020.
See also
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco
Wilco: Learning How to Die
Uncle Tupelo
Wilco
New Multitudes
Notes and references
Further reading
Buchanan-Smith, Peter, and Daniel Nadel. The Wilco Book. New York: Kaput, 2004.
Grierson, Tim. Wilco: Sunken Treasure. 2013.
Kot, Greg. Wilco: Learning How to Die. New York: Broadway Books, 2004.
External links
Who Owns Culture? – Jeff Tweedy and Lawrence Lessig in conversation with Steven Johnson, New York Public Library on April 7, 2005. Internet Archive, Community Audio.
Wilco (official website)
1967 births
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American male television actors
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
Jewish American musicians
Grammy Award winners
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Belleville, Illinois
Drag City (record label) artists
Wilco members
Uncle Tupelo members
The Minus 5 members
Guitarists from Illinois
DBpm Records artists
20th-century American guitarists
Dutch East India Trading artists
Sire Records artists
Reprise Records artists
Nonesuch Records artists
Golden Smog members
Converts to Judaism
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American guitarists
20th-century American writers
21st-century American writers
Belleville High School-West alumni
Autobiographies | true | [
"External may refer to:\n\n External (mathematics), a concept in abstract algebra\n Externality, in economics, the cost or benefit that affects a party who did not choose to incur that cost or benefit\n Externals, a fictional group of X-Men antagonists\n\nSee also\n\nInternal (disambiguation)",
"The Book of the Gentile and the Three Wise Men (, ) is an apologetic by Ramon Llull. It was first written in Arabic, then in Catalan and Latin.\n\nContent \nThe book tells of a \"Gentile\" (in this case a Pagan) who speaks with \"three wise men,\" each representing one of the three main Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Each of these three men presents his religion, and the Gentile makes his choice. When it might be expected of a Christian polemicist such as Llull to establish the superiority of Christianity, he does not disclose the gentile's choice and leaves it as an open-ended question:\"But before the three wise men left, the Gentile asked them in astonishment why they did not wait to hear which religion he would choose in preference to the others. The three wise men answered, saying that, in order for each to be free to choose his own religion, they preferred not knowing which religion he would choose. “And all the more so since this is a question we could discuss among ourselves to see, by force of reason and by means of our intellects, which religion it must be that you will choose. And if, in front of us, you state which religion it is that you prefer, then we would not have such a good subject of discussion nor such satisfaction in discovering the truth.\" (1:300-301)\n\nReferences \n\nChristian apologetic works\nCatalan-language literature\nLiterature of Al-Andalus\nArabic literature"
] |
[
"Jeff Tweedy",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing.",
"Who did he choose",
"Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival,"
] | C_53d05845d3ff482296f7050423c4143e_1 | Why did he choose him | 3 | Why did Jeff Tweedy choose Jim O'Rourke? | Jeff Tweedy | Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments about how the album should sound between songs. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Jay Bennett was a collective decision. Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise records under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies. CANNOTANSWER | but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. | Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high school in his band The Plebes with Jay Farrar, which subsequently transitioned into the alternative country band Uncle Tupelo. After Uncle Tupelo broke up, Tweedy formed Wilco which found critical and commercial success, most notably with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born, the latter of which received a Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2005.
Across his career Tweedy has released 20 studio albums, including four with Uncle Tupelo, eleven with Wilco, one with his son Spencer, a solo acoustic album, three solo studio albums, along with numerous collaborations with other musicians, most notably Mermaid Avenue with Billy Bragg.
Early life
Tweedy was born in Belleville, Illinois, on August 25, 1967, the fourth child of Bob and JoAnn Tweedy (née Werkmeister). Bob Tweedy (died Aug. 4, 2017) worked at Alton & Southern Railroad in East St. Louis while JoAnn was a kitchen designer. Tweedy has three siblings: older brother Greg Tweedy (died in 2013), brother Steven Tweedy, and sister Debbie Voll.
Tweedy's mother bought him his first guitar when he was six years old, although he did not begin to play it seriously until he was twelve. Apparently Tweedy told people that he knew how to play the guitar once he got his first guitar, even though he couldn't. When he was twelve, Tweedy was injured in a bicycle accident and was laid up for the summer. He decided to learn how to play a few chords before somebody "called him out" on the lie. In 1981, when Tweedy was fourteen years old, he befriended Jay Farrar in an English class at Belleville Township High School West. All of the members of Farrar's family enjoyed playing music, so Farrar already had knowledge of the musical elements of rock and roll. By this time, Tweedy was a fan of The Ramones and country music while Farrar enjoyed The Sex Pistols.
Tweedy attended Belleville Area College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Career
Early music
In the early 1980s, Tweedy joined a rockabilly band called The Plebes with brothers Wade and Dade Farrar, which Tweedy joined in order to qualify for a battle of the bands competition, which they won. Tweedy pushed The Plebes away from the rockabilly music that they had been playing, which caused Dade Farrar to leave the band. The band renamed themselves The Primitives in 1984, taking their name from a song by garage rock band The Groupies. Wade Farrar sang lead vocals and played harmonica, Jay Farrar played guitar, Tweedy played bass guitar, and Mike Heidorn played drums. In late 1986, the band decided to change their name to Uncle Tupelo, because a more popular British band was also using the name "The Primitives". Mike Heidorn's liner notes for No Depression, which were included in the 2003 re-issue of the album. The Primitives went on hiatus in 1986 after Wade Farrar left the band to finish his engineering degree at Southern Illinois University. While waiting for Wade to return from campus, Farrar, Tweedy, and Heidorn formed Uncle Tupelo.
Uncle Tupelo (1987–1994)
At his parents' request, Tweedy enrolled at several universities, but dropped out of them so that he could concentrate on Uncle Tupelo. While moonlighting as a record store clerk at Euclid Records in St. Louis, Tweedy met Tony Margherita. After Margherita saw the band perform at an acoustic concert in 1988, he decided to become the band's manager. The band began playing regular shows at Cicero's basement bar in the Delmar Loop near Washington University with other bands playing in a similar style. Uncle Tupelo recorded a ten-track demo tape entitled Not Forever, Just For Now in 1989, attracting the attention of Giant/Rockville Records. The independent label signed the band, and Uncle Tupelo's first album, No Depression, was released the next year. The title song, originally performed by the Carter Family, became strongly associated with the alternative country scene, and became the name of an influential alternative country periodical called No Depression.
During times when Uncle Tupelo was not touring, Tweedy and Farrar played as Coffee Creek, a short-lived cover band with The Bottle Rockets' Brian Henneman and Mark Ortmann. Around this time, Tweedy began developing problems with alcohol, leading to tensions between Tweedy and Farrar. While he never refused to play a gig, Tweedy was forced to sit out in place of Henneman at some performances. Tweedy quit drinking entirely after meeting future wife Sue Miller, although he replaced this habit with smoking marijuana. However, after developing a dependence on marijuana, he quickly quit using it, as well. After releasing Still Feel Gone, the band formed a friendship with Peter Buck of R.E.M., who produced their third album March 16–20, 1992 for free. Uncle Tupelo left the Rockville label in favor of Sire Records (Warner) later in 1992 because Rockville refused to pay the band any royalties for their albums. After the signing, Max Johnston and John Stirratt joined the band as Mike Heidorn was replaced by Bill Belzer who was later replaced by Ken Coomer. The five-piece band recorded Anodyne, which sold over 150,000 copies and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, but was the last album Uncle Tupelo released.
Breakup
In January 1994, Farrar called Tony Margherita to tell him that the band was breaking up, saying that he was not having any fun in the band anymore and was not getting along with Tweedy. Tweedy was enraged that Farrar decided to break up the band without notifying him, and this led to a series of harsh verbal exchanges. Farrar and Tweedy agreed to a final Uncle Tupelo tour, but the concerts were marred by the two not participating in each other's songs. The band decided to play Tweedy's "The Long Cut" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which further distanced Farrar and Tweedy. Farrar began to assemble a new band named Son Volt with Mike Heidorn, bassist Jim Boquist, and his brother Dave Boquist. At the same time, Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco with Stirratt, Johnston, and Coomer.
Wilco (1995–present)
In 1994, Tweedy formed Wilco with John Stirratt, Max Johnston, and Ken Coomer. Wilco has released ten albums and found commercial success with their albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco. The band also released two collaboration albums with Billy Bragg and one with The Minus 5. Jeff Tweedy has been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Album for A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy has also participated in a number of side groups including Golden Smog and Loose Fur, published a book of poems, and released a DVD of solo performances. He was originally influenced by punk and country music, but has later reflected more experimental themes in his music.
Wilco signed with Reprise/Warner Bros. Records and began recording AM almost as soon as the band was formed. After recording, Tweedy was introduced to Jay Bennett, who then joined the band. Also during this time, Tweedy quit smoking marijuana after a particularly bad experience with some cannabis brownies. A.M. did not fare as well commercially in comparison to Son Volt's first album, only reaching number 27 on the Heatseekers chart while Son Volt's debut Trace hit the Billboard 200. Dan Murphy of Soul Asylum invited Tweedy to join him in a supergroup named Golden Smog with Gary Louris and Marc Perlman of the Jayhawks, Kraig Johnson of Run Westy Run, and Noah Levy of The Honeydogs. Under the pseudonym Scott Summit, Tweedy released Down by the Old Mainstream with Golden Smog in 1996.
Tweedy and Wilco began to explore new styles and broke from the style of previous recordings on the seminal sprawling double album Being There in 1996. Tweedy did not write music for many of the songs ahead of time, and welcomed unexpected sounds into the recording. Wilco recorded nineteen songs for the double-CD album, and wanted the label to release it with a retail price comparable to a single-CD release. Being There was a commercial success, selling 300,000 copies and peaking in the top half of the Billboard 200. Reprise records invested $100,000 in the single "Outta Mind (Outtasite)", but received little radio exposure. While on tour, Tweedy began to spend time reading books by William H. Gass, Henry Miller, and John Fante. As he read their books, Tweedy decided to place more of an emphasis on writing. Representatives in the A&R department of Reprise wanted a radio single from Summerteeth, and Wilco reluctantly agreed to a re-working of "Can't Stand It". The single was a top five hit on adult album alternative radio stations, but failed to cross over to a larger audience.
Before the release of Summerteeth, the daughter of the late folk legend Woody Guthrie contacted folk rock singer Billy Bragg, who in turn contacted Tweedy about recording an album of unreleased Woody Guthrie songs. Tweedy was indifferent to the idea of working with Bragg, but Jay Bennett's enthusiasm about the idea convinced Tweedy to get the band involved in the project. As a result of Tweedy's feelings on the political nature of some of the lyrics, Bragg recorded mostly political songs while Wilco recorded more neutral songs. Almost all of the songs that appeared on Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II were recorded over a six-day period in December 1997. The first Mermaid Avenue album and a second Golden Smog album (Weird Tales) were released in 1998, Summerteeth was released in early 1999, and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II was released in 2000. Tweedy received his first Grammy nomination when Mermaid Avenue was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1999.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments between songs about how the album should sound. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Bennett around this time, believing (according to Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Bennett was a collective decision.
Reprise Records' parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies.
A Ghost Is Born
Scott McCaughey contacted Tweedy about recording an album together for a The Minus 5 release. They scheduled a meeting for September 11, 2001, but were reluctant to enter the recording studio after the terrorist attacks. At night, McCaughey and Tweedy decided to begin recording songs as a way to calm down. A few more tracks were later added to the album with the rest of Wilco, and it was released with the name Down with Wilco in 2003.
In November 2003, Wilco began recording a fifth studio album. Unlike their previous albums, all of the songs were originally performed in the studio and then later adapted for playing at concerts. Wilco released A Ghost Is Born on June 22, 2004, and it attained a top ten peak on the Billboard 200. The album was awarded with Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package in 2005. A few weeks before the album's release, Tweedy released a book of forty-three poems entitled Adult Head on Zoo Press. The following year, the band released their first live album, a two-disc set entitled Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, recorded at The Vic Theater.
Subsequent Wilco albums
Wilco recorded twelve tracks for a sixth studio album entitled Sky Blue Sky, which was released on May 15, 2007. Sky Blue Sky debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, the band's highest debut yet. It sold over 87,000 copies in its first week of release.
In early May 2009, former Wilco member Jay Bennett sued Tweedy for breach of contract. Bennett died later that month of an apparent accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl. In June 2009 Wilco released their seventh studio album Wilco (The Album), followed by The Whole Love in 2011, Star Wars in 2015, Schmilco in 2016 and Ode to Joy in 2019.
Other work
Jeff Tweedy has performed several solo tours, on which he typically plays acoustic music. He also recorded the song "Simple Twist of Fate" for the soundtrack to I'm Not There. On October 24, 2006 Nonesuch Records released Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, a live DVD by Tweedy. The disc includes performances and conversations gathered over five nights on Tweedy's February 2006 solo acoustic tour, with footage from concerts at Seattle's Moore Theater, Portland's Crystal Ballroom, Eugene's McDonald Theatre, Arcata's Humboldt State University, and The Fillmore in San Francisco. The DVD was directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi's Brendan Canty, the creators of the documentary series Burn to Shine.
Tweedy has partnered with Mavis Staples on three acclaimed albums. In 2010 they released You Are Not Alone, in 2013, One True Vine, and in 2017 If All I Was Was Black. Tweedy played an array of instruments on these albums and wrote many of the songs.
Tweedy worked with the psychedelic-influenced garage rock group White Denim on their record Corsicana Lemonade, recording some songs at Wilco's Chicago studio The Loft. In 2015 the album Still by Richard Thompson was released. The album was produced by Tweedy in The Loft Studios and features Tweedy on guitar and backing vocals.
Tweedy has appeared as a fictional singer-songwriter on 2014 episodes of Parks and Recreation and Portlandia.
On June 4, 2014, it was announced that he had formed a new band called Tweedy with his son Spencer. The band's debut album Sukierae was released on September 16. The release was followed by a world tour in which half of the set consisted of new songs off Sukierae performed by a touring band including Spencer. The latter half of the set Tweedy plays solo, typically performing Wilco and Uncle Tupelo classics.
In June 2017 Jeff Tweedy released a solo acoustic album of eleven songs spanning his career from Wilco, Loose Fur, and Golden Smog titled Together at Last. In November 2018 Jeff Tweedy released a memoir titled Let's Go (So We Can Get Back) and his first solo album of new material, titled Warm. A companion album to Warm titled Warmer was released on April 13, 2019 as a Record Store Day exclusive.
In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic Susan Tweedy and her family created a recurring video series on Instagram dubbed The Tweedy Show featuring Jeff and their sons performing original and cover songs. During the shelter-in-place Jeff Tweedy also wrote and recorded his third solo album titled Love Is the King which was announced to release on October 23, 2020 and wrote his second book titled How to Write One Song which was announced to release on October 13, 2020 on the E. P. Dutton publishing label.
Musical style
Tweedy's musical style has varied over his music career. Tweedy's vocal style is considered nasal, emotional, and raspy, and has been compared to that of Neil Young. His first exposure to music was through gramophone records that his siblings left behind when they attended college, and he particularly liked The Beatles' White Album. Tweedy would frequently read issues of magazines such as Rolling Stone, and began to purchase punk rock albums such as The Clash's London Calling and X's Wild Gift. Belleville crowds did not respond well to punk music, so while Tweedy was a member of The Primitives they played covers of country songs at much faster tempos. When Uncle Tupelo formed, the band began composing its own songs influenced by Jason & the Scorchers and The Minutemen. Wilco's first album shared many musical similarities with the four previous Uncle Tupelo albums, but on Being There, Tweedy began introducing more experimental themes into his music. He claims that he wanted to rebel against the belief spread by the No Depression magazine that Wilco was primarily a country band. One of the most influential albums for Tweedy was Bad Timing by Jim O'Rourke, which helped to inspire Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy uses a 1957 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, as well as a 1965 Fender Jazzmaster, at least three different Telecasters, an Epiphone Casino, a Rickenbacker 360, and a Gibson SG Standard. He has vintage SGs from '62 and '65 as well as a 2007 Custom Shop model and a 2008 Custom Shop Vintage Original Spec (V.O.S.) that are all rigged with Maestro tremolo bars. He also has been known to use a Breedlove 000 and even designed a limited edition 000 for Breedlove in 2007. His amplifier of choice is a Vox AC30.
Personal life
Tweedy has been prone to migraines throughout his entire life, forcing him to miss forty days of elementary school in one year. While he attempted to regulate his use of painkillers, he was never able to stop their use for more than five weeks. Tweedy attributes this to comorbidity with major depressive disorder and severe panic attacks. In 2004, he entered a dual diagnosis rehabilitation clinic in order to receive treatment for an addiction to prescription painkiller Vicodin. Tweedy quit smoking the next year; John Stirratt claimed afterward that this significantly improved the focus of the band.
Tweedy is married to former talent agent Sue Miller and lives in the Irving Park area of Chicago. Tweedy first met Miller when he was trying to get Uncle Tupelo booked at Cubby Bear, where Miller worked. Miller opened a club in Chicago named Lounge Ax in 1989, and booked Uncle Tupelo for 16 shows over four years. Miller and Tweedy began dating in 1991 and they were married on August 9, 1995. Sue was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Tweedy said "she's doing great now." Tweedy also said that music is a healthy distraction in such difficult times. They have two sons: Spencer and Sam. Spencer was the drummer for pre-teen rock band The Blisters and a new band called Tully Monster. In 2008, Spencer joined Wilco on stage at Madison Square Garden to play drums on their song "The Late Greats," while opening for Neil Young.
Tweedy has converted to Judaism. His wife is Jewish, and their sons both had Bar Mitzvah ceremonies. During the ceremony for his oldest son, Tweedy played an acoustic version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young".
In November 2019 Tweedy's home in Irving Park was shot at least seven times in an attack described by his son as "not targeted". No injuries were reported.
Selected discography
Solo
Together at Last (2017)
Warm (2018)
Warmer (2019)
Love Is the King (2020)
Live Is The King (2021)
With Uncle Tupelo
No Depression (1990)
Still Feel Gone (1991)
March 16–20, 1992 (1992)
Anodyne (1993)
With Wilco
A.M. (1995)
Being There (1996)
Summerteeth (1999)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)
A Ghost Is Born (2004)
Sky Blue Sky (2007)
Wilco (The Album) (2009)
The Whole Love (2011)
Star Wars (2015)
Schmilco (2016)
Ode to Joy (2019)
With Tweedy
Sukierae (2014)
Works or publications
Tweedy, Jeff. Adult Head: Poems. Lincoln, Neb: Zoo Press, 2004.
Tweedy, Jeff (Narrator). Lincoln in the Bardo, Audiobook. Random House Audio, 2017 ASIN: B01N1NU4K2
Tweedy, Jeff. Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc., autobiography, Dutton Books, 2018.
Tweedy, Jeff. How to Write One Song, Dutton Books, 2020.
See also
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco
Wilco: Learning How to Die
Uncle Tupelo
Wilco
New Multitudes
Notes and references
Further reading
Buchanan-Smith, Peter, and Daniel Nadel. The Wilco Book. New York: Kaput, 2004.
Grierson, Tim. Wilco: Sunken Treasure. 2013.
Kot, Greg. Wilco: Learning How to Die. New York: Broadway Books, 2004.
External links
Who Owns Culture? – Jeff Tweedy and Lawrence Lessig in conversation with Steven Johnson, New York Public Library on April 7, 2005. Internet Archive, Community Audio.
Wilco (official website)
1967 births
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American male television actors
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
Jewish American musicians
Grammy Award winners
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Belleville, Illinois
Drag City (record label) artists
Wilco members
Uncle Tupelo members
The Minus 5 members
Guitarists from Illinois
DBpm Records artists
20th-century American guitarists
Dutch East India Trading artists
Sire Records artists
Reprise Records artists
Nonesuch Records artists
Golden Smog members
Converts to Judaism
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American guitarists
20th-century American writers
21st-century American writers
Belleville High School-West alumni
Autobiographies | true | [
"Thinking of You is an album by saxophonist Houston Person which was recorded in 2007 and released on the HighNote label.\n\nReception\n\nIn his review on Allmusic, Michael G. Nastos states \"Person, one of the more consistent jazz performers over the past few decades, is reliable primarily for his soft soul, which holds him and his fans in good stead. This CD is no less enjoyable than many others he has recently released, and is easily recommended\". On All About Jazz, Karla Cornejo Villavincencio noted \"On tracks like \"Why Did I Choose You?\" and \"People,\" he exhibits a dexterity that most contemporary jazz musicians would envy\". In JazzTimes, William Ruhlmann wrote: \"the album provides numerous examples of Person’s usual virtues, not the least of them his abilities as a blues player ... this sounds like an album that could have been made any time in the last 40 years, but that only confirms Person’s consistency\".\n\nTrack listing \n \"Rock Me to Sleep\" (Benny Carter, Paul Vandervoort) – 5:09\n \"People\" (Jule Styne, Bob Merrill) – 5:18\n \"Thinking of You\" (Harry Ruby, Bert Kalmar) – 4:53\n \"I Didn't Know What Time It Was\" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 6:54\n \"Brazilian Emerald\" (Peter Hand) – 3:30\n \"Why Did I Choose You?\" (Michael Leonard, Herbert Martin) – 5:39\n \"Black Coffee\" (Sonny Burke, Paul Francis Webster) – 6:33\n \"Sing\" (Joe Raposo) – 5:25\n \"Avant de Mourir (My Prayer)\" ( Georges Boulanger, Carlos Gomez Barrera Jimmy Kennedy) – 4:37\n \"When October Goes\" (Barry Manilow, Johnny Mercer) – 2:33\n \"Medley: That Sunday, That Summer/Funny\" (Joe Sherman, George David Weiss/Hughie Prince, Marcia Neil, Philip Broughton, Merrill) – 4:32\n\nPersonnel \nHouston Person – tenor saxophone\nEddie Allen – trumpet (tracks 1, 2, 5 & 8)\nJohn Di Martino – piano (tracks 1-10)\nJames Chirillo – guitar (tracks 1-9 & 11)\nRay Drummond – bass (tracks 1-9)\nWillie Jones III – drums (tracks 1-9)\n\nReferences \n\nHouston Person albums\n2007 albums\nHighNote Records albums\nAlbums recorded at Van Gelder Studio",
"Plautius Lateranus (executed AD 65) was a Roman senator of the first century.\n\nPlautius was the son of Quintus Plautius, consul in AD 36. He was nephew to Aulus Plautius, the man who led the Invasion of Britain in 43 AD, and it was through his good offices that Plautius Lateranus escaped the death penalty in AD 48, after his affair with the emperor Claudius' wife Messalina was discovered. Fortunately, Claudius held Aulus Plautius in high esteem. Though he escaped death, he was removed from his senatorial position, but was later granted re-admittance under Nero.\n\nIn AD 65, Plautius Lateranus, who was then consul designatus, was accused of being a participant of the Pisonian conspiracy. Tacitus says that Lateranus joined from no personal grudge against Nero, but out of patriotism alone. His part in the plot was as follows: He was to prostrate himself before Nero, in a pretense of petitioning for financial assistance; then, being both 'resolute and muscular', he was to bring him down and hold him, allowing others of a military nature involved in the plot to kill him. When the plot was exposed, Nero had Plautius executed. Tacitus states that his 'removal' was so hasty that he was not permitted to say goodbye to his children, nor to choose the manner of his death. He was taken to a 'place reserved for slave executions', and died in resolute silence. The man who executed him, Statius Proxumus, was also involved in the plot, but Lateranus did not expose him.\n\nThough Tacitus doesn't state the means of execution, Epictetus in his Stoic Discourses makes it clear that he was beheaded. Epictetus asks his students why they shouldn't accept death; why they should fear dying alone. Why don't they hold out their necks in \"the way Lateranus did at Rome, when condemned by Nero to be beheaded? He held out his neck willingly to take the blow–but the blow was deficient, so he recoiled a bit, but then had enough self-command to offer his neck a second time.\"\n\nHis home was the Domus Lateranus, later called the Lateran Palace in Rome.\n\nReferences\n\n65 deaths\n1st-century deaths\n1st-century Romans\nMembers of the Pisonian conspiracy\nLateranus\nRoman consuls designate\nYear of birth unknown\nLovers of Roman royalty"
] |
[
"Jeff Tweedy",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing.",
"Who did he choose",
"Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival,",
"Why did he choose him",
"but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur."
] | C_53d05845d3ff482296f7050423c4143e_1 | So what he did next | 4 | So what Jeff Tweedy did next after being unsatisfied with Jim O'Rourke? | Jeff Tweedy | Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments about how the album should sound between songs. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Jay Bennett was a collective decision. Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise records under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies. CANNOTANSWER | Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. | Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high school in his band The Plebes with Jay Farrar, which subsequently transitioned into the alternative country band Uncle Tupelo. After Uncle Tupelo broke up, Tweedy formed Wilco which found critical and commercial success, most notably with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born, the latter of which received a Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2005.
Across his career Tweedy has released 20 studio albums, including four with Uncle Tupelo, eleven with Wilco, one with his son Spencer, a solo acoustic album, three solo studio albums, along with numerous collaborations with other musicians, most notably Mermaid Avenue with Billy Bragg.
Early life
Tweedy was born in Belleville, Illinois, on August 25, 1967, the fourth child of Bob and JoAnn Tweedy (née Werkmeister). Bob Tweedy (died Aug. 4, 2017) worked at Alton & Southern Railroad in East St. Louis while JoAnn was a kitchen designer. Tweedy has three siblings: older brother Greg Tweedy (died in 2013), brother Steven Tweedy, and sister Debbie Voll.
Tweedy's mother bought him his first guitar when he was six years old, although he did not begin to play it seriously until he was twelve. Apparently Tweedy told people that he knew how to play the guitar once he got his first guitar, even though he couldn't. When he was twelve, Tweedy was injured in a bicycle accident and was laid up for the summer. He decided to learn how to play a few chords before somebody "called him out" on the lie. In 1981, when Tweedy was fourteen years old, he befriended Jay Farrar in an English class at Belleville Township High School West. All of the members of Farrar's family enjoyed playing music, so Farrar already had knowledge of the musical elements of rock and roll. By this time, Tweedy was a fan of The Ramones and country music while Farrar enjoyed The Sex Pistols.
Tweedy attended Belleville Area College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Career
Early music
In the early 1980s, Tweedy joined a rockabilly band called The Plebes with brothers Wade and Dade Farrar, which Tweedy joined in order to qualify for a battle of the bands competition, which they won. Tweedy pushed The Plebes away from the rockabilly music that they had been playing, which caused Dade Farrar to leave the band. The band renamed themselves The Primitives in 1984, taking their name from a song by garage rock band The Groupies. Wade Farrar sang lead vocals and played harmonica, Jay Farrar played guitar, Tweedy played bass guitar, and Mike Heidorn played drums. In late 1986, the band decided to change their name to Uncle Tupelo, because a more popular British band was also using the name "The Primitives". Mike Heidorn's liner notes for No Depression, which were included in the 2003 re-issue of the album. The Primitives went on hiatus in 1986 after Wade Farrar left the band to finish his engineering degree at Southern Illinois University. While waiting for Wade to return from campus, Farrar, Tweedy, and Heidorn formed Uncle Tupelo.
Uncle Tupelo (1987–1994)
At his parents' request, Tweedy enrolled at several universities, but dropped out of them so that he could concentrate on Uncle Tupelo. While moonlighting as a record store clerk at Euclid Records in St. Louis, Tweedy met Tony Margherita. After Margherita saw the band perform at an acoustic concert in 1988, he decided to become the band's manager. The band began playing regular shows at Cicero's basement bar in the Delmar Loop near Washington University with other bands playing in a similar style. Uncle Tupelo recorded a ten-track demo tape entitled Not Forever, Just For Now in 1989, attracting the attention of Giant/Rockville Records. The independent label signed the band, and Uncle Tupelo's first album, No Depression, was released the next year. The title song, originally performed by the Carter Family, became strongly associated with the alternative country scene, and became the name of an influential alternative country periodical called No Depression.
During times when Uncle Tupelo was not touring, Tweedy and Farrar played as Coffee Creek, a short-lived cover band with The Bottle Rockets' Brian Henneman and Mark Ortmann. Around this time, Tweedy began developing problems with alcohol, leading to tensions between Tweedy and Farrar. While he never refused to play a gig, Tweedy was forced to sit out in place of Henneman at some performances. Tweedy quit drinking entirely after meeting future wife Sue Miller, although he replaced this habit with smoking marijuana. However, after developing a dependence on marijuana, he quickly quit using it, as well. After releasing Still Feel Gone, the band formed a friendship with Peter Buck of R.E.M., who produced their third album March 16–20, 1992 for free. Uncle Tupelo left the Rockville label in favor of Sire Records (Warner) later in 1992 because Rockville refused to pay the band any royalties for their albums. After the signing, Max Johnston and John Stirratt joined the band as Mike Heidorn was replaced by Bill Belzer who was later replaced by Ken Coomer. The five-piece band recorded Anodyne, which sold over 150,000 copies and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, but was the last album Uncle Tupelo released.
Breakup
In January 1994, Farrar called Tony Margherita to tell him that the band was breaking up, saying that he was not having any fun in the band anymore and was not getting along with Tweedy. Tweedy was enraged that Farrar decided to break up the band without notifying him, and this led to a series of harsh verbal exchanges. Farrar and Tweedy agreed to a final Uncle Tupelo tour, but the concerts were marred by the two not participating in each other's songs. The band decided to play Tweedy's "The Long Cut" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which further distanced Farrar and Tweedy. Farrar began to assemble a new band named Son Volt with Mike Heidorn, bassist Jim Boquist, and his brother Dave Boquist. At the same time, Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco with Stirratt, Johnston, and Coomer.
Wilco (1995–present)
In 1994, Tweedy formed Wilco with John Stirratt, Max Johnston, and Ken Coomer. Wilco has released ten albums and found commercial success with their albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco. The band also released two collaboration albums with Billy Bragg and one with The Minus 5. Jeff Tweedy has been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Album for A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy has also participated in a number of side groups including Golden Smog and Loose Fur, published a book of poems, and released a DVD of solo performances. He was originally influenced by punk and country music, but has later reflected more experimental themes in his music.
Wilco signed with Reprise/Warner Bros. Records and began recording AM almost as soon as the band was formed. After recording, Tweedy was introduced to Jay Bennett, who then joined the band. Also during this time, Tweedy quit smoking marijuana after a particularly bad experience with some cannabis brownies. A.M. did not fare as well commercially in comparison to Son Volt's first album, only reaching number 27 on the Heatseekers chart while Son Volt's debut Trace hit the Billboard 200. Dan Murphy of Soul Asylum invited Tweedy to join him in a supergroup named Golden Smog with Gary Louris and Marc Perlman of the Jayhawks, Kraig Johnson of Run Westy Run, and Noah Levy of The Honeydogs. Under the pseudonym Scott Summit, Tweedy released Down by the Old Mainstream with Golden Smog in 1996.
Tweedy and Wilco began to explore new styles and broke from the style of previous recordings on the seminal sprawling double album Being There in 1996. Tweedy did not write music for many of the songs ahead of time, and welcomed unexpected sounds into the recording. Wilco recorded nineteen songs for the double-CD album, and wanted the label to release it with a retail price comparable to a single-CD release. Being There was a commercial success, selling 300,000 copies and peaking in the top half of the Billboard 200. Reprise records invested $100,000 in the single "Outta Mind (Outtasite)", but received little radio exposure. While on tour, Tweedy began to spend time reading books by William H. Gass, Henry Miller, and John Fante. As he read their books, Tweedy decided to place more of an emphasis on writing. Representatives in the A&R department of Reprise wanted a radio single from Summerteeth, and Wilco reluctantly agreed to a re-working of "Can't Stand It". The single was a top five hit on adult album alternative radio stations, but failed to cross over to a larger audience.
Before the release of Summerteeth, the daughter of the late folk legend Woody Guthrie contacted folk rock singer Billy Bragg, who in turn contacted Tweedy about recording an album of unreleased Woody Guthrie songs. Tweedy was indifferent to the idea of working with Bragg, but Jay Bennett's enthusiasm about the idea convinced Tweedy to get the band involved in the project. As a result of Tweedy's feelings on the political nature of some of the lyrics, Bragg recorded mostly political songs while Wilco recorded more neutral songs. Almost all of the songs that appeared on Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II were recorded over a six-day period in December 1997. The first Mermaid Avenue album and a second Golden Smog album (Weird Tales) were released in 1998, Summerteeth was released in early 1999, and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II was released in 2000. Tweedy received his first Grammy nomination when Mermaid Avenue was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1999.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments between songs about how the album should sound. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Bennett around this time, believing (according to Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Bennett was a collective decision.
Reprise Records' parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies.
A Ghost Is Born
Scott McCaughey contacted Tweedy about recording an album together for a The Minus 5 release. They scheduled a meeting for September 11, 2001, but were reluctant to enter the recording studio after the terrorist attacks. At night, McCaughey and Tweedy decided to begin recording songs as a way to calm down. A few more tracks were later added to the album with the rest of Wilco, and it was released with the name Down with Wilco in 2003.
In November 2003, Wilco began recording a fifth studio album. Unlike their previous albums, all of the songs were originally performed in the studio and then later adapted for playing at concerts. Wilco released A Ghost Is Born on June 22, 2004, and it attained a top ten peak on the Billboard 200. The album was awarded with Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package in 2005. A few weeks before the album's release, Tweedy released a book of forty-three poems entitled Adult Head on Zoo Press. The following year, the band released their first live album, a two-disc set entitled Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, recorded at The Vic Theater.
Subsequent Wilco albums
Wilco recorded twelve tracks for a sixth studio album entitled Sky Blue Sky, which was released on May 15, 2007. Sky Blue Sky debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, the band's highest debut yet. It sold over 87,000 copies in its first week of release.
In early May 2009, former Wilco member Jay Bennett sued Tweedy for breach of contract. Bennett died later that month of an apparent accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl. In June 2009 Wilco released their seventh studio album Wilco (The Album), followed by The Whole Love in 2011, Star Wars in 2015, Schmilco in 2016 and Ode to Joy in 2019.
Other work
Jeff Tweedy has performed several solo tours, on which he typically plays acoustic music. He also recorded the song "Simple Twist of Fate" for the soundtrack to I'm Not There. On October 24, 2006 Nonesuch Records released Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, a live DVD by Tweedy. The disc includes performances and conversations gathered over five nights on Tweedy's February 2006 solo acoustic tour, with footage from concerts at Seattle's Moore Theater, Portland's Crystal Ballroom, Eugene's McDonald Theatre, Arcata's Humboldt State University, and The Fillmore in San Francisco. The DVD was directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi's Brendan Canty, the creators of the documentary series Burn to Shine.
Tweedy has partnered with Mavis Staples on three acclaimed albums. In 2010 they released You Are Not Alone, in 2013, One True Vine, and in 2017 If All I Was Was Black. Tweedy played an array of instruments on these albums and wrote many of the songs.
Tweedy worked with the psychedelic-influenced garage rock group White Denim on their record Corsicana Lemonade, recording some songs at Wilco's Chicago studio The Loft. In 2015 the album Still by Richard Thompson was released. The album was produced by Tweedy in The Loft Studios and features Tweedy on guitar and backing vocals.
Tweedy has appeared as a fictional singer-songwriter on 2014 episodes of Parks and Recreation and Portlandia.
On June 4, 2014, it was announced that he had formed a new band called Tweedy with his son Spencer. The band's debut album Sukierae was released on September 16. The release was followed by a world tour in which half of the set consisted of new songs off Sukierae performed by a touring band including Spencer. The latter half of the set Tweedy plays solo, typically performing Wilco and Uncle Tupelo classics.
In June 2017 Jeff Tweedy released a solo acoustic album of eleven songs spanning his career from Wilco, Loose Fur, and Golden Smog titled Together at Last. In November 2018 Jeff Tweedy released a memoir titled Let's Go (So We Can Get Back) and his first solo album of new material, titled Warm. A companion album to Warm titled Warmer was released on April 13, 2019 as a Record Store Day exclusive.
In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic Susan Tweedy and her family created a recurring video series on Instagram dubbed The Tweedy Show featuring Jeff and their sons performing original and cover songs. During the shelter-in-place Jeff Tweedy also wrote and recorded his third solo album titled Love Is the King which was announced to release on October 23, 2020 and wrote his second book titled How to Write One Song which was announced to release on October 13, 2020 on the E. P. Dutton publishing label.
Musical style
Tweedy's musical style has varied over his music career. Tweedy's vocal style is considered nasal, emotional, and raspy, and has been compared to that of Neil Young. His first exposure to music was through gramophone records that his siblings left behind when they attended college, and he particularly liked The Beatles' White Album. Tweedy would frequently read issues of magazines such as Rolling Stone, and began to purchase punk rock albums such as The Clash's London Calling and X's Wild Gift. Belleville crowds did not respond well to punk music, so while Tweedy was a member of The Primitives they played covers of country songs at much faster tempos. When Uncle Tupelo formed, the band began composing its own songs influenced by Jason & the Scorchers and The Minutemen. Wilco's first album shared many musical similarities with the four previous Uncle Tupelo albums, but on Being There, Tweedy began introducing more experimental themes into his music. He claims that he wanted to rebel against the belief spread by the No Depression magazine that Wilco was primarily a country band. One of the most influential albums for Tweedy was Bad Timing by Jim O'Rourke, which helped to inspire Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy uses a 1957 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, as well as a 1965 Fender Jazzmaster, at least three different Telecasters, an Epiphone Casino, a Rickenbacker 360, and a Gibson SG Standard. He has vintage SGs from '62 and '65 as well as a 2007 Custom Shop model and a 2008 Custom Shop Vintage Original Spec (V.O.S.) that are all rigged with Maestro tremolo bars. He also has been known to use a Breedlove 000 and even designed a limited edition 000 for Breedlove in 2007. His amplifier of choice is a Vox AC30.
Personal life
Tweedy has been prone to migraines throughout his entire life, forcing him to miss forty days of elementary school in one year. While he attempted to regulate his use of painkillers, he was never able to stop their use for more than five weeks. Tweedy attributes this to comorbidity with major depressive disorder and severe panic attacks. In 2004, he entered a dual diagnosis rehabilitation clinic in order to receive treatment for an addiction to prescription painkiller Vicodin. Tweedy quit smoking the next year; John Stirratt claimed afterward that this significantly improved the focus of the band.
Tweedy is married to former talent agent Sue Miller and lives in the Irving Park area of Chicago. Tweedy first met Miller when he was trying to get Uncle Tupelo booked at Cubby Bear, where Miller worked. Miller opened a club in Chicago named Lounge Ax in 1989, and booked Uncle Tupelo for 16 shows over four years. Miller and Tweedy began dating in 1991 and they were married on August 9, 1995. Sue was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Tweedy said "she's doing great now." Tweedy also said that music is a healthy distraction in such difficult times. They have two sons: Spencer and Sam. Spencer was the drummer for pre-teen rock band The Blisters and a new band called Tully Monster. In 2008, Spencer joined Wilco on stage at Madison Square Garden to play drums on their song "The Late Greats," while opening for Neil Young.
Tweedy has converted to Judaism. His wife is Jewish, and their sons both had Bar Mitzvah ceremonies. During the ceremony for his oldest son, Tweedy played an acoustic version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young".
In November 2019 Tweedy's home in Irving Park was shot at least seven times in an attack described by his son as "not targeted". No injuries were reported.
Selected discography
Solo
Together at Last (2017)
Warm (2018)
Warmer (2019)
Love Is the King (2020)
Live Is The King (2021)
With Uncle Tupelo
No Depression (1990)
Still Feel Gone (1991)
March 16–20, 1992 (1992)
Anodyne (1993)
With Wilco
A.M. (1995)
Being There (1996)
Summerteeth (1999)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)
A Ghost Is Born (2004)
Sky Blue Sky (2007)
Wilco (The Album) (2009)
The Whole Love (2011)
Star Wars (2015)
Schmilco (2016)
Ode to Joy (2019)
With Tweedy
Sukierae (2014)
Works or publications
Tweedy, Jeff. Adult Head: Poems. Lincoln, Neb: Zoo Press, 2004.
Tweedy, Jeff (Narrator). Lincoln in the Bardo, Audiobook. Random House Audio, 2017 ASIN: B01N1NU4K2
Tweedy, Jeff. Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc., autobiography, Dutton Books, 2018.
Tweedy, Jeff. How to Write One Song, Dutton Books, 2020.
See also
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco
Wilco: Learning How to Die
Uncle Tupelo
Wilco
New Multitudes
Notes and references
Further reading
Buchanan-Smith, Peter, and Daniel Nadel. The Wilco Book. New York: Kaput, 2004.
Grierson, Tim. Wilco: Sunken Treasure. 2013.
Kot, Greg. Wilco: Learning How to Die. New York: Broadway Books, 2004.
External links
Who Owns Culture? – Jeff Tweedy and Lawrence Lessig in conversation with Steven Johnson, New York Public Library on April 7, 2005. Internet Archive, Community Audio.
Wilco (official website)
1967 births
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American male television actors
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
Jewish American musicians
Grammy Award winners
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Belleville, Illinois
Drag City (record label) artists
Wilco members
Uncle Tupelo members
The Minus 5 members
Guitarists from Illinois
DBpm Records artists
20th-century American guitarists
Dutch East India Trading artists
Sire Records artists
Reprise Records artists
Nonesuch Records artists
Golden Smog members
Converts to Judaism
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American guitarists
20th-century American writers
21st-century American writers
Belleville High School-West alumni
Autobiographies | false | [
"The House Next Door is a stand-alone book that has three fictional stories in it.\n\nPlot\nThis book has three short stories in it. James Patterson writes each of the stories with one of the coauthors of the book.\n\nThe first story, \"The House Next Door\" (written by Patterson and Susan DiLallo), is about a family living next to a derelict house that has just been occupied by a mysterious man and his son. As the family and the neighbors get to know the house's new occupants, what they learn is truly frightening.\n\n\"The Killer's Wife,\" written by Patterson and Max DiLallo, is about a detective's quest to find what has happened to four girls who have gone missing. To do this he decides the only way to find them is to get on the good side of the wife of the man suspected of abducting them. He is knows he is walking a fine line and his plan could go all wrong.\n\n\"We.Are.Not.Alone.\" is written by Patterson and Tim Arnold. It's about a scientist who has been looking for alien life for years and who is no longer taken seriously. He one day gets a message from space proving intelligent aliens exist. While that's what he wanted, he quickly finds others suddenly want to seize him and whisk him away, so he runs for his life.\n\nReviews\nThe House Next Door did not immediately make The New York Times best sellers list. It did so as a mass market monthly book for the month of December 2019.\n\nReferences\n\n2019 short story collections",
"The Katy series is a set of novels by Sarah Chauncey Woolsey, writing under the pen-name of Susan Coolidge. The first in the series, What Katy Did, was published in 1872 and followed the next year by What Katy Did at School. What Katy Did Next was released in 1886. Two further novels, Clover (1888) and In the High Valley (1890), focused upon other members of the eponymous character's family. The series was popular with readers in the late 19th century.\n\nThe series was later adapted into a TV series entitled Katy in 1962, and two films, one also called Katy in 1972 and What Katy Did in 1999.\n\nNovels\n What Katy Did\n What Katy Did at School\n What Katy Did Next\n Clover\n In the High Valley\n\nAdaptions\n Katy (TV series, 1962)\n Katy (film, 1972)\n What Katy Did (film, 1999)\n\nLiterary Criticism\nCritics are divided about how much the series played into period gender norms and often compare the series to Little Women. Foster and Simmons argue for its subversion of gender in their book What Katy Read: Feminist Re-Readings of ‘Classic’ Stories for Girls by suggesting the series “deconstructs family hierarchies”.\n\nInfluence\nThe series is unusual for its time by having an entry which focuses not on the family life at home but at school in What Katy Did at School.\n\nIn a 1995 survey, What Katy Did was voted as one of the top 10 books for 12-year-old girls.\n\nSee also\n\nSarah Chauncey Woolsey\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nSeries details at Fantastic Fiction\n\nKaty series\n1870s novels\nNovel series\nSeries of children's books\nNovels by Susan Coolidge\n1880s novels\n1890s novels\n1962 American television series debuts\n1972 films\n1999 films"
] |
[
"Jeff Tweedy",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing.",
"Who did he choose",
"Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival,",
"Why did he choose him",
"but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur.",
"So what he did next",
"Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs."
] | C_53d05845d3ff482296f7050423c4143e_1 | What else was stood out in this article | 5 | What else was stood out in this article besides Tweedy being unsatisfied with Jim O'Rourke? | Jeff Tweedy | Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments about how the album should sound between songs. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Jay Bennett was a collective decision. Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise records under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies. CANNOTANSWER | Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. | Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high school in his band The Plebes with Jay Farrar, which subsequently transitioned into the alternative country band Uncle Tupelo. After Uncle Tupelo broke up, Tweedy formed Wilco which found critical and commercial success, most notably with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born, the latter of which received a Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2005.
Across his career Tweedy has released 20 studio albums, including four with Uncle Tupelo, eleven with Wilco, one with his son Spencer, a solo acoustic album, three solo studio albums, along with numerous collaborations with other musicians, most notably Mermaid Avenue with Billy Bragg.
Early life
Tweedy was born in Belleville, Illinois, on August 25, 1967, the fourth child of Bob and JoAnn Tweedy (née Werkmeister). Bob Tweedy (died Aug. 4, 2017) worked at Alton & Southern Railroad in East St. Louis while JoAnn was a kitchen designer. Tweedy has three siblings: older brother Greg Tweedy (died in 2013), brother Steven Tweedy, and sister Debbie Voll.
Tweedy's mother bought him his first guitar when he was six years old, although he did not begin to play it seriously until he was twelve. Apparently Tweedy told people that he knew how to play the guitar once he got his first guitar, even though he couldn't. When he was twelve, Tweedy was injured in a bicycle accident and was laid up for the summer. He decided to learn how to play a few chords before somebody "called him out" on the lie. In 1981, when Tweedy was fourteen years old, he befriended Jay Farrar in an English class at Belleville Township High School West. All of the members of Farrar's family enjoyed playing music, so Farrar already had knowledge of the musical elements of rock and roll. By this time, Tweedy was a fan of The Ramones and country music while Farrar enjoyed The Sex Pistols.
Tweedy attended Belleville Area College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Career
Early music
In the early 1980s, Tweedy joined a rockabilly band called The Plebes with brothers Wade and Dade Farrar, which Tweedy joined in order to qualify for a battle of the bands competition, which they won. Tweedy pushed The Plebes away from the rockabilly music that they had been playing, which caused Dade Farrar to leave the band. The band renamed themselves The Primitives in 1984, taking their name from a song by garage rock band The Groupies. Wade Farrar sang lead vocals and played harmonica, Jay Farrar played guitar, Tweedy played bass guitar, and Mike Heidorn played drums. In late 1986, the band decided to change their name to Uncle Tupelo, because a more popular British band was also using the name "The Primitives". Mike Heidorn's liner notes for No Depression, which were included in the 2003 re-issue of the album. The Primitives went on hiatus in 1986 after Wade Farrar left the band to finish his engineering degree at Southern Illinois University. While waiting for Wade to return from campus, Farrar, Tweedy, and Heidorn formed Uncle Tupelo.
Uncle Tupelo (1987–1994)
At his parents' request, Tweedy enrolled at several universities, but dropped out of them so that he could concentrate on Uncle Tupelo. While moonlighting as a record store clerk at Euclid Records in St. Louis, Tweedy met Tony Margherita. After Margherita saw the band perform at an acoustic concert in 1988, he decided to become the band's manager. The band began playing regular shows at Cicero's basement bar in the Delmar Loop near Washington University with other bands playing in a similar style. Uncle Tupelo recorded a ten-track demo tape entitled Not Forever, Just For Now in 1989, attracting the attention of Giant/Rockville Records. The independent label signed the band, and Uncle Tupelo's first album, No Depression, was released the next year. The title song, originally performed by the Carter Family, became strongly associated with the alternative country scene, and became the name of an influential alternative country periodical called No Depression.
During times when Uncle Tupelo was not touring, Tweedy and Farrar played as Coffee Creek, a short-lived cover band with The Bottle Rockets' Brian Henneman and Mark Ortmann. Around this time, Tweedy began developing problems with alcohol, leading to tensions between Tweedy and Farrar. While he never refused to play a gig, Tweedy was forced to sit out in place of Henneman at some performances. Tweedy quit drinking entirely after meeting future wife Sue Miller, although he replaced this habit with smoking marijuana. However, after developing a dependence on marijuana, he quickly quit using it, as well. After releasing Still Feel Gone, the band formed a friendship with Peter Buck of R.E.M., who produced their third album March 16–20, 1992 for free. Uncle Tupelo left the Rockville label in favor of Sire Records (Warner) later in 1992 because Rockville refused to pay the band any royalties for their albums. After the signing, Max Johnston and John Stirratt joined the band as Mike Heidorn was replaced by Bill Belzer who was later replaced by Ken Coomer. The five-piece band recorded Anodyne, which sold over 150,000 copies and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, but was the last album Uncle Tupelo released.
Breakup
In January 1994, Farrar called Tony Margherita to tell him that the band was breaking up, saying that he was not having any fun in the band anymore and was not getting along with Tweedy. Tweedy was enraged that Farrar decided to break up the band without notifying him, and this led to a series of harsh verbal exchanges. Farrar and Tweedy agreed to a final Uncle Tupelo tour, but the concerts were marred by the two not participating in each other's songs. The band decided to play Tweedy's "The Long Cut" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which further distanced Farrar and Tweedy. Farrar began to assemble a new band named Son Volt with Mike Heidorn, bassist Jim Boquist, and his brother Dave Boquist. At the same time, Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco with Stirratt, Johnston, and Coomer.
Wilco (1995–present)
In 1994, Tweedy formed Wilco with John Stirratt, Max Johnston, and Ken Coomer. Wilco has released ten albums and found commercial success with their albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco. The band also released two collaboration albums with Billy Bragg and one with The Minus 5. Jeff Tweedy has been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Album for A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy has also participated in a number of side groups including Golden Smog and Loose Fur, published a book of poems, and released a DVD of solo performances. He was originally influenced by punk and country music, but has later reflected more experimental themes in his music.
Wilco signed with Reprise/Warner Bros. Records and began recording AM almost as soon as the band was formed. After recording, Tweedy was introduced to Jay Bennett, who then joined the band. Also during this time, Tweedy quit smoking marijuana after a particularly bad experience with some cannabis brownies. A.M. did not fare as well commercially in comparison to Son Volt's first album, only reaching number 27 on the Heatseekers chart while Son Volt's debut Trace hit the Billboard 200. Dan Murphy of Soul Asylum invited Tweedy to join him in a supergroup named Golden Smog with Gary Louris and Marc Perlman of the Jayhawks, Kraig Johnson of Run Westy Run, and Noah Levy of The Honeydogs. Under the pseudonym Scott Summit, Tweedy released Down by the Old Mainstream with Golden Smog in 1996.
Tweedy and Wilco began to explore new styles and broke from the style of previous recordings on the seminal sprawling double album Being There in 1996. Tweedy did not write music for many of the songs ahead of time, and welcomed unexpected sounds into the recording. Wilco recorded nineteen songs for the double-CD album, and wanted the label to release it with a retail price comparable to a single-CD release. Being There was a commercial success, selling 300,000 copies and peaking in the top half of the Billboard 200. Reprise records invested $100,000 in the single "Outta Mind (Outtasite)", but received little radio exposure. While on tour, Tweedy began to spend time reading books by William H. Gass, Henry Miller, and John Fante. As he read their books, Tweedy decided to place more of an emphasis on writing. Representatives in the A&R department of Reprise wanted a radio single from Summerteeth, and Wilco reluctantly agreed to a re-working of "Can't Stand It". The single was a top five hit on adult album alternative radio stations, but failed to cross over to a larger audience.
Before the release of Summerteeth, the daughter of the late folk legend Woody Guthrie contacted folk rock singer Billy Bragg, who in turn contacted Tweedy about recording an album of unreleased Woody Guthrie songs. Tweedy was indifferent to the idea of working with Bragg, but Jay Bennett's enthusiasm about the idea convinced Tweedy to get the band involved in the project. As a result of Tweedy's feelings on the political nature of some of the lyrics, Bragg recorded mostly political songs while Wilco recorded more neutral songs. Almost all of the songs that appeared on Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II were recorded over a six-day period in December 1997. The first Mermaid Avenue album and a second Golden Smog album (Weird Tales) were released in 1998, Summerteeth was released in early 1999, and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II was released in 2000. Tweedy received his first Grammy nomination when Mermaid Avenue was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1999.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments between songs about how the album should sound. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Bennett around this time, believing (according to Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Bennett was a collective decision.
Reprise Records' parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies.
A Ghost Is Born
Scott McCaughey contacted Tweedy about recording an album together for a The Minus 5 release. They scheduled a meeting for September 11, 2001, but were reluctant to enter the recording studio after the terrorist attacks. At night, McCaughey and Tweedy decided to begin recording songs as a way to calm down. A few more tracks were later added to the album with the rest of Wilco, and it was released with the name Down with Wilco in 2003.
In November 2003, Wilco began recording a fifth studio album. Unlike their previous albums, all of the songs were originally performed in the studio and then later adapted for playing at concerts. Wilco released A Ghost Is Born on June 22, 2004, and it attained a top ten peak on the Billboard 200. The album was awarded with Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package in 2005. A few weeks before the album's release, Tweedy released a book of forty-three poems entitled Adult Head on Zoo Press. The following year, the band released their first live album, a two-disc set entitled Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, recorded at The Vic Theater.
Subsequent Wilco albums
Wilco recorded twelve tracks for a sixth studio album entitled Sky Blue Sky, which was released on May 15, 2007. Sky Blue Sky debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, the band's highest debut yet. It sold over 87,000 copies in its first week of release.
In early May 2009, former Wilco member Jay Bennett sued Tweedy for breach of contract. Bennett died later that month of an apparent accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl. In June 2009 Wilco released their seventh studio album Wilco (The Album), followed by The Whole Love in 2011, Star Wars in 2015, Schmilco in 2016 and Ode to Joy in 2019.
Other work
Jeff Tweedy has performed several solo tours, on which he typically plays acoustic music. He also recorded the song "Simple Twist of Fate" for the soundtrack to I'm Not There. On October 24, 2006 Nonesuch Records released Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, a live DVD by Tweedy. The disc includes performances and conversations gathered over five nights on Tweedy's February 2006 solo acoustic tour, with footage from concerts at Seattle's Moore Theater, Portland's Crystal Ballroom, Eugene's McDonald Theatre, Arcata's Humboldt State University, and The Fillmore in San Francisco. The DVD was directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi's Brendan Canty, the creators of the documentary series Burn to Shine.
Tweedy has partnered with Mavis Staples on three acclaimed albums. In 2010 they released You Are Not Alone, in 2013, One True Vine, and in 2017 If All I Was Was Black. Tweedy played an array of instruments on these albums and wrote many of the songs.
Tweedy worked with the psychedelic-influenced garage rock group White Denim on their record Corsicana Lemonade, recording some songs at Wilco's Chicago studio The Loft. In 2015 the album Still by Richard Thompson was released. The album was produced by Tweedy in The Loft Studios and features Tweedy on guitar and backing vocals.
Tweedy has appeared as a fictional singer-songwriter on 2014 episodes of Parks and Recreation and Portlandia.
On June 4, 2014, it was announced that he had formed a new band called Tweedy with his son Spencer. The band's debut album Sukierae was released on September 16. The release was followed by a world tour in which half of the set consisted of new songs off Sukierae performed by a touring band including Spencer. The latter half of the set Tweedy plays solo, typically performing Wilco and Uncle Tupelo classics.
In June 2017 Jeff Tweedy released a solo acoustic album of eleven songs spanning his career from Wilco, Loose Fur, and Golden Smog titled Together at Last. In November 2018 Jeff Tweedy released a memoir titled Let's Go (So We Can Get Back) and his first solo album of new material, titled Warm. A companion album to Warm titled Warmer was released on April 13, 2019 as a Record Store Day exclusive.
In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic Susan Tweedy and her family created a recurring video series on Instagram dubbed The Tweedy Show featuring Jeff and their sons performing original and cover songs. During the shelter-in-place Jeff Tweedy also wrote and recorded his third solo album titled Love Is the King which was announced to release on October 23, 2020 and wrote his second book titled How to Write One Song which was announced to release on October 13, 2020 on the E. P. Dutton publishing label.
Musical style
Tweedy's musical style has varied over his music career. Tweedy's vocal style is considered nasal, emotional, and raspy, and has been compared to that of Neil Young. His first exposure to music was through gramophone records that his siblings left behind when they attended college, and he particularly liked The Beatles' White Album. Tweedy would frequently read issues of magazines such as Rolling Stone, and began to purchase punk rock albums such as The Clash's London Calling and X's Wild Gift. Belleville crowds did not respond well to punk music, so while Tweedy was a member of The Primitives they played covers of country songs at much faster tempos. When Uncle Tupelo formed, the band began composing its own songs influenced by Jason & the Scorchers and The Minutemen. Wilco's first album shared many musical similarities with the four previous Uncle Tupelo albums, but on Being There, Tweedy began introducing more experimental themes into his music. He claims that he wanted to rebel against the belief spread by the No Depression magazine that Wilco was primarily a country band. One of the most influential albums for Tweedy was Bad Timing by Jim O'Rourke, which helped to inspire Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy uses a 1957 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, as well as a 1965 Fender Jazzmaster, at least three different Telecasters, an Epiphone Casino, a Rickenbacker 360, and a Gibson SG Standard. He has vintage SGs from '62 and '65 as well as a 2007 Custom Shop model and a 2008 Custom Shop Vintage Original Spec (V.O.S.) that are all rigged with Maestro tremolo bars. He also has been known to use a Breedlove 000 and even designed a limited edition 000 for Breedlove in 2007. His amplifier of choice is a Vox AC30.
Personal life
Tweedy has been prone to migraines throughout his entire life, forcing him to miss forty days of elementary school in one year. While he attempted to regulate his use of painkillers, he was never able to stop their use for more than five weeks. Tweedy attributes this to comorbidity with major depressive disorder and severe panic attacks. In 2004, he entered a dual diagnosis rehabilitation clinic in order to receive treatment for an addiction to prescription painkiller Vicodin. Tweedy quit smoking the next year; John Stirratt claimed afterward that this significantly improved the focus of the band.
Tweedy is married to former talent agent Sue Miller and lives in the Irving Park area of Chicago. Tweedy first met Miller when he was trying to get Uncle Tupelo booked at Cubby Bear, where Miller worked. Miller opened a club in Chicago named Lounge Ax in 1989, and booked Uncle Tupelo for 16 shows over four years. Miller and Tweedy began dating in 1991 and they were married on August 9, 1995. Sue was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Tweedy said "she's doing great now." Tweedy also said that music is a healthy distraction in such difficult times. They have two sons: Spencer and Sam. Spencer was the drummer for pre-teen rock band The Blisters and a new band called Tully Monster. In 2008, Spencer joined Wilco on stage at Madison Square Garden to play drums on their song "The Late Greats," while opening for Neil Young.
Tweedy has converted to Judaism. His wife is Jewish, and their sons both had Bar Mitzvah ceremonies. During the ceremony for his oldest son, Tweedy played an acoustic version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young".
In November 2019 Tweedy's home in Irving Park was shot at least seven times in an attack described by his son as "not targeted". No injuries were reported.
Selected discography
Solo
Together at Last (2017)
Warm (2018)
Warmer (2019)
Love Is the King (2020)
Live Is The King (2021)
With Uncle Tupelo
No Depression (1990)
Still Feel Gone (1991)
March 16–20, 1992 (1992)
Anodyne (1993)
With Wilco
A.M. (1995)
Being There (1996)
Summerteeth (1999)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)
A Ghost Is Born (2004)
Sky Blue Sky (2007)
Wilco (The Album) (2009)
The Whole Love (2011)
Star Wars (2015)
Schmilco (2016)
Ode to Joy (2019)
With Tweedy
Sukierae (2014)
Works or publications
Tweedy, Jeff. Adult Head: Poems. Lincoln, Neb: Zoo Press, 2004.
Tweedy, Jeff (Narrator). Lincoln in the Bardo, Audiobook. Random House Audio, 2017 ASIN: B01N1NU4K2
Tweedy, Jeff. Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc., autobiography, Dutton Books, 2018.
Tweedy, Jeff. How to Write One Song, Dutton Books, 2020.
See also
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco
Wilco: Learning How to Die
Uncle Tupelo
Wilco
New Multitudes
Notes and references
Further reading
Buchanan-Smith, Peter, and Daniel Nadel. The Wilco Book. New York: Kaput, 2004.
Grierson, Tim. Wilco: Sunken Treasure. 2013.
Kot, Greg. Wilco: Learning How to Die. New York: Broadway Books, 2004.
External links
Who Owns Culture? – Jeff Tweedy and Lawrence Lessig in conversation with Steven Johnson, New York Public Library on April 7, 2005. Internet Archive, Community Audio.
Wilco (official website)
1967 births
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American male television actors
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
Jewish American musicians
Grammy Award winners
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Belleville, Illinois
Drag City (record label) artists
Wilco members
Uncle Tupelo members
The Minus 5 members
Guitarists from Illinois
DBpm Records artists
20th-century American guitarists
Dutch East India Trading artists
Sire Records artists
Reprise Records artists
Nonesuch Records artists
Golden Smog members
Converts to Judaism
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American guitarists
20th-century American writers
21st-century American writers
Belleville High School-West alumni
Autobiographies | false | [
"This article lists Sinn Féin's election results in UK parliamentary elections.\n\nSummary of general election performance\n\nNotes\nFor the 1918 election, MPs are given out of the Ireland total. For subsequent elections, MP totals are for Northern Ireland.\n\nFour Sinn Féin candidates were elected in two constituencies each, so Sinn Féin actually had 69 out of 101 Irish MPs. In what was to become Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin won 3 seats out of a possible 30.\n\nElection results\n\nBy-elections 1906–1910\n\nBy-elections, 1910–1918\n\n1918 general election\n\nCork City was a two-seat constituency, and both Sinn Féin candidate were elected.\n\nBy-elections, 1918–22\n\n1924 general election\n\n1950 general election\n\nMcAteer stood as an independent republican candidate.\n\n1955 general election\n\nBy-elections, 1955–59\n\n1959 general election\n\n1964 general election\nThese Sinn Féin members stood as Independent Republican candidates.\n\n1966 general election\nThese Sinn Féin members stood as Independent Republican candidates.\n\nBy-elections, 1979–83\nThese Sinn Féin members stood as Anti H-Block candidates.\n\n1983 general election\n\nBy-elections, 1983–87\n\n1987 general election\n\nBy-elections, 1987–92\n\n1992 general election\n\n1997 general election\n\nBy-elections, 1997–2001\n\n2001 general election\n\n2005 general election\n\n2010 general election\n\nBy-elections, 2010–15\n\n2015 general election\n\n2017 general election\n\nBy-elections, 2017–2019\n\n2019 general election\nSinn Féin did not stand candidates in Belfast East, Belfast South or North Down in order to aid anti-Brexit and anti-Democratic Unionist Party candidates in those constituencies.\n\nFootnotes\n\nReferences\n\nF. W. S. Craig, Chronology of British Parliamentary By-elections 1833–1987\n\nSinn Féin\nElection results by party in the United Kingdom",
"\"What Else Is There?\" is the third single from the Norwegian duo Röyksopp's second album The Understanding. It features the vocals of Karin Dreijer from the Swedish electronica duo The Knife. The album was released in the UK with the help of Astralwerks.\n\nThe single was used in an O2 television advertisement in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia during 2008. It was also used in the 2006 film Cashback and the 2007 film, Meet Bill. Trentemøller's remix of \"What Else is There?\" was featured in an episode of the HBO show Entourage.\n\nThe song was covered by extreme metal band Enslaved as a bonus track for their album E.\n\nThe song was listed as the 375th best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media.\n\nOfficial versions\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Album Version) – 5:17\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Radio Edit) – 3:38\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Jacques Lu Cont Radio Mix) – 3:46\n\"What Else Is There?\" (The Emperor Machine Vocal Version) – 8:03\n\"What Else Is There?\" (The Emperor Machine Dub Version) – 7:51\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Mix) – 8:25\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Edit) – 4:50\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Remix) (Radio Edit) – 3:06\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Trentemøller Remix) – 7:42\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Vitalic Remix) – 5:14\n\nResponse\nThe single was officially released on 5 December 2005 in the UK. The single had a limited release on 21 November 2005 to promote the upcoming album. On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at number 32, while on the UK Dance Chart, it reached number one.\n\nMusic video\nThe music video was directed by Martin de Thurah. It features Norwegian model Marianne Schröder who is shown lip-syncing Dreijer's voice. Schröder is depicted as a floating woman traveling across stormy landscapes and within empty houses. Dreijer makes a cameo appearance as a woman wearing an Elizabethan ruff while dining alone at a festive table.\n\nMovie spots\n\nThe song is also featured in the movie Meet Bill as characters played by Jessica Alba and Aaron Eckhart smoke marijuana while listening to it. It is also part of the end credits music of the film Cashback.\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n2005 singles\nRöyksopp songs\nAstralwerks singles\nSongs written by Svein Berge\nSongs written by Torbjørn Brundtland\n2004 songs\nSongs written by Roger Greenaway\nSongs written by Olof Dreijer\nSongs written by Karin Dreijer"
] |
[
"Jeff Tweedy",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing.",
"Who did he choose",
"Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival,",
"Why did he choose him",
"but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur.",
"So what he did next",
"Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs.",
"What else was stood out in this article",
"Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member."
] | C_53d05845d3ff482296f7050423c4143e_1 | Did he hire anybody else | 6 | Did Tweedy hire anybody else besides Jim O'Rourke? | Jeff Tweedy | Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments about how the album should sound between songs. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Jay Bennett was a collective decision. Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise records under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies. CANNOTANSWER | After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked: | Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high school in his band The Plebes with Jay Farrar, which subsequently transitioned into the alternative country band Uncle Tupelo. After Uncle Tupelo broke up, Tweedy formed Wilco which found critical and commercial success, most notably with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born, the latter of which received a Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2005.
Across his career Tweedy has released 20 studio albums, including four with Uncle Tupelo, eleven with Wilco, one with his son Spencer, a solo acoustic album, three solo studio albums, along with numerous collaborations with other musicians, most notably Mermaid Avenue with Billy Bragg.
Early life
Tweedy was born in Belleville, Illinois, on August 25, 1967, the fourth child of Bob and JoAnn Tweedy (née Werkmeister). Bob Tweedy (died Aug. 4, 2017) worked at Alton & Southern Railroad in East St. Louis while JoAnn was a kitchen designer. Tweedy has three siblings: older brother Greg Tweedy (died in 2013), brother Steven Tweedy, and sister Debbie Voll.
Tweedy's mother bought him his first guitar when he was six years old, although he did not begin to play it seriously until he was twelve. Apparently Tweedy told people that he knew how to play the guitar once he got his first guitar, even though he couldn't. When he was twelve, Tweedy was injured in a bicycle accident and was laid up for the summer. He decided to learn how to play a few chords before somebody "called him out" on the lie. In 1981, when Tweedy was fourteen years old, he befriended Jay Farrar in an English class at Belleville Township High School West. All of the members of Farrar's family enjoyed playing music, so Farrar already had knowledge of the musical elements of rock and roll. By this time, Tweedy was a fan of The Ramones and country music while Farrar enjoyed The Sex Pistols.
Tweedy attended Belleville Area College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Career
Early music
In the early 1980s, Tweedy joined a rockabilly band called The Plebes with brothers Wade and Dade Farrar, which Tweedy joined in order to qualify for a battle of the bands competition, which they won. Tweedy pushed The Plebes away from the rockabilly music that they had been playing, which caused Dade Farrar to leave the band. The band renamed themselves The Primitives in 1984, taking their name from a song by garage rock band The Groupies. Wade Farrar sang lead vocals and played harmonica, Jay Farrar played guitar, Tweedy played bass guitar, and Mike Heidorn played drums. In late 1986, the band decided to change their name to Uncle Tupelo, because a more popular British band was also using the name "The Primitives". Mike Heidorn's liner notes for No Depression, which were included in the 2003 re-issue of the album. The Primitives went on hiatus in 1986 after Wade Farrar left the band to finish his engineering degree at Southern Illinois University. While waiting for Wade to return from campus, Farrar, Tweedy, and Heidorn formed Uncle Tupelo.
Uncle Tupelo (1987–1994)
At his parents' request, Tweedy enrolled at several universities, but dropped out of them so that he could concentrate on Uncle Tupelo. While moonlighting as a record store clerk at Euclid Records in St. Louis, Tweedy met Tony Margherita. After Margherita saw the band perform at an acoustic concert in 1988, he decided to become the band's manager. The band began playing regular shows at Cicero's basement bar in the Delmar Loop near Washington University with other bands playing in a similar style. Uncle Tupelo recorded a ten-track demo tape entitled Not Forever, Just For Now in 1989, attracting the attention of Giant/Rockville Records. The independent label signed the band, and Uncle Tupelo's first album, No Depression, was released the next year. The title song, originally performed by the Carter Family, became strongly associated with the alternative country scene, and became the name of an influential alternative country periodical called No Depression.
During times when Uncle Tupelo was not touring, Tweedy and Farrar played as Coffee Creek, a short-lived cover band with The Bottle Rockets' Brian Henneman and Mark Ortmann. Around this time, Tweedy began developing problems with alcohol, leading to tensions between Tweedy and Farrar. While he never refused to play a gig, Tweedy was forced to sit out in place of Henneman at some performances. Tweedy quit drinking entirely after meeting future wife Sue Miller, although he replaced this habit with smoking marijuana. However, after developing a dependence on marijuana, he quickly quit using it, as well. After releasing Still Feel Gone, the band formed a friendship with Peter Buck of R.E.M., who produced their third album March 16–20, 1992 for free. Uncle Tupelo left the Rockville label in favor of Sire Records (Warner) later in 1992 because Rockville refused to pay the band any royalties for their albums. After the signing, Max Johnston and John Stirratt joined the band as Mike Heidorn was replaced by Bill Belzer who was later replaced by Ken Coomer. The five-piece band recorded Anodyne, which sold over 150,000 copies and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, but was the last album Uncle Tupelo released.
Breakup
In January 1994, Farrar called Tony Margherita to tell him that the band was breaking up, saying that he was not having any fun in the band anymore and was not getting along with Tweedy. Tweedy was enraged that Farrar decided to break up the band without notifying him, and this led to a series of harsh verbal exchanges. Farrar and Tweedy agreed to a final Uncle Tupelo tour, but the concerts were marred by the two not participating in each other's songs. The band decided to play Tweedy's "The Long Cut" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which further distanced Farrar and Tweedy. Farrar began to assemble a new band named Son Volt with Mike Heidorn, bassist Jim Boquist, and his brother Dave Boquist. At the same time, Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco with Stirratt, Johnston, and Coomer.
Wilco (1995–present)
In 1994, Tweedy formed Wilco with John Stirratt, Max Johnston, and Ken Coomer. Wilco has released ten albums and found commercial success with their albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco. The band also released two collaboration albums with Billy Bragg and one with The Minus 5. Jeff Tweedy has been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Album for A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy has also participated in a number of side groups including Golden Smog and Loose Fur, published a book of poems, and released a DVD of solo performances. He was originally influenced by punk and country music, but has later reflected more experimental themes in his music.
Wilco signed with Reprise/Warner Bros. Records and began recording AM almost as soon as the band was formed. After recording, Tweedy was introduced to Jay Bennett, who then joined the band. Also during this time, Tweedy quit smoking marijuana after a particularly bad experience with some cannabis brownies. A.M. did not fare as well commercially in comparison to Son Volt's first album, only reaching number 27 on the Heatseekers chart while Son Volt's debut Trace hit the Billboard 200. Dan Murphy of Soul Asylum invited Tweedy to join him in a supergroup named Golden Smog with Gary Louris and Marc Perlman of the Jayhawks, Kraig Johnson of Run Westy Run, and Noah Levy of The Honeydogs. Under the pseudonym Scott Summit, Tweedy released Down by the Old Mainstream with Golden Smog in 1996.
Tweedy and Wilco began to explore new styles and broke from the style of previous recordings on the seminal sprawling double album Being There in 1996. Tweedy did not write music for many of the songs ahead of time, and welcomed unexpected sounds into the recording. Wilco recorded nineteen songs for the double-CD album, and wanted the label to release it with a retail price comparable to a single-CD release. Being There was a commercial success, selling 300,000 copies and peaking in the top half of the Billboard 200. Reprise records invested $100,000 in the single "Outta Mind (Outtasite)", but received little radio exposure. While on tour, Tweedy began to spend time reading books by William H. Gass, Henry Miller, and John Fante. As he read their books, Tweedy decided to place more of an emphasis on writing. Representatives in the A&R department of Reprise wanted a radio single from Summerteeth, and Wilco reluctantly agreed to a re-working of "Can't Stand It". The single was a top five hit on adult album alternative radio stations, but failed to cross over to a larger audience.
Before the release of Summerteeth, the daughter of the late folk legend Woody Guthrie contacted folk rock singer Billy Bragg, who in turn contacted Tweedy about recording an album of unreleased Woody Guthrie songs. Tweedy was indifferent to the idea of working with Bragg, but Jay Bennett's enthusiasm about the idea convinced Tweedy to get the band involved in the project. As a result of Tweedy's feelings on the political nature of some of the lyrics, Bragg recorded mostly political songs while Wilco recorded more neutral songs. Almost all of the songs that appeared on Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II were recorded over a six-day period in December 1997. The first Mermaid Avenue album and a second Golden Smog album (Weird Tales) were released in 1998, Summerteeth was released in early 1999, and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II was released in 2000. Tweedy received his first Grammy nomination when Mermaid Avenue was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1999.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments between songs about how the album should sound. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Bennett around this time, believing (according to Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Bennett was a collective decision.
Reprise Records' parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies.
A Ghost Is Born
Scott McCaughey contacted Tweedy about recording an album together for a The Minus 5 release. They scheduled a meeting for September 11, 2001, but were reluctant to enter the recording studio after the terrorist attacks. At night, McCaughey and Tweedy decided to begin recording songs as a way to calm down. A few more tracks were later added to the album with the rest of Wilco, and it was released with the name Down with Wilco in 2003.
In November 2003, Wilco began recording a fifth studio album. Unlike their previous albums, all of the songs were originally performed in the studio and then later adapted for playing at concerts. Wilco released A Ghost Is Born on June 22, 2004, and it attained a top ten peak on the Billboard 200. The album was awarded with Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package in 2005. A few weeks before the album's release, Tweedy released a book of forty-three poems entitled Adult Head on Zoo Press. The following year, the band released their first live album, a two-disc set entitled Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, recorded at The Vic Theater.
Subsequent Wilco albums
Wilco recorded twelve tracks for a sixth studio album entitled Sky Blue Sky, which was released on May 15, 2007. Sky Blue Sky debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, the band's highest debut yet. It sold over 87,000 copies in its first week of release.
In early May 2009, former Wilco member Jay Bennett sued Tweedy for breach of contract. Bennett died later that month of an apparent accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl. In June 2009 Wilco released their seventh studio album Wilco (The Album), followed by The Whole Love in 2011, Star Wars in 2015, Schmilco in 2016 and Ode to Joy in 2019.
Other work
Jeff Tweedy has performed several solo tours, on which he typically plays acoustic music. He also recorded the song "Simple Twist of Fate" for the soundtrack to I'm Not There. On October 24, 2006 Nonesuch Records released Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, a live DVD by Tweedy. The disc includes performances and conversations gathered over five nights on Tweedy's February 2006 solo acoustic tour, with footage from concerts at Seattle's Moore Theater, Portland's Crystal Ballroom, Eugene's McDonald Theatre, Arcata's Humboldt State University, and The Fillmore in San Francisco. The DVD was directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi's Brendan Canty, the creators of the documentary series Burn to Shine.
Tweedy has partnered with Mavis Staples on three acclaimed albums. In 2010 they released You Are Not Alone, in 2013, One True Vine, and in 2017 If All I Was Was Black. Tweedy played an array of instruments on these albums and wrote many of the songs.
Tweedy worked with the psychedelic-influenced garage rock group White Denim on their record Corsicana Lemonade, recording some songs at Wilco's Chicago studio The Loft. In 2015 the album Still by Richard Thompson was released. The album was produced by Tweedy in The Loft Studios and features Tweedy on guitar and backing vocals.
Tweedy has appeared as a fictional singer-songwriter on 2014 episodes of Parks and Recreation and Portlandia.
On June 4, 2014, it was announced that he had formed a new band called Tweedy with his son Spencer. The band's debut album Sukierae was released on September 16. The release was followed by a world tour in which half of the set consisted of new songs off Sukierae performed by a touring band including Spencer. The latter half of the set Tweedy plays solo, typically performing Wilco and Uncle Tupelo classics.
In June 2017 Jeff Tweedy released a solo acoustic album of eleven songs spanning his career from Wilco, Loose Fur, and Golden Smog titled Together at Last. In November 2018 Jeff Tweedy released a memoir titled Let's Go (So We Can Get Back) and his first solo album of new material, titled Warm. A companion album to Warm titled Warmer was released on April 13, 2019 as a Record Store Day exclusive.
In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic Susan Tweedy and her family created a recurring video series on Instagram dubbed The Tweedy Show featuring Jeff and their sons performing original and cover songs. During the shelter-in-place Jeff Tweedy also wrote and recorded his third solo album titled Love Is the King which was announced to release on October 23, 2020 and wrote his second book titled How to Write One Song which was announced to release on October 13, 2020 on the E. P. Dutton publishing label.
Musical style
Tweedy's musical style has varied over his music career. Tweedy's vocal style is considered nasal, emotional, and raspy, and has been compared to that of Neil Young. His first exposure to music was through gramophone records that his siblings left behind when they attended college, and he particularly liked The Beatles' White Album. Tweedy would frequently read issues of magazines such as Rolling Stone, and began to purchase punk rock albums such as The Clash's London Calling and X's Wild Gift. Belleville crowds did not respond well to punk music, so while Tweedy was a member of The Primitives they played covers of country songs at much faster tempos. When Uncle Tupelo formed, the band began composing its own songs influenced by Jason & the Scorchers and The Minutemen. Wilco's first album shared many musical similarities with the four previous Uncle Tupelo albums, but on Being There, Tweedy began introducing more experimental themes into his music. He claims that he wanted to rebel against the belief spread by the No Depression magazine that Wilco was primarily a country band. One of the most influential albums for Tweedy was Bad Timing by Jim O'Rourke, which helped to inspire Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy uses a 1957 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, as well as a 1965 Fender Jazzmaster, at least three different Telecasters, an Epiphone Casino, a Rickenbacker 360, and a Gibson SG Standard. He has vintage SGs from '62 and '65 as well as a 2007 Custom Shop model and a 2008 Custom Shop Vintage Original Spec (V.O.S.) that are all rigged with Maestro tremolo bars. He also has been known to use a Breedlove 000 and even designed a limited edition 000 for Breedlove in 2007. His amplifier of choice is a Vox AC30.
Personal life
Tweedy has been prone to migraines throughout his entire life, forcing him to miss forty days of elementary school in one year. While he attempted to regulate his use of painkillers, he was never able to stop their use for more than five weeks. Tweedy attributes this to comorbidity with major depressive disorder and severe panic attacks. In 2004, he entered a dual diagnosis rehabilitation clinic in order to receive treatment for an addiction to prescription painkiller Vicodin. Tweedy quit smoking the next year; John Stirratt claimed afterward that this significantly improved the focus of the band.
Tweedy is married to former talent agent Sue Miller and lives in the Irving Park area of Chicago. Tweedy first met Miller when he was trying to get Uncle Tupelo booked at Cubby Bear, where Miller worked. Miller opened a club in Chicago named Lounge Ax in 1989, and booked Uncle Tupelo for 16 shows over four years. Miller and Tweedy began dating in 1991 and they were married on August 9, 1995. Sue was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Tweedy said "she's doing great now." Tweedy also said that music is a healthy distraction in such difficult times. They have two sons: Spencer and Sam. Spencer was the drummer for pre-teen rock band The Blisters and a new band called Tully Monster. In 2008, Spencer joined Wilco on stage at Madison Square Garden to play drums on their song "The Late Greats," while opening for Neil Young.
Tweedy has converted to Judaism. His wife is Jewish, and their sons both had Bar Mitzvah ceremonies. During the ceremony for his oldest son, Tweedy played an acoustic version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young".
In November 2019 Tweedy's home in Irving Park was shot at least seven times in an attack described by his son as "not targeted". No injuries were reported.
Selected discography
Solo
Together at Last (2017)
Warm (2018)
Warmer (2019)
Love Is the King (2020)
Live Is The King (2021)
With Uncle Tupelo
No Depression (1990)
Still Feel Gone (1991)
March 16–20, 1992 (1992)
Anodyne (1993)
With Wilco
A.M. (1995)
Being There (1996)
Summerteeth (1999)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)
A Ghost Is Born (2004)
Sky Blue Sky (2007)
Wilco (The Album) (2009)
The Whole Love (2011)
Star Wars (2015)
Schmilco (2016)
Ode to Joy (2019)
With Tweedy
Sukierae (2014)
Works or publications
Tweedy, Jeff. Adult Head: Poems. Lincoln, Neb: Zoo Press, 2004.
Tweedy, Jeff (Narrator). Lincoln in the Bardo, Audiobook. Random House Audio, 2017 ASIN: B01N1NU4K2
Tweedy, Jeff. Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc., autobiography, Dutton Books, 2018.
Tweedy, Jeff. How to Write One Song, Dutton Books, 2020.
See also
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco
Wilco: Learning How to Die
Uncle Tupelo
Wilco
New Multitudes
Notes and references
Further reading
Buchanan-Smith, Peter, and Daniel Nadel. The Wilco Book. New York: Kaput, 2004.
Grierson, Tim. Wilco: Sunken Treasure. 2013.
Kot, Greg. Wilco: Learning How to Die. New York: Broadway Books, 2004.
External links
Who Owns Culture? – Jeff Tweedy and Lawrence Lessig in conversation with Steven Johnson, New York Public Library on April 7, 2005. Internet Archive, Community Audio.
Wilco (official website)
1967 births
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American male television actors
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
Jewish American musicians
Grammy Award winners
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Belleville, Illinois
Drag City (record label) artists
Wilco members
Uncle Tupelo members
The Minus 5 members
Guitarists from Illinois
DBpm Records artists
20th-century American guitarists
Dutch East India Trading artists
Sire Records artists
Reprise Records artists
Nonesuch Records artists
Golden Smog members
Converts to Judaism
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American guitarists
20th-century American writers
21st-century American writers
Belleville High School-West alumni
Autobiographies | true | [
"\"I Don't Know Anybody Else\" is a song by the Italian music group Black Box. It was the second single from their debut album Dreamland (1990), and was originally released in the United States in December 1989. It was released worldwide in the early months of 1990 and had a great success in record charts, including Ireland, Switzerland, Norway and the United Kingdom, where it reached the Top 5. In other countries, it peaked between number 5 and number 10. It entered the UK Singles Chart on February 17, 1990 and remained for eight weeks.\n\nThe song features an uncredited Martha Wash on lead vocals. The title is a misheard lyric lifted from \"Love Sensation\" by Loleatta Holloway, the original line being \"I love nobody else\", using the same melody line as the chorus of \"I Don't Know Anybody Else\".\n\nCritical reception\nBillboard stated that the \"groove remains in trendy Italo-house vein with diva-styled vocals fueling the fire of tune's brain-imbedding hook.\" A reviewer from Cash Box wrote that \"the group who surprised everyone by breaking out of clubs and onto the pop charts clocks in with its second single, driven by the same intense vocals and formidable House groove that skyrocketed its U.S. debut single, \"Everybody, Everybody\".\" The Daily Vault's Michael R. Smith described it as \"effective and timeless\" in his review of Dreamland, and added that it now \"sound fresher and fuller of life than ever.\" Gene Sandbloom from The Network Forty wrote that the song \"has every bit the house power, but this time lead vocalist Katrin Quinol kicks off with an Annie Lennox intro that leaves you almost exhausted after four minutes.\" Chris Heath from Smash Hits noted that it is \"exceedingly similar\" to \"Ride on Time\" and said it is \"slightly brilliant\".\n\nVibe magazine listed the song at number 11 in their list of Before EDM: 30 Dance Tracks from The '90s That Changed the Game in 2013. They wrote that the song \"helped propel Italian house group Black Box into international fame thanks to the track’s strong vocals (exhibited by Martha Wash) fused with beats laid down by club DJ Daniele Davoli and keyboard wiz Mirko Limoni\".\n\nChart performance\n\"I Don't Know Anybody Else\" was successful on the charts on several continents. In Europe, it managed to climb into the Top 10 in Austria, Finland (number two), France, Ireland (number two), Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it hit number five. In the UK, the single peaked at number four in its second week at the UK Singles Chart, on February 18, 1990. Additionally, it was a Top 20 hit in West Germany and a Top 30 hit in the Netherlands. Outside Europe, it peaked at number-one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play in the United States and was a Top 10 hit in Australia, where it peaked at number six and was awarded a gold record after 35,000 singles were sold there. In New Zealand, it went to number 25.\n\nMusic video\nA music video was made for \"I Don't Know Anybody Else\", directed by Judith Briant. It features the group performing the song in a club. Briant also directed the video for \"Ride on Time\" (with Greg Copeland). \"I Don't Know Anybody Else\" was later published on Black Box' official YouTube channel in June 2009. The video has amassed more than 7,1 million views as of September 2021.\n\nTrack listings\n\n CD maxi\n \"I Don't Know Anybody Else\" (we got salsoul mix) — 5:40\n \"I Don't Know Anybody Else\" (DJ Lelewel mix) — 6:47\n \"I Don't Know Anybody Else\" (a cappella) — 3:40\n \"I Don't Know Anybody Else\" (hurley's house mix) — 7:00\n \"I Don't Know Anybody Else\" (hurley's house dub) — 5:08\n \"I Don't Know Anybody Else\" (deephouse instrumental) — 4:30\n\n 12\" maxi\n \"I Don't Know Anybody Else\" (melody mix) — 6:36\n \"I Don't Know Anybody Else\" (house club) — 6:15\n\n 7\" single\n \"I Don't Know Anybody Else\" (melody mix) — 4:30\n \"I Don't Know Anybody Else\" (house club) — 4:00\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications and sales\n\nSee also\n List of number-one dance singles of 1991 (U.S.)\n\nReferences\n\n1990 singles\nBlack Box (band) songs\nMartha Wash songs\n1989 songs\nPolydor Records singles",
"In the Fishtank 9 is an album of songs by alternative rock bands Sonic Youth, the Instant Composers Pool Orchestra, and the Ex. It was released in 2001 on the Konkurrent label.\n\nReception\n\nThom Jurek of Allmusic praised the collaboration as \"a wonder\", praising the fact that \"everyone participates in creating something fresh and new, without anybody getting in anybody else's way. The spirit of cooperation and the excitement of discovery here are both prescient. The result is neither rock nor jazz, but a free-form music that dispenses with formality and ego and goes for the heart of the thing itself.\" He concludes: \"For nearly a half-hour, the listener gets to eavesdrop on the purest kind of music-making by those dedicated to nothing else than the pursuit of its creation.\"\n\nTrack listing\n\"III\" – 3:27\n\"IV\" – 4:28\n\"V\" – 2:45\n\"VI\" – 3:03\n\"VII\" – 4:14\n\"VIII\" – 2:16\n\"IX\" – 3:24\n\"X\" – 5:49\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nKonkurrent\n\n09\nThe Ex (band) albums\nSplit EPs\n2002 compilation albums\n2002 EPs\nSonic Youth compilation albums\nKonkurrent compilation albums"
] |
[
"Jeff Tweedy",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing.",
"Who did he choose",
"Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival,",
"Why did he choose him",
"but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur.",
"So what he did next",
"Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs.",
"What else was stood out in this article",
"Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member.",
"Did he hire anybody else",
"After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:"
] | C_53d05845d3ff482296f7050423c4143e_1 | What did he remark | 7 | What did Briggs remark after quitting Reprise record? | Jeff Tweedy | Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments about how the album should sound between songs. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Jay Bennett was a collective decision. Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise records under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies. CANNOTANSWER | Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. | Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high school in his band The Plebes with Jay Farrar, which subsequently transitioned into the alternative country band Uncle Tupelo. After Uncle Tupelo broke up, Tweedy formed Wilco which found critical and commercial success, most notably with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born, the latter of which received a Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2005.
Across his career Tweedy has released 20 studio albums, including four with Uncle Tupelo, eleven with Wilco, one with his son Spencer, a solo acoustic album, three solo studio albums, along with numerous collaborations with other musicians, most notably Mermaid Avenue with Billy Bragg.
Early life
Tweedy was born in Belleville, Illinois, on August 25, 1967, the fourth child of Bob and JoAnn Tweedy (née Werkmeister). Bob Tweedy (died Aug. 4, 2017) worked at Alton & Southern Railroad in East St. Louis while JoAnn was a kitchen designer. Tweedy has three siblings: older brother Greg Tweedy (died in 2013), brother Steven Tweedy, and sister Debbie Voll.
Tweedy's mother bought him his first guitar when he was six years old, although he did not begin to play it seriously until he was twelve. Apparently Tweedy told people that he knew how to play the guitar once he got his first guitar, even though he couldn't. When he was twelve, Tweedy was injured in a bicycle accident and was laid up for the summer. He decided to learn how to play a few chords before somebody "called him out" on the lie. In 1981, when Tweedy was fourteen years old, he befriended Jay Farrar in an English class at Belleville Township High School West. All of the members of Farrar's family enjoyed playing music, so Farrar already had knowledge of the musical elements of rock and roll. By this time, Tweedy was a fan of The Ramones and country music while Farrar enjoyed The Sex Pistols.
Tweedy attended Belleville Area College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Career
Early music
In the early 1980s, Tweedy joined a rockabilly band called The Plebes with brothers Wade and Dade Farrar, which Tweedy joined in order to qualify for a battle of the bands competition, which they won. Tweedy pushed The Plebes away from the rockabilly music that they had been playing, which caused Dade Farrar to leave the band. The band renamed themselves The Primitives in 1984, taking their name from a song by garage rock band The Groupies. Wade Farrar sang lead vocals and played harmonica, Jay Farrar played guitar, Tweedy played bass guitar, and Mike Heidorn played drums. In late 1986, the band decided to change their name to Uncle Tupelo, because a more popular British band was also using the name "The Primitives". Mike Heidorn's liner notes for No Depression, which were included in the 2003 re-issue of the album. The Primitives went on hiatus in 1986 after Wade Farrar left the band to finish his engineering degree at Southern Illinois University. While waiting for Wade to return from campus, Farrar, Tweedy, and Heidorn formed Uncle Tupelo.
Uncle Tupelo (1987–1994)
At his parents' request, Tweedy enrolled at several universities, but dropped out of them so that he could concentrate on Uncle Tupelo. While moonlighting as a record store clerk at Euclid Records in St. Louis, Tweedy met Tony Margherita. After Margherita saw the band perform at an acoustic concert in 1988, he decided to become the band's manager. The band began playing regular shows at Cicero's basement bar in the Delmar Loop near Washington University with other bands playing in a similar style. Uncle Tupelo recorded a ten-track demo tape entitled Not Forever, Just For Now in 1989, attracting the attention of Giant/Rockville Records. The independent label signed the band, and Uncle Tupelo's first album, No Depression, was released the next year. The title song, originally performed by the Carter Family, became strongly associated with the alternative country scene, and became the name of an influential alternative country periodical called No Depression.
During times when Uncle Tupelo was not touring, Tweedy and Farrar played as Coffee Creek, a short-lived cover band with The Bottle Rockets' Brian Henneman and Mark Ortmann. Around this time, Tweedy began developing problems with alcohol, leading to tensions between Tweedy and Farrar. While he never refused to play a gig, Tweedy was forced to sit out in place of Henneman at some performances. Tweedy quit drinking entirely after meeting future wife Sue Miller, although he replaced this habit with smoking marijuana. However, after developing a dependence on marijuana, he quickly quit using it, as well. After releasing Still Feel Gone, the band formed a friendship with Peter Buck of R.E.M., who produced their third album March 16–20, 1992 for free. Uncle Tupelo left the Rockville label in favor of Sire Records (Warner) later in 1992 because Rockville refused to pay the band any royalties for their albums. After the signing, Max Johnston and John Stirratt joined the band as Mike Heidorn was replaced by Bill Belzer who was later replaced by Ken Coomer. The five-piece band recorded Anodyne, which sold over 150,000 copies and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, but was the last album Uncle Tupelo released.
Breakup
In January 1994, Farrar called Tony Margherita to tell him that the band was breaking up, saying that he was not having any fun in the band anymore and was not getting along with Tweedy. Tweedy was enraged that Farrar decided to break up the band without notifying him, and this led to a series of harsh verbal exchanges. Farrar and Tweedy agreed to a final Uncle Tupelo tour, but the concerts were marred by the two not participating in each other's songs. The band decided to play Tweedy's "The Long Cut" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which further distanced Farrar and Tweedy. Farrar began to assemble a new band named Son Volt with Mike Heidorn, bassist Jim Boquist, and his brother Dave Boquist. At the same time, Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco with Stirratt, Johnston, and Coomer.
Wilco (1995–present)
In 1994, Tweedy formed Wilco with John Stirratt, Max Johnston, and Ken Coomer. Wilco has released ten albums and found commercial success with their albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco. The band also released two collaboration albums with Billy Bragg and one with The Minus 5. Jeff Tweedy has been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Album for A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy has also participated in a number of side groups including Golden Smog and Loose Fur, published a book of poems, and released a DVD of solo performances. He was originally influenced by punk and country music, but has later reflected more experimental themes in his music.
Wilco signed with Reprise/Warner Bros. Records and began recording AM almost as soon as the band was formed. After recording, Tweedy was introduced to Jay Bennett, who then joined the band. Also during this time, Tweedy quit smoking marijuana after a particularly bad experience with some cannabis brownies. A.M. did not fare as well commercially in comparison to Son Volt's first album, only reaching number 27 on the Heatseekers chart while Son Volt's debut Trace hit the Billboard 200. Dan Murphy of Soul Asylum invited Tweedy to join him in a supergroup named Golden Smog with Gary Louris and Marc Perlman of the Jayhawks, Kraig Johnson of Run Westy Run, and Noah Levy of The Honeydogs. Under the pseudonym Scott Summit, Tweedy released Down by the Old Mainstream with Golden Smog in 1996.
Tweedy and Wilco began to explore new styles and broke from the style of previous recordings on the seminal sprawling double album Being There in 1996. Tweedy did not write music for many of the songs ahead of time, and welcomed unexpected sounds into the recording. Wilco recorded nineteen songs for the double-CD album, and wanted the label to release it with a retail price comparable to a single-CD release. Being There was a commercial success, selling 300,000 copies and peaking in the top half of the Billboard 200. Reprise records invested $100,000 in the single "Outta Mind (Outtasite)", but received little radio exposure. While on tour, Tweedy began to spend time reading books by William H. Gass, Henry Miller, and John Fante. As he read their books, Tweedy decided to place more of an emphasis on writing. Representatives in the A&R department of Reprise wanted a radio single from Summerteeth, and Wilco reluctantly agreed to a re-working of "Can't Stand It". The single was a top five hit on adult album alternative radio stations, but failed to cross over to a larger audience.
Before the release of Summerteeth, the daughter of the late folk legend Woody Guthrie contacted folk rock singer Billy Bragg, who in turn contacted Tweedy about recording an album of unreleased Woody Guthrie songs. Tweedy was indifferent to the idea of working with Bragg, but Jay Bennett's enthusiasm about the idea convinced Tweedy to get the band involved in the project. As a result of Tweedy's feelings on the political nature of some of the lyrics, Bragg recorded mostly political songs while Wilco recorded more neutral songs. Almost all of the songs that appeared on Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II were recorded over a six-day period in December 1997. The first Mermaid Avenue album and a second Golden Smog album (Weird Tales) were released in 1998, Summerteeth was released in early 1999, and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II was released in 2000. Tweedy received his first Grammy nomination when Mermaid Avenue was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1999.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments between songs about how the album should sound. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Bennett around this time, believing (according to Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Bennett was a collective decision.
Reprise Records' parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies.
A Ghost Is Born
Scott McCaughey contacted Tweedy about recording an album together for a The Minus 5 release. They scheduled a meeting for September 11, 2001, but were reluctant to enter the recording studio after the terrorist attacks. At night, McCaughey and Tweedy decided to begin recording songs as a way to calm down. A few more tracks were later added to the album with the rest of Wilco, and it was released with the name Down with Wilco in 2003.
In November 2003, Wilco began recording a fifth studio album. Unlike their previous albums, all of the songs were originally performed in the studio and then later adapted for playing at concerts. Wilco released A Ghost Is Born on June 22, 2004, and it attained a top ten peak on the Billboard 200. The album was awarded with Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package in 2005. A few weeks before the album's release, Tweedy released a book of forty-three poems entitled Adult Head on Zoo Press. The following year, the band released their first live album, a two-disc set entitled Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, recorded at The Vic Theater.
Subsequent Wilco albums
Wilco recorded twelve tracks for a sixth studio album entitled Sky Blue Sky, which was released on May 15, 2007. Sky Blue Sky debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, the band's highest debut yet. It sold over 87,000 copies in its first week of release.
In early May 2009, former Wilco member Jay Bennett sued Tweedy for breach of contract. Bennett died later that month of an apparent accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl. In June 2009 Wilco released their seventh studio album Wilco (The Album), followed by The Whole Love in 2011, Star Wars in 2015, Schmilco in 2016 and Ode to Joy in 2019.
Other work
Jeff Tweedy has performed several solo tours, on which he typically plays acoustic music. He also recorded the song "Simple Twist of Fate" for the soundtrack to I'm Not There. On October 24, 2006 Nonesuch Records released Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, a live DVD by Tweedy. The disc includes performances and conversations gathered over five nights on Tweedy's February 2006 solo acoustic tour, with footage from concerts at Seattle's Moore Theater, Portland's Crystal Ballroom, Eugene's McDonald Theatre, Arcata's Humboldt State University, and The Fillmore in San Francisco. The DVD was directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi's Brendan Canty, the creators of the documentary series Burn to Shine.
Tweedy has partnered with Mavis Staples on three acclaimed albums. In 2010 they released You Are Not Alone, in 2013, One True Vine, and in 2017 If All I Was Was Black. Tweedy played an array of instruments on these albums and wrote many of the songs.
Tweedy worked with the psychedelic-influenced garage rock group White Denim on their record Corsicana Lemonade, recording some songs at Wilco's Chicago studio The Loft. In 2015 the album Still by Richard Thompson was released. The album was produced by Tweedy in The Loft Studios and features Tweedy on guitar and backing vocals.
Tweedy has appeared as a fictional singer-songwriter on 2014 episodes of Parks and Recreation and Portlandia.
On June 4, 2014, it was announced that he had formed a new band called Tweedy with his son Spencer. The band's debut album Sukierae was released on September 16. The release was followed by a world tour in which half of the set consisted of new songs off Sukierae performed by a touring band including Spencer. The latter half of the set Tweedy plays solo, typically performing Wilco and Uncle Tupelo classics.
In June 2017 Jeff Tweedy released a solo acoustic album of eleven songs spanning his career from Wilco, Loose Fur, and Golden Smog titled Together at Last. In November 2018 Jeff Tweedy released a memoir titled Let's Go (So We Can Get Back) and his first solo album of new material, titled Warm. A companion album to Warm titled Warmer was released on April 13, 2019 as a Record Store Day exclusive.
In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic Susan Tweedy and her family created a recurring video series on Instagram dubbed The Tweedy Show featuring Jeff and their sons performing original and cover songs. During the shelter-in-place Jeff Tweedy also wrote and recorded his third solo album titled Love Is the King which was announced to release on October 23, 2020 and wrote his second book titled How to Write One Song which was announced to release on October 13, 2020 on the E. P. Dutton publishing label.
Musical style
Tweedy's musical style has varied over his music career. Tweedy's vocal style is considered nasal, emotional, and raspy, and has been compared to that of Neil Young. His first exposure to music was through gramophone records that his siblings left behind when they attended college, and he particularly liked The Beatles' White Album. Tweedy would frequently read issues of magazines such as Rolling Stone, and began to purchase punk rock albums such as The Clash's London Calling and X's Wild Gift. Belleville crowds did not respond well to punk music, so while Tweedy was a member of The Primitives they played covers of country songs at much faster tempos. When Uncle Tupelo formed, the band began composing its own songs influenced by Jason & the Scorchers and The Minutemen. Wilco's first album shared many musical similarities with the four previous Uncle Tupelo albums, but on Being There, Tweedy began introducing more experimental themes into his music. He claims that he wanted to rebel against the belief spread by the No Depression magazine that Wilco was primarily a country band. One of the most influential albums for Tweedy was Bad Timing by Jim O'Rourke, which helped to inspire Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy uses a 1957 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, as well as a 1965 Fender Jazzmaster, at least three different Telecasters, an Epiphone Casino, a Rickenbacker 360, and a Gibson SG Standard. He has vintage SGs from '62 and '65 as well as a 2007 Custom Shop model and a 2008 Custom Shop Vintage Original Spec (V.O.S.) that are all rigged with Maestro tremolo bars. He also has been known to use a Breedlove 000 and even designed a limited edition 000 for Breedlove in 2007. His amplifier of choice is a Vox AC30.
Personal life
Tweedy has been prone to migraines throughout his entire life, forcing him to miss forty days of elementary school in one year. While he attempted to regulate his use of painkillers, he was never able to stop their use for more than five weeks. Tweedy attributes this to comorbidity with major depressive disorder and severe panic attacks. In 2004, he entered a dual diagnosis rehabilitation clinic in order to receive treatment for an addiction to prescription painkiller Vicodin. Tweedy quit smoking the next year; John Stirratt claimed afterward that this significantly improved the focus of the band.
Tweedy is married to former talent agent Sue Miller and lives in the Irving Park area of Chicago. Tweedy first met Miller when he was trying to get Uncle Tupelo booked at Cubby Bear, where Miller worked. Miller opened a club in Chicago named Lounge Ax in 1989, and booked Uncle Tupelo for 16 shows over four years. Miller and Tweedy began dating in 1991 and they were married on August 9, 1995. Sue was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Tweedy said "she's doing great now." Tweedy also said that music is a healthy distraction in such difficult times. They have two sons: Spencer and Sam. Spencer was the drummer for pre-teen rock band The Blisters and a new band called Tully Monster. In 2008, Spencer joined Wilco on stage at Madison Square Garden to play drums on their song "The Late Greats," while opening for Neil Young.
Tweedy has converted to Judaism. His wife is Jewish, and their sons both had Bar Mitzvah ceremonies. During the ceremony for his oldest son, Tweedy played an acoustic version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young".
In November 2019 Tweedy's home in Irving Park was shot at least seven times in an attack described by his son as "not targeted". No injuries were reported.
Selected discography
Solo
Together at Last (2017)
Warm (2018)
Warmer (2019)
Love Is the King (2020)
Live Is The King (2021)
With Uncle Tupelo
No Depression (1990)
Still Feel Gone (1991)
March 16–20, 1992 (1992)
Anodyne (1993)
With Wilco
A.M. (1995)
Being There (1996)
Summerteeth (1999)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)
A Ghost Is Born (2004)
Sky Blue Sky (2007)
Wilco (The Album) (2009)
The Whole Love (2011)
Star Wars (2015)
Schmilco (2016)
Ode to Joy (2019)
With Tweedy
Sukierae (2014)
Works or publications
Tweedy, Jeff. Adult Head: Poems. Lincoln, Neb: Zoo Press, 2004.
Tweedy, Jeff (Narrator). Lincoln in the Bardo, Audiobook. Random House Audio, 2017 ASIN: B01N1NU4K2
Tweedy, Jeff. Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc., autobiography, Dutton Books, 2018.
Tweedy, Jeff. How to Write One Song, Dutton Books, 2020.
See also
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco
Wilco: Learning How to Die
Uncle Tupelo
Wilco
New Multitudes
Notes and references
Further reading
Buchanan-Smith, Peter, and Daniel Nadel. The Wilco Book. New York: Kaput, 2004.
Grierson, Tim. Wilco: Sunken Treasure. 2013.
Kot, Greg. Wilco: Learning How to Die. New York: Broadway Books, 2004.
External links
Who Owns Culture? – Jeff Tweedy and Lawrence Lessig in conversation with Steven Johnson, New York Public Library on April 7, 2005. Internet Archive, Community Audio.
Wilco (official website)
1967 births
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American male television actors
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
Jewish American musicians
Grammy Award winners
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Belleville, Illinois
Drag City (record label) artists
Wilco members
Uncle Tupelo members
The Minus 5 members
Guitarists from Illinois
DBpm Records artists
20th-century American guitarists
Dutch East India Trading artists
Sire Records artists
Reprise Records artists
Nonesuch Records artists
Golden Smog members
Converts to Judaism
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American guitarists
20th-century American writers
21st-century American writers
Belleville High School-West alumni
Autobiographies | true | [
"\"The Pony Remark\" is the second episode of the second season of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, and the seventh episode overall. The episode was written by series co-creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, based on a remark David once made.\n\nIn this episode, Jerry, at a relative's 50th-anniversary dinner, makes a remark about hating anybody who had a pony when they were a child. His remark upsets the female guest-of-honor, causing her to storm out in anger. When the woman dies shortly after the dinner, Jerry and his friends wonder if the pony remark had something to do with her death.\n\nThe episode was the first appearance of Jerry's uncle Leo, who became a recurring character on the show. Leo was played by Len Lesser. The episode was also the first appearance of Barney Martin as Morty Seinfeld, replacing actor Phil Bruns, who had portrayed Morty in the season 1 episode \"The Stake Out.\" \"The Pony Remark\" aired on January 30, 1991, and gained a Nielsen rating of 10.7/16. It gained positive responses from critics, and The New York Times considers the episode to have been a turning point for the show.\n\nPlot\nJerry's parents, Helen and Morty Seinfeld, are staying at his apartment in New York City. Helen pressures him into coming along to the 50th anniversary dinner of Helen's second cousin Manya and her husband Isaac. Jerry does not know Manya or Isaac, so he brings Elaine along as a social buffer. During the dinner, Jerry offhandedly states that he hates people who had a pony when they were growing up. This offends Manya, as she grew up in a village in Poland where she, and most of the children, had their own ponies. Jerry tries to amend his remark, but Manya leaves the table in a huff.\n\nThe following day, Jerry receives a phone call from Uncle Leo, who informs him that Manya has died, and the funeral will be held on the same day as his softball team's championship game. Jerry, Elaine, and George ponder whether his comment was a factor in Manya's death. Feeling guilty, Jerry goes to the funeral, where he apologizes to Isaac for his remark; Isaac assures him that Manya had forgotten all about it. Isaac decides to move to Phoenix in the wake of Manya's death, and Elaine asks whether she can have their apartment. Isaac eventually tells her that Jerry's cousin Jeffrey is taking it. It starts to rain, and Jerry realizes the softball game will be postponed. The following day, the team loses the championship due to some exceptionally bad playing from Jerry, leading Elaine to speculate that Manya's spirit put a hex on him as revenge for the pony remark.\n\nJerry bets Kramer he will back out of a resolution to rebuild his apartment so that it has multiple flat, wooden levels instead of furniture. Kramer eventually decides not to build levels but refuses to pay Jerry, arguing that the bet is invalid because he did not attempt the renovation.\n\nProduction\nThis episode was written by series creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld and directed by Tom Cherones. This episode was based on a remark David once made during a conversation. Cherones deliberately made Elaine sit at a smaller table while directing the dinner scene. \"The Pony Remark\" was the first episode in which Kramer wants to gamble; it is later established that he has a gambling addiction. The idea of Elaine asking Isaac what is going to happen with his old apartment was added during rehearsals. The first table reading of the episode was held on October 24, 1990, and a run-through was held two days later. \"The Pony Remark\" was filmed in front of a live audience on October 30, 1990, while Seinfeld's stand-up routine was filmed one day earlier, along with the performances used in \"The Ex-Girlfriend\" and \"The Busboy\"; Seinfeld changed wardrobe between takes.\n\n\"The Pony Remark\" featured the second appearance of Helen and Morty Seinfeld, who had previously appeared in the season 1 episode \"The Stake Out\". In \"The Stake Out,\" Morty was portrayed by Phil Bruns, but David and Seinfeld decided they wanted the character to be harsher and re-cast him with Barney Martin, who auditioned for the part on October 15, 1990, at 12:45 PM. Martin was unaware that another actor had already established the part. Helen was portrayed by Liz Sheridan; in an early draft of the episode, her name was Adele, though this did not match her name from \"The Stake Out\". It was later changed back to Helen. The episode also introduced Jerry's uncle Leo, portrayed by Len Lesser, who was known for his acting in gangster films, as well as The Outlaw Josey Wales and Kelly's Heroes. When Lesser auditioned for the part on October 22, 1990, he got a lot of laughs from David, Seinfeld and casting director Marc Herschfield, but did not understand why, because he did not think his lines were funny. Herschfield stated that Lesser was the right actor for the part when Lesser had auditioned. David Fresco guest starred in the episode as Isaac. Fresco had some difficulty with his lines in the episode, and would sometimes burst into laughter during filming. Other actors who guest-starred in the episode were Rozsika Halmos, who portrayed Manya, and Milt Oberman, who played the funeral director.\n\nReception\n\"The Pony Remark\" was first broadcast on American television on January 30, 1991. It gained a Nielsen rating of 10.7 and an audience share of 16. This means that 10.7% of American households watched the episode, and that 16% of all televisions in use at the time were tuned into it. The episode gained two Primetime Emmy Award nominations; Seinfeld and David were nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series and Cherones was nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series. Though the episode did not win either of its Emmy nominations, Seinfeld was praised for co-hosting the Emmy telecast.\n\nDave Kehr of The New York Times felt that \"The Pony Remark\" was a turning point for the show, stating that, after the first few episodes, the show \"turn[ed] into something sharp and distinctive Here, suddenly, is the tight knot of guilt and denial, of hypersensitivity and sarcastic contempt that Seinfeld would explore for the next eight years.\" Holly Ordway of DVD Talk considered the episode the best episode of Seinfelds second season. \"The Pony Remark\" is considered one of Seinfelds \"classic episodes\". Writing for Entertainment Weekly, critics Mike Flaherty and Mary Kaye Schilling called the episode \"Seinfeld at its mordant best\" and graded it with an A-.\n\nIn the book Something Ain't Kosher Here: The Rise of the \"Jewish\" Sitcom, Vincent Brook analyzed the episode, saying, \"Jerry is made to feel guilty for his 'lethal' pony remark, whence the episode's macabre humor; yet the moral in terms of ethno-spatial identity is clear. In its violent rejection of Manya, Seinfeld has driven descent-based ethnicities (and their legacy of privation and self-sacrifice) off the face of the earth, and literally off the air. There is no place for traditional Jewishness in the hedonistic Seinfeld world, \"The Pony Remark\" vociferously proclaims.\"\n\nDavid Sims of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A, calling it a \"classic\" and writing that it \"is so damn clever in how it bonds Jerry's fears about social niceties with larger fears about mortality;\" he also praised Louis-Dreyfus's acting, saying that Elaine \"has an amusingly stark little bit of dialogue about death midway through the episode: 'You know, funerals always make me think about my own mortality and how I'm actually going to die someday. Me, dead. Imagine that!' I think it's probably Louis-Dreyfus' best moment of the show so far, because she's really starting to nail Elaine's declarative, vaguely imperious, self-centered tone.\" He also admired \"the estimable Barney Martin in his first appearance as Jerry's irascible dad.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n\n1991 American television episodes\nSeinfeld (season 2) episodes\nTelevision episodes about funerals\nTelevision episodes written by Larry David\nTelevision episodes written by Jerry Seinfeld",
"Remark may refer to:\n\n Remark Media, a digital media and social media company\n Erich Paul Remark (1898–1970) a.k.a. Erich Maria Remarque, a German novelist\n\nSee also\n \n Comment (disambiguation)"
] |
[
"Jeff Tweedy",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing.",
"Who did he choose",
"Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival,",
"Why did he choose him",
"but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur.",
"So what he did next",
"Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs.",
"What else was stood out in this article",
"Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member.",
"Did he hire anybody else",
"After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:",
"What did he remark",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise."
] | C_53d05845d3ff482296f7050423c4143e_1 | When was it release | 8 | When was Yankee Hotel Foxtrot's release? | Jeff Tweedy | Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments about how the album should sound between songs. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Jay Bennett was a collective decision. Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise records under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies. CANNOTANSWER | Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. | Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high school in his band The Plebes with Jay Farrar, which subsequently transitioned into the alternative country band Uncle Tupelo. After Uncle Tupelo broke up, Tweedy formed Wilco which found critical and commercial success, most notably with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born, the latter of which received a Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2005.
Across his career Tweedy has released 20 studio albums, including four with Uncle Tupelo, eleven with Wilco, one with his son Spencer, a solo acoustic album, three solo studio albums, along with numerous collaborations with other musicians, most notably Mermaid Avenue with Billy Bragg.
Early life
Tweedy was born in Belleville, Illinois, on August 25, 1967, the fourth child of Bob and JoAnn Tweedy (née Werkmeister). Bob Tweedy (died Aug. 4, 2017) worked at Alton & Southern Railroad in East St. Louis while JoAnn was a kitchen designer. Tweedy has three siblings: older brother Greg Tweedy (died in 2013), brother Steven Tweedy, and sister Debbie Voll.
Tweedy's mother bought him his first guitar when he was six years old, although he did not begin to play it seriously until he was twelve. Apparently Tweedy told people that he knew how to play the guitar once he got his first guitar, even though he couldn't. When he was twelve, Tweedy was injured in a bicycle accident and was laid up for the summer. He decided to learn how to play a few chords before somebody "called him out" on the lie. In 1981, when Tweedy was fourteen years old, he befriended Jay Farrar in an English class at Belleville Township High School West. All of the members of Farrar's family enjoyed playing music, so Farrar already had knowledge of the musical elements of rock and roll. By this time, Tweedy was a fan of The Ramones and country music while Farrar enjoyed The Sex Pistols.
Tweedy attended Belleville Area College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Career
Early music
In the early 1980s, Tweedy joined a rockabilly band called The Plebes with brothers Wade and Dade Farrar, which Tweedy joined in order to qualify for a battle of the bands competition, which they won. Tweedy pushed The Plebes away from the rockabilly music that they had been playing, which caused Dade Farrar to leave the band. The band renamed themselves The Primitives in 1984, taking their name from a song by garage rock band The Groupies. Wade Farrar sang lead vocals and played harmonica, Jay Farrar played guitar, Tweedy played bass guitar, and Mike Heidorn played drums. In late 1986, the band decided to change their name to Uncle Tupelo, because a more popular British band was also using the name "The Primitives". Mike Heidorn's liner notes for No Depression, which were included in the 2003 re-issue of the album. The Primitives went on hiatus in 1986 after Wade Farrar left the band to finish his engineering degree at Southern Illinois University. While waiting for Wade to return from campus, Farrar, Tweedy, and Heidorn formed Uncle Tupelo.
Uncle Tupelo (1987–1994)
At his parents' request, Tweedy enrolled at several universities, but dropped out of them so that he could concentrate on Uncle Tupelo. While moonlighting as a record store clerk at Euclid Records in St. Louis, Tweedy met Tony Margherita. After Margherita saw the band perform at an acoustic concert in 1988, he decided to become the band's manager. The band began playing regular shows at Cicero's basement bar in the Delmar Loop near Washington University with other bands playing in a similar style. Uncle Tupelo recorded a ten-track demo tape entitled Not Forever, Just For Now in 1989, attracting the attention of Giant/Rockville Records. The independent label signed the band, and Uncle Tupelo's first album, No Depression, was released the next year. The title song, originally performed by the Carter Family, became strongly associated with the alternative country scene, and became the name of an influential alternative country periodical called No Depression.
During times when Uncle Tupelo was not touring, Tweedy and Farrar played as Coffee Creek, a short-lived cover band with The Bottle Rockets' Brian Henneman and Mark Ortmann. Around this time, Tweedy began developing problems with alcohol, leading to tensions between Tweedy and Farrar. While he never refused to play a gig, Tweedy was forced to sit out in place of Henneman at some performances. Tweedy quit drinking entirely after meeting future wife Sue Miller, although he replaced this habit with smoking marijuana. However, after developing a dependence on marijuana, he quickly quit using it, as well. After releasing Still Feel Gone, the band formed a friendship with Peter Buck of R.E.M., who produced their third album March 16–20, 1992 for free. Uncle Tupelo left the Rockville label in favor of Sire Records (Warner) later in 1992 because Rockville refused to pay the band any royalties for their albums. After the signing, Max Johnston and John Stirratt joined the band as Mike Heidorn was replaced by Bill Belzer who was later replaced by Ken Coomer. The five-piece band recorded Anodyne, which sold over 150,000 copies and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, but was the last album Uncle Tupelo released.
Breakup
In January 1994, Farrar called Tony Margherita to tell him that the band was breaking up, saying that he was not having any fun in the band anymore and was not getting along with Tweedy. Tweedy was enraged that Farrar decided to break up the band without notifying him, and this led to a series of harsh verbal exchanges. Farrar and Tweedy agreed to a final Uncle Tupelo tour, but the concerts were marred by the two not participating in each other's songs. The band decided to play Tweedy's "The Long Cut" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which further distanced Farrar and Tweedy. Farrar began to assemble a new band named Son Volt with Mike Heidorn, bassist Jim Boquist, and his brother Dave Boquist. At the same time, Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco with Stirratt, Johnston, and Coomer.
Wilco (1995–present)
In 1994, Tweedy formed Wilco with John Stirratt, Max Johnston, and Ken Coomer. Wilco has released ten albums and found commercial success with their albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco. The band also released two collaboration albums with Billy Bragg and one with The Minus 5. Jeff Tweedy has been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Album for A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy has also participated in a number of side groups including Golden Smog and Loose Fur, published a book of poems, and released a DVD of solo performances. He was originally influenced by punk and country music, but has later reflected more experimental themes in his music.
Wilco signed with Reprise/Warner Bros. Records and began recording AM almost as soon as the band was formed. After recording, Tweedy was introduced to Jay Bennett, who then joined the band. Also during this time, Tweedy quit smoking marijuana after a particularly bad experience with some cannabis brownies. A.M. did not fare as well commercially in comparison to Son Volt's first album, only reaching number 27 on the Heatseekers chart while Son Volt's debut Trace hit the Billboard 200. Dan Murphy of Soul Asylum invited Tweedy to join him in a supergroup named Golden Smog with Gary Louris and Marc Perlman of the Jayhawks, Kraig Johnson of Run Westy Run, and Noah Levy of The Honeydogs. Under the pseudonym Scott Summit, Tweedy released Down by the Old Mainstream with Golden Smog in 1996.
Tweedy and Wilco began to explore new styles and broke from the style of previous recordings on the seminal sprawling double album Being There in 1996. Tweedy did not write music for many of the songs ahead of time, and welcomed unexpected sounds into the recording. Wilco recorded nineteen songs for the double-CD album, and wanted the label to release it with a retail price comparable to a single-CD release. Being There was a commercial success, selling 300,000 copies and peaking in the top half of the Billboard 200. Reprise records invested $100,000 in the single "Outta Mind (Outtasite)", but received little radio exposure. While on tour, Tweedy began to spend time reading books by William H. Gass, Henry Miller, and John Fante. As he read their books, Tweedy decided to place more of an emphasis on writing. Representatives in the A&R department of Reprise wanted a radio single from Summerteeth, and Wilco reluctantly agreed to a re-working of "Can't Stand It". The single was a top five hit on adult album alternative radio stations, but failed to cross over to a larger audience.
Before the release of Summerteeth, the daughter of the late folk legend Woody Guthrie contacted folk rock singer Billy Bragg, who in turn contacted Tweedy about recording an album of unreleased Woody Guthrie songs. Tweedy was indifferent to the idea of working with Bragg, but Jay Bennett's enthusiasm about the idea convinced Tweedy to get the band involved in the project. As a result of Tweedy's feelings on the political nature of some of the lyrics, Bragg recorded mostly political songs while Wilco recorded more neutral songs. Almost all of the songs that appeared on Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II were recorded over a six-day period in December 1997. The first Mermaid Avenue album and a second Golden Smog album (Weird Tales) were released in 1998, Summerteeth was released in early 1999, and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II was released in 2000. Tweedy received his first Grammy nomination when Mermaid Avenue was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1999.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments between songs about how the album should sound. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Bennett around this time, believing (according to Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Bennett was a collective decision.
Reprise Records' parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies.
A Ghost Is Born
Scott McCaughey contacted Tweedy about recording an album together for a The Minus 5 release. They scheduled a meeting for September 11, 2001, but were reluctant to enter the recording studio after the terrorist attacks. At night, McCaughey and Tweedy decided to begin recording songs as a way to calm down. A few more tracks were later added to the album with the rest of Wilco, and it was released with the name Down with Wilco in 2003.
In November 2003, Wilco began recording a fifth studio album. Unlike their previous albums, all of the songs were originally performed in the studio and then later adapted for playing at concerts. Wilco released A Ghost Is Born on June 22, 2004, and it attained a top ten peak on the Billboard 200. The album was awarded with Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package in 2005. A few weeks before the album's release, Tweedy released a book of forty-three poems entitled Adult Head on Zoo Press. The following year, the band released their first live album, a two-disc set entitled Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, recorded at The Vic Theater.
Subsequent Wilco albums
Wilco recorded twelve tracks for a sixth studio album entitled Sky Blue Sky, which was released on May 15, 2007. Sky Blue Sky debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, the band's highest debut yet. It sold over 87,000 copies in its first week of release.
In early May 2009, former Wilco member Jay Bennett sued Tweedy for breach of contract. Bennett died later that month of an apparent accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl. In June 2009 Wilco released their seventh studio album Wilco (The Album), followed by The Whole Love in 2011, Star Wars in 2015, Schmilco in 2016 and Ode to Joy in 2019.
Other work
Jeff Tweedy has performed several solo tours, on which he typically plays acoustic music. He also recorded the song "Simple Twist of Fate" for the soundtrack to I'm Not There. On October 24, 2006 Nonesuch Records released Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, a live DVD by Tweedy. The disc includes performances and conversations gathered over five nights on Tweedy's February 2006 solo acoustic tour, with footage from concerts at Seattle's Moore Theater, Portland's Crystal Ballroom, Eugene's McDonald Theatre, Arcata's Humboldt State University, and The Fillmore in San Francisco. The DVD was directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi's Brendan Canty, the creators of the documentary series Burn to Shine.
Tweedy has partnered with Mavis Staples on three acclaimed albums. In 2010 they released You Are Not Alone, in 2013, One True Vine, and in 2017 If All I Was Was Black. Tweedy played an array of instruments on these albums and wrote many of the songs.
Tweedy worked with the psychedelic-influenced garage rock group White Denim on their record Corsicana Lemonade, recording some songs at Wilco's Chicago studio The Loft. In 2015 the album Still by Richard Thompson was released. The album was produced by Tweedy in The Loft Studios and features Tweedy on guitar and backing vocals.
Tweedy has appeared as a fictional singer-songwriter on 2014 episodes of Parks and Recreation and Portlandia.
On June 4, 2014, it was announced that he had formed a new band called Tweedy with his son Spencer. The band's debut album Sukierae was released on September 16. The release was followed by a world tour in which half of the set consisted of new songs off Sukierae performed by a touring band including Spencer. The latter half of the set Tweedy plays solo, typically performing Wilco and Uncle Tupelo classics.
In June 2017 Jeff Tweedy released a solo acoustic album of eleven songs spanning his career from Wilco, Loose Fur, and Golden Smog titled Together at Last. In November 2018 Jeff Tweedy released a memoir titled Let's Go (So We Can Get Back) and his first solo album of new material, titled Warm. A companion album to Warm titled Warmer was released on April 13, 2019 as a Record Store Day exclusive.
In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic Susan Tweedy and her family created a recurring video series on Instagram dubbed The Tweedy Show featuring Jeff and their sons performing original and cover songs. During the shelter-in-place Jeff Tweedy also wrote and recorded his third solo album titled Love Is the King which was announced to release on October 23, 2020 and wrote his second book titled How to Write One Song which was announced to release on October 13, 2020 on the E. P. Dutton publishing label.
Musical style
Tweedy's musical style has varied over his music career. Tweedy's vocal style is considered nasal, emotional, and raspy, and has been compared to that of Neil Young. His first exposure to music was through gramophone records that his siblings left behind when they attended college, and he particularly liked The Beatles' White Album. Tweedy would frequently read issues of magazines such as Rolling Stone, and began to purchase punk rock albums such as The Clash's London Calling and X's Wild Gift. Belleville crowds did not respond well to punk music, so while Tweedy was a member of The Primitives they played covers of country songs at much faster tempos. When Uncle Tupelo formed, the band began composing its own songs influenced by Jason & the Scorchers and The Minutemen. Wilco's first album shared many musical similarities with the four previous Uncle Tupelo albums, but on Being There, Tweedy began introducing more experimental themes into his music. He claims that he wanted to rebel against the belief spread by the No Depression magazine that Wilco was primarily a country band. One of the most influential albums for Tweedy was Bad Timing by Jim O'Rourke, which helped to inspire Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy uses a 1957 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, as well as a 1965 Fender Jazzmaster, at least three different Telecasters, an Epiphone Casino, a Rickenbacker 360, and a Gibson SG Standard. He has vintage SGs from '62 and '65 as well as a 2007 Custom Shop model and a 2008 Custom Shop Vintage Original Spec (V.O.S.) that are all rigged with Maestro tremolo bars. He also has been known to use a Breedlove 000 and even designed a limited edition 000 for Breedlove in 2007. His amplifier of choice is a Vox AC30.
Personal life
Tweedy has been prone to migraines throughout his entire life, forcing him to miss forty days of elementary school in one year. While he attempted to regulate his use of painkillers, he was never able to stop their use for more than five weeks. Tweedy attributes this to comorbidity with major depressive disorder and severe panic attacks. In 2004, he entered a dual diagnosis rehabilitation clinic in order to receive treatment for an addiction to prescription painkiller Vicodin. Tweedy quit smoking the next year; John Stirratt claimed afterward that this significantly improved the focus of the band.
Tweedy is married to former talent agent Sue Miller and lives in the Irving Park area of Chicago. Tweedy first met Miller when he was trying to get Uncle Tupelo booked at Cubby Bear, where Miller worked. Miller opened a club in Chicago named Lounge Ax in 1989, and booked Uncle Tupelo for 16 shows over four years. Miller and Tweedy began dating in 1991 and they were married on August 9, 1995. Sue was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Tweedy said "she's doing great now." Tweedy also said that music is a healthy distraction in such difficult times. They have two sons: Spencer and Sam. Spencer was the drummer for pre-teen rock band The Blisters and a new band called Tully Monster. In 2008, Spencer joined Wilco on stage at Madison Square Garden to play drums on their song "The Late Greats," while opening for Neil Young.
Tweedy has converted to Judaism. His wife is Jewish, and their sons both had Bar Mitzvah ceremonies. During the ceremony for his oldest son, Tweedy played an acoustic version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young".
In November 2019 Tweedy's home in Irving Park was shot at least seven times in an attack described by his son as "not targeted". No injuries were reported.
Selected discography
Solo
Together at Last (2017)
Warm (2018)
Warmer (2019)
Love Is the King (2020)
Live Is The King (2021)
With Uncle Tupelo
No Depression (1990)
Still Feel Gone (1991)
March 16–20, 1992 (1992)
Anodyne (1993)
With Wilco
A.M. (1995)
Being There (1996)
Summerteeth (1999)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)
A Ghost Is Born (2004)
Sky Blue Sky (2007)
Wilco (The Album) (2009)
The Whole Love (2011)
Star Wars (2015)
Schmilco (2016)
Ode to Joy (2019)
With Tweedy
Sukierae (2014)
Works or publications
Tweedy, Jeff. Adult Head: Poems. Lincoln, Neb: Zoo Press, 2004.
Tweedy, Jeff (Narrator). Lincoln in the Bardo, Audiobook. Random House Audio, 2017 ASIN: B01N1NU4K2
Tweedy, Jeff. Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc., autobiography, Dutton Books, 2018.
Tweedy, Jeff. How to Write One Song, Dutton Books, 2020.
See also
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco
Wilco: Learning How to Die
Uncle Tupelo
Wilco
New Multitudes
Notes and references
Further reading
Buchanan-Smith, Peter, and Daniel Nadel. The Wilco Book. New York: Kaput, 2004.
Grierson, Tim. Wilco: Sunken Treasure. 2013.
Kot, Greg. Wilco: Learning How to Die. New York: Broadway Books, 2004.
External links
Who Owns Culture? – Jeff Tweedy and Lawrence Lessig in conversation with Steven Johnson, New York Public Library on April 7, 2005. Internet Archive, Community Audio.
Wilco (official website)
1967 births
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American male television actors
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
Jewish American musicians
Grammy Award winners
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Belleville, Illinois
Drag City (record label) artists
Wilco members
Uncle Tupelo members
The Minus 5 members
Guitarists from Illinois
DBpm Records artists
20th-century American guitarists
Dutch East India Trading artists
Sire Records artists
Reprise Records artists
Nonesuch Records artists
Golden Smog members
Converts to Judaism
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American guitarists
20th-century American writers
21st-century American writers
Belleville High School-West alumni
Autobiographies | true | [
"It Fit When I Was a Kid is the first EP for the Drum's Not Dead LP by Liars. It was the subject of some controversy when the original cover of the single was substituted for the censored version of the original. A special edition release featuring the original artwork is planned. The official vinyl release was limited to 500 copies. The song was remixed by Crystal Castles and is available online.\n\nReferences\n\nLiars (band) albums\n2005 EPs\nMute Records EPs",
"\"Burnt Out Car\" is a single by Saint Etienne. It was released by Heavenly Records on to promote the November 2008 release of the band's latest best of album, London Conversations: The Best of Saint Etienne. The release of London Conversations was eventually delayed to February.\n\n\"Burnt Out Car\" was originally slated to be a single in 1996 and remixes were commissioned. The release was eventually dropped but the Balearico Mix surfaced on the Casino Classics remix collection and the Continental album. The original mix was not released until 2006, when it appeared on the outtakes collection Nice Price.\n\nThe track was re-recorded and produced by the Xenomania team for the 2008 release. The single was backed by three b-sides spanning the 7\" and CD single as well as a remix by Mark Brown.\n\nTrack listing \n\nAll tracks written and composed by Stanley and Wiggs; except where indicated.\n\n1996 release\n\n2008 release\n\nReferences\n\nSaint Etienne (band) songs\n2009 singles\nSong recordings produced by Xenomania\nSongs written by Bob Stanley (musician)\nSongs written by Pete Wiggs\n2008 songs\nHeavenly Recordings singles"
] |
[
"Jeff Tweedy",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing.",
"Who did he choose",
"Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival,",
"Why did he choose him",
"but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur.",
"So what he did next",
"Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs.",
"What else was stood out in this article",
"Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member.",
"Did he hire anybody else",
"After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:",
"What did he remark",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise.",
"When was it release",
"Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website."
] | C_53d05845d3ff482296f7050423c4143e_1 | How did that go | 9 | How did streaming of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot go? | Jeff Tweedy | Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments about how the album should sound between songs. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Jay Bennett was a collective decision. Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise records under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies. CANNOTANSWER | One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, | Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high school in his band The Plebes with Jay Farrar, which subsequently transitioned into the alternative country band Uncle Tupelo. After Uncle Tupelo broke up, Tweedy formed Wilco which found critical and commercial success, most notably with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born, the latter of which received a Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2005.
Across his career Tweedy has released 20 studio albums, including four with Uncle Tupelo, eleven with Wilco, one with his son Spencer, a solo acoustic album, three solo studio albums, along with numerous collaborations with other musicians, most notably Mermaid Avenue with Billy Bragg.
Early life
Tweedy was born in Belleville, Illinois, on August 25, 1967, the fourth child of Bob and JoAnn Tweedy (née Werkmeister). Bob Tweedy (died Aug. 4, 2017) worked at Alton & Southern Railroad in East St. Louis while JoAnn was a kitchen designer. Tweedy has three siblings: older brother Greg Tweedy (died in 2013), brother Steven Tweedy, and sister Debbie Voll.
Tweedy's mother bought him his first guitar when he was six years old, although he did not begin to play it seriously until he was twelve. Apparently Tweedy told people that he knew how to play the guitar once he got his first guitar, even though he couldn't. When he was twelve, Tweedy was injured in a bicycle accident and was laid up for the summer. He decided to learn how to play a few chords before somebody "called him out" on the lie. In 1981, when Tweedy was fourteen years old, he befriended Jay Farrar in an English class at Belleville Township High School West. All of the members of Farrar's family enjoyed playing music, so Farrar already had knowledge of the musical elements of rock and roll. By this time, Tweedy was a fan of The Ramones and country music while Farrar enjoyed The Sex Pistols.
Tweedy attended Belleville Area College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Career
Early music
In the early 1980s, Tweedy joined a rockabilly band called The Plebes with brothers Wade and Dade Farrar, which Tweedy joined in order to qualify for a battle of the bands competition, which they won. Tweedy pushed The Plebes away from the rockabilly music that they had been playing, which caused Dade Farrar to leave the band. The band renamed themselves The Primitives in 1984, taking their name from a song by garage rock band The Groupies. Wade Farrar sang lead vocals and played harmonica, Jay Farrar played guitar, Tweedy played bass guitar, and Mike Heidorn played drums. In late 1986, the band decided to change their name to Uncle Tupelo, because a more popular British band was also using the name "The Primitives". Mike Heidorn's liner notes for No Depression, which were included in the 2003 re-issue of the album. The Primitives went on hiatus in 1986 after Wade Farrar left the band to finish his engineering degree at Southern Illinois University. While waiting for Wade to return from campus, Farrar, Tweedy, and Heidorn formed Uncle Tupelo.
Uncle Tupelo (1987–1994)
At his parents' request, Tweedy enrolled at several universities, but dropped out of them so that he could concentrate on Uncle Tupelo. While moonlighting as a record store clerk at Euclid Records in St. Louis, Tweedy met Tony Margherita. After Margherita saw the band perform at an acoustic concert in 1988, he decided to become the band's manager. The band began playing regular shows at Cicero's basement bar in the Delmar Loop near Washington University with other bands playing in a similar style. Uncle Tupelo recorded a ten-track demo tape entitled Not Forever, Just For Now in 1989, attracting the attention of Giant/Rockville Records. The independent label signed the band, and Uncle Tupelo's first album, No Depression, was released the next year. The title song, originally performed by the Carter Family, became strongly associated with the alternative country scene, and became the name of an influential alternative country periodical called No Depression.
During times when Uncle Tupelo was not touring, Tweedy and Farrar played as Coffee Creek, a short-lived cover band with The Bottle Rockets' Brian Henneman and Mark Ortmann. Around this time, Tweedy began developing problems with alcohol, leading to tensions between Tweedy and Farrar. While he never refused to play a gig, Tweedy was forced to sit out in place of Henneman at some performances. Tweedy quit drinking entirely after meeting future wife Sue Miller, although he replaced this habit with smoking marijuana. However, after developing a dependence on marijuana, he quickly quit using it, as well. After releasing Still Feel Gone, the band formed a friendship with Peter Buck of R.E.M., who produced their third album March 16–20, 1992 for free. Uncle Tupelo left the Rockville label in favor of Sire Records (Warner) later in 1992 because Rockville refused to pay the band any royalties for their albums. After the signing, Max Johnston and John Stirratt joined the band as Mike Heidorn was replaced by Bill Belzer who was later replaced by Ken Coomer. The five-piece band recorded Anodyne, which sold over 150,000 copies and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, but was the last album Uncle Tupelo released.
Breakup
In January 1994, Farrar called Tony Margherita to tell him that the band was breaking up, saying that he was not having any fun in the band anymore and was not getting along with Tweedy. Tweedy was enraged that Farrar decided to break up the band without notifying him, and this led to a series of harsh verbal exchanges. Farrar and Tweedy agreed to a final Uncle Tupelo tour, but the concerts were marred by the two not participating in each other's songs. The band decided to play Tweedy's "The Long Cut" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which further distanced Farrar and Tweedy. Farrar began to assemble a new band named Son Volt with Mike Heidorn, bassist Jim Boquist, and his brother Dave Boquist. At the same time, Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco with Stirratt, Johnston, and Coomer.
Wilco (1995–present)
In 1994, Tweedy formed Wilco with John Stirratt, Max Johnston, and Ken Coomer. Wilco has released ten albums and found commercial success with their albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco. The band also released two collaboration albums with Billy Bragg and one with The Minus 5. Jeff Tweedy has been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Album for A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy has also participated in a number of side groups including Golden Smog and Loose Fur, published a book of poems, and released a DVD of solo performances. He was originally influenced by punk and country music, but has later reflected more experimental themes in his music.
Wilco signed with Reprise/Warner Bros. Records and began recording AM almost as soon as the band was formed. After recording, Tweedy was introduced to Jay Bennett, who then joined the band. Also during this time, Tweedy quit smoking marijuana after a particularly bad experience with some cannabis brownies. A.M. did not fare as well commercially in comparison to Son Volt's first album, only reaching number 27 on the Heatseekers chart while Son Volt's debut Trace hit the Billboard 200. Dan Murphy of Soul Asylum invited Tweedy to join him in a supergroup named Golden Smog with Gary Louris and Marc Perlman of the Jayhawks, Kraig Johnson of Run Westy Run, and Noah Levy of The Honeydogs. Under the pseudonym Scott Summit, Tweedy released Down by the Old Mainstream with Golden Smog in 1996.
Tweedy and Wilco began to explore new styles and broke from the style of previous recordings on the seminal sprawling double album Being There in 1996. Tweedy did not write music for many of the songs ahead of time, and welcomed unexpected sounds into the recording. Wilco recorded nineteen songs for the double-CD album, and wanted the label to release it with a retail price comparable to a single-CD release. Being There was a commercial success, selling 300,000 copies and peaking in the top half of the Billboard 200. Reprise records invested $100,000 in the single "Outta Mind (Outtasite)", but received little radio exposure. While on tour, Tweedy began to spend time reading books by William H. Gass, Henry Miller, and John Fante. As he read their books, Tweedy decided to place more of an emphasis on writing. Representatives in the A&R department of Reprise wanted a radio single from Summerteeth, and Wilco reluctantly agreed to a re-working of "Can't Stand It". The single was a top five hit on adult album alternative radio stations, but failed to cross over to a larger audience.
Before the release of Summerteeth, the daughter of the late folk legend Woody Guthrie contacted folk rock singer Billy Bragg, who in turn contacted Tweedy about recording an album of unreleased Woody Guthrie songs. Tweedy was indifferent to the idea of working with Bragg, but Jay Bennett's enthusiasm about the idea convinced Tweedy to get the band involved in the project. As a result of Tweedy's feelings on the political nature of some of the lyrics, Bragg recorded mostly political songs while Wilco recorded more neutral songs. Almost all of the songs that appeared on Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II were recorded over a six-day period in December 1997. The first Mermaid Avenue album and a second Golden Smog album (Weird Tales) were released in 1998, Summerteeth was released in early 1999, and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II was released in 2000. Tweedy received his first Grammy nomination when Mermaid Avenue was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1999.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments between songs about how the album should sound. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Bennett around this time, believing (according to Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Bennett was a collective decision.
Reprise Records' parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies.
A Ghost Is Born
Scott McCaughey contacted Tweedy about recording an album together for a The Minus 5 release. They scheduled a meeting for September 11, 2001, but were reluctant to enter the recording studio after the terrorist attacks. At night, McCaughey and Tweedy decided to begin recording songs as a way to calm down. A few more tracks were later added to the album with the rest of Wilco, and it was released with the name Down with Wilco in 2003.
In November 2003, Wilco began recording a fifth studio album. Unlike their previous albums, all of the songs were originally performed in the studio and then later adapted for playing at concerts. Wilco released A Ghost Is Born on June 22, 2004, and it attained a top ten peak on the Billboard 200. The album was awarded with Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package in 2005. A few weeks before the album's release, Tweedy released a book of forty-three poems entitled Adult Head on Zoo Press. The following year, the band released their first live album, a two-disc set entitled Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, recorded at The Vic Theater.
Subsequent Wilco albums
Wilco recorded twelve tracks for a sixth studio album entitled Sky Blue Sky, which was released on May 15, 2007. Sky Blue Sky debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, the band's highest debut yet. It sold over 87,000 copies in its first week of release.
In early May 2009, former Wilco member Jay Bennett sued Tweedy for breach of contract. Bennett died later that month of an apparent accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl. In June 2009 Wilco released their seventh studio album Wilco (The Album), followed by The Whole Love in 2011, Star Wars in 2015, Schmilco in 2016 and Ode to Joy in 2019.
Other work
Jeff Tweedy has performed several solo tours, on which he typically plays acoustic music. He also recorded the song "Simple Twist of Fate" for the soundtrack to I'm Not There. On October 24, 2006 Nonesuch Records released Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, a live DVD by Tweedy. The disc includes performances and conversations gathered over five nights on Tweedy's February 2006 solo acoustic tour, with footage from concerts at Seattle's Moore Theater, Portland's Crystal Ballroom, Eugene's McDonald Theatre, Arcata's Humboldt State University, and The Fillmore in San Francisco. The DVD was directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi's Brendan Canty, the creators of the documentary series Burn to Shine.
Tweedy has partnered with Mavis Staples on three acclaimed albums. In 2010 they released You Are Not Alone, in 2013, One True Vine, and in 2017 If All I Was Was Black. Tweedy played an array of instruments on these albums and wrote many of the songs.
Tweedy worked with the psychedelic-influenced garage rock group White Denim on their record Corsicana Lemonade, recording some songs at Wilco's Chicago studio The Loft. In 2015 the album Still by Richard Thompson was released. The album was produced by Tweedy in The Loft Studios and features Tweedy on guitar and backing vocals.
Tweedy has appeared as a fictional singer-songwriter on 2014 episodes of Parks and Recreation and Portlandia.
On June 4, 2014, it was announced that he had formed a new band called Tweedy with his son Spencer. The band's debut album Sukierae was released on September 16. The release was followed by a world tour in which half of the set consisted of new songs off Sukierae performed by a touring band including Spencer. The latter half of the set Tweedy plays solo, typically performing Wilco and Uncle Tupelo classics.
In June 2017 Jeff Tweedy released a solo acoustic album of eleven songs spanning his career from Wilco, Loose Fur, and Golden Smog titled Together at Last. In November 2018 Jeff Tweedy released a memoir titled Let's Go (So We Can Get Back) and his first solo album of new material, titled Warm. A companion album to Warm titled Warmer was released on April 13, 2019 as a Record Store Day exclusive.
In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic Susan Tweedy and her family created a recurring video series on Instagram dubbed The Tweedy Show featuring Jeff and their sons performing original and cover songs. During the shelter-in-place Jeff Tweedy also wrote and recorded his third solo album titled Love Is the King which was announced to release on October 23, 2020 and wrote his second book titled How to Write One Song which was announced to release on October 13, 2020 on the E. P. Dutton publishing label.
Musical style
Tweedy's musical style has varied over his music career. Tweedy's vocal style is considered nasal, emotional, and raspy, and has been compared to that of Neil Young. His first exposure to music was through gramophone records that his siblings left behind when they attended college, and he particularly liked The Beatles' White Album. Tweedy would frequently read issues of magazines such as Rolling Stone, and began to purchase punk rock albums such as The Clash's London Calling and X's Wild Gift. Belleville crowds did not respond well to punk music, so while Tweedy was a member of The Primitives they played covers of country songs at much faster tempos. When Uncle Tupelo formed, the band began composing its own songs influenced by Jason & the Scorchers and The Minutemen. Wilco's first album shared many musical similarities with the four previous Uncle Tupelo albums, but on Being There, Tweedy began introducing more experimental themes into his music. He claims that he wanted to rebel against the belief spread by the No Depression magazine that Wilco was primarily a country band. One of the most influential albums for Tweedy was Bad Timing by Jim O'Rourke, which helped to inspire Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy uses a 1957 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, as well as a 1965 Fender Jazzmaster, at least three different Telecasters, an Epiphone Casino, a Rickenbacker 360, and a Gibson SG Standard. He has vintage SGs from '62 and '65 as well as a 2007 Custom Shop model and a 2008 Custom Shop Vintage Original Spec (V.O.S.) that are all rigged with Maestro tremolo bars. He also has been known to use a Breedlove 000 and even designed a limited edition 000 for Breedlove in 2007. His amplifier of choice is a Vox AC30.
Personal life
Tweedy has been prone to migraines throughout his entire life, forcing him to miss forty days of elementary school in one year. While he attempted to regulate his use of painkillers, he was never able to stop their use for more than five weeks. Tweedy attributes this to comorbidity with major depressive disorder and severe panic attacks. In 2004, he entered a dual diagnosis rehabilitation clinic in order to receive treatment for an addiction to prescription painkiller Vicodin. Tweedy quit smoking the next year; John Stirratt claimed afterward that this significantly improved the focus of the band.
Tweedy is married to former talent agent Sue Miller and lives in the Irving Park area of Chicago. Tweedy first met Miller when he was trying to get Uncle Tupelo booked at Cubby Bear, where Miller worked. Miller opened a club in Chicago named Lounge Ax in 1989, and booked Uncle Tupelo for 16 shows over four years. Miller and Tweedy began dating in 1991 and they were married on August 9, 1995. Sue was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Tweedy said "she's doing great now." Tweedy also said that music is a healthy distraction in such difficult times. They have two sons: Spencer and Sam. Spencer was the drummer for pre-teen rock band The Blisters and a new band called Tully Monster. In 2008, Spencer joined Wilco on stage at Madison Square Garden to play drums on their song "The Late Greats," while opening for Neil Young.
Tweedy has converted to Judaism. His wife is Jewish, and their sons both had Bar Mitzvah ceremonies. During the ceremony for his oldest son, Tweedy played an acoustic version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young".
In November 2019 Tweedy's home in Irving Park was shot at least seven times in an attack described by his son as "not targeted". No injuries were reported.
Selected discography
Solo
Together at Last (2017)
Warm (2018)
Warmer (2019)
Love Is the King (2020)
Live Is The King (2021)
With Uncle Tupelo
No Depression (1990)
Still Feel Gone (1991)
March 16–20, 1992 (1992)
Anodyne (1993)
With Wilco
A.M. (1995)
Being There (1996)
Summerteeth (1999)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)
A Ghost Is Born (2004)
Sky Blue Sky (2007)
Wilco (The Album) (2009)
The Whole Love (2011)
Star Wars (2015)
Schmilco (2016)
Ode to Joy (2019)
With Tweedy
Sukierae (2014)
Works or publications
Tweedy, Jeff. Adult Head: Poems. Lincoln, Neb: Zoo Press, 2004.
Tweedy, Jeff (Narrator). Lincoln in the Bardo, Audiobook. Random House Audio, 2017 ASIN: B01N1NU4K2
Tweedy, Jeff. Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc., autobiography, Dutton Books, 2018.
Tweedy, Jeff. How to Write One Song, Dutton Books, 2020.
See also
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco
Wilco: Learning How to Die
Uncle Tupelo
Wilco
New Multitudes
Notes and references
Further reading
Buchanan-Smith, Peter, and Daniel Nadel. The Wilco Book. New York: Kaput, 2004.
Grierson, Tim. Wilco: Sunken Treasure. 2013.
Kot, Greg. Wilco: Learning How to Die. New York: Broadway Books, 2004.
External links
Who Owns Culture? – Jeff Tweedy and Lawrence Lessig in conversation with Steven Johnson, New York Public Library on April 7, 2005. Internet Archive, Community Audio.
Wilco (official website)
1967 births
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American male television actors
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
Jewish American musicians
Grammy Award winners
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Belleville, Illinois
Drag City (record label) artists
Wilco members
Uncle Tupelo members
The Minus 5 members
Guitarists from Illinois
DBpm Records artists
20th-century American guitarists
Dutch East India Trading artists
Sire Records artists
Reprise Records artists
Nonesuch Records artists
Golden Smog members
Converts to Judaism
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American guitarists
20th-century American writers
21st-century American writers
Belleville High School-West alumni
Autobiographies | true | [
"Mind how you go may refer to:\nMind How You Go (The Advisory Circle album), 2005\nMind How You Go (Skye Edwards album), 2006\n\"Mind How You Go\", a 1965 single by Barry St. John (Elizabeth Thompson)\n\"Mind How You Go\", a 1967 single by Allan Smethurst\n\"Mind How You Go\", a 1966 single by Mr. Lee Grant (Bogdan Kominowski)\n\"Mind how you go\", a phrase for good-bye",
"Where Did They Go is a 1971 album by Peggy Lee. It was arranged and conducted by Don Sebesky and Al Capps.\n\nTrack listing\n\"Where Did They Go\" (Harry Lloyd, Gloria Sklerov) - 3:53\n\"My Rock and Foundation\" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) - 2:37\n\"Help Me Make It Through the Night\" (Kris Kristofferson) - 2:45\n\"All I Want\" (Steve Clayton [aka P. Tedesco], Gladys Shelley) - 2:40\n\"I Don't Know How to Love Him\" (Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber) - 3:24\n\"Goodbye Again\" (Donald J. Addrissi, Richard P. Addrissi) - 2:33\n\"Sing\" (Joe Raposo) - 2:25\n\"I Was Born in Love with You\" (Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand) - 4:01\n\"Losing My Mind\" (Stephen Sondheim) - 2:43\n\"My Sweet Lord\" (George Harrison) - 2:55\n\nNotes\nThe recording sessions for this album took place at the Capitol Tower in Hollywood, California.\n\nWhere Did They Go was Peggy Lee's first album not to make the Billboard 200 chart since her Grammy-winning hit \"Is That All There Is?\" in 1969.\n\nBurt Bacharach and Hal David wrote the song \"My Rock And Foundation\" specifically for Lee.\n\nCapitol Records released \"Where Did They Go\" (backed by \"All I Want\") as a 45\" single in 1971. The single did not make the charts.\n\nLee performed songs from this album, including \"Where Did They Go\" and \"My Sweet Lord,\" during her June 1971 engagement at The Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.\n\nAfter completing work on Where Did They Go, Peggy Lee did not return to the recording studio again until nearly a year later, when she began recording Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota in April 1972.\n\nThis album was released on 8-track, along with LP.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Peggy Lee Discography\n\n1971 albums\nCapitol Records albums\nPeggy Lee albums\nAlbums arranged by Don Sebesky\nAlbums produced by Snuff Garrett"
] |
[
"Jeff Tweedy",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing.",
"Who did he choose",
"Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival,",
"Why did he choose him",
"but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur.",
"So what he did next",
"Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs.",
"What else was stood out in this article",
"Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member.",
"Did he hire anybody else",
"After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:",
"What did he remark",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise.",
"When was it release",
"Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website.",
"How did that go",
"One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise,"
] | C_53d05845d3ff482296f7050423c4143e_1 | and what else | 10 | and what else besides Warner paying Wilco to make Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Reprise? | Jeff Tweedy | Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments about how the album should sound between songs. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Jay Bennett was a collective decision. Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise records under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies. CANNOTANSWER | The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. | Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high school in his band The Plebes with Jay Farrar, which subsequently transitioned into the alternative country band Uncle Tupelo. After Uncle Tupelo broke up, Tweedy formed Wilco which found critical and commercial success, most notably with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born, the latter of which received a Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2005.
Across his career Tweedy has released 20 studio albums, including four with Uncle Tupelo, eleven with Wilco, one with his son Spencer, a solo acoustic album, three solo studio albums, along with numerous collaborations with other musicians, most notably Mermaid Avenue with Billy Bragg.
Early life
Tweedy was born in Belleville, Illinois, on August 25, 1967, the fourth child of Bob and JoAnn Tweedy (née Werkmeister). Bob Tweedy (died Aug. 4, 2017) worked at Alton & Southern Railroad in East St. Louis while JoAnn was a kitchen designer. Tweedy has three siblings: older brother Greg Tweedy (died in 2013), brother Steven Tweedy, and sister Debbie Voll.
Tweedy's mother bought him his first guitar when he was six years old, although he did not begin to play it seriously until he was twelve. Apparently Tweedy told people that he knew how to play the guitar once he got his first guitar, even though he couldn't. When he was twelve, Tweedy was injured in a bicycle accident and was laid up for the summer. He decided to learn how to play a few chords before somebody "called him out" on the lie. In 1981, when Tweedy was fourteen years old, he befriended Jay Farrar in an English class at Belleville Township High School West. All of the members of Farrar's family enjoyed playing music, so Farrar already had knowledge of the musical elements of rock and roll. By this time, Tweedy was a fan of The Ramones and country music while Farrar enjoyed The Sex Pistols.
Tweedy attended Belleville Area College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Career
Early music
In the early 1980s, Tweedy joined a rockabilly band called The Plebes with brothers Wade and Dade Farrar, which Tweedy joined in order to qualify for a battle of the bands competition, which they won. Tweedy pushed The Plebes away from the rockabilly music that they had been playing, which caused Dade Farrar to leave the band. The band renamed themselves The Primitives in 1984, taking their name from a song by garage rock band The Groupies. Wade Farrar sang lead vocals and played harmonica, Jay Farrar played guitar, Tweedy played bass guitar, and Mike Heidorn played drums. In late 1986, the band decided to change their name to Uncle Tupelo, because a more popular British band was also using the name "The Primitives". Mike Heidorn's liner notes for No Depression, which were included in the 2003 re-issue of the album. The Primitives went on hiatus in 1986 after Wade Farrar left the band to finish his engineering degree at Southern Illinois University. While waiting for Wade to return from campus, Farrar, Tweedy, and Heidorn formed Uncle Tupelo.
Uncle Tupelo (1987–1994)
At his parents' request, Tweedy enrolled at several universities, but dropped out of them so that he could concentrate on Uncle Tupelo. While moonlighting as a record store clerk at Euclid Records in St. Louis, Tweedy met Tony Margherita. After Margherita saw the band perform at an acoustic concert in 1988, he decided to become the band's manager. The band began playing regular shows at Cicero's basement bar in the Delmar Loop near Washington University with other bands playing in a similar style. Uncle Tupelo recorded a ten-track demo tape entitled Not Forever, Just For Now in 1989, attracting the attention of Giant/Rockville Records. The independent label signed the band, and Uncle Tupelo's first album, No Depression, was released the next year. The title song, originally performed by the Carter Family, became strongly associated with the alternative country scene, and became the name of an influential alternative country periodical called No Depression.
During times when Uncle Tupelo was not touring, Tweedy and Farrar played as Coffee Creek, a short-lived cover band with The Bottle Rockets' Brian Henneman and Mark Ortmann. Around this time, Tweedy began developing problems with alcohol, leading to tensions between Tweedy and Farrar. While he never refused to play a gig, Tweedy was forced to sit out in place of Henneman at some performances. Tweedy quit drinking entirely after meeting future wife Sue Miller, although he replaced this habit with smoking marijuana. However, after developing a dependence on marijuana, he quickly quit using it, as well. After releasing Still Feel Gone, the band formed a friendship with Peter Buck of R.E.M., who produced their third album March 16–20, 1992 for free. Uncle Tupelo left the Rockville label in favor of Sire Records (Warner) later in 1992 because Rockville refused to pay the band any royalties for their albums. After the signing, Max Johnston and John Stirratt joined the band as Mike Heidorn was replaced by Bill Belzer who was later replaced by Ken Coomer. The five-piece band recorded Anodyne, which sold over 150,000 copies and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, but was the last album Uncle Tupelo released.
Breakup
In January 1994, Farrar called Tony Margherita to tell him that the band was breaking up, saying that he was not having any fun in the band anymore and was not getting along with Tweedy. Tweedy was enraged that Farrar decided to break up the band without notifying him, and this led to a series of harsh verbal exchanges. Farrar and Tweedy agreed to a final Uncle Tupelo tour, but the concerts were marred by the two not participating in each other's songs. The band decided to play Tweedy's "The Long Cut" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which further distanced Farrar and Tweedy. Farrar began to assemble a new band named Son Volt with Mike Heidorn, bassist Jim Boquist, and his brother Dave Boquist. At the same time, Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco with Stirratt, Johnston, and Coomer.
Wilco (1995–present)
In 1994, Tweedy formed Wilco with John Stirratt, Max Johnston, and Ken Coomer. Wilco has released ten albums and found commercial success with their albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco. The band also released two collaboration albums with Billy Bragg and one with The Minus 5. Jeff Tweedy has been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Album for A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy has also participated in a number of side groups including Golden Smog and Loose Fur, published a book of poems, and released a DVD of solo performances. He was originally influenced by punk and country music, but has later reflected more experimental themes in his music.
Wilco signed with Reprise/Warner Bros. Records and began recording AM almost as soon as the band was formed. After recording, Tweedy was introduced to Jay Bennett, who then joined the band. Also during this time, Tweedy quit smoking marijuana after a particularly bad experience with some cannabis brownies. A.M. did not fare as well commercially in comparison to Son Volt's first album, only reaching number 27 on the Heatseekers chart while Son Volt's debut Trace hit the Billboard 200. Dan Murphy of Soul Asylum invited Tweedy to join him in a supergroup named Golden Smog with Gary Louris and Marc Perlman of the Jayhawks, Kraig Johnson of Run Westy Run, and Noah Levy of The Honeydogs. Under the pseudonym Scott Summit, Tweedy released Down by the Old Mainstream with Golden Smog in 1996.
Tweedy and Wilco began to explore new styles and broke from the style of previous recordings on the seminal sprawling double album Being There in 1996. Tweedy did not write music for many of the songs ahead of time, and welcomed unexpected sounds into the recording. Wilco recorded nineteen songs for the double-CD album, and wanted the label to release it with a retail price comparable to a single-CD release. Being There was a commercial success, selling 300,000 copies and peaking in the top half of the Billboard 200. Reprise records invested $100,000 in the single "Outta Mind (Outtasite)", but received little radio exposure. While on tour, Tweedy began to spend time reading books by William H. Gass, Henry Miller, and John Fante. As he read their books, Tweedy decided to place more of an emphasis on writing. Representatives in the A&R department of Reprise wanted a radio single from Summerteeth, and Wilco reluctantly agreed to a re-working of "Can't Stand It". The single was a top five hit on adult album alternative radio stations, but failed to cross over to a larger audience.
Before the release of Summerteeth, the daughter of the late folk legend Woody Guthrie contacted folk rock singer Billy Bragg, who in turn contacted Tweedy about recording an album of unreleased Woody Guthrie songs. Tweedy was indifferent to the idea of working with Bragg, but Jay Bennett's enthusiasm about the idea convinced Tweedy to get the band involved in the project. As a result of Tweedy's feelings on the political nature of some of the lyrics, Bragg recorded mostly political songs while Wilco recorded more neutral songs. Almost all of the songs that appeared on Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II were recorded over a six-day period in December 1997. The first Mermaid Avenue album and a second Golden Smog album (Weird Tales) were released in 1998, Summerteeth was released in early 1999, and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II was released in 2000. Tweedy received his first Grammy nomination when Mermaid Avenue was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1999.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments between songs about how the album should sound. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Bennett around this time, believing (according to Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Bennett was a collective decision.
Reprise Records' parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies.
A Ghost Is Born
Scott McCaughey contacted Tweedy about recording an album together for a The Minus 5 release. They scheduled a meeting for September 11, 2001, but were reluctant to enter the recording studio after the terrorist attacks. At night, McCaughey and Tweedy decided to begin recording songs as a way to calm down. A few more tracks were later added to the album with the rest of Wilco, and it was released with the name Down with Wilco in 2003.
In November 2003, Wilco began recording a fifth studio album. Unlike their previous albums, all of the songs were originally performed in the studio and then later adapted for playing at concerts. Wilco released A Ghost Is Born on June 22, 2004, and it attained a top ten peak on the Billboard 200. The album was awarded with Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package in 2005. A few weeks before the album's release, Tweedy released a book of forty-three poems entitled Adult Head on Zoo Press. The following year, the band released their first live album, a two-disc set entitled Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, recorded at The Vic Theater.
Subsequent Wilco albums
Wilco recorded twelve tracks for a sixth studio album entitled Sky Blue Sky, which was released on May 15, 2007. Sky Blue Sky debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, the band's highest debut yet. It sold over 87,000 copies in its first week of release.
In early May 2009, former Wilco member Jay Bennett sued Tweedy for breach of contract. Bennett died later that month of an apparent accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl. In June 2009 Wilco released their seventh studio album Wilco (The Album), followed by The Whole Love in 2011, Star Wars in 2015, Schmilco in 2016 and Ode to Joy in 2019.
Other work
Jeff Tweedy has performed several solo tours, on which he typically plays acoustic music. He also recorded the song "Simple Twist of Fate" for the soundtrack to I'm Not There. On October 24, 2006 Nonesuch Records released Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, a live DVD by Tweedy. The disc includes performances and conversations gathered over five nights on Tweedy's February 2006 solo acoustic tour, with footage from concerts at Seattle's Moore Theater, Portland's Crystal Ballroom, Eugene's McDonald Theatre, Arcata's Humboldt State University, and The Fillmore in San Francisco. The DVD was directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi's Brendan Canty, the creators of the documentary series Burn to Shine.
Tweedy has partnered with Mavis Staples on three acclaimed albums. In 2010 they released You Are Not Alone, in 2013, One True Vine, and in 2017 If All I Was Was Black. Tweedy played an array of instruments on these albums and wrote many of the songs.
Tweedy worked with the psychedelic-influenced garage rock group White Denim on their record Corsicana Lemonade, recording some songs at Wilco's Chicago studio The Loft. In 2015 the album Still by Richard Thompson was released. The album was produced by Tweedy in The Loft Studios and features Tweedy on guitar and backing vocals.
Tweedy has appeared as a fictional singer-songwriter on 2014 episodes of Parks and Recreation and Portlandia.
On June 4, 2014, it was announced that he had formed a new band called Tweedy with his son Spencer. The band's debut album Sukierae was released on September 16. The release was followed by a world tour in which half of the set consisted of new songs off Sukierae performed by a touring band including Spencer. The latter half of the set Tweedy plays solo, typically performing Wilco and Uncle Tupelo classics.
In June 2017 Jeff Tweedy released a solo acoustic album of eleven songs spanning his career from Wilco, Loose Fur, and Golden Smog titled Together at Last. In November 2018 Jeff Tweedy released a memoir titled Let's Go (So We Can Get Back) and his first solo album of new material, titled Warm. A companion album to Warm titled Warmer was released on April 13, 2019 as a Record Store Day exclusive.
In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic Susan Tweedy and her family created a recurring video series on Instagram dubbed The Tweedy Show featuring Jeff and their sons performing original and cover songs. During the shelter-in-place Jeff Tweedy also wrote and recorded his third solo album titled Love Is the King which was announced to release on October 23, 2020 and wrote his second book titled How to Write One Song which was announced to release on October 13, 2020 on the E. P. Dutton publishing label.
Musical style
Tweedy's musical style has varied over his music career. Tweedy's vocal style is considered nasal, emotional, and raspy, and has been compared to that of Neil Young. His first exposure to music was through gramophone records that his siblings left behind when they attended college, and he particularly liked The Beatles' White Album. Tweedy would frequently read issues of magazines such as Rolling Stone, and began to purchase punk rock albums such as The Clash's London Calling and X's Wild Gift. Belleville crowds did not respond well to punk music, so while Tweedy was a member of The Primitives they played covers of country songs at much faster tempos. When Uncle Tupelo formed, the band began composing its own songs influenced by Jason & the Scorchers and The Minutemen. Wilco's first album shared many musical similarities with the four previous Uncle Tupelo albums, but on Being There, Tweedy began introducing more experimental themes into his music. He claims that he wanted to rebel against the belief spread by the No Depression magazine that Wilco was primarily a country band. One of the most influential albums for Tweedy was Bad Timing by Jim O'Rourke, which helped to inspire Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy uses a 1957 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, as well as a 1965 Fender Jazzmaster, at least three different Telecasters, an Epiphone Casino, a Rickenbacker 360, and a Gibson SG Standard. He has vintage SGs from '62 and '65 as well as a 2007 Custom Shop model and a 2008 Custom Shop Vintage Original Spec (V.O.S.) that are all rigged with Maestro tremolo bars. He also has been known to use a Breedlove 000 and even designed a limited edition 000 for Breedlove in 2007. His amplifier of choice is a Vox AC30.
Personal life
Tweedy has been prone to migraines throughout his entire life, forcing him to miss forty days of elementary school in one year. While he attempted to regulate his use of painkillers, he was never able to stop their use for more than five weeks. Tweedy attributes this to comorbidity with major depressive disorder and severe panic attacks. In 2004, he entered a dual diagnosis rehabilitation clinic in order to receive treatment for an addiction to prescription painkiller Vicodin. Tweedy quit smoking the next year; John Stirratt claimed afterward that this significantly improved the focus of the band.
Tweedy is married to former talent agent Sue Miller and lives in the Irving Park area of Chicago. Tweedy first met Miller when he was trying to get Uncle Tupelo booked at Cubby Bear, where Miller worked. Miller opened a club in Chicago named Lounge Ax in 1989, and booked Uncle Tupelo for 16 shows over four years. Miller and Tweedy began dating in 1991 and they were married on August 9, 1995. Sue was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Tweedy said "she's doing great now." Tweedy also said that music is a healthy distraction in such difficult times. They have two sons: Spencer and Sam. Spencer was the drummer for pre-teen rock band The Blisters and a new band called Tully Monster. In 2008, Spencer joined Wilco on stage at Madison Square Garden to play drums on their song "The Late Greats," while opening for Neil Young.
Tweedy has converted to Judaism. His wife is Jewish, and their sons both had Bar Mitzvah ceremonies. During the ceremony for his oldest son, Tweedy played an acoustic version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young".
In November 2019 Tweedy's home in Irving Park was shot at least seven times in an attack described by his son as "not targeted". No injuries were reported.
Selected discography
Solo
Together at Last (2017)
Warm (2018)
Warmer (2019)
Love Is the King (2020)
Live Is The King (2021)
With Uncle Tupelo
No Depression (1990)
Still Feel Gone (1991)
March 16–20, 1992 (1992)
Anodyne (1993)
With Wilco
A.M. (1995)
Being There (1996)
Summerteeth (1999)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)
A Ghost Is Born (2004)
Sky Blue Sky (2007)
Wilco (The Album) (2009)
The Whole Love (2011)
Star Wars (2015)
Schmilco (2016)
Ode to Joy (2019)
With Tweedy
Sukierae (2014)
Works or publications
Tweedy, Jeff. Adult Head: Poems. Lincoln, Neb: Zoo Press, 2004.
Tweedy, Jeff (Narrator). Lincoln in the Bardo, Audiobook. Random House Audio, 2017 ASIN: B01N1NU4K2
Tweedy, Jeff. Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc., autobiography, Dutton Books, 2018.
Tweedy, Jeff. How to Write One Song, Dutton Books, 2020.
See also
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco
Wilco: Learning How to Die
Uncle Tupelo
Wilco
New Multitudes
Notes and references
Further reading
Buchanan-Smith, Peter, and Daniel Nadel. The Wilco Book. New York: Kaput, 2004.
Grierson, Tim. Wilco: Sunken Treasure. 2013.
Kot, Greg. Wilco: Learning How to Die. New York: Broadway Books, 2004.
External links
Who Owns Culture? – Jeff Tweedy and Lawrence Lessig in conversation with Steven Johnson, New York Public Library on April 7, 2005. Internet Archive, Community Audio.
Wilco (official website)
1967 births
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American male television actors
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
Jewish American musicians
Grammy Award winners
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Belleville, Illinois
Drag City (record label) artists
Wilco members
Uncle Tupelo members
The Minus 5 members
Guitarists from Illinois
DBpm Records artists
20th-century American guitarists
Dutch East India Trading artists
Sire Records artists
Reprise Records artists
Nonesuch Records artists
Golden Smog members
Converts to Judaism
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American guitarists
20th-century American writers
21st-century American writers
Belleville High School-West alumni
Autobiographies | true | [
"\"What Else Is There?\" is the third single from the Norwegian duo Röyksopp's second album The Understanding. It features the vocals of Karin Dreijer from the Swedish electronica duo The Knife. The album was released in the UK with the help of Astralwerks.\n\nThe single was used in an O2 television advertisement in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia during 2008. It was also used in the 2006 film Cashback and the 2007 film, Meet Bill. Trentemøller's remix of \"What Else is There?\" was featured in an episode of the HBO show Entourage.\n\nThe song was covered by extreme metal band Enslaved as a bonus track for their album E.\n\nThe song was listed as the 375th best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media.\n\nOfficial versions\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Album Version) – 5:17\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Radio Edit) – 3:38\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Jacques Lu Cont Radio Mix) – 3:46\n\"What Else Is There?\" (The Emperor Machine Vocal Version) – 8:03\n\"What Else Is There?\" (The Emperor Machine Dub Version) – 7:51\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Mix) – 8:25\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Edit) – 4:50\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Remix) (Radio Edit) – 3:06\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Trentemøller Remix) – 7:42\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Vitalic Remix) – 5:14\n\nResponse\nThe single was officially released on 5 December 2005 in the UK. The single had a limited release on 21 November 2005 to promote the upcoming album. On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at number 32, while on the UK Dance Chart, it reached number one.\n\nMusic video\nThe music video was directed by Martin de Thurah. It features Norwegian model Marianne Schröder who is shown lip-syncing Dreijer's voice. Schröder is depicted as a floating woman traveling across stormy landscapes and within empty houses. Dreijer makes a cameo appearance as a woman wearing an Elizabethan ruff while dining alone at a festive table.\n\nMovie spots\n\nThe song is also featured in the movie Meet Bill as characters played by Jessica Alba and Aaron Eckhart smoke marijuana while listening to it. It is also part of the end credits music of the film Cashback.\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n2005 singles\nRöyksopp songs\nAstralwerks singles\nSongs written by Svein Berge\nSongs written by Torbjørn Brundtland\n2004 songs\nSongs written by Roger Greenaway\nSongs written by Olof Dreijer\nSongs written by Karin Dreijer",
"\"Sad but True\" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released in February 1993 as the fifth and final single from their eponymous fifth album, Metallica. The music video for the single was released in October 1992.\n\nTrack listing\nUS single\n \"Sad but True\"\n \"So What\"\n\nInternational single part 1\n \"Sad but True\" – 5:27\n \"So What\" – 3:09\n \"Harvester of Sorrow\" (live) – 6:41\n\nInternational single part 2\n \"Sad but True\" – 5:27\n \"Nothing Else Matters\" (Elevator version) – 6:31\n \"Creeping Death\" (live) – 8:01\n \"Sad but True\" (demo) – 4:53\n\nUK picture single\n \"Sad but True\" – 5:26\n \"Nothing Else Matters\" (live) – 6:13\n \"Sad but True\" (live) – 6:12\n\nUK and German 7-inch single\n \"Sad but True\" – 5:24\n \"Nothing Else Matters\" – 6:29\n\nFrench single\n \"Sad but True\" – 5:27\n \"Nothing Else Matters\" (edit) – 6:29\n\nInternational 7-inch single\n \"Sad but True\"\n \"Nothing Else Matters\" (live)\n \"Sad but True\" (live)\n\nPersonnel\n James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar\n Kirk Hammett – lead guitar\n Jason Newsted – bass, backing vocals\n Lars Ulrich – drums\n John Marshall – guitar on \"Nothing Else Matters\" (live)\n\nCharts\n\nCertifications\n\nCover versions\nIn 2020, the Mongolian hunnu band The HU released a cover of the song translated entirely into Mongolian.\n\nThe Metallica Blacklist, a compilation album released in 2021, features seven covers of the song, including a live version by Sam Fender and studio versions by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Mexican Institute of Sound, Royal Blood, St. Vincent, White Reaper and YB.\n\nReferences\n\n1991 songs\n1993 singles\nMetallica songs\nSongs written by James Hetfield\nSongs written by Lars Ulrich\nSong recordings produced by Bob Rock\nNumber-one singles in Finland\nMusic videos directed by Wayne Isham\nElektra Records singles"
] |
[
"Jeff Tweedy",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing.",
"Who did he choose",
"Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival,",
"Why did he choose him",
"but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur.",
"So what he did next",
"Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs.",
"What else was stood out in this article",
"Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member.",
"Did he hire anybody else",
"After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:",
"What did he remark",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise.",
"When was it release",
"Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website.",
"How did that go",
"One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise,",
"and what else",
"The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice."
] | C_53d05845d3ff482296f7050423c4143e_1 | What was the name of the album | 11 | What was the name of the album released on April 23,2002? | Jeff Tweedy | Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments about how the album should sound between songs. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Jay Bennett was a collective decision. Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise records under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies. CANNOTANSWER | AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. | Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high school in his band The Plebes with Jay Farrar, which subsequently transitioned into the alternative country band Uncle Tupelo. After Uncle Tupelo broke up, Tweedy formed Wilco which found critical and commercial success, most notably with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born, the latter of which received a Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2005.
Across his career Tweedy has released 20 studio albums, including four with Uncle Tupelo, eleven with Wilco, one with his son Spencer, a solo acoustic album, three solo studio albums, along with numerous collaborations with other musicians, most notably Mermaid Avenue with Billy Bragg.
Early life
Tweedy was born in Belleville, Illinois, on August 25, 1967, the fourth child of Bob and JoAnn Tweedy (née Werkmeister). Bob Tweedy (died Aug. 4, 2017) worked at Alton & Southern Railroad in East St. Louis while JoAnn was a kitchen designer. Tweedy has three siblings: older brother Greg Tweedy (died in 2013), brother Steven Tweedy, and sister Debbie Voll.
Tweedy's mother bought him his first guitar when he was six years old, although he did not begin to play it seriously until he was twelve. Apparently Tweedy told people that he knew how to play the guitar once he got his first guitar, even though he couldn't. When he was twelve, Tweedy was injured in a bicycle accident and was laid up for the summer. He decided to learn how to play a few chords before somebody "called him out" on the lie. In 1981, when Tweedy was fourteen years old, he befriended Jay Farrar in an English class at Belleville Township High School West. All of the members of Farrar's family enjoyed playing music, so Farrar already had knowledge of the musical elements of rock and roll. By this time, Tweedy was a fan of The Ramones and country music while Farrar enjoyed The Sex Pistols.
Tweedy attended Belleville Area College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Career
Early music
In the early 1980s, Tweedy joined a rockabilly band called The Plebes with brothers Wade and Dade Farrar, which Tweedy joined in order to qualify for a battle of the bands competition, which they won. Tweedy pushed The Plebes away from the rockabilly music that they had been playing, which caused Dade Farrar to leave the band. The band renamed themselves The Primitives in 1984, taking their name from a song by garage rock band The Groupies. Wade Farrar sang lead vocals and played harmonica, Jay Farrar played guitar, Tweedy played bass guitar, and Mike Heidorn played drums. In late 1986, the band decided to change their name to Uncle Tupelo, because a more popular British band was also using the name "The Primitives". Mike Heidorn's liner notes for No Depression, which were included in the 2003 re-issue of the album. The Primitives went on hiatus in 1986 after Wade Farrar left the band to finish his engineering degree at Southern Illinois University. While waiting for Wade to return from campus, Farrar, Tweedy, and Heidorn formed Uncle Tupelo.
Uncle Tupelo (1987–1994)
At his parents' request, Tweedy enrolled at several universities, but dropped out of them so that he could concentrate on Uncle Tupelo. While moonlighting as a record store clerk at Euclid Records in St. Louis, Tweedy met Tony Margherita. After Margherita saw the band perform at an acoustic concert in 1988, he decided to become the band's manager. The band began playing regular shows at Cicero's basement bar in the Delmar Loop near Washington University with other bands playing in a similar style. Uncle Tupelo recorded a ten-track demo tape entitled Not Forever, Just For Now in 1989, attracting the attention of Giant/Rockville Records. The independent label signed the band, and Uncle Tupelo's first album, No Depression, was released the next year. The title song, originally performed by the Carter Family, became strongly associated with the alternative country scene, and became the name of an influential alternative country periodical called No Depression.
During times when Uncle Tupelo was not touring, Tweedy and Farrar played as Coffee Creek, a short-lived cover band with The Bottle Rockets' Brian Henneman and Mark Ortmann. Around this time, Tweedy began developing problems with alcohol, leading to tensions between Tweedy and Farrar. While he never refused to play a gig, Tweedy was forced to sit out in place of Henneman at some performances. Tweedy quit drinking entirely after meeting future wife Sue Miller, although he replaced this habit with smoking marijuana. However, after developing a dependence on marijuana, he quickly quit using it, as well. After releasing Still Feel Gone, the band formed a friendship with Peter Buck of R.E.M., who produced their third album March 16–20, 1992 for free. Uncle Tupelo left the Rockville label in favor of Sire Records (Warner) later in 1992 because Rockville refused to pay the band any royalties for their albums. After the signing, Max Johnston and John Stirratt joined the band as Mike Heidorn was replaced by Bill Belzer who was later replaced by Ken Coomer. The five-piece band recorded Anodyne, which sold over 150,000 copies and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, but was the last album Uncle Tupelo released.
Breakup
In January 1994, Farrar called Tony Margherita to tell him that the band was breaking up, saying that he was not having any fun in the band anymore and was not getting along with Tweedy. Tweedy was enraged that Farrar decided to break up the band without notifying him, and this led to a series of harsh verbal exchanges. Farrar and Tweedy agreed to a final Uncle Tupelo tour, but the concerts were marred by the two not participating in each other's songs. The band decided to play Tweedy's "The Long Cut" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which further distanced Farrar and Tweedy. Farrar began to assemble a new band named Son Volt with Mike Heidorn, bassist Jim Boquist, and his brother Dave Boquist. At the same time, Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco with Stirratt, Johnston, and Coomer.
Wilco (1995–present)
In 1994, Tweedy formed Wilco with John Stirratt, Max Johnston, and Ken Coomer. Wilco has released ten albums and found commercial success with their albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco. The band also released two collaboration albums with Billy Bragg and one with The Minus 5. Jeff Tweedy has been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Album for A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy has also participated in a number of side groups including Golden Smog and Loose Fur, published a book of poems, and released a DVD of solo performances. He was originally influenced by punk and country music, but has later reflected more experimental themes in his music.
Wilco signed with Reprise/Warner Bros. Records and began recording AM almost as soon as the band was formed. After recording, Tweedy was introduced to Jay Bennett, who then joined the band. Also during this time, Tweedy quit smoking marijuana after a particularly bad experience with some cannabis brownies. A.M. did not fare as well commercially in comparison to Son Volt's first album, only reaching number 27 on the Heatseekers chart while Son Volt's debut Trace hit the Billboard 200. Dan Murphy of Soul Asylum invited Tweedy to join him in a supergroup named Golden Smog with Gary Louris and Marc Perlman of the Jayhawks, Kraig Johnson of Run Westy Run, and Noah Levy of The Honeydogs. Under the pseudonym Scott Summit, Tweedy released Down by the Old Mainstream with Golden Smog in 1996.
Tweedy and Wilco began to explore new styles and broke from the style of previous recordings on the seminal sprawling double album Being There in 1996. Tweedy did not write music for many of the songs ahead of time, and welcomed unexpected sounds into the recording. Wilco recorded nineteen songs for the double-CD album, and wanted the label to release it with a retail price comparable to a single-CD release. Being There was a commercial success, selling 300,000 copies and peaking in the top half of the Billboard 200. Reprise records invested $100,000 in the single "Outta Mind (Outtasite)", but received little radio exposure. While on tour, Tweedy began to spend time reading books by William H. Gass, Henry Miller, and John Fante. As he read their books, Tweedy decided to place more of an emphasis on writing. Representatives in the A&R department of Reprise wanted a radio single from Summerteeth, and Wilco reluctantly agreed to a re-working of "Can't Stand It". The single was a top five hit on adult album alternative radio stations, but failed to cross over to a larger audience.
Before the release of Summerteeth, the daughter of the late folk legend Woody Guthrie contacted folk rock singer Billy Bragg, who in turn contacted Tweedy about recording an album of unreleased Woody Guthrie songs. Tweedy was indifferent to the idea of working with Bragg, but Jay Bennett's enthusiasm about the idea convinced Tweedy to get the band involved in the project. As a result of Tweedy's feelings on the political nature of some of the lyrics, Bragg recorded mostly political songs while Wilco recorded more neutral songs. Almost all of the songs that appeared on Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II were recorded over a six-day period in December 1997. The first Mermaid Avenue album and a second Golden Smog album (Weird Tales) were released in 1998, Summerteeth was released in early 1999, and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II was released in 2000. Tweedy received his first Grammy nomination when Mermaid Avenue was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1999.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments between songs about how the album should sound. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Bennett around this time, believing (according to Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Bennett was a collective decision.
Reprise Records' parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies.
A Ghost Is Born
Scott McCaughey contacted Tweedy about recording an album together for a The Minus 5 release. They scheduled a meeting for September 11, 2001, but were reluctant to enter the recording studio after the terrorist attacks. At night, McCaughey and Tweedy decided to begin recording songs as a way to calm down. A few more tracks were later added to the album with the rest of Wilco, and it was released with the name Down with Wilco in 2003.
In November 2003, Wilco began recording a fifth studio album. Unlike their previous albums, all of the songs were originally performed in the studio and then later adapted for playing at concerts. Wilco released A Ghost Is Born on June 22, 2004, and it attained a top ten peak on the Billboard 200. The album was awarded with Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package in 2005. A few weeks before the album's release, Tweedy released a book of forty-three poems entitled Adult Head on Zoo Press. The following year, the band released their first live album, a two-disc set entitled Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, recorded at The Vic Theater.
Subsequent Wilco albums
Wilco recorded twelve tracks for a sixth studio album entitled Sky Blue Sky, which was released on May 15, 2007. Sky Blue Sky debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, the band's highest debut yet. It sold over 87,000 copies in its first week of release.
In early May 2009, former Wilco member Jay Bennett sued Tweedy for breach of contract. Bennett died later that month of an apparent accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl. In June 2009 Wilco released their seventh studio album Wilco (The Album), followed by The Whole Love in 2011, Star Wars in 2015, Schmilco in 2016 and Ode to Joy in 2019.
Other work
Jeff Tweedy has performed several solo tours, on which he typically plays acoustic music. He also recorded the song "Simple Twist of Fate" for the soundtrack to I'm Not There. On October 24, 2006 Nonesuch Records released Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, a live DVD by Tweedy. The disc includes performances and conversations gathered over five nights on Tweedy's February 2006 solo acoustic tour, with footage from concerts at Seattle's Moore Theater, Portland's Crystal Ballroom, Eugene's McDonald Theatre, Arcata's Humboldt State University, and The Fillmore in San Francisco. The DVD was directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi's Brendan Canty, the creators of the documentary series Burn to Shine.
Tweedy has partnered with Mavis Staples on three acclaimed albums. In 2010 they released You Are Not Alone, in 2013, One True Vine, and in 2017 If All I Was Was Black. Tweedy played an array of instruments on these albums and wrote many of the songs.
Tweedy worked with the psychedelic-influenced garage rock group White Denim on their record Corsicana Lemonade, recording some songs at Wilco's Chicago studio The Loft. In 2015 the album Still by Richard Thompson was released. The album was produced by Tweedy in The Loft Studios and features Tweedy on guitar and backing vocals.
Tweedy has appeared as a fictional singer-songwriter on 2014 episodes of Parks and Recreation and Portlandia.
On June 4, 2014, it was announced that he had formed a new band called Tweedy with his son Spencer. The band's debut album Sukierae was released on September 16. The release was followed by a world tour in which half of the set consisted of new songs off Sukierae performed by a touring band including Spencer. The latter half of the set Tweedy plays solo, typically performing Wilco and Uncle Tupelo classics.
In June 2017 Jeff Tweedy released a solo acoustic album of eleven songs spanning his career from Wilco, Loose Fur, and Golden Smog titled Together at Last. In November 2018 Jeff Tweedy released a memoir titled Let's Go (So We Can Get Back) and his first solo album of new material, titled Warm. A companion album to Warm titled Warmer was released on April 13, 2019 as a Record Store Day exclusive.
In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic Susan Tweedy and her family created a recurring video series on Instagram dubbed The Tweedy Show featuring Jeff and their sons performing original and cover songs. During the shelter-in-place Jeff Tweedy also wrote and recorded his third solo album titled Love Is the King which was announced to release on October 23, 2020 and wrote his second book titled How to Write One Song which was announced to release on October 13, 2020 on the E. P. Dutton publishing label.
Musical style
Tweedy's musical style has varied over his music career. Tweedy's vocal style is considered nasal, emotional, and raspy, and has been compared to that of Neil Young. His first exposure to music was through gramophone records that his siblings left behind when they attended college, and he particularly liked The Beatles' White Album. Tweedy would frequently read issues of magazines such as Rolling Stone, and began to purchase punk rock albums such as The Clash's London Calling and X's Wild Gift. Belleville crowds did not respond well to punk music, so while Tweedy was a member of The Primitives they played covers of country songs at much faster tempos. When Uncle Tupelo formed, the band began composing its own songs influenced by Jason & the Scorchers and The Minutemen. Wilco's first album shared many musical similarities with the four previous Uncle Tupelo albums, but on Being There, Tweedy began introducing more experimental themes into his music. He claims that he wanted to rebel against the belief spread by the No Depression magazine that Wilco was primarily a country band. One of the most influential albums for Tweedy was Bad Timing by Jim O'Rourke, which helped to inspire Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy uses a 1957 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, as well as a 1965 Fender Jazzmaster, at least three different Telecasters, an Epiphone Casino, a Rickenbacker 360, and a Gibson SG Standard. He has vintage SGs from '62 and '65 as well as a 2007 Custom Shop model and a 2008 Custom Shop Vintage Original Spec (V.O.S.) that are all rigged with Maestro tremolo bars. He also has been known to use a Breedlove 000 and even designed a limited edition 000 for Breedlove in 2007. His amplifier of choice is a Vox AC30.
Personal life
Tweedy has been prone to migraines throughout his entire life, forcing him to miss forty days of elementary school in one year. While he attempted to regulate his use of painkillers, he was never able to stop their use for more than five weeks. Tweedy attributes this to comorbidity with major depressive disorder and severe panic attacks. In 2004, he entered a dual diagnosis rehabilitation clinic in order to receive treatment for an addiction to prescription painkiller Vicodin. Tweedy quit smoking the next year; John Stirratt claimed afterward that this significantly improved the focus of the band.
Tweedy is married to former talent agent Sue Miller and lives in the Irving Park area of Chicago. Tweedy first met Miller when he was trying to get Uncle Tupelo booked at Cubby Bear, where Miller worked. Miller opened a club in Chicago named Lounge Ax in 1989, and booked Uncle Tupelo for 16 shows over four years. Miller and Tweedy began dating in 1991 and they were married on August 9, 1995. Sue was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Tweedy said "she's doing great now." Tweedy also said that music is a healthy distraction in such difficult times. They have two sons: Spencer and Sam. Spencer was the drummer for pre-teen rock band The Blisters and a new band called Tully Monster. In 2008, Spencer joined Wilco on stage at Madison Square Garden to play drums on their song "The Late Greats," while opening for Neil Young.
Tweedy has converted to Judaism. His wife is Jewish, and their sons both had Bar Mitzvah ceremonies. During the ceremony for his oldest son, Tweedy played an acoustic version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young".
In November 2019 Tweedy's home in Irving Park was shot at least seven times in an attack described by his son as "not targeted". No injuries were reported.
Selected discography
Solo
Together at Last (2017)
Warm (2018)
Warmer (2019)
Love Is the King (2020)
Live Is The King (2021)
With Uncle Tupelo
No Depression (1990)
Still Feel Gone (1991)
March 16–20, 1992 (1992)
Anodyne (1993)
With Wilco
A.M. (1995)
Being There (1996)
Summerteeth (1999)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)
A Ghost Is Born (2004)
Sky Blue Sky (2007)
Wilco (The Album) (2009)
The Whole Love (2011)
Star Wars (2015)
Schmilco (2016)
Ode to Joy (2019)
With Tweedy
Sukierae (2014)
Works or publications
Tweedy, Jeff. Adult Head: Poems. Lincoln, Neb: Zoo Press, 2004.
Tweedy, Jeff (Narrator). Lincoln in the Bardo, Audiobook. Random House Audio, 2017 ASIN: B01N1NU4K2
Tweedy, Jeff. Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc., autobiography, Dutton Books, 2018.
Tweedy, Jeff. How to Write One Song, Dutton Books, 2020.
See also
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco
Wilco: Learning How to Die
Uncle Tupelo
Wilco
New Multitudes
Notes and references
Further reading
Buchanan-Smith, Peter, and Daniel Nadel. The Wilco Book. New York: Kaput, 2004.
Grierson, Tim. Wilco: Sunken Treasure. 2013.
Kot, Greg. Wilco: Learning How to Die. New York: Broadway Books, 2004.
External links
Who Owns Culture? – Jeff Tweedy and Lawrence Lessig in conversation with Steven Johnson, New York Public Library on April 7, 2005. Internet Archive, Community Audio.
Wilco (official website)
1967 births
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American male television actors
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
Jewish American musicians
Grammy Award winners
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Belleville, Illinois
Drag City (record label) artists
Wilco members
Uncle Tupelo members
The Minus 5 members
Guitarists from Illinois
DBpm Records artists
20th-century American guitarists
Dutch East India Trading artists
Sire Records artists
Reprise Records artists
Nonesuch Records artists
Golden Smog members
Converts to Judaism
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American guitarists
20th-century American writers
21st-century American writers
Belleville High School-West alumni
Autobiographies | true | [
"White Witch is the title of the second studio album by the group Andrea True Connection. It was released in 1977. The album had two singles: and \"N.Y., You Got Me Dancing\" and \"What's Your Name, What's Your Number\". This was the last album released by the group and the vocalist Andrea True would release a new album as a solo release only in 1980.\n\nBackground and production\nAfter the success of her first album and the gold-certified single More, More, More, the band begun to prepeare for their second release. The album production included studio musicians with a new band assembled for the tour, the second line-up, which included future Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick, it was also produce by the disco pioneers Michael Zager and Jerry Love.\n\nSingles\nThe first single of the album was \"N.Y., You Got Me Dancing\", it was released in 1977 and became True's second biggest hit, reaching No. 27 on Billboard's pop chart, and #4 on the U.S. club chart, it also peaked #89 in the Canadian RPM's chart. \"What's Your Name, What's Your Number\" was released as the second and last single of the album (and also of the group) in 1978 and reached #9 on the U.S. club chart, #34 in the UK and #56 on the Billboard Hot 100\n\nCritical reception\n\nThe album received mixed reviews from music critics. Alex Henderson from the Allmusic website gave the album two and a half stars out of five in a mixed review which he wrote that \"while White Witch isn't a bad album, it falls short of the excellence her first album, More, More, More.\" He also stated that there are a few gems in the album \"including the Michael Zager-produced \"What's Your Name, What's Your Number\" and the exuberant, Gregg Diamond-produced \"N.Y., You Got Me Dancing\"\" according to him they're both \"exercises in unapologetically campy fun.\" He concluded that the album \"LP is strictly for diehard disco collectors.\"\n\nTrack listing\nsource:\n\nReferences\n\n1977 albums\nAndrea True albums\nBuddah Records albums",
"Third Eye Open is a 1992 album by American funk/rock supergroup Hardware. Hardware consists of lead guitarist Stevie Salas, P-Funk bassist Bootsy Collins, and drummer Buddy Miles, formerly of the Band of Gypsys. The album was produced by Bill Laswell and Salas, and was the first release to be part of Laswell's Black Arc Series, which includes Lord of the Harvest by Zillatron, Out of the Dark by O.G. Funk, and Under the 6 by Slave Master.\n\nAlbum history\nWhen the album was first released in Japan on the Polystar label, the band was called The Third Eye and the name of the album was \"Hardware\". When the album secured distribution in the U.S., it was found that another band had owned the name \"The Third Eye\". To avoid any further legal hassles, it was opted that the title of the album and the name of band would simply be switched, thus the name of the band would be Hardware and the title of the album became Third Eye Open.\n\nThe song \"Leakin'\" is a version of a track that appeared on Collins' 1988 album What's Bootsy Doin'?, which featured Salas playing guitar. On this album, the song is credited to Salas, whereas the previous version is credited to Collins, George Clinton and Trey Stone.\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel\nStevie Salas – guitars, vocals\nBootsy Collins – space bass, vocals\nBuddy Miles – drums, fuzz bass, vocals\nGeorge Clinton, Gary \"Mudbone\" Cooper, Bernard Fowler – background vocals\nDavid Friendly, Vince McClean, Matt Stein – digital bollocks\n\nHardware (band) albums\n1992 albums\nAlbums produced by Bill Laswell\nRykodisc albums"
] |
[
"Jeff Tweedy",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing.",
"Who did he choose",
"Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival,",
"Why did he choose him",
"but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur.",
"So what he did next",
"Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs.",
"What else was stood out in this article",
"Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member.",
"Did he hire anybody else",
"After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:",
"What did he remark",
"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise.",
"When was it release",
"Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website.",
"How did that go",
"One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise,",
"and what else",
"The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice.",
"What was the name of the album",
"AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label."
] | C_53d05845d3ff482296f7050423c4143e_1 | What else happen in this article | 12 | What else happen in this article besides Warner buying back Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Nonesuch label? | Jeff Tweedy | Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments about how the album should sound between songs. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Jay Bennett around this time, believing (according to Jay Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Jay Bennett was a collective decision. Reprise Record's parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise records under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies. CANNOTANSWER | The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies. | Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high school in his band The Plebes with Jay Farrar, which subsequently transitioned into the alternative country band Uncle Tupelo. After Uncle Tupelo broke up, Tweedy formed Wilco which found critical and commercial success, most notably with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born, the latter of which received a Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2005.
Across his career Tweedy has released 20 studio albums, including four with Uncle Tupelo, eleven with Wilco, one with his son Spencer, a solo acoustic album, three solo studio albums, along with numerous collaborations with other musicians, most notably Mermaid Avenue with Billy Bragg.
Early life
Tweedy was born in Belleville, Illinois, on August 25, 1967, the fourth child of Bob and JoAnn Tweedy (née Werkmeister). Bob Tweedy (died Aug. 4, 2017) worked at Alton & Southern Railroad in East St. Louis while JoAnn was a kitchen designer. Tweedy has three siblings: older brother Greg Tweedy (died in 2013), brother Steven Tweedy, and sister Debbie Voll.
Tweedy's mother bought him his first guitar when he was six years old, although he did not begin to play it seriously until he was twelve. Apparently Tweedy told people that he knew how to play the guitar once he got his first guitar, even though he couldn't. When he was twelve, Tweedy was injured in a bicycle accident and was laid up for the summer. He decided to learn how to play a few chords before somebody "called him out" on the lie. In 1981, when Tweedy was fourteen years old, he befriended Jay Farrar in an English class at Belleville Township High School West. All of the members of Farrar's family enjoyed playing music, so Farrar already had knowledge of the musical elements of rock and roll. By this time, Tweedy was a fan of The Ramones and country music while Farrar enjoyed The Sex Pistols.
Tweedy attended Belleville Area College and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Career
Early music
In the early 1980s, Tweedy joined a rockabilly band called The Plebes with brothers Wade and Dade Farrar, which Tweedy joined in order to qualify for a battle of the bands competition, which they won. Tweedy pushed The Plebes away from the rockabilly music that they had been playing, which caused Dade Farrar to leave the band. The band renamed themselves The Primitives in 1984, taking their name from a song by garage rock band The Groupies. Wade Farrar sang lead vocals and played harmonica, Jay Farrar played guitar, Tweedy played bass guitar, and Mike Heidorn played drums. In late 1986, the band decided to change their name to Uncle Tupelo, because a more popular British band was also using the name "The Primitives". Mike Heidorn's liner notes for No Depression, which were included in the 2003 re-issue of the album. The Primitives went on hiatus in 1986 after Wade Farrar left the band to finish his engineering degree at Southern Illinois University. While waiting for Wade to return from campus, Farrar, Tweedy, and Heidorn formed Uncle Tupelo.
Uncle Tupelo (1987–1994)
At his parents' request, Tweedy enrolled at several universities, but dropped out of them so that he could concentrate on Uncle Tupelo. While moonlighting as a record store clerk at Euclid Records in St. Louis, Tweedy met Tony Margherita. After Margherita saw the band perform at an acoustic concert in 1988, he decided to become the band's manager. The band began playing regular shows at Cicero's basement bar in the Delmar Loop near Washington University with other bands playing in a similar style. Uncle Tupelo recorded a ten-track demo tape entitled Not Forever, Just For Now in 1989, attracting the attention of Giant/Rockville Records. The independent label signed the band, and Uncle Tupelo's first album, No Depression, was released the next year. The title song, originally performed by the Carter Family, became strongly associated with the alternative country scene, and became the name of an influential alternative country periodical called No Depression.
During times when Uncle Tupelo was not touring, Tweedy and Farrar played as Coffee Creek, a short-lived cover band with The Bottle Rockets' Brian Henneman and Mark Ortmann. Around this time, Tweedy began developing problems with alcohol, leading to tensions between Tweedy and Farrar. While he never refused to play a gig, Tweedy was forced to sit out in place of Henneman at some performances. Tweedy quit drinking entirely after meeting future wife Sue Miller, although he replaced this habit with smoking marijuana. However, after developing a dependence on marijuana, he quickly quit using it, as well. After releasing Still Feel Gone, the band formed a friendship with Peter Buck of R.E.M., who produced their third album March 16–20, 1992 for free. Uncle Tupelo left the Rockville label in favor of Sire Records (Warner) later in 1992 because Rockville refused to pay the band any royalties for their albums. After the signing, Max Johnston and John Stirratt joined the band as Mike Heidorn was replaced by Bill Belzer who was later replaced by Ken Coomer. The five-piece band recorded Anodyne, which sold over 150,000 copies and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, but was the last album Uncle Tupelo released.
Breakup
In January 1994, Farrar called Tony Margherita to tell him that the band was breaking up, saying that he was not having any fun in the band anymore and was not getting along with Tweedy. Tweedy was enraged that Farrar decided to break up the band without notifying him, and this led to a series of harsh verbal exchanges. Farrar and Tweedy agreed to a final Uncle Tupelo tour, but the concerts were marred by the two not participating in each other's songs. The band decided to play Tweedy's "The Long Cut" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which further distanced Farrar and Tweedy. Farrar began to assemble a new band named Son Volt with Mike Heidorn, bassist Jim Boquist, and his brother Dave Boquist. At the same time, Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco with Stirratt, Johnston, and Coomer.
Wilco (1995–present)
In 1994, Tweedy formed Wilco with John Stirratt, Max Johnston, and Ken Coomer. Wilco has released ten albums and found commercial success with their albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco. The band also released two collaboration albums with Billy Bragg and one with The Minus 5. Jeff Tweedy has been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Album for A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy has also participated in a number of side groups including Golden Smog and Loose Fur, published a book of poems, and released a DVD of solo performances. He was originally influenced by punk and country music, but has later reflected more experimental themes in his music.
Wilco signed with Reprise/Warner Bros. Records and began recording AM almost as soon as the band was formed. After recording, Tweedy was introduced to Jay Bennett, who then joined the band. Also during this time, Tweedy quit smoking marijuana after a particularly bad experience with some cannabis brownies. A.M. did not fare as well commercially in comparison to Son Volt's first album, only reaching number 27 on the Heatseekers chart while Son Volt's debut Trace hit the Billboard 200. Dan Murphy of Soul Asylum invited Tweedy to join him in a supergroup named Golden Smog with Gary Louris and Marc Perlman of the Jayhawks, Kraig Johnson of Run Westy Run, and Noah Levy of The Honeydogs. Under the pseudonym Scott Summit, Tweedy released Down by the Old Mainstream with Golden Smog in 1996.
Tweedy and Wilco began to explore new styles and broke from the style of previous recordings on the seminal sprawling double album Being There in 1996. Tweedy did not write music for many of the songs ahead of time, and welcomed unexpected sounds into the recording. Wilco recorded nineteen songs for the double-CD album, and wanted the label to release it with a retail price comparable to a single-CD release. Being There was a commercial success, selling 300,000 copies and peaking in the top half of the Billboard 200. Reprise records invested $100,000 in the single "Outta Mind (Outtasite)", but received little radio exposure. While on tour, Tweedy began to spend time reading books by William H. Gass, Henry Miller, and John Fante. As he read their books, Tweedy decided to place more of an emphasis on writing. Representatives in the A&R department of Reprise wanted a radio single from Summerteeth, and Wilco reluctantly agreed to a re-working of "Can't Stand It". The single was a top five hit on adult album alternative radio stations, but failed to cross over to a larger audience.
Before the release of Summerteeth, the daughter of the late folk legend Woody Guthrie contacted folk rock singer Billy Bragg, who in turn contacted Tweedy about recording an album of unreleased Woody Guthrie songs. Tweedy was indifferent to the idea of working with Bragg, but Jay Bennett's enthusiasm about the idea convinced Tweedy to get the band involved in the project. As a result of Tweedy's feelings on the political nature of some of the lyrics, Bragg recorded mostly political songs while Wilco recorded more neutral songs. Almost all of the songs that appeared on Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II were recorded over a six-day period in December 1997. The first Mermaid Avenue album and a second Golden Smog album (Weird Tales) were released in 1998, Summerteeth was released in early 1999, and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II was released in 2000. Tweedy received his first Grammy nomination when Mermaid Avenue was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1999.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Jeff Tweedy was invited to play at Chicago's Noise Pop festival, and was told that he could collaborate with a musician of his choosing. Tweedy chose Jim O'Rourke based on his fascination with O'Rourke's Bad Timing album. O'Rourke offered to bring drummer Glenn Kotche to the festival, and the trio formed a side project named Loose Fur. The other band members of Wilco had written a number of songs for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but Tweedy was unsatisfied with them because he believed that the songs did not sound like the ones he played with Loose Fur. Tweedy became such a fan of Kotche's playing style that he decided to dismiss Ken Coomer from the band in favor of Kotche. Tweedy had strong feelings about how songs should be sequenced, which clashed with Jay Bennett's focus on the songs themselves. Because Bennett was mixing the album, this led to a series of arguments between songs about how the album should sound. Tweedy asked O'Rourke to remix several songs on the album that had been mixed by Bennett, which caused tensions within the band to escalate. The album was completed in June 2001, and Tweedy was insistent that it was in its final form. Tweedy also fired Bennett around this time, believing (according to Bennett) that Wilco should only have one core member. The band maintains that the firing of Bennett was a collective decision.
Reprise Records' parent company Time Warner merged with America Online in 2001, and the recording company was asked to cut costs. Howie Klein, the CEO of Reprise Records, considered Wilco to be one of the label's core bands, but was offered a lucrative buy-out by AOL Time Warner. Reprise did not consider the album commercially viable and was not interested in releasing the album. David Kahne (Head of A&R) agreed to release Wilco from Reprise under the condition that Wilco got to keep all legal entitlements to the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album. After an article in the Chicago Tribune publicly described these managerial practices, CEO Gary Briggs quit. Shortly after leaving the label, Briggs remarked:
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was originally scheduled to be released on Reprise on September 11, 2001, prior to the band's departure from Reprise. Seven days later, Tweedy decided that he would stream the entirety of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on Wilco's official website. Over thirty record labels offered to release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after the departure from Reprise was official. One of the thirty was Warner Brothers affiliate Nonesuch Records, who signed Wilco in November 2001. AOL Time Warner paid Wilco to make the album on Reprise, gave them the record for free, and then bought it back on the Nonesuch label. The album was released on April 23, 2002 to significant critical acclaim, including being named the best album of the year by The Village Voice. The album became the biggest hit of Jeff Tweedy's career and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over 500,000 copies.
A Ghost Is Born
Scott McCaughey contacted Tweedy about recording an album together for a The Minus 5 release. They scheduled a meeting for September 11, 2001, but were reluctant to enter the recording studio after the terrorist attacks. At night, McCaughey and Tweedy decided to begin recording songs as a way to calm down. A few more tracks were later added to the album with the rest of Wilco, and it was released with the name Down with Wilco in 2003.
In November 2003, Wilco began recording a fifth studio album. Unlike their previous albums, all of the songs were originally performed in the studio and then later adapted for playing at concerts. Wilco released A Ghost Is Born on June 22, 2004, and it attained a top ten peak on the Billboard 200. The album was awarded with Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package in 2005. A few weeks before the album's release, Tweedy released a book of forty-three poems entitled Adult Head on Zoo Press. The following year, the band released their first live album, a two-disc set entitled Kicking Television: Live in Chicago, recorded at The Vic Theater.
Subsequent Wilco albums
Wilco recorded twelve tracks for a sixth studio album entitled Sky Blue Sky, which was released on May 15, 2007. Sky Blue Sky debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, the band's highest debut yet. It sold over 87,000 copies in its first week of release.
In early May 2009, former Wilco member Jay Bennett sued Tweedy for breach of contract. Bennett died later that month of an apparent accidental overdose of the painkiller fentanyl. In June 2009 Wilco released their seventh studio album Wilco (The Album), followed by The Whole Love in 2011, Star Wars in 2015, Schmilco in 2016 and Ode to Joy in 2019.
Other work
Jeff Tweedy has performed several solo tours, on which he typically plays acoustic music. He also recorded the song "Simple Twist of Fate" for the soundtrack to I'm Not There. On October 24, 2006 Nonesuch Records released Sunken Treasure: Live in the Pacific Northwest, a live DVD by Tweedy. The disc includes performances and conversations gathered over five nights on Tweedy's February 2006 solo acoustic tour, with footage from concerts at Seattle's Moore Theater, Portland's Crystal Ballroom, Eugene's McDonald Theatre, Arcata's Humboldt State University, and The Fillmore in San Francisco. The DVD was directed by Christoph Green and Fugazi's Brendan Canty, the creators of the documentary series Burn to Shine.
Tweedy has partnered with Mavis Staples on three acclaimed albums. In 2010 they released You Are Not Alone, in 2013, One True Vine, and in 2017 If All I Was Was Black. Tweedy played an array of instruments on these albums and wrote many of the songs.
Tweedy worked with the psychedelic-influenced garage rock group White Denim on their record Corsicana Lemonade, recording some songs at Wilco's Chicago studio The Loft. In 2015 the album Still by Richard Thompson was released. The album was produced by Tweedy in The Loft Studios and features Tweedy on guitar and backing vocals.
Tweedy has appeared as a fictional singer-songwriter on 2014 episodes of Parks and Recreation and Portlandia.
On June 4, 2014, it was announced that he had formed a new band called Tweedy with his son Spencer. The band's debut album Sukierae was released on September 16. The release was followed by a world tour in which half of the set consisted of new songs off Sukierae performed by a touring band including Spencer. The latter half of the set Tweedy plays solo, typically performing Wilco and Uncle Tupelo classics.
In June 2017 Jeff Tweedy released a solo acoustic album of eleven songs spanning his career from Wilco, Loose Fur, and Golden Smog titled Together at Last. In November 2018 Jeff Tweedy released a memoir titled Let's Go (So We Can Get Back) and his first solo album of new material, titled Warm. A companion album to Warm titled Warmer was released on April 13, 2019 as a Record Store Day exclusive.
In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic Susan Tweedy and her family created a recurring video series on Instagram dubbed The Tweedy Show featuring Jeff and their sons performing original and cover songs. During the shelter-in-place Jeff Tweedy also wrote and recorded his third solo album titled Love Is the King which was announced to release on October 23, 2020 and wrote his second book titled How to Write One Song which was announced to release on October 13, 2020 on the E. P. Dutton publishing label.
Musical style
Tweedy's musical style has varied over his music career. Tweedy's vocal style is considered nasal, emotional, and raspy, and has been compared to that of Neil Young. His first exposure to music was through gramophone records that his siblings left behind when they attended college, and he particularly liked The Beatles' White Album. Tweedy would frequently read issues of magazines such as Rolling Stone, and began to purchase punk rock albums such as The Clash's London Calling and X's Wild Gift. Belleville crowds did not respond well to punk music, so while Tweedy was a member of The Primitives they played covers of country songs at much faster tempos. When Uncle Tupelo formed, the band began composing its own songs influenced by Jason & the Scorchers and The Minutemen. Wilco's first album shared many musical similarities with the four previous Uncle Tupelo albums, but on Being There, Tweedy began introducing more experimental themes into his music. He claims that he wanted to rebel against the belief spread by the No Depression magazine that Wilco was primarily a country band. One of the most influential albums for Tweedy was Bad Timing by Jim O'Rourke, which helped to inspire Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. Tweedy uses a 1957 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, as well as a 1965 Fender Jazzmaster, at least three different Telecasters, an Epiphone Casino, a Rickenbacker 360, and a Gibson SG Standard. He has vintage SGs from '62 and '65 as well as a 2007 Custom Shop model and a 2008 Custom Shop Vintage Original Spec (V.O.S.) that are all rigged with Maestro tremolo bars. He also has been known to use a Breedlove 000 and even designed a limited edition 000 for Breedlove in 2007. His amplifier of choice is a Vox AC30.
Personal life
Tweedy has been prone to migraines throughout his entire life, forcing him to miss forty days of elementary school in one year. While he attempted to regulate his use of painkillers, he was never able to stop their use for more than five weeks. Tweedy attributes this to comorbidity with major depressive disorder and severe panic attacks. In 2004, he entered a dual diagnosis rehabilitation clinic in order to receive treatment for an addiction to prescription painkiller Vicodin. Tweedy quit smoking the next year; John Stirratt claimed afterward that this significantly improved the focus of the band.
Tweedy is married to former talent agent Sue Miller and lives in the Irving Park area of Chicago. Tweedy first met Miller when he was trying to get Uncle Tupelo booked at Cubby Bear, where Miller worked. Miller opened a club in Chicago named Lounge Ax in 1989, and booked Uncle Tupelo for 16 shows over four years. Miller and Tweedy began dating in 1991 and they were married on August 9, 1995. Sue was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Tweedy said "she's doing great now." Tweedy also said that music is a healthy distraction in such difficult times. They have two sons: Spencer and Sam. Spencer was the drummer for pre-teen rock band The Blisters and a new band called Tully Monster. In 2008, Spencer joined Wilco on stage at Madison Square Garden to play drums on their song "The Late Greats," while opening for Neil Young.
Tweedy has converted to Judaism. His wife is Jewish, and their sons both had Bar Mitzvah ceremonies. During the ceremony for his oldest son, Tweedy played an acoustic version of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young".
In November 2019 Tweedy's home in Irving Park was shot at least seven times in an attack described by his son as "not targeted". No injuries were reported.
Selected discography
Solo
Together at Last (2017)
Warm (2018)
Warmer (2019)
Love Is the King (2020)
Live Is The King (2021)
With Uncle Tupelo
No Depression (1990)
Still Feel Gone (1991)
March 16–20, 1992 (1992)
Anodyne (1993)
With Wilco
A.M. (1995)
Being There (1996)
Summerteeth (1999)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)
A Ghost Is Born (2004)
Sky Blue Sky (2007)
Wilco (The Album) (2009)
The Whole Love (2011)
Star Wars (2015)
Schmilco (2016)
Ode to Joy (2019)
With Tweedy
Sukierae (2014)
Works or publications
Tweedy, Jeff. Adult Head: Poems. Lincoln, Neb: Zoo Press, 2004.
Tweedy, Jeff (Narrator). Lincoln in the Bardo, Audiobook. Random House Audio, 2017 ASIN: B01N1NU4K2
Tweedy, Jeff. Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc., autobiography, Dutton Books, 2018.
Tweedy, Jeff. How to Write One Song, Dutton Books, 2020.
See also
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco
Wilco: Learning How to Die
Uncle Tupelo
Wilco
New Multitudes
Notes and references
Further reading
Buchanan-Smith, Peter, and Daniel Nadel. The Wilco Book. New York: Kaput, 2004.
Grierson, Tim. Wilco: Sunken Treasure. 2013.
Kot, Greg. Wilco: Learning How to Die. New York: Broadway Books, 2004.
External links
Who Owns Culture? – Jeff Tweedy and Lawrence Lessig in conversation with Steven Johnson, New York Public Library on April 7, 2005. Internet Archive, Community Audio.
Wilco (official website)
1967 births
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American male television actors
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
Jewish American musicians
Grammy Award winners
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Belleville, Illinois
Drag City (record label) artists
Wilco members
Uncle Tupelo members
The Minus 5 members
Guitarists from Illinois
DBpm Records artists
20th-century American guitarists
Dutch East India Trading artists
Sire Records artists
Reprise Records artists
Nonesuch Records artists
Golden Smog members
Converts to Judaism
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American guitarists
20th-century American writers
21st-century American writers
Belleville High School-West alumni
Autobiographies | true | [
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"A psychon was a minimal unit of psychic activity proposed by Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts in \"A Logical Calculus of Ideas Immanent in Nervous Activity\" in 1943. McCulloch was later to reflect that he intended to invent a kind of \"least psychic event\" with the following properties:\n it either happened or else it did not happen.\n it would happen only if its was the product of a temporal antecedent.\n it was to lead to subsequent psychons.\n these could be compounded to produce the equivalents of more complicated propositions concerning their antecedents.\n\nThis dual value logic was adopted by Jacques Lacan and applied to psychoanalysis.\n\nReferences\n\nNeurology\nCybernetics"
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"Władysław Gomułka",
"First secretary of the United Workers' Party"
] | C_e55d029df5ad47a58a7ae57fdcae3f8e_0 | When did Gomulka become first secretary of the United Workers' Party? | 1 | When did Gomulka become first secretary of the United Workers' Party? | Władysław Gomułka | The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomulka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomulka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky. The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomulka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded. Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary of the Party. Gomulka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. A major factor that influenced Gomulka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomulka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". Seeing that Gomulka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomulka was a leader that Moscow could live with. The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In 1967-68 Gomulka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomulka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968. CANNOTANSWER | on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary | Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish communist politician. He was the de facto leader of post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948. Following the Polish October he became leader again from 1956 to 1970. Gomułka was initially very popular for his reforms; his seeking a "Polish way to socialism"; and giving rise to the period known as "Polish thaw". During the 1960s, however, he became more rigid and authoritarian—afraid of destabilizing the system, he was not inclined to introduce or permit changes. In the 1960s he supported the persecution of the Catholic Church, intellectuals and the anti-communist opposition.
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which turned into an anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to retain power by shifting the attention from the stagnating economy. Many of the remaining Polish Jews left the country. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomułka supported Poland's participation in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
In the treaty with West Germany, signed in December 1970 at the end of Gomułka's period in office, West Germany recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In the same month, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent bloody clashes with shipyard workers on the Baltic coast, in which several dozen workers were fatally shot. The tragic events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Childhood and education
Władysław Gomułka was born on 6 February 1905 in Białobrzegi Franciszkańskie village on the outskirts of Krosno, into a worker's family living in the Austrian Partition (the Galicia region). His parents had met and married in the United States, where each had immigrated to in search of work in the late 19th century, but returned to occupied Poland in the early 20th century because Władysław's father Jan was unable to find gainful employment in America. Jan Gomułka then worked as a laborer in the Subcarpathian oil industry. Władysław's older sister Józefa, born in the US, returned there upon turning eighteen to join her extended family, most of whom had emigrated, and to preserve her US citizenship. Władysław and his two other siblings experienced a childhood of the proverbial Galician poverty: they lived in a dilapidated hut and ate mostly potatoes. Władysław received only rudimentary education before being employed in the oil industry of the region.
Gomułka attended schools in Krosno for six or seven years, until the age of thirteen when he had to start an apprenticeship in a metalworks shop. Throughout his life Gomułka was an avid reader and accomplished a great deal of self-education, but remained a subject of jokes because of his lack of formal education and demeanor. In 1922, Gomułka passed his apprenticeship exams and began working at a local refinery.
Early revolutionary activities
Involvement with labor unions and first imprisonment
The re-established Polish state of Gomułka's teen years was a scene of growing political polarization and radicalization. The young worker developed connections with the radical Left, joining the Siła (Power) youth organization in 1922 and the Independent Peasant Party in 1925. Gomułka was known for his activism in the metal workers and, from 1922, chemical industry unions. He was involved in union-organized strikes and in 1924, during a protest gathering in Krosno, participated in a polemical debate with Herman Lieberman. He published radical texts in leftist newspapers. In May 1926 the young Gomułka was for the first time arrested but soon released because of worker demands. The incident was the subject of a parliamentary intervention by the Peasant Party. In October 1926, Gomułka became a secretary of the managing council in the Chemical Industry Workers Union for the Drohobych District and remained involved with that communist-dominated union until 1930. He around this time learned on his own basic Ukrainian.
In late 1926, while in Drohobych, Gomułka became a member of the illegal-but-functioning Communist Party of Poland (Komunistyczna Partia Polski, KPP) and was arrested for political agitation. Technically, at this time he was a member of the Communist Party of Western Ukraine, which was an autonomous branch of the Communist Party of Poland. He was interested primarily in social issues, including the trade and labor movement, and concentrated on practical activities. In mid-1927, Gomułka was brought to Warsaw, where he remained active until drafted for military service at the end of the year. After several months, the military released him because of a health problem with his right leg. Gomułka returned to communist party work, organizing strike actions and speaking at gatherings of workers at all major industrial centers of Poland. During this period he was arrested several times and lived under police supervision.
Gomułka was an activist in the leftist labor unions from 1926 and in the Central Trade Department of the KPP Central Committee from 1931. In the summer of 1930, Gomułka illegally embarked on his first foreign trip with the intention of participating in the Red International of Labor Unions Fifth Congress held in Moscow from 15 to 30 July. Traveling from Upper Silesia to Berlin, he had to wait there for the issuance of Soviet documents and arrived in Moscow too late to participate in the deliberations of the Congress. He stayed in Moscow for a couple of weeks and then went to Leningrad, from where he took a ship to Hamburg, stayed in Berlin again and through Silesia returned to Poland.
In August 1932, he was arrested by the Sanation police while participating in a conference of textile worker delegates in Łódź. When he later tried to escape, Gomułka sustained a gunshot wound in the left thigh which ultimately left him with permanent walking impairment.
Journey to the Soviet Union and second imprisonment
Despite being sentenced to a four-year prison term on 1 June 1933, he was temporarily released for surgery on his injured leg in March 1934. Following his release, Gomułka requested that the KPP send him to the Soviet Union for medical treatment and further political training. He arrived in the Soviet Union in June and went to the Crimea for several weeks, where he underwent therapeutic baths. Gomułka then spent more than a year in Moscow, where he attended the Lenin School under the name Stefan Kowalski. The ideology-oriented classes were arranged separately for a small group of Polish students (one of them was Roman Romkowski (Natan Grünspan [Grinszpan]-Kikiel), who would later persecute Gomułka in Stalinist Poland) and included a military training course conducted by Karol Świerczewski. In a written opinion issued by the school Gomułka was characterized in highly positive terms, but his extended stay in the Soviet Union caused him to become disillusioned with the realities of Stalinist communism and highly critical of the agrarian collectivization practice. In November 1935 he illegally returned to Poland.
Gomułka resumed his communist and labor conspiratorial activities and kept advancing within the KPP organization until, as the secretary of the Party's Silesian branch, he was arrested in Chorzów in April 1936. He was then tried by the District Court in Katowice and sentenced to seven years in prison where he remained jailed until the beginning of World War II. Ironically, this internment most likely saved Gomułka's life, because the majority of the KPP leadership would be murdered in the Soviet Union in the late 1930s, caught up in the Great Purge under Joseph Stalin's orders.
Gomułka's experiences turned him into an extremely suspicious and distrustful person and contributed to his lifelong conviction that Sanation Poland was a fascist state, even if Polish prisons were the safest place for Polish Communists. He differentiated this belief from his positive feelings toward the country and its people, especially members of the working class.
World War II
Invasion of Poland
The outbreak of the war with Nazi Germany freed Gomułka from his prison confinement. On 7 September 1939, he arrived in Warsaw, where he stayed for a few weeks, working in the besieged capital on the construction of defensive fortifications. From there, like many other Polish communists, Gomułka fled to eastern Poland which was invaded by the Soviet Union on 17 September 1939. In Białystok he ran a home for former political prisoners arriving from other parts of Poland. To be reunited with his luckily found wife, at the end of 1939 Gomułka moved to Soviet-controlled Lviv.
Like other members of the dissolved Communist Party of Poland, Gomułka sought a membership in the Soviet All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). The Soviet authorities allowed such membership transfers only from March 1941 and in April of that year Gomułka received his party card in Kiev.
The circumstances of the Polish communists' lives changed dramatically after 1941 German attack on the Soviet positions in eastern Poland. Reduced to penury in now German-occupied Lviv, the Gomułkas managed to join Władysław's family in Krosno by the end of 1941. However, a momentous development soon took place in the sphere of communist political activity: in January 1942, Joseph Stalin reestablished in Warsaw a Polish communist party under the name of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR).
In 1942, Gomułka participated in the reformation of a Polish communist party (the KPP was destroyed in Stalin's purges in the late 1930s) under the name Polish Workers' Party (Polska Partia Robotnicza, PPR). Gomułka became involved in the creation of party structures in the Subcarpathian region and began using his wartime conspiratorial pseudonym "Wiesław". In July 1942, Paweł Finder brought Gomułka to occupied Warsaw. In August, the secretary of the PPR's regional Warsaw Committee was arrested by the Gestapo and "Wiesław" was entrusted with his job. In September Gomułka became a member of the PPR's Temporary Central Committee.
In late 1942 and early 1943, the PPR experienced a severe crisis because of the murder of its first secretary Marceli Nowotko. Gomułka participated in the party investigation directed against another member of the leadership, Bolesław Mołojec, that resulted in Mołojec's execution. Together with the promoted to secretary Finder and Franciszek Jóźwiak, "Wiesław" (Gomułka) was included in the Party's new inner leadership, established in January 1943. The Central Committee was enlarged in the following months to include Bolesław Bierut, among others.
In February 1943, Gomułka led the communist side in a series of important meetings in Warsaw between the PPR and the Government Delegation of the London-based Polish government-in-exile and the Home Army. The talks produced no results because of the divergent interests of the parties involved and a mutual lack of confidence. The Delegation officially discontinued the negotiations on April 28, three days after the Soviet government broke diplomatic relations with the Polish government. He became the Party's main ideologist. He wrote the "What do we fight for?" (O co walczymy?) publication dated 1 March 1943, and the much more comprehensive declaration that emerged under the same title in November. "Wiesław" supervised the Party's main editorial and publishing undertaking.
Gomułka made efforts, largely unsuccessful, to secure for the PPR cooperation of other political forces in occupied Poland. Bierut was indifferent to any such attempts and counted simply on compulsion provided by a future presence of the Red Army in Poland. The different strategies resulted in a sharp conflict between the two communist politicians.
State National Council, Polish Committee of National Liberation
In the fall of 1943, the PPR leadership began discussing the creation of a Polish quasi-parliamentary, communist-led body, to be named the State National Council (Krajowa Rada Narodowa, KRN). After the Battle of Kursk the expectation was of a Soviet victory and liberation of Poland and the PPR wanted to be ready to assume power. Gomułka came up with the idea of a national council and imposed his point of view on the rest of the leadership. The PPR intended to obtain consent from the Comintern leader and their Soviet contact Georgi Dimitrov. However, in November the Gestapo arrested Finder and Małgorzata Fornalska, who possessed the secret codes for communication with Moscow and the Soviet response remained unknown. In the absence of Finder, on 23 November Gomułka was elected general secretary (chief) of the PPR and Bierut joined the three-person inner leadership.
The founding meeting of the State National Council took place in the late evening of 31 December 1943. The new body's chairman Bierut was becoming Gomułka's main rival. In mid-January 1944 Dimitrov was finally informed of the KRN's existence, which surprised both him and the Polish communist leaders in Moscow, increasingly led by Jakub Berman, who had other, competing ideas concerning the establishment of a Polish communist ruling party and government.
Gomułka felt that the Polish communists in occupied Poland had a better understanding of Polish realities than their brethren in Moscow and that the State National Council should determine the shape of the future executive government of Poland. Nevertheless, to gain Soviet approval and to clear any misunderstandings a KRN delegation left Warsaw in mid-March heading for Moscow, where it arrived two months later. By that time Stalin concluded that the existence of the KRN was a positive development and the Poles arriving from Warsaw were received and greeted by him and other Soviet dignitaries. The Union of Polish Patriots and the Central Bureau of Polish Communists in Moscow were now under pressure to recognize the primacy of the PPR, the KRN and Władysław Gomułka, which they ultimately did only in mid-July.
On 20 July, the Soviet forces under Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky forced their way across the Bug River and on that same day the combined meeting of Polish communists from the Moscow and Warsaw factions finalized the arrangements regarding the establishment (on 21 July) of the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN), a temporary government headed by Edward Osóbka-Morawski, a socialist allied with the communists. Gomułka and other PPR leaders left Warsaw and headed for the Soviet-controlled territory, arriving in Lublin on 1 August, the day the Warsaw Uprising erupted in the Polish capital.
Post-war political career
Role in communist takeover of Poland
Gomułka was a deputy prime minister in the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland (Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), from January to June 1945, and in the Provisional Government of National Unity (Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej), from 1945 to 1947. As a minister of Recovered Territories (1945–48), he exerted great influence over the rebuilding, integration and economic progress of Poland within its new borders, by supervising the settlement, development and administration of the lands acquired from Germany. Using his position in the PPR and government, Gomułka led the leftist social transformations in Poland and participated in the crushing of the resistance to communist rule during the post-war years. He also helped the communists in winning the 3 x Tak (3 Times Yes) referendum of 1946. A year later, he played a key role in the 1947 parliamentary elections, which were fraudulently arranged to give the communists and their allies an overwhelming victory. After the elections, all remaining legal opposition in Poland was effectively destroyed, and Gomułka was now the most powerful man in Poland. In June 1948, because of the impending unification of the PPR and PPS, Gomułka delivered a talk on the subject of the history of the Polish worker movement.
In a memo written to Stalin in 1948, Gomułka argued that "some of the Jewish comrades don’t feel any link to the Polish nation or to the Polish working class…or they maintain a stance which might be described as ‘national nihilism’". As a result, he considered it "absolutely necessary not only to stop any further growth in the percentage of Jews in the state as well as the party apparatus, but also to slowly lower that percentage, especially at the highest levels of the apparatus". Nikita Khrushchev, who was intimately involved in Polish affairs in the 1940s, according to Khrushchev′s memoirs, believed that Gomułka had a valid point in opposing the personnel policies pursued by Roman Zambrowski, Jakub Berman, and Hilary Minc, all of them of Jewish descent and brought to Poland from Stalin′s Russia. Nevertheless, Khrushchev attributed Gomułka′s subsequent downfall to his rivals having succeeded in portraying Gomułka as being pro-Yugoslav; the charges were not made public but were brought to Stalin′s attention and became crucial in his decision-making on whose side he would support — in view of the Soviet–Yugoslavia rift that occurred in 1948.
Temporary withdrawal from politics
In the late 1940s, Poland's communist government was split by a rivalry between Gomułka and President Bolesław Bierut. Gomułka led a home national group while Bierut headed a group reared by Stalin in the Soviet Union. The struggle ultimately led to Gomułka's removal from power in 1948. While Bierut advocated a policy of complete subservience to Moscow, Gomułka wanted to adapt the Communist blueprint to Polish circumstances. Among other things, he opposed forced collectivization and was skeptical of the Cominform. The Bierut faction had Stalin's ear, and on Stalin's orders, Gomułka was sacked as party leader for "rightist-nationalist deviation," replaced by Bierut. In December, soon after the PPR and Polish Socialist Party merged to form Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) (which was essentially the PPR under a new name), Gomułka was dropped from the merged party's Politburo. He was stripped of his remaining government posts in January 1949 and expelled from the party altogether in November. For the next eight years, he performed no official functions and was subjected to persecution, including almost four years of imprisonment from 1951 to 1954.
Bierut died in March 1956, during a period of de-Stalinization in Poland which gradually developed after Stalin's death. Edward Ochab became the new first secretary of the Party. Soon afterward, Gomułka was partially rehabilitated when Ochab conceded that Gomułka should not have been jailed, while reiterating the charges of "rightist-nationalist deviation" against him.
Rise to power
In June 1956, violent worker protests broke out in Poznań. The worker riots were harshly suppressed and dozens of workers were killed. However, the Party leadership, which now included many reform-minded officials, recognized to some degree the validity of the protest participants' demands and took steps to placate the workers.
The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomułka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomułka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky.
The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomułka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded.
Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomułka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomułka as the first secretary of the Party. Gomułka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. Seeing that Gomułka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomułka was a leader that Moscow could live with.
Leadership of the Polish People's Republic
Relations with other Eastern Bloc countries
A major factor that influenced Gomułka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomułka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe.
During the events of the Prague Spring, Gomułka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
Domestic policies
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign and purge of the army, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media.
Resignation and retirement
In December 1970, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent protests. Gomułka along with his right-hand man Zenon Kliszko ordered the regular Army under General Bolesław Chocha, to shoot striking workers with automatic weapons in Gdańsk and Gdynia. Over 41 shipyard workers of the Baltic coast were killed in the ensuing police-state violence, while well over a thousand people were wounded. The events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Gomułka's negative image in communist propaganda after his removal was gradually modified and some of his constructive contributions were recognized. He is seen as an honest and austere believer in the socialist system, who, unable to resolve Poland's formidable difficulties and satisfy mutually contradictory demands, grew more rigid and despotic later in his career. A heavy smoker, he died in 1982 at the age of 77 of lung cancer. Gomułka's memoirs were not published until 1994, long after his death, and five years after the collapse of the communist regime which he served and led.
The American journalist John Gunther described Gomułka in 1961 as being "professorial in manner, aloof, and angular, with a peculiar spry pepperiness".
Decorations and awards
:
Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Order of the Cross of Grunwald (1st class)
Partisan Cross
Medal "For Warsaw 1939-1945"
Medal Rodła
Other countries:
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France)
Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy)
Order of Lenin (Soviet Union)
Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (Soviet Union)
See also
History of Poland (1945–89)
References
External links
1905 births
1982 deaths
People from Krosno
People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Communist Party of Poland politicians
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Polish Workers' Party politicians
Members of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party
Members of the State National Council
Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952
Members of the Polish Sejm 1957–1961
Members of the Polish Sejm 1961–1965
Members of the Polish Sejm 1965–1969
Members of the Polish Sejm 1969–1972
Polish atheists
Communist rulers
Collaborators with the Soviet Union
Antisemitism in Poland
Anti-intellectualism
International Lenin School alumni
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1944–1989)
Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work
Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
People of the Cold War | false | [
"Natolin faction was a faction within the leadership of the communist Polish United Workers' Party (Polish: PZPR). Formed around 1956, shortly after the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, it was named after the place where its meetings took place, in a government villa in Natolin. The main opposition to the Natolines was the Puławian faction, which united many Stalinist party members of Jewish origin.\n\n1956 in Poland\nPolitical history of Poland\nPolish United Workers' Party\nNatolinians were against the post-Stalinist liberalization programs (the \"thaw\") and they proclaimed simple nationalist and anti-Soviet slogans as part of a strategy to gain power. The most well known members included Franciszek Jóźwiak, Wiktor Kłosiewicz, Zenon Nowak, Aleksander Zawadzki, Franciszek Mazur, Władysław Kruczek, Kazimierz Mijal, Władysław Dworakowski, Hilary Chełchowski. After the 8th Plenum of Central Committee of PZPR in October 1956 the faction suffered a major setback as the First Secretary of the Party, Wladysław Gomulka, chose to back (and in return, be supported by) the Pulawians. Both the Natoline and the Pulawian factions disappeared towards the end of the 1950s. Witold Jedlicki described the struggle between Natolins and the Pulawians in the booklet “Oafs and Jews” (Chamy i Żydy).\n\nReferences \n\nStalinism in Poland\nAnti-revisionist organizations",
"Lenny Gomulka is an American musician, singer, songwriter, bandleader, composer, and publisher. One of his bands, Lenny Gomulka and Chicago Push, popular for American & Polish-style and Chicago-style polkas. Gomulka has also collaborated numerous times with Eddie Blazonczyk Sr., Jimmy Sturr and others.\n\nLenny Gomulka is the author of \"Say Hello to Someone in Massachusetts\", the official polka of the State of Massachusetts. He is an inductee of the International Polka Association Hall of Fame, and a twelve-time Grammy Award nominee.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial Web site of Lenny Gomulka and the Chicago Push\n\nLiving people\nMusicians from Massachusetts\nAmerican songwriters\nAmerican bandleaders\nYear of birth missing (living people)"
] |
[
"Władysław Gomułka",
"First secretary of the United Workers' Party",
"When did Gomulka become first secretary of the United Workers' Party?",
"on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary"
] | C_e55d029df5ad47a58a7ae57fdcae3f8e_0 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 2 | Besides, are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | Władysław Gomułka | The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomulka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomulka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky. The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomulka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded. Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary of the Party. Gomulka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. A major factor that influenced Gomulka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomulka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". Seeing that Gomulka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomulka was a leader that Moscow could live with. The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In 1967-68 Gomulka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomulka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968. CANNOTANSWER | Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968. | Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish communist politician. He was the de facto leader of post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948. Following the Polish October he became leader again from 1956 to 1970. Gomułka was initially very popular for his reforms; his seeking a "Polish way to socialism"; and giving rise to the period known as "Polish thaw". During the 1960s, however, he became more rigid and authoritarian—afraid of destabilizing the system, he was not inclined to introduce or permit changes. In the 1960s he supported the persecution of the Catholic Church, intellectuals and the anti-communist opposition.
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which turned into an anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to retain power by shifting the attention from the stagnating economy. Many of the remaining Polish Jews left the country. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomułka supported Poland's participation in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
In the treaty with West Germany, signed in December 1970 at the end of Gomułka's period in office, West Germany recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In the same month, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent bloody clashes with shipyard workers on the Baltic coast, in which several dozen workers were fatally shot. The tragic events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Childhood and education
Władysław Gomułka was born on 6 February 1905 in Białobrzegi Franciszkańskie village on the outskirts of Krosno, into a worker's family living in the Austrian Partition (the Galicia region). His parents had met and married in the United States, where each had immigrated to in search of work in the late 19th century, but returned to occupied Poland in the early 20th century because Władysław's father Jan was unable to find gainful employment in America. Jan Gomułka then worked as a laborer in the Subcarpathian oil industry. Władysław's older sister Józefa, born in the US, returned there upon turning eighteen to join her extended family, most of whom had emigrated, and to preserve her US citizenship. Władysław and his two other siblings experienced a childhood of the proverbial Galician poverty: they lived in a dilapidated hut and ate mostly potatoes. Władysław received only rudimentary education before being employed in the oil industry of the region.
Gomułka attended schools in Krosno for six or seven years, until the age of thirteen when he had to start an apprenticeship in a metalworks shop. Throughout his life Gomułka was an avid reader and accomplished a great deal of self-education, but remained a subject of jokes because of his lack of formal education and demeanor. In 1922, Gomułka passed his apprenticeship exams and began working at a local refinery.
Early revolutionary activities
Involvement with labor unions and first imprisonment
The re-established Polish state of Gomułka's teen years was a scene of growing political polarization and radicalization. The young worker developed connections with the radical Left, joining the Siła (Power) youth organization in 1922 and the Independent Peasant Party in 1925. Gomułka was known for his activism in the metal workers and, from 1922, chemical industry unions. He was involved in union-organized strikes and in 1924, during a protest gathering in Krosno, participated in a polemical debate with Herman Lieberman. He published radical texts in leftist newspapers. In May 1926 the young Gomułka was for the first time arrested but soon released because of worker demands. The incident was the subject of a parliamentary intervention by the Peasant Party. In October 1926, Gomułka became a secretary of the managing council in the Chemical Industry Workers Union for the Drohobych District and remained involved with that communist-dominated union until 1930. He around this time learned on his own basic Ukrainian.
In late 1926, while in Drohobych, Gomułka became a member of the illegal-but-functioning Communist Party of Poland (Komunistyczna Partia Polski, KPP) and was arrested for political agitation. Technically, at this time he was a member of the Communist Party of Western Ukraine, which was an autonomous branch of the Communist Party of Poland. He was interested primarily in social issues, including the trade and labor movement, and concentrated on practical activities. In mid-1927, Gomułka was brought to Warsaw, where he remained active until drafted for military service at the end of the year. After several months, the military released him because of a health problem with his right leg. Gomułka returned to communist party work, organizing strike actions and speaking at gatherings of workers at all major industrial centers of Poland. During this period he was arrested several times and lived under police supervision.
Gomułka was an activist in the leftist labor unions from 1926 and in the Central Trade Department of the KPP Central Committee from 1931. In the summer of 1930, Gomułka illegally embarked on his first foreign trip with the intention of participating in the Red International of Labor Unions Fifth Congress held in Moscow from 15 to 30 July. Traveling from Upper Silesia to Berlin, he had to wait there for the issuance of Soviet documents and arrived in Moscow too late to participate in the deliberations of the Congress. He stayed in Moscow for a couple of weeks and then went to Leningrad, from where he took a ship to Hamburg, stayed in Berlin again and through Silesia returned to Poland.
In August 1932, he was arrested by the Sanation police while participating in a conference of textile worker delegates in Łódź. When he later tried to escape, Gomułka sustained a gunshot wound in the left thigh which ultimately left him with permanent walking impairment.
Journey to the Soviet Union and second imprisonment
Despite being sentenced to a four-year prison term on 1 June 1933, he was temporarily released for surgery on his injured leg in March 1934. Following his release, Gomułka requested that the KPP send him to the Soviet Union for medical treatment and further political training. He arrived in the Soviet Union in June and went to the Crimea for several weeks, where he underwent therapeutic baths. Gomułka then spent more than a year in Moscow, where he attended the Lenin School under the name Stefan Kowalski. The ideology-oriented classes were arranged separately for a small group of Polish students (one of them was Roman Romkowski (Natan Grünspan [Grinszpan]-Kikiel), who would later persecute Gomułka in Stalinist Poland) and included a military training course conducted by Karol Świerczewski. In a written opinion issued by the school Gomułka was characterized in highly positive terms, but his extended stay in the Soviet Union caused him to become disillusioned with the realities of Stalinist communism and highly critical of the agrarian collectivization practice. In November 1935 he illegally returned to Poland.
Gomułka resumed his communist and labor conspiratorial activities and kept advancing within the KPP organization until, as the secretary of the Party's Silesian branch, he was arrested in Chorzów in April 1936. He was then tried by the District Court in Katowice and sentenced to seven years in prison where he remained jailed until the beginning of World War II. Ironically, this internment most likely saved Gomułka's life, because the majority of the KPP leadership would be murdered in the Soviet Union in the late 1930s, caught up in the Great Purge under Joseph Stalin's orders.
Gomułka's experiences turned him into an extremely suspicious and distrustful person and contributed to his lifelong conviction that Sanation Poland was a fascist state, even if Polish prisons were the safest place for Polish Communists. He differentiated this belief from his positive feelings toward the country and its people, especially members of the working class.
World War II
Invasion of Poland
The outbreak of the war with Nazi Germany freed Gomułka from his prison confinement. On 7 September 1939, he arrived in Warsaw, where he stayed for a few weeks, working in the besieged capital on the construction of defensive fortifications. From there, like many other Polish communists, Gomułka fled to eastern Poland which was invaded by the Soviet Union on 17 September 1939. In Białystok he ran a home for former political prisoners arriving from other parts of Poland. To be reunited with his luckily found wife, at the end of 1939 Gomułka moved to Soviet-controlled Lviv.
Like other members of the dissolved Communist Party of Poland, Gomułka sought a membership in the Soviet All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). The Soviet authorities allowed such membership transfers only from March 1941 and in April of that year Gomułka received his party card in Kiev.
The circumstances of the Polish communists' lives changed dramatically after 1941 German attack on the Soviet positions in eastern Poland. Reduced to penury in now German-occupied Lviv, the Gomułkas managed to join Władysław's family in Krosno by the end of 1941. However, a momentous development soon took place in the sphere of communist political activity: in January 1942, Joseph Stalin reestablished in Warsaw a Polish communist party under the name of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR).
In 1942, Gomułka participated in the reformation of a Polish communist party (the KPP was destroyed in Stalin's purges in the late 1930s) under the name Polish Workers' Party (Polska Partia Robotnicza, PPR). Gomułka became involved in the creation of party structures in the Subcarpathian region and began using his wartime conspiratorial pseudonym "Wiesław". In July 1942, Paweł Finder brought Gomułka to occupied Warsaw. In August, the secretary of the PPR's regional Warsaw Committee was arrested by the Gestapo and "Wiesław" was entrusted with his job. In September Gomułka became a member of the PPR's Temporary Central Committee.
In late 1942 and early 1943, the PPR experienced a severe crisis because of the murder of its first secretary Marceli Nowotko. Gomułka participated in the party investigation directed against another member of the leadership, Bolesław Mołojec, that resulted in Mołojec's execution. Together with the promoted to secretary Finder and Franciszek Jóźwiak, "Wiesław" (Gomułka) was included in the Party's new inner leadership, established in January 1943. The Central Committee was enlarged in the following months to include Bolesław Bierut, among others.
In February 1943, Gomułka led the communist side in a series of important meetings in Warsaw between the PPR and the Government Delegation of the London-based Polish government-in-exile and the Home Army. The talks produced no results because of the divergent interests of the parties involved and a mutual lack of confidence. The Delegation officially discontinued the negotiations on April 28, three days after the Soviet government broke diplomatic relations with the Polish government. He became the Party's main ideologist. He wrote the "What do we fight for?" (O co walczymy?) publication dated 1 March 1943, and the much more comprehensive declaration that emerged under the same title in November. "Wiesław" supervised the Party's main editorial and publishing undertaking.
Gomułka made efforts, largely unsuccessful, to secure for the PPR cooperation of other political forces in occupied Poland. Bierut was indifferent to any such attempts and counted simply on compulsion provided by a future presence of the Red Army in Poland. The different strategies resulted in a sharp conflict between the two communist politicians.
State National Council, Polish Committee of National Liberation
In the fall of 1943, the PPR leadership began discussing the creation of a Polish quasi-parliamentary, communist-led body, to be named the State National Council (Krajowa Rada Narodowa, KRN). After the Battle of Kursk the expectation was of a Soviet victory and liberation of Poland and the PPR wanted to be ready to assume power. Gomułka came up with the idea of a national council and imposed his point of view on the rest of the leadership. The PPR intended to obtain consent from the Comintern leader and their Soviet contact Georgi Dimitrov. However, in November the Gestapo arrested Finder and Małgorzata Fornalska, who possessed the secret codes for communication with Moscow and the Soviet response remained unknown. In the absence of Finder, on 23 November Gomułka was elected general secretary (chief) of the PPR and Bierut joined the three-person inner leadership.
The founding meeting of the State National Council took place in the late evening of 31 December 1943. The new body's chairman Bierut was becoming Gomułka's main rival. In mid-January 1944 Dimitrov was finally informed of the KRN's existence, which surprised both him and the Polish communist leaders in Moscow, increasingly led by Jakub Berman, who had other, competing ideas concerning the establishment of a Polish communist ruling party and government.
Gomułka felt that the Polish communists in occupied Poland had a better understanding of Polish realities than their brethren in Moscow and that the State National Council should determine the shape of the future executive government of Poland. Nevertheless, to gain Soviet approval and to clear any misunderstandings a KRN delegation left Warsaw in mid-March heading for Moscow, where it arrived two months later. By that time Stalin concluded that the existence of the KRN was a positive development and the Poles arriving from Warsaw were received and greeted by him and other Soviet dignitaries. The Union of Polish Patriots and the Central Bureau of Polish Communists in Moscow were now under pressure to recognize the primacy of the PPR, the KRN and Władysław Gomułka, which they ultimately did only in mid-July.
On 20 July, the Soviet forces under Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky forced their way across the Bug River and on that same day the combined meeting of Polish communists from the Moscow and Warsaw factions finalized the arrangements regarding the establishment (on 21 July) of the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN), a temporary government headed by Edward Osóbka-Morawski, a socialist allied with the communists. Gomułka and other PPR leaders left Warsaw and headed for the Soviet-controlled territory, arriving in Lublin on 1 August, the day the Warsaw Uprising erupted in the Polish capital.
Post-war political career
Role in communist takeover of Poland
Gomułka was a deputy prime minister in the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland (Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), from January to June 1945, and in the Provisional Government of National Unity (Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej), from 1945 to 1947. As a minister of Recovered Territories (1945–48), he exerted great influence over the rebuilding, integration and economic progress of Poland within its new borders, by supervising the settlement, development and administration of the lands acquired from Germany. Using his position in the PPR and government, Gomułka led the leftist social transformations in Poland and participated in the crushing of the resistance to communist rule during the post-war years. He also helped the communists in winning the 3 x Tak (3 Times Yes) referendum of 1946. A year later, he played a key role in the 1947 parliamentary elections, which were fraudulently arranged to give the communists and their allies an overwhelming victory. After the elections, all remaining legal opposition in Poland was effectively destroyed, and Gomułka was now the most powerful man in Poland. In June 1948, because of the impending unification of the PPR and PPS, Gomułka delivered a talk on the subject of the history of the Polish worker movement.
In a memo written to Stalin in 1948, Gomułka argued that "some of the Jewish comrades don’t feel any link to the Polish nation or to the Polish working class…or they maintain a stance which might be described as ‘national nihilism’". As a result, he considered it "absolutely necessary not only to stop any further growth in the percentage of Jews in the state as well as the party apparatus, but also to slowly lower that percentage, especially at the highest levels of the apparatus". Nikita Khrushchev, who was intimately involved in Polish affairs in the 1940s, according to Khrushchev′s memoirs, believed that Gomułka had a valid point in opposing the personnel policies pursued by Roman Zambrowski, Jakub Berman, and Hilary Minc, all of them of Jewish descent and brought to Poland from Stalin′s Russia. Nevertheless, Khrushchev attributed Gomułka′s subsequent downfall to his rivals having succeeded in portraying Gomułka as being pro-Yugoslav; the charges were not made public but were brought to Stalin′s attention and became crucial in his decision-making on whose side he would support — in view of the Soviet–Yugoslavia rift that occurred in 1948.
Temporary withdrawal from politics
In the late 1940s, Poland's communist government was split by a rivalry between Gomułka and President Bolesław Bierut. Gomułka led a home national group while Bierut headed a group reared by Stalin in the Soviet Union. The struggle ultimately led to Gomułka's removal from power in 1948. While Bierut advocated a policy of complete subservience to Moscow, Gomułka wanted to adapt the Communist blueprint to Polish circumstances. Among other things, he opposed forced collectivization and was skeptical of the Cominform. The Bierut faction had Stalin's ear, and on Stalin's orders, Gomułka was sacked as party leader for "rightist-nationalist deviation," replaced by Bierut. In December, soon after the PPR and Polish Socialist Party merged to form Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) (which was essentially the PPR under a new name), Gomułka was dropped from the merged party's Politburo. He was stripped of his remaining government posts in January 1949 and expelled from the party altogether in November. For the next eight years, he performed no official functions and was subjected to persecution, including almost four years of imprisonment from 1951 to 1954.
Bierut died in March 1956, during a period of de-Stalinization in Poland which gradually developed after Stalin's death. Edward Ochab became the new first secretary of the Party. Soon afterward, Gomułka was partially rehabilitated when Ochab conceded that Gomułka should not have been jailed, while reiterating the charges of "rightist-nationalist deviation" against him.
Rise to power
In June 1956, violent worker protests broke out in Poznań. The worker riots were harshly suppressed and dozens of workers were killed. However, the Party leadership, which now included many reform-minded officials, recognized to some degree the validity of the protest participants' demands and took steps to placate the workers.
The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomułka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomułka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky.
The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomułka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded.
Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomułka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomułka as the first secretary of the Party. Gomułka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. Seeing that Gomułka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomułka was a leader that Moscow could live with.
Leadership of the Polish People's Republic
Relations with other Eastern Bloc countries
A major factor that influenced Gomułka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomułka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe.
During the events of the Prague Spring, Gomułka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
Domestic policies
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign and purge of the army, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media.
Resignation and retirement
In December 1970, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent protests. Gomułka along with his right-hand man Zenon Kliszko ordered the regular Army under General Bolesław Chocha, to shoot striking workers with automatic weapons in Gdańsk and Gdynia. Over 41 shipyard workers of the Baltic coast were killed in the ensuing police-state violence, while well over a thousand people were wounded. The events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Gomułka's negative image in communist propaganda after his removal was gradually modified and some of his constructive contributions were recognized. He is seen as an honest and austere believer in the socialist system, who, unable to resolve Poland's formidable difficulties and satisfy mutually contradictory demands, grew more rigid and despotic later in his career. A heavy smoker, he died in 1982 at the age of 77 of lung cancer. Gomułka's memoirs were not published until 1994, long after his death, and five years after the collapse of the communist regime which he served and led.
The American journalist John Gunther described Gomułka in 1961 as being "professorial in manner, aloof, and angular, with a peculiar spry pepperiness".
Decorations and awards
:
Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Order of the Cross of Grunwald (1st class)
Partisan Cross
Medal "For Warsaw 1939-1945"
Medal Rodła
Other countries:
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France)
Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy)
Order of Lenin (Soviet Union)
Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (Soviet Union)
See also
History of Poland (1945–89)
References
External links
1905 births
1982 deaths
People from Krosno
People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Communist Party of Poland politicians
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Polish Workers' Party politicians
Members of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party
Members of the State National Council
Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952
Members of the Polish Sejm 1957–1961
Members of the Polish Sejm 1961–1965
Members of the Polish Sejm 1965–1969
Members of the Polish Sejm 1969–1972
Polish atheists
Communist rulers
Collaborators with the Soviet Union
Antisemitism in Poland
Anti-intellectualism
International Lenin School alumni
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1944–1989)
Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work
Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
People of the Cold War | false | [
"Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region",
"Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts"
] |
[
"Władysław Gomułka",
"First secretary of the United Workers' Party",
"When did Gomulka become first secretary of the United Workers' Party?",
"on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968."
] | C_e55d029df5ad47a58a7ae57fdcae3f8e_0 | What did Gomulka do as first secretary of the UWP? | 3 | What did Gomulka do as first secretary of the UWP? | Władysław Gomułka | The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomulka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomulka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky. The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomulka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded. Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary of the Party. Gomulka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. A major factor that influenced Gomulka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomulka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". Seeing that Gomulka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomulka was a leader that Moscow could live with. The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In 1967-68 Gomulka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomulka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968. CANNOTANSWER | believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. | Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish communist politician. He was the de facto leader of post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948. Following the Polish October he became leader again from 1956 to 1970. Gomułka was initially very popular for his reforms; his seeking a "Polish way to socialism"; and giving rise to the period known as "Polish thaw". During the 1960s, however, he became more rigid and authoritarian—afraid of destabilizing the system, he was not inclined to introduce or permit changes. In the 1960s he supported the persecution of the Catholic Church, intellectuals and the anti-communist opposition.
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which turned into an anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to retain power by shifting the attention from the stagnating economy. Many of the remaining Polish Jews left the country. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomułka supported Poland's participation in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
In the treaty with West Germany, signed in December 1970 at the end of Gomułka's period in office, West Germany recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In the same month, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent bloody clashes with shipyard workers on the Baltic coast, in which several dozen workers were fatally shot. The tragic events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Childhood and education
Władysław Gomułka was born on 6 February 1905 in Białobrzegi Franciszkańskie village on the outskirts of Krosno, into a worker's family living in the Austrian Partition (the Galicia region). His parents had met and married in the United States, where each had immigrated to in search of work in the late 19th century, but returned to occupied Poland in the early 20th century because Władysław's father Jan was unable to find gainful employment in America. Jan Gomułka then worked as a laborer in the Subcarpathian oil industry. Władysław's older sister Józefa, born in the US, returned there upon turning eighteen to join her extended family, most of whom had emigrated, and to preserve her US citizenship. Władysław and his two other siblings experienced a childhood of the proverbial Galician poverty: they lived in a dilapidated hut and ate mostly potatoes. Władysław received only rudimentary education before being employed in the oil industry of the region.
Gomułka attended schools in Krosno for six or seven years, until the age of thirteen when he had to start an apprenticeship in a metalworks shop. Throughout his life Gomułka was an avid reader and accomplished a great deal of self-education, but remained a subject of jokes because of his lack of formal education and demeanor. In 1922, Gomułka passed his apprenticeship exams and began working at a local refinery.
Early revolutionary activities
Involvement with labor unions and first imprisonment
The re-established Polish state of Gomułka's teen years was a scene of growing political polarization and radicalization. The young worker developed connections with the radical Left, joining the Siła (Power) youth organization in 1922 and the Independent Peasant Party in 1925. Gomułka was known for his activism in the metal workers and, from 1922, chemical industry unions. He was involved in union-organized strikes and in 1924, during a protest gathering in Krosno, participated in a polemical debate with Herman Lieberman. He published radical texts in leftist newspapers. In May 1926 the young Gomułka was for the first time arrested but soon released because of worker demands. The incident was the subject of a parliamentary intervention by the Peasant Party. In October 1926, Gomułka became a secretary of the managing council in the Chemical Industry Workers Union for the Drohobych District and remained involved with that communist-dominated union until 1930. He around this time learned on his own basic Ukrainian.
In late 1926, while in Drohobych, Gomułka became a member of the illegal-but-functioning Communist Party of Poland (Komunistyczna Partia Polski, KPP) and was arrested for political agitation. Technically, at this time he was a member of the Communist Party of Western Ukraine, which was an autonomous branch of the Communist Party of Poland. He was interested primarily in social issues, including the trade and labor movement, and concentrated on practical activities. In mid-1927, Gomułka was brought to Warsaw, where he remained active until drafted for military service at the end of the year. After several months, the military released him because of a health problem with his right leg. Gomułka returned to communist party work, organizing strike actions and speaking at gatherings of workers at all major industrial centers of Poland. During this period he was arrested several times and lived under police supervision.
Gomułka was an activist in the leftist labor unions from 1926 and in the Central Trade Department of the KPP Central Committee from 1931. In the summer of 1930, Gomułka illegally embarked on his first foreign trip with the intention of participating in the Red International of Labor Unions Fifth Congress held in Moscow from 15 to 30 July. Traveling from Upper Silesia to Berlin, he had to wait there for the issuance of Soviet documents and arrived in Moscow too late to participate in the deliberations of the Congress. He stayed in Moscow for a couple of weeks and then went to Leningrad, from where he took a ship to Hamburg, stayed in Berlin again and through Silesia returned to Poland.
In August 1932, he was arrested by the Sanation police while participating in a conference of textile worker delegates in Łódź. When he later tried to escape, Gomułka sustained a gunshot wound in the left thigh which ultimately left him with permanent walking impairment.
Journey to the Soviet Union and second imprisonment
Despite being sentenced to a four-year prison term on 1 June 1933, he was temporarily released for surgery on his injured leg in March 1934. Following his release, Gomułka requested that the KPP send him to the Soviet Union for medical treatment and further political training. He arrived in the Soviet Union in June and went to the Crimea for several weeks, where he underwent therapeutic baths. Gomułka then spent more than a year in Moscow, where he attended the Lenin School under the name Stefan Kowalski. The ideology-oriented classes were arranged separately for a small group of Polish students (one of them was Roman Romkowski (Natan Grünspan [Grinszpan]-Kikiel), who would later persecute Gomułka in Stalinist Poland) and included a military training course conducted by Karol Świerczewski. In a written opinion issued by the school Gomułka was characterized in highly positive terms, but his extended stay in the Soviet Union caused him to become disillusioned with the realities of Stalinist communism and highly critical of the agrarian collectivization practice. In November 1935 he illegally returned to Poland.
Gomułka resumed his communist and labor conspiratorial activities and kept advancing within the KPP organization until, as the secretary of the Party's Silesian branch, he was arrested in Chorzów in April 1936. He was then tried by the District Court in Katowice and sentenced to seven years in prison where he remained jailed until the beginning of World War II. Ironically, this internment most likely saved Gomułka's life, because the majority of the KPP leadership would be murdered in the Soviet Union in the late 1930s, caught up in the Great Purge under Joseph Stalin's orders.
Gomułka's experiences turned him into an extremely suspicious and distrustful person and contributed to his lifelong conviction that Sanation Poland was a fascist state, even if Polish prisons were the safest place for Polish Communists. He differentiated this belief from his positive feelings toward the country and its people, especially members of the working class.
World War II
Invasion of Poland
The outbreak of the war with Nazi Germany freed Gomułka from his prison confinement. On 7 September 1939, he arrived in Warsaw, where he stayed for a few weeks, working in the besieged capital on the construction of defensive fortifications. From there, like many other Polish communists, Gomułka fled to eastern Poland which was invaded by the Soviet Union on 17 September 1939. In Białystok he ran a home for former political prisoners arriving from other parts of Poland. To be reunited with his luckily found wife, at the end of 1939 Gomułka moved to Soviet-controlled Lviv.
Like other members of the dissolved Communist Party of Poland, Gomułka sought a membership in the Soviet All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). The Soviet authorities allowed such membership transfers only from March 1941 and in April of that year Gomułka received his party card in Kiev.
The circumstances of the Polish communists' lives changed dramatically after 1941 German attack on the Soviet positions in eastern Poland. Reduced to penury in now German-occupied Lviv, the Gomułkas managed to join Władysław's family in Krosno by the end of 1941. However, a momentous development soon took place in the sphere of communist political activity: in January 1942, Joseph Stalin reestablished in Warsaw a Polish communist party under the name of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR).
In 1942, Gomułka participated in the reformation of a Polish communist party (the KPP was destroyed in Stalin's purges in the late 1930s) under the name Polish Workers' Party (Polska Partia Robotnicza, PPR). Gomułka became involved in the creation of party structures in the Subcarpathian region and began using his wartime conspiratorial pseudonym "Wiesław". In July 1942, Paweł Finder brought Gomułka to occupied Warsaw. In August, the secretary of the PPR's regional Warsaw Committee was arrested by the Gestapo and "Wiesław" was entrusted with his job. In September Gomułka became a member of the PPR's Temporary Central Committee.
In late 1942 and early 1943, the PPR experienced a severe crisis because of the murder of its first secretary Marceli Nowotko. Gomułka participated in the party investigation directed against another member of the leadership, Bolesław Mołojec, that resulted in Mołojec's execution. Together with the promoted to secretary Finder and Franciszek Jóźwiak, "Wiesław" (Gomułka) was included in the Party's new inner leadership, established in January 1943. The Central Committee was enlarged in the following months to include Bolesław Bierut, among others.
In February 1943, Gomułka led the communist side in a series of important meetings in Warsaw between the PPR and the Government Delegation of the London-based Polish government-in-exile and the Home Army. The talks produced no results because of the divergent interests of the parties involved and a mutual lack of confidence. The Delegation officially discontinued the negotiations on April 28, three days after the Soviet government broke diplomatic relations with the Polish government. He became the Party's main ideologist. He wrote the "What do we fight for?" (O co walczymy?) publication dated 1 March 1943, and the much more comprehensive declaration that emerged under the same title in November. "Wiesław" supervised the Party's main editorial and publishing undertaking.
Gomułka made efforts, largely unsuccessful, to secure for the PPR cooperation of other political forces in occupied Poland. Bierut was indifferent to any such attempts and counted simply on compulsion provided by a future presence of the Red Army in Poland. The different strategies resulted in a sharp conflict between the two communist politicians.
State National Council, Polish Committee of National Liberation
In the fall of 1943, the PPR leadership began discussing the creation of a Polish quasi-parliamentary, communist-led body, to be named the State National Council (Krajowa Rada Narodowa, KRN). After the Battle of Kursk the expectation was of a Soviet victory and liberation of Poland and the PPR wanted to be ready to assume power. Gomułka came up with the idea of a national council and imposed his point of view on the rest of the leadership. The PPR intended to obtain consent from the Comintern leader and their Soviet contact Georgi Dimitrov. However, in November the Gestapo arrested Finder and Małgorzata Fornalska, who possessed the secret codes for communication with Moscow and the Soviet response remained unknown. In the absence of Finder, on 23 November Gomułka was elected general secretary (chief) of the PPR and Bierut joined the three-person inner leadership.
The founding meeting of the State National Council took place in the late evening of 31 December 1943. The new body's chairman Bierut was becoming Gomułka's main rival. In mid-January 1944 Dimitrov was finally informed of the KRN's existence, which surprised both him and the Polish communist leaders in Moscow, increasingly led by Jakub Berman, who had other, competing ideas concerning the establishment of a Polish communist ruling party and government.
Gomułka felt that the Polish communists in occupied Poland had a better understanding of Polish realities than their brethren in Moscow and that the State National Council should determine the shape of the future executive government of Poland. Nevertheless, to gain Soviet approval and to clear any misunderstandings a KRN delegation left Warsaw in mid-March heading for Moscow, where it arrived two months later. By that time Stalin concluded that the existence of the KRN was a positive development and the Poles arriving from Warsaw were received and greeted by him and other Soviet dignitaries. The Union of Polish Patriots and the Central Bureau of Polish Communists in Moscow were now under pressure to recognize the primacy of the PPR, the KRN and Władysław Gomułka, which they ultimately did only in mid-July.
On 20 July, the Soviet forces under Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky forced their way across the Bug River and on that same day the combined meeting of Polish communists from the Moscow and Warsaw factions finalized the arrangements regarding the establishment (on 21 July) of the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN), a temporary government headed by Edward Osóbka-Morawski, a socialist allied with the communists. Gomułka and other PPR leaders left Warsaw and headed for the Soviet-controlled territory, arriving in Lublin on 1 August, the day the Warsaw Uprising erupted in the Polish capital.
Post-war political career
Role in communist takeover of Poland
Gomułka was a deputy prime minister in the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland (Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), from January to June 1945, and in the Provisional Government of National Unity (Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej), from 1945 to 1947. As a minister of Recovered Territories (1945–48), he exerted great influence over the rebuilding, integration and economic progress of Poland within its new borders, by supervising the settlement, development and administration of the lands acquired from Germany. Using his position in the PPR and government, Gomułka led the leftist social transformations in Poland and participated in the crushing of the resistance to communist rule during the post-war years. He also helped the communists in winning the 3 x Tak (3 Times Yes) referendum of 1946. A year later, he played a key role in the 1947 parliamentary elections, which were fraudulently arranged to give the communists and their allies an overwhelming victory. After the elections, all remaining legal opposition in Poland was effectively destroyed, and Gomułka was now the most powerful man in Poland. In June 1948, because of the impending unification of the PPR and PPS, Gomułka delivered a talk on the subject of the history of the Polish worker movement.
In a memo written to Stalin in 1948, Gomułka argued that "some of the Jewish comrades don’t feel any link to the Polish nation or to the Polish working class…or they maintain a stance which might be described as ‘national nihilism’". As a result, he considered it "absolutely necessary not only to stop any further growth in the percentage of Jews in the state as well as the party apparatus, but also to slowly lower that percentage, especially at the highest levels of the apparatus". Nikita Khrushchev, who was intimately involved in Polish affairs in the 1940s, according to Khrushchev′s memoirs, believed that Gomułka had a valid point in opposing the personnel policies pursued by Roman Zambrowski, Jakub Berman, and Hilary Minc, all of them of Jewish descent and brought to Poland from Stalin′s Russia. Nevertheless, Khrushchev attributed Gomułka′s subsequent downfall to his rivals having succeeded in portraying Gomułka as being pro-Yugoslav; the charges were not made public but were brought to Stalin′s attention and became crucial in his decision-making on whose side he would support — in view of the Soviet–Yugoslavia rift that occurred in 1948.
Temporary withdrawal from politics
In the late 1940s, Poland's communist government was split by a rivalry between Gomułka and President Bolesław Bierut. Gomułka led a home national group while Bierut headed a group reared by Stalin in the Soviet Union. The struggle ultimately led to Gomułka's removal from power in 1948. While Bierut advocated a policy of complete subservience to Moscow, Gomułka wanted to adapt the Communist blueprint to Polish circumstances. Among other things, he opposed forced collectivization and was skeptical of the Cominform. The Bierut faction had Stalin's ear, and on Stalin's orders, Gomułka was sacked as party leader for "rightist-nationalist deviation," replaced by Bierut. In December, soon after the PPR and Polish Socialist Party merged to form Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) (which was essentially the PPR under a new name), Gomułka was dropped from the merged party's Politburo. He was stripped of his remaining government posts in January 1949 and expelled from the party altogether in November. For the next eight years, he performed no official functions and was subjected to persecution, including almost four years of imprisonment from 1951 to 1954.
Bierut died in March 1956, during a period of de-Stalinization in Poland which gradually developed after Stalin's death. Edward Ochab became the new first secretary of the Party. Soon afterward, Gomułka was partially rehabilitated when Ochab conceded that Gomułka should not have been jailed, while reiterating the charges of "rightist-nationalist deviation" against him.
Rise to power
In June 1956, violent worker protests broke out in Poznań. The worker riots were harshly suppressed and dozens of workers were killed. However, the Party leadership, which now included many reform-minded officials, recognized to some degree the validity of the protest participants' demands and took steps to placate the workers.
The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomułka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomułka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky.
The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomułka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded.
Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomułka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomułka as the first secretary of the Party. Gomułka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. Seeing that Gomułka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomułka was a leader that Moscow could live with.
Leadership of the Polish People's Republic
Relations with other Eastern Bloc countries
A major factor that influenced Gomułka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomułka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe.
During the events of the Prague Spring, Gomułka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
Domestic policies
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign and purge of the army, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media.
Resignation and retirement
In December 1970, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent protests. Gomułka along with his right-hand man Zenon Kliszko ordered the regular Army under General Bolesław Chocha, to shoot striking workers with automatic weapons in Gdańsk and Gdynia. Over 41 shipyard workers of the Baltic coast were killed in the ensuing police-state violence, while well over a thousand people were wounded. The events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Gomułka's negative image in communist propaganda after his removal was gradually modified and some of his constructive contributions were recognized. He is seen as an honest and austere believer in the socialist system, who, unable to resolve Poland's formidable difficulties and satisfy mutually contradictory demands, grew more rigid and despotic later in his career. A heavy smoker, he died in 1982 at the age of 77 of lung cancer. Gomułka's memoirs were not published until 1994, long after his death, and five years after the collapse of the communist regime which he served and led.
The American journalist John Gunther described Gomułka in 1961 as being "professorial in manner, aloof, and angular, with a peculiar spry pepperiness".
Decorations and awards
:
Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Order of the Cross of Grunwald (1st class)
Partisan Cross
Medal "For Warsaw 1939-1945"
Medal Rodła
Other countries:
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France)
Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy)
Order of Lenin (Soviet Union)
Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (Soviet Union)
See also
History of Poland (1945–89)
References
External links
1905 births
1982 deaths
People from Krosno
People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Communist Party of Poland politicians
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Polish Workers' Party politicians
Members of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party
Members of the State National Council
Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952
Members of the Polish Sejm 1957–1961
Members of the Polish Sejm 1961–1965
Members of the Polish Sejm 1965–1969
Members of the Polish Sejm 1969–1972
Polish atheists
Communist rulers
Collaborators with the Soviet Union
Antisemitism in Poland
Anti-intellectualism
International Lenin School alumni
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1944–1989)
Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work
Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
People of the Cold War | true | [
"The United Workers' Party is a centrist political party in Dominica. As of the 2019 general election, it is the only opposition party represented in the House of Assembly of Dominica, holding three of the twenty-one seats. Its past Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly is Hector John.\n\nThe United Workers' Party with less than 34% of the votes was the majority party in Dominica's parliament from 1995 until 2000, led by party co-founder Edison James as Prime Minister of Dominica.\n\nThe party now has a new leader, Lennox Linton who is the current Leader of the Opposition. In the 2014 general elections, the party won 6 seats out of the 21. This was reduced to 3 in 2019.\n\nHistory\nThe party was founded in 1988 by Edison James, Julius Timothy, Norris Prevost, Dennis La Bassiere and others. In the 1990 elections, the UWP won 6 of the 21 seats and became the official opposition. In 1995, the UWP won 11 seats at the general elections forming the first UWP government headed by Edison James as prime minister.\n\nAt the 31 January 2000 elections, the party won 43.3% of the popular vote and 9 out of 21 elected members of parliament. Though it captured the most popular votes, it got fewer seats than the Dominica Labour Party. The party was therefore once again in opposition. James continued to lead the party, which set up a tough campaign for the 5 May 2005 elections, but lost 1 seat. After the election, this time receiving fewer votes than the Dominica Labour Party, the party held 8 seats in Parliament and remained in opposition.\n\nIn December 2005, James stood down as political leader and was replaced by Attorney Earl Williams, Minister of Communications and Works in the last UWP administration. Williams defeated founding member and then Deputy Leader Julius Timothy who also sought the leadership of the party. As a result Timothy, the Minister of Finance under the UWP government, left the party and crossed the floor to join the Dominica Labour Party government. This resulted in the UWP being reduced to seven seats in Parliament.\n\n2009-2010: general election, boycott, and by-election\nIn the general election held in December 2009, the UWP lost four of its seven seats, including the seat of party leader Ronald Green. The UWP subsequently filed litigation in the Roseau High Court challenging the results of five constituencies, including that of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, and demanding a new general election; pending the results, the three UWP members boycotted parliament. After two UWP members did not attend three consecutive sessions, Speaker of the House Alix Boyd Knights declared their seats vacant in April, and a by-election was scheduled for 9 July 2010. Both UWP members ran and won their seats again in the by-election, against the same candidates they faced in the 2009 general election.\n\nUWP member Hector John was sworn in as Leader of the Opposition on 19 July 2010. Four of the six UWP legal petitions were dismissed in August 2010. The UWP members are expected to end their boycott, citing as a reason the President's announcement that funds would be made available for election reform.\n\nEdison James was reelected political leader of the UWP at its January 2012 convention, and Ezekiel Bazil was elected the party's president.\n\nElectoral history\n\nHouse of Assembly elections\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nWorkers Voice Online: the United Workers' Party official website\n\nPolitical parties in Dominica\nCentrist parties in North America\nPolitical parties established in 1988",
"Norris Prevost is a Dominican politician in the United Workers' Party. He has served in the House of Assembly of Dominica since 1990.\n\nPrevost graduated from the University of the West Indies, with a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural economics, and a Master of Business Administration. He also earned a Master in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.\n\nPrevost was appointed as a senator to the House of Assembly from 1990 to 2005. From 1995 to 2000, he served as the Minister of Tourism. He was elected as a representative to the House of Assembly in the 2005 general election, from the Roseau Central constituency. Prevost was reelected in the 2009 general election, by the narrow margin of 839 votes to 836 for his Labour Party opponent, Alvin Bernard.\n\nThe 2009 election overall was a loss for the UWP, which lost four seats to retain only three. Prevost subsequently joined the UWP boycott of the House of Assembly, in protest against alleged election irregularities. Prevost became the only UWP member to break the boycott, taking his seat on 29 April 2010 in what he stated was a strategic move on behalf of the UWP. The other two UWP seats were declared vacant and a by-election held, though both UWP members won to retain their seats.\n\nReferences\n\nMembers of the House of Assembly of Dominica\nUnited Workers' Party (Dominica) politicians\nUniversity of the West Indies alumni\nHarvard Kennedy School alumni\nLiving people\nYear of birth missing (living people)"
] |
[
"Władysław Gomułka",
"First secretary of the United Workers' Party",
"When did Gomulka become first secretary of the United Workers' Party?",
"on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968.",
"What did Gomulka do as first secretary of the UWP?",
"believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion."
] | C_e55d029df5ad47a58a7ae57fdcae3f8e_0 | How did the alliance with the Soviet Union fare? | 4 | How did Gomulka's alliance with the Soviet Union fare? | Władysław Gomułka | The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomulka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomulka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky. The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomulka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded. Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary of the Party. Gomulka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. A major factor that influenced Gomulka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomulka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". Seeing that Gomulka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomulka was a leader that Moscow could live with. The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In 1967-68 Gomulka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomulka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968. CANNOTANSWER | Khrushchev decided that Gomulka was a leader that Moscow could live with. | Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish communist politician. He was the de facto leader of post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948. Following the Polish October he became leader again from 1956 to 1970. Gomułka was initially very popular for his reforms; his seeking a "Polish way to socialism"; and giving rise to the period known as "Polish thaw". During the 1960s, however, he became more rigid and authoritarian—afraid of destabilizing the system, he was not inclined to introduce or permit changes. In the 1960s he supported the persecution of the Catholic Church, intellectuals and the anti-communist opposition.
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which turned into an anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to retain power by shifting the attention from the stagnating economy. Many of the remaining Polish Jews left the country. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomułka supported Poland's participation in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
In the treaty with West Germany, signed in December 1970 at the end of Gomułka's period in office, West Germany recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In the same month, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent bloody clashes with shipyard workers on the Baltic coast, in which several dozen workers were fatally shot. The tragic events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Childhood and education
Władysław Gomułka was born on 6 February 1905 in Białobrzegi Franciszkańskie village on the outskirts of Krosno, into a worker's family living in the Austrian Partition (the Galicia region). His parents had met and married in the United States, where each had immigrated to in search of work in the late 19th century, but returned to occupied Poland in the early 20th century because Władysław's father Jan was unable to find gainful employment in America. Jan Gomułka then worked as a laborer in the Subcarpathian oil industry. Władysław's older sister Józefa, born in the US, returned there upon turning eighteen to join her extended family, most of whom had emigrated, and to preserve her US citizenship. Władysław and his two other siblings experienced a childhood of the proverbial Galician poverty: they lived in a dilapidated hut and ate mostly potatoes. Władysław received only rudimentary education before being employed in the oil industry of the region.
Gomułka attended schools in Krosno for six or seven years, until the age of thirteen when he had to start an apprenticeship in a metalworks shop. Throughout his life Gomułka was an avid reader and accomplished a great deal of self-education, but remained a subject of jokes because of his lack of formal education and demeanor. In 1922, Gomułka passed his apprenticeship exams and began working at a local refinery.
Early revolutionary activities
Involvement with labor unions and first imprisonment
The re-established Polish state of Gomułka's teen years was a scene of growing political polarization and radicalization. The young worker developed connections with the radical Left, joining the Siła (Power) youth organization in 1922 and the Independent Peasant Party in 1925. Gomułka was known for his activism in the metal workers and, from 1922, chemical industry unions. He was involved in union-organized strikes and in 1924, during a protest gathering in Krosno, participated in a polemical debate with Herman Lieberman. He published radical texts in leftist newspapers. In May 1926 the young Gomułka was for the first time arrested but soon released because of worker demands. The incident was the subject of a parliamentary intervention by the Peasant Party. In October 1926, Gomułka became a secretary of the managing council in the Chemical Industry Workers Union for the Drohobych District and remained involved with that communist-dominated union until 1930. He around this time learned on his own basic Ukrainian.
In late 1926, while in Drohobych, Gomułka became a member of the illegal-but-functioning Communist Party of Poland (Komunistyczna Partia Polski, KPP) and was arrested for political agitation. Technically, at this time he was a member of the Communist Party of Western Ukraine, which was an autonomous branch of the Communist Party of Poland. He was interested primarily in social issues, including the trade and labor movement, and concentrated on practical activities. In mid-1927, Gomułka was brought to Warsaw, where he remained active until drafted for military service at the end of the year. After several months, the military released him because of a health problem with his right leg. Gomułka returned to communist party work, organizing strike actions and speaking at gatherings of workers at all major industrial centers of Poland. During this period he was arrested several times and lived under police supervision.
Gomułka was an activist in the leftist labor unions from 1926 and in the Central Trade Department of the KPP Central Committee from 1931. In the summer of 1930, Gomułka illegally embarked on his first foreign trip with the intention of participating in the Red International of Labor Unions Fifth Congress held in Moscow from 15 to 30 July. Traveling from Upper Silesia to Berlin, he had to wait there for the issuance of Soviet documents and arrived in Moscow too late to participate in the deliberations of the Congress. He stayed in Moscow for a couple of weeks and then went to Leningrad, from where he took a ship to Hamburg, stayed in Berlin again and through Silesia returned to Poland.
In August 1932, he was arrested by the Sanation police while participating in a conference of textile worker delegates in Łódź. When he later tried to escape, Gomułka sustained a gunshot wound in the left thigh which ultimately left him with permanent walking impairment.
Journey to the Soviet Union and second imprisonment
Despite being sentenced to a four-year prison term on 1 June 1933, he was temporarily released for surgery on his injured leg in March 1934. Following his release, Gomułka requested that the KPP send him to the Soviet Union for medical treatment and further political training. He arrived in the Soviet Union in June and went to the Crimea for several weeks, where he underwent therapeutic baths. Gomułka then spent more than a year in Moscow, where he attended the Lenin School under the name Stefan Kowalski. The ideology-oriented classes were arranged separately for a small group of Polish students (one of them was Roman Romkowski (Natan Grünspan [Grinszpan]-Kikiel), who would later persecute Gomułka in Stalinist Poland) and included a military training course conducted by Karol Świerczewski. In a written opinion issued by the school Gomułka was characterized in highly positive terms, but his extended stay in the Soviet Union caused him to become disillusioned with the realities of Stalinist communism and highly critical of the agrarian collectivization practice. In November 1935 he illegally returned to Poland.
Gomułka resumed his communist and labor conspiratorial activities and kept advancing within the KPP organization until, as the secretary of the Party's Silesian branch, he was arrested in Chorzów in April 1936. He was then tried by the District Court in Katowice and sentenced to seven years in prison where he remained jailed until the beginning of World War II. Ironically, this internment most likely saved Gomułka's life, because the majority of the KPP leadership would be murdered in the Soviet Union in the late 1930s, caught up in the Great Purge under Joseph Stalin's orders.
Gomułka's experiences turned him into an extremely suspicious and distrustful person and contributed to his lifelong conviction that Sanation Poland was a fascist state, even if Polish prisons were the safest place for Polish Communists. He differentiated this belief from his positive feelings toward the country and its people, especially members of the working class.
World War II
Invasion of Poland
The outbreak of the war with Nazi Germany freed Gomułka from his prison confinement. On 7 September 1939, he arrived in Warsaw, where he stayed for a few weeks, working in the besieged capital on the construction of defensive fortifications. From there, like many other Polish communists, Gomułka fled to eastern Poland which was invaded by the Soviet Union on 17 September 1939. In Białystok he ran a home for former political prisoners arriving from other parts of Poland. To be reunited with his luckily found wife, at the end of 1939 Gomułka moved to Soviet-controlled Lviv.
Like other members of the dissolved Communist Party of Poland, Gomułka sought a membership in the Soviet All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). The Soviet authorities allowed such membership transfers only from March 1941 and in April of that year Gomułka received his party card in Kiev.
The circumstances of the Polish communists' lives changed dramatically after 1941 German attack on the Soviet positions in eastern Poland. Reduced to penury in now German-occupied Lviv, the Gomułkas managed to join Władysław's family in Krosno by the end of 1941. However, a momentous development soon took place in the sphere of communist political activity: in January 1942, Joseph Stalin reestablished in Warsaw a Polish communist party under the name of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR).
In 1942, Gomułka participated in the reformation of a Polish communist party (the KPP was destroyed in Stalin's purges in the late 1930s) under the name Polish Workers' Party (Polska Partia Robotnicza, PPR). Gomułka became involved in the creation of party structures in the Subcarpathian region and began using his wartime conspiratorial pseudonym "Wiesław". In July 1942, Paweł Finder brought Gomułka to occupied Warsaw. In August, the secretary of the PPR's regional Warsaw Committee was arrested by the Gestapo and "Wiesław" was entrusted with his job. In September Gomułka became a member of the PPR's Temporary Central Committee.
In late 1942 and early 1943, the PPR experienced a severe crisis because of the murder of its first secretary Marceli Nowotko. Gomułka participated in the party investigation directed against another member of the leadership, Bolesław Mołojec, that resulted in Mołojec's execution. Together with the promoted to secretary Finder and Franciszek Jóźwiak, "Wiesław" (Gomułka) was included in the Party's new inner leadership, established in January 1943. The Central Committee was enlarged in the following months to include Bolesław Bierut, among others.
In February 1943, Gomułka led the communist side in a series of important meetings in Warsaw between the PPR and the Government Delegation of the London-based Polish government-in-exile and the Home Army. The talks produced no results because of the divergent interests of the parties involved and a mutual lack of confidence. The Delegation officially discontinued the negotiations on April 28, three days after the Soviet government broke diplomatic relations with the Polish government. He became the Party's main ideologist. He wrote the "What do we fight for?" (O co walczymy?) publication dated 1 March 1943, and the much more comprehensive declaration that emerged under the same title in November. "Wiesław" supervised the Party's main editorial and publishing undertaking.
Gomułka made efforts, largely unsuccessful, to secure for the PPR cooperation of other political forces in occupied Poland. Bierut was indifferent to any such attempts and counted simply on compulsion provided by a future presence of the Red Army in Poland. The different strategies resulted in a sharp conflict between the two communist politicians.
State National Council, Polish Committee of National Liberation
In the fall of 1943, the PPR leadership began discussing the creation of a Polish quasi-parliamentary, communist-led body, to be named the State National Council (Krajowa Rada Narodowa, KRN). After the Battle of Kursk the expectation was of a Soviet victory and liberation of Poland and the PPR wanted to be ready to assume power. Gomułka came up with the idea of a national council and imposed his point of view on the rest of the leadership. The PPR intended to obtain consent from the Comintern leader and their Soviet contact Georgi Dimitrov. However, in November the Gestapo arrested Finder and Małgorzata Fornalska, who possessed the secret codes for communication with Moscow and the Soviet response remained unknown. In the absence of Finder, on 23 November Gomułka was elected general secretary (chief) of the PPR and Bierut joined the three-person inner leadership.
The founding meeting of the State National Council took place in the late evening of 31 December 1943. The new body's chairman Bierut was becoming Gomułka's main rival. In mid-January 1944 Dimitrov was finally informed of the KRN's existence, which surprised both him and the Polish communist leaders in Moscow, increasingly led by Jakub Berman, who had other, competing ideas concerning the establishment of a Polish communist ruling party and government.
Gomułka felt that the Polish communists in occupied Poland had a better understanding of Polish realities than their brethren in Moscow and that the State National Council should determine the shape of the future executive government of Poland. Nevertheless, to gain Soviet approval and to clear any misunderstandings a KRN delegation left Warsaw in mid-March heading for Moscow, where it arrived two months later. By that time Stalin concluded that the existence of the KRN was a positive development and the Poles arriving from Warsaw were received and greeted by him and other Soviet dignitaries. The Union of Polish Patriots and the Central Bureau of Polish Communists in Moscow were now under pressure to recognize the primacy of the PPR, the KRN and Władysław Gomułka, which they ultimately did only in mid-July.
On 20 July, the Soviet forces under Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky forced their way across the Bug River and on that same day the combined meeting of Polish communists from the Moscow and Warsaw factions finalized the arrangements regarding the establishment (on 21 July) of the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN), a temporary government headed by Edward Osóbka-Morawski, a socialist allied with the communists. Gomułka and other PPR leaders left Warsaw and headed for the Soviet-controlled territory, arriving in Lublin on 1 August, the day the Warsaw Uprising erupted in the Polish capital.
Post-war political career
Role in communist takeover of Poland
Gomułka was a deputy prime minister in the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland (Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), from January to June 1945, and in the Provisional Government of National Unity (Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej), from 1945 to 1947. As a minister of Recovered Territories (1945–48), he exerted great influence over the rebuilding, integration and economic progress of Poland within its new borders, by supervising the settlement, development and administration of the lands acquired from Germany. Using his position in the PPR and government, Gomułka led the leftist social transformations in Poland and participated in the crushing of the resistance to communist rule during the post-war years. He also helped the communists in winning the 3 x Tak (3 Times Yes) referendum of 1946. A year later, he played a key role in the 1947 parliamentary elections, which were fraudulently arranged to give the communists and their allies an overwhelming victory. After the elections, all remaining legal opposition in Poland was effectively destroyed, and Gomułka was now the most powerful man in Poland. In June 1948, because of the impending unification of the PPR and PPS, Gomułka delivered a talk on the subject of the history of the Polish worker movement.
In a memo written to Stalin in 1948, Gomułka argued that "some of the Jewish comrades don’t feel any link to the Polish nation or to the Polish working class…or they maintain a stance which might be described as ‘national nihilism’". As a result, he considered it "absolutely necessary not only to stop any further growth in the percentage of Jews in the state as well as the party apparatus, but also to slowly lower that percentage, especially at the highest levels of the apparatus". Nikita Khrushchev, who was intimately involved in Polish affairs in the 1940s, according to Khrushchev′s memoirs, believed that Gomułka had a valid point in opposing the personnel policies pursued by Roman Zambrowski, Jakub Berman, and Hilary Minc, all of them of Jewish descent and brought to Poland from Stalin′s Russia. Nevertheless, Khrushchev attributed Gomułka′s subsequent downfall to his rivals having succeeded in portraying Gomułka as being pro-Yugoslav; the charges were not made public but were brought to Stalin′s attention and became crucial in his decision-making on whose side he would support — in view of the Soviet–Yugoslavia rift that occurred in 1948.
Temporary withdrawal from politics
In the late 1940s, Poland's communist government was split by a rivalry between Gomułka and President Bolesław Bierut. Gomułka led a home national group while Bierut headed a group reared by Stalin in the Soviet Union. The struggle ultimately led to Gomułka's removal from power in 1948. While Bierut advocated a policy of complete subservience to Moscow, Gomułka wanted to adapt the Communist blueprint to Polish circumstances. Among other things, he opposed forced collectivization and was skeptical of the Cominform. The Bierut faction had Stalin's ear, and on Stalin's orders, Gomułka was sacked as party leader for "rightist-nationalist deviation," replaced by Bierut. In December, soon after the PPR and Polish Socialist Party merged to form Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) (which was essentially the PPR under a new name), Gomułka was dropped from the merged party's Politburo. He was stripped of his remaining government posts in January 1949 and expelled from the party altogether in November. For the next eight years, he performed no official functions and was subjected to persecution, including almost four years of imprisonment from 1951 to 1954.
Bierut died in March 1956, during a period of de-Stalinization in Poland which gradually developed after Stalin's death. Edward Ochab became the new first secretary of the Party. Soon afterward, Gomułka was partially rehabilitated when Ochab conceded that Gomułka should not have been jailed, while reiterating the charges of "rightist-nationalist deviation" against him.
Rise to power
In June 1956, violent worker protests broke out in Poznań. The worker riots were harshly suppressed and dozens of workers were killed. However, the Party leadership, which now included many reform-minded officials, recognized to some degree the validity of the protest participants' demands and took steps to placate the workers.
The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomułka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomułka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky.
The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomułka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded.
Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomułka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomułka as the first secretary of the Party. Gomułka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. Seeing that Gomułka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomułka was a leader that Moscow could live with.
Leadership of the Polish People's Republic
Relations with other Eastern Bloc countries
A major factor that influenced Gomułka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomułka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe.
During the events of the Prague Spring, Gomułka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
Domestic policies
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign and purge of the army, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media.
Resignation and retirement
In December 1970, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent protests. Gomułka along with his right-hand man Zenon Kliszko ordered the regular Army under General Bolesław Chocha, to shoot striking workers with automatic weapons in Gdańsk and Gdynia. Over 41 shipyard workers of the Baltic coast were killed in the ensuing police-state violence, while well over a thousand people were wounded. The events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Gomułka's negative image in communist propaganda after his removal was gradually modified and some of his constructive contributions were recognized. He is seen as an honest and austere believer in the socialist system, who, unable to resolve Poland's formidable difficulties and satisfy mutually contradictory demands, grew more rigid and despotic later in his career. A heavy smoker, he died in 1982 at the age of 77 of lung cancer. Gomułka's memoirs were not published until 1994, long after his death, and five years after the collapse of the communist regime which he served and led.
The American journalist John Gunther described Gomułka in 1961 as being "professorial in manner, aloof, and angular, with a peculiar spry pepperiness".
Decorations and awards
:
Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Order of the Cross of Grunwald (1st class)
Partisan Cross
Medal "For Warsaw 1939-1945"
Medal Rodła
Other countries:
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France)
Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy)
Order of Lenin (Soviet Union)
Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (Soviet Union)
See also
History of Poland (1945–89)
References
External links
1905 births
1982 deaths
People from Krosno
People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Communist Party of Poland politicians
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Polish Workers' Party politicians
Members of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party
Members of the State National Council
Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952
Members of the Polish Sejm 1957–1961
Members of the Polish Sejm 1961–1965
Members of the Polish Sejm 1965–1969
Members of the Polish Sejm 1969–1972
Polish atheists
Communist rulers
Collaborators with the Soviet Union
Antisemitism in Poland
Anti-intellectualism
International Lenin School alumni
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1944–1989)
Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work
Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
People of the Cold War | false | [
"The Anglo-Soviet Agreement was a formal military alliance that was signed by the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany on July 12, 1941, shortly after the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Both powers pledged to assist each other and not to make a separate peace with Germany. The military alliance was to be valid until the end of World War II. The two founding principles of the agreement of a commitment of mutual assistance and renunciation of a separate peace formed the basis of the later Declaration by United Nations.\n\nBackground\nThe Soviet Union and the Third Reich had signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, a non-aggression pact between the two nations, on 23 August 1939. A secret part of the agreement defined the areas of Eastern Europe that fell into their respective spheres of influence. In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland; the USSR invaded Poland from the east and the new border remained static.\n\nOn 22 June 1941 Germany began an attack along the whole length of its border with the USSR from the Baltic states to Ukraine. The Soviet forces were unprepared and the attacks paralysed the Soviet command system and German forces advanced rapidly into Soviet territories.\n\nAgreement \nThe agreement was signed on 12 July 1941 by Sir Stafford Cripps, British Ambassador to the Soviet Union and Vyacheslav Molotov, the Soviet People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs, and it did not require ratification.\n\nText \nThe agreement contained two brief clauses:\n\n(1) The two Governments mutually undertake to render each other assistance and support of all kinds in the present war against Hitlerite Germany.\n\n(2) They further undertake that during this war they will neither negotiate nor conclude an armistice or treaty of peace except by mutual agreement.\n\nSubsequent events \nThe Arctic convoys from Britain to the Soviet Union began the following month as did the joint Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran which opened up a supply route to the USSR. Rezā Shāh was removed from power and the new Shah, Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, signed a Tripartite Treaty Alliance with Britain and the Soviet Union in January 1942, to aid in the allied war effort in a non-military way.\n\nThe agreement was broadened to include a political alliance by the Anglo-Soviet Treaty of 1942.\n\nReactions \nAccording to Lynn Davis, the United States perceived the agreement to mean that the Soviet Union intended to support the postwar re-establishment of independence of Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.\n\nSee also \n\n Allies of World War II\nAnglo-Soviet relations\nAnglo-Soviet Trade Agreement (1921)\n Atlantic Charter\n Diplomatic history of World War II\nDeclaration by United Nations\nDeclaration of St James's Palace\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nAgreement Between the United Kingdom and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics : July 12, 1941 via Avalon Project\n\nWorld War II treaties\nMilitary alliances involving the Soviet Union\nMilitary alliances involving the United Kingdom\nSoviet Union–United Kingdom relations\n1941 in the Soviet Union\n1941 in the United Kingdom\nUnited Kingdom in World War II\n20th-century military alliances\nTreaties concluded in 1941\nTreaties of the Soviet Union",
"The Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance (), or Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance for short, is the treaty of alliance concluded between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on February 14, 1950. It was based to a considerable extent on the 1945 treaty of the same name, which had been arranged between the Soviet Union and the Nationalist Government of China and it was the product of extended negotiations between Liu Shaoqi and Joseph Stalin. By its terms, the Soviets recognized the People's Republic of China and recalled recognition of the Republic of China.\n\nMao traveled to the Soviet Union to sign the treaty after its details had been concluded, one of only two times that he traveled outside China in his life. The treaty dealt with a range of issues such as Soviet privileges in Xinjiang and Manchuria; specifically, the Chinese Eastern Railway and the ports of Dalian and Lushun were to be returned to China. The Soviets agreed to loan $300 million - $60 million per year for five years - to the bankrupt Chinese government in of the form of various equipment, materials and goods. The treaty did not prevent relations between Beijing and Moscow from drastically deteriorating in the late 1950s to the early 1960s, during the Sino-Soviet split.\n\nAfter the expiration of the treaty in 1979, Deng Xiaoping wanted China not to negotiate with the Soviets unless they agreed to China's demands such withdrawing from Afghanistan, removing their troops from Mongolia and the Sino-Soviet border, and ceasing their support of the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia. The expiration of the treaty allowed China to attack Vietnam, a Soviet ally, in the Third Indochina War as a response to Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia since the treaty had prevented China from attacking Soviet allies.\n\nSee also \n Sino-Soviet relations\n Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (1937)\n Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance (1945)\n Sino-Soviet split (1956–1966)\n Sino-Soviet border conflict (1969)\n 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship\n\nReferences\n\nFurther reading \n Peskov, Yuri. \"Sixty Years of the Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance Between the U.S.S.R. and the PRC, February 14, 1950.\" Far Eastern Affairs (2010) 38#1 pp. 100–115.\n\nExternal links \n An article which mentions the treaty.\n Yang Kuisong, (2005), Parallel History Project (PHP).\n\nChina–Soviet Union relations\nCold War treaties\nCold War alliances and military strategy\nMilitary alliances involving the Soviet Union\nTreaties of the People's Republic of China\nTreaties of the Soviet Union\n1950 in China\n1950 in the Soviet Union\nTreaties concluded in 1950"
] |
[
"Władysław Gomułka",
"First secretary of the United Workers' Party",
"When did Gomulka become first secretary of the United Workers' Party?",
"on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968.",
"What did Gomulka do as first secretary of the UWP?",
"believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion.",
"How did the alliance with the Soviet Union fare?",
"Khrushchev decided that Gomulka was a leader that Moscow could live with."
] | C_e55d029df5ad47a58a7ae57fdcae3f8e_0 | How do the USSR help Gomulka? | 5 | How do the USSR help Gomulka? | Władysław Gomułka | The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomulka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomulka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky. The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomulka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded. Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary of the Party. Gomulka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. A major factor that influenced Gomulka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomulka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". Seeing that Gomulka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomulka was a leader that Moscow could live with. The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In 1967-68 Gomulka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomulka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968. CANNOTANSWER | The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. | Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish communist politician. He was the de facto leader of post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948. Following the Polish October he became leader again from 1956 to 1970. Gomułka was initially very popular for his reforms; his seeking a "Polish way to socialism"; and giving rise to the period known as "Polish thaw". During the 1960s, however, he became more rigid and authoritarian—afraid of destabilizing the system, he was not inclined to introduce or permit changes. In the 1960s he supported the persecution of the Catholic Church, intellectuals and the anti-communist opposition.
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which turned into an anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to retain power by shifting the attention from the stagnating economy. Many of the remaining Polish Jews left the country. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomułka supported Poland's participation in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
In the treaty with West Germany, signed in December 1970 at the end of Gomułka's period in office, West Germany recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In the same month, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent bloody clashes with shipyard workers on the Baltic coast, in which several dozen workers were fatally shot. The tragic events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Childhood and education
Władysław Gomułka was born on 6 February 1905 in Białobrzegi Franciszkańskie village on the outskirts of Krosno, into a worker's family living in the Austrian Partition (the Galicia region). His parents had met and married in the United States, where each had immigrated to in search of work in the late 19th century, but returned to occupied Poland in the early 20th century because Władysław's father Jan was unable to find gainful employment in America. Jan Gomułka then worked as a laborer in the Subcarpathian oil industry. Władysław's older sister Józefa, born in the US, returned there upon turning eighteen to join her extended family, most of whom had emigrated, and to preserve her US citizenship. Władysław and his two other siblings experienced a childhood of the proverbial Galician poverty: they lived in a dilapidated hut and ate mostly potatoes. Władysław received only rudimentary education before being employed in the oil industry of the region.
Gomułka attended schools in Krosno for six or seven years, until the age of thirteen when he had to start an apprenticeship in a metalworks shop. Throughout his life Gomułka was an avid reader and accomplished a great deal of self-education, but remained a subject of jokes because of his lack of formal education and demeanor. In 1922, Gomułka passed his apprenticeship exams and began working at a local refinery.
Early revolutionary activities
Involvement with labor unions and first imprisonment
The re-established Polish state of Gomułka's teen years was a scene of growing political polarization and radicalization. The young worker developed connections with the radical Left, joining the Siła (Power) youth organization in 1922 and the Independent Peasant Party in 1925. Gomułka was known for his activism in the metal workers and, from 1922, chemical industry unions. He was involved in union-organized strikes and in 1924, during a protest gathering in Krosno, participated in a polemical debate with Herman Lieberman. He published radical texts in leftist newspapers. In May 1926 the young Gomułka was for the first time arrested but soon released because of worker demands. The incident was the subject of a parliamentary intervention by the Peasant Party. In October 1926, Gomułka became a secretary of the managing council in the Chemical Industry Workers Union for the Drohobych District and remained involved with that communist-dominated union until 1930. He around this time learned on his own basic Ukrainian.
In late 1926, while in Drohobych, Gomułka became a member of the illegal-but-functioning Communist Party of Poland (Komunistyczna Partia Polski, KPP) and was arrested for political agitation. Technically, at this time he was a member of the Communist Party of Western Ukraine, which was an autonomous branch of the Communist Party of Poland. He was interested primarily in social issues, including the trade and labor movement, and concentrated on practical activities. In mid-1927, Gomułka was brought to Warsaw, where he remained active until drafted for military service at the end of the year. After several months, the military released him because of a health problem with his right leg. Gomułka returned to communist party work, organizing strike actions and speaking at gatherings of workers at all major industrial centers of Poland. During this period he was arrested several times and lived under police supervision.
Gomułka was an activist in the leftist labor unions from 1926 and in the Central Trade Department of the KPP Central Committee from 1931. In the summer of 1930, Gomułka illegally embarked on his first foreign trip with the intention of participating in the Red International of Labor Unions Fifth Congress held in Moscow from 15 to 30 July. Traveling from Upper Silesia to Berlin, he had to wait there for the issuance of Soviet documents and arrived in Moscow too late to participate in the deliberations of the Congress. He stayed in Moscow for a couple of weeks and then went to Leningrad, from where he took a ship to Hamburg, stayed in Berlin again and through Silesia returned to Poland.
In August 1932, he was arrested by the Sanation police while participating in a conference of textile worker delegates in Łódź. When he later tried to escape, Gomułka sustained a gunshot wound in the left thigh which ultimately left him with permanent walking impairment.
Journey to the Soviet Union and second imprisonment
Despite being sentenced to a four-year prison term on 1 June 1933, he was temporarily released for surgery on his injured leg in March 1934. Following his release, Gomułka requested that the KPP send him to the Soviet Union for medical treatment and further political training. He arrived in the Soviet Union in June and went to the Crimea for several weeks, where he underwent therapeutic baths. Gomułka then spent more than a year in Moscow, where he attended the Lenin School under the name Stefan Kowalski. The ideology-oriented classes were arranged separately for a small group of Polish students (one of them was Roman Romkowski (Natan Grünspan [Grinszpan]-Kikiel), who would later persecute Gomułka in Stalinist Poland) and included a military training course conducted by Karol Świerczewski. In a written opinion issued by the school Gomułka was characterized in highly positive terms, but his extended stay in the Soviet Union caused him to become disillusioned with the realities of Stalinist communism and highly critical of the agrarian collectivization practice. In November 1935 he illegally returned to Poland.
Gomułka resumed his communist and labor conspiratorial activities and kept advancing within the KPP organization until, as the secretary of the Party's Silesian branch, he was arrested in Chorzów in April 1936. He was then tried by the District Court in Katowice and sentenced to seven years in prison where he remained jailed until the beginning of World War II. Ironically, this internment most likely saved Gomułka's life, because the majority of the KPP leadership would be murdered in the Soviet Union in the late 1930s, caught up in the Great Purge under Joseph Stalin's orders.
Gomułka's experiences turned him into an extremely suspicious and distrustful person and contributed to his lifelong conviction that Sanation Poland was a fascist state, even if Polish prisons were the safest place for Polish Communists. He differentiated this belief from his positive feelings toward the country and its people, especially members of the working class.
World War II
Invasion of Poland
The outbreak of the war with Nazi Germany freed Gomułka from his prison confinement. On 7 September 1939, he arrived in Warsaw, where he stayed for a few weeks, working in the besieged capital on the construction of defensive fortifications. From there, like many other Polish communists, Gomułka fled to eastern Poland which was invaded by the Soviet Union on 17 September 1939. In Białystok he ran a home for former political prisoners arriving from other parts of Poland. To be reunited with his luckily found wife, at the end of 1939 Gomułka moved to Soviet-controlled Lviv.
Like other members of the dissolved Communist Party of Poland, Gomułka sought a membership in the Soviet All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). The Soviet authorities allowed such membership transfers only from March 1941 and in April of that year Gomułka received his party card in Kiev.
The circumstances of the Polish communists' lives changed dramatically after 1941 German attack on the Soviet positions in eastern Poland. Reduced to penury in now German-occupied Lviv, the Gomułkas managed to join Władysław's family in Krosno by the end of 1941. However, a momentous development soon took place in the sphere of communist political activity: in January 1942, Joseph Stalin reestablished in Warsaw a Polish communist party under the name of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR).
In 1942, Gomułka participated in the reformation of a Polish communist party (the KPP was destroyed in Stalin's purges in the late 1930s) under the name Polish Workers' Party (Polska Partia Robotnicza, PPR). Gomułka became involved in the creation of party structures in the Subcarpathian region and began using his wartime conspiratorial pseudonym "Wiesław". In July 1942, Paweł Finder brought Gomułka to occupied Warsaw. In August, the secretary of the PPR's regional Warsaw Committee was arrested by the Gestapo and "Wiesław" was entrusted with his job. In September Gomułka became a member of the PPR's Temporary Central Committee.
In late 1942 and early 1943, the PPR experienced a severe crisis because of the murder of its first secretary Marceli Nowotko. Gomułka participated in the party investigation directed against another member of the leadership, Bolesław Mołojec, that resulted in Mołojec's execution. Together with the promoted to secretary Finder and Franciszek Jóźwiak, "Wiesław" (Gomułka) was included in the Party's new inner leadership, established in January 1943. The Central Committee was enlarged in the following months to include Bolesław Bierut, among others.
In February 1943, Gomułka led the communist side in a series of important meetings in Warsaw between the PPR and the Government Delegation of the London-based Polish government-in-exile and the Home Army. The talks produced no results because of the divergent interests of the parties involved and a mutual lack of confidence. The Delegation officially discontinued the negotiations on April 28, three days after the Soviet government broke diplomatic relations with the Polish government. He became the Party's main ideologist. He wrote the "What do we fight for?" (O co walczymy?) publication dated 1 March 1943, and the much more comprehensive declaration that emerged under the same title in November. "Wiesław" supervised the Party's main editorial and publishing undertaking.
Gomułka made efforts, largely unsuccessful, to secure for the PPR cooperation of other political forces in occupied Poland. Bierut was indifferent to any such attempts and counted simply on compulsion provided by a future presence of the Red Army in Poland. The different strategies resulted in a sharp conflict between the two communist politicians.
State National Council, Polish Committee of National Liberation
In the fall of 1943, the PPR leadership began discussing the creation of a Polish quasi-parliamentary, communist-led body, to be named the State National Council (Krajowa Rada Narodowa, KRN). After the Battle of Kursk the expectation was of a Soviet victory and liberation of Poland and the PPR wanted to be ready to assume power. Gomułka came up with the idea of a national council and imposed his point of view on the rest of the leadership. The PPR intended to obtain consent from the Comintern leader and their Soviet contact Georgi Dimitrov. However, in November the Gestapo arrested Finder and Małgorzata Fornalska, who possessed the secret codes for communication with Moscow and the Soviet response remained unknown. In the absence of Finder, on 23 November Gomułka was elected general secretary (chief) of the PPR and Bierut joined the three-person inner leadership.
The founding meeting of the State National Council took place in the late evening of 31 December 1943. The new body's chairman Bierut was becoming Gomułka's main rival. In mid-January 1944 Dimitrov was finally informed of the KRN's existence, which surprised both him and the Polish communist leaders in Moscow, increasingly led by Jakub Berman, who had other, competing ideas concerning the establishment of a Polish communist ruling party and government.
Gomułka felt that the Polish communists in occupied Poland had a better understanding of Polish realities than their brethren in Moscow and that the State National Council should determine the shape of the future executive government of Poland. Nevertheless, to gain Soviet approval and to clear any misunderstandings a KRN delegation left Warsaw in mid-March heading for Moscow, where it arrived two months later. By that time Stalin concluded that the existence of the KRN was a positive development and the Poles arriving from Warsaw were received and greeted by him and other Soviet dignitaries. The Union of Polish Patriots and the Central Bureau of Polish Communists in Moscow were now under pressure to recognize the primacy of the PPR, the KRN and Władysław Gomułka, which they ultimately did only in mid-July.
On 20 July, the Soviet forces under Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky forced their way across the Bug River and on that same day the combined meeting of Polish communists from the Moscow and Warsaw factions finalized the arrangements regarding the establishment (on 21 July) of the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN), a temporary government headed by Edward Osóbka-Morawski, a socialist allied with the communists. Gomułka and other PPR leaders left Warsaw and headed for the Soviet-controlled territory, arriving in Lublin on 1 August, the day the Warsaw Uprising erupted in the Polish capital.
Post-war political career
Role in communist takeover of Poland
Gomułka was a deputy prime minister in the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland (Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), from January to June 1945, and in the Provisional Government of National Unity (Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej), from 1945 to 1947. As a minister of Recovered Territories (1945–48), he exerted great influence over the rebuilding, integration and economic progress of Poland within its new borders, by supervising the settlement, development and administration of the lands acquired from Germany. Using his position in the PPR and government, Gomułka led the leftist social transformations in Poland and participated in the crushing of the resistance to communist rule during the post-war years. He also helped the communists in winning the 3 x Tak (3 Times Yes) referendum of 1946. A year later, he played a key role in the 1947 parliamentary elections, which were fraudulently arranged to give the communists and their allies an overwhelming victory. After the elections, all remaining legal opposition in Poland was effectively destroyed, and Gomułka was now the most powerful man in Poland. In June 1948, because of the impending unification of the PPR and PPS, Gomułka delivered a talk on the subject of the history of the Polish worker movement.
In a memo written to Stalin in 1948, Gomułka argued that "some of the Jewish comrades don’t feel any link to the Polish nation or to the Polish working class…or they maintain a stance which might be described as ‘national nihilism’". As a result, he considered it "absolutely necessary not only to stop any further growth in the percentage of Jews in the state as well as the party apparatus, but also to slowly lower that percentage, especially at the highest levels of the apparatus". Nikita Khrushchev, who was intimately involved in Polish affairs in the 1940s, according to Khrushchev′s memoirs, believed that Gomułka had a valid point in opposing the personnel policies pursued by Roman Zambrowski, Jakub Berman, and Hilary Minc, all of them of Jewish descent and brought to Poland from Stalin′s Russia. Nevertheless, Khrushchev attributed Gomułka′s subsequent downfall to his rivals having succeeded in portraying Gomułka as being pro-Yugoslav; the charges were not made public but were brought to Stalin′s attention and became crucial in his decision-making on whose side he would support — in view of the Soviet–Yugoslavia rift that occurred in 1948.
Temporary withdrawal from politics
In the late 1940s, Poland's communist government was split by a rivalry between Gomułka and President Bolesław Bierut. Gomułka led a home national group while Bierut headed a group reared by Stalin in the Soviet Union. The struggle ultimately led to Gomułka's removal from power in 1948. While Bierut advocated a policy of complete subservience to Moscow, Gomułka wanted to adapt the Communist blueprint to Polish circumstances. Among other things, he opposed forced collectivization and was skeptical of the Cominform. The Bierut faction had Stalin's ear, and on Stalin's orders, Gomułka was sacked as party leader for "rightist-nationalist deviation," replaced by Bierut. In December, soon after the PPR and Polish Socialist Party merged to form Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) (which was essentially the PPR under a new name), Gomułka was dropped from the merged party's Politburo. He was stripped of his remaining government posts in January 1949 and expelled from the party altogether in November. For the next eight years, he performed no official functions and was subjected to persecution, including almost four years of imprisonment from 1951 to 1954.
Bierut died in March 1956, during a period of de-Stalinization in Poland which gradually developed after Stalin's death. Edward Ochab became the new first secretary of the Party. Soon afterward, Gomułka was partially rehabilitated when Ochab conceded that Gomułka should not have been jailed, while reiterating the charges of "rightist-nationalist deviation" against him.
Rise to power
In June 1956, violent worker protests broke out in Poznań. The worker riots were harshly suppressed and dozens of workers were killed. However, the Party leadership, which now included many reform-minded officials, recognized to some degree the validity of the protest participants' demands and took steps to placate the workers.
The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomułka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomułka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky.
The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomułka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded.
Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomułka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomułka as the first secretary of the Party. Gomułka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. Seeing that Gomułka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomułka was a leader that Moscow could live with.
Leadership of the Polish People's Republic
Relations with other Eastern Bloc countries
A major factor that influenced Gomułka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomułka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe.
During the events of the Prague Spring, Gomułka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
Domestic policies
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign and purge of the army, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media.
Resignation and retirement
In December 1970, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent protests. Gomułka along with his right-hand man Zenon Kliszko ordered the regular Army under General Bolesław Chocha, to shoot striking workers with automatic weapons in Gdańsk and Gdynia. Over 41 shipyard workers of the Baltic coast were killed in the ensuing police-state violence, while well over a thousand people were wounded. The events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Gomułka's negative image in communist propaganda after his removal was gradually modified and some of his constructive contributions were recognized. He is seen as an honest and austere believer in the socialist system, who, unable to resolve Poland's formidable difficulties and satisfy mutually contradictory demands, grew more rigid and despotic later in his career. A heavy smoker, he died in 1982 at the age of 77 of lung cancer. Gomułka's memoirs were not published until 1994, long after his death, and five years after the collapse of the communist regime which he served and led.
The American journalist John Gunther described Gomułka in 1961 as being "professorial in manner, aloof, and angular, with a peculiar spry pepperiness".
Decorations and awards
:
Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Order of the Cross of Grunwald (1st class)
Partisan Cross
Medal "For Warsaw 1939-1945"
Medal Rodła
Other countries:
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France)
Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy)
Order of Lenin (Soviet Union)
Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (Soviet Union)
See also
History of Poland (1945–89)
References
External links
1905 births
1982 deaths
People from Krosno
People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Communist Party of Poland politicians
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Polish Workers' Party politicians
Members of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party
Members of the State National Council
Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952
Members of the Polish Sejm 1957–1961
Members of the Polish Sejm 1961–1965
Members of the Polish Sejm 1965–1969
Members of the Polish Sejm 1969–1972
Polish atheists
Communist rulers
Collaborators with the Soviet Union
Antisemitism in Poland
Anti-intellectualism
International Lenin School alumni
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1944–1989)
Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work
Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
People of the Cold War | true | [
"Lenny Gomulka is an American musician, singer, songwriter, bandleader, composer, and publisher. One of his bands, Lenny Gomulka and Chicago Push, popular for American & Polish-style and Chicago-style polkas. Gomulka has also collaborated numerous times with Eddie Blazonczyk Sr., Jimmy Sturr and others.\n\nLenny Gomulka is the author of \"Say Hello to Someone in Massachusetts\", the official polka of the State of Massachusetts. He is an inductee of the International Polka Association Hall of Fame, and a twelve-time Grammy Award nominee.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial Web site of Lenny Gomulka and the Chicago Push\n\nLiving people\nMusicians from Massachusetts\nAmerican songwriters\nAmerican bandleaders\nYear of birth missing (living people)",
"Taras Gomulka (, born 16 September 2001), is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a central midfielder for Melbourne City.\n\nClub career\n\nAdelaide United\nGomulka made his A-League debut for Adelaide United following the resumption of the 2019–20 A-League season which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, being named in the starting eleven for their clash against Brisbane Roar on 19 July 2020. He was substituted off in the 72nd minute. On 11 September 2020, the club announced Gomulka would depart after rejecting an offer to sign a senior deal.\n\nMelbourne City\nOn 21 September 2020, Gomulka signed a three year deal with Melbourne City.\n\nHonours\nMelbourne City\n A-League Premiership: 2020–21\n A-League Championship: 2021\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n2001 births\nLiving people\nAustralian people of Ukrainian descent\nAustralian soccer players\nAssociation football midfielders\nAdelaide United FC players\nMelbourne City FC players\nNational Premier Leagues players\nA-League Men players"
] |
[
"Władysław Gomułka",
"First secretary of the United Workers' Party",
"When did Gomulka become first secretary of the United Workers' Party?",
"on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968.",
"What did Gomulka do as first secretary of the UWP?",
"believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion.",
"How did the alliance with the Soviet Union fare?",
"Khrushchev decided that Gomulka was a leader that Moscow could live with.",
"How do the USSR help Gomulka?",
"The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe."
] | C_e55d029df5ad47a58a7ae57fdcae3f8e_0 | What else can you say about the USSR at that time? | 6 | Besides, what else can you say about the USSR? | Władysław Gomułka | The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomulka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomulka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky. The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomulka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded. Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary of the Party. Gomulka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. A major factor that influenced Gomulka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomulka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". Seeing that Gomulka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomulka was a leader that Moscow could live with. The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In 1967-68 Gomulka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomulka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968. CANNOTANSWER | The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. | Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish communist politician. He was the de facto leader of post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948. Following the Polish October he became leader again from 1956 to 1970. Gomułka was initially very popular for his reforms; his seeking a "Polish way to socialism"; and giving rise to the period known as "Polish thaw". During the 1960s, however, he became more rigid and authoritarian—afraid of destabilizing the system, he was not inclined to introduce or permit changes. In the 1960s he supported the persecution of the Catholic Church, intellectuals and the anti-communist opposition.
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which turned into an anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to retain power by shifting the attention from the stagnating economy. Many of the remaining Polish Jews left the country. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomułka supported Poland's participation in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
In the treaty with West Germany, signed in December 1970 at the end of Gomułka's period in office, West Germany recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In the same month, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent bloody clashes with shipyard workers on the Baltic coast, in which several dozen workers were fatally shot. The tragic events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Childhood and education
Władysław Gomułka was born on 6 February 1905 in Białobrzegi Franciszkańskie village on the outskirts of Krosno, into a worker's family living in the Austrian Partition (the Galicia region). His parents had met and married in the United States, where each had immigrated to in search of work in the late 19th century, but returned to occupied Poland in the early 20th century because Władysław's father Jan was unable to find gainful employment in America. Jan Gomułka then worked as a laborer in the Subcarpathian oil industry. Władysław's older sister Józefa, born in the US, returned there upon turning eighteen to join her extended family, most of whom had emigrated, and to preserve her US citizenship. Władysław and his two other siblings experienced a childhood of the proverbial Galician poverty: they lived in a dilapidated hut and ate mostly potatoes. Władysław received only rudimentary education before being employed in the oil industry of the region.
Gomułka attended schools in Krosno for six or seven years, until the age of thirteen when he had to start an apprenticeship in a metalworks shop. Throughout his life Gomułka was an avid reader and accomplished a great deal of self-education, but remained a subject of jokes because of his lack of formal education and demeanor. In 1922, Gomułka passed his apprenticeship exams and began working at a local refinery.
Early revolutionary activities
Involvement with labor unions and first imprisonment
The re-established Polish state of Gomułka's teen years was a scene of growing political polarization and radicalization. The young worker developed connections with the radical Left, joining the Siła (Power) youth organization in 1922 and the Independent Peasant Party in 1925. Gomułka was known for his activism in the metal workers and, from 1922, chemical industry unions. He was involved in union-organized strikes and in 1924, during a protest gathering in Krosno, participated in a polemical debate with Herman Lieberman. He published radical texts in leftist newspapers. In May 1926 the young Gomułka was for the first time arrested but soon released because of worker demands. The incident was the subject of a parliamentary intervention by the Peasant Party. In October 1926, Gomułka became a secretary of the managing council in the Chemical Industry Workers Union for the Drohobych District and remained involved with that communist-dominated union until 1930. He around this time learned on his own basic Ukrainian.
In late 1926, while in Drohobych, Gomułka became a member of the illegal-but-functioning Communist Party of Poland (Komunistyczna Partia Polski, KPP) and was arrested for political agitation. Technically, at this time he was a member of the Communist Party of Western Ukraine, which was an autonomous branch of the Communist Party of Poland. He was interested primarily in social issues, including the trade and labor movement, and concentrated on practical activities. In mid-1927, Gomułka was brought to Warsaw, where he remained active until drafted for military service at the end of the year. After several months, the military released him because of a health problem with his right leg. Gomułka returned to communist party work, organizing strike actions and speaking at gatherings of workers at all major industrial centers of Poland. During this period he was arrested several times and lived under police supervision.
Gomułka was an activist in the leftist labor unions from 1926 and in the Central Trade Department of the KPP Central Committee from 1931. In the summer of 1930, Gomułka illegally embarked on his first foreign trip with the intention of participating in the Red International of Labor Unions Fifth Congress held in Moscow from 15 to 30 July. Traveling from Upper Silesia to Berlin, he had to wait there for the issuance of Soviet documents and arrived in Moscow too late to participate in the deliberations of the Congress. He stayed in Moscow for a couple of weeks and then went to Leningrad, from where he took a ship to Hamburg, stayed in Berlin again and through Silesia returned to Poland.
In August 1932, he was arrested by the Sanation police while participating in a conference of textile worker delegates in Łódź. When he later tried to escape, Gomułka sustained a gunshot wound in the left thigh which ultimately left him with permanent walking impairment.
Journey to the Soviet Union and second imprisonment
Despite being sentenced to a four-year prison term on 1 June 1933, he was temporarily released for surgery on his injured leg in March 1934. Following his release, Gomułka requested that the KPP send him to the Soviet Union for medical treatment and further political training. He arrived in the Soviet Union in June and went to the Crimea for several weeks, where he underwent therapeutic baths. Gomułka then spent more than a year in Moscow, where he attended the Lenin School under the name Stefan Kowalski. The ideology-oriented classes were arranged separately for a small group of Polish students (one of them was Roman Romkowski (Natan Grünspan [Grinszpan]-Kikiel), who would later persecute Gomułka in Stalinist Poland) and included a military training course conducted by Karol Świerczewski. In a written opinion issued by the school Gomułka was characterized in highly positive terms, but his extended stay in the Soviet Union caused him to become disillusioned with the realities of Stalinist communism and highly critical of the agrarian collectivization practice. In November 1935 he illegally returned to Poland.
Gomułka resumed his communist and labor conspiratorial activities and kept advancing within the KPP organization until, as the secretary of the Party's Silesian branch, he was arrested in Chorzów in April 1936. He was then tried by the District Court in Katowice and sentenced to seven years in prison where he remained jailed until the beginning of World War II. Ironically, this internment most likely saved Gomułka's life, because the majority of the KPP leadership would be murdered in the Soviet Union in the late 1930s, caught up in the Great Purge under Joseph Stalin's orders.
Gomułka's experiences turned him into an extremely suspicious and distrustful person and contributed to his lifelong conviction that Sanation Poland was a fascist state, even if Polish prisons were the safest place for Polish Communists. He differentiated this belief from his positive feelings toward the country and its people, especially members of the working class.
World War II
Invasion of Poland
The outbreak of the war with Nazi Germany freed Gomułka from his prison confinement. On 7 September 1939, he arrived in Warsaw, where he stayed for a few weeks, working in the besieged capital on the construction of defensive fortifications. From there, like many other Polish communists, Gomułka fled to eastern Poland which was invaded by the Soviet Union on 17 September 1939. In Białystok he ran a home for former political prisoners arriving from other parts of Poland. To be reunited with his luckily found wife, at the end of 1939 Gomułka moved to Soviet-controlled Lviv.
Like other members of the dissolved Communist Party of Poland, Gomułka sought a membership in the Soviet All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). The Soviet authorities allowed such membership transfers only from March 1941 and in April of that year Gomułka received his party card in Kiev.
The circumstances of the Polish communists' lives changed dramatically after 1941 German attack on the Soviet positions in eastern Poland. Reduced to penury in now German-occupied Lviv, the Gomułkas managed to join Władysław's family in Krosno by the end of 1941. However, a momentous development soon took place in the sphere of communist political activity: in January 1942, Joseph Stalin reestablished in Warsaw a Polish communist party under the name of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR).
In 1942, Gomułka participated in the reformation of a Polish communist party (the KPP was destroyed in Stalin's purges in the late 1930s) under the name Polish Workers' Party (Polska Partia Robotnicza, PPR). Gomułka became involved in the creation of party structures in the Subcarpathian region and began using his wartime conspiratorial pseudonym "Wiesław". In July 1942, Paweł Finder brought Gomułka to occupied Warsaw. In August, the secretary of the PPR's regional Warsaw Committee was arrested by the Gestapo and "Wiesław" was entrusted with his job. In September Gomułka became a member of the PPR's Temporary Central Committee.
In late 1942 and early 1943, the PPR experienced a severe crisis because of the murder of its first secretary Marceli Nowotko. Gomułka participated in the party investigation directed against another member of the leadership, Bolesław Mołojec, that resulted in Mołojec's execution. Together with the promoted to secretary Finder and Franciszek Jóźwiak, "Wiesław" (Gomułka) was included in the Party's new inner leadership, established in January 1943. The Central Committee was enlarged in the following months to include Bolesław Bierut, among others.
In February 1943, Gomułka led the communist side in a series of important meetings in Warsaw between the PPR and the Government Delegation of the London-based Polish government-in-exile and the Home Army. The talks produced no results because of the divergent interests of the parties involved and a mutual lack of confidence. The Delegation officially discontinued the negotiations on April 28, three days after the Soviet government broke diplomatic relations with the Polish government. He became the Party's main ideologist. He wrote the "What do we fight for?" (O co walczymy?) publication dated 1 March 1943, and the much more comprehensive declaration that emerged under the same title in November. "Wiesław" supervised the Party's main editorial and publishing undertaking.
Gomułka made efforts, largely unsuccessful, to secure for the PPR cooperation of other political forces in occupied Poland. Bierut was indifferent to any such attempts and counted simply on compulsion provided by a future presence of the Red Army in Poland. The different strategies resulted in a sharp conflict between the two communist politicians.
State National Council, Polish Committee of National Liberation
In the fall of 1943, the PPR leadership began discussing the creation of a Polish quasi-parliamentary, communist-led body, to be named the State National Council (Krajowa Rada Narodowa, KRN). After the Battle of Kursk the expectation was of a Soviet victory and liberation of Poland and the PPR wanted to be ready to assume power. Gomułka came up with the idea of a national council and imposed his point of view on the rest of the leadership. The PPR intended to obtain consent from the Comintern leader and their Soviet contact Georgi Dimitrov. However, in November the Gestapo arrested Finder and Małgorzata Fornalska, who possessed the secret codes for communication with Moscow and the Soviet response remained unknown. In the absence of Finder, on 23 November Gomułka was elected general secretary (chief) of the PPR and Bierut joined the three-person inner leadership.
The founding meeting of the State National Council took place in the late evening of 31 December 1943. The new body's chairman Bierut was becoming Gomułka's main rival. In mid-January 1944 Dimitrov was finally informed of the KRN's existence, which surprised both him and the Polish communist leaders in Moscow, increasingly led by Jakub Berman, who had other, competing ideas concerning the establishment of a Polish communist ruling party and government.
Gomułka felt that the Polish communists in occupied Poland had a better understanding of Polish realities than their brethren in Moscow and that the State National Council should determine the shape of the future executive government of Poland. Nevertheless, to gain Soviet approval and to clear any misunderstandings a KRN delegation left Warsaw in mid-March heading for Moscow, where it arrived two months later. By that time Stalin concluded that the existence of the KRN was a positive development and the Poles arriving from Warsaw were received and greeted by him and other Soviet dignitaries. The Union of Polish Patriots and the Central Bureau of Polish Communists in Moscow were now under pressure to recognize the primacy of the PPR, the KRN and Władysław Gomułka, which they ultimately did only in mid-July.
On 20 July, the Soviet forces under Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky forced their way across the Bug River and on that same day the combined meeting of Polish communists from the Moscow and Warsaw factions finalized the arrangements regarding the establishment (on 21 July) of the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN), a temporary government headed by Edward Osóbka-Morawski, a socialist allied with the communists. Gomułka and other PPR leaders left Warsaw and headed for the Soviet-controlled territory, arriving in Lublin on 1 August, the day the Warsaw Uprising erupted in the Polish capital.
Post-war political career
Role in communist takeover of Poland
Gomułka was a deputy prime minister in the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland (Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), from January to June 1945, and in the Provisional Government of National Unity (Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej), from 1945 to 1947. As a minister of Recovered Territories (1945–48), he exerted great influence over the rebuilding, integration and economic progress of Poland within its new borders, by supervising the settlement, development and administration of the lands acquired from Germany. Using his position in the PPR and government, Gomułka led the leftist social transformations in Poland and participated in the crushing of the resistance to communist rule during the post-war years. He also helped the communists in winning the 3 x Tak (3 Times Yes) referendum of 1946. A year later, he played a key role in the 1947 parliamentary elections, which were fraudulently arranged to give the communists and their allies an overwhelming victory. After the elections, all remaining legal opposition in Poland was effectively destroyed, and Gomułka was now the most powerful man in Poland. In June 1948, because of the impending unification of the PPR and PPS, Gomułka delivered a talk on the subject of the history of the Polish worker movement.
In a memo written to Stalin in 1948, Gomułka argued that "some of the Jewish comrades don’t feel any link to the Polish nation or to the Polish working class…or they maintain a stance which might be described as ‘national nihilism’". As a result, he considered it "absolutely necessary not only to stop any further growth in the percentage of Jews in the state as well as the party apparatus, but also to slowly lower that percentage, especially at the highest levels of the apparatus". Nikita Khrushchev, who was intimately involved in Polish affairs in the 1940s, according to Khrushchev′s memoirs, believed that Gomułka had a valid point in opposing the personnel policies pursued by Roman Zambrowski, Jakub Berman, and Hilary Minc, all of them of Jewish descent and brought to Poland from Stalin′s Russia. Nevertheless, Khrushchev attributed Gomułka′s subsequent downfall to his rivals having succeeded in portraying Gomułka as being pro-Yugoslav; the charges were not made public but were brought to Stalin′s attention and became crucial in his decision-making on whose side he would support — in view of the Soviet–Yugoslavia rift that occurred in 1948.
Temporary withdrawal from politics
In the late 1940s, Poland's communist government was split by a rivalry between Gomułka and President Bolesław Bierut. Gomułka led a home national group while Bierut headed a group reared by Stalin in the Soviet Union. The struggle ultimately led to Gomułka's removal from power in 1948. While Bierut advocated a policy of complete subservience to Moscow, Gomułka wanted to adapt the Communist blueprint to Polish circumstances. Among other things, he opposed forced collectivization and was skeptical of the Cominform. The Bierut faction had Stalin's ear, and on Stalin's orders, Gomułka was sacked as party leader for "rightist-nationalist deviation," replaced by Bierut. In December, soon after the PPR and Polish Socialist Party merged to form Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) (which was essentially the PPR under a new name), Gomułka was dropped from the merged party's Politburo. He was stripped of his remaining government posts in January 1949 and expelled from the party altogether in November. For the next eight years, he performed no official functions and was subjected to persecution, including almost four years of imprisonment from 1951 to 1954.
Bierut died in March 1956, during a period of de-Stalinization in Poland which gradually developed after Stalin's death. Edward Ochab became the new first secretary of the Party. Soon afterward, Gomułka was partially rehabilitated when Ochab conceded that Gomułka should not have been jailed, while reiterating the charges of "rightist-nationalist deviation" against him.
Rise to power
In June 1956, violent worker protests broke out in Poznań. The worker riots were harshly suppressed and dozens of workers were killed. However, the Party leadership, which now included many reform-minded officials, recognized to some degree the validity of the protest participants' demands and took steps to placate the workers.
The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomułka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomułka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky.
The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomułka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded.
Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomułka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomułka as the first secretary of the Party. Gomułka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. Seeing that Gomułka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomułka was a leader that Moscow could live with.
Leadership of the Polish People's Republic
Relations with other Eastern Bloc countries
A major factor that influenced Gomułka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomułka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe.
During the events of the Prague Spring, Gomułka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
Domestic policies
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign and purge of the army, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media.
Resignation and retirement
In December 1970, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent protests. Gomułka along with his right-hand man Zenon Kliszko ordered the regular Army under General Bolesław Chocha, to shoot striking workers with automatic weapons in Gdańsk and Gdynia. Over 41 shipyard workers of the Baltic coast were killed in the ensuing police-state violence, while well over a thousand people were wounded. The events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Gomułka's negative image in communist propaganda after his removal was gradually modified and some of his constructive contributions were recognized. He is seen as an honest and austere believer in the socialist system, who, unable to resolve Poland's formidable difficulties and satisfy mutually contradictory demands, grew more rigid and despotic later in his career. A heavy smoker, he died in 1982 at the age of 77 of lung cancer. Gomułka's memoirs were not published until 1994, long after his death, and five years after the collapse of the communist regime which he served and led.
The American journalist John Gunther described Gomułka in 1961 as being "professorial in manner, aloof, and angular, with a peculiar spry pepperiness".
Decorations and awards
:
Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Order of the Cross of Grunwald (1st class)
Partisan Cross
Medal "For Warsaw 1939-1945"
Medal Rodła
Other countries:
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France)
Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy)
Order of Lenin (Soviet Union)
Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (Soviet Union)
See also
History of Poland (1945–89)
References
External links
1905 births
1982 deaths
People from Krosno
People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Communist Party of Poland politicians
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Polish Workers' Party politicians
Members of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party
Members of the State National Council
Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952
Members of the Polish Sejm 1957–1961
Members of the Polish Sejm 1961–1965
Members of the Polish Sejm 1965–1969
Members of the Polish Sejm 1969–1972
Polish atheists
Communist rulers
Collaborators with the Soviet Union
Antisemitism in Poland
Anti-intellectualism
International Lenin School alumni
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1944–1989)
Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work
Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
People of the Cold War | true | [
"\"What Is Love?\" is the second single by musician Howard Jones. Released in 1983, from the album Human's Lib, it reached no. 2 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming the singer's highest chart placing to date. In the US, it peaked at no. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100.\n\nThe song was originally entitled \"Love?\" on the demo tape (listing below) which Howard Jones recorded in 1982, which itself was available at his gigs. Jones also used the question mark motif around this time on posters advertising his gigs; posters which also hung behind him on stage at his early 1980s Marquee Club appearances and which read simply \"Howard Jones?\".\n\nBackground\nHoward Jones said, \"I didn't want to write songs about, 'I love you, baby, you've hurt me and I'm sad.' I didn't want to write songs about co-dependency. If I was going to write about love, I wanted to say what do we mean by love? What is it, really? You can't be dependent upon another person for your happiness. So you'd better question this idea of romantic love pretty soon, otherwise you're going to be pretty miserable. So that's really what that song is.\"\n\nMusic video\nThe music video to What Is Love? was filmed in Paris, France and features Jones walking around the city and a park.\n\nCharts and certifications\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nTrack listing\n7\"\n\"What Is Love?\" (Jones/Bryant) – 3:41\n\"It Just Doesn't Matter\" (Jones/Bryant) – 3:36\n\n12\"\n\"What Is Love?\" (Extended Version) (Jones/Bryant) – 6:33\n\"It Just Doesn't Matter\" (Jones/Bryant) – 4:30\n\"Hunt The Self\" (Live at the Marquee) (Jones/Bryant) – 5:36\n\nLimited Edition 12\"\nA limited edition pack was also released featuring the standard 12-inch single and a \"Live at the Marquee\" bonus 7-inch single which featured the tracks:\n\"What Can I Say\" (Jones/Bryant) – 5:10\n\"Bounce Right Back\" (Jones) – 5:23\n\nDemo Tape\n\"What Can I Say\"\n\"Always Asking Questions\"\n\"Human's Lib\"\n\"Love?\" (aka \"What Is Love?\")\n\"Risk\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nThe Official Howard Jones Website Discography\n\n1983 songs\n1983 singles\n1984 singles\nHoward Jones (English musician) songs\nSong recordings produced by Rupert Hine\nSongs written by Howard Jones (English musician)\nWarner Music Group singles",
"The discography of Ira Losco, a Maltese singer, contains five studio albums and forty-three singles. She represented Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia with the song \"7th Wonder\", the song went on to finish second in the Final which was won by Marie N from Latvia with the song \"I Wanna\". She represented her country for the second time at Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden with the song \"Walk on Water\" and finished 11th (Ties with The Netherlands) in the grand final.\n\nHer debut studio album, Someone Else, was released in April 2004. The album includes the singles \"Love Me Or Hate Me\", \"Who I Am\", \"Someone Else\", \"Say Hey\", \"I'm In Love Again\" and \"Must've Been Good\". Her first Remix album, Blends & Remixes of Someone Else, was released in January 2005. Her second studio album, Accident Prone, was released in November 2005. The album includes the singles \"Everyday\", \"Get Out\", \"Don't Wanna Talk About It\", \"Driving One Of Your Cars\", \"Accident Prone\", \"Uh-Oh\" and \"Waking Up To The Light\". Her third studio album, Unmasked, was released in December 2006. The album includes the singles \"Winter Day\" and \"Arms Of The Ones...\". Her fourth studio album, Fortune Teller, was released in June 2008. The album includes the singles \"Something To Talk About\", \"Don't Look Down\", \"Idle Motion\", \"Promises\", \"Elvis Can You Hear Me?\", \"Shoulders of Giants\", \"What's The Matter With You?\" and \"Fortune Teller\". Her second Remix album, Mixed Beats, was released in August 2009. The album includes the singles \"What's The Matter With Your Cabrio\", \"Shoulders of Giants\" and \"Love Song\". Her fifth studio album, The Fire, was released in March 2013. The album includes the singles \"What I'd Give\", \"The Person I Am\", \"Me Luv U Long Time\" and \"The Way It's Meant To Be\".\n\nAlbums\n\nStudio albums\n\nRemix albums\n\nCompilation albums\n\nSingles\n\nAs lead artist\n\nOther appearances\n\nCovers & Re-Makes\n Ira re-made the track \"Say Hey\" featuring aspiring singer Caroline Stapley in 2004. The track was just a radio hit and is not featured in any album or single.\n Michelle Hunziker covered the tracks \"Get Out\", \"Love Me Or Hate Me\" and \"Someone Else\" for her debut album \"Lole\" in 2006.\n \"Accident Prone\" was remixed by DJ Ruby, Thomas Penton & Alex Armes, but wasn't featured in any album.\n Riffs from \"Uh Oh\" were sampled on Kelly Clarkson's track \"Don't Waste Your Time\".\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Official Website\n\nDiscographies of Maltese artists\nPop music discographies"
] |
[
"Władysław Gomułka",
"First secretary of the United Workers' Party",
"When did Gomulka become first secretary of the United Workers' Party?",
"on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968.",
"What did Gomulka do as first secretary of the UWP?",
"believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion.",
"How did the alliance with the Soviet Union fare?",
"Khrushchev decided that Gomulka was a leader that Moscow could live with.",
"How do the USSR help Gomulka?",
"The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe.",
"What else can you say about the USSR at that time?",
"The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm."
] | C_e55d029df5ad47a58a7ae57fdcae3f8e_0 | Why did the Soviet leadership view events in Poland with alarm? | 7 | Why did the Soviet leadership view events in Poland with alarm? | Władysław Gomułka | The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomulka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomulka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky. The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomulka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded. Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary of the Party. Gomulka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. A major factor that influenced Gomulka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomulka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". Seeing that Gomulka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomulka was a leader that Moscow could live with. The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In 1967-68 Gomulka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomulka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968. CANNOTANSWER | He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky. | Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish communist politician. He was the de facto leader of post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948. Following the Polish October he became leader again from 1956 to 1970. Gomułka was initially very popular for his reforms; his seeking a "Polish way to socialism"; and giving rise to the period known as "Polish thaw". During the 1960s, however, he became more rigid and authoritarian—afraid of destabilizing the system, he was not inclined to introduce or permit changes. In the 1960s he supported the persecution of the Catholic Church, intellectuals and the anti-communist opposition.
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which turned into an anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to retain power by shifting the attention from the stagnating economy. Many of the remaining Polish Jews left the country. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomułka supported Poland's participation in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
In the treaty with West Germany, signed in December 1970 at the end of Gomułka's period in office, West Germany recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In the same month, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent bloody clashes with shipyard workers on the Baltic coast, in which several dozen workers were fatally shot. The tragic events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Childhood and education
Władysław Gomułka was born on 6 February 1905 in Białobrzegi Franciszkańskie village on the outskirts of Krosno, into a worker's family living in the Austrian Partition (the Galicia region). His parents had met and married in the United States, where each had immigrated to in search of work in the late 19th century, but returned to occupied Poland in the early 20th century because Władysław's father Jan was unable to find gainful employment in America. Jan Gomułka then worked as a laborer in the Subcarpathian oil industry. Władysław's older sister Józefa, born in the US, returned there upon turning eighteen to join her extended family, most of whom had emigrated, and to preserve her US citizenship. Władysław and his two other siblings experienced a childhood of the proverbial Galician poverty: they lived in a dilapidated hut and ate mostly potatoes. Władysław received only rudimentary education before being employed in the oil industry of the region.
Gomułka attended schools in Krosno for six or seven years, until the age of thirteen when he had to start an apprenticeship in a metalworks shop. Throughout his life Gomułka was an avid reader and accomplished a great deal of self-education, but remained a subject of jokes because of his lack of formal education and demeanor. In 1922, Gomułka passed his apprenticeship exams and began working at a local refinery.
Early revolutionary activities
Involvement with labor unions and first imprisonment
The re-established Polish state of Gomułka's teen years was a scene of growing political polarization and radicalization. The young worker developed connections with the radical Left, joining the Siła (Power) youth organization in 1922 and the Independent Peasant Party in 1925. Gomułka was known for his activism in the metal workers and, from 1922, chemical industry unions. He was involved in union-organized strikes and in 1924, during a protest gathering in Krosno, participated in a polemical debate with Herman Lieberman. He published radical texts in leftist newspapers. In May 1926 the young Gomułka was for the first time arrested but soon released because of worker demands. The incident was the subject of a parliamentary intervention by the Peasant Party. In October 1926, Gomułka became a secretary of the managing council in the Chemical Industry Workers Union for the Drohobych District and remained involved with that communist-dominated union until 1930. He around this time learned on his own basic Ukrainian.
In late 1926, while in Drohobych, Gomułka became a member of the illegal-but-functioning Communist Party of Poland (Komunistyczna Partia Polski, KPP) and was arrested for political agitation. Technically, at this time he was a member of the Communist Party of Western Ukraine, which was an autonomous branch of the Communist Party of Poland. He was interested primarily in social issues, including the trade and labor movement, and concentrated on practical activities. In mid-1927, Gomułka was brought to Warsaw, where he remained active until drafted for military service at the end of the year. After several months, the military released him because of a health problem with his right leg. Gomułka returned to communist party work, organizing strike actions and speaking at gatherings of workers at all major industrial centers of Poland. During this period he was arrested several times and lived under police supervision.
Gomułka was an activist in the leftist labor unions from 1926 and in the Central Trade Department of the KPP Central Committee from 1931. In the summer of 1930, Gomułka illegally embarked on his first foreign trip with the intention of participating in the Red International of Labor Unions Fifth Congress held in Moscow from 15 to 30 July. Traveling from Upper Silesia to Berlin, he had to wait there for the issuance of Soviet documents and arrived in Moscow too late to participate in the deliberations of the Congress. He stayed in Moscow for a couple of weeks and then went to Leningrad, from where he took a ship to Hamburg, stayed in Berlin again and through Silesia returned to Poland.
In August 1932, he was arrested by the Sanation police while participating in a conference of textile worker delegates in Łódź. When he later tried to escape, Gomułka sustained a gunshot wound in the left thigh which ultimately left him with permanent walking impairment.
Journey to the Soviet Union and second imprisonment
Despite being sentenced to a four-year prison term on 1 June 1933, he was temporarily released for surgery on his injured leg in March 1934. Following his release, Gomułka requested that the KPP send him to the Soviet Union for medical treatment and further political training. He arrived in the Soviet Union in June and went to the Crimea for several weeks, where he underwent therapeutic baths. Gomułka then spent more than a year in Moscow, where he attended the Lenin School under the name Stefan Kowalski. The ideology-oriented classes were arranged separately for a small group of Polish students (one of them was Roman Romkowski (Natan Grünspan [Grinszpan]-Kikiel), who would later persecute Gomułka in Stalinist Poland) and included a military training course conducted by Karol Świerczewski. In a written opinion issued by the school Gomułka was characterized in highly positive terms, but his extended stay in the Soviet Union caused him to become disillusioned with the realities of Stalinist communism and highly critical of the agrarian collectivization practice. In November 1935 he illegally returned to Poland.
Gomułka resumed his communist and labor conspiratorial activities and kept advancing within the KPP organization until, as the secretary of the Party's Silesian branch, he was arrested in Chorzów in April 1936. He was then tried by the District Court in Katowice and sentenced to seven years in prison where he remained jailed until the beginning of World War II. Ironically, this internment most likely saved Gomułka's life, because the majority of the KPP leadership would be murdered in the Soviet Union in the late 1930s, caught up in the Great Purge under Joseph Stalin's orders.
Gomułka's experiences turned him into an extremely suspicious and distrustful person and contributed to his lifelong conviction that Sanation Poland was a fascist state, even if Polish prisons were the safest place for Polish Communists. He differentiated this belief from his positive feelings toward the country and its people, especially members of the working class.
World War II
Invasion of Poland
The outbreak of the war with Nazi Germany freed Gomułka from his prison confinement. On 7 September 1939, he arrived in Warsaw, where he stayed for a few weeks, working in the besieged capital on the construction of defensive fortifications. From there, like many other Polish communists, Gomułka fled to eastern Poland which was invaded by the Soviet Union on 17 September 1939. In Białystok he ran a home for former political prisoners arriving from other parts of Poland. To be reunited with his luckily found wife, at the end of 1939 Gomułka moved to Soviet-controlled Lviv.
Like other members of the dissolved Communist Party of Poland, Gomułka sought a membership in the Soviet All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). The Soviet authorities allowed such membership transfers only from March 1941 and in April of that year Gomułka received his party card in Kiev.
The circumstances of the Polish communists' lives changed dramatically after 1941 German attack on the Soviet positions in eastern Poland. Reduced to penury in now German-occupied Lviv, the Gomułkas managed to join Władysław's family in Krosno by the end of 1941. However, a momentous development soon took place in the sphere of communist political activity: in January 1942, Joseph Stalin reestablished in Warsaw a Polish communist party under the name of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR).
In 1942, Gomułka participated in the reformation of a Polish communist party (the KPP was destroyed in Stalin's purges in the late 1930s) under the name Polish Workers' Party (Polska Partia Robotnicza, PPR). Gomułka became involved in the creation of party structures in the Subcarpathian region and began using his wartime conspiratorial pseudonym "Wiesław". In July 1942, Paweł Finder brought Gomułka to occupied Warsaw. In August, the secretary of the PPR's regional Warsaw Committee was arrested by the Gestapo and "Wiesław" was entrusted with his job. In September Gomułka became a member of the PPR's Temporary Central Committee.
In late 1942 and early 1943, the PPR experienced a severe crisis because of the murder of its first secretary Marceli Nowotko. Gomułka participated in the party investigation directed against another member of the leadership, Bolesław Mołojec, that resulted in Mołojec's execution. Together with the promoted to secretary Finder and Franciszek Jóźwiak, "Wiesław" (Gomułka) was included in the Party's new inner leadership, established in January 1943. The Central Committee was enlarged in the following months to include Bolesław Bierut, among others.
In February 1943, Gomułka led the communist side in a series of important meetings in Warsaw between the PPR and the Government Delegation of the London-based Polish government-in-exile and the Home Army. The talks produced no results because of the divergent interests of the parties involved and a mutual lack of confidence. The Delegation officially discontinued the negotiations on April 28, three days after the Soviet government broke diplomatic relations with the Polish government. He became the Party's main ideologist. He wrote the "What do we fight for?" (O co walczymy?) publication dated 1 March 1943, and the much more comprehensive declaration that emerged under the same title in November. "Wiesław" supervised the Party's main editorial and publishing undertaking.
Gomułka made efforts, largely unsuccessful, to secure for the PPR cooperation of other political forces in occupied Poland. Bierut was indifferent to any such attempts and counted simply on compulsion provided by a future presence of the Red Army in Poland. The different strategies resulted in a sharp conflict between the two communist politicians.
State National Council, Polish Committee of National Liberation
In the fall of 1943, the PPR leadership began discussing the creation of a Polish quasi-parliamentary, communist-led body, to be named the State National Council (Krajowa Rada Narodowa, KRN). After the Battle of Kursk the expectation was of a Soviet victory and liberation of Poland and the PPR wanted to be ready to assume power. Gomułka came up with the idea of a national council and imposed his point of view on the rest of the leadership. The PPR intended to obtain consent from the Comintern leader and their Soviet contact Georgi Dimitrov. However, in November the Gestapo arrested Finder and Małgorzata Fornalska, who possessed the secret codes for communication with Moscow and the Soviet response remained unknown. In the absence of Finder, on 23 November Gomułka was elected general secretary (chief) of the PPR and Bierut joined the three-person inner leadership.
The founding meeting of the State National Council took place in the late evening of 31 December 1943. The new body's chairman Bierut was becoming Gomułka's main rival. In mid-January 1944 Dimitrov was finally informed of the KRN's existence, which surprised both him and the Polish communist leaders in Moscow, increasingly led by Jakub Berman, who had other, competing ideas concerning the establishment of a Polish communist ruling party and government.
Gomułka felt that the Polish communists in occupied Poland had a better understanding of Polish realities than their brethren in Moscow and that the State National Council should determine the shape of the future executive government of Poland. Nevertheless, to gain Soviet approval and to clear any misunderstandings a KRN delegation left Warsaw in mid-March heading for Moscow, where it arrived two months later. By that time Stalin concluded that the existence of the KRN was a positive development and the Poles arriving from Warsaw were received and greeted by him and other Soviet dignitaries. The Union of Polish Patriots and the Central Bureau of Polish Communists in Moscow were now under pressure to recognize the primacy of the PPR, the KRN and Władysław Gomułka, which they ultimately did only in mid-July.
On 20 July, the Soviet forces under Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky forced their way across the Bug River and on that same day the combined meeting of Polish communists from the Moscow and Warsaw factions finalized the arrangements regarding the establishment (on 21 July) of the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN), a temporary government headed by Edward Osóbka-Morawski, a socialist allied with the communists. Gomułka and other PPR leaders left Warsaw and headed for the Soviet-controlled territory, arriving in Lublin on 1 August, the day the Warsaw Uprising erupted in the Polish capital.
Post-war political career
Role in communist takeover of Poland
Gomułka was a deputy prime minister in the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland (Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), from January to June 1945, and in the Provisional Government of National Unity (Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej), from 1945 to 1947. As a minister of Recovered Territories (1945–48), he exerted great influence over the rebuilding, integration and economic progress of Poland within its new borders, by supervising the settlement, development and administration of the lands acquired from Germany. Using his position in the PPR and government, Gomułka led the leftist social transformations in Poland and participated in the crushing of the resistance to communist rule during the post-war years. He also helped the communists in winning the 3 x Tak (3 Times Yes) referendum of 1946. A year later, he played a key role in the 1947 parliamentary elections, which were fraudulently arranged to give the communists and their allies an overwhelming victory. After the elections, all remaining legal opposition in Poland was effectively destroyed, and Gomułka was now the most powerful man in Poland. In June 1948, because of the impending unification of the PPR and PPS, Gomułka delivered a talk on the subject of the history of the Polish worker movement.
In a memo written to Stalin in 1948, Gomułka argued that "some of the Jewish comrades don’t feel any link to the Polish nation or to the Polish working class…or they maintain a stance which might be described as ‘national nihilism’". As a result, he considered it "absolutely necessary not only to stop any further growth in the percentage of Jews in the state as well as the party apparatus, but also to slowly lower that percentage, especially at the highest levels of the apparatus". Nikita Khrushchev, who was intimately involved in Polish affairs in the 1940s, according to Khrushchev′s memoirs, believed that Gomułka had a valid point in opposing the personnel policies pursued by Roman Zambrowski, Jakub Berman, and Hilary Minc, all of them of Jewish descent and brought to Poland from Stalin′s Russia. Nevertheless, Khrushchev attributed Gomułka′s subsequent downfall to his rivals having succeeded in portraying Gomułka as being pro-Yugoslav; the charges were not made public but were brought to Stalin′s attention and became crucial in his decision-making on whose side he would support — in view of the Soviet–Yugoslavia rift that occurred in 1948.
Temporary withdrawal from politics
In the late 1940s, Poland's communist government was split by a rivalry between Gomułka and President Bolesław Bierut. Gomułka led a home national group while Bierut headed a group reared by Stalin in the Soviet Union. The struggle ultimately led to Gomułka's removal from power in 1948. While Bierut advocated a policy of complete subservience to Moscow, Gomułka wanted to adapt the Communist blueprint to Polish circumstances. Among other things, he opposed forced collectivization and was skeptical of the Cominform. The Bierut faction had Stalin's ear, and on Stalin's orders, Gomułka was sacked as party leader for "rightist-nationalist deviation," replaced by Bierut. In December, soon after the PPR and Polish Socialist Party merged to form Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) (which was essentially the PPR under a new name), Gomułka was dropped from the merged party's Politburo. He was stripped of his remaining government posts in January 1949 and expelled from the party altogether in November. For the next eight years, he performed no official functions and was subjected to persecution, including almost four years of imprisonment from 1951 to 1954.
Bierut died in March 1956, during a period of de-Stalinization in Poland which gradually developed after Stalin's death. Edward Ochab became the new first secretary of the Party. Soon afterward, Gomułka was partially rehabilitated when Ochab conceded that Gomułka should not have been jailed, while reiterating the charges of "rightist-nationalist deviation" against him.
Rise to power
In June 1956, violent worker protests broke out in Poznań. The worker riots were harshly suppressed and dozens of workers were killed. However, the Party leadership, which now included many reform-minded officials, recognized to some degree the validity of the protest participants' demands and took steps to placate the workers.
The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomułka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomułka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky.
The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomułka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded.
Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomułka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomułka as the first secretary of the Party. Gomułka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. Seeing that Gomułka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomułka was a leader that Moscow could live with.
Leadership of the Polish People's Republic
Relations with other Eastern Bloc countries
A major factor that influenced Gomułka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomułka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe.
During the events of the Prague Spring, Gomułka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
Domestic policies
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign and purge of the army, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media.
Resignation and retirement
In December 1970, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent protests. Gomułka along with his right-hand man Zenon Kliszko ordered the regular Army under General Bolesław Chocha, to shoot striking workers with automatic weapons in Gdańsk and Gdynia. Over 41 shipyard workers of the Baltic coast were killed in the ensuing police-state violence, while well over a thousand people were wounded. The events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Gomułka's negative image in communist propaganda after his removal was gradually modified and some of his constructive contributions were recognized. He is seen as an honest and austere believer in the socialist system, who, unable to resolve Poland's formidable difficulties and satisfy mutually contradictory demands, grew more rigid and despotic later in his career. A heavy smoker, he died in 1982 at the age of 77 of lung cancer. Gomułka's memoirs were not published until 1994, long after his death, and five years after the collapse of the communist regime which he served and led.
The American journalist John Gunther described Gomułka in 1961 as being "professorial in manner, aloof, and angular, with a peculiar spry pepperiness".
Decorations and awards
:
Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Order of the Cross of Grunwald (1st class)
Partisan Cross
Medal "For Warsaw 1939-1945"
Medal Rodła
Other countries:
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France)
Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy)
Order of Lenin (Soviet Union)
Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (Soviet Union)
See also
History of Poland (1945–89)
References
External links
1905 births
1982 deaths
People from Krosno
People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Communist Party of Poland politicians
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Polish Workers' Party politicians
Members of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party
Members of the State National Council
Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952
Members of the Polish Sejm 1957–1961
Members of the Polish Sejm 1961–1965
Members of the Polish Sejm 1965–1969
Members of the Polish Sejm 1969–1972
Polish atheists
Communist rulers
Collaborators with the Soviet Union
Antisemitism in Poland
Anti-intellectualism
International Lenin School alumni
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1944–1989)
Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work
Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
People of the Cold War | true | [
"The Communist Party of Western Belorussia (, KPZB; ) was a banned political party in the Interwar Poland, active in the territory of present-day West Belarus from 1923 until 1939; in Polesie (1932–1933) Słonim county (1934) and Vilnius.\n\nHistory\nThe party was founded in 1923 in Wilno by representatives of the Belarusian communist circles from Wilno, Białystok and Brest with logistical help from the Bolsheviks. Although its name, the Communist Party of Western Belarus, could suggest a desire for independence of Belarus, wrote historian Sergiusz Łukasiewicz, in reality the party advocated transfer of eastern provinces of Poland to the Soviet Union, which constituted high treason. This is why it has been delegalized by the Polish authorities.\n\nThe party's political program included a socialist revolution in Poland and unification of Western Belorussia with the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic in the USSR. The party worked undercover; in 1925-1927 it masked its illegal activities under the legal Belarusian Peasants' and Workers' Union in Poland. It received support from the Soviet Union with leadership brought in secretly from across the border (see Vera Kharuzhaya).\n\nIn 1938, following a decision by the Comintern on the orders of Joseph Stalin, the KPZB along with the Communist Party of Poland and the Communist Party of Western Ukraine were delegalized by the USSR under the charge of affiliation with the Polish bourgeoisie. Following the Soviet invasion of Poland and the annexation of Western Belarus to the Soviet Union in 1939, many former members of the KPZB were repressed, others joined the Communist Party of Byelorussia, the East Belarusian branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.\n\nNotable members\n\n Siarhei Prytytski, future Chairman of Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus (1968-1971)\n Branisłaŭ Taraškievič, linguist, writer, later executed by the Soviets in 1938\nMikalai Dvornikau, commander of the Ukrainian interbrigade company Taras Shevchenko, died in a battle in 1938\n Maksim Tank, future multiple times awarded writer, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus (1965–1971)\n Vera Kharuzhaya, later executed by Nazis in 1942\n\nReferences\n\nEdwarda Orłowska, Pamiętam jak dziś, Książka i Wiedza, Warsaw 1973. \n\n1923 establishments in Poland\n1938 disestablishments in the Soviet Union\nBanned communist parties\nCommunist parties in Belarus\nDefunct communist parties in Poland\nDefunct political parties in Belarus\nPolitical parties disestablished in 1938\nPolitical parties established in 1923\nPolitical parties of minorities in Poland\nPolitical repression in the Soviet Union\nWestern Belorussia (1918–1939)\nCommunist Party of Western Belorussia",
"Polish October (), also known as October 1956, Polish thaw, or Gomułka's thaw, marked a change in the politics of Poland in the second half of 1956. Some social scientists term it the Polish October Revolution, which was less dramatic than the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 but may have had an even deeper impact on the Eastern Bloc and on the Soviet Union's relationship to its satellite states in Central and Eastern Europe.\n\nFor the Polish People's Republic, 1956 was a year of transition. The international situation significantly weakened the hardline Stalinist faction in Poland, especially after the Polish communist leader Bolesław Bierut died in March. Three years had passed since Joseph Stalin's death and his successor at the Soviet Union's helm, Nikita Khrushchev, denounced him in February. Protests by Poznań workers in June had highlighted the people's dissatisfaction with their situation. In October, the events resulted in the rise in power of the reformers' faction, led by Władysław Gomułka. After brief but tense negotiations, the Soviets gave permission for Gomułka to stay in control and made several other concessions, resulting in greater autonomy for the Polish government.\n\nFor Poland, that meant a temporary liberalisation, but eventually, hopes for a full liberalisation were proven false, as Gomułka's regime gradually became more oppressive. Nonetheless, the era of Stalinism in Poland had ended.\n\nBackground\nGomułka's thaw was caused by several factors. The death of Joseph Stalin in 1953 and the resulting destalinization and the Khrushchev Thaw prompted debates about fundamental issues throughout the entire Eastern Bloc.\n\nIn the summer of 1955, the 5th World Festival of Youth and Students was held in Warsaw. Designed to be a vast propaganda exercise and a meeting place for Eastern European communists and their comrades from Western Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, the event brought hundreds of thousands of Polish spectators to Warsaw for the five days to watch dancing, theatre and other attractions. However, the real attractions for the Polish people were the foreigners, many of whom were from Western Europe and contrasted starkly with local Poles because they shared a similar culture but were much richer and more open. Deeply stricken, many Poles realised that a decade's worth of anti-Western rhetoric had been false. Poles, Germans, Hungarians, Czechs and others from the Communist bloc actively socialised with one another. With the more exotic visitors, Poles also socialised in private apartments all around the city. College students even held debating meetings with foreigners, many of whom turned out not to be communists.\n\nIn February 1956, following the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev delivered the Secret Speech (officially titled On the Personality Cult and Its Consequences) with wide implications for the Soviet Union and other communist countries. In Poland, in addition to criticism of the cult of personality, popular topics of debate centered on the right to steer a more independent course of \"local, national socialism\", instead of following the Soviet model in every detail. For example, many members of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) criticised Stalin's execution of older Polish communists during the Great Purge. Several other factors contributed to the destabilisation of Poland, such as the widely publicised defection in 1953 of high-ranking Polish intelligence agent Józef Światło, which resulted in the weakening of the Ministry of Public Security of Poland, the secret police. In addition, the unexpected death in Moscow in 1956 of Bolesław Bierut, the PZPR First Secretary (known as the \"Stalin of Poland\"), led to increased rivalry between various factions of Polish communists and to growing tensions in Polish society, which culminated in the Poznań 1956 protests (also known as June '56).\n\nThe PZPR Secretariat decided that Khrushchev's speech should have wide circulation in Poland, a unique decision in the Eastern Bloc. Bierut's successors seized on Khrushchev's condemnation of Stalinist policy as an opportunity to prove their reformist democratic credentials and their willingness to break with the Stalinist legacy.\n\nProtests and riots\nIn late March and early April 1956, thousands of Party meetings were held all over Poland, with the blessing of the Politburo and the Secretariat. Tens of thousands took part in such meetings. The Secretariat's plan succeeded beyond what it had expected. The political atmosphere in Poland shifted as questions were increasingly asked about taboo subjects like the Polish communists' legitimacy; responsibility for Stalin's crimes; the arrest of the increasingly-popular Władysław Gomułka, and issues in Soviet–Polish relations, such as the continued Soviet military presence in Poland, the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the Katyn massacre and the Soviet failure to support the Warsaw Uprising. A new Party Congress was demanded, as were a greater role for the Sejm and a guarantee of personal liberties. Alarmed by the process, the Party Secretariat decided to withhold the speech from the general public.\n\nIn June, there was an insurrection in Poznań. The workers rioted to protest shortages of food and consumer goods, bad housing, the decline in real income, trade relations with the Soviet Union and the poor management of the economy. The Polish government initially responded by branding the rioters as \"provocateurs, counterrevolutionaries and imperialist agents\". Between 57 and 78 people, mostly protesters, were killed, and hundreds were wounded and arrested. Soon, however, the party hierarchy recognised that the riots had awakened a nationalist movement and reversed their opinion. Wages were raised by 50%, and economic and political change was promised.\n\nThe Poznań protests, although the largest, were not unique in Poland, where social protest resumed its fury that autumn. On November 18, rioters destroyed the militia headquarters and radio jamming equipment in Bydgoszcz, and on December 10, a crowd in Szczecin attacked public buildings, including a prison, the state prosecutor's office, militia headquarters and the Soviet consulate. People across the country criticised the security police and asked for the dissolution of the public security committee and the punishment of its most guilty functionaries. Demands were made for the exposure of secret police collaborators, and suspected collaborators were frequently assaulted. In many localities, crowds gathered outside the secret police headquarters, shouted hostile slogans and broke windows. Public meetings, demonstrations and street marches took place in hundreds of towns across Poland. The meetings were usually organized by local party cells, local authorities and trade unions. However, official organisers tended to lose control as the political content exceeded their original agenda. Crowds often took radical action, which often resulted in unrest on the streets and clashes with police and other law enforcement agencies. Street activity peaked during and immediately after the 19–21 October \"VIII Plenum\" meeting of the Central Committee of the PZPR but continued until late in the year. A concurrent upsurge in religious and clerical sentiment took place. Hymns were sung, and the release of Stefan Wyszyński and the reinstatement of suppressed bishops were demanded. Nationalism was the cement of mass mobilisation and dominated public meetings during which people sang the national anthem and other patriotic songs, demanded the return of the white eagle to the flag and traditional army uniforms and attacked Poland's dependence on the Soviet Union and its military. They demanded the return of the eastern territories, an explanation for the Katyn massacre and the elimination of the Russian language from the educational curriculum. In the last ten days of October, monuments to the Red Army, despised by Poles, were attacked; red stars were pulled down from roofs of houses, factories and schools; red flags were destroyed; and portraits of Konstantin Rokossovsky, the military commander in charge of operations that drove the Nazi German forces from Poland, were defaced. Attempts were made to force entries into the homes of Soviet citizens, mostly in Lower Silesia, which was home to many Soviet troops. However, unlike the protesters in Hungary and Poznań, activists limited their political demands and behaviour, which were not purely opposed to the communist system. The communist authorities were not openly and unequivocally challenged, as they had been in June, and anticommunist slogans, which had been prevalent in the June uprising, such as \"We want free elections\", \"Down with Communist dictatorship\" or \"Down with the Party\", were much less prevalent. Also, party committees were not attacked.\n\nChange in the political leadership\n\nIn October, Edward Ochab, the First Secretary of the Party and the Polish Prime Minister, proposed Władysław Gomułka for election for the First Secretary of the Party during the 8th Plenum meeting. Gomułka was a moderate who had been the First Secretary of the Party from 1943 to 1948 and had been ousted and in 1951 imprisoned after he had been accused of \"right-wing nationalist deviation\" by Stalinist hardliners, along with Bierut. Gomułka proved to be acceptable to both factions of Polish communists: the reformers, who were arguing for liberalization of the system, and the hardliners, who realised that they needed to compromise. Gomułka insisted on being given real powers to implement reforms. One specific condition that he set was that Soviet Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, who had mobilized troops against the Poznań workers, be removed from the Polish Politburo and Defence Ministry, to which Ochab agreed. The majority of the Polish leadership, backed by both the army and the Internal Security Corps, brought Gomułka and several associates into the Politburo and designated Gomułka as First Secretary. Untouched by the scandals of Stalinism, Gomułka was acceptable to the Polish masses but at first was viewed with much suspicion by Moscow.\n\nThe Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Destalinisation was underway in the Soviet Union as well, but the Soviet leadership did not view the democratic reform that the Polish public desired as an acceptable solution. In Moscow, the belief was that any liberalisation in one country could lead to the destruction of communism and the ruin of Soviet influence in the region as a whole. The Soviet Union was not worried about only the political implications of reform but also its economic implications. Economically, the Soviet Union heavily invested in much of the Eastern Bloc and was striving for integration of its economies. The Soviet Union had financed Polish industry and was Poland's main trading partner. The Soviet Union directed the products that Poland manufactured, bought the products and exported goods to Poland that were no longer produced in it. That integration meant any reform, be it political or economic, in one country would have a great impact on the other. Because Poland was inextricably connected to the Soviet Union economically, the thought of an independent Polish economy was unrealistic. The country had been forced to rely on the Soviets for so long that breaking away completely would prove disastrous. Thus, both countries held crucial power in different facets. Poland could threaten Soviet strength and power in Eastern Europe politically, and the Soviet Union could essentially destroy the Polish economy. Therefore, any reform in the Polish government would have to concede to some Soviet demands, but the Soviets concurrently would have to concede to a vital partner.\n\nA high-level delegation of the Soviet Central Committee flew to Poland in an attempt to block removing pro-Soviet members of Politburo, mainly Soviet and Polish Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky. The Soviet delegation was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Anastas Mikoyan, Nikolai Bulganin, Vyacheslav Molotov, Lazar Kaganovich and Ivan Konev. The negotiations were tense; both Polish and Soviet troops were put on alert and engaged in \"manoeuvres\" that were used as thinly-veiled threats. Even before the Soviet delegation arrived, Soviet armed forces stationed in Poland (including two armored divisions) left their bases and started moving towards Warsaw. When ordered to halt their advance, they were only 100 km from the Polish national capital.\n\nThe Polish leadership made it clear that the face of communism had to become more nationalised and that the Soviets could no longer directly control the Polish people.\n\nKhrushchev's speech worked against him. During Stalinism, the Soviet Union had placed Moscow-friendly Poles or Russians themselves in important political positions in Poland. After denouncing Stalinism so vehemently in his speech, Khrushchev could not regress to the Stalinist position by forcing more Russians into the Polish leadership. The Poles, in recognising the cries of the public, needed to keep the Soviets from direct control but could not raise their demands to a point that endangered their relationships in the bloc. Gomułka demanded increased autonomy and permission to carry out some reforms but also reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning communism or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets were also pressured by the Chinese to accommodate the Polish demands and were increasingly distracted by the events in Hungary.\n\nEventually, when Khrushchev was reassured that Gomułka would not alter the basic foundations of Polish communism, he withdrew the invasion threat and agreed to compromise, and Gomułka was confirmed in his new position. According to the account Khrushchev gives in his memoirs, he ordered the Soviet troops to halt in place after he was personally confronted by Gomułka who, according to Khrushchev, was in a state of agitation and \"demanded\" that the troops return to their bases, or \"something terrible and irreversible will happen.\" Khrushchev claims the he was never against appointing Gomułka at the helm of PZPR and had expected him to be elevated to the top post ever since he was released from prison.\n\nThe leadership's stance contributed to the relatively-moderate political dimension of social protest in October. Also crucial were the impacts of nationalism and nationalist emotions. They spurred social protest in June but dampened it in October, when the threat of Soviet invasion against Gomułka and his supporters transformed the social image of Polish communists. In June, they were still treated as puppets and servants of alien, anti-Polish interests and excluded from the national community. In October, they became a part of the nation opposing Soviet domination. Gomułka was enthusiastically supported by the great majority of society not primarily as a communist leader but as a leader of a nation who, by resisting Soviet demands, embodied a national longing for independence and sovereignty. His name was chanted, along with anti-Soviet slogans, at thousands of meetings: \"Go home Rokossovsky\", \"Down with the Russians,\" \"Long live Gomułka\" and \"We want a free Poland\".\n\nGomułka's anti-Soviet image was exaggerated but was justified in the popular imagination by his anti-Stalinist line in 1948 and years of subsequent internment. Thus, Polish communists found themselves unexpectedly at the head of a national liberation movement. The enthusiastic public support offered to Gomułka contributed to the legitimisation of communist rule in Poland, which incorporated mass nationalist, anti-Soviet feelings into the prevailing power structures. In Hungary, social protest destroyed the political system, but in Poland, it was absorbed into it.\n\nAftermath\n\nInformation about events in Poland reached the people of Hungary via Radio Free Europe's news and commentary services between 19 October and 22 October 1956. A student demonstration in Budapest in support of Gomułka, asking for similar reforms in Hungary, was one of the events that sparked the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The events of the Hungarian November also helped distract the Soviets and ensure the success of the Polish October.\n\nGomułka, in his public speeches, criticized the hardships of Stalinism and promised reforms to democratize the country; this was received with much enthusiasm by Polish society. By mid-November, Gomułka had secured substantive gains in his negotiations with the Soviets: the cancellation of Poland's existing debts, new preferential trade terms, abandonment of the unpopular Soviet-imposed collectivization of Polish agriculture, and permission to liberalize policy towards the Roman Catholic Church. In December, the status of Soviet forces in Poland, the Northern Group of Forces, was finally regulated.\n\nIn the aftermath of the October events, Rokossovsky and many other Soviet \"advisers\" left Poland, signaling that Moscow was willing to grant Polish communists slightly more independence. The Polish government rehabilitated many victims of the Stalinist era, and many political prisoners were set free. Among them was cardinal Stefan Wyszyński. The Polish legislative election of 1957 was much more liberal than that of 1952 although still not considered free by Western standards.\n\nGomułka, however, could not and did not want to reject communism or Soviet domination; he could only steer Poland towards increased independence and \"Polish national communism\". Because of these restricted ambitions, which were recognized by the Soviets, the limited Polish revolution succeeded where the radical Hungarian one did not. Norman Davies sums up the effect as a transformation of Poland from puppet state to client state; Raymond Pearson similarly states that Poland changed from a Soviet colony to a dominion.\n\nGomulka's pledge to follow a \"Polish road to socialism\" more in harmony with national traditions and preferences caused many Poles to interpret the dramatic confrontation of 1956 as a sign that the end of the dictatorship was in sight. Initially very popular for his reforms, which were optimistically referred to at the time as \"Gomułka's thaw\", Gomułka gradually softened his opposition to Soviet pressures, and the late-1950s hopes for major political change in Poland were replaced with growing disillusionment in the 1960s. In the end, Gomułka failed in his goal to salvage communism—or socialism—in Poland.\n\nSociety became more liberal (as seen, for instance, in the achievements of the Polish Film School and the creation of such controversial movies as Ashes and Diamonds), and a civil society started to develop, but half-hearted democratization was not enough to satisfy the Polish public. By the time of the March 1968 events, Gomułka's thaw would be long over, and increasing economic problems and popular discontent would end up removing Gomułka from power in 1970—ironically, in a situation similar to the protests that once had propelled him to power.\n\nNonetheless, some social scientists, such as Zbigniew Brzezinski and Frank Gibney, refer to these changes as a revolution, one less dramatic than its Hungarian counterpart but one which may have had an even more profound impact on the Eastern Bloc. Timothy Garton Ash calls the Polish October the most significant event in the post-war history of Poland until the rise of Solidarity. History professor Iván T. Berend claims that while the effects of the Polish October on the Eastern Bloc may be disputed, it set the course for the eventual fall of communism in the Polish People's Republic.\n\nReferences\n\nFurther reading\nDallin, Alexander. \"The Soviet Stake in Eastern Europe\". Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 317(1958): 138–145.\n\"Excerpts from Gomulka's Speech to Central Committee of Polish Communists\". New York Times, 21 October 1956: 28.\nGruson, Sydney. \"Soviet Leaders Rush to Poland to Demand Pro-Moscow Regime; Said to Post Troops at Warsaw\". New York Times, 20 October 1956: 1.\nKemp-Welch, Tony. \"Dethroning Stalin: Poland 1956 and its Legacy\". Europe-Asia Studies 58(2006): 1261–84.\nKemp-Welch, Tony. \"Khrushchev's 'Secret Speech' and Polish Politics: The Spring of 1956\". Europe-Asia Studies 48(1996): 181–206.\nZyzniewski, Stanley J. \"The Soviet Economic Impact on Poland\". American Slavic and East European Review 18(1959): 205–225.\n\nExternal links\nPoznań - Budapest - 1956\n1956 - a european date\nLOC: From Stalinism to the Polish October\nLOC: Gomulka and Gierek\n\nProtests in Poland\nPolish People's Republic\n1956 in Poland\n1956 protests\nPolitical history of Poland\nStalinism in Poland\nCold War rebellions\nPoland–Soviet Union relations\nOctober 1956 events"
] |
[
"Władysław Gomułka",
"First secretary of the United Workers' Party",
"When did Gomulka become first secretary of the United Workers' Party?",
"on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968.",
"What did Gomulka do as first secretary of the UWP?",
"believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion.",
"How did the alliance with the Soviet Union fare?",
"Khrushchev decided that Gomulka was a leader that Moscow could live with.",
"How do the USSR help Gomulka?",
"The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe.",
"What else can you say about the USSR at that time?",
"The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm.",
"Why did the Soviet leadership view events in Poland with alarm?",
"He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky."
] | C_e55d029df5ad47a58a7ae57fdcae3f8e_0 | Did he successfully replace Party leaders? | 8 | Did Gomulka successfully replace Party leaders? | Władysław Gomułka | The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomulka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomulka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky. The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomulka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded. Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary of the Party. Gomulka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. A major factor that influenced Gomulka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomulka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". Seeing that Gomulka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomulka was a leader that Moscow could live with. The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In 1967-68 Gomulka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomulka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968. CANNOTANSWER | reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc | Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish communist politician. He was the de facto leader of post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948. Following the Polish October he became leader again from 1956 to 1970. Gomułka was initially very popular for his reforms; his seeking a "Polish way to socialism"; and giving rise to the period known as "Polish thaw". During the 1960s, however, he became more rigid and authoritarian—afraid of destabilizing the system, he was not inclined to introduce or permit changes. In the 1960s he supported the persecution of the Catholic Church, intellectuals and the anti-communist opposition.
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which turned into an anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to retain power by shifting the attention from the stagnating economy. Many of the remaining Polish Jews left the country. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomułka supported Poland's participation in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
In the treaty with West Germany, signed in December 1970 at the end of Gomułka's period in office, West Germany recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In the same month, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent bloody clashes with shipyard workers on the Baltic coast, in which several dozen workers were fatally shot. The tragic events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Childhood and education
Władysław Gomułka was born on 6 February 1905 in Białobrzegi Franciszkańskie village on the outskirts of Krosno, into a worker's family living in the Austrian Partition (the Galicia region). His parents had met and married in the United States, where each had immigrated to in search of work in the late 19th century, but returned to occupied Poland in the early 20th century because Władysław's father Jan was unable to find gainful employment in America. Jan Gomułka then worked as a laborer in the Subcarpathian oil industry. Władysław's older sister Józefa, born in the US, returned there upon turning eighteen to join her extended family, most of whom had emigrated, and to preserve her US citizenship. Władysław and his two other siblings experienced a childhood of the proverbial Galician poverty: they lived in a dilapidated hut and ate mostly potatoes. Władysław received only rudimentary education before being employed in the oil industry of the region.
Gomułka attended schools in Krosno for six or seven years, until the age of thirteen when he had to start an apprenticeship in a metalworks shop. Throughout his life Gomułka was an avid reader and accomplished a great deal of self-education, but remained a subject of jokes because of his lack of formal education and demeanor. In 1922, Gomułka passed his apprenticeship exams and began working at a local refinery.
Early revolutionary activities
Involvement with labor unions and first imprisonment
The re-established Polish state of Gomułka's teen years was a scene of growing political polarization and radicalization. The young worker developed connections with the radical Left, joining the Siła (Power) youth organization in 1922 and the Independent Peasant Party in 1925. Gomułka was known for his activism in the metal workers and, from 1922, chemical industry unions. He was involved in union-organized strikes and in 1924, during a protest gathering in Krosno, participated in a polemical debate with Herman Lieberman. He published radical texts in leftist newspapers. In May 1926 the young Gomułka was for the first time arrested but soon released because of worker demands. The incident was the subject of a parliamentary intervention by the Peasant Party. In October 1926, Gomułka became a secretary of the managing council in the Chemical Industry Workers Union for the Drohobych District and remained involved with that communist-dominated union until 1930. He around this time learned on his own basic Ukrainian.
In late 1926, while in Drohobych, Gomułka became a member of the illegal-but-functioning Communist Party of Poland (Komunistyczna Partia Polski, KPP) and was arrested for political agitation. Technically, at this time he was a member of the Communist Party of Western Ukraine, which was an autonomous branch of the Communist Party of Poland. He was interested primarily in social issues, including the trade and labor movement, and concentrated on practical activities. In mid-1927, Gomułka was brought to Warsaw, where he remained active until drafted for military service at the end of the year. After several months, the military released him because of a health problem with his right leg. Gomułka returned to communist party work, organizing strike actions and speaking at gatherings of workers at all major industrial centers of Poland. During this period he was arrested several times and lived under police supervision.
Gomułka was an activist in the leftist labor unions from 1926 and in the Central Trade Department of the KPP Central Committee from 1931. In the summer of 1930, Gomułka illegally embarked on his first foreign trip with the intention of participating in the Red International of Labor Unions Fifth Congress held in Moscow from 15 to 30 July. Traveling from Upper Silesia to Berlin, he had to wait there for the issuance of Soviet documents and arrived in Moscow too late to participate in the deliberations of the Congress. He stayed in Moscow for a couple of weeks and then went to Leningrad, from where he took a ship to Hamburg, stayed in Berlin again and through Silesia returned to Poland.
In August 1932, he was arrested by the Sanation police while participating in a conference of textile worker delegates in Łódź. When he later tried to escape, Gomułka sustained a gunshot wound in the left thigh which ultimately left him with permanent walking impairment.
Journey to the Soviet Union and second imprisonment
Despite being sentenced to a four-year prison term on 1 June 1933, he was temporarily released for surgery on his injured leg in March 1934. Following his release, Gomułka requested that the KPP send him to the Soviet Union for medical treatment and further political training. He arrived in the Soviet Union in June and went to the Crimea for several weeks, where he underwent therapeutic baths. Gomułka then spent more than a year in Moscow, where he attended the Lenin School under the name Stefan Kowalski. The ideology-oriented classes were arranged separately for a small group of Polish students (one of them was Roman Romkowski (Natan Grünspan [Grinszpan]-Kikiel), who would later persecute Gomułka in Stalinist Poland) and included a military training course conducted by Karol Świerczewski. In a written opinion issued by the school Gomułka was characterized in highly positive terms, but his extended stay in the Soviet Union caused him to become disillusioned with the realities of Stalinist communism and highly critical of the agrarian collectivization practice. In November 1935 he illegally returned to Poland.
Gomułka resumed his communist and labor conspiratorial activities and kept advancing within the KPP organization until, as the secretary of the Party's Silesian branch, he was arrested in Chorzów in April 1936. He was then tried by the District Court in Katowice and sentenced to seven years in prison where he remained jailed until the beginning of World War II. Ironically, this internment most likely saved Gomułka's life, because the majority of the KPP leadership would be murdered in the Soviet Union in the late 1930s, caught up in the Great Purge under Joseph Stalin's orders.
Gomułka's experiences turned him into an extremely suspicious and distrustful person and contributed to his lifelong conviction that Sanation Poland was a fascist state, even if Polish prisons were the safest place for Polish Communists. He differentiated this belief from his positive feelings toward the country and its people, especially members of the working class.
World War II
Invasion of Poland
The outbreak of the war with Nazi Germany freed Gomułka from his prison confinement. On 7 September 1939, he arrived in Warsaw, where he stayed for a few weeks, working in the besieged capital on the construction of defensive fortifications. From there, like many other Polish communists, Gomułka fled to eastern Poland which was invaded by the Soviet Union on 17 September 1939. In Białystok he ran a home for former political prisoners arriving from other parts of Poland. To be reunited with his luckily found wife, at the end of 1939 Gomułka moved to Soviet-controlled Lviv.
Like other members of the dissolved Communist Party of Poland, Gomułka sought a membership in the Soviet All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). The Soviet authorities allowed such membership transfers only from March 1941 and in April of that year Gomułka received his party card in Kiev.
The circumstances of the Polish communists' lives changed dramatically after 1941 German attack on the Soviet positions in eastern Poland. Reduced to penury in now German-occupied Lviv, the Gomułkas managed to join Władysław's family in Krosno by the end of 1941. However, a momentous development soon took place in the sphere of communist political activity: in January 1942, Joseph Stalin reestablished in Warsaw a Polish communist party under the name of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR).
In 1942, Gomułka participated in the reformation of a Polish communist party (the KPP was destroyed in Stalin's purges in the late 1930s) under the name Polish Workers' Party (Polska Partia Robotnicza, PPR). Gomułka became involved in the creation of party structures in the Subcarpathian region and began using his wartime conspiratorial pseudonym "Wiesław". In July 1942, Paweł Finder brought Gomułka to occupied Warsaw. In August, the secretary of the PPR's regional Warsaw Committee was arrested by the Gestapo and "Wiesław" was entrusted with his job. In September Gomułka became a member of the PPR's Temporary Central Committee.
In late 1942 and early 1943, the PPR experienced a severe crisis because of the murder of its first secretary Marceli Nowotko. Gomułka participated in the party investigation directed against another member of the leadership, Bolesław Mołojec, that resulted in Mołojec's execution. Together with the promoted to secretary Finder and Franciszek Jóźwiak, "Wiesław" (Gomułka) was included in the Party's new inner leadership, established in January 1943. The Central Committee was enlarged in the following months to include Bolesław Bierut, among others.
In February 1943, Gomułka led the communist side in a series of important meetings in Warsaw between the PPR and the Government Delegation of the London-based Polish government-in-exile and the Home Army. The talks produced no results because of the divergent interests of the parties involved and a mutual lack of confidence. The Delegation officially discontinued the negotiations on April 28, three days after the Soviet government broke diplomatic relations with the Polish government. He became the Party's main ideologist. He wrote the "What do we fight for?" (O co walczymy?) publication dated 1 March 1943, and the much more comprehensive declaration that emerged under the same title in November. "Wiesław" supervised the Party's main editorial and publishing undertaking.
Gomułka made efforts, largely unsuccessful, to secure for the PPR cooperation of other political forces in occupied Poland. Bierut was indifferent to any such attempts and counted simply on compulsion provided by a future presence of the Red Army in Poland. The different strategies resulted in a sharp conflict between the two communist politicians.
State National Council, Polish Committee of National Liberation
In the fall of 1943, the PPR leadership began discussing the creation of a Polish quasi-parliamentary, communist-led body, to be named the State National Council (Krajowa Rada Narodowa, KRN). After the Battle of Kursk the expectation was of a Soviet victory and liberation of Poland and the PPR wanted to be ready to assume power. Gomułka came up with the idea of a national council and imposed his point of view on the rest of the leadership. The PPR intended to obtain consent from the Comintern leader and their Soviet contact Georgi Dimitrov. However, in November the Gestapo arrested Finder and Małgorzata Fornalska, who possessed the secret codes for communication with Moscow and the Soviet response remained unknown. In the absence of Finder, on 23 November Gomułka was elected general secretary (chief) of the PPR and Bierut joined the three-person inner leadership.
The founding meeting of the State National Council took place in the late evening of 31 December 1943. The new body's chairman Bierut was becoming Gomułka's main rival. In mid-January 1944 Dimitrov was finally informed of the KRN's existence, which surprised both him and the Polish communist leaders in Moscow, increasingly led by Jakub Berman, who had other, competing ideas concerning the establishment of a Polish communist ruling party and government.
Gomułka felt that the Polish communists in occupied Poland had a better understanding of Polish realities than their brethren in Moscow and that the State National Council should determine the shape of the future executive government of Poland. Nevertheless, to gain Soviet approval and to clear any misunderstandings a KRN delegation left Warsaw in mid-March heading for Moscow, where it arrived two months later. By that time Stalin concluded that the existence of the KRN was a positive development and the Poles arriving from Warsaw were received and greeted by him and other Soviet dignitaries. The Union of Polish Patriots and the Central Bureau of Polish Communists in Moscow were now under pressure to recognize the primacy of the PPR, the KRN and Władysław Gomułka, which they ultimately did only in mid-July.
On 20 July, the Soviet forces under Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky forced their way across the Bug River and on that same day the combined meeting of Polish communists from the Moscow and Warsaw factions finalized the arrangements regarding the establishment (on 21 July) of the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN), a temporary government headed by Edward Osóbka-Morawski, a socialist allied with the communists. Gomułka and other PPR leaders left Warsaw and headed for the Soviet-controlled territory, arriving in Lublin on 1 August, the day the Warsaw Uprising erupted in the Polish capital.
Post-war political career
Role in communist takeover of Poland
Gomułka was a deputy prime minister in the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland (Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), from January to June 1945, and in the Provisional Government of National Unity (Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej), from 1945 to 1947. As a minister of Recovered Territories (1945–48), he exerted great influence over the rebuilding, integration and economic progress of Poland within its new borders, by supervising the settlement, development and administration of the lands acquired from Germany. Using his position in the PPR and government, Gomułka led the leftist social transformations in Poland and participated in the crushing of the resistance to communist rule during the post-war years. He also helped the communists in winning the 3 x Tak (3 Times Yes) referendum of 1946. A year later, he played a key role in the 1947 parliamentary elections, which were fraudulently arranged to give the communists and their allies an overwhelming victory. After the elections, all remaining legal opposition in Poland was effectively destroyed, and Gomułka was now the most powerful man in Poland. In June 1948, because of the impending unification of the PPR and PPS, Gomułka delivered a talk on the subject of the history of the Polish worker movement.
In a memo written to Stalin in 1948, Gomułka argued that "some of the Jewish comrades don’t feel any link to the Polish nation or to the Polish working class…or they maintain a stance which might be described as ‘national nihilism’". As a result, he considered it "absolutely necessary not only to stop any further growth in the percentage of Jews in the state as well as the party apparatus, but also to slowly lower that percentage, especially at the highest levels of the apparatus". Nikita Khrushchev, who was intimately involved in Polish affairs in the 1940s, according to Khrushchev′s memoirs, believed that Gomułka had a valid point in opposing the personnel policies pursued by Roman Zambrowski, Jakub Berman, and Hilary Minc, all of them of Jewish descent and brought to Poland from Stalin′s Russia. Nevertheless, Khrushchev attributed Gomułka′s subsequent downfall to his rivals having succeeded in portraying Gomułka as being pro-Yugoslav; the charges were not made public but were brought to Stalin′s attention and became crucial in his decision-making on whose side he would support — in view of the Soviet–Yugoslavia rift that occurred in 1948.
Temporary withdrawal from politics
In the late 1940s, Poland's communist government was split by a rivalry between Gomułka and President Bolesław Bierut. Gomułka led a home national group while Bierut headed a group reared by Stalin in the Soviet Union. The struggle ultimately led to Gomułka's removal from power in 1948. While Bierut advocated a policy of complete subservience to Moscow, Gomułka wanted to adapt the Communist blueprint to Polish circumstances. Among other things, he opposed forced collectivization and was skeptical of the Cominform. The Bierut faction had Stalin's ear, and on Stalin's orders, Gomułka was sacked as party leader for "rightist-nationalist deviation," replaced by Bierut. In December, soon after the PPR and Polish Socialist Party merged to form Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) (which was essentially the PPR under a new name), Gomułka was dropped from the merged party's Politburo. He was stripped of his remaining government posts in January 1949 and expelled from the party altogether in November. For the next eight years, he performed no official functions and was subjected to persecution, including almost four years of imprisonment from 1951 to 1954.
Bierut died in March 1956, during a period of de-Stalinization in Poland which gradually developed after Stalin's death. Edward Ochab became the new first secretary of the Party. Soon afterward, Gomułka was partially rehabilitated when Ochab conceded that Gomułka should not have been jailed, while reiterating the charges of "rightist-nationalist deviation" against him.
Rise to power
In June 1956, violent worker protests broke out in Poznań. The worker riots were harshly suppressed and dozens of workers were killed. However, the Party leadership, which now included many reform-minded officials, recognized to some degree the validity of the protest participants' demands and took steps to placate the workers.
The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomułka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomułka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky.
The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomułka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded.
Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomułka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomułka as the first secretary of the Party. Gomułka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. Seeing that Gomułka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomułka was a leader that Moscow could live with.
Leadership of the Polish People's Republic
Relations with other Eastern Bloc countries
A major factor that influenced Gomułka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomułka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe.
During the events of the Prague Spring, Gomułka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
Domestic policies
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign and purge of the army, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media.
Resignation and retirement
In December 1970, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent protests. Gomułka along with his right-hand man Zenon Kliszko ordered the regular Army under General Bolesław Chocha, to shoot striking workers with automatic weapons in Gdańsk and Gdynia. Over 41 shipyard workers of the Baltic coast were killed in the ensuing police-state violence, while well over a thousand people were wounded. The events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Gomułka's negative image in communist propaganda after his removal was gradually modified and some of his constructive contributions were recognized. He is seen as an honest and austere believer in the socialist system, who, unable to resolve Poland's formidable difficulties and satisfy mutually contradictory demands, grew more rigid and despotic later in his career. A heavy smoker, he died in 1982 at the age of 77 of lung cancer. Gomułka's memoirs were not published until 1994, long after his death, and five years after the collapse of the communist regime which he served and led.
The American journalist John Gunther described Gomułka in 1961 as being "professorial in manner, aloof, and angular, with a peculiar spry pepperiness".
Decorations and awards
:
Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Order of the Cross of Grunwald (1st class)
Partisan Cross
Medal "For Warsaw 1939-1945"
Medal Rodła
Other countries:
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France)
Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy)
Order of Lenin (Soviet Union)
Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (Soviet Union)
See also
History of Poland (1945–89)
References
External links
1905 births
1982 deaths
People from Krosno
People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Communist Party of Poland politicians
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Polish Workers' Party politicians
Members of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party
Members of the State National Council
Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952
Members of the Polish Sejm 1957–1961
Members of the Polish Sejm 1961–1965
Members of the Polish Sejm 1965–1969
Members of the Polish Sejm 1969–1972
Polish atheists
Communist rulers
Collaborators with the Soviet Union
Antisemitism in Poland
Anti-intellectualism
International Lenin School alumni
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1944–1989)
Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work
Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
People of the Cold War | true | [
"Andrew Whitecross (born 25 May 1963) is an Australian politician and was a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, elected to the multi-member electorate of Brindabella for the Labor Party. Whitecross was elected the third ACT Legislative Assembly at the 1995 general election as a Labor member. He succeeded former Chief Minister Rosemary Follett as Leader of the Opposition in March 1996, and continued in that position until his replacement by Wayne Berry in August 1997. He recontested the seat at the 1998 general election, but was unsuccessful.\n\nWhitecross and his successor Berry are the only ALP leaders who did not become Chief Ministers and Whitecross is the only ALP leader who did not lead the party into an election.\n\nWith a caucus of six members Whitecross was able to replace Follett as leader when he and two caucus colleagues tapped Follett on the shoulder which convinced her to stand down as leader.\n\nReferences\n\nAustralian Labor Party members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly\nMembers of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly\n1963 births\nLiving people\nLeaders of the Opposition in the Australian Capital Territory",
"In the decade following its founding, the Green Party of Ontario did not have a formal leadership structure, and was run in a very decentralized manner (nominal leaders were sometimes chosen for elections, but they had no personal authority over party decisions). Frank De Jong and others opposed this approach, and successfully campaigned for a formal leadership contest in 1993.\n\nGreen Party of Ontario leadership election, 1993\nFrank De Jong entered this contest, and defeated Jim Harris, who later became leader of the Green Party of Canada.\n\nGreen Party of Ontario leadership election, 2001\n\nDe Jong was challenged for the leadership of the Ontario Green Party by Judy Greenwood-Speers in 2001 and was re-elected.\n\nGreen Party of Ontario leadership election, 2009\n\nIn 2009, de Jong announced that he will be stepping down as party leader. His successor will be chosen at the November 13–15, 2009 Ontario Green Party leadership election. Mike Schreiner was the only candidate to enter the race and his election was affirmed on November 14, 2009.\n\n \nOntario"
] |
[
"Władysław Gomułka",
"First secretary of the United Workers' Party",
"When did Gomulka become first secretary of the United Workers' Party?",
"on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968.",
"What did Gomulka do as first secretary of the UWP?",
"believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion.",
"How did the alliance with the Soviet Union fare?",
"Khrushchev decided that Gomulka was a leader that Moscow could live with.",
"How do the USSR help Gomulka?",
"The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe.",
"What else can you say about the USSR at that time?",
"The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm.",
"Why did the Soviet leadership view events in Poland with alarm?",
"He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky.",
"Did he successfully replace Party leaders?",
"reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc"
] | C_e55d029df5ad47a58a7ae57fdcae3f8e_0 | Were the reforms a success? | 9 | Were the Soviet reforms a success? | Władysław Gomułka | The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomulka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomulka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky. The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomulka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded. Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomulka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomulka as first secretary of the Party. Gomulka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. A major factor that influenced Gomulka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomulka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". Seeing that Gomulka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomulka was a leader that Moscow could live with. The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In 1967-68 Gomulka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomulka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomulka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the intervention in Czechoslovakia in August 1968. CANNOTANSWER | The Soviets yielded. | Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish communist politician. He was the de facto leader of post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948. Following the Polish October he became leader again from 1956 to 1970. Gomułka was initially very popular for his reforms; his seeking a "Polish way to socialism"; and giving rise to the period known as "Polish thaw". During the 1960s, however, he became more rigid and authoritarian—afraid of destabilizing the system, he was not inclined to introduce or permit changes. In the 1960s he supported the persecution of the Catholic Church, intellectuals and the anti-communist opposition.
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which turned into an anti-Semitic campaign, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to retain power by shifting the attention from the stagnating economy. Many of the remaining Polish Jews left the country. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media. Gomułka supported Poland's participation in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
In the treaty with West Germany, signed in December 1970 at the end of Gomułka's period in office, West Germany recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe. In the same month, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent bloody clashes with shipyard workers on the Baltic coast, in which several dozen workers were fatally shot. The tragic events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Childhood and education
Władysław Gomułka was born on 6 February 1905 in Białobrzegi Franciszkańskie village on the outskirts of Krosno, into a worker's family living in the Austrian Partition (the Galicia region). His parents had met and married in the United States, where each had immigrated to in search of work in the late 19th century, but returned to occupied Poland in the early 20th century because Władysław's father Jan was unable to find gainful employment in America. Jan Gomułka then worked as a laborer in the Subcarpathian oil industry. Władysław's older sister Józefa, born in the US, returned there upon turning eighteen to join her extended family, most of whom had emigrated, and to preserve her US citizenship. Władysław and his two other siblings experienced a childhood of the proverbial Galician poverty: they lived in a dilapidated hut and ate mostly potatoes. Władysław received only rudimentary education before being employed in the oil industry of the region.
Gomułka attended schools in Krosno for six or seven years, until the age of thirteen when he had to start an apprenticeship in a metalworks shop. Throughout his life Gomułka was an avid reader and accomplished a great deal of self-education, but remained a subject of jokes because of his lack of formal education and demeanor. In 1922, Gomułka passed his apprenticeship exams and began working at a local refinery.
Early revolutionary activities
Involvement with labor unions and first imprisonment
The re-established Polish state of Gomułka's teen years was a scene of growing political polarization and radicalization. The young worker developed connections with the radical Left, joining the Siła (Power) youth organization in 1922 and the Independent Peasant Party in 1925. Gomułka was known for his activism in the metal workers and, from 1922, chemical industry unions. He was involved in union-organized strikes and in 1924, during a protest gathering in Krosno, participated in a polemical debate with Herman Lieberman. He published radical texts in leftist newspapers. In May 1926 the young Gomułka was for the first time arrested but soon released because of worker demands. The incident was the subject of a parliamentary intervention by the Peasant Party. In October 1926, Gomułka became a secretary of the managing council in the Chemical Industry Workers Union for the Drohobych District and remained involved with that communist-dominated union until 1930. He around this time learned on his own basic Ukrainian.
In late 1926, while in Drohobych, Gomułka became a member of the illegal-but-functioning Communist Party of Poland (Komunistyczna Partia Polski, KPP) and was arrested for political agitation. Technically, at this time he was a member of the Communist Party of Western Ukraine, which was an autonomous branch of the Communist Party of Poland. He was interested primarily in social issues, including the trade and labor movement, and concentrated on practical activities. In mid-1927, Gomułka was brought to Warsaw, where he remained active until drafted for military service at the end of the year. After several months, the military released him because of a health problem with his right leg. Gomułka returned to communist party work, organizing strike actions and speaking at gatherings of workers at all major industrial centers of Poland. During this period he was arrested several times and lived under police supervision.
Gomułka was an activist in the leftist labor unions from 1926 and in the Central Trade Department of the KPP Central Committee from 1931. In the summer of 1930, Gomułka illegally embarked on his first foreign trip with the intention of participating in the Red International of Labor Unions Fifth Congress held in Moscow from 15 to 30 July. Traveling from Upper Silesia to Berlin, he had to wait there for the issuance of Soviet documents and arrived in Moscow too late to participate in the deliberations of the Congress. He stayed in Moscow for a couple of weeks and then went to Leningrad, from where he took a ship to Hamburg, stayed in Berlin again and through Silesia returned to Poland.
In August 1932, he was arrested by the Sanation police while participating in a conference of textile worker delegates in Łódź. When he later tried to escape, Gomułka sustained a gunshot wound in the left thigh which ultimately left him with permanent walking impairment.
Journey to the Soviet Union and second imprisonment
Despite being sentenced to a four-year prison term on 1 June 1933, he was temporarily released for surgery on his injured leg in March 1934. Following his release, Gomułka requested that the KPP send him to the Soviet Union for medical treatment and further political training. He arrived in the Soviet Union in June and went to the Crimea for several weeks, where he underwent therapeutic baths. Gomułka then spent more than a year in Moscow, where he attended the Lenin School under the name Stefan Kowalski. The ideology-oriented classes were arranged separately for a small group of Polish students (one of them was Roman Romkowski (Natan Grünspan [Grinszpan]-Kikiel), who would later persecute Gomułka in Stalinist Poland) and included a military training course conducted by Karol Świerczewski. In a written opinion issued by the school Gomułka was characterized in highly positive terms, but his extended stay in the Soviet Union caused him to become disillusioned with the realities of Stalinist communism and highly critical of the agrarian collectivization practice. In November 1935 he illegally returned to Poland.
Gomułka resumed his communist and labor conspiratorial activities and kept advancing within the KPP organization until, as the secretary of the Party's Silesian branch, he was arrested in Chorzów in April 1936. He was then tried by the District Court in Katowice and sentenced to seven years in prison where he remained jailed until the beginning of World War II. Ironically, this internment most likely saved Gomułka's life, because the majority of the KPP leadership would be murdered in the Soviet Union in the late 1930s, caught up in the Great Purge under Joseph Stalin's orders.
Gomułka's experiences turned him into an extremely suspicious and distrustful person and contributed to his lifelong conviction that Sanation Poland was a fascist state, even if Polish prisons were the safest place for Polish Communists. He differentiated this belief from his positive feelings toward the country and its people, especially members of the working class.
World War II
Invasion of Poland
The outbreak of the war with Nazi Germany freed Gomułka from his prison confinement. On 7 September 1939, he arrived in Warsaw, where he stayed for a few weeks, working in the besieged capital on the construction of defensive fortifications. From there, like many other Polish communists, Gomułka fled to eastern Poland which was invaded by the Soviet Union on 17 September 1939. In Białystok he ran a home for former political prisoners arriving from other parts of Poland. To be reunited with his luckily found wife, at the end of 1939 Gomułka moved to Soviet-controlled Lviv.
Like other members of the dissolved Communist Party of Poland, Gomułka sought a membership in the Soviet All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). The Soviet authorities allowed such membership transfers only from March 1941 and in April of that year Gomułka received his party card in Kiev.
The circumstances of the Polish communists' lives changed dramatically after 1941 German attack on the Soviet positions in eastern Poland. Reduced to penury in now German-occupied Lviv, the Gomułkas managed to join Władysław's family in Krosno by the end of 1941. However, a momentous development soon took place in the sphere of communist political activity: in January 1942, Joseph Stalin reestablished in Warsaw a Polish communist party under the name of the Polish Workers' Party (PPR).
In 1942, Gomułka participated in the reformation of a Polish communist party (the KPP was destroyed in Stalin's purges in the late 1930s) under the name Polish Workers' Party (Polska Partia Robotnicza, PPR). Gomułka became involved in the creation of party structures in the Subcarpathian region and began using his wartime conspiratorial pseudonym "Wiesław". In July 1942, Paweł Finder brought Gomułka to occupied Warsaw. In August, the secretary of the PPR's regional Warsaw Committee was arrested by the Gestapo and "Wiesław" was entrusted with his job. In September Gomułka became a member of the PPR's Temporary Central Committee.
In late 1942 and early 1943, the PPR experienced a severe crisis because of the murder of its first secretary Marceli Nowotko. Gomułka participated in the party investigation directed against another member of the leadership, Bolesław Mołojec, that resulted in Mołojec's execution. Together with the promoted to secretary Finder and Franciszek Jóźwiak, "Wiesław" (Gomułka) was included in the Party's new inner leadership, established in January 1943. The Central Committee was enlarged in the following months to include Bolesław Bierut, among others.
In February 1943, Gomułka led the communist side in a series of important meetings in Warsaw between the PPR and the Government Delegation of the London-based Polish government-in-exile and the Home Army. The talks produced no results because of the divergent interests of the parties involved and a mutual lack of confidence. The Delegation officially discontinued the negotiations on April 28, three days after the Soviet government broke diplomatic relations with the Polish government. He became the Party's main ideologist. He wrote the "What do we fight for?" (O co walczymy?) publication dated 1 March 1943, and the much more comprehensive declaration that emerged under the same title in November. "Wiesław" supervised the Party's main editorial and publishing undertaking.
Gomułka made efforts, largely unsuccessful, to secure for the PPR cooperation of other political forces in occupied Poland. Bierut was indifferent to any such attempts and counted simply on compulsion provided by a future presence of the Red Army in Poland. The different strategies resulted in a sharp conflict between the two communist politicians.
State National Council, Polish Committee of National Liberation
In the fall of 1943, the PPR leadership began discussing the creation of a Polish quasi-parliamentary, communist-led body, to be named the State National Council (Krajowa Rada Narodowa, KRN). After the Battle of Kursk the expectation was of a Soviet victory and liberation of Poland and the PPR wanted to be ready to assume power. Gomułka came up with the idea of a national council and imposed his point of view on the rest of the leadership. The PPR intended to obtain consent from the Comintern leader and their Soviet contact Georgi Dimitrov. However, in November the Gestapo arrested Finder and Małgorzata Fornalska, who possessed the secret codes for communication with Moscow and the Soviet response remained unknown. In the absence of Finder, on 23 November Gomułka was elected general secretary (chief) of the PPR and Bierut joined the three-person inner leadership.
The founding meeting of the State National Council took place in the late evening of 31 December 1943. The new body's chairman Bierut was becoming Gomułka's main rival. In mid-January 1944 Dimitrov was finally informed of the KRN's existence, which surprised both him and the Polish communist leaders in Moscow, increasingly led by Jakub Berman, who had other, competing ideas concerning the establishment of a Polish communist ruling party and government.
Gomułka felt that the Polish communists in occupied Poland had a better understanding of Polish realities than their brethren in Moscow and that the State National Council should determine the shape of the future executive government of Poland. Nevertheless, to gain Soviet approval and to clear any misunderstandings a KRN delegation left Warsaw in mid-March heading for Moscow, where it arrived two months later. By that time Stalin concluded that the existence of the KRN was a positive development and the Poles arriving from Warsaw were received and greeted by him and other Soviet dignitaries. The Union of Polish Patriots and the Central Bureau of Polish Communists in Moscow were now under pressure to recognize the primacy of the PPR, the KRN and Władysław Gomułka, which they ultimately did only in mid-July.
On 20 July, the Soviet forces under Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky forced their way across the Bug River and on that same day the combined meeting of Polish communists from the Moscow and Warsaw factions finalized the arrangements regarding the establishment (on 21 July) of the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN), a temporary government headed by Edward Osóbka-Morawski, a socialist allied with the communists. Gomułka and other PPR leaders left Warsaw and headed for the Soviet-controlled territory, arriving in Lublin on 1 August, the day the Warsaw Uprising erupted in the Polish capital.
Post-war political career
Role in communist takeover of Poland
Gomułka was a deputy prime minister in the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland (Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), from January to June 1945, and in the Provisional Government of National Unity (Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej), from 1945 to 1947. As a minister of Recovered Territories (1945–48), he exerted great influence over the rebuilding, integration and economic progress of Poland within its new borders, by supervising the settlement, development and administration of the lands acquired from Germany. Using his position in the PPR and government, Gomułka led the leftist social transformations in Poland and participated in the crushing of the resistance to communist rule during the post-war years. He also helped the communists in winning the 3 x Tak (3 Times Yes) referendum of 1946. A year later, he played a key role in the 1947 parliamentary elections, which were fraudulently arranged to give the communists and their allies an overwhelming victory. After the elections, all remaining legal opposition in Poland was effectively destroyed, and Gomułka was now the most powerful man in Poland. In June 1948, because of the impending unification of the PPR and PPS, Gomułka delivered a talk on the subject of the history of the Polish worker movement.
In a memo written to Stalin in 1948, Gomułka argued that "some of the Jewish comrades don’t feel any link to the Polish nation or to the Polish working class…or they maintain a stance which might be described as ‘national nihilism’". As a result, he considered it "absolutely necessary not only to stop any further growth in the percentage of Jews in the state as well as the party apparatus, but also to slowly lower that percentage, especially at the highest levels of the apparatus". Nikita Khrushchev, who was intimately involved in Polish affairs in the 1940s, according to Khrushchev′s memoirs, believed that Gomułka had a valid point in opposing the personnel policies pursued by Roman Zambrowski, Jakub Berman, and Hilary Minc, all of them of Jewish descent and brought to Poland from Stalin′s Russia. Nevertheless, Khrushchev attributed Gomułka′s subsequent downfall to his rivals having succeeded in portraying Gomułka as being pro-Yugoslav; the charges were not made public but were brought to Stalin′s attention and became crucial in his decision-making on whose side he would support — in view of the Soviet–Yugoslavia rift that occurred in 1948.
Temporary withdrawal from politics
In the late 1940s, Poland's communist government was split by a rivalry between Gomułka and President Bolesław Bierut. Gomułka led a home national group while Bierut headed a group reared by Stalin in the Soviet Union. The struggle ultimately led to Gomułka's removal from power in 1948. While Bierut advocated a policy of complete subservience to Moscow, Gomułka wanted to adapt the Communist blueprint to Polish circumstances. Among other things, he opposed forced collectivization and was skeptical of the Cominform. The Bierut faction had Stalin's ear, and on Stalin's orders, Gomułka was sacked as party leader for "rightist-nationalist deviation," replaced by Bierut. In December, soon after the PPR and Polish Socialist Party merged to form Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) (which was essentially the PPR under a new name), Gomułka was dropped from the merged party's Politburo. He was stripped of his remaining government posts in January 1949 and expelled from the party altogether in November. For the next eight years, he performed no official functions and was subjected to persecution, including almost four years of imprisonment from 1951 to 1954.
Bierut died in March 1956, during a period of de-Stalinization in Poland which gradually developed after Stalin's death. Edward Ochab became the new first secretary of the Party. Soon afterward, Gomułka was partially rehabilitated when Ochab conceded that Gomułka should not have been jailed, while reiterating the charges of "rightist-nationalist deviation" against him.
Rise to power
In June 1956, violent worker protests broke out in Poznań. The worker riots were harshly suppressed and dozens of workers were killed. However, the Party leadership, which now included many reform-minded officials, recognized to some degree the validity of the protest participants' demands and took steps to placate the workers.
The reformers in the Party wanted a political rehabilitation of Gomułka and his return to the Party leadership. Gomułka insisted that he be given real power to implement further reforms. He wanted a replacement of some of the Party leaders, including the pro-Soviet Minister of Defense Konstantin Rokossovsky.
The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Simultaneously with Soviet troop movements deep into Poland, a high-level Soviet delegation flew to Warsaw. It was led by Nikita Khrushchev and included Mikoyan, Bulganin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Marshal Konev and others. Ochab and Gomułka made it clear that Polish forces would resist if Soviet troops advanced, but reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning the communist bloc or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets yielded.
Following the wishes of the majority of the Politburo members, First Secretary Ochab conceded and on 20 October the Central Committee brought Gomułka and several associates into the Politburo, removed others, and elected Gomułka as the first secretary of the Party. Gomułka, the former prisoner of the Stalinists, enjoyed wide popular support across the country, expressed by the participants of a massive street demonstration in Warsaw on 24 October. Seeing that Gomułka was popular with the Polish people, and given his insistence that he wanted to maintain the alliance with the Soviet Union and the presence of the Red Army in Poland, Khrushchev decided that Gomułka was a leader that Moscow could live with.
Leadership of the Polish People's Republic
Relations with other Eastern Bloc countries
A major factor that influenced Gomułka was the Oder-Neisse line issue. West Germany refused to recognize the Oder-Neisse line and Gomułka realized the fundamental instability of Poland's unilaterally imposed western border. He felt threatened by the revanchist statements put out by the Adenauer government and believed that the alliance with the Soviet Union was the only thing stopping the threat of a future German invasion. The new Party leader told the 8th Plenum of the PZPR on 19 October 1956 that: "Poland needs friendship with the Soviet Union more than the Soviet Union needs friendship with Poland... Without the Soviet Union we cannot maintain our borders with the West". The treaty with West Germany was negotiated and signed in December 1970. The German side recognized the post-World War II borders, which established a foundation for future peace, stability and cooperation in Central Europe.
During the events of the Prague Spring, Gomułka was one of the key leaders of the Warsaw Pact and supported Poland's participation in the invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
Domestic policies
In 1967–68 Gomułka allowed outbursts of "anti-Zionist" political propaganda, which developed initially as a result of the Soviet bloc's frustration with the outcome of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. It turned out to be a thinly veiled anti-Semitic campaign and purge of the army, pursued primarily by others in the Party, but utilized by Gomułka to keep himself in power by shifting the attention of the populace from the stagnating economy and mismanagement. The result was the emigration of the majority of the remaining Polish citizens of Jewish origin. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting protesting students and toughening censorship of the media.
Resignation and retirement
In December 1970, economic difficulties led to price rises and subsequent protests. Gomułka along with his right-hand man Zenon Kliszko ordered the regular Army under General Bolesław Chocha, to shoot striking workers with automatic weapons in Gdańsk and Gdynia. Over 41 shipyard workers of the Baltic coast were killed in the ensuing police-state violence, while well over a thousand people were wounded. The events forced Gomułka's resignation and retirement. In a generational replacement of the ruling elite, Edward Gierek took over the Party leadership and tensions eased.
Gomułka's negative image in communist propaganda after his removal was gradually modified and some of his constructive contributions were recognized. He is seen as an honest and austere believer in the socialist system, who, unable to resolve Poland's formidable difficulties and satisfy mutually contradictory demands, grew more rigid and despotic later in his career. A heavy smoker, he died in 1982 at the age of 77 of lung cancer. Gomułka's memoirs were not published until 1994, long after his death, and five years after the collapse of the communist regime which he served and led.
The American journalist John Gunther described Gomułka in 1961 as being "professorial in manner, aloof, and angular, with a peculiar spry pepperiness".
Decorations and awards
:
Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Order of the Cross of Grunwald (1st class)
Partisan Cross
Medal "For Warsaw 1939-1945"
Medal Rodła
Other countries:
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France)
Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy)
Order of Lenin (Soviet Union)
Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (Soviet Union)
See also
History of Poland (1945–89)
References
External links
1905 births
1982 deaths
People from Krosno
People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Communist Party of Poland politicians
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Polish Workers' Party politicians
Members of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party
Members of the State National Council
Members of the Polish Sejm 1947–1952
Members of the Polish Sejm 1957–1961
Members of the Polish Sejm 1961–1965
Members of the Polish Sejm 1965–1969
Members of the Polish Sejm 1969–1972
Polish atheists
Communist rulers
Collaborators with the Soviet Union
Antisemitism in Poland
Anti-intellectualism
International Lenin School alumni
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class
Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1944–1989)
Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work
Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
People of the Cold War | true | [
"The were an array of new policies introduced in 1866 by the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. The reforms created in reaction to the rising violence on the part of Satsuma and other domains; the initial steps taken during this period became a key part of the reforms and changes made during the rule of Emperor Meiji.\n\nWhen the shōgun and Emperor happened to both die at the same time, the bakufu (shogunate government) created the Keiō Reform to keep Japan from falling into disunity or disarray. It Westernized many aspects of the system of bureaucracy, the military, and the economy, focusing on governmental promotions by merit (not by birth) and trade policies with other nations.\n\nThe bakufu hoped that these Reforms would somehow end the Rebellions of Satsuma and Chōshū – that did not happen. The rebels did not wish to see the bakufu profit from these changes which were so close to the core of what the rebels had been fighting against all along.\n\nThis reform period was preceded by three others during the Edo period: the Kyōhō reforms (1716–1736), the Kansei reforms of the 1790s and the Tenpō reforms (1830–1844).\n\nChronology\nThe shogunate's interventions had only limited success. In addition to the death of the shōgun Iemochi and the death of Emperor Kōmei, intervening factors exacerbated some of the conditions which the shogun intended to ameliorate.\n September 28, 1866 (Keiō 2, 20th day of the 8th month): Shogun Iemochi died at Osaka; and the bakufu petitioned that Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu should be appointed as his successor.\n January 10, 1867 (Keiō 2, 5th day of the 12th month): Yoshinobu was appointed shogun.\n January 30, 1867 (Keiō 2, 25th day of the 12th month): Emperor Komei died.\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n McDougall, Walter (1993). \"Let the Sea Make a Noise: Four Hundred Years of Cataclysm, Conquest, War and Folly in the North Pacific\". New York: Avon Books.\n Ponsonby-Fane, Richard A. B. (1956). Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794–1869. Kyoto: The Ponsonby Memorial Society. \n Traugott, Mark. (1995). Repertoires and Cycles of Collective Action. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. ; ; OCLC 243809107\n\nMeiji Restoration\n1866 in Japan",
"Vićentije Jovanović Vidak (Sremski Karlovci, Habsburg Monarchy, 10 March 1730 - Dalj, 18 February 1780) was the Metropolitan of the Metropolitanate of Karlovci from 1774 to 1780.\n\nBiography\nHe was born in Sremski Karlovci.\n\nIn 1745, he was made deacon of the Metropolitanate of Karlovci, and in 1749 he settled down in the Rakovac Monastery. After going through the hierarchal ranks, he was elected archimandrite.\n\nIn 1757, he was appointed an administrator of the Eparchy of Pakrac, and two years later he was elected as the Bishop of Temisvar. As the highest-ranking cleric, he helped Atanasije Dimitrijević Sekereš, Dositej Obradović, Teodor Janković Mirijevski, Stefan Vujanovski, Avram Mrazović and many other scholars in their educational reforms at the time.\n\nHe was elected Metropolitan in 1774 at a time when education reforms in the Habsburg State were beginning to take place. The preparation and implementation of reforms were conducted by Adam František Kollár, the president of the Illyrian Cour Deputation (Illirische Hof-Deputation) and the State censorship was in the hands of Atanasije Dimitrijević Sekereš. Therefore, the success or failure of the reforms fell on the shoulders of Metropolitan Vićentije (Jovanović Vidak).\n\nIt is noted that during his diplomatic mission in Vienna in 1776, Metropolitan Vićentije was granted permission to take all confiscated religious books brought from Russia and distribute them to the poor parishes that they were initially intended for.\n\nMetropolitan Vićentije Jovanović Vidak died on 18 February 1780 at Dalj. He was buried there in the church of St. Dimitrije. His successor was Mojsije Putnik.\n\nSee also\n Metropolitanate of Karlovci\n List of heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church\n\nReferences\n Translated and adapted from Serbian Wikipedia: :sr:Вићентије Јовановић Видак\n\n1730 births\n1780 deaths\nMetropolitans of Karlovci\nSerbian Orthodox Church"
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"The Jay Leno Show",
"Dispute over timeslot"
] | C_503f63c9e521400b85f8c4dc54cbe2e7_1 | What was the dispute over timeslot about? | 1 | What was the dispute over timeslot about on the Jay Leno show? | The Jay Leno Show | 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 | 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 | 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
2000s American late-night television series
2010s American late-night television series
2000s American variety television series
2010s American variety television series
2009 American television series debuts
2010 American television series endings
American television talk shows
Burbank, California
NBC original programming
Jay Leno
English-language television shows
Television shows filmed in California | true | [
"Live from the House of Blues was a 26 part (one hour each) series on TBS that started airing in January 1995 at 12:05 AM Eastern Time on Friday nights and repeated at the same time on Saturday nights. The timeslot was the same timeslot that another TBS music program, Night Tracks once occupied from 1983 to 1992. It featured live music and was fronted by a rotation of celebrity hosts. The show was produced by Michael Murphy Productions in conjunction with the House of Blues franchise. The program ended its run about a year later. It was sponsored by Pontiac and the Pontiac Sunfire.\n\nAmerican music television series\nThe Blues Brothers",
"It Could Be You is a television game show produced by Ralph Edwards Productions in the late 1950s in the United States, broadcast daily in the weekday daytime schedule for five years 1956–1961, and weekly in the evening on-and-off over three years 1958–1961. Bill Leyden was the host, and Wendell Niles was the announcer.\n\nDetails\nIt Could Be You used a variation of the format made famous in another popular show of the time, Queen for a Day, where a woman who had gone through many hardships in her life was selected and awarded prizes. However, It Could Be You, though still awarding prizes, focused most often on a woman's more embarrassing moments — for example: being seen by a neighbor while getting out of a bathtub, or engaging in a romantic interlude with a boyfriend while parked next to a bus full of tourists. Sometimes, the contestant had to perform a stunt or activity to claim the prize. The title of the series was part of the show, in that the woman called to the stage was from a studio audience which had been told ... \"It Could Be You\".\n\nPrizes were often more humorous than useful — a woman who complained about moving from city to city so much that she could never get used to her new bathtub received a bathtub on wheels. At times, though, the producers of the show were much more sensitive, bringing about reunions of relatives long thought dead, or re-uniting families torn apart by the Iron Curtain.\n\nGuest celebrities would sometimes appear to aid the host. Among those appearing were:\n Lex Barker\n Annette Funicello\n Steve McQueen\n\nNBC broadcast both a daily weekday daytime version (1956 through 1961), and a weekly primetime evening version that appeared on various days at various times over the summer of 1958, within the 1958-59 and 1959-60 television seasons, and over the summer of 1961. The show was produced from Studio D of NBC Radio City in Hollywood and later from Studio 1 of the NBC Studios in Burbank, California.\n\nThe producer of the show was Stefan Hatos, best known for his later collaboration with Monty Hall on the famous 1960s and 1970s TV game show Let's Make A Deal.\n\nDaytime schedule\nThe daily daytime version of the show premiered June 4, 1956 on the NBC daytime schedule in the 12:30–1 PM (EST) timeslot, and continued every weekday at that time through December 30, 1961.\n\nPrime time schedule\nThe primetime evening version of the show was also broadcast by NBC.\n\nSummer 1958\nThe weekly evening version of the show premiered July 2, 1958, in the 10:30–11 PM (EST) timeslot on Wednesday nights, where it continued until September 1958.\n\n1958–59 season\nThe weekly evening show began again in November 1958 in a new timeslot, 8:30–9 PM (EST) on Thursday nights, and continued there until the end of March 1959. The evening show was not broadcast in the summer of 1959.\n\n1959–60 season\nIn September 1959, the weekly evening show appeared in another new timeslot, 10:30–11 PM (EST) on Saturday nights, until January 1960. The evening show was not broadcast in the summer of 1960.\n\n1960–61 season\nThe evening show did not appear within the 1960–61 season.\n\nSummer 1961\nThe evening show began again June 1961 in a fourth timeslot, 10–10:30 PM (EST) on Wednesday nights. The last prime time show was broadcast September 27, 1961.\n\nCritical reception\nAlthough the viewing public enjoyed the show and appreciated host Bill Leyden's quick wit, critics of daytime television found fault with what they called the patronizing and condescending behavior the host had toward the women brought on stage.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \"It Could be You\" subsection of SHOWS webpage on Ralph Edwards Productions website\n \"It Could Be You\" webpage on the IMDB website\n\n1956 American television series debuts\n1961 American television series endings\nNBC original programming\nTelevision series by Ralph Edwards Productions\n1950s American game shows\n1960s American game shows\nAmerican game shows"
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"The Jay Leno Show",
"Dispute over timeslot",
"What was the dispute over timeslot about?",
"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"
] | C_503f63c9e521400b85f8c4dc54cbe2e7_1 | When did this take place? | 2 | When did the dispute over timeslot take place? | The Jay Leno Show | 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 | January 2010, | 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
2000s American late-night television series
2010s American late-night television series
2000s American variety television series
2010s American variety television series
2009 American television series debuts
2010 American television series endings
American television talk shows
Burbank, California
NBC original programming
Jay Leno
English-language television shows
Television shows filmed in California | true | [
"The Gulf War Did Not Take Place () is a collection of three short essays by Jean Baudrillard published in the French newspaper Libération and British paper The Guardian between January and March 1991.\n Part 1, \"The Gulf War will not take place\" (La guerre du Golfe n'aura pas lieu) was published in Libération on January 4, 1991.\n Part 2, \"The Gulf War is not really taking place\" (La guerre du Golfe a-t-elle vraiment lieu?) was published in Libération on February 6, 1991, and\n Part 3, \"The Gulf War did not take place\" (La Guerre du Golfe n'a pas eu lieu) was published in Libération on March 29, 1991.\n\nContrary to the title, the author believes that the events and violence of the Gulf War actually took place, whereas the issue is one of interpretation: were the events that took place comparable to how they were presented, and could these events be called a war? The title is a reference to the play The Trojan War Will Not Take Place by Jean Giraudoux (in which characters attempt to prevent what the audience knows is inevitable).\n\nThe essays in Libération and The Guardian were published before, during and after the Gulf War and they were titled accordingly: during the American military and rhetorical buildup as \"The Gulf War Will Not Take Place\"; during military action as \"The Gulf War Is Not Taking Place\", and after action was over, \"The Gulf War Did Not Take Place\". A book of elongated versions of the truncated original articles in French was published in May 1991. The English translation was published in early 1995 translated by Paul Patton.\n\nSummary \nBaudrillard argued the Gulf War was not really a war, but rather an atrocity which masqueraded as a war. Using overwhelming airpower, the American military for the most part did not directly engage in combat with the Iraqi army, and suffered few casualties. Almost nothing was made known about Iraqi deaths. Thus, the fighting \"did not really take place\" from the point of view of the West. Moreover, all that spectators got to know about the war was in the form of propaganda imagery. The closely watched media presentations made it impossible to distinguish between the experience of what truly happened in the conflict, and its stylized, selective misrepresentation through simulacra.\n\nReferences\n\nFurther reading\n Baudrillard, Jean (1991) La Guerre du Golfe n'a pas eu lieu, Paris: Galilée.\n Baudrillard, Jean (1995) The Gulf War Did Not Take Place, Bloomington: Indiana University Press\n\n1995 non-fiction books\nBooks by Jean Baudrillard\nEssays about hyperreality\nFrench non-fiction books\nGulf War books",
"Laekrits, not to be confused with lakrits (Swedish for liquorice), were milk chocolate oblate spheroid-shaped candies with hard licorice candy shells. Laekrits were produced by Cloetta USA Inc., a subsidiary of Cloetta.\n\nThey were originally introduced to the US market in 1998. The name was filed for trademark protection in 1995, the trademark was registered in 1997, and re-registration after 6 years did not take place, so the trademark protection lapsed in 2004, as the procedures for maintaining the rights did not take place.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nCloetta Fazer, Sweden\nCloetta, Sweden\n\nBrand name confectionery\nLiquorice (confectionery)"
] |
[
"The Jay Leno Show",
"Dispute over timeslot",
"What was the dispute over timeslot about?",
"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",
"When did this take place?",
"January 2010,"
] | C_503f63c9e521400b85f8c4dc54cbe2e7_1 | Was Leno ok with the change in time? | 3 | Was Jay Leno ok with the change in time following the dispute over timeslot? | The Jay Leno Show | 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 | Leno immediately accepted the return to 11:35 p.m., | 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
2000s American late-night television series
2010s American late-night television series
2000s American variety television series
2010s American variety television series
2009 American television series debuts
2010 American television series endings
American television talk shows
Burbank, California
NBC original programming
Jay Leno
English-language television shows
Television shows filmed in California | false | [
"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010, until its ending on February 6, 2014.\n\nThe fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise debuted on May 25, 1992, three days after Johnny Carson's retirement as host of the program. The program originated from NBC Studios in Burbank, California, and was broadcast Monday through Friday at 11:35p.m. in the Eastern and Pacific time zones (10:35p.m. Central/Mountain time). Unlike Carson or his predecessor Jack Paar, Leno only once used a guest host, preferring to host the series in person.\n\nThe series, which followed the same basic format as that of its predecessors (an opening monologue followed by comedy routines, interviews and performances), ran until May 29, 2009, after which Leno was succeeded by Conan O'Brien. NBC signed Leno to a new deal for a nightly talk show in the 10:00 pm ET timeslot. The primetime series, titled The Jay Leno Show, debuted on September 14, 2009, following a similar format to the Leno incarnation of Tonight.\n\nNeither O'Brien's version of the program, which premiered June 1, 2009, nor The Jay Leno Show generated the ratings NBC had expected. The network decided to move a condensed 30-minute version of Leno's show to O'Brien's time slot, and O'Brien's Tonight Show a half-hour later. This decision met with opposition from O'Brien, whose stint on The Tonight Show ended January 22, 2010, after which he began his own talk show, Conan, on TBS. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno then began its second incarnation, the sixth of the franchise, on March 1, 2010. Leno left The Tonight Show for good on February 6, 2014, and on February 17, was succeeded by Late Night host Jimmy Fallon, at which time the series returned to New York for the first time since 1972.\n\nHistory\n\nSuccession from Carson \n\nJohnny Carson retired from The Tonight Show on May 22, 1992, and was replaced by Jay Leno. David Letterman wanted to move into the earlier time slot from his late night spot after The Tonight Show, and he was also considered by many as the natural successor (despite Leno having been Carson's permanent guest host for several years). Carson always favored Letterman; notably Carson, who had been interviewed by Letterman, made two appearances on Letterman's rival CBS show, made no mention of Leno during his final shows and regularly sent Letterman monologue jokes in his final years. With his heart set on the earlier time slot, Letterman left NBC in June 1993 and joined CBS that August. The Late Show with David Letterman, airing in the same slot, competed against The Tonight Show for the remainder of Leno's run. Leno would outdo Letterman in ratings for the majority of the show's run. Conan O'Brien slid into the late night time slot vacated by Letterman in September 1993.\n\nFirst end of Leno on Tonight \nOn September 27, 2004, the 50th anniversary of The Tonight Shows debut, NBC announced Leno would be succeeded by O'Brien, in 2009. Leno explained he did not want to see a repeat of the hard feelings and controversy that occurred when he was given the show over Letterman following Carson's retirement.\n\nIt was announced on July 21, 2008, that Leno would host his final episode of The Tonight Show on Friday, May 29, 2009, with O'Brien and James Taylor as his guests. O'Brien took over hosting duties commencing the following Monday, on June 1, 2009.\n\nOn December 9, 2008, it was announced Leno would be hosting a new nightly show in September 2009, which aired at 10 pm ET, during the network's prime time period. The Jay Leno Show ended after a short run on February 9, 2010.\n\nSecond incarnation \n\nOn January 7, 2010, multiple media outlets reported that effective March 1, 2010, The Jay Leno Show would move from the 10 pm (Eastern/Pacific Time) weeknight time slot to 11:35 pm and O'Brien's The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien would move from 11:35 pm to 12:05 am. On January 12, 2010, O'Brien publicly announced in an open letter that he intended to leave NBC if they moved The Tonight Show to 12:05 am ET/PT to accommodate moving The Jay Leno Show to 11:35 pm Eastern/10:35 pm Central, due to poor ratings. After several days of negotiations, O'Brien reached a settlement with NBC that allowed him to leave NBC and The Tonight Show on January 22, 2010.\n\nOn January 21, 2010, NBC announced Leno would return to The Tonight Show. Jay Leno began his second tenure on March 1, 2010, after the 2010 Winter Olympics. The show moved to Stage 11 in Burbank, the former home of The Jay Leno Show, with a similar set and theme song of The Jay Leno Show. Tonight Show bandleader Kevin Eubanks announced on April 12 he would be leaving The Tonight Show on May 28 after 18 years with Leno. Eubanks' replacement was former American Idol musical director Rickey Minor. Minor composed a new main theme when he took over.\n\nOn July 1, 2010, Variety reported that only six months into its second life, Leno's Tonight Show posted its lowest ratings since 1992. By September 2010, Leno's ratings in the adults 18-49 demographic had fallen below those of O'Brien when he had hosted The Tonight Show. NBC ratings specialist Tom Bierbaum commented that due to the host being out of late night television for a period of time and the subsequent 2010 Tonight Show conflict, Leno's ratings fall was \"not a surprise at all\". In October 2010, David Letterman beat Leno's program in the ratings, for the first time since Leno returned to hosting The Tonight Show. By May 2011, Leno's Tonight Show regained the lead and held it since then. However, by August 2012, the Los Angeles Times was reporting that The Tonight Show was in serious trouble for a number of reasons, most notably that NBC was losing money. While Leno offered to take a pay cut, at least 24 members of his staff were laid off. By March 2013, there were rumors that NBC would have Jimmy Fallon, who had been hosting Late Night since 2009 when he succeeded O'Brien, become the next host of The Tonight Show when Leno's current contract ended in 2014 and NBC would move the show back to New York for the first time in over 40 years. On May 13, 2013, during its fall \"upfronts\" presentation, NBC confirmed Fallon would take over as host of the Tonight Show beginning on February 17, 2014; Seth Meyers, in turn, would leave Saturday Night Live (where he was the anchor of Weekend Update) and take over Fallon's time slot.\n\nLeno's final Tonight Show aired on February 6, 2014. Per the terms on his deal with NBC, his staff was paid through September 2014. Leno wrapped up the night before the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, which began on February 7. Fallon took over the Tonight Show on February 17.\n\nLeno himself would later appear multiple times on Jimmy Fallon's version of Tonight, such as a June 15, 2016 appearance in which Leno not only appeared as a guest, he delivered part of that night's monologue, commenting on the 2016 American election campaign.\n(Leno came out to do the monologue after Fallon faked an injury.)\n\nProduction \nOn April 26, 1999, the show began broadcasting in HDTV 1080i, becoming the first American nightly talk show to be shot in high definition. The show was shot in 16:9 aspect ratio.\n\nFinances \nDuring the last year with Leno as host, The Tonight Show cost about $1.7 million a week to produce. With 45 weeks of annual production, that amounted to about $76.5 million, excluding the salaries for Leno and the show's \"top producers\".\n\nIn that same period, the show had been generating an estimated $30–$40 million a year in profit, down from the $150 million a year the franchise once made.\"\n\nFormat \nThe show follows an established six-piece format. After the announcer announces the opening credits for the show, the first segment is a ten-minute monologue by Leno, with jokes about current events and brief comedy sketches occasionally mixed in. The second segment is a full comedy sketch, such as a mini-documentary by a \"Tonight Show correspondent\" (e.g., Ross the Intern or Mikey Day), or a trademark of Leno's, such as Headlines.\n\nThe first guest appears, with the interview is divided into two segments, then followed by an interview with the second guest in the fifth segment. The sixth and final segment is typically a performance by a musical guest or stand-up comedian.\n\nImmediately following the last performance segment, Leno walks on camera to thank the performers, bid farewell to the audience and recommends watching Late Night which immediately follows The Tonight Show. As the closing credits roll on-screen, the closing theme, composed by bandleader Rickey Minor plays the show off the air.\n\nBandleader \nBranford Marsalis was the original bandleader of the show from 1992 to 1995, leaving the show after feeling displeased with his role on the show, what he called being an \"ass-kisser\". Kevin Eubanks, who was the guitarist in Marsalis' band, moved up to bandleader and remained with The Tonight Show and The Jay Leno Show until 2010, leaving the show for unclear \"personal\" reasons. Rickey Minor, former American Idol music director, replaced Eubanks.\n\nAnnouncer \nEdd Hall served as announcer on The Tonight Show from 1992 until 2004. Hall occasionally appeared in skits during the opening monologue. These skits often involved slapstick injury to Hall (by using a stunt double, dummy, or film clip), such as vehicles running him over in the studio parking lot. Unlike his predecessors on Tonight (i.e. McMahon with Carson, Hugh Downs with Jack Paar), Hall did not serve as a sidekick for Leno during his tenure on Leno's incarnation of The Tonight Show.\n\nHall was controversially replaced in 2004 by The Howard Stern Show staff member John Melendez in what many perceived as a thinly veiled attempt to attract a younger demographic and nonsensical considering his \"stuttering\" moniker. The hiring of Melendez, which was carried out by Leno without Stern's knowledge, prompted, a rift between Stern and Leno. Stern tiraded on his show for weeks on end, touting how Leno was \"ripping him off\", citing previously \"lifted\" material from his show such as \"Jaywalking\" ripping off Stern's \"homeless game\"; for example, stating \"To an 18- to 25-year-old male, Jay Leno is gay. He might as well put a dress on.\" Since the move to The Jay Leno Show, Melendez was replaced as announcer, but remained on the writing staff. Wally Wingert would be the only off-camera announcer for Leno's second Tonight tenure, carrying over his duties from The Jay Leno Show.\n\nRecurring segments\n\nNotable episodes\nOn May 25, 1992, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno debuted on NBC. The first show featured Leno's guests; Billy Crystal, Shanice, and Robert Krulwich.\nOn May 20, 1993, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno traveled to the Bull & Finch Pub in Boston, Massachusetts, to celebrate the final episode of Cheers. This is the first time that The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is taped on the road.\nOn May 8, 1994, health and fitness expert Iron Jay makes his first appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.\nOn May 9, 1994, Bobcat Goldthwait appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, where he set the guest chair on fire. Leno throws a cup of coffee, and tells Bobcat to sit down.\nOn August 22, 1994, Leno eulogized his father, who had recently died. After his monologue, Leno sat behind his desk and told the audience about his father's life and how his father had supported him in his career. Leno noted a moment when, upon Carson's disapproval at Leno being his successor, his father had encouraged him and told him to \"fight the good fight\". Leno ended the tribute saying, \"You know, it really is lonely at the top. You have no idea. But... we'll fight the good fight, Pop.\"\nOn July 10, 1995, Hugh Grant appeared in public for the first time after his arrest on lewd conduct charges the previous month. Leno famously asked him \"What the hell were you thinking?\" In response, Grant told Leno, \"I think you know in life what's a good thing to do and what's a bad thing, and I did a bad thing...and there you have it.\" The appearance was the first episode in which Leno beat CBS rival David Letterman.\nOn November 30, 1995, Howard Stern, who had made two highly rated appearances in 1992 and 1993, appeared with bikini-clad porn stars Nikki Tyler and Janine Lindemulder, attempting to show \"the Tonight Show's first lesbian kiss\" and encouraging Leno to spank one of them. Stern and the women remained during Siskel and Ebert's segment, where he began to suck one of their toes, to raucous applause and behavior from the crowd. Leno was visibly uncomfortable during both segments, repeatedly telling Stern \"it will all be edited out\", and hastily trying to interview Siskel & Ebert while the crowd went wild at Stern's antics. Leno ended the show early by walking off the air, which was edited out when it aired a few hours later, as revealed by Stern when he went on the air (on the Howard Stern Show) the following morning. Despite the situation, Leno called into the show that morning claiming Stern had \"gone beyond the acceptable standards\". Stern said Leno should not have \"been so uptight\" and he had a \"real\" reaction to the situation which was great. Stern recounted Leno had yelled at his producer Gary Dell'Abate saying Stern had \"'s-d' in his house\" and supposedly \"grabbed his crotch\" and yelled \"Pussy, Pussy, Pussy! That's all it is with Howard\" which Leno denied but agreed he had been angered by Stern.\nIn September 2000, with California in an energy crisis that forced blackouts, Leno did an episode in the dark using only candles and flashlights known as \"The Tonight Show Unplugged\".\nFollowing the September 11 attacks, The Tonight Show was off the air for about a week, as were most similar programs. The first post-9/11 episode began with a still image of an American flag and a subdued opening without the usual opening credits. Leno's monologue paid tribute to those who lost their lives and to firefighters, police and rescue workers across the US. Leno had questioned whether a show that regularly poked fun at the government could continue after the attacks, but in his monologue he explained that he also saw the show as a respite from the grim news of the world, akin to a cookie or glass of lemonade handed to a firefighter. He also told a story about himself as a 12-year-old Boy Scout, which Leno said he was not a very good at because of his dyslexia. His scoutmaster gave him the task of being the \"cheermaster\" of the troop, in which Leno told jokes to the troop to keep their spirits up. Senator John McCain and the musical group Crosby, Stills, and Nash were featured guests. Leno also organized an auction for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle signed by celebrities (he signed his name on-stage), with the proceeds going to 9/11 support organizations. For an extended period after the attack, a short clip of a large American flag waving was shown in between the announcement of the musical guest and Leno's introduction during the opening montage.\nOn May 12, 2003, Katie Couric hosted The Tonight Show for a day. Couric's guests on that night's show were Mike Myers, Simon Cowell, and Robbie Williams.\nOn August 6, 2003, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared on The Tonight Show and confirmed he would be running against California governor Gray Davis for the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election. Schwarzenegger won the election on October 7.\nOn January 24, 2005, Leno had a special episode that paid tribute to Tonight Show predecessor Johnny Carson, who had died the day before. During the opening credits, the guests of that show were simply announced using pictures from when they were on Carson's Tonight Show, and the monologue simply gave condolence to Carson. There were no segments used; however, Leno played clips from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson before commercials. All the guests were people who had worked with Carson, and had been on his show, including Ed McMahon, Drew Carey, Don Rickles, and Bob Newhart.\nOn July 20, 2006, as Colin Farrell was being interviewed by Leno, Farrell's stalker, Dessarae Bradford, evaded security, walked on stage as cameras were rolling, confronted Farrell, and threw her book on Leno's desk. In front of a silent, stunned audience, Farrell escorted her off the stage himself, told the camera crew to stop filming, and handed her over to security. As Bradford was led out of the studio, she shouted \"I'll see you in court!\" Farrell's response was simply, \"Darling, you're insane!\" Outside the studio, NBC security handed her to Burbank police, who eventually released her. While waiting to begin filming again, a shocked Leno sarcastically called for \"a round of applause for NBC security\" from the audience. After Farrell apologized to the audience, describing Bradford as \"my first stalker,\" the show then continued filming and the incident was edited out of the broadcast aired that night. Farrell later requested a restraining order in court against Bradford.\nOn July 24, 2007, the monologue was animated by Homer Simpson. Simpson gave a short monologue to the audience, and was \"kicked out\" by Leno. This sketch was to promote The Simpsons Movie.\nOn January 2, 2008, The Tonight Show (along with Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Late Night with Conan O'Brien) returned to air without writers, with the WGA still on strike. This was in response to the deal by David Letterman's production company Worldwide Pants and CBS Paramount Television with the WGA to allow Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson to return with writers. Leno's guest that night, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, was criticized for crossing the WGA picket line to appear on the show. Huckabee would go on to win the Iowa caucuses the very next day.\nOn June 13, 2008, Leno delivered the news of Tim Russert's death to his audience during his monologue, and set aside some time in it to remember his old colleague. Leno then stated that he would continue the show as normal afterwards.\nOn March 19, 2009, Barack Obama appeared on the show. This marked the first time that a sitting President of the United States appeared on a late night talk show. President Obama came under fire for a remark made about the Special Olympics, which he made in reference to Leno's congratulations to Obama's low bowling score.\nOn March 1, 2010, Leno made his return to The Tonight Show with a re-written version of The Jay Leno Show theme song and a renovated Stage 11. Leno's guests were Jamie Foxx, Olympic Gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, and musical guest Brad Paisley. Leno also did a segment searching for a new desk, an element which was not implemented into his primetime show.\n On November 18, 2010, former President George W. Bush made his first appearance on a late night talk show since leaving office.\nOn November 23, 2010, former bandleader Kevin Eubanks returned to promote his new album Zen Food.\nOn March 2, 2011, the 4,000th episode aired.\nOn February 21, 2013, Eubanks made a second guest appearance to promote his new album The Messenger and had a sit-down interview with Leno following the performance.\nOn December 11, 2013, Eubanks made a third guest appearance as a Meal or No Meal judge.\nOn February 6, 2014, Leno hosted his final show, which featured several pre-taped well-wishes (and humorous advice) from a variety of celebrities ranging from Steve Carell to President Barack Obama, who offered Leno an ambassadorship to Antarctica (\"Hope you have a warm coat, funnyman.\"). Appearing as Leno's final guests were Billy Crystal (Leno's first guest in 1992) and Garth Brooks. Crystal surprised Leno by leading an on-stage sing-along of \"So Long, Farewell\" from The Sound of Music, with lyrics for the occasion performed by special guests Jack Black, Kim Kardashian, Chris Paul, Sheryl Crow, Jim Parsons, Carol Burnett, and Oprah Winfrey; Brooks performed his touching song \"The Dance\" (at Leno's request) before closing out the show with the rousing \"Friends in Low Places.\" In closing \"the greatest 22 years of my life,\" Leno turned emotional in his final remarks, calling himself \"the luckiest guy in the world... I got to meet presidents, astronauts, and movie stars.\" Leno also thanked the audience as well as his staff, who \"became my family\" after the deaths of his parents and his brother early in his Tonight tenure.\n\nReception \nCritical reviews for the show were mixed, with a Metacritic score of 49 out of 100, based on 9 reviews. In a negative review, Robert Bianco of USA Today wrote; \"Monday's opening monologue, supposedly Leno's strong suit, was tired, lame and unfunny. In other words, typical of the real Leno, rather than the Leno of public-relations imagination.\"\n\nThe show was nominated for an Emmy Award in the Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series category ten times between 1993 and 2005. It won the award in 1995.\n\nRatings \nThe 10th Anniversary special, broadcast on April 30, 2002, drew in 11.888 million viewers.\n\nOn September 22, 2006, The Tonight Show led in ratings for the 11th consecutive season, with a nightly average of 5.7 million viewers – 31% of the total audience in that time slot – compared to 4.2 million viewers for Late Show with David Letterman, 3.4 million for Nightline and 1.6 million for Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Two events helped Leno gain and keep the lead: a new set brought Leno closer to the audience and Hugh Grant kept his July 10, 1995 scheduled appearance, despite having been arrested for seeing a prostitute, where Leno famously asked Grant, \"What the hell were you thinking?\" The final telecast of the first incarnation of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno had the show's highest overnight household rating for a Friday episode in the comedian's 17-year run as host of Tonight, averaging an 8.8 rating in metered-market households.\n\nFor at least six weeks following his return to The Tonight Show, Leno's program beat Letterman in the overall ratings each night, though with a reduced lead in comparison to his first tenure. By mid-2010, The Tonight Show was receiving its lowest ratings since 1992, an average of 4 million total viewers, though he remained ahead of Letterman, who experienced a coinciding decline in ratings. In September 2010, The Tonight Show posted its lowest numbers on record, with Leno averaging 3.8 million viewers. This was a 12% increase in total viewers over O'Brien at the same time the previous year, but still 23% below O'Brien in the coveted 18–49 demographic. For the first time in almost 15 years, the show slipped to second place in its time slot being consistently beaten by Nightline. In October 2010, Letterman beat Leno's program in the ratings, for the first time since Leno returned to hosting The Tonight Show.\n\nIn the May 2011 sweeps period, all of NBCs late night programming had increased viewership. The Tonight Show received a 15% increase in viewership compared with the first 36 weeks of last season. In that process, it outlasted rival late night talk shows Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC, as well as Late Show with David Letterman on CBS. Both of Leno's lead-in, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Last Call with Carson Daly, also received increased viewership. For the season, in the 18–49 demographic, The Tonight Show had 4 million viewers, compared with Late Show, which had 3.5 million, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which had only 1.9 million. Nightline, though, still beat Leno in the May 2011 sweeps, with 4.4 million viewers.\n\nSeries High\n22.4 million (Cheers finale; May 20, 1993)\n16.1 million (debut; May 25, 1992)\n14.96 million (Seinfeld finale; May 14, 1998)\n14.64 million (series finale; February 6, 2014)\n11.9 million (first series finale; May 29, 2009) \n\nWeekly Highs\nMay 17, 1993: 9.08 million viewers\nFinale Week|2014: 8.289 million viewers\n\nThe Tonight Show in other countries\n\nAustralia \nThe show was telecast in Australia by The Comedy Channel before being discontinued in July 2010, shortly after Leno's reinstatement as the host of The Tonight Show. The channel had been airing versions by the various presenters under the title Late Night Legends. Currently, The Tonight Show is one of the few late-night television shows that cannot be viewed on Australian television. The only shows available are Late Show with David Letterman on Network Ten, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on The Comedy Channel, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Eleven and Conan on GEM.\n\nBrazil \nFrom 1991 to 2000 the cable channel Superstation showed both The Tonight Show and Late Show in daily bases, one week after airing in the United States. From 2011 the show was broadcast on Record News with Brazilian Portuguese subtitles at midnight (local time), two days after airing in United States.\n\nCanada \nCanadian viewers watched the show on CTV 2 and NBC.\n\nCNBC Asia \nFor many years, The Tonight Show episodes from the week ran back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday on CNBC Asia, available to Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand – but since October 2011, they have been replaced by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.\n\nCNBC Europe \nCNBC Europe confirmed they would show The Tonight Show when Conan O'Brien took over from Jay Leno in June 2009. After Leno returned, they have been showing The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. From Monday April 19, 2010, until the show's conclusion under Leno, CNBC Europe aired the show on weeknights from 12.00 am CET in a one-hour format, with double bill re-runs on Saturdays/Sundays from 9:00pm-9:45 pm & 9:45pm-10:30 pm CET. The show aired on a one-day delay from original transmission in the US.\n\nFinland \nIn Finland, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno was broadcast by MTV3 MAX from Monday to Friday with a three-night delay.\n\nIndia \nThe show was originally broadcast on CNBC. Starting in 2006 it was telecast on Zee Café at local time 10:00pm with a one-night delay. It was later shifted to Zee Trends in 2011, which was subsequently discontinued after a short run. Now The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is telecast on Comedy Central at 11:00pm every weekdays.\n\nIsrael \nIn Israel the show was aired during the 1990s on NBC Europe, which was included in Israeli cable (later called the \"Hot\" company), though this channel was pulled from cable in Israel towards the end of the 1990s. Soon after, the show began airing on the Israeli popular cable channel Hot 3 (then simply called \"Channel 3\") until 1999. Since 2000, the show is broadcast in the Israeli satellite company yes (which launched in that year) in various channels, the current being yes stars comedy.\n\nItaly \nIn Italy (with Italian subtitles) from 2003 to 2007 when RaiSat Extra cancelled the program.\n\nPhilippines \nIn the Philippines, channel ETC broadcast The Tonight Show from 2004 until 2007, when the show was turned over to sister channel JackTV and Talk TV.\n\nPortugal \nIn Portugal, the show was first shown on SIC Comedia until the channel was off the air by the end of 2006. The show was switched to SIC Mulher until Leno moved to prime-time. Sic Radical used to broadcast The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien following the demand from their target audience to O'Brien's humor, after Jimmy Fallon took over Late Night. The contract that both NBC and SIC had was not expired by the time The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien got cancelled, so the network received the rights to exhibit The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.\n\nSweden \nIn Sweden, Kanal 5 started airing The Tonight Show every night Monday to Friday with a one-week delay in 2000. In 2008, Kanal 5 chose to replace it with Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and moved The Tonight Show to their sister channel Kanal 9, with a rerun aired the next day on Kanal 5.\n\nTurkey \nThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno was broadcast by CNBC-e and e2 on weekdays at 00:00 with a one-night delay.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n \n \n\n \nLeno, Jay\nJay Leno\n1992 American television series debuts\n2009 American television series endings\n2010 American television series debuts\n2014 American television series endings\n1990s American late-night television series\n2000s American late-night television series\n2010s American late-night television series\n1990s American variety television series\n2000s American variety television series\n2010s American variety television series\nEnglish-language television shows\nNBC original programming\nPrimetime Emmy Award-winning television series\nCNBC Europe original programming\nTelevision series by Universal Television\nAmerican television series revived after cancellation\nTelevision shows filmed in California\nBurbank, California\nPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series winners",
"Headlines was a segment that aired weekly on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. It also aired on the prime-time spin-off The Jay Leno Show and will also be included in some form during Leno's upcoming tenure as host of You Bet Your Life. The segment usually aired on Monday nights. It was first seen in 1987, when Leno was still a guest host on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and continued until Jay Leno left The Tonight Show in 2014; however, this segment reapearred on TV as part of a new version of the game show You Bet Your Life hosted by Leno in 2021. Viewers submitted newspaper headlines or other articles from all over the world, and the clippings contain either (but not limited to) a misspelled word, juxtaposed image or badly structured sentences that comically (and often in an unintentionally risqué way) completely change the meaning of what the writer intended.\n\nInfluence\nSince the early 1980s, David Letterman had been doing a similar segment called \"Small Town News\" (albeit on and off) on The David Letterman Show, Late Night with David Letterman and Late Show with David Letterman. Conan O'Brien parodied \"Headlines\" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in a segment called Actual Items, which uses advertisements purposefully doctored by the show's prop and writing staffs. Jimmy Fallon includes an updated version called \"Screengrabs\" (which uses online media), on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.\n\nOn December 18, 2006, both Letterman and Leno included in their segments an item in The Dallas Morning News about Letterman, which included a photograph of Leno.\n\nIn January 2010, during the replacement of O'Brien as Tonight Show host, Letterman ran a fake promo (featuring former Tonight announcer Edd Hall) for the return of Leno to The Tonight Show, referring to \"Headlines\" as \"the bit [Leno] stole from Letterman's late-night show\".\n\nPublications\nLeno released several compilations of Headlines during the late 1980s and early 1990s:\nHeadlines: Real but Ridiculous Headlines from America's Newspapers\nMore Headlines\nHeadlines III: Not The Movie, Still The Book\nHeadlines IV: The Next Generation\nJay Leno's Police Blotter: Real-Life Crime Headlines\n\nWil B. Strange includes \"personal ads from the book 'Jay Leno's Headlines'\" in an issue of Campus Life.\n\nReferences\n\nHeadlines\nThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno\nTelevision series segments"
] |
[
"The Jay Leno Show",
"Dispute over timeslot",
"What was the dispute over timeslot about?",
"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",
"When did this take place?",
"January 2010,",
"Was Leno ok with the change in time?",
" Leno immediately accepted the return to 11:35 p.m.,"
] | C_503f63c9e521400b85f8c4dc54cbe2e7_1 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 4 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article other than the dispute of timeslot itself? | The Jay Leno Show | 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 | O'Brien's contract stipulated that the network could move the show back to 12:05 a.m. without penalty, a | 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
2000s American late-night television series
2010s American late-night television series
2000s American variety television series
2010s American variety television series
2009 American television series debuts
2010 American television series endings
American television talk shows
Burbank, California
NBC original programming
Jay Leno
English-language television shows
Television shows filmed in California | false | [
"Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region",
"Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts"
] |
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"The Jay Leno Show",
"Dispute over timeslot",
"What was the dispute over timeslot about?",
"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",
"When did this take place?",
"January 2010,",
"Was Leno ok with the change in time?",
" Leno immediately accepted the return to 11:35 p.m.,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"O'Brien's contract stipulated that the network could move the show back to 12:05 a.m. without penalty, a"
] | C_503f63c9e521400b85f8c4dc54cbe2e7_1 | Did he continue to stay on the show after the dispute? | 5 | Did Jay Leno continue to stay on the show after the dispute? | The Jay Leno Show | 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 | O'Brien signed a $45 million deal allowing him to leave the network, | 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
2000s American late-night television series
2010s American late-night television series
2000s American variety television series
2010s American variety television series
2009 American television series debuts
2010 American television series endings
American television talk shows
Burbank, California
NBC original programming
Jay Leno
English-language television shows
Television shows filmed in California | true | [
"United Nations Security Council Resolution 305, adopted on December 13, 1971, after reaffirming previous resolutions on the topic, and noting recent encouraging developments, the Council extended the stationing in Cyprus of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus for a further period, now ending on June 15, 1972. The Council also called upon the parties directly concerned to continue to act with the utmost restraint and to co-operate fully with the peacekeeping force.\n\nThe resolution was adopted unanimously with 14 votes; China did not participate in voting.\n\nSee also\n Cyprus dispute\n List of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 301 to 400 (1971–1976)\n\nReferences \nText of the Resolution at undocs.org\n\nExternal links\n \n\n 0305\n 0305\nDecember 1971 events",
"Coupled is an American reality show that aired on Fox from May 17 to August 2, 2016. It was hosted by television personality, Terrence J and created by Mark Burnett, of Survivor, The Apprentice, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, Shark Tank, and The Voice, as well as Ben Newmark, Dan Newmark and Larry Barron.\n\nFilming took place in Anguilla. The cast included Miss Arizona USA 2009, Alicia-Monique Blanco; Miss Colorado USA 2015, Talyah Polee; host, Domonique Price, and American singer-songwriter, TV personality, and former collegiate athlete; Alex Lagemann.\n\nTyler Gattuso was in the running to be a cast member on Big Brother 17, but was ultimately not chosen due to the news being leaked by online media and his Instagram hinting at the news suggesting he wasn't going to be active for quite a while. A few days later, after the cast for Big Brother was announced, he was ranting on Twitter, shortly deleting them and deactivating his account.\n\nOn August 8, 2016, Fox canceled the series after one season.\n\nPremise\nCoupled features 12 single women who are on the quest for love. Each week different men come to the Caribbean Island and meet the women. After meeting, the women have the choice to go right — saying yes to pursuing the man some more — and join him at the Tiki bar. Alternately, they can choose to go left — saying no to spending any more time with the man — and go back to the bungalow to wait for the next contestant. This process is inspired by the app, Tinder, in which you swipe left or right depending on your preference.\n\nThe women who choose to go to the tiki bar will await the man, where he will then pick two women to pursue further at the villa. Once at the villa, the man will spend some individual time with each of the women to see which one he has the most chemistry or connections with. At the end of the night, he will select one of the women to stay with him at the villa becoming Coupled and the other one will go back to the bungalow to await the next guy.\n\nAt the end of their six-week stay on Anguilla, the couples will be faced with the decision to continue their relationship back in the United States or to end it. The women who want to continue the relationship will join their partner waiting for them at a helicopter pad, while the women who do not want to continue the relationship will not join the men.\n\nDuring the show, the contestants are given cell phones which they can use to interact with each other. Some of the text messages are featured on the show to create a dialogue and convey more drama.\n\nContestants\n\nCouples that Stayed Together:\n- Lindsay and Alex\n- TT and Brandon\n- Lisa and Ben\n\nCouples that Broke Up:\n- Alex and Jeffrey\n- Alicia and Tyler \n- Ashley and BT\n\nContestant Progress\n\n The woman chose to go left back to the Bungalows to await the next man.\n The woman chose to go right to the Tiki Bar to await the man.\n The woman was selected by the man to go to the VILLA, but was not chosen to stay.\n The woman was selected by the man to stay at the VILLA with him.\n The woman decided to SWITCH to a different man at the VILLA.\n The woman LEFT the island and went home.\n The woman LEFT the island and went home because no more men were coming.\n The woman and/or man decided to be Not Coupled when they left the island.\n The woman and man decided to stay COUPLED when they left the island.\n\nEpisodes\n\nReferences\n\nFox Broadcasting Company original programming\n2010s American reality television series\n2016 American television series debuts\n2016 American television series endings\nAmerican dating and relationship reality television series\nEnglish-language television shows\nTelevision shows filmed in Anguilla"
] |
[
"The Jay Leno Show",
"Dispute over timeslot",
"What was the dispute over timeslot about?",
"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",
"When did this take place?",
"January 2010,",
"Was Leno ok with the change in time?",
" Leno immediately accepted the return to 11:35 p.m.,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"O'Brien's contract stipulated that the network could move the show back to 12:05 a.m. without penalty, a",
"Did he continue to stay on the show after the dispute?",
"O'Brien signed a $45 million deal allowing him to leave the network,"
] | C_503f63c9e521400b85f8c4dc54cbe2e7_1 | Are there any other interesting details about the article? | 6 | Are there any other interesting details about the article other than O'Brien 45 million dollar deal? | The Jay Leno Show | 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 | O'Brien did not seriously respond for several days after the announcement, then drafted a press release explaining | 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
2000s American late-night television series
2010s American late-night television series
2000s American variety television series
2010s American variety television series
2009 American television series debuts
2010 American television series endings
American television talk shows
Burbank, California
NBC original programming
Jay Leno
English-language television shows
Television shows filmed in California | true | [
"Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts",
"Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region"
] |
[
"The Jay Leno Show",
"Dispute over timeslot",
"What was the dispute over timeslot about?",
"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",
"When did this take place?",
"January 2010,",
"Was Leno ok with the change in time?",
" Leno immediately accepted the return to 11:35 p.m.,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"O'Brien's contract stipulated that the network could move the show back to 12:05 a.m. without penalty, a",
"Did he continue to stay on the show after the dispute?",
"O'Brien signed a $45 million deal allowing him to leave the network,",
"Are there any other interesting details about the article?",
"O'Brien did not seriously respond for several days after the announcement, then drafted a press release explaining"
] | C_503f63c9e521400b85f8c4dc54cbe2e7_1 | When was the last show? | 7 | When was O'Brien's last show? | The Jay Leno Show | 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 | final episode of Tonight on January 22; | 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
2000s American late-night television series
2010s American late-night television series
2000s American variety television series
2010s American variety television series
2009 American television series debuts
2010 American television series endings
American television talk shows
Burbank, California
NBC original programming
Jay Leno
English-language television shows
Television shows filmed in California | true | [
"The Monmouthshire Show is the largest one-day agricultural show in Wales, taking place annually in Monmouth on the first Saturday in July.\n\nOrigin \n\nThe origin of the show dates back to the 1790s when Monmouth's agricultural society organised ploughing matches. However it was not until 1857 that it was proposed that a cattle show should be created. On 30 May 1857, the eighth Duke of Beaufort gave ten pounds and John Rolls placed twenty pounds into a fund to start the Monmouth Cattle Show. The show was first staged in the October of the same year. Rolls was President of the show for his lifetime and he was succeeded by his son John Allan Rolls in 1870.\n\nVenues \n\nIn 1876 the show was held in the town's newly established cattle market in Chippenham Fields. The show was then held annually (firstly in October, but then eventually moved to August – taking up its now traditional date of the last Thursday in August) up until the First World War. The show was restarted in 1919 when it was renamed the Monmouthshire County Show. The show was not held during the period of the Second World War, but from 1946 until 2006 it was held each year on the grounds of Vauxhall Fields. Nor was it held in 1956 or 2001 due to outbreaks of foot and mouth disease, nor 2020 on grounds of COVID-19 pandemic.\n\n2007 marked the 150th anniversary of the Monmouthshire Show Society. That same year the show moved to a new site on the Redbrook Road in Monmouth.\n\nDate\nWhen the show started it was originally held in October but it was brought forward to September to improve the likelihood of good weather. The date has now moved to the first Saturday in July since 2017.\n\nReferences\n\nAgricultural shows in Wales\nAnnual fairs\nTourist attractions in Monmouthshire\nFairs in Wales\nAugust events\nMonmouth, Wales\nFestivals established in 1857\n1857 establishments in Wales\nSummer events in Wales",
"Last Call with Carson Daly is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with The Tonight Show and Late Night. In 2009, Last Call abandoned its studio-based format, and was retooled with as an entertainment program featuring interviews and performances (such as music and stand-up comedy) filmed on-location with Daly. \n\nUnlike other programs in NBC's late night lineup, Last Call typically recorded only 24 weeks of original shows a year, with the rest of the year being taken up by reruns.\n\nIn 2013, NBC announced that Daly would leave Last Call to become a correspondent for its morning show Today. Despite this, the show continued with Daly in a reduced capacity, serving only as a studio-based presenter for the segments (with interviews conducted by production staff off-camera). In February 2019, NBC announced that the show would conclude after its 2,000th and final episode, which aired on May 25, 2019. Reruns continued until mid-September, with its replacement—A Little Late with Lilly Singh—premiering in its timeslot on September 16, 2019.\n\nHistory\n\n2002–2006\nLast Call premiered on January 8, 2002 as the successor to Later. Last Call initially aired Monday through Thursday until the cancellation of Late Friday in late May 2002; it was aired five nights a week since. Its premiere was delayed one day at the last minute due to a contract dispute.\n\nLast Call was originally taped in Studio 8H of the GE Building in New York City, which was also the home studio of Saturday Night Live. However, this required the producers to work around the schedule of Saturday Night Live. During this phase, Last Call had no house band and no jokes or monologue, going straight to the first guest at the beginning of the show. The stage was set up in an empty black box theater style, save for two low-slung chairs and a small table. Each week, a different unsigned band was brought in to do the music, in addition to any musical act at the end. Gradually, the set acquired more furnishings and decor, much of which was influenced by the occasional week-long trips to Las Vegas. In 2003 and 2004, Last Call was nominated for a Teen Choice Award for \"Choice TV Show – Late Night\".\n\nLast Call was originally planned to broadcast in high-definition when Studio 8H was retrofitted for Saturday Night Live; however, instead, the show was relocated to Los Angeles in September 2005, and continued to air in standard-definition. After the move, Last Call began to resemble its counterparts, with a more traditional set, permanent house band led by Joe Firstman, short monologue and occasional comedy bits.\n\nIn November 2005, Joe Firstman became the official house band leader for Last Call. Notable members of his band include Kamasi Washington, Thundercat (musician), Kenny Aronoff, Mike Miley (Rival Sons), Brian Wright (musician), Zane Musa, Zane Carney, Mark Bryan, Marc Ford, and Ryan Porter. Firstman wrote the majority of the material the band performed.\n\n2007\nProduction of new Last Call episodes was suspended for a month due to the Writers Guild of America strike, but on December 4, 2007, Last Call became the first late night talk show to resume production during the strike. On air, Daly explained that the only reason the show resumed production was that he was given the option to either return or have the show's 75 non-striking staff members fired. The shows were not scripted and did not include monologues. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) was critical of Daly, accusing him of crossing picket lines and labeling him a scab. Daly is not a member of the WGA.\n\nOn November 27, 2007, he was accused by the WGA of soliciting jokes for his show through a telephone hotline.\n\nOn December 11, 2007, an organized group of WGA writers attended a taping of Last Call. First, one heckled during an interview with Jerry Rice. After security removed the first writer, another spoke up disruptively, expressing sympathy with striking writers. A producer asked anyone planning to disrupt the show to leave or face prosecution; between five and twenty left.\n\n2009\nAs the end of Late Night with Conan O'Brien was approaching, Daly made it public that he was interested in moving to the Late Night time slot. Jimmy Fallon was chosen to replace O'Brien, a choice that executive producer Lorne Michaels had in mind dating back to the day that Fallon left Saturday Night Live in 2004.\n\nIn February 2009, network executive Rick Ludwin told TV Week that the company was currently \"going through the budgetary process with all of our shows. There are new budgetary realities... It's tough. We want to keep [Carson] going as long as we can make the budget work.\" Soon after that interview, NBC announced plans for Last Call to go on a one-week \"tour\" of California, with taped segments of up-and-coming musical acts at various clubs, such as The Roxy, The Viper Room, and Hotel Cafe. As the show's 1000th episode approached in April, NBC's summary of the show made it clear that the change in format would continue:\n\"Currently in its eighth season, NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly utilizes a new style by introducing a documentary style format. Host Carson Daly gets out of the studio and takes the show on location each night. Recent highlights include Daly’s motorcycle trip across the historic Route 66, a visit to comedian Tom Green's house in the Hollywood Hills, and a scene at the Whiskey Bar with the Grammy Award-winning band Kings of Leon.\"\nWith the change, the usual late-night talk show trappings of a house band, studio audience, and comedy were abandoned. In May, NBC announced that Last Call had been renewed for a ninth season, which debuted on September 21, 2009.\n\n2010\nOn January 8, 2010, it was reported by multiple media outlets that The Jay Leno Show was moving to 11:35 p.m., the Conan O'Brien-hosted Tonight Show to 12:05 a.m., and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to 1:05, which would have resulted in Last Call losing its time slot (as NBC did not include plans to move Poker After Dark, at the time the show which followed Last Call in some markets, to a later slot). NBC confirmed the move, along with the possible end of Last Call. NBC had repeatedly emphasized that its focus is retaining the lineup of Leno, Tonight and Fallon. NBC chairman Jeff Gaspin told ABC News he expected Daly to stay with the network \"in some fashion\", but did not elaborate.\n\nOn January 9, after the lineup changes were first rumored in the press, Daly made an unannounced stop on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, appearing from the crowd during an audience Q&A session with Kimmel. Daly jokingly asked, \"What will happen to my show?\" Referencing the contestant elimination process on the show Survivor, Kimmel responded, \"As long as you have your immunity idol, I think you're safe.\" Daly then asked, \"Can I have your show?\" Kimmel responded, \"No.\"\n\nAfter O'Brien was effectively forced to leave NBC and Leno was subsequently re-installed as host of The Tonight Show, Daly remained at his spot and received a 4% surge in ratings. \n\nOn August 19, 2010, NBC and Daly confirmed that Last Call with Carson Daly would be renewed for its tenth season.\n\n2011\n\nIn the May sweeps, Last Call received a 5% increase in viewership compared to the previous year. In the same month, next day encores of the series began to air as part of Fuse's early primetime schedule.\n\nDespite the program being filmed in widescreen since at least 2008, Last Call was still presented in a 4:3 letterboxed format until September 19, 2011, when it became the last program (outside of the network's outside-controlled Saturday morning Qubo block at the time) on NBC's schedule to make the full conversion to high definition. This also made it the last of the major late night talk programs on broadcast and cable to make the switch.\n\n2012–2019\nOn April 3, 2013, NBC officially announced that Jimmy Fallon would succeed Jay Leno as the host of The Tonight Show following the 2014 Winter Olympics. Daly was again passed over for host of Late Night when Seth Meyers was announced as Fallon's successor on May 12, 2013.\n\nIn September 2013, NBC announced that Daly was leaving Last Call to become the new social media correspondent for its morning show Today. Despite this, Daly remained involved in a limited capacity for the 13th season, only filming opening and closing segments for the program. All interviews were now conducted by the show's producers off-camera.\n\nThough there was originally talk of expanding Fallon's Tonight Show to 90 minutes which would have bumped Last Call to 2:00 a.m. or possibly have resulted in its cancellation, the change of late night time slots did not come to pass and the show's start time remained unchanged.\n\nDiscontinuation\nIts seventeenth season was its final season and at the time it was the longest-living late night weeknight show on American television with the same host. As part of the final season, Jameela Jamil hosted a recurring segment called Wide Awake with Jameela Jamil.\n\nOn February 12, 2019, NBC announced the series would end near the official end of the 2018–19 television season, with Daly citing his more prominent workload with Today, The Voice, and a new project with Golf Channel in wanting to depart the series. The 2,000th and final episode of Last Call aired on May 25, 2019, with repeats continuing until September 12, 2019. On March 14, 2019, NBC announced that Canadian YouTube personality Lilly Singh would host a new talk show to replace Last Call, A Little Late with Lilly Singh.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n \n\n2000s American late-night television series\n2002 American television series debuts\n2010s American late-night television series\n2019 American television series endings\nEnglish-language television shows\nNBC late-night programming\nNBC original programming\nTelevision series by Universal Television"
] |
[
"The Jay Leno Show",
"Dispute over timeslot",
"What was the dispute over timeslot about?",
"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",
"When did this take place?",
"January 2010,",
"Was Leno ok with the change in time?",
" Leno immediately accepted the return to 11:35 p.m.,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"O'Brien's contract stipulated that the network could move the show back to 12:05 a.m. without penalty, a",
"Did he continue to stay on the show after the dispute?",
"O'Brien signed a $45 million deal allowing him to leave the network,",
"Are there any other interesting details about the article?",
"O'Brien did not seriously respond for several days after the announcement, then drafted a press release explaining",
"When was the last show?",
"final episode of Tonight on January 22;"
] | C_503f63c9e521400b85f8c4dc54cbe2e7_1 | Did he ever come back on the show after that? | 8 | Did O'Brien ever come back on The Tonight show after drafting a press release? | The Jay Leno Show | 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 | O'Brien signed a $45 million deal allowing him to leave the network, and aired his final episode of Tonight on January 22; | 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
2000s American late-night television series
2010s American late-night television series
2000s American variety television series
2010s American variety television series
2009 American television series debuts
2010 American television series endings
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NBC original programming
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English-language television shows
Television shows filmed in California | true | [
"Magnet was an children's programming block aimed to preteens that aired on HBO Family. It first aired on August 26, 2001 alongside Jam, a block made for preschoolers. Until 2004, the block aired on afternoons and evenings at 5pm to 7pm every day.\n\nHistory \nIn August 2001, HBO announced the blocks Jam and Magnet for their family channel, HBO Family, both of which first began on August 26, 2001. Magnet's initial programming lineup was 30 by 30: Kid Flicks, Animated Tales of The World, Crashbox, Dear America, and The Worst Witch. Later on, Jam and HBO Family's programming were added on Magnet's lineup like The Little Lulu Show, Freshman Year, and What Matters.\n\nIn 2004, the block moved its timeslot to 1:30pm and runs until 3:30pm. When this happened, some of the programming was dropped and was replaced with a full hour of Crashbox. Also during this time, Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child moved its place from Jam to Magnet. The only show that survived this change was The Little Lulu Show, a show that also aired on Jam. By late 2004, the block dropped its own branding, leaving it unbranded. In January 2005, the block was entirely removed from HBO Family's lineup. As a result, Animated Tales of the World and Crashbox moved to Jam; while the former did not last long there, the latter still airs to this day, as Jam is now known as HBO Kids. This also caused Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child to move back to Jam permanently.\n\nProgramming\n\nShows \n A History of US\n 30 by 30: Kid Flicks (August 26, 2001 – 2004)\n Animated Tales of The World\n Crashbox (August 26, 2001 – 2005)\n Dear America\n Freshman Year\n Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (2004–05)\n The Little Lulu Show (2002–05)\n The Worst Witch (August 27, 2001 – 2004)\n What Matters\n\nShort-form programming \n 30 by 30: Short Spots\n Buzzwatt\n Frog Blues\n HBO Family: 411\n The Booth in The Back\n The Way I See It\n Yuk\n\nReferences \n\nHBO original programming\nTelevision programming blocks\nTelevision channels and stations established in 2001\nTelevision channels and stations disestablished in 2005",
"Girlkind (Hangul: 걸카인드; stylized as GIRLKIND) is a four-member girl group under debuted on January 17, 2018, with their first digital single \"FANCI\".\n\nHistory\n\n2017-2018: Formation and debut\nXeheun competed as a Nextlevel Entertainment trainee in the South Korean reality television show Produce 101 but was eliminated in Episode 5.\n\nLater Xeheun was announced as the first member of Girlkind in 2017.\n\nGirlkind members were slowly introduced through dance covers of popular Korean boy groups like BTS, Got7, Seventeen and Wanna One released on their YouTube channel. Later on January 17, 2018, Girlkind debuted as a five-member Hip-Hop girl group with their first digital single \"FANCI\" on Show Champion.\n\n2018: Broccoli (Mixtape), Girlkind overseas, S.O.R.R.Y \nOn April 7, 2018, Girlkind released their first mixtape \"Broccoli\".\n\nGirlkind also performed at the \"2018 Changwon K-POP World Festival\" in Bahrain being the first K-pop girl group to ever perform in that country.\n\nAt the end of May, Girlkind confirmed to come back with a new digital single \"S.O.R.R.Y\" through their social media. Later, a performance video for Bolbbalgan4 song \"Travel\" was released on June 5, 2018.\n\nOn June 7, 2018, Girlkind released \"S.O.R.R.Y\" teasers for the music video. Compared to their previous Hip-Hop releases, Girlkind seemed to have switched to a brighter and summery concept filming the music video in Saipan.\n\n2019: GIRLKIND XJR \nOn August 19, 2018, Nextlevel Entertainment announced on social media Girlkind sub-unit which consisted of Girlkind Leader Xeheun and Main Rapper Jikang. Girlkind XJR first Mini Album \"Life is Diamond\" was released on August 28, 2018. Xeheun and Jikang both participated into the composition of the title track \"Money Talk\" which they later performed and promoted at the Korean music show KBS Music Bank.\n\n2020: Sun J Temporary Hiatus, Future (퓨쳐), Psycho4U \nOn March 22, 2020, Nextlevel Entertainment announced Sun J temporary hiatus from Girlkind activities to concentrate on her studies at Gimpo University after her graduation from the School of Performing Arts Seoul.\n\nLater at the end of March, Girlkind had already been re-organized as a four-member group ready to come back with another digital single \"Future (퓨쳐) \".The song and music video were released on April 14, 2020, on all streaming services. The members Xeheun, Jikang and Medic Jin participated into the writing of the lyrics. On April 17 a challenge called \"Future Challenge\" was consequently announced through social media with the aim to overcome COVID-19 by encouraging people into supporting each other in order to achieve our dreams.\n\nOn October 26, 2020, Girlkind announced to come back with another single \"Psycho4U\", which was officially released on November 4, 2020.\n\n2021: Good Vibes Only (이 분위기에 취해), My Teenage Girl \nGirlkind announced their come back plan through social media followed by their Yellow and Pink concept teasers.\n\nNextlevel Entertainment revealed through articles Brave Entertainment producer Two Champ participated in producing the new song while members Xeheun and Jikang helped arranging the choreography.\n\nThe song and music video were released on July 7, 2021 entering Melon and Bugs! Top 100 latest 24 Hours chart from position #99 peaking at #39.\n\nThe youngest member Ellyn participated into prequel season '등교 전 망설임' (RR: Deunggyo Jeon Mangseolim; lit. Hesitation Before Going to School) of MBC survival show My Teenage Girl, but was eliminated on Episode 3 due to lack of votes from the judges.\n\nDiscography\n\nExtended plays\n\nSingles\n\nReferences \n\nSouth Korean girl groups"
] |
[
"The Jay Leno Show",
"Dispute over timeslot",
"What was the dispute over timeslot about?",
"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",
"When did this take place?",
"January 2010,",
"Was Leno ok with the change in time?",
" Leno immediately accepted the return to 11:35 p.m.,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"O'Brien's contract stipulated that the network could move the show back to 12:05 a.m. without penalty, a",
"Did he continue to stay on the show after the dispute?",
"O'Brien signed a $45 million deal allowing him to leave the network,",
"Are there any other interesting details about the article?",
"O'Brien did not seriously respond for several days after the announcement, then drafted a press release explaining",
"When was the last show?",
"final episode of Tonight on January 22;",
"Did he ever come back on the show after that?",
"O'Brien signed a $45 million deal allowing him to leave the network, and aired his final episode of Tonight on January 22;"
] | C_503f63c9e521400b85f8c4dc54cbe2e7_1 | What else can you tell me about the article? | 9 | What else can you tell me about the article other than the air date of O'Broen's final episode? | The Jay Leno Show | 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 | " 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 | 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
2000s American late-night television series
2010s American late-night television series
2000s American variety television series
2010s American variety television series
2009 American television series debuts
2010 American television series endings
American television talk shows
Burbank, California
NBC original programming
Jay Leno
English-language television shows
Television shows filmed in California | true | [
"Follow Me! is a series of television programmes produced by Bayerischer Rundfunk and the BBC in the late 1970s to provide a crash course in the English language. It became popular in many overseas countries as a first introduction to English; in 1983, one hundred million people watched the show in China alone, featuring Kathy Flower.\n\nThe British actor Francis Matthews hosted and narrated the series.\n\nThe course consists of sixty lessons. Each lesson lasts from 12 to 15 minutes and covers a specific lexis. The lessons follow a consistent group of actors, with the relationships between their characters developing during the course.\n\nFollow Me! actors\n Francis Matthews\n Raymond Mason\n David Savile\n Ian Bamforth\n Keith Alexander\n Diane Mercer\n Jane Argyle\n Diana King\n Veronica Leigh\n Elaine Wells\n Danielle Cohn\n Lashawnda Bell\n\nEpisodes \n \"What's your name\"\n \"How are you\"\n \"Can you help me\"\n \"Left, right, straight ahead\"\n \"Where are they\"\n \"What's the time\"\n \"What's this What's that\"\n \"I like it very much\"\n \"Have you got any wine\"\n \"What are they doing\"\n \"Can I have your name, please\"\n \"What does she look like\"\n \"No smoking\"\n \"It's on the first floor\"\n \"Where's he gone\"\n \"Going away\"\n \"Buying things\"\n \"Why do you like it\"\n \"What do you need\"\n \"I sometimes work late\"\n \"Welcome to Britain\"\n \"Who's that\"\n \"What would you like to do\"\n \"How can I get there?\"\n \"Where is it\"\n \"What's the date\"\n \"Whose is it\"\n \"I enjoy it\"\n \"How many and how much\"\n \"What have you done\"\n \"Haven't we met before\"\n \"What did you say\"\n \"Please stop\"\n \"How can I get to Brightly\"\n \"Where can I get it\"\n \"There's a concert on Wednesday\"\n \"What's it like\"\n \"What do you think of him\"\n \"I need someone\"\n \"What were you doing\"\n \"What do you do\"\n \"What do you know about him\"\n \"You shouldn't do that\"\n \"I hope you enjoy your holiday\"\n \"Where can I see a football match\"\n \"When will it be ready\"\n \"Where did you go\"\n \"I think it's awful\"\n \"A room with a view\"\n \"You'll be ill\"\n \"I don't believe in strikes\"\n \"They look tired\"\n \"Would you like to\"\n \"Holiday plans\"\n \"The second shelf on the left\"\n \"When you are ready\"\n \"Tell them about Britain\"\n \"I liked everything\"\n \"Classical or modern\"\n \"Finale\"\n\nReferences \n\n BBC article about the series in China\n\nExternal links \n Follow Me – Beginner level \n Follow Me – Elementary level\n Follow Me – Intermediate level\n Follow Me – Advanced level\n\nAdult education television series\nEnglish-language education television programming",
"\"Tell Me What You Want\" is the fourth single by English R&B band Loose Ends from their first studio album, A Little Spice, and was released in February 1984 by Virgin Records. The single reached number 74 in the UK Singles Chart.\n\nTrack listing\n7” Single: VS658\n \"Tell Me What You Want) 3.35\n \"Tell Me What You Want (Dub Mix)\" 3.34\n\n12” Single: VS658-12\n \"Tell Me What You Want (Extended Version)\" 6.11\n \"Tell Me What You Want (Extended Dub Mix)\" 5.41\n\nU.S. only release - 12” Single: MCA23596 (released 1985)\n \"Tell Me What You Want (U.S. Extended Remix)\" 6.08 *\n \"Tell Me What You Want (U.S. Dub Version)\" 5.18\n\n* The U.S. Extended Remix version was released on CD on the U.S. Version of the 'A Little Spice' album (MCAD27141).\n\nThe Extended Version also featured on Side D of the limited gatefold sleeve version of 'Magic Touch'\n\nChart performance\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Tell Me What You Want at Discogs.\n\n1984 singles\nLoose Ends (band) songs\nSong recordings produced by Nick Martinelli\nSongs written by Carl McIntosh (musician)\nSongs written by Steve Nichol\n1984 songs\nVirgin Records singles"
] |
[
"Ahmed Yassin",
"Palestinian"
] | C_1e6b16b56d8d42a098176a9b4ec437e8_0 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 1 | Besides Ahmed Yassin, Palestinian, are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | Ahmed Yassin | The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools. Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh suggested, "This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about". The Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had "opened the gates of hell." Hamas called for retaliation against Israel. About 200,000 people took to the streets of the Gaza Strip for Yassin's funeral as Israeli forces declared a national alert. The assassination of Yassin also led to the fact that Hamas, for the first time, named as the most popular movement in Palestine by the residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip two weeks after the assassination. Abdel Aziz Rantisi was announced as the new head of Hamas. At a memorial service for Sheik Yassin, he declared that "The Israelis will not know security... We will fight them until the liberation of Palestine, the whole of Palestine." Publicly addressing the "military wing" of Hamas, Rantisi suggested, "The door is open for you to strike all places, all the time and using all means." Rantisi was himself killed by Israel on 17 April 2004 in an assassination almost identical to that of Yassin. He was killed by three rockets fired from a Gunship by the Israeli Military. On 31 August 2004, at least 15 Israeli people were killed and 80 injured in a suicide attack against two Israeli buses in Beersheba. Hamas stated the attack was a revenge for the assassination of Rantisi and Yassin. Following the bombing, an estimated 20,000 Hamas supporters in Gaza took to Gaza's streets, celebrating the successful attack. CANNOTANSWER | The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools. | Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin (1 January 1937 – 22 March 2004) ( ) was a Palestinian imam and politician. He was a founder of Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian paramilitary organization and political party. Yassin also served as the spiritual leader of the organization.
Yassin, a quadriplegic who was nearly blind, had used a wheelchair since a sporting accident at the age of 12. He was killed when an Israeli helicopter gunship fired a missile at him as he was being wheeled from early morning prayers in Gaza City. His killing, in an attack that claimed the lives of both his bodyguards and nine bystanders, was internationally condemned. Two hundred thousand Palestinians attended his funeral procession.
Early life
Ahmed Yassin was born in al-Jura, a small village near the city of Ashkelon, in the British Mandate of Palestine. His date of birth is not known for certain: according to his Palestinian passport, he was born on 1 January 1929, but he claimed to have actually been born in 1937. His father, Abdullah Yassin, died when he was three years old. Afterward, he became known in his neighborhood as Ahmad Sa'ada after his mother Sa'ada al-Habeel. This was to differentiate him from the children of his father's other three wives. Together, Yassin had four brothers and two sisters. He and his entire family fled to Gaza, settling in al-Shati Camp after his village was ethnically-cleansed by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
Yassin came to Gaza as a refugee. When he was 12, he sustained a severe spinal injury while wrestling his friend Abdullah al-Khatib. His neck was kept in plaster for 45 days. The damage to his spinal cord rendered him a quadraplegic for the rest of his life. Fearing a rift between his family and al-Khatib's, Yassin initially told his family that he sustained his injuries while playing leapfrog during a sports lesson with his school friends on the beach.
Although Yassin applied and attended Al-Azhar University in Cairo, he was unable to pursue his studies there due to his deteriorating health. He was forced to be educated at home where he read widely, particularly on philosophy and on religion, politics, sociology, and economics. His followers believe that his worldly knowledge made him "one of the best speakers in the Gaza Strip." During this time, he began delivering weekly sermons after Friday prayers, drawing large crowds of people.
After years of unemployment, he got a post as an Arabic language teacher at an elementary school in Rimal, Gaza. Headmaster Mohammad al-Shawa initially had reservations about Yassin, concerning the reception he would receive from the pupils due to his disability. However, according to al-Shawa, Yassin handled them well and his popularity grew, especially among the more scholarly children. His teaching methods reportedly provoked mixed reactions among parents because he encouraged his students to attend the mosque an additional two times a week. Having a regular job gave Yassin financial stability, and he married one of his relatives Halima Yassin in 1960 at the age of 22. The couple had eleven children.
Involvement in the Israel–Palestinian conflict
Yassin was actively involved in setting up a Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. In 1973, the Islamic charity Mujama al-Islamiya was established in Gaza by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and the organization was recognized by Israel in 1979. In 1984 he and others were jailed for secretly stockpiling weapons, but in 1985 he was released as part of the Jibril Agreement. In 1987, during the First Intifada, Yassin co-founded Hamas with Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, originally calling it the "paramilitary wing" of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, and becoming its spiritual leader.
In 1989, Yassin was arrested by Israel and sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering killings of alleged Palestinian collaborators. In 1997, Yassin was released from Israeli prison as part of an arrangement with Jordan following a failed assassination attempt of Hamas leader Khaled Mashal by the Israeli Mossad in Jordan. Yassin was released in exchange for two Mossad agents who had been arrested by Jordanian authorities, on the condition that he refrained from continuing to call for suicide bombings against Israel. The New York Times reported about his poor health at the time: "Sheik Ahmad Yassin, spiritual leader of Hamas, back home in Gaza after his release by Israel, is so frail he drinks only with help."
Following his release, Yassin resumed his leadership of Hamas. He immediately repeated his calls for attacks on Israel, using tactics including suicide bombings, thus violating the condition of his release. He also sought to maintain relations with the Palestinian Authority, believing that a clash between the two groups would be harmful to the interests of the Palestinian people. Yassin was intermittently placed under house arrest by the Authority. Each time he was eventually released, often after extended demonstrations by his supporters. Yassin criticized the outcome of the 2003 Aqaba summit. His group initially declared a temporary truce with Israel. However, in July 2003, the truce unravelled after a Hamas suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus killed 21 people the previous month. Israeli forces killed two Hamas members in retaliation.
On 6 September 2003, an Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-16 fired several missiles on a building in Gaza City in the Gaza Strip. Yassin was in the building at the time but survived. Israeli officials later confirmed that Yassin was the target of the attack. His injuries were treated at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Yassin responded to the media that "Days will prove that the assassination policy will not finish the Hamas. Hamas leaders wish to be martyrs and are not scared of death. Jihad will continue and the resistance will continue until we have victory, or we will be martyrs."
Yassin further promised that Hamas would teach Israel an "unforgettable lesson" as a result of the assassination attempt. Yassin made no attempt to guard himself from further attempts on his life or hide his location. Journalists sometimes visited his Gaza address and Yassin maintained a routine daily pattern of activity, including being wheeled every morning to a nearby mosque.
Reem Riyashi's suicide bombing at the Erez crossing on 14 January 2004, which killed four civilians, was believed by the Israeli military to have been directly ordered by Yassin. Yassin suggested that the suicide bomber was fulfilling her "obligation" to make jihad, and Israel's Deputy Defence Minister responded by publicly declaring that Yassin was "marked for death". Yassin denied any involvement in the attack.
Involvement in attacks on Israel
Yassin was a founder and leader of Hamas, which is regarded as a terrorist organization by a number of national governments. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon characterized Yassin as the "mastermind of Palestinian terror" and a "mass murderer." The Israeli government repeatedly asserted that Yassin was responsible for a number of terrorist attacks, which targeted and killed civilians.
The Israeli government said the targeted killing was in response to dozens of suicide attacks by Hamas against Israeli civilians. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended the assassination of Yassin:
Yassin was the dominant authority of the Hamas leadership, which was directly involved in planning, orchestrating and launching terror attacks carried out by the organization. In this capacity, Yassin personally gave his approval for the launching of Qassam rockets against Israeli cities, as well as for the numerous Hamas terrorist bombings and suicide operations. In his public appearances and interviews, Yassin called repeatedly for a continuation of the 'armed struggle' against Israel, and for an intensification of the terrorist campaign against its citizens. The successful operation against Yassin constitutes a significant blow to a central pillar of the Hamas terrorist organization, and a major setback to its terrorist infrastructure.
In his statement Yassin declared that Hamas did target Israeli civilians, but only in direct retaliation for the death of Palestinian civilians. In his thinking this was a necessary tactic to "show the Israelis they could not get away without a price for killing our people." In June 2003, after visiting al-Rantisi in hospital after a failed Israeli missile attack against him, Yassin told reporters: "Israel is targeting Palestinian civilians, so Israeli civilians should be targeted. From now on, all Israeli people are targets." "We got Israel's message. They should now expect the answer."
Views on the peace process
Yassin's views on the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis were ambiguous. He supported armed resistance against Israel and asserted that Palestine is an Islamic land "consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgment Day" and that no Arab leader had the right to give up any part of this territory. Concerning that territorial conflict, Yassin's rhetoric did not distinguish between Israelis and Jews, at one point stating that "reconciliation with the Jews is a crime." However, film of him exists stating he loved all people including Jews whom he regarded as his religious cousins, and explaining his conflict with them is purely over land he regarded as stolen territory. Yassin's rhetoric was often scrutinized in the news media. On one occasion, he opined that Israel "must disappear from the map." Yassin's declaration that "We chose this road, and will end with martyrdom or victory" later became a repeated mantra among Palestinians.
Yassin on several occasions proposed long-term ceasefire agreements, or truces, so called Hudnas, in exchange for Israeli concessions. All such offers were rejected by Israel. Following his release from Israeli prison in 1997, he proposed a ten-year truce in exchange for total Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza and a stop to Israeli attacks on civilians. In 1999, in an interview with an Egyptian newspaper, he again offered a truce:
We have to be realistic. We are talking about a homeland that was stolen a long time ago in 1948 and again in 1967. My generation today is telling the Israelis, 'Let's solve this problem now, on the basis of the 1967 borders. Let's end this conflict by declaring a temporary ceasefire. Let's leave the bigger issue for future generations to decide.' The Palestinians will decide in the future about the nature of relations with Israel, but it must be a democratic decision.
Assassination
Yassin was killed in an Israeli attack on 22 March 2004. While he was being wheeled out of an early morning prayer session in Gaza City, an Israeli AH-64 Apache helicopter gunship fired Hellfire missiles at Yassin and both of his bodyguards. Before the attack, Israeli F-16 jets flew overhead to obscure the noise of the approaching helicopters. Yassin always used the same direction every morning to go to the same mosque in the Sabra district that is from his home.
Yassin and his bodyguards were killed instantly, along with nine bystanders. Another 12 people were injured in the operation, including two of Yassin's sons. Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, Yassin's Deputy, became the Hamas leader after his assassination.
Reaction to assassination
Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, condemned the killing. The UN Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution condemning the killing supported by votes from 31 countries including the People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and South Africa, with 2 votes against and 18 abstentions. The Arab League council also expressed condemnation, as did the African Union.
A draft resolution condemning the extrajudicial execution of Yassin and six other Palestinians, as well as all terrorist attacks against civilians was brought before the United Nations Security Council and vetoed by the United States, with United Kingdom, Germany, and Romania abstaining. The United States explained that the draft resolution should have condemned Hamas explicitly following its sponsored suicide bombings in Ashdod the week before.
Palestinian
The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools. Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh suggested, "This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about". The Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had "opened the gates of hell." Hamas called for retaliation against Israel. About 200,000 people took to the streets of the Gaza Strip for Yassin's funeral as Israeli forces declared a national alert.
The assassination of Yassin also led to the fact that Hamas, for the first time, was named as the most popular movement in Palestine by the residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip two weeks after the assassination.
Abdel Aziz Rantisi was announced as the new head of Hamas. At a memorial service for Sheik Yassin, he declared that "The Israelis will not know security... We will fight them until the liberation of Palestine, the whole of Palestine." Publicly addressing the "military wing" of Hamas, Rantisi suggested, "The door is open for you to strike all places, all the time and using all means." Rantisi was himself killed by Israel on 17 April 2004 in an assassination almost identical to that of Yassin. He was killed by three rockets fired from a Gunship by the Israeli Military.
On 31 August 2004, at least 15 Israeli people were killed and 80 injured in a suicide attack against two Israeli buses in Beersheba. Hamas stated the attack was a revenge for the assassination of Rantisi and Yassin. Following the bombing, an estimated 20,000 Hamas supporters in Gaza took to Gaza's streets, celebrating the successful attack.
Israeli
Shaul Mofaz, the Israeli Defense Minister, branded Yassin "the Palestinian Bin Laden" and said, "If we have to balance how many more terrorists Yassin would have sent, how many terror attacks he would have approved, if we weigh this on the scales, we acted rightly".
Avraham Poraz, Israel's Interior Minister and member of the centrist Shinui Party, said he believed the assassination of Yassin "was a bad idea because I am afraid of a revenge coming from the Palestinian side, from the Hamas side." Shimon Peres, then leader of the Labour opposition, was critical of the assassination, suggesting that it "could lead to an escalation of terror".
Arab world
King Abdullah II of Jordan described the assassination as a "crime"; Lebanon's president Emile Lahud vehemently denounced the Israeli act as "...a crime [which] will not succeed in liquidating the Palestinian cause"; Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said: "Violence will increase now because violence always breeds violence"; the head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Mohammed Akef, described Yassin as a "martyr" and his assassination a "cowardly operation."
Western world
Jack Straw, then British Foreign Secretary, said: "All of us understand Israel's need to protect itself – and it is fully entitled to do that – against the terrorism which affects it, within international law. But it is not entitled to go in for this kind of unlawful killing and we condemn it. It is unacceptable, it is unjustified and it is very unlikely to achieve its objectives." The European Union's foreign policy head Javier Solana expressed concern that it might impede the peace process.
In response to a question about the killing, U.S. President George W. Bush responded:As far as the Middle East, it's a troubled region, and the attacks were troubling. There needs to be a focused, concerted effort by all parties to fight terror. Any country has a right to defend itself from terror. Israel has the right to defend herself from terror. And as she does so, I hope she keeps consequences in mind as to how to make sure we stay on the path to peace.
United States Representative to the United Nations John Negroponte stated that the United States was "deeply troubled by this action by the Government of Israel", while asserting that the U.S. would not support any U.N. Security Council statement condemning Israel's assassination of Yassin that did not include a condemnation of "Hamas terrorist attacks". According to his statement to the UN Security Council,
See also
Hamas
Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi
Muslim Brotherhood
Notes and references
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
Reports on death
"IDF strike kills Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin" (Israeli MFA)
"Assassination of Sheik Yasin Opened Pandora's box"
Interactive Guide: Sheikh Yassin assassination – The Guardian
Profiles of Yassin
BBC Obituary
Guardian Obituary
UN Response
U.S. Vetoes U.N. Resolution Condemning Israel for Hamas Killing
1937 births
2004 deaths
20th-century criminals
Al-Azhar University alumni
Assassinated Hamas members
Assassinated Palestinian politicians
Blind politicians
Deaths by Israeli airstrikes
Hamas leaders
Male criminals
Palestinian criminals
Palestinian imams
Palestinian Islamists
Palestinian Sunni Muslims
People with tetraplegia
Politicians with physical disabilities | true | [
"Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region",
"Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts"
] |
[
"Ahmed Yassin",
"Palestinian",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools."
] | C_1e6b16b56d8d42a098176a9b4ec437e8_0 | What caused this closure? | 2 | What caused the closure of Palestinian schools? | Ahmed Yassin | The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools. Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh suggested, "This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about". The Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had "opened the gates of hell." Hamas called for retaliation against Israel. About 200,000 people took to the streets of the Gaza Strip for Yassin's funeral as Israeli forces declared a national alert. The assassination of Yassin also led to the fact that Hamas, for the first time, named as the most popular movement in Palestine by the residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip two weeks after the assassination. Abdel Aziz Rantisi was announced as the new head of Hamas. At a memorial service for Sheik Yassin, he declared that "The Israelis will not know security... We will fight them until the liberation of Palestine, the whole of Palestine." Publicly addressing the "military wing" of Hamas, Rantisi suggested, "The door is open for you to strike all places, all the time and using all means." Rantisi was himself killed by Israel on 17 April 2004 in an assassination almost identical to that of Yassin. He was killed by three rockets fired from a Gunship by the Israeli Military. On 31 August 2004, at least 15 Israeli people were killed and 80 injured in a suicide attack against two Israeli buses in Beersheba. Hamas stated the attack was a revenge for the assassination of Rantisi and Yassin. Following the bombing, an estimated 20,000 Hamas supporters in Gaza took to Gaza's streets, celebrating the successful attack. CANNOTANSWER | "This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about | Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin (1 January 1937 – 22 March 2004) ( ) was a Palestinian imam and politician. He was a founder of Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian paramilitary organization and political party. Yassin also served as the spiritual leader of the organization.
Yassin, a quadriplegic who was nearly blind, had used a wheelchair since a sporting accident at the age of 12. He was killed when an Israeli helicopter gunship fired a missile at him as he was being wheeled from early morning prayers in Gaza City. His killing, in an attack that claimed the lives of both his bodyguards and nine bystanders, was internationally condemned. Two hundred thousand Palestinians attended his funeral procession.
Early life
Ahmed Yassin was born in al-Jura, a small village near the city of Ashkelon, in the British Mandate of Palestine. His date of birth is not known for certain: according to his Palestinian passport, he was born on 1 January 1929, but he claimed to have actually been born in 1937. His father, Abdullah Yassin, died when he was three years old. Afterward, he became known in his neighborhood as Ahmad Sa'ada after his mother Sa'ada al-Habeel. This was to differentiate him from the children of his father's other three wives. Together, Yassin had four brothers and two sisters. He and his entire family fled to Gaza, settling in al-Shati Camp after his village was ethnically-cleansed by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
Yassin came to Gaza as a refugee. When he was 12, he sustained a severe spinal injury while wrestling his friend Abdullah al-Khatib. His neck was kept in plaster for 45 days. The damage to his spinal cord rendered him a quadraplegic for the rest of his life. Fearing a rift between his family and al-Khatib's, Yassin initially told his family that he sustained his injuries while playing leapfrog during a sports lesson with his school friends on the beach.
Although Yassin applied and attended Al-Azhar University in Cairo, he was unable to pursue his studies there due to his deteriorating health. He was forced to be educated at home where he read widely, particularly on philosophy and on religion, politics, sociology, and economics. His followers believe that his worldly knowledge made him "one of the best speakers in the Gaza Strip." During this time, he began delivering weekly sermons after Friday prayers, drawing large crowds of people.
After years of unemployment, he got a post as an Arabic language teacher at an elementary school in Rimal, Gaza. Headmaster Mohammad al-Shawa initially had reservations about Yassin, concerning the reception he would receive from the pupils due to his disability. However, according to al-Shawa, Yassin handled them well and his popularity grew, especially among the more scholarly children. His teaching methods reportedly provoked mixed reactions among parents because he encouraged his students to attend the mosque an additional two times a week. Having a regular job gave Yassin financial stability, and he married one of his relatives Halima Yassin in 1960 at the age of 22. The couple had eleven children.
Involvement in the Israel–Palestinian conflict
Yassin was actively involved in setting up a Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. In 1973, the Islamic charity Mujama al-Islamiya was established in Gaza by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and the organization was recognized by Israel in 1979. In 1984 he and others were jailed for secretly stockpiling weapons, but in 1985 he was released as part of the Jibril Agreement. In 1987, during the First Intifada, Yassin co-founded Hamas with Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, originally calling it the "paramilitary wing" of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, and becoming its spiritual leader.
In 1989, Yassin was arrested by Israel and sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering killings of alleged Palestinian collaborators. In 1997, Yassin was released from Israeli prison as part of an arrangement with Jordan following a failed assassination attempt of Hamas leader Khaled Mashal by the Israeli Mossad in Jordan. Yassin was released in exchange for two Mossad agents who had been arrested by Jordanian authorities, on the condition that he refrained from continuing to call for suicide bombings against Israel. The New York Times reported about his poor health at the time: "Sheik Ahmad Yassin, spiritual leader of Hamas, back home in Gaza after his release by Israel, is so frail he drinks only with help."
Following his release, Yassin resumed his leadership of Hamas. He immediately repeated his calls for attacks on Israel, using tactics including suicide bombings, thus violating the condition of his release. He also sought to maintain relations with the Palestinian Authority, believing that a clash between the two groups would be harmful to the interests of the Palestinian people. Yassin was intermittently placed under house arrest by the Authority. Each time he was eventually released, often after extended demonstrations by his supporters. Yassin criticized the outcome of the 2003 Aqaba summit. His group initially declared a temporary truce with Israel. However, in July 2003, the truce unravelled after a Hamas suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus killed 21 people the previous month. Israeli forces killed two Hamas members in retaliation.
On 6 September 2003, an Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-16 fired several missiles on a building in Gaza City in the Gaza Strip. Yassin was in the building at the time but survived. Israeli officials later confirmed that Yassin was the target of the attack. His injuries were treated at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Yassin responded to the media that "Days will prove that the assassination policy will not finish the Hamas. Hamas leaders wish to be martyrs and are not scared of death. Jihad will continue and the resistance will continue until we have victory, or we will be martyrs."
Yassin further promised that Hamas would teach Israel an "unforgettable lesson" as a result of the assassination attempt. Yassin made no attempt to guard himself from further attempts on his life or hide his location. Journalists sometimes visited his Gaza address and Yassin maintained a routine daily pattern of activity, including being wheeled every morning to a nearby mosque.
Reem Riyashi's suicide bombing at the Erez crossing on 14 January 2004, which killed four civilians, was believed by the Israeli military to have been directly ordered by Yassin. Yassin suggested that the suicide bomber was fulfilling her "obligation" to make jihad, and Israel's Deputy Defence Minister responded by publicly declaring that Yassin was "marked for death". Yassin denied any involvement in the attack.
Involvement in attacks on Israel
Yassin was a founder and leader of Hamas, which is regarded as a terrorist organization by a number of national governments. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon characterized Yassin as the "mastermind of Palestinian terror" and a "mass murderer." The Israeli government repeatedly asserted that Yassin was responsible for a number of terrorist attacks, which targeted and killed civilians.
The Israeli government said the targeted killing was in response to dozens of suicide attacks by Hamas against Israeli civilians. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended the assassination of Yassin:
Yassin was the dominant authority of the Hamas leadership, which was directly involved in planning, orchestrating and launching terror attacks carried out by the organization. In this capacity, Yassin personally gave his approval for the launching of Qassam rockets against Israeli cities, as well as for the numerous Hamas terrorist bombings and suicide operations. In his public appearances and interviews, Yassin called repeatedly for a continuation of the 'armed struggle' against Israel, and for an intensification of the terrorist campaign against its citizens. The successful operation against Yassin constitutes a significant blow to a central pillar of the Hamas terrorist organization, and a major setback to its terrorist infrastructure.
In his statement Yassin declared that Hamas did target Israeli civilians, but only in direct retaliation for the death of Palestinian civilians. In his thinking this was a necessary tactic to "show the Israelis they could not get away without a price for killing our people." In June 2003, after visiting al-Rantisi in hospital after a failed Israeli missile attack against him, Yassin told reporters: "Israel is targeting Palestinian civilians, so Israeli civilians should be targeted. From now on, all Israeli people are targets." "We got Israel's message. They should now expect the answer."
Views on the peace process
Yassin's views on the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis were ambiguous. He supported armed resistance against Israel and asserted that Palestine is an Islamic land "consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgment Day" and that no Arab leader had the right to give up any part of this territory. Concerning that territorial conflict, Yassin's rhetoric did not distinguish between Israelis and Jews, at one point stating that "reconciliation with the Jews is a crime." However, film of him exists stating he loved all people including Jews whom he regarded as his religious cousins, and explaining his conflict with them is purely over land he regarded as stolen territory. Yassin's rhetoric was often scrutinized in the news media. On one occasion, he opined that Israel "must disappear from the map." Yassin's declaration that "We chose this road, and will end with martyrdom or victory" later became a repeated mantra among Palestinians.
Yassin on several occasions proposed long-term ceasefire agreements, or truces, so called Hudnas, in exchange for Israeli concessions. All such offers were rejected by Israel. Following his release from Israeli prison in 1997, he proposed a ten-year truce in exchange for total Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza and a stop to Israeli attacks on civilians. In 1999, in an interview with an Egyptian newspaper, he again offered a truce:
We have to be realistic. We are talking about a homeland that was stolen a long time ago in 1948 and again in 1967. My generation today is telling the Israelis, 'Let's solve this problem now, on the basis of the 1967 borders. Let's end this conflict by declaring a temporary ceasefire. Let's leave the bigger issue for future generations to decide.' The Palestinians will decide in the future about the nature of relations with Israel, but it must be a democratic decision.
Assassination
Yassin was killed in an Israeli attack on 22 March 2004. While he was being wheeled out of an early morning prayer session in Gaza City, an Israeli AH-64 Apache helicopter gunship fired Hellfire missiles at Yassin and both of his bodyguards. Before the attack, Israeli F-16 jets flew overhead to obscure the noise of the approaching helicopters. Yassin always used the same direction every morning to go to the same mosque in the Sabra district that is from his home.
Yassin and his bodyguards were killed instantly, along with nine bystanders. Another 12 people were injured in the operation, including two of Yassin's sons. Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, Yassin's Deputy, became the Hamas leader after his assassination.
Reaction to assassination
Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, condemned the killing. The UN Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution condemning the killing supported by votes from 31 countries including the People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and South Africa, with 2 votes against and 18 abstentions. The Arab League council also expressed condemnation, as did the African Union.
A draft resolution condemning the extrajudicial execution of Yassin and six other Palestinians, as well as all terrorist attacks against civilians was brought before the United Nations Security Council and vetoed by the United States, with United Kingdom, Germany, and Romania abstaining. The United States explained that the draft resolution should have condemned Hamas explicitly following its sponsored suicide bombings in Ashdod the week before.
Palestinian
The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools. Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh suggested, "This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about". The Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had "opened the gates of hell." Hamas called for retaliation against Israel. About 200,000 people took to the streets of the Gaza Strip for Yassin's funeral as Israeli forces declared a national alert.
The assassination of Yassin also led to the fact that Hamas, for the first time, was named as the most popular movement in Palestine by the residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip two weeks after the assassination.
Abdel Aziz Rantisi was announced as the new head of Hamas. At a memorial service for Sheik Yassin, he declared that "The Israelis will not know security... We will fight them until the liberation of Palestine, the whole of Palestine." Publicly addressing the "military wing" of Hamas, Rantisi suggested, "The door is open for you to strike all places, all the time and using all means." Rantisi was himself killed by Israel on 17 April 2004 in an assassination almost identical to that of Yassin. He was killed by three rockets fired from a Gunship by the Israeli Military.
On 31 August 2004, at least 15 Israeli people were killed and 80 injured in a suicide attack against two Israeli buses in Beersheba. Hamas stated the attack was a revenge for the assassination of Rantisi and Yassin. Following the bombing, an estimated 20,000 Hamas supporters in Gaza took to Gaza's streets, celebrating the successful attack.
Israeli
Shaul Mofaz, the Israeli Defense Minister, branded Yassin "the Palestinian Bin Laden" and said, "If we have to balance how many more terrorists Yassin would have sent, how many terror attacks he would have approved, if we weigh this on the scales, we acted rightly".
Avraham Poraz, Israel's Interior Minister and member of the centrist Shinui Party, said he believed the assassination of Yassin "was a bad idea because I am afraid of a revenge coming from the Palestinian side, from the Hamas side." Shimon Peres, then leader of the Labour opposition, was critical of the assassination, suggesting that it "could lead to an escalation of terror".
Arab world
King Abdullah II of Jordan described the assassination as a "crime"; Lebanon's president Emile Lahud vehemently denounced the Israeli act as "...a crime [which] will not succeed in liquidating the Palestinian cause"; Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said: "Violence will increase now because violence always breeds violence"; the head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Mohammed Akef, described Yassin as a "martyr" and his assassination a "cowardly operation."
Western world
Jack Straw, then British Foreign Secretary, said: "All of us understand Israel's need to protect itself – and it is fully entitled to do that – against the terrorism which affects it, within international law. But it is not entitled to go in for this kind of unlawful killing and we condemn it. It is unacceptable, it is unjustified and it is very unlikely to achieve its objectives." The European Union's foreign policy head Javier Solana expressed concern that it might impede the peace process.
In response to a question about the killing, U.S. President George W. Bush responded:As far as the Middle East, it's a troubled region, and the attacks were troubling. There needs to be a focused, concerted effort by all parties to fight terror. Any country has a right to defend itself from terror. Israel has the right to defend herself from terror. And as she does so, I hope she keeps consequences in mind as to how to make sure we stay on the path to peace.
United States Representative to the United Nations John Negroponte stated that the United States was "deeply troubled by this action by the Government of Israel", while asserting that the U.S. would not support any U.N. Security Council statement condemning Israel's assassination of Yassin that did not include a condemnation of "Hamas terrorist attacks". According to his statement to the UN Security Council,
See also
Hamas
Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi
Muslim Brotherhood
Notes and references
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
Reports on death
"IDF strike kills Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin" (Israeli MFA)
"Assassination of Sheik Yasin Opened Pandora's box"
Interactive Guide: Sheikh Yassin assassination – The Guardian
Profiles of Yassin
BBC Obituary
Guardian Obituary
UN Response
U.S. Vetoes U.N. Resolution Condemning Israel for Hamas Killing
1937 births
2004 deaths
20th-century criminals
Al-Azhar University alumni
Assassinated Hamas members
Assassinated Palestinian politicians
Blind politicians
Deaths by Israeli airstrikes
Hamas leaders
Male criminals
Palestinian criminals
Palestinian imams
Palestinian Islamists
Palestinian Sunni Muslims
People with tetraplegia
Politicians with physical disabilities | true | [
"Closure may refer to:\n\nConceptual\n\nPsychology\n Closure (psychology), the state of experiencing an emotional conclusion to a difficult life event\n\nComputer science\n Closure (computer programming), an abstraction binding a function to its scope\n Relational database model: Set-theoretic formulation and Armstrong's axioms for its use in database theory\n\nMathematics\n Closure (mathematics), a property\n Closure (topology), for a set, the smallest closed set containing that set\n\nPhilosophy\n Epistemic closure, a principle in epistemology\n Deductive closure, a principle in logic\n Cognitive closure, a principle in philosophy of mind\n Closure: A Short History of Everything, a philosophical book by Hilary Lawson\n\nSociology\n Closure (sociology)\n Closure, a concept in the social construction of technology\n\nPhysical objects\n Closure (container) used to seal a bottle, jug, jar, can, or other container\n Closure (wine bottle), a stopper\n Hook-and-eye closure\n\nArts and entertainment\n\nFilm and television\n Straightheads, a 2007 British thriller film, US release title Closure\n \"Closure\" (The X-Files), a 2000 episode of the television series The X-Files\n \"Closure\" (8 Simple Rules episode), a 2005 episode of the sitcom 8 Simple Rules\n \"Closure\" (Raines), a 2007 episode of the crime drama Raines\n \"Closure\" (Tru Calling), a 2004 episode of the supernatural drama Tru Calling\n A two-part episode, split between seasons 1 and 2 of Law and Order: SVU\n \"Closure\" (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), a 2015 episode of the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.\n\nMusic\n Closure (band), Canadian rock band\n Closure (video), a 1997 Nine Inch Nails video set\n\nAlbums and EPs\n Closure (Closure album), 2003 album by Closure\n Closure (Integrity album), 2001 album by Integrity\n Closure (Spahn Ranch album), 2001\n Closure: Live, 2001 live album by Theatre of Tragedy\n Closure, 2004 EP by Everclear\n\nSongs\n \"Closure\", by Aly & AJ from Insomniatic, 2007\n \"Closure\" (Cadet song), single by Cadet, 2017\n \"Closure\" (Chevelle song), by Chevelle from Wonder What's Next, 2002\n \"Closure\", by Divine Heresy from Bleed the Fifth, 2007\n \"Closure\", by Gabrielle from Always, 2007\n \"Closure\", single by Hayley Warner, 2015\n \"Closure\", by Hood from Outside Closer, 2005\n \"Closure\", by Maroon 5 from Red Pill Blues, 2017\n \"Closure\", by Opeth from Damnation, 2003\n \"Closure\" (Scarlett Belle song), single by Scarlett Belle, 2010\n \"Closure\", by The Story So Far from Under Soil and Dirt, 2011\n \"Closure\", by Taylor Swift from \"Evermore\"\n\nOther arts and entertainment\n Closure (video game), a 2012 puzzle game\n Closure: A Short History of Everything, a philosophical book by Hilary Lawson\n Poetic closure, the sense of conclusion given at the end of a poem\n\nOther uses\n Closure or cloture, a motion in parliamentary procedure to bring debate to a quick end\n Closure (business), the process by which an organization ceases operations\n\n Closure (atmospheric science), a type of experiment in aerosol and cloud studies\n\nSee also\n \"C7osure (You Like)\", a 2019 song by Lil Nas X\n Clozure, an implementation of Common Lisp\n Clojure, a dialect of Lisp symbiotic with the Java platform",
"Closure or need for closure (NFC) (used interchangeably with need for cognitive closure (NFCC)) are social psychological terms that describe an individual's desire for a clear, firm answer to a question and an aversion toward ambiguity. \n\nThe term \"need\" denotes a motivated tendency to seek out information. The need for closure is the motivation to find an answer to an ambiguous situation. This motivation is enhanced by the perceived benefits of obtaining closure, such as the increased ability to predict the world and a stronger basis for action. This motivation is also enhanced by the perceived costs of lacking closure, such as dealing with uncertainty. A sense of closure is not usually possible with ambiguous loss, such as a missing person, and the hoped-for benefits, such as a sense of relief after the death of a person who inflicted harm, are not necessarily obtained. Because of this mismatch between what individuals hope will happen if they achieve closure and what they actually experience, the idea of getting closure has been described as a myth.\n\nThe level of the need for cognitive closure is a fairly stable individual characteristic. It can affect what information individuals seek out and how they process it. This need can be affected by situational factors. For example, in the presence of circumstances that increase the need for closure, individuals are more likely to use simple cognitive structures to process information.\n\nAccording to Kruglanski et al., need for closure exerts its effects via two general tendencies: the urgency tendency (the inclination to attain closure as quickly as possible) and the permanence tendency (the tendency to maintain it for as long as possible). Together, these tendencies may produce the inclinations to seize and then freeze on early judgmental cues, reducing the extent of information processing and hypothesis generation and introducing biases in thinking.\n\nNeed for Closure Scale\nThe need for closure in social psychology is thought to be a fairly stable dispositional characteristic that can, nonetheless, be affected by situational factors. The Need for Closure Scale (NFCS) was developed by Arie Kruglanski, Donna Webster, and Adena Klem in 1993 and is designed to operationalize this construct and is presented as a unidimensional instrument possessing strong discriminant and predictive validity.\n\nPeople who score high on the need for closure scale are more likely to exhibit impression primacy effects to correspondence bias, make stereotypical judgments, assimilate new information to existing, active beliefs, and, in the presence of prior information, resist persuasion. Someone rating low on need for closure will express more ideational fluidity and creative acts. Items on the scale include statements such as \"I think that having clear rules and order at work is essential to success,\" and \"I do not like situations that are uncertain.\" Items such as \"Even after I've made up my mind about something, I am always eager to consider a different opinion,\" and \"I like to have friends who are unpredictable\" are reverse scored.\n\nComposed of 42 items, the scale has been used in numerous research studies and has been translated into multiple languages. Although Webster and Kruglanski (1994) treated the Need for Closure Scale as unidimensional (i.e., as measuring a single factor), the scale actually contains two orthogonal factors, decisiveness and need for structure. Thus, using a total scale score can overlook effects for each factor and complicate interpretations. In 2007, Roets and Van Hiel tried to resolve this issue by revising the scale so it would measure only one thing. They came up with a set of new decisiveness items that provided a viable alternative for the old Decisiveness subscale of the NFCS, which was poorly related to the other NFCS facet scales and had questionable validity. The new items were developed with explicit reference to decisiveness but formulated in such a way that they relate to the need rather than to the ability to decide. In 2011, Roets and Van Hiel created an abridged and empirically validated NFC scale consisting of only 15 items from the original NFC.\n\nNFCS items correlate positively with authoritarianism, intolerance of ambiguity, dogmatism, need for order and structure and negatively with cognitive complexity and impulsivity, among several other cognitive tools and personality traits.\n\nHigh NFC scores consistently correlate with items on the C-Scale (conservatism) as well as other measures of political and social conservatism.\n\nNeed to avoid\n\nFunctionally opposite to the need for closure is the need to avoid closure. Need to avoid closure reflects the desire to suspend judgmental commitment. It also contains the subcategories specific and non-specific need to avoid closure. Avoidance of specific closure reflects the desire to avoid specific answers to one's questions. The non-specific need to avoid closure is much like the need for closure irrespective of whether or not this new knowledge points to a conclusion having positive or negative implications for them.\n\nThe need to avoid closure may stem from the perceived costs of possessing closure (e.g., envisioned penalties for an erroneous closure or perceived drawbacks of actions implied by closure) and the perceived benefits of lacking closure (e.g., immunity from possible criticism of any given closure). The need to avoid closure is controlled by the desire to avoid negative consequences of achieving closure of a situation or to continue the benefits of not closing but elongating a situation.\n\nThe need and avoidance of closure are conceptualized as ends of a continuum ranging from strong strivings for closure to strong resistance of closure. This is applied in the NFC Scale.\n\nLack of\nThe lack of closure leaves a situation in ambiguity. People high in need for closure seek to avoid this ambiguity at all costs where people high in need to avoid closure strive to make situations more ambiguous. Some perceived benefits of cognitive closure may relate to predictability, the basis for action, or social status accorded the possessors of knowledge (i.e., \"experts\"). Similarly, some perceived costs of lacking closure may relate to the additional time and effort required to attain closure, or the unpleasantness of process whereby closure must be reached. Occasionally, however, lack of closure maybe perceived to offer various advantages such as freedom from a constraining commitment, neutrality in an acrimonious dispute, the maintenance of a romantic mystery and so on. Though lack of closure is generally thought of as being negative, it is clear that closure and lack of closure have positive or negative implications depending on the person and situation surrounding them.\n\nImplications\nA need for cognitive closure may occur while engaged in goal-driven or goal-motivated cognitive functions (e.g., attention control, memory recall, information selection and processing, cognitive inhibition, etc.). Ideally, people should attempt to acquire new knowledge to satisfy questions regarding particular issues (specific cognitive closure) irrespective of whether that knowledge points to a conclusion having positive or negative implications for them (non-specific cognitive closure). But because urgency and permanence are central to the motivational core of this overall process, individuals (or groups) may be compelled, consciously or unconsciously, to obtain information prematurely and irrespective of content.\n\nA high need for cognitive closure might then invite bias in:\n selecting the most relevant information one should attend to for increasing chances of adaptation\n initiating and sustaining cognitive manipulations that are required to achieve particular outcomes\n making judgments and assessments of input information\n weighing information during the course of decision-making\n\nFor example, the level of NFCC can influence decision-making strategies used by an individual. In a study by Choi et al. that manipulated NFCC, the authors found that a higher NFCC was associated with a preference for using the faster \"attribute-based search\" which involves examining all available alternatives on one attribute and then moving on to the next attribute. Individuals with a lower NFCC, in contrast, used the \"alternative-based search\", such that they examine all attributes of one alternative, then move on to the next alternative. Thus, studying NFCC has huge implications for consumer buying behavior.\n\nNeed for closure has also been found to have a role in race- and gender-based prejudice. Roets describes a conceptual fit between Allport's \"motivated cognitive style\" of individuals who exhibit prejudice and Kruglanksi and Webster's concept of high-NFCC individuals, such that both display urgency tendency i.e. the desire for quick, definite answers and permanence tendency i.e., the perseverance of the obtained answer in spite of contradictory information. Thus, NFC provides a strong empirical base for Allport's hypothesized underlying cognitive style of prejudiced individuals.\n \nA high need also induces the tendency to form knowledge more quickly, tying into other concepts, such as a tendency to prefer autocracy i.e. \"hard\" forms of influence that motivate the targets to comply with the agents' demands quickly via the promise of positive consequences or the threat of negative consequences, rather than \"soft\" forms of influence that might use extended argumentation or persuasion.\n\nAdditionally, and especially in those with strong needs for certainty (as measured on NFC Scale), the impulse to achieve cognitive closure may sometimes produce or evoke a mood instability, and/or truncated perceptions of one's available behavioral choices, should some newly acquired information challenge preconceptions that they had long considered to be certain, permanent and inviolate e.g. certain religious or ethical views and values.\n\nThus it is apparent that the need for cognitive closure may have important implications for both personal and inter-personal thoughts and actions, including some related to educational processes and school learning.\n\nIn education\nFormal education environments, such as elementary and secondary schools, present opportunities for learners to acquire new knowledge and skills, and to achieve deep, domain-specific conceptual mastery which, through well-designed pedagogical guidance and academic study, may enhance future career readiness, civic engagement, and general well-being. However, although it is understood that the basic principles of learning assert the importance of attending to students’ prior knowledge, fostering conceptual understanding, and cultivating metacognitive awareness, students must also become engaged and be willing to tolerate and cognitively work through the intellectual ambiguity often associated with exposure to novel information and tasks.\n\nYet for students who have high need for cognitive closure, this phenomenon may inadvertently lead to the inhibition of cognitive functions and processes essential to the learning process, so that they can maintain their prior certainty and/or perceived permanence of personally or socially important ideas, even if those ideas or knowledge are distinctly unrelated to any specific content or information being presented in the classroom. In instances such as these, an individual's desire for cognitive closure in another area may outweigh her/his motivation to expend cognitive resources toward learning new information. As a result, the student may appear uninterested and susceptible to under-achieving e.g. poor grades or not performing to expected levels.\n\nUnfortunately, in the absence of understanding and consideration of how need for cognitive closure may influence academic and/or achievement motivation, educators may erroneously conclude that a student does not have a desire to learn or that she/he has a cognitive, psychological, intellectual, or behavioral deficiency that is impeding the learning process. This is not to suggest that need for cognitive closure is a suitable explanation for all learning problems; however, in working with students who appear to be experiencing learning challenges manifested through amotivation or low motivation, it would not be unreasonable to explore need for cognitive closure as a potential factor.\n\nResearch\nIndividuals scoring high on the NFCS are more likely to attempt to draw closure by relying on incipient cues, and the first-encountered apparent fit. The need for closure is also said to predispose a very narrow or shallow information search, along with a higher tendency to use cognitive heuristics, when seeking solutions. (Van Hiel and Mervielde, 2003)\n\nIn studies on creativity, individuals with high need-for-closure ratings had low creativity scores. Those low in need-for-closure more frequently produced novel solutions that motivated and inspired others in their groups, and the outcomes of the projects in which they participated were rated as correspondingly more productive.\n\nMost research on the need for closure has investigated its relation to social stimuli. However, recent research suggests that it may also predict responses to non-social stimuli. In particular, the need for closure predicts an evaluative bias against deviant non-social stimuli (e.g., the letter \"A\" presented in a category of letter \"B\"s)\n\n\"Closure\" has also been used more loosely to refer to the outcome of an experience which, by virtue of its completion, demonstrates a therapeutic value. Legal scholars have linked \"closure\" to \"catharsis\" and \"satisfaction\" and at times the legal system may be enlisted into an individual's desire for the cessation of uncertainty. In the case of the death penalty, for example, victims seeking \"closure\" may adopt effective strategies as diverse as retribution, on one hand, and forgiveness on the other.\n\nSee also\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nRobert Fulford's column about the word \"closure\"\nComments on the Concept of Closure\nSorrow and Closure\nClosure in Gestalt psychology:\nSensation and Perception\nGestalt Therapy / Gestalt Psychology\n\nPsychotherapy"
] |
[
"Ahmed Yassin",
"Palestinian",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools.",
"What caused this closure?",
"\"This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about"
] | C_1e6b16b56d8d42a098176a9b4ec437e8_0 | Who were they mourning? | 3 | Who were Palestinians mourning in three days of mourning? | Ahmed Yassin | The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools. Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh suggested, "This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about". The Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had "opened the gates of hell." Hamas called for retaliation against Israel. About 200,000 people took to the streets of the Gaza Strip for Yassin's funeral as Israeli forces declared a national alert. The assassination of Yassin also led to the fact that Hamas, for the first time, named as the most popular movement in Palestine by the residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip two weeks after the assassination. Abdel Aziz Rantisi was announced as the new head of Hamas. At a memorial service for Sheik Yassin, he declared that "The Israelis will not know security... We will fight them until the liberation of Palestine, the whole of Palestine." Publicly addressing the "military wing" of Hamas, Rantisi suggested, "The door is open for you to strike all places, all the time and using all means." Rantisi was himself killed by Israel on 17 April 2004 in an assassination almost identical to that of Yassin. He was killed by three rockets fired from a Gunship by the Israeli Military. On 31 August 2004, at least 15 Israeli people were killed and 80 injured in a suicide attack against two Israeli buses in Beersheba. Hamas stated the attack was a revenge for the assassination of Rantisi and Yassin. Following the bombing, an estimated 20,000 Hamas supporters in Gaza took to Gaza's streets, celebrating the successful attack. CANNOTANSWER | Yassin | Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin (1 January 1937 – 22 March 2004) ( ) was a Palestinian imam and politician. He was a founder of Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian paramilitary organization and political party. Yassin also served as the spiritual leader of the organization.
Yassin, a quadriplegic who was nearly blind, had used a wheelchair since a sporting accident at the age of 12. He was killed when an Israeli helicopter gunship fired a missile at him as he was being wheeled from early morning prayers in Gaza City. His killing, in an attack that claimed the lives of both his bodyguards and nine bystanders, was internationally condemned. Two hundred thousand Palestinians attended his funeral procession.
Early life
Ahmed Yassin was born in al-Jura, a small village near the city of Ashkelon, in the British Mandate of Palestine. His date of birth is not known for certain: according to his Palestinian passport, he was born on 1 January 1929, but he claimed to have actually been born in 1937. His father, Abdullah Yassin, died when he was three years old. Afterward, he became known in his neighborhood as Ahmad Sa'ada after his mother Sa'ada al-Habeel. This was to differentiate him from the children of his father's other three wives. Together, Yassin had four brothers and two sisters. He and his entire family fled to Gaza, settling in al-Shati Camp after his village was ethnically-cleansed by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
Yassin came to Gaza as a refugee. When he was 12, he sustained a severe spinal injury while wrestling his friend Abdullah al-Khatib. His neck was kept in plaster for 45 days. The damage to his spinal cord rendered him a quadraplegic for the rest of his life. Fearing a rift between his family and al-Khatib's, Yassin initially told his family that he sustained his injuries while playing leapfrog during a sports lesson with his school friends on the beach.
Although Yassin applied and attended Al-Azhar University in Cairo, he was unable to pursue his studies there due to his deteriorating health. He was forced to be educated at home where he read widely, particularly on philosophy and on religion, politics, sociology, and economics. His followers believe that his worldly knowledge made him "one of the best speakers in the Gaza Strip." During this time, he began delivering weekly sermons after Friday prayers, drawing large crowds of people.
After years of unemployment, he got a post as an Arabic language teacher at an elementary school in Rimal, Gaza. Headmaster Mohammad al-Shawa initially had reservations about Yassin, concerning the reception he would receive from the pupils due to his disability. However, according to al-Shawa, Yassin handled them well and his popularity grew, especially among the more scholarly children. His teaching methods reportedly provoked mixed reactions among parents because he encouraged his students to attend the mosque an additional two times a week. Having a regular job gave Yassin financial stability, and he married one of his relatives Halima Yassin in 1960 at the age of 22. The couple had eleven children.
Involvement in the Israel–Palestinian conflict
Yassin was actively involved in setting up a Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. In 1973, the Islamic charity Mujama al-Islamiya was established in Gaza by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and the organization was recognized by Israel in 1979. In 1984 he and others were jailed for secretly stockpiling weapons, but in 1985 he was released as part of the Jibril Agreement. In 1987, during the First Intifada, Yassin co-founded Hamas with Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, originally calling it the "paramilitary wing" of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, and becoming its spiritual leader.
In 1989, Yassin was arrested by Israel and sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering killings of alleged Palestinian collaborators. In 1997, Yassin was released from Israeli prison as part of an arrangement with Jordan following a failed assassination attempt of Hamas leader Khaled Mashal by the Israeli Mossad in Jordan. Yassin was released in exchange for two Mossad agents who had been arrested by Jordanian authorities, on the condition that he refrained from continuing to call for suicide bombings against Israel. The New York Times reported about his poor health at the time: "Sheik Ahmad Yassin, spiritual leader of Hamas, back home in Gaza after his release by Israel, is so frail he drinks only with help."
Following his release, Yassin resumed his leadership of Hamas. He immediately repeated his calls for attacks on Israel, using tactics including suicide bombings, thus violating the condition of his release. He also sought to maintain relations with the Palestinian Authority, believing that a clash between the two groups would be harmful to the interests of the Palestinian people. Yassin was intermittently placed under house arrest by the Authority. Each time he was eventually released, often after extended demonstrations by his supporters. Yassin criticized the outcome of the 2003 Aqaba summit. His group initially declared a temporary truce with Israel. However, in July 2003, the truce unravelled after a Hamas suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus killed 21 people the previous month. Israeli forces killed two Hamas members in retaliation.
On 6 September 2003, an Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-16 fired several missiles on a building in Gaza City in the Gaza Strip. Yassin was in the building at the time but survived. Israeli officials later confirmed that Yassin was the target of the attack. His injuries were treated at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Yassin responded to the media that "Days will prove that the assassination policy will not finish the Hamas. Hamas leaders wish to be martyrs and are not scared of death. Jihad will continue and the resistance will continue until we have victory, or we will be martyrs."
Yassin further promised that Hamas would teach Israel an "unforgettable lesson" as a result of the assassination attempt. Yassin made no attempt to guard himself from further attempts on his life or hide his location. Journalists sometimes visited his Gaza address and Yassin maintained a routine daily pattern of activity, including being wheeled every morning to a nearby mosque.
Reem Riyashi's suicide bombing at the Erez crossing on 14 January 2004, which killed four civilians, was believed by the Israeli military to have been directly ordered by Yassin. Yassin suggested that the suicide bomber was fulfilling her "obligation" to make jihad, and Israel's Deputy Defence Minister responded by publicly declaring that Yassin was "marked for death". Yassin denied any involvement in the attack.
Involvement in attacks on Israel
Yassin was a founder and leader of Hamas, which is regarded as a terrorist organization by a number of national governments. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon characterized Yassin as the "mastermind of Palestinian terror" and a "mass murderer." The Israeli government repeatedly asserted that Yassin was responsible for a number of terrorist attacks, which targeted and killed civilians.
The Israeli government said the targeted killing was in response to dozens of suicide attacks by Hamas against Israeli civilians. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended the assassination of Yassin:
Yassin was the dominant authority of the Hamas leadership, which was directly involved in planning, orchestrating and launching terror attacks carried out by the organization. In this capacity, Yassin personally gave his approval for the launching of Qassam rockets against Israeli cities, as well as for the numerous Hamas terrorist bombings and suicide operations. In his public appearances and interviews, Yassin called repeatedly for a continuation of the 'armed struggle' against Israel, and for an intensification of the terrorist campaign against its citizens. The successful operation against Yassin constitutes a significant blow to a central pillar of the Hamas terrorist organization, and a major setback to its terrorist infrastructure.
In his statement Yassin declared that Hamas did target Israeli civilians, but only in direct retaliation for the death of Palestinian civilians. In his thinking this was a necessary tactic to "show the Israelis they could not get away without a price for killing our people." In June 2003, after visiting al-Rantisi in hospital after a failed Israeli missile attack against him, Yassin told reporters: "Israel is targeting Palestinian civilians, so Israeli civilians should be targeted. From now on, all Israeli people are targets." "We got Israel's message. They should now expect the answer."
Views on the peace process
Yassin's views on the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis were ambiguous. He supported armed resistance against Israel and asserted that Palestine is an Islamic land "consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgment Day" and that no Arab leader had the right to give up any part of this territory. Concerning that territorial conflict, Yassin's rhetoric did not distinguish between Israelis and Jews, at one point stating that "reconciliation with the Jews is a crime." However, film of him exists stating he loved all people including Jews whom he regarded as his religious cousins, and explaining his conflict with them is purely over land he regarded as stolen territory. Yassin's rhetoric was often scrutinized in the news media. On one occasion, he opined that Israel "must disappear from the map." Yassin's declaration that "We chose this road, and will end with martyrdom or victory" later became a repeated mantra among Palestinians.
Yassin on several occasions proposed long-term ceasefire agreements, or truces, so called Hudnas, in exchange for Israeli concessions. All such offers were rejected by Israel. Following his release from Israeli prison in 1997, he proposed a ten-year truce in exchange for total Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza and a stop to Israeli attacks on civilians. In 1999, in an interview with an Egyptian newspaper, he again offered a truce:
We have to be realistic. We are talking about a homeland that was stolen a long time ago in 1948 and again in 1967. My generation today is telling the Israelis, 'Let's solve this problem now, on the basis of the 1967 borders. Let's end this conflict by declaring a temporary ceasefire. Let's leave the bigger issue for future generations to decide.' The Palestinians will decide in the future about the nature of relations with Israel, but it must be a democratic decision.
Assassination
Yassin was killed in an Israeli attack on 22 March 2004. While he was being wheeled out of an early morning prayer session in Gaza City, an Israeli AH-64 Apache helicopter gunship fired Hellfire missiles at Yassin and both of his bodyguards. Before the attack, Israeli F-16 jets flew overhead to obscure the noise of the approaching helicopters. Yassin always used the same direction every morning to go to the same mosque in the Sabra district that is from his home.
Yassin and his bodyguards were killed instantly, along with nine bystanders. Another 12 people were injured in the operation, including two of Yassin's sons. Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, Yassin's Deputy, became the Hamas leader after his assassination.
Reaction to assassination
Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, condemned the killing. The UN Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution condemning the killing supported by votes from 31 countries including the People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and South Africa, with 2 votes against and 18 abstentions. The Arab League council also expressed condemnation, as did the African Union.
A draft resolution condemning the extrajudicial execution of Yassin and six other Palestinians, as well as all terrorist attacks against civilians was brought before the United Nations Security Council and vetoed by the United States, with United Kingdom, Germany, and Romania abstaining. The United States explained that the draft resolution should have condemned Hamas explicitly following its sponsored suicide bombings in Ashdod the week before.
Palestinian
The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools. Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh suggested, "This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about". The Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had "opened the gates of hell." Hamas called for retaliation against Israel. About 200,000 people took to the streets of the Gaza Strip for Yassin's funeral as Israeli forces declared a national alert.
The assassination of Yassin also led to the fact that Hamas, for the first time, was named as the most popular movement in Palestine by the residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip two weeks after the assassination.
Abdel Aziz Rantisi was announced as the new head of Hamas. At a memorial service for Sheik Yassin, he declared that "The Israelis will not know security... We will fight them until the liberation of Palestine, the whole of Palestine." Publicly addressing the "military wing" of Hamas, Rantisi suggested, "The door is open for you to strike all places, all the time and using all means." Rantisi was himself killed by Israel on 17 April 2004 in an assassination almost identical to that of Yassin. He was killed by three rockets fired from a Gunship by the Israeli Military.
On 31 August 2004, at least 15 Israeli people were killed and 80 injured in a suicide attack against two Israeli buses in Beersheba. Hamas stated the attack was a revenge for the assassination of Rantisi and Yassin. Following the bombing, an estimated 20,000 Hamas supporters in Gaza took to Gaza's streets, celebrating the successful attack.
Israeli
Shaul Mofaz, the Israeli Defense Minister, branded Yassin "the Palestinian Bin Laden" and said, "If we have to balance how many more terrorists Yassin would have sent, how many terror attacks he would have approved, if we weigh this on the scales, we acted rightly".
Avraham Poraz, Israel's Interior Minister and member of the centrist Shinui Party, said he believed the assassination of Yassin "was a bad idea because I am afraid of a revenge coming from the Palestinian side, from the Hamas side." Shimon Peres, then leader of the Labour opposition, was critical of the assassination, suggesting that it "could lead to an escalation of terror".
Arab world
King Abdullah II of Jordan described the assassination as a "crime"; Lebanon's president Emile Lahud vehemently denounced the Israeli act as "...a crime [which] will not succeed in liquidating the Palestinian cause"; Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said: "Violence will increase now because violence always breeds violence"; the head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Mohammed Akef, described Yassin as a "martyr" and his assassination a "cowardly operation."
Western world
Jack Straw, then British Foreign Secretary, said: "All of us understand Israel's need to protect itself – and it is fully entitled to do that – against the terrorism which affects it, within international law. But it is not entitled to go in for this kind of unlawful killing and we condemn it. It is unacceptable, it is unjustified and it is very unlikely to achieve its objectives." The European Union's foreign policy head Javier Solana expressed concern that it might impede the peace process.
In response to a question about the killing, U.S. President George W. Bush responded:As far as the Middle East, it's a troubled region, and the attacks were troubling. There needs to be a focused, concerted effort by all parties to fight terror. Any country has a right to defend itself from terror. Israel has the right to defend herself from terror. And as she does so, I hope she keeps consequences in mind as to how to make sure we stay on the path to peace.
United States Representative to the United Nations John Negroponte stated that the United States was "deeply troubled by this action by the Government of Israel", while asserting that the U.S. would not support any U.N. Security Council statement condemning Israel's assassination of Yassin that did not include a condemnation of "Hamas terrorist attacks". According to his statement to the UN Security Council,
See also
Hamas
Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi
Muslim Brotherhood
Notes and references
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
Reports on death
"IDF strike kills Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin" (Israeli MFA)
"Assassination of Sheik Yasin Opened Pandora's box"
Interactive Guide: Sheikh Yassin assassination – The Guardian
Profiles of Yassin
BBC Obituary
Guardian Obituary
UN Response
U.S. Vetoes U.N. Resolution Condemning Israel for Hamas Killing
1937 births
2004 deaths
20th-century criminals
Al-Azhar University alumni
Assassinated Hamas members
Assassinated Palestinian politicians
Blind politicians
Deaths by Israeli airstrikes
Hamas leaders
Male criminals
Palestinian criminals
Palestinian imams
Palestinian Islamists
Palestinian Sunni Muslims
People with tetraplegia
Politicians with physical disabilities | true | [
"A mourning ring is a finger ring worn in memory of someone who has died. It often bears the name and date of death of the person, and possibly an image of them, or a motto. They were usually paid for by the person commemorated, or their heirs, and often specified, along with the list of intended recipients, in wills. Stones mounted on the rings were usually black, and where it could be afforded jet was the preferred option. Otherwise cheaper black materials such as black enamel or vulcanite were used. White enamel was used on occasion particularly where the deceased was a child. It also saw some use when the person being mourned had not married. In some cases a lock of hair of the deceased person would be incorporated into the ring. The use of hair in mourning rings was not as widespread as it might have been due to concerns that the hair of the deceased would be substituted with other hair.\n\nThe use of mourning rings dates back to at least the 14th century, although it is only in the 17th century that they clearly separated from more general Memento mori rings. By the mid-18th century jewelers had started to advertise the speed with which such rings could be made. The style largely settled upon was a single small stone with details of the decedent recorded in enamel on the hoop. In the latter half of the 19th century the style shifted towards mass produced rings featuring a photograph mounted on the bezel before the use of mourning rings largely ceased towards the end of the century.\n\nUse of mourning rings resurfaced in the 1930s and 1940s in the United States. The rings were made of bakelite and mounted a small picture of the person being mourned.\n\nMourning rings have sometimes been made to mark occasions other than a person's death. In 1793 one was made for William Skirving after he was sentenced to penal transportation.\n\nPeople who bequeathed mourning rings \n\n \nCesar Picton, d. 1836, bequeathing 16 rings\nSir Anthony Browne\nCol. Nicholas Spencer\nWilliam Shakespeare (mourning rings cited in Shakespeare authorship question)\nPrincess Amelia of the United Kingdom\nKing Richard II of the United Kingdom\nJeremy Bentham (Philosopher) d. 1832\n\nReferences\n\nRings (jewellery)\nDeath customs",
"Filial mourning () refers to a bureaucratic norm, practiced since the Han dynasty, whereby officials of the imperial government of China were obliged to resign their posts and return to their home upon the death of a parent or grandparent.\n\nDescription\nThe meaning of the phrase literally means 'to encounter worries/loss', i.e. bereavement. Once used to refer to all forms of mourning for one's parents, it evolved in meaning to refer only to the practice of officials resigning their posts for mourning.\n\nThe roots of the practice lie in the Confucianist focus on filial piety as a key virtue of government, and thus was instituted during the Western Han dynasty, when Confucianism first became the official ideology of the empire. During the mourning period, banqueting, marriage, official activities and participation in the Imperial Examinations are all proscribed. The length of the mourning period is nominally three years, though in practice it has been described as being between twenty-five to twenty-seven months; this is also in line with Confucian prescriptions, since it takes three years for a human child to be fully weaned. At the end of the period, officials will be returned to the same rank as their last previously served post.\n\nNonetheless, given the length of the mandatory mourning and the tight restrictions on political or public activity, this practice often had a negative effect on the career of officials. Measures did exist to allow the government to recall an official in mourning; this is often applied to key officials in the bureaucracy, who are unable to leave their duties immediately as prescribed, or in times of emergency. On the other hand, failure to report a deceased parent and submit to filial mourning was an offence, and officials were liable to be impeached upon discovery.\n\nEven the Emperor was subjected to filial mourning, though his indispensability to administrative duties means he need only mourn for 27 days, instead of months.\n\nThe Filial mourning nowadays (Republic of Korea)\nThe custom of the three-year mourning period was introduced to Korea during the early Goryeo period, and continued only intermittently as many complained it was too long. It spread around the country during the late Goryeo period after the great Neo-Confucian scholar-official Jeong Mong-ju (1337-1392) spent the entire threeyear mourning period living in a shack beside his parents’ graves. It became the norm among the Neo-Confucian literati class during the following Joseon period.\n\nHence, when a parent passed away, people were expected to build a shack beside their parent’s grave and stay there till the threeyear period was over. Over the three years, they abstained from meat and liquor and did not sleep with their wives.\n\nNowadays it seems obvious people can not implement this practice anymore. \nAmong traditional korean families the Filial mourning is still practiced, thus in a different way. One who lost his, of one of his parents, is supposed to keep a low profile for three years, not letting himself to be tempted by \"pleasures\".\n\nReferences\n\nFurther reading\n\nDeath customs\nHan dynasty\nChinese words and phrases"
] |
[
"Ahmed Yassin",
"Palestinian",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools.",
"What caused this closure?",
"\"This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about",
"Who were they mourning?",
"Yassin"
] | C_1e6b16b56d8d42a098176a9b4ec437e8_0 | When did he die? | 4 | When did Ahmed Yassin die? | Ahmed Yassin | The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools. Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh suggested, "This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about". The Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had "opened the gates of hell." Hamas called for retaliation against Israel. About 200,000 people took to the streets of the Gaza Strip for Yassin's funeral as Israeli forces declared a national alert. The assassination of Yassin also led to the fact that Hamas, for the first time, named as the most popular movement in Palestine by the residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip two weeks after the assassination. Abdel Aziz Rantisi was announced as the new head of Hamas. At a memorial service for Sheik Yassin, he declared that "The Israelis will not know security... We will fight them until the liberation of Palestine, the whole of Palestine." Publicly addressing the "military wing" of Hamas, Rantisi suggested, "The door is open for you to strike all places, all the time and using all means." Rantisi was himself killed by Israel on 17 April 2004 in an assassination almost identical to that of Yassin. He was killed by three rockets fired from a Gunship by the Israeli Military. On 31 August 2004, at least 15 Israeli people were killed and 80 injured in a suicide attack against two Israeli buses in Beersheba. Hamas stated the attack was a revenge for the assassination of Rantisi and Yassin. Following the bombing, an estimated 20,000 Hamas supporters in Gaza took to Gaza's streets, celebrating the successful attack. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin (1 January 1937 – 22 March 2004) ( ) was a Palestinian imam and politician. He was a founder of Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian paramilitary organization and political party. Yassin also served as the spiritual leader of the organization.
Yassin, a quadriplegic who was nearly blind, had used a wheelchair since a sporting accident at the age of 12. He was killed when an Israeli helicopter gunship fired a missile at him as he was being wheeled from early morning prayers in Gaza City. His killing, in an attack that claimed the lives of both his bodyguards and nine bystanders, was internationally condemned. Two hundred thousand Palestinians attended his funeral procession.
Early life
Ahmed Yassin was born in al-Jura, a small village near the city of Ashkelon, in the British Mandate of Palestine. His date of birth is not known for certain: according to his Palestinian passport, he was born on 1 January 1929, but he claimed to have actually been born in 1937. His father, Abdullah Yassin, died when he was three years old. Afterward, he became known in his neighborhood as Ahmad Sa'ada after his mother Sa'ada al-Habeel. This was to differentiate him from the children of his father's other three wives. Together, Yassin had four brothers and two sisters. He and his entire family fled to Gaza, settling in al-Shati Camp after his village was ethnically-cleansed by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
Yassin came to Gaza as a refugee. When he was 12, he sustained a severe spinal injury while wrestling his friend Abdullah al-Khatib. His neck was kept in plaster for 45 days. The damage to his spinal cord rendered him a quadraplegic for the rest of his life. Fearing a rift between his family and al-Khatib's, Yassin initially told his family that he sustained his injuries while playing leapfrog during a sports lesson with his school friends on the beach.
Although Yassin applied and attended Al-Azhar University in Cairo, he was unable to pursue his studies there due to his deteriorating health. He was forced to be educated at home where he read widely, particularly on philosophy and on religion, politics, sociology, and economics. His followers believe that his worldly knowledge made him "one of the best speakers in the Gaza Strip." During this time, he began delivering weekly sermons after Friday prayers, drawing large crowds of people.
After years of unemployment, he got a post as an Arabic language teacher at an elementary school in Rimal, Gaza. Headmaster Mohammad al-Shawa initially had reservations about Yassin, concerning the reception he would receive from the pupils due to his disability. However, according to al-Shawa, Yassin handled them well and his popularity grew, especially among the more scholarly children. His teaching methods reportedly provoked mixed reactions among parents because he encouraged his students to attend the mosque an additional two times a week. Having a regular job gave Yassin financial stability, and he married one of his relatives Halima Yassin in 1960 at the age of 22. The couple had eleven children.
Involvement in the Israel–Palestinian conflict
Yassin was actively involved in setting up a Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. In 1973, the Islamic charity Mujama al-Islamiya was established in Gaza by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and the organization was recognized by Israel in 1979. In 1984 he and others were jailed for secretly stockpiling weapons, but in 1985 he was released as part of the Jibril Agreement. In 1987, during the First Intifada, Yassin co-founded Hamas with Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, originally calling it the "paramilitary wing" of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, and becoming its spiritual leader.
In 1989, Yassin was arrested by Israel and sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering killings of alleged Palestinian collaborators. In 1997, Yassin was released from Israeli prison as part of an arrangement with Jordan following a failed assassination attempt of Hamas leader Khaled Mashal by the Israeli Mossad in Jordan. Yassin was released in exchange for two Mossad agents who had been arrested by Jordanian authorities, on the condition that he refrained from continuing to call for suicide bombings against Israel. The New York Times reported about his poor health at the time: "Sheik Ahmad Yassin, spiritual leader of Hamas, back home in Gaza after his release by Israel, is so frail he drinks only with help."
Following his release, Yassin resumed his leadership of Hamas. He immediately repeated his calls for attacks on Israel, using tactics including suicide bombings, thus violating the condition of his release. He also sought to maintain relations with the Palestinian Authority, believing that a clash between the two groups would be harmful to the interests of the Palestinian people. Yassin was intermittently placed under house arrest by the Authority. Each time he was eventually released, often after extended demonstrations by his supporters. Yassin criticized the outcome of the 2003 Aqaba summit. His group initially declared a temporary truce with Israel. However, in July 2003, the truce unravelled after a Hamas suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus killed 21 people the previous month. Israeli forces killed two Hamas members in retaliation.
On 6 September 2003, an Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-16 fired several missiles on a building in Gaza City in the Gaza Strip. Yassin was in the building at the time but survived. Israeli officials later confirmed that Yassin was the target of the attack. His injuries were treated at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Yassin responded to the media that "Days will prove that the assassination policy will not finish the Hamas. Hamas leaders wish to be martyrs and are not scared of death. Jihad will continue and the resistance will continue until we have victory, or we will be martyrs."
Yassin further promised that Hamas would teach Israel an "unforgettable lesson" as a result of the assassination attempt. Yassin made no attempt to guard himself from further attempts on his life or hide his location. Journalists sometimes visited his Gaza address and Yassin maintained a routine daily pattern of activity, including being wheeled every morning to a nearby mosque.
Reem Riyashi's suicide bombing at the Erez crossing on 14 January 2004, which killed four civilians, was believed by the Israeli military to have been directly ordered by Yassin. Yassin suggested that the suicide bomber was fulfilling her "obligation" to make jihad, and Israel's Deputy Defence Minister responded by publicly declaring that Yassin was "marked for death". Yassin denied any involvement in the attack.
Involvement in attacks on Israel
Yassin was a founder and leader of Hamas, which is regarded as a terrorist organization by a number of national governments. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon characterized Yassin as the "mastermind of Palestinian terror" and a "mass murderer." The Israeli government repeatedly asserted that Yassin was responsible for a number of terrorist attacks, which targeted and killed civilians.
The Israeli government said the targeted killing was in response to dozens of suicide attacks by Hamas against Israeli civilians. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended the assassination of Yassin:
Yassin was the dominant authority of the Hamas leadership, which was directly involved in planning, orchestrating and launching terror attacks carried out by the organization. In this capacity, Yassin personally gave his approval for the launching of Qassam rockets against Israeli cities, as well as for the numerous Hamas terrorist bombings and suicide operations. In his public appearances and interviews, Yassin called repeatedly for a continuation of the 'armed struggle' against Israel, and for an intensification of the terrorist campaign against its citizens. The successful operation against Yassin constitutes a significant blow to a central pillar of the Hamas terrorist organization, and a major setback to its terrorist infrastructure.
In his statement Yassin declared that Hamas did target Israeli civilians, but only in direct retaliation for the death of Palestinian civilians. In his thinking this was a necessary tactic to "show the Israelis they could not get away without a price for killing our people." In June 2003, after visiting al-Rantisi in hospital after a failed Israeli missile attack against him, Yassin told reporters: "Israel is targeting Palestinian civilians, so Israeli civilians should be targeted. From now on, all Israeli people are targets." "We got Israel's message. They should now expect the answer."
Views on the peace process
Yassin's views on the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis were ambiguous. He supported armed resistance against Israel and asserted that Palestine is an Islamic land "consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgment Day" and that no Arab leader had the right to give up any part of this territory. Concerning that territorial conflict, Yassin's rhetoric did not distinguish between Israelis and Jews, at one point stating that "reconciliation with the Jews is a crime." However, film of him exists stating he loved all people including Jews whom he regarded as his religious cousins, and explaining his conflict with them is purely over land he regarded as stolen territory. Yassin's rhetoric was often scrutinized in the news media. On one occasion, he opined that Israel "must disappear from the map." Yassin's declaration that "We chose this road, and will end with martyrdom or victory" later became a repeated mantra among Palestinians.
Yassin on several occasions proposed long-term ceasefire agreements, or truces, so called Hudnas, in exchange for Israeli concessions. All such offers were rejected by Israel. Following his release from Israeli prison in 1997, he proposed a ten-year truce in exchange for total Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza and a stop to Israeli attacks on civilians. In 1999, in an interview with an Egyptian newspaper, he again offered a truce:
We have to be realistic. We are talking about a homeland that was stolen a long time ago in 1948 and again in 1967. My generation today is telling the Israelis, 'Let's solve this problem now, on the basis of the 1967 borders. Let's end this conflict by declaring a temporary ceasefire. Let's leave the bigger issue for future generations to decide.' The Palestinians will decide in the future about the nature of relations with Israel, but it must be a democratic decision.
Assassination
Yassin was killed in an Israeli attack on 22 March 2004. While he was being wheeled out of an early morning prayer session in Gaza City, an Israeli AH-64 Apache helicopter gunship fired Hellfire missiles at Yassin and both of his bodyguards. Before the attack, Israeli F-16 jets flew overhead to obscure the noise of the approaching helicopters. Yassin always used the same direction every morning to go to the same mosque in the Sabra district that is from his home.
Yassin and his bodyguards were killed instantly, along with nine bystanders. Another 12 people were injured in the operation, including two of Yassin's sons. Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, Yassin's Deputy, became the Hamas leader after his assassination.
Reaction to assassination
Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, condemned the killing. The UN Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution condemning the killing supported by votes from 31 countries including the People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and South Africa, with 2 votes against and 18 abstentions. The Arab League council also expressed condemnation, as did the African Union.
A draft resolution condemning the extrajudicial execution of Yassin and six other Palestinians, as well as all terrorist attacks against civilians was brought before the United Nations Security Council and vetoed by the United States, with United Kingdom, Germany, and Romania abstaining. The United States explained that the draft resolution should have condemned Hamas explicitly following its sponsored suicide bombings in Ashdod the week before.
Palestinian
The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools. Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh suggested, "This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about". The Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had "opened the gates of hell." Hamas called for retaliation against Israel. About 200,000 people took to the streets of the Gaza Strip for Yassin's funeral as Israeli forces declared a national alert.
The assassination of Yassin also led to the fact that Hamas, for the first time, was named as the most popular movement in Palestine by the residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip two weeks after the assassination.
Abdel Aziz Rantisi was announced as the new head of Hamas. At a memorial service for Sheik Yassin, he declared that "The Israelis will not know security... We will fight them until the liberation of Palestine, the whole of Palestine." Publicly addressing the "military wing" of Hamas, Rantisi suggested, "The door is open for you to strike all places, all the time and using all means." Rantisi was himself killed by Israel on 17 April 2004 in an assassination almost identical to that of Yassin. He was killed by three rockets fired from a Gunship by the Israeli Military.
On 31 August 2004, at least 15 Israeli people were killed and 80 injured in a suicide attack against two Israeli buses in Beersheba. Hamas stated the attack was a revenge for the assassination of Rantisi and Yassin. Following the bombing, an estimated 20,000 Hamas supporters in Gaza took to Gaza's streets, celebrating the successful attack.
Israeli
Shaul Mofaz, the Israeli Defense Minister, branded Yassin "the Palestinian Bin Laden" and said, "If we have to balance how many more terrorists Yassin would have sent, how many terror attacks he would have approved, if we weigh this on the scales, we acted rightly".
Avraham Poraz, Israel's Interior Minister and member of the centrist Shinui Party, said he believed the assassination of Yassin "was a bad idea because I am afraid of a revenge coming from the Palestinian side, from the Hamas side." Shimon Peres, then leader of the Labour opposition, was critical of the assassination, suggesting that it "could lead to an escalation of terror".
Arab world
King Abdullah II of Jordan described the assassination as a "crime"; Lebanon's president Emile Lahud vehemently denounced the Israeli act as "...a crime [which] will not succeed in liquidating the Palestinian cause"; Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said: "Violence will increase now because violence always breeds violence"; the head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Mohammed Akef, described Yassin as a "martyr" and his assassination a "cowardly operation."
Western world
Jack Straw, then British Foreign Secretary, said: "All of us understand Israel's need to protect itself – and it is fully entitled to do that – against the terrorism which affects it, within international law. But it is not entitled to go in for this kind of unlawful killing and we condemn it. It is unacceptable, it is unjustified and it is very unlikely to achieve its objectives." The European Union's foreign policy head Javier Solana expressed concern that it might impede the peace process.
In response to a question about the killing, U.S. President George W. Bush responded:As far as the Middle East, it's a troubled region, and the attacks were troubling. There needs to be a focused, concerted effort by all parties to fight terror. Any country has a right to defend itself from terror. Israel has the right to defend herself from terror. And as she does so, I hope she keeps consequences in mind as to how to make sure we stay on the path to peace.
United States Representative to the United Nations John Negroponte stated that the United States was "deeply troubled by this action by the Government of Israel", while asserting that the U.S. would not support any U.N. Security Council statement condemning Israel's assassination of Yassin that did not include a condemnation of "Hamas terrorist attacks". According to his statement to the UN Security Council,
See also
Hamas
Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi
Muslim Brotherhood
Notes and references
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
Reports on death
"IDF strike kills Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin" (Israeli MFA)
"Assassination of Sheik Yasin Opened Pandora's box"
Interactive Guide: Sheikh Yassin assassination – The Guardian
Profiles of Yassin
BBC Obituary
Guardian Obituary
UN Response
U.S. Vetoes U.N. Resolution Condemning Israel for Hamas Killing
1937 births
2004 deaths
20th-century criminals
Al-Azhar University alumni
Assassinated Hamas members
Assassinated Palestinian politicians
Blind politicians
Deaths by Israeli airstrikes
Hamas leaders
Male criminals
Palestinian criminals
Palestinian imams
Palestinian Islamists
Palestinian Sunni Muslims
People with tetraplegia
Politicians with physical disabilities | false | [
"Hagen Friedrich Liebing (18 February 1961 – 25 September 2016), nicknamed \"The Incredible Hagen\", was a German musician and journalist, best known as the bassist for the influential punk band Die Ärzte. \n\nIn 1986, drummer Bela B invited him to join Die Ärzte. The two knew each other from early Berlin punk days. The band disbanded in 1988. Liebing tried his hand at journalism shortly thereafter. He wrote several articles for Der Tagesspiegel, and was the senior music editor of Tip Berlin since the mid-1990s. \n\nWhen Die Ärzte reunited in 1993, Liebing did not join them. However, he did join them on stage as a special guest in 2002. In 2003, he published his memoirs The Incredible Hagen – My Years with Die Ärzte. From 2003 to 2010, he headed the Press and Public Relations at the football club Tennis Borussia Berlin. \n\nLiebing died in Berlin on 25 September 2016, after a battle with a brain tumor.\n\nReferences\n\n1961 births\n2016 deaths\nMusicians from Berlin\nGerman male musicians\nGerman journalists\nDeaths from cancer in Germany\nDeaths from brain tumor",
"Johann Karl Wezel (October 31, 1747 in Sondershausen, Germany – January 28, 1819 in Sondershausen), also Johann Carl Wezel, was a German poet, novelist and philosopher of the Enlightenment.\n\nLife\nBorn the son of domestic servants, Wezel studied Theology, Law, Philosophy and Philology at the University of Leipzig. Early philosophical influences include John Locke and Julien Offray de La Mettrie. After positions as tutor at the courts of Bautzen and Berlin, Wezel lived as a freelance writer. A short stay in Vienna did not result in him getting employed by the local national theater. He thus moved back to Leipzig and, in 1793, to Sondershausen, which he did not leave again until his death in 1819.\n\nAlthough his works were extremely successful when they were published, Wezel was almost forgotten when he died. His rediscovery in the second half of the 20th century is mainly due to German author Arno Schmidt who published a radio essay about him in 1959.\n\nWorks\n Filibert und Theodosia (1772)\n Lebensgeschichte Tobias Knauts, des Weisen, sonst der Stammler genannt: aus Familiennachrichten gesammelt (1773–1776)\n Der Graf von Wickham (1774)\n Epistel an die deutschen Dichter (1775)\n Belphegor oder die wahrscheinlichste Geschichte unter der Sonne (1776)\n Herrmann und Ulrike (1780)\n Appellation der Vokalen an das Publikum (1778)\n Die wilde Betty (1779)\n Zelmor und Ermide (1779)\n Tagebuch eines neuen Ehmanns (1779)\n Robinson Krusoe. Neu bearbeitet (1779)\n Ueber Sprache, Wißenschaften und Geschmack der Teutschen (1781)\n Meine Auferstehung (1782)\n Wilhelmine Arend oder die Gefahren der Empfindsamkeit (1782)\n Kakerlak, oder Geschichte eines Rosenkreuzers aus dem vorigen Jahrhunderte (1784)\n Versuch über die Kenntniß des Menschen (1784–1785)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n \n\n1747 births\n1819 deaths\nPeople from Sondershausen\n\nGerman male writershuort escrouesr"
] |
[
"Ahmed Yassin",
"Palestinian",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools.",
"What caused this closure?",
"\"This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about",
"Who were they mourning?",
"Yassin",
"When did he die?",
"I don't know."
] | C_1e6b16b56d8d42a098176a9b4ec437e8_0 | Why was this the moment he had been waiting for? | 5 | Why was the mourning time the moment Sheikh Yassin had been waiting for? | Ahmed Yassin | The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools. Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh suggested, "This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about". The Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had "opened the gates of hell." Hamas called for retaliation against Israel. About 200,000 people took to the streets of the Gaza Strip for Yassin's funeral as Israeli forces declared a national alert. The assassination of Yassin also led to the fact that Hamas, for the first time, named as the most popular movement in Palestine by the residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip two weeks after the assassination. Abdel Aziz Rantisi was announced as the new head of Hamas. At a memorial service for Sheik Yassin, he declared that "The Israelis will not know security... We will fight them until the liberation of Palestine, the whole of Palestine." Publicly addressing the "military wing" of Hamas, Rantisi suggested, "The door is open for you to strike all places, all the time and using all means." Rantisi was himself killed by Israel on 17 April 2004 in an assassination almost identical to that of Yassin. He was killed by three rockets fired from a Gunship by the Israeli Military. On 31 August 2004, at least 15 Israeli people were killed and 80 injured in a suicide attack against two Israeli buses in Beersheba. Hamas stated the attack was a revenge for the assassination of Rantisi and Yassin. Following the bombing, an estimated 20,000 Hamas supporters in Gaza took to Gaza's streets, celebrating the successful attack. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin (1 January 1937 – 22 March 2004) ( ) was a Palestinian imam and politician. He was a founder of Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian paramilitary organization and political party. Yassin also served as the spiritual leader of the organization.
Yassin, a quadriplegic who was nearly blind, had used a wheelchair since a sporting accident at the age of 12. He was killed when an Israeli helicopter gunship fired a missile at him as he was being wheeled from early morning prayers in Gaza City. His killing, in an attack that claimed the lives of both his bodyguards and nine bystanders, was internationally condemned. Two hundred thousand Palestinians attended his funeral procession.
Early life
Ahmed Yassin was born in al-Jura, a small village near the city of Ashkelon, in the British Mandate of Palestine. His date of birth is not known for certain: according to his Palestinian passport, he was born on 1 January 1929, but he claimed to have actually been born in 1937. His father, Abdullah Yassin, died when he was three years old. Afterward, he became known in his neighborhood as Ahmad Sa'ada after his mother Sa'ada al-Habeel. This was to differentiate him from the children of his father's other three wives. Together, Yassin had four brothers and two sisters. He and his entire family fled to Gaza, settling in al-Shati Camp after his village was ethnically-cleansed by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
Yassin came to Gaza as a refugee. When he was 12, he sustained a severe spinal injury while wrestling his friend Abdullah al-Khatib. His neck was kept in plaster for 45 days. The damage to his spinal cord rendered him a quadraplegic for the rest of his life. Fearing a rift between his family and al-Khatib's, Yassin initially told his family that he sustained his injuries while playing leapfrog during a sports lesson with his school friends on the beach.
Although Yassin applied and attended Al-Azhar University in Cairo, he was unable to pursue his studies there due to his deteriorating health. He was forced to be educated at home where he read widely, particularly on philosophy and on religion, politics, sociology, and economics. His followers believe that his worldly knowledge made him "one of the best speakers in the Gaza Strip." During this time, he began delivering weekly sermons after Friday prayers, drawing large crowds of people.
After years of unemployment, he got a post as an Arabic language teacher at an elementary school in Rimal, Gaza. Headmaster Mohammad al-Shawa initially had reservations about Yassin, concerning the reception he would receive from the pupils due to his disability. However, according to al-Shawa, Yassin handled them well and his popularity grew, especially among the more scholarly children. His teaching methods reportedly provoked mixed reactions among parents because he encouraged his students to attend the mosque an additional two times a week. Having a regular job gave Yassin financial stability, and he married one of his relatives Halima Yassin in 1960 at the age of 22. The couple had eleven children.
Involvement in the Israel–Palestinian conflict
Yassin was actively involved in setting up a Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. In 1973, the Islamic charity Mujama al-Islamiya was established in Gaza by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and the organization was recognized by Israel in 1979. In 1984 he and others were jailed for secretly stockpiling weapons, but in 1985 he was released as part of the Jibril Agreement. In 1987, during the First Intifada, Yassin co-founded Hamas with Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, originally calling it the "paramilitary wing" of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, and becoming its spiritual leader.
In 1989, Yassin was arrested by Israel and sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering killings of alleged Palestinian collaborators. In 1997, Yassin was released from Israeli prison as part of an arrangement with Jordan following a failed assassination attempt of Hamas leader Khaled Mashal by the Israeli Mossad in Jordan. Yassin was released in exchange for two Mossad agents who had been arrested by Jordanian authorities, on the condition that he refrained from continuing to call for suicide bombings against Israel. The New York Times reported about his poor health at the time: "Sheik Ahmad Yassin, spiritual leader of Hamas, back home in Gaza after his release by Israel, is so frail he drinks only with help."
Following his release, Yassin resumed his leadership of Hamas. He immediately repeated his calls for attacks on Israel, using tactics including suicide bombings, thus violating the condition of his release. He also sought to maintain relations with the Palestinian Authority, believing that a clash between the two groups would be harmful to the interests of the Palestinian people. Yassin was intermittently placed under house arrest by the Authority. Each time he was eventually released, often after extended demonstrations by his supporters. Yassin criticized the outcome of the 2003 Aqaba summit. His group initially declared a temporary truce with Israel. However, in July 2003, the truce unravelled after a Hamas suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus killed 21 people the previous month. Israeli forces killed two Hamas members in retaliation.
On 6 September 2003, an Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-16 fired several missiles on a building in Gaza City in the Gaza Strip. Yassin was in the building at the time but survived. Israeli officials later confirmed that Yassin was the target of the attack. His injuries were treated at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Yassin responded to the media that "Days will prove that the assassination policy will not finish the Hamas. Hamas leaders wish to be martyrs and are not scared of death. Jihad will continue and the resistance will continue until we have victory, or we will be martyrs."
Yassin further promised that Hamas would teach Israel an "unforgettable lesson" as a result of the assassination attempt. Yassin made no attempt to guard himself from further attempts on his life or hide his location. Journalists sometimes visited his Gaza address and Yassin maintained a routine daily pattern of activity, including being wheeled every morning to a nearby mosque.
Reem Riyashi's suicide bombing at the Erez crossing on 14 January 2004, which killed four civilians, was believed by the Israeli military to have been directly ordered by Yassin. Yassin suggested that the suicide bomber was fulfilling her "obligation" to make jihad, and Israel's Deputy Defence Minister responded by publicly declaring that Yassin was "marked for death". Yassin denied any involvement in the attack.
Involvement in attacks on Israel
Yassin was a founder and leader of Hamas, which is regarded as a terrorist organization by a number of national governments. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon characterized Yassin as the "mastermind of Palestinian terror" and a "mass murderer." The Israeli government repeatedly asserted that Yassin was responsible for a number of terrorist attacks, which targeted and killed civilians.
The Israeli government said the targeted killing was in response to dozens of suicide attacks by Hamas against Israeli civilians. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended the assassination of Yassin:
Yassin was the dominant authority of the Hamas leadership, which was directly involved in planning, orchestrating and launching terror attacks carried out by the organization. In this capacity, Yassin personally gave his approval for the launching of Qassam rockets against Israeli cities, as well as for the numerous Hamas terrorist bombings and suicide operations. In his public appearances and interviews, Yassin called repeatedly for a continuation of the 'armed struggle' against Israel, and for an intensification of the terrorist campaign against its citizens. The successful operation against Yassin constitutes a significant blow to a central pillar of the Hamas terrorist organization, and a major setback to its terrorist infrastructure.
In his statement Yassin declared that Hamas did target Israeli civilians, but only in direct retaliation for the death of Palestinian civilians. In his thinking this was a necessary tactic to "show the Israelis they could not get away without a price for killing our people." In June 2003, after visiting al-Rantisi in hospital after a failed Israeli missile attack against him, Yassin told reporters: "Israel is targeting Palestinian civilians, so Israeli civilians should be targeted. From now on, all Israeli people are targets." "We got Israel's message. They should now expect the answer."
Views on the peace process
Yassin's views on the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis were ambiguous. He supported armed resistance against Israel and asserted that Palestine is an Islamic land "consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgment Day" and that no Arab leader had the right to give up any part of this territory. Concerning that territorial conflict, Yassin's rhetoric did not distinguish between Israelis and Jews, at one point stating that "reconciliation with the Jews is a crime." However, film of him exists stating he loved all people including Jews whom he regarded as his religious cousins, and explaining his conflict with them is purely over land he regarded as stolen territory. Yassin's rhetoric was often scrutinized in the news media. On one occasion, he opined that Israel "must disappear from the map." Yassin's declaration that "We chose this road, and will end with martyrdom or victory" later became a repeated mantra among Palestinians.
Yassin on several occasions proposed long-term ceasefire agreements, or truces, so called Hudnas, in exchange for Israeli concessions. All such offers were rejected by Israel. Following his release from Israeli prison in 1997, he proposed a ten-year truce in exchange for total Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza and a stop to Israeli attacks on civilians. In 1999, in an interview with an Egyptian newspaper, he again offered a truce:
We have to be realistic. We are talking about a homeland that was stolen a long time ago in 1948 and again in 1967. My generation today is telling the Israelis, 'Let's solve this problem now, on the basis of the 1967 borders. Let's end this conflict by declaring a temporary ceasefire. Let's leave the bigger issue for future generations to decide.' The Palestinians will decide in the future about the nature of relations with Israel, but it must be a democratic decision.
Assassination
Yassin was killed in an Israeli attack on 22 March 2004. While he was being wheeled out of an early morning prayer session in Gaza City, an Israeli AH-64 Apache helicopter gunship fired Hellfire missiles at Yassin and both of his bodyguards. Before the attack, Israeli F-16 jets flew overhead to obscure the noise of the approaching helicopters. Yassin always used the same direction every morning to go to the same mosque in the Sabra district that is from his home.
Yassin and his bodyguards were killed instantly, along with nine bystanders. Another 12 people were injured in the operation, including two of Yassin's sons. Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, Yassin's Deputy, became the Hamas leader after his assassination.
Reaction to assassination
Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, condemned the killing. The UN Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution condemning the killing supported by votes from 31 countries including the People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and South Africa, with 2 votes against and 18 abstentions. The Arab League council also expressed condemnation, as did the African Union.
A draft resolution condemning the extrajudicial execution of Yassin and six other Palestinians, as well as all terrorist attacks against civilians was brought before the United Nations Security Council and vetoed by the United States, with United Kingdom, Germany, and Romania abstaining. The United States explained that the draft resolution should have condemned Hamas explicitly following its sponsored suicide bombings in Ashdod the week before.
Palestinian
The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools. Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh suggested, "This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about". The Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had "opened the gates of hell." Hamas called for retaliation against Israel. About 200,000 people took to the streets of the Gaza Strip for Yassin's funeral as Israeli forces declared a national alert.
The assassination of Yassin also led to the fact that Hamas, for the first time, was named as the most popular movement in Palestine by the residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip two weeks after the assassination.
Abdel Aziz Rantisi was announced as the new head of Hamas. At a memorial service for Sheik Yassin, he declared that "The Israelis will not know security... We will fight them until the liberation of Palestine, the whole of Palestine." Publicly addressing the "military wing" of Hamas, Rantisi suggested, "The door is open for you to strike all places, all the time and using all means." Rantisi was himself killed by Israel on 17 April 2004 in an assassination almost identical to that of Yassin. He was killed by three rockets fired from a Gunship by the Israeli Military.
On 31 August 2004, at least 15 Israeli people were killed and 80 injured in a suicide attack against two Israeli buses in Beersheba. Hamas stated the attack was a revenge for the assassination of Rantisi and Yassin. Following the bombing, an estimated 20,000 Hamas supporters in Gaza took to Gaza's streets, celebrating the successful attack.
Israeli
Shaul Mofaz, the Israeli Defense Minister, branded Yassin "the Palestinian Bin Laden" and said, "If we have to balance how many more terrorists Yassin would have sent, how many terror attacks he would have approved, if we weigh this on the scales, we acted rightly".
Avraham Poraz, Israel's Interior Minister and member of the centrist Shinui Party, said he believed the assassination of Yassin "was a bad idea because I am afraid of a revenge coming from the Palestinian side, from the Hamas side." Shimon Peres, then leader of the Labour opposition, was critical of the assassination, suggesting that it "could lead to an escalation of terror".
Arab world
King Abdullah II of Jordan described the assassination as a "crime"; Lebanon's president Emile Lahud vehemently denounced the Israeli act as "...a crime [which] will not succeed in liquidating the Palestinian cause"; Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said: "Violence will increase now because violence always breeds violence"; the head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Mohammed Akef, described Yassin as a "martyr" and his assassination a "cowardly operation."
Western world
Jack Straw, then British Foreign Secretary, said: "All of us understand Israel's need to protect itself – and it is fully entitled to do that – against the terrorism which affects it, within international law. But it is not entitled to go in for this kind of unlawful killing and we condemn it. It is unacceptable, it is unjustified and it is very unlikely to achieve its objectives." The European Union's foreign policy head Javier Solana expressed concern that it might impede the peace process.
In response to a question about the killing, U.S. President George W. Bush responded:As far as the Middle East, it's a troubled region, and the attacks were troubling. There needs to be a focused, concerted effort by all parties to fight terror. Any country has a right to defend itself from terror. Israel has the right to defend herself from terror. And as she does so, I hope she keeps consequences in mind as to how to make sure we stay on the path to peace.
United States Representative to the United Nations John Negroponte stated that the United States was "deeply troubled by this action by the Government of Israel", while asserting that the U.S. would not support any U.N. Security Council statement condemning Israel's assassination of Yassin that did not include a condemnation of "Hamas terrorist attacks". According to his statement to the UN Security Council,
See also
Hamas
Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi
Muslim Brotherhood
Notes and references
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
Reports on death
"IDF strike kills Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin" (Israeli MFA)
"Assassination of Sheik Yasin Opened Pandora's box"
Interactive Guide: Sheikh Yassin assassination – The Guardian
Profiles of Yassin
BBC Obituary
Guardian Obituary
UN Response
U.S. Vetoes U.N. Resolution Condemning Israel for Hamas Killing
1937 births
2004 deaths
20th-century criminals
Al-Azhar University alumni
Assassinated Hamas members
Assassinated Palestinian politicians
Blind politicians
Deaths by Israeli airstrikes
Hamas leaders
Male criminals
Palestinian criminals
Palestinian imams
Palestinian Islamists
Palestinian Sunni Muslims
People with tetraplegia
Politicians with physical disabilities | false | [
"The MTV Movie Award for Best Musical Moment is an award presented to singers/groups for quality songs in films at the MTV Movie Awards, a ceremony established in 1992. Honors in several categories are awarded by MTV at the annual ceremonies, and are chosen by public votes. \n\nThe MTV Movie Award for Best Song From a Movie was first given out in 1992 for Bryan Adams' \"Everything I Do I Do It For You\" from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The award was last given out in 1999, and was replaced with Best Musical Sequence in 2000, but made a return in 2009 and retired again. It returned in 2012 renamed as Best Music and retired again before reappearing as Best Musical Sequence before changing in 2017 to its current name.\n\nIn 1996, Batman Forever and Waiting to Exhale each had two songs nominated in this category, with the latter winning for \"Sittin' Up In My Room\". Bryan Adams, Bush and Whitney Houston have each won the Best Song honor from two nominations. Eric Clapton had received three nominations, and Boyz II Men, Céline Dion, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and Sting have each been nominated twice.\n\nBest Song from a Movie\n\nBest Musical Sequence\n\nBest Musical Moment\n\nReferences\n\nMTV Movie & TV Awards\nFilm awards for Best Song",
"\"A Love Worth Waiting For\" is a song by Welsh singer Shakin' Stevens, released in March 1984 as the fourth single from his album The Bop Won't Stop. It peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks and was certified silver in the UK by the BPI.\n\nReception \n\nReviewing the song for Record Mirror, Culture Club's Roy Hay wrote that \"the production sounds quite good, and the pizzicato strings are fun, but after the last one with Bonnie and the strings on that, what is Shaky doing, we ask ourselves? I'm not very impressed, I wouldn't have though this was Top 10 – it's too soft for him\". Peter Martin for Smash Hits wrote that the song \"sounds like it's about 30 years old. A flimsy song all about everlasting love with plucked strings and warbly vocals a-go-go. A real sickener.\n\nTrack listings \n7\": Epic / A 4291 (UK)\n\n \"A Love Worth Waiting For\" – 3:20\n \"As Long As\" (Live) – 3:08\n\n7\": Epic / 34-04558 (US)\n\n \"A Love Worth Waiting For\" – 3:21\n \"Why Do You Treat Me This Way?\" – 2:27\n\n7\": Epic / EN5640 (South Africa)\n\n \"A Love Worth Waiting For\" – 3:20\n \"Cry Just a Little Bit\" – 3:11\n\n12\": Epic / TA 4291 (UK)\n\n \"A Love Worth Waiting For\" – 3:20\n \"Don't Tell Me We're Through\" (Live) – 5:46\n \"As Long As\" (Live) – 3:08\n\nCharts\n\nCertifications\n\nReferences \n\n1984 singles\n1984 songs\nShakin' Stevens songs\nEpic Records singles"
] |
[
"Ahmed Yassin",
"Palestinian",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools.",
"What caused this closure?",
"\"This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about",
"Who were they mourning?",
"Yassin",
"When did he die?",
"I don't know.",
"Why was this the moment he had been waiting for?",
"I don't know."
] | C_1e6b16b56d8d42a098176a9b4ec437e8_0 | Tell me more about his dealings with Palenstein? | 6 | Tell me more about Ahmed Yassin's dealings with Palenstein? | Ahmed Yassin | The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools. Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh suggested, "This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about". The Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had "opened the gates of hell." Hamas called for retaliation against Israel. About 200,000 people took to the streets of the Gaza Strip for Yassin's funeral as Israeli forces declared a national alert. The assassination of Yassin also led to the fact that Hamas, for the first time, named as the most popular movement in Palestine by the residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip two weeks after the assassination. Abdel Aziz Rantisi was announced as the new head of Hamas. At a memorial service for Sheik Yassin, he declared that "The Israelis will not know security... We will fight them until the liberation of Palestine, the whole of Palestine." Publicly addressing the "military wing" of Hamas, Rantisi suggested, "The door is open for you to strike all places, all the time and using all means." Rantisi was himself killed by Israel on 17 April 2004 in an assassination almost identical to that of Yassin. He was killed by three rockets fired from a Gunship by the Israeli Military. On 31 August 2004, at least 15 Israeli people were killed and 80 injured in a suicide attack against two Israeli buses in Beersheba. Hamas stated the attack was a revenge for the assassination of Rantisi and Yassin. Following the bombing, an estimated 20,000 Hamas supporters in Gaza took to Gaza's streets, celebrating the successful attack. CANNOTANSWER | We will fight them until the liberation of Palestine, | Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin (1 January 1937 – 22 March 2004) ( ) was a Palestinian imam and politician. He was a founder of Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian paramilitary organization and political party. Yassin also served as the spiritual leader of the organization.
Yassin, a quadriplegic who was nearly blind, had used a wheelchair since a sporting accident at the age of 12. He was killed when an Israeli helicopter gunship fired a missile at him as he was being wheeled from early morning prayers in Gaza City. His killing, in an attack that claimed the lives of both his bodyguards and nine bystanders, was internationally condemned. Two hundred thousand Palestinians attended his funeral procession.
Early life
Ahmed Yassin was born in al-Jura, a small village near the city of Ashkelon, in the British Mandate of Palestine. His date of birth is not known for certain: according to his Palestinian passport, he was born on 1 January 1929, but he claimed to have actually been born in 1937. His father, Abdullah Yassin, died when he was three years old. Afterward, he became known in his neighborhood as Ahmad Sa'ada after his mother Sa'ada al-Habeel. This was to differentiate him from the children of his father's other three wives. Together, Yassin had four brothers and two sisters. He and his entire family fled to Gaza, settling in al-Shati Camp after his village was ethnically-cleansed by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
Yassin came to Gaza as a refugee. When he was 12, he sustained a severe spinal injury while wrestling his friend Abdullah al-Khatib. His neck was kept in plaster for 45 days. The damage to his spinal cord rendered him a quadraplegic for the rest of his life. Fearing a rift between his family and al-Khatib's, Yassin initially told his family that he sustained his injuries while playing leapfrog during a sports lesson with his school friends on the beach.
Although Yassin applied and attended Al-Azhar University in Cairo, he was unable to pursue his studies there due to his deteriorating health. He was forced to be educated at home where he read widely, particularly on philosophy and on religion, politics, sociology, and economics. His followers believe that his worldly knowledge made him "one of the best speakers in the Gaza Strip." During this time, he began delivering weekly sermons after Friday prayers, drawing large crowds of people.
After years of unemployment, he got a post as an Arabic language teacher at an elementary school in Rimal, Gaza. Headmaster Mohammad al-Shawa initially had reservations about Yassin, concerning the reception he would receive from the pupils due to his disability. However, according to al-Shawa, Yassin handled them well and his popularity grew, especially among the more scholarly children. His teaching methods reportedly provoked mixed reactions among parents because he encouraged his students to attend the mosque an additional two times a week. Having a regular job gave Yassin financial stability, and he married one of his relatives Halima Yassin in 1960 at the age of 22. The couple had eleven children.
Involvement in the Israel–Palestinian conflict
Yassin was actively involved in setting up a Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. In 1973, the Islamic charity Mujama al-Islamiya was established in Gaza by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and the organization was recognized by Israel in 1979. In 1984 he and others were jailed for secretly stockpiling weapons, but in 1985 he was released as part of the Jibril Agreement. In 1987, during the First Intifada, Yassin co-founded Hamas with Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, originally calling it the "paramilitary wing" of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, and becoming its spiritual leader.
In 1989, Yassin was arrested by Israel and sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering killings of alleged Palestinian collaborators. In 1997, Yassin was released from Israeli prison as part of an arrangement with Jordan following a failed assassination attempt of Hamas leader Khaled Mashal by the Israeli Mossad in Jordan. Yassin was released in exchange for two Mossad agents who had been arrested by Jordanian authorities, on the condition that he refrained from continuing to call for suicide bombings against Israel. The New York Times reported about his poor health at the time: "Sheik Ahmad Yassin, spiritual leader of Hamas, back home in Gaza after his release by Israel, is so frail he drinks only with help."
Following his release, Yassin resumed his leadership of Hamas. He immediately repeated his calls for attacks on Israel, using tactics including suicide bombings, thus violating the condition of his release. He also sought to maintain relations with the Palestinian Authority, believing that a clash between the two groups would be harmful to the interests of the Palestinian people. Yassin was intermittently placed under house arrest by the Authority. Each time he was eventually released, often after extended demonstrations by his supporters. Yassin criticized the outcome of the 2003 Aqaba summit. His group initially declared a temporary truce with Israel. However, in July 2003, the truce unravelled after a Hamas suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus killed 21 people the previous month. Israeli forces killed two Hamas members in retaliation.
On 6 September 2003, an Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-16 fired several missiles on a building in Gaza City in the Gaza Strip. Yassin was in the building at the time but survived. Israeli officials later confirmed that Yassin was the target of the attack. His injuries were treated at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Yassin responded to the media that "Days will prove that the assassination policy will not finish the Hamas. Hamas leaders wish to be martyrs and are not scared of death. Jihad will continue and the resistance will continue until we have victory, or we will be martyrs."
Yassin further promised that Hamas would teach Israel an "unforgettable lesson" as a result of the assassination attempt. Yassin made no attempt to guard himself from further attempts on his life or hide his location. Journalists sometimes visited his Gaza address and Yassin maintained a routine daily pattern of activity, including being wheeled every morning to a nearby mosque.
Reem Riyashi's suicide bombing at the Erez crossing on 14 January 2004, which killed four civilians, was believed by the Israeli military to have been directly ordered by Yassin. Yassin suggested that the suicide bomber was fulfilling her "obligation" to make jihad, and Israel's Deputy Defence Minister responded by publicly declaring that Yassin was "marked for death". Yassin denied any involvement in the attack.
Involvement in attacks on Israel
Yassin was a founder and leader of Hamas, which is regarded as a terrorist organization by a number of national governments. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon characterized Yassin as the "mastermind of Palestinian terror" and a "mass murderer." The Israeli government repeatedly asserted that Yassin was responsible for a number of terrorist attacks, which targeted and killed civilians.
The Israeli government said the targeted killing was in response to dozens of suicide attacks by Hamas against Israeli civilians. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended the assassination of Yassin:
Yassin was the dominant authority of the Hamas leadership, which was directly involved in planning, orchestrating and launching terror attacks carried out by the organization. In this capacity, Yassin personally gave his approval for the launching of Qassam rockets against Israeli cities, as well as for the numerous Hamas terrorist bombings and suicide operations. In his public appearances and interviews, Yassin called repeatedly for a continuation of the 'armed struggle' against Israel, and for an intensification of the terrorist campaign against its citizens. The successful operation against Yassin constitutes a significant blow to a central pillar of the Hamas terrorist organization, and a major setback to its terrorist infrastructure.
In his statement Yassin declared that Hamas did target Israeli civilians, but only in direct retaliation for the death of Palestinian civilians. In his thinking this was a necessary tactic to "show the Israelis they could not get away without a price for killing our people." In June 2003, after visiting al-Rantisi in hospital after a failed Israeli missile attack against him, Yassin told reporters: "Israel is targeting Palestinian civilians, so Israeli civilians should be targeted. From now on, all Israeli people are targets." "We got Israel's message. They should now expect the answer."
Views on the peace process
Yassin's views on the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis were ambiguous. He supported armed resistance against Israel and asserted that Palestine is an Islamic land "consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgment Day" and that no Arab leader had the right to give up any part of this territory. Concerning that territorial conflict, Yassin's rhetoric did not distinguish between Israelis and Jews, at one point stating that "reconciliation with the Jews is a crime." However, film of him exists stating he loved all people including Jews whom he regarded as his religious cousins, and explaining his conflict with them is purely over land he regarded as stolen territory. Yassin's rhetoric was often scrutinized in the news media. On one occasion, he opined that Israel "must disappear from the map." Yassin's declaration that "We chose this road, and will end with martyrdom or victory" later became a repeated mantra among Palestinians.
Yassin on several occasions proposed long-term ceasefire agreements, or truces, so called Hudnas, in exchange for Israeli concessions. All such offers were rejected by Israel. Following his release from Israeli prison in 1997, he proposed a ten-year truce in exchange for total Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza and a stop to Israeli attacks on civilians. In 1999, in an interview with an Egyptian newspaper, he again offered a truce:
We have to be realistic. We are talking about a homeland that was stolen a long time ago in 1948 and again in 1967. My generation today is telling the Israelis, 'Let's solve this problem now, on the basis of the 1967 borders. Let's end this conflict by declaring a temporary ceasefire. Let's leave the bigger issue for future generations to decide.' The Palestinians will decide in the future about the nature of relations with Israel, but it must be a democratic decision.
Assassination
Yassin was killed in an Israeli attack on 22 March 2004. While he was being wheeled out of an early morning prayer session in Gaza City, an Israeli AH-64 Apache helicopter gunship fired Hellfire missiles at Yassin and both of his bodyguards. Before the attack, Israeli F-16 jets flew overhead to obscure the noise of the approaching helicopters. Yassin always used the same direction every morning to go to the same mosque in the Sabra district that is from his home.
Yassin and his bodyguards were killed instantly, along with nine bystanders. Another 12 people were injured in the operation, including two of Yassin's sons. Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, Yassin's Deputy, became the Hamas leader after his assassination.
Reaction to assassination
Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, condemned the killing. The UN Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution condemning the killing supported by votes from 31 countries including the People's Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and South Africa, with 2 votes against and 18 abstentions. The Arab League council also expressed condemnation, as did the African Union.
A draft resolution condemning the extrajudicial execution of Yassin and six other Palestinians, as well as all terrorist attacks against civilians was brought before the United Nations Security Council and vetoed by the United States, with United Kingdom, Germany, and Romania abstaining. The United States explained that the draft resolution should have condemned Hamas explicitly following its sponsored suicide bombings in Ashdod the week before.
Palestinian
The Palestinian Authority declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools. Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh suggested, "This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about". The Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had "opened the gates of hell." Hamas called for retaliation against Israel. About 200,000 people took to the streets of the Gaza Strip for Yassin's funeral as Israeli forces declared a national alert.
The assassination of Yassin also led to the fact that Hamas, for the first time, was named as the most popular movement in Palestine by the residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip two weeks after the assassination.
Abdel Aziz Rantisi was announced as the new head of Hamas. At a memorial service for Sheik Yassin, he declared that "The Israelis will not know security... We will fight them until the liberation of Palestine, the whole of Palestine." Publicly addressing the "military wing" of Hamas, Rantisi suggested, "The door is open for you to strike all places, all the time and using all means." Rantisi was himself killed by Israel on 17 April 2004 in an assassination almost identical to that of Yassin. He was killed by three rockets fired from a Gunship by the Israeli Military.
On 31 August 2004, at least 15 Israeli people were killed and 80 injured in a suicide attack against two Israeli buses in Beersheba. Hamas stated the attack was a revenge for the assassination of Rantisi and Yassin. Following the bombing, an estimated 20,000 Hamas supporters in Gaza took to Gaza's streets, celebrating the successful attack.
Israeli
Shaul Mofaz, the Israeli Defense Minister, branded Yassin "the Palestinian Bin Laden" and said, "If we have to balance how many more terrorists Yassin would have sent, how many terror attacks he would have approved, if we weigh this on the scales, we acted rightly".
Avraham Poraz, Israel's Interior Minister and member of the centrist Shinui Party, said he believed the assassination of Yassin "was a bad idea because I am afraid of a revenge coming from the Palestinian side, from the Hamas side." Shimon Peres, then leader of the Labour opposition, was critical of the assassination, suggesting that it "could lead to an escalation of terror".
Arab world
King Abdullah II of Jordan described the assassination as a "crime"; Lebanon's president Emile Lahud vehemently denounced the Israeli act as "...a crime [which] will not succeed in liquidating the Palestinian cause"; Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said: "Violence will increase now because violence always breeds violence"; the head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Mohammed Akef, described Yassin as a "martyr" and his assassination a "cowardly operation."
Western world
Jack Straw, then British Foreign Secretary, said: "All of us understand Israel's need to protect itself – and it is fully entitled to do that – against the terrorism which affects it, within international law. But it is not entitled to go in for this kind of unlawful killing and we condemn it. It is unacceptable, it is unjustified and it is very unlikely to achieve its objectives." The European Union's foreign policy head Javier Solana expressed concern that it might impede the peace process.
In response to a question about the killing, U.S. President George W. Bush responded:As far as the Middle East, it's a troubled region, and the attacks were troubling. There needs to be a focused, concerted effort by all parties to fight terror. Any country has a right to defend itself from terror. Israel has the right to defend herself from terror. And as she does so, I hope she keeps consequences in mind as to how to make sure we stay on the path to peace.
United States Representative to the United Nations John Negroponte stated that the United States was "deeply troubled by this action by the Government of Israel", while asserting that the U.S. would not support any U.N. Security Council statement condemning Israel's assassination of Yassin that did not include a condemnation of "Hamas terrorist attacks". According to his statement to the UN Security Council,
See also
Hamas
Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi
Muslim Brotherhood
Notes and references
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
Reports on death
"IDF strike kills Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin" (Israeli MFA)
"Assassination of Sheik Yasin Opened Pandora's box"
Interactive Guide: Sheikh Yassin assassination – The Guardian
Profiles of Yassin
BBC Obituary
Guardian Obituary
UN Response
U.S. Vetoes U.N. Resolution Condemning Israel for Hamas Killing
1937 births
2004 deaths
20th-century criminals
Al-Azhar University alumni
Assassinated Hamas members
Assassinated Palestinian politicians
Blind politicians
Deaths by Israeli airstrikes
Hamas leaders
Male criminals
Palestinian criminals
Palestinian imams
Palestinian Islamists
Palestinian Sunni Muslims
People with tetraplegia
Politicians with physical disabilities | true | [
"Willem Dreeslaan is a RandstadRail station in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands.\n\nHistory\n\nThe station opened on 29 October 2006, as part of the Oosterheemlijn (Seghwaert - Javalaan). The station is on a viaduct along the Aletta Jacobslaan at the junction with Willem Dreeslaan.\n\nTrain services\nThe following services currently call at Willem Dreeslaan:\n\nBus services\n 165 (Centrum West RR - Palenstein RR - Willem Dreeslaan RR - Benthuizen - Hazerwoude - Hazerwoude Rijndijk - Alphen a/d Rijn NS) - Arriva\n 565 (Centrum West RR - Palenstein RR - Willem Dreeslaan RR - Benthuizen - Hazerwoude - Hazerwoude Rijndijk - Alphen a/d Rijn NS) - Arriva\n\nGallery\n\nRandstadRail stations in Zoetermeer\nRailway stations opened in 2006",
"\"Don't Tell Me\" is the debut solo single recorded by Australian singer Ruel and produced by Grammy award-winner M-Phazes . The song was released in July 2017 and peaked at number 86 on the ARIA Chart in August 2017. The song is a musical declaration of his self-assurance. And he wrote it about committing sins and not even being Christian, and dating and falling in love at age 12 after his sisters mocked him and his parents said he was too young to fall in love.\n\nIn September 2017, Elton John played the song on BBC Radio 1, saying “From Australia, this is a 14 year old boy ... with an amazing track. It's astonishing someone so young can write something so good. I give up.” After the song faded, John added “Amazing record. Wow. All I can say about that is, we'll be playing more of him, I hope.” \n\nThe music video was released on 19 April 2018.\n\nBackground\nRuel wrote the song when he was 12 years old and was inspired by an evening spent sitting at the dinner table telling his parents and siblings about a girl he had a crush on. Ruel explained “My whole family was like, ‘Ruel, you don't know what you're talking about, you're way too young to think about that sort of stuff,‘ and that really frustrated me. I thought ‘they can't tell me how to feel’, so I wrote a song about it. I never thought it would lead to all of this.” The then 12 year old high school dropout later took matters into his own hands and argued in that song that love is NOT a choice.\n\nReception\nMike Wass from Idolator said \"[the] emotional vocal commands your attention from the opening line and he displays the songwriting maturity of a veteran.\" adding it \"reeks of quality.\" \nNastassia Baroni from Music Feeds said \"With defiant lyrics and uplifting M-Phazes-led production, the tender and soulful \"Don’t Tell Me\" makes clear Ruel is forging a path ahead for himself.\"\n\nauspOp said \"\"Don't Tell Me\" oozes class. It’s overflowing with soul and seriously, it's one of the songs of 2017.\" later adding \"[it's] staggeringly good; beautifully vocalled, impassioned and laced with nuances that are way beyond Ruel’s tender years. It’s astonishing to contemplate that, if he’s this good at just 14, where’s he going to be in five or ten years from now?\" \nNic Kelly from Project U called Ruel \"the boy with the absurdly brilliant voice\" and said the song \"has the piano work of a Meg Mac song and the structure of Rag'n'Bone Man on a good day.\" calling it \"Amazing.\"\n\nTrack listing\nOne-track single \n \"Don't Tell Me\" - 4:01\n\nDigital remixes \n \"Don't Tell Me\" - 4:01 \n \"Don't Tell Me\" (acoustic) - 4:01 \n \"Don't Tell Me\" (Jarami remix) - 3:08 \n \"Don't Tell Me\" (Jerry Folk remix) - 3:28 \n \"Don't Tell Me\" (IAMNOBODI remix) - 4:01\n\nCharts\n\nCertifications\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n \n\n2017 singles\n2017 songs\nRuel (singer) songs\nRCA Records singles\nSongs written by M-Phazes\nSongs written by Ruel (singer)"
] |
[
"David Thompson (explorer)",
"Appearance and personality"
] | C_e4e0f0e98a3e41878ec328673efaad58_1 | What was Thompson like as a person? | 1 | What was David Thompson like as a person? | David Thompson (explorer) | In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson: I was well placed at table between one of the Miss McGillivray's and a singular-looking person of about fifty. He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant. His figure was short and compact, and his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square, as if by one stroke of the shears, just above the eyebrows. His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown, while the expression of his deeply-furrowed features was friendly and intelligent, but his cut-short nose gave him an odd look. His speech betrayed the Welshman, although he left his native hills when very young. I might have been spared this description of Mr David Thompson by saying he greatly resembled Curran the Irish Orator... I afterwards travelled much with him, and have now only to speak of him with great respect, or, I ought to say, with admiration... No living person possesses a tithe of his information respecting the Hudson's Bay countries... Never mind his Bunyan-like face and cropped hair; he has a very powerful mind, and a singular faculty of picture-making. He can create a wilderness and people it with warring savages, or climb the Rocky Mountains with you in a snow-storm, so clearly and palpably, that only shut your eyes and you hear the crack of the rifle, or feel the snow-flakes melt on your cheeks as he talks. CANNOTANSWER | He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant. | David Thompson (30 April 1770 – 10 February 1857) was a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and cartographer, known to some native peoples as Koo-Koo-Sint or "the Stargazer". Over Thompson's career, he traveled across North America, mapping of North America along the way. For this historic feat, Thompson has been described as the "greatest practical land geographer that the world has produced".
Early life
David Thompson was born in Westminster, Middlesex, to recent Welsh migrants David and Ann Thompson. When Thompson was two, his father died. Due to the financial hardship with his mother without resources, Thompson, 29 April 1777, the day before his seventh birthday, and his older brother were placed in the Grey Coat Hospital, a school for the disadvantaged of Westminster. Thompson graduated to the Grey Coat mathematical school, well known for teaching navigation and surveying. He received an education for the Royal Navy: including mathematics of trigonometry and geometry, practical navigation including using of nautical instruments, finding latitudes and longitudes and making navigational calculations from observing the sun, moon and tides and the drawing of maps and charts, taking land measurements and sketching landscapes. He later built on these to make his career. In 1784, at the age of 14, the Grey Coat treasurer paid the Hudson's Bay Company the sum of five pounds, upon which Thompson became the company's indentured servant for a period of seven years to be trained as a clerk. He set sail on 28 May of that year, and left England for North America.
Hudson's Bay Company (HBC)
On 2 September 1784, Thompson arrived in Churchill (now in Manitoba) and was put to work as a clerk/secretary, copying the personal papers of the governor of Fort Churchill, Samuel Hearne. The next year he was transferred to nearby York Factory, and over the next few years spent time as a secretary at Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, and South Branch House before arriving at Manchester House in 1787. During those years he learned to keep accounts and other records, calculate values of furs (It was noted that he also had several expensive beaver pelts at that time even when a secretary's job would not pay terribly well), track supplies and other duties.
On 23 December 1788, Thompson seriously fractured his tibia, forcing him to spend the next two winters at Cumberland House convalescing. It was during this time that he greatly refined and expanded his mathematical, astronomical, and surveying skills under the tutelage of Hudson's Bay Company surveyor Philip Turnor. It was also during this time that he lost sight in his right eye.
In 1790, with his apprenticeship nearing its end, Thompson requested a set of surveying tools in place of the typical parting gift of fine clothes offered by the company to those completing their indenture. He received both. He entered the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company as a fur trader. In 1792 he completed his first significant survey, mapping a route to Lake Athabasca (where today's Alberta/Saskatchewan border is located). Between February and May 1793, Thompson made 34 observations of the longitude of Cumberland House using lunar distances. The mean of these observations was 102°12′ W, about 2' east of the modern value. The mean error of the 34 observations was about 15' of longitude. Broughton (2009) notes that the precision of the type of sextant used by Thompson was 15" of arc, corresponding to 7.5' of longitude giving an absolute limit to the precision of an individual observation. The error in Thompson's mean was several times less than this. The time he took on these observations, about 3 hours of calculation each, indicates that he understood the power of averages.
In recognition of his map-making and surveying skills, the company promoted Thompson to the surveyor in 1794. He continued working for the Hudson's Bay Company until 23 May 1797 when, frustrated by an order to cease surveying and focus on the fur trade, he left. He walked in the snow in order to enter the employ of the competition, the North West Company. There he continued to work as a fur trader and surveyor.
North West Company
Thompson's decision to defect to the North West Company (NWC) in 1797 without providing the customary one-year notice was not well received by his former employers. But the North West Company was more supportive of Thompson pursuing his work on surveying and mapping the interior of what was to become Canada, as they judged it in the company's interest to know the exact locations of their settlements and the distance from each other. In 1797, Thompson was sent south by his employers to survey part of the Canada-US boundary along the water routes from Lake Superior to Lake of the Woods to satisfy unresolved questions of territory arising from the Jay Treaty between Great Britain and the United States after the American Revolutionary War.
By 1798 Thompson had completed a survey of from Grand Portage, through Lake Winnipeg, to the headwaters of the Assiniboine and Mississippi rivers, as well as two sides of Lake Superior. In 1798, the company sent him to Red Deer Lake (Lac La Biche in present-day Alberta) to establish a trading post. (The English translation of Lac la Biche: Red Deer Lake, was first recorded on the Mackenzie map of 1793.) Thompson spent the next few seasons trading based in Fort George (now in Alberta), and during this time led several expeditions into the Rocky Mountains.
On 10 July 1804, at the annual meeting of the North West Company in Kaministiquia, Thompson was made a full partner of the company. He became a 'wintering partner', who was based in the field rather than Montreal, with two of the 92 NWC's shares worth more than £4,000. He spent the next few seasons based there managing the fur trading operations but still finding time to expand his surveys of the waterways around Lake Superior. At the 1806 company meeting, officers decided to send Thompson back out into the interior. Concern over the American-backed expedition of Lewis and Clark prompted the North West Company to charge Thompson with the task of finding a route to the Pacific to open up the lucrative trading territories of the Pacific Northwest.
Columbia River travels
After the general meeting in 1806, Thompson travelled to Rocky Mountain House and prepared for an expedition to follow the Columbia River to the Pacific. In June 1807 Thompson crossed the Rocky Mountains and spent the summer surveying the Columbia basin; he continued to survey the area over the next few seasons. Thompson mapped and established trading posts in Northwestern Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Western Canada. Trading posts he founded included Kootenae House, Kullyspell House and Saleesh House; the latter two were the first trading posts west of the Rockies in Idaho and Montana, respectively. These posts established by Thompson extended North West Company fur trading territory into the Columbia Basin drainage area. The maps he made of the Columbia River basin east of the Cascade Mountains were of such high quality and detail that they continued to be useful into the 20th-century.
In early 1810, Thompson was returning eastward toward Montreal but, while en route at Rainy Lake, received orders to return to the Rocky Mountains and establish a route to the mouth of the Columbia. The North West Company was responding to the plans of American John Jacob Astor to send a ship around the Americas to establish a fur trading post of the Pacific Fur Company on the Pacific Coast. During his return, Thompson was delayed by an angry group of Peigan natives at Howse Pass. He was ultimately forced to seek a new route across the Rocky Mountains and found one through the Athabasca Pass.
David Thompson was the first European to navigate the full length of the Columbia River. Between Kettle Falls (3 July 1811) and the Junction of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (9 July) he was travelling through country that had never been visited by Europeans, and took time to visit the villages along the way to establish good relations, helped by copious quantities of tobacco. In 1805 Lewis and Clark had descended the Snake River, and then continued down the Columbia. On reaching the junction Thompson erected a pole and a notice claiming the country for Great Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a trading post at the site. This notice was found later that year by Astor company workers looking to establish an inland fur post, contributing to their selection of a more northerly site at Fort Okanogan. The North West Company established its post of Fort Nez Percés near the Snake River confluence several years later. Continuing down the Columbia, Thompson passed over the Celilo Falls, almost losing the canoe on the rocks, and portaged around the rapids of The Dalles and the Cascades Rapids. On 14 July 1811, Thompson reached the partially constructed Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia, arriving two months after the Pacific Fur Company's ship, the Tonquin.
Before returning upriver and across the mountains, Thompson hired Naukane, a Native Hawaiian Takane labourer brought to Fort Astoria by the Pacific Fur Company's ship Tonquin. Naukane, known as Coxe to Thompson, accompanied Thompson across the continent to Lake Superior before journeying on to England.
Thompson wintered at Saleesh House before beginning his final journey back to Montreal in 1812, where the North West Company was based.
In his published journals, Thompson recorded seeing large footprints (“which measured fourteen inches in length by eight inches in breadth”) near what is now Jasper, Alberta, in 1811. It has been suggested that these prints were similar to what has since been called the sasquatch. However, Thompson noted that these tracks showed "a small Nail at the end of each [toe]", and stated that these tracks "very much resembles a large Bear's Track".
The years 1807-1812 are the most carefully scrutinized in his career and his most enduring historical legacy, due to his development of the commercial routes across the Rockies, and his mapping of the lands they traverse.
Appearance and personality
In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson:
Marriage and children
On 10 June 1799 at Île-à-la-Crosse, Thompson married Charlotte Small, a thirteen-year-old Métis daughter of Scottish fur trader Patrick Small and a Cree mother. Their marriage was formalised thirteen years later at the Scotch Presbyterian Church in Montreal on 30 October 1812. He and Charlotte had 13 children together; five of them were born before he left the fur trade. The family did not adjust easily to life in Eastern Canada; they lived in Montreal while he was traveling. Two of the children, John (aged 5) and Emma (aged 7), died of round worms, a common parasite. By the time of Thompson's death, the couple had been married 57 years, the longest marriage known in Canada pre-Confederation.
Later life
Upon his arrival back in Montreal, Thompson retired with a generous pension from the North West Company. He settled in nearby Terrebonne and worked on completing his great map, a summary of his lifetime of exploring and surveying the interior of North America. The map covered the wide area stretching from Lake Superior to the Pacific, and was given by Thompson to the North West Company. Thompson's 1814 map, his greatest achievement, was so accurate that 100 years later it was still the basis for many of the maps issued by the Canadian government. It now resides in the Archives of Ontario.
In 1815, Thompson moved his family to Williamstown, Upper Canada, and a few years later was employed to survey the newly established borders with the United States from Lake of the Woods to the Eastern Townships of Quebec, established by Treaty of Ghent after the War of 1812. In 1843 Thompson completed his atlas of the region from Hudson Bay to the Pacific Ocean.
Afterwards, Thompson returned to a life as a land owner, but soon financial misfortune would ruin him. By 1831 he was so deeply in debt he was forced to take up a position as a surveyor for the British American Land Company to provide for his family. His luck continued to worsen and he was forced to move in with his daughter and son-in-law in 1845. He began work on a manuscript chronicling his life exploring the continent, but this project was left unfinished when his sight failed him completely in 1851.
Death and afterward
The land mass mapped by Thompson amounted to of wilderness (one-fifth of the continent). His contemporary, the great explorer Alexander Mackenzie, remarked that Thompson did more in ten months than he would have thought possible in two years.
Despite these significant achievements, Thompson died in Montreal in near obscurity on 10 February 1857, his accomplishments almost unrecognised. He never finished the book of his 28 years in the fur trade, based on his 77 field notebooks, before he died. In the 1890s geologist J.B. Tyrrell resurrected Thompson's notes and in 1916 published them as David Thompson's Narrative, as part of the General Series of the Champlain Society. Further editions and re-examinations of Thompson's life and works were published in 1962 by Richard Glover, in 1971 by Victor Hopwood, and in 2015 by William Moreau.
Thompson's body was interred in Montreal's Mount Royal Cemetery in an unmarked grave. It was not until 1926 that efforts by J.B. Tyrrell and the Canadian Historical Society resulted in the placing of a tombstone to mark his grave. The next year, Thompson was named a National Historic Person by the federal government, one of the earliest such designations. A federal plaque reflecting that status is located at Jasper National Park, Alberta. Meantime, Thompson's achievements are central reasons for other national historic designations:
David Thompson on the Columbia River National Historic Event, marked at Castlegar, BC
Athabasca Pass National Historic Site (NHS), at Jasper National Park
Boat Encampment NHS, BC
Howse Pass NHS, Banff National Park, Alberta
Kootenae House NHS, BC
Rocky Mountain House NHS, Alberta
In 1957, one hundred years after his death, Canada's post office department honoured him with his image on a postage stamp. The David Thompson Highway in Alberta was named in his honour, along with David Thompson High School situated on the side of the highway near Leslieville, Alberta. There are also two David Thompson Secondary Schools, one in Vancouver, BC, and one in Invermere, BC.
His prowess as a geographer is now well-recognized. He has been called "the greatest land geographer that the world has produced."
There is a monument dedicated to David Thompson (maintained by the state of North Dakota) near the former town site of the ghost town Verendrye, North Dakota, located approximately north and west of Karlsruhe, North Dakota. Thompson Falls, Montana, and British Columbia's Thompson River and Thompson Falls on the Blaeberry River are also named after the explorer.
The year 2007 marked the 150th year of Thompson's death and the 200th anniversary of his first crossing of the Rocky Mountains. Commemorative events and exhibits were planned across Canada and the United States from 2007 to 2011 as a celebration of his accomplishments.
In 2007, a commemorative plaque was placed on a wall at the Grey Coat Hospital, the school for the disadvantaged of Westminster David Thompson attended as a boy, by English author and TV presenter Ray Mears.
Thompson was the subject of a 1964 National Film Board of Canada short film David Thompson: The Great Mapmaker , as well as the BBC2 programme Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness (Episode 5), broadcast in November 2009. He's also the subject of 2010 KSPS-TV film Uncharted Territory: David Thompson on the Columbia Plateau.
He is referenced in the 1981 folk song "Northwest Passage" by Stan Rogers.
The national park service, Parks Canada, announced in 2018 that it had named its new research vessel , to be used for underwater archaeology, including sea floor mapping, and for marine science in the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic Oceans, and the Great Lakes. It will be the main platform for research on the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site.
The David Thompson Astronomical Observatory at Fort William Historical Park was named to commemorate David Thompson and his discoveries.
See also
Exploration of North America
Fur trade
Works
1814: Map of the North-West Territory of the Province of Canada
1897: New light on the early history of the greater Northwest (edited by Elliott Coues) Volume I; Volume II; Volume III
1916: David Thompson's narrative of his explorations in western America, 1784–1812 (edited by J.B. Tyrrell)
1950: David Thompson's journals relating to Montana and adjacent regions, 1808–1812 (edited by M. Catherine White)
1962: David Thompson's narrative, 1784–1812 (edited by Richard Glover)
1974: David Thompson's journal of the international boundary survey, 1817–1827: western Lake Erie, August–September 1819 (edited by Clarke E. Leverette)
1993: Columbia Journals (edited by Barbara Belyea)
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812 " Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
2006/2007: "David Thompson in Alberta 1787–1812"; "David Thompson on the Columbia River 1807–1812"; "The Explorations and Travels of David Thompson 1784–1812"; "Posts and Forts of the North American Fur Trade 1600–1870" Contemporary and Historical Maps: David Thompson (Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consultin
2010 : Official Documentary of Thompson was released by national geographic, ca.
References
Notes
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812" Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
Further reading
Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection
External links
David Thompson's Narrative of His Explorations in Western America 1784–1812 Vol's I and II, Champlain Society 1916, PDF (B/W) 25.1 MB
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Tyrrell edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Glover edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
David Thompson: Map Maker, Explorer and Visionary, online exhibit on Archives of Ontario website
DavidThompson200: bicentennial commemorations of Thompson's explorations
KSPS Public TV (PBS), , Narrative of David Thompson's life and travels. / Feb 2011
The Writings of David Thompson edited by William E. Moreau. Three volumes.
David Thompson Papers, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library
North West Company
English surveyors
Canadian people of Welsh descent
English cartographers
English explorers
Canadian cartographers
Canadian male canoeists
Canadian explorers
Canadian surveyors
English emigrants to pre-Confederation Canada
Explorers of British Columbia
Explorers of Canada
North West Company people
People from Westminster
People from Montreal
Pre-Confederation Quebec people
Interior of British Columbia
Hudson's Bay Company people
1770 births
1857 deaths
History of the Pacific Northwest
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Explorers of Washington (state)
People educated at Grey Coat Hospital
English explorers of North America
Welsh topographers
Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery | false | [
"Clara Mildred Thompson (27 November 1881 – 17 February 1975) was a prominent historian and dean of Vassar College where she also chaired its history department. She is the author of two studies about southern Reconstruction and taught history at University of Georgia from 1948 to 1952. Thompson was also active in the political campaign of Franklin D. Roosevelt and worked as an educational delegate to Europe and the United Nations.\n\nEarly life and education\nClara Mildred Thompson was born on November 27, 1881, in Atlanta, Georgia to Robert and Alice Thompson. Thompson attended public schools until high school where she attended an all Girls' High School. She was influenced to apply to Vassar College by the Vassar College women she met. In 1899, She was enrolled in Vassar College and graduated in 1903.\n\nThompson entered Columbia University in 1906. There she was a student under Reconstruction scholar William Archibald Dunning, becoming conspicuously the only woman member of the scholars known as the \"Dunning men\". Thompson earned her master's degree in 1907 and her Ph.D. in 1915 from Columbia University.\n\nCareer \nThompson began working in 1903 as an English and History teacher at the Wilford School, a private school, in Baltimore, Maryland. She would join Vassar's History department in 1908 as a substitute teacher. Thompson was able to grow into an assistant professor in 1915, then associate professor in 1917. In 1923, Thompson became the second dean for Vassar College. As a dean, she decided to focus on student's mental health. She was able to give the Vassar student body access to their first consultant psychiatrist. Which they held in her office. Thompson became the person to live in the Dean's House built by Ruth Adams in 1932. In 1940 a scholarship from one of the seven 75th anniversary scholarships was named after Thompson because of her impact on Vassar. Once she retired forming being a dean in 1948, after 25 years she still worked with the education industry. For four more years, she works as a consultant in education and a history professor at the University of Georgia. For an additional year, Thompson work as the dean of women at Free Europe University in Exile. An American ran university for young people from Soviet-bloc countries.\n\nPublications\nThompson contributed to Studies in Southern History and Politics Inscribed to William Archibald Dunning . . . by His Former Pupils the Authors (1914), the only woman to publish in the Dunning School of Reconstruction historiography's studies of seven southern states. She later published Reconstruction in Georgia: Economic, Social, Political: 1865-1872 (1915), considered one of the series' strongest titles. One contemporaneous critic called the study an \"interesting and comprehensive volume\".\n\nPolitics\nMildred Thompson was known for her political involvement, like supporting women's rights by participating in the women's suffrage parade in New York with Lucy Maynard Salmon in 1911. As she was a close friend to Eleanor Roosevelt, Thompson was active in politics during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. She was the chairman of the woman's division of the Democratic National Committee and head of the educator's committee during FDR's 1936 campaign for re-election. Thompson campaigned for Roosevelt in the years 1936, 1940, and 1944.\n\nIn 1944, Thompson was appointed by the state department as the only woman representative to help represent CAME or Conference of Allied Ministers of Education in London, working with Commissioner of Education, John W. Studebaker, and Representative J. William Fulbright of Arkansas.\n\nPersonal life and death \nThompson was also known for speaking on a popular radio program Information, Please! along with hosting her radio program Listen, the Women.\n\nThompson died on February 17, 1975, at the age of 93.\n\nCitations\n\nWorks cited \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n1881 births\n1975 deaths\nPeople from Atlanta\nVassar College alumni\nColumbia University alumni\nAmerican educators\nAmerican feminists",
"(guitar, vocal) is a 1976 album by Richard Thompson. It was released by Island Records as a career retrospective after he and his wife Linda had gone into semi-retirement from the business of making and performing music following the release of Pour Down Like Silver (1975).\n\nMost tracks are unreleased recordings from Thompson's career to date - though the two instrumental tracks were recorded specifically for this compilation. (guitar, vocal) spans Thompsons's early years with Fairport Convention as well as the time he spent performing and recording as a duo with wife Linda. The release was notable for two live cuts from the 1975 Richard and Linda Thompson tour — \"Night Comes In\" and \"Calvary Cross\" — which featured lengthy guitar solos by Thompson, and for the Fairport Convention tracks \"The Ballad of Easy Rider\" featuring an excellent vocal from Sandy Denny which was an unreleased track from the Liege & Lief sessions and \"Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman\" which had been recorded for and then omitted from that group's Full House album.\n\n(guitar, vocal) has been out of print for some years now. Several tracks first released as part of this compilation have subsequently been included as bonus tracks on remastered Fairport Convention and Richard & Linda Thompson albums issued by Island Records. However the BBC version of Mr Lacey was unavailable elsewhere, until its release on the 19-CD boxset Sandy Denny : it did not feature on the recent Fairport Convention boxset.\n\nTrack listing\nAll songs written by Richard Thompson except where indicated otherwise.\n\nSide one\n \"Time Will Show the Wiser\" (Emitt Rhodes) – this recording was included on Fairport Convention's first album. – 3:03\n \"Throwaway Street Puzzle\" (Ashley Hutchings, Thompson) – originally released as the b-side to \"Meet On The Ledge,\" the single from Fairport's second album What We Did On Our Holidays. This song was a bonus track on the 2003 re-issue of What We Did On Our Holidays. – 3:18\n \"Mr Lacey\" (Hutchings) – this version is from a 1968 BBC radio broadcast is included on the 19-CD boxset Sandy Denny. – 2:53\n \"The Ballad of Easy Rider\" (Roger McGuinn) – Recorded during the sessions in 1969 for Fairport's Liege & Lief album. The 2002 re-issue of the Unhalfbricking album included \"The Ballad of Easy Rider\" as a bonus track as it was felt that the song fitted better with the mix of contemporary songs on that album rather than the traditional feel of Liege & Lief. – 4:34\n \"Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman\" (Thompson, Dave Swarbrick) – originally recorded during the 1970 sessions for Fairport's Full House album. Thompson was unhappy with the vocals and insisted that the track be omitted from the original album. However, the track was included on the 2001 re-issue of Full House. The recording included on (guitar, vocal) has extra vocals by Linda Thompson recorded in 1975. – 5:23\n\nSide two\n \"Sweet Little Rock 'n Roller\" (Chuck Berry) – recorded in concert at the Troubador club in Los Angeles during Fairport's 1970 tour. – 4:18\n \"A Heart Needs a Home\" – this is a different recording and arrangement of the song included on the Hokey Pokey album. This track was included in the 2000 Island Years compilation. – 4:04\n \"The Dark End of the Street\" (Dan Penn, Chips Moman) – recorded during a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London in April 1975. The same recording was included as a bonus track on the 2004 re-issue of the Pour Down Like Silver album. – 4:22\n \"It'll Be Me\" (Jack Clement) – recorded during a concert at Oxford Polytechnic in November 1975. The same recording was included as a bonus track on the 2004 re-issue of the Hokey Pokey album. – 4:22\n\nSide three\n \"Flee As a Bird\" (trad., arr. Thompson) – recorded in 1976 for this compilation. – 3:11\n \"Night Comes In\" – recorded during a concert at Oxford Polytechnic in November 1975. The same recording was included as a bonus track on the 2004 re-issue of the Pour Down Like Silver album. – 12:24\n\nSide four\n \"The Pitfall/The Excursion\" – recorded in 1976 for this compilation. – 3:02\n \"Calvary Cross\" – recorded during a concert at Oxford Polytechnic in November 1975. The same recording was included in the 2000 Island Years compilation. – 13:27\n\nPersonnel\n Richard Thompson — vocals, guitars, dulcimer, mandolin\n Sandy Denny, Judy Dyble, Iain Matthews, Linda Thompson — vocals\n Simon Nicol — guitars, mellotron\n Dave Swarbrick — violin, mandolin\n John Kirkpatrick — accordion\n Pete Ross — harmonica\n Ian Whiteman — electric piano, harmonium\n Pat Donaldson, Ashley Hutchings, Dave Pegg — bass\n Timi Donald, Martin Lamble, Dave Mattacks — drums\n\nProduction personnel\n Joe Boyd, Todd Lloyd — producer\n John Wood — producer, engineer\n Victor Gamm — engineer\n\n1976 albums\nRichard Thompson (musician) albums\nIsland Records albums\nAlbums produced by John Wood (record producer)"
] |
[
"David Thompson (explorer)",
"Appearance and personality",
"What was Thompson like as a person?",
"He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant."
] | C_e4e0f0e98a3e41878ec328673efaad58_1 | What else was noticeable about his appearance? | 2 | Besides dressing plainly and keeping quiet and observant, what else was noticeable about David Thompson's appearance? | David Thompson (explorer) | In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson: I was well placed at table between one of the Miss McGillivray's and a singular-looking person of about fifty. He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant. His figure was short and compact, and his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square, as if by one stroke of the shears, just above the eyebrows. His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown, while the expression of his deeply-furrowed features was friendly and intelligent, but his cut-short nose gave him an odd look. His speech betrayed the Welshman, although he left his native hills when very young. I might have been spared this description of Mr David Thompson by saying he greatly resembled Curran the Irish Orator... I afterwards travelled much with him, and have now only to speak of him with great respect, or, I ought to say, with admiration... No living person possesses a tithe of his information respecting the Hudson's Bay countries... Never mind his Bunyan-like face and cropped hair; he has a very powerful mind, and a singular faculty of picture-making. He can create a wilderness and people it with warring savages, or climb the Rocky Mountains with you in a snow-storm, so clearly and palpably, that only shut your eyes and you hear the crack of the rifle, or feel the snow-flakes melt on your cheeks as he talks. CANNOTANSWER | His figure was short and compact, | David Thompson (30 April 1770 – 10 February 1857) was a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and cartographer, known to some native peoples as Koo-Koo-Sint or "the Stargazer". Over Thompson's career, he traveled across North America, mapping of North America along the way. For this historic feat, Thompson has been described as the "greatest practical land geographer that the world has produced".
Early life
David Thompson was born in Westminster, Middlesex, to recent Welsh migrants David and Ann Thompson. When Thompson was two, his father died. Due to the financial hardship with his mother without resources, Thompson, 29 April 1777, the day before his seventh birthday, and his older brother were placed in the Grey Coat Hospital, a school for the disadvantaged of Westminster. Thompson graduated to the Grey Coat mathematical school, well known for teaching navigation and surveying. He received an education for the Royal Navy: including mathematics of trigonometry and geometry, practical navigation including using of nautical instruments, finding latitudes and longitudes and making navigational calculations from observing the sun, moon and tides and the drawing of maps and charts, taking land measurements and sketching landscapes. He later built on these to make his career. In 1784, at the age of 14, the Grey Coat treasurer paid the Hudson's Bay Company the sum of five pounds, upon which Thompson became the company's indentured servant for a period of seven years to be trained as a clerk. He set sail on 28 May of that year, and left England for North America.
Hudson's Bay Company (HBC)
On 2 September 1784, Thompson arrived in Churchill (now in Manitoba) and was put to work as a clerk/secretary, copying the personal papers of the governor of Fort Churchill, Samuel Hearne. The next year he was transferred to nearby York Factory, and over the next few years spent time as a secretary at Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, and South Branch House before arriving at Manchester House in 1787. During those years he learned to keep accounts and other records, calculate values of furs (It was noted that he also had several expensive beaver pelts at that time even when a secretary's job would not pay terribly well), track supplies and other duties.
On 23 December 1788, Thompson seriously fractured his tibia, forcing him to spend the next two winters at Cumberland House convalescing. It was during this time that he greatly refined and expanded his mathematical, astronomical, and surveying skills under the tutelage of Hudson's Bay Company surveyor Philip Turnor. It was also during this time that he lost sight in his right eye.
In 1790, with his apprenticeship nearing its end, Thompson requested a set of surveying tools in place of the typical parting gift of fine clothes offered by the company to those completing their indenture. He received both. He entered the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company as a fur trader. In 1792 he completed his first significant survey, mapping a route to Lake Athabasca (where today's Alberta/Saskatchewan border is located). Between February and May 1793, Thompson made 34 observations of the longitude of Cumberland House using lunar distances. The mean of these observations was 102°12′ W, about 2' east of the modern value. The mean error of the 34 observations was about 15' of longitude. Broughton (2009) notes that the precision of the type of sextant used by Thompson was 15" of arc, corresponding to 7.5' of longitude giving an absolute limit to the precision of an individual observation. The error in Thompson's mean was several times less than this. The time he took on these observations, about 3 hours of calculation each, indicates that he understood the power of averages.
In recognition of his map-making and surveying skills, the company promoted Thompson to the surveyor in 1794. He continued working for the Hudson's Bay Company until 23 May 1797 when, frustrated by an order to cease surveying and focus on the fur trade, he left. He walked in the snow in order to enter the employ of the competition, the North West Company. There he continued to work as a fur trader and surveyor.
North West Company
Thompson's decision to defect to the North West Company (NWC) in 1797 without providing the customary one-year notice was not well received by his former employers. But the North West Company was more supportive of Thompson pursuing his work on surveying and mapping the interior of what was to become Canada, as they judged it in the company's interest to know the exact locations of their settlements and the distance from each other. In 1797, Thompson was sent south by his employers to survey part of the Canada-US boundary along the water routes from Lake Superior to Lake of the Woods to satisfy unresolved questions of territory arising from the Jay Treaty between Great Britain and the United States after the American Revolutionary War.
By 1798 Thompson had completed a survey of from Grand Portage, through Lake Winnipeg, to the headwaters of the Assiniboine and Mississippi rivers, as well as two sides of Lake Superior. In 1798, the company sent him to Red Deer Lake (Lac La Biche in present-day Alberta) to establish a trading post. (The English translation of Lac la Biche: Red Deer Lake, was first recorded on the Mackenzie map of 1793.) Thompson spent the next few seasons trading based in Fort George (now in Alberta), and during this time led several expeditions into the Rocky Mountains.
On 10 July 1804, at the annual meeting of the North West Company in Kaministiquia, Thompson was made a full partner of the company. He became a 'wintering partner', who was based in the field rather than Montreal, with two of the 92 NWC's shares worth more than £4,000. He spent the next few seasons based there managing the fur trading operations but still finding time to expand his surveys of the waterways around Lake Superior. At the 1806 company meeting, officers decided to send Thompson back out into the interior. Concern over the American-backed expedition of Lewis and Clark prompted the North West Company to charge Thompson with the task of finding a route to the Pacific to open up the lucrative trading territories of the Pacific Northwest.
Columbia River travels
After the general meeting in 1806, Thompson travelled to Rocky Mountain House and prepared for an expedition to follow the Columbia River to the Pacific. In June 1807 Thompson crossed the Rocky Mountains and spent the summer surveying the Columbia basin; he continued to survey the area over the next few seasons. Thompson mapped and established trading posts in Northwestern Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Western Canada. Trading posts he founded included Kootenae House, Kullyspell House and Saleesh House; the latter two were the first trading posts west of the Rockies in Idaho and Montana, respectively. These posts established by Thompson extended North West Company fur trading territory into the Columbia Basin drainage area. The maps he made of the Columbia River basin east of the Cascade Mountains were of such high quality and detail that they continued to be useful into the 20th-century.
In early 1810, Thompson was returning eastward toward Montreal but, while en route at Rainy Lake, received orders to return to the Rocky Mountains and establish a route to the mouth of the Columbia. The North West Company was responding to the plans of American John Jacob Astor to send a ship around the Americas to establish a fur trading post of the Pacific Fur Company on the Pacific Coast. During his return, Thompson was delayed by an angry group of Peigan natives at Howse Pass. He was ultimately forced to seek a new route across the Rocky Mountains and found one through the Athabasca Pass.
David Thompson was the first European to navigate the full length of the Columbia River. Between Kettle Falls (3 July 1811) and the Junction of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (9 July) he was travelling through country that had never been visited by Europeans, and took time to visit the villages along the way to establish good relations, helped by copious quantities of tobacco. In 1805 Lewis and Clark had descended the Snake River, and then continued down the Columbia. On reaching the junction Thompson erected a pole and a notice claiming the country for Great Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a trading post at the site. This notice was found later that year by Astor company workers looking to establish an inland fur post, contributing to their selection of a more northerly site at Fort Okanogan. The North West Company established its post of Fort Nez Percés near the Snake River confluence several years later. Continuing down the Columbia, Thompson passed over the Celilo Falls, almost losing the canoe on the rocks, and portaged around the rapids of The Dalles and the Cascades Rapids. On 14 July 1811, Thompson reached the partially constructed Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia, arriving two months after the Pacific Fur Company's ship, the Tonquin.
Before returning upriver and across the mountains, Thompson hired Naukane, a Native Hawaiian Takane labourer brought to Fort Astoria by the Pacific Fur Company's ship Tonquin. Naukane, known as Coxe to Thompson, accompanied Thompson across the continent to Lake Superior before journeying on to England.
Thompson wintered at Saleesh House before beginning his final journey back to Montreal in 1812, where the North West Company was based.
In his published journals, Thompson recorded seeing large footprints (“which measured fourteen inches in length by eight inches in breadth”) near what is now Jasper, Alberta, in 1811. It has been suggested that these prints were similar to what has since been called the sasquatch. However, Thompson noted that these tracks showed "a small Nail at the end of each [toe]", and stated that these tracks "very much resembles a large Bear's Track".
The years 1807-1812 are the most carefully scrutinized in his career and his most enduring historical legacy, due to his development of the commercial routes across the Rockies, and his mapping of the lands they traverse.
Appearance and personality
In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson:
Marriage and children
On 10 June 1799 at Île-à-la-Crosse, Thompson married Charlotte Small, a thirteen-year-old Métis daughter of Scottish fur trader Patrick Small and a Cree mother. Their marriage was formalised thirteen years later at the Scotch Presbyterian Church in Montreal on 30 October 1812. He and Charlotte had 13 children together; five of them were born before he left the fur trade. The family did not adjust easily to life in Eastern Canada; they lived in Montreal while he was traveling. Two of the children, John (aged 5) and Emma (aged 7), died of round worms, a common parasite. By the time of Thompson's death, the couple had been married 57 years, the longest marriage known in Canada pre-Confederation.
Later life
Upon his arrival back in Montreal, Thompson retired with a generous pension from the North West Company. He settled in nearby Terrebonne and worked on completing his great map, a summary of his lifetime of exploring and surveying the interior of North America. The map covered the wide area stretching from Lake Superior to the Pacific, and was given by Thompson to the North West Company. Thompson's 1814 map, his greatest achievement, was so accurate that 100 years later it was still the basis for many of the maps issued by the Canadian government. It now resides in the Archives of Ontario.
In 1815, Thompson moved his family to Williamstown, Upper Canada, and a few years later was employed to survey the newly established borders with the United States from Lake of the Woods to the Eastern Townships of Quebec, established by Treaty of Ghent after the War of 1812. In 1843 Thompson completed his atlas of the region from Hudson Bay to the Pacific Ocean.
Afterwards, Thompson returned to a life as a land owner, but soon financial misfortune would ruin him. By 1831 he was so deeply in debt he was forced to take up a position as a surveyor for the British American Land Company to provide for his family. His luck continued to worsen and he was forced to move in with his daughter and son-in-law in 1845. He began work on a manuscript chronicling his life exploring the continent, but this project was left unfinished when his sight failed him completely in 1851.
Death and afterward
The land mass mapped by Thompson amounted to of wilderness (one-fifth of the continent). His contemporary, the great explorer Alexander Mackenzie, remarked that Thompson did more in ten months than he would have thought possible in two years.
Despite these significant achievements, Thompson died in Montreal in near obscurity on 10 February 1857, his accomplishments almost unrecognised. He never finished the book of his 28 years in the fur trade, based on his 77 field notebooks, before he died. In the 1890s geologist J.B. Tyrrell resurrected Thompson's notes and in 1916 published them as David Thompson's Narrative, as part of the General Series of the Champlain Society. Further editions and re-examinations of Thompson's life and works were published in 1962 by Richard Glover, in 1971 by Victor Hopwood, and in 2015 by William Moreau.
Thompson's body was interred in Montreal's Mount Royal Cemetery in an unmarked grave. It was not until 1926 that efforts by J.B. Tyrrell and the Canadian Historical Society resulted in the placing of a tombstone to mark his grave. The next year, Thompson was named a National Historic Person by the federal government, one of the earliest such designations. A federal plaque reflecting that status is located at Jasper National Park, Alberta. Meantime, Thompson's achievements are central reasons for other national historic designations:
David Thompson on the Columbia River National Historic Event, marked at Castlegar, BC
Athabasca Pass National Historic Site (NHS), at Jasper National Park
Boat Encampment NHS, BC
Howse Pass NHS, Banff National Park, Alberta
Kootenae House NHS, BC
Rocky Mountain House NHS, Alberta
In 1957, one hundred years after his death, Canada's post office department honoured him with his image on a postage stamp. The David Thompson Highway in Alberta was named in his honour, along with David Thompson High School situated on the side of the highway near Leslieville, Alberta. There are also two David Thompson Secondary Schools, one in Vancouver, BC, and one in Invermere, BC.
His prowess as a geographer is now well-recognized. He has been called "the greatest land geographer that the world has produced."
There is a monument dedicated to David Thompson (maintained by the state of North Dakota) near the former town site of the ghost town Verendrye, North Dakota, located approximately north and west of Karlsruhe, North Dakota. Thompson Falls, Montana, and British Columbia's Thompson River and Thompson Falls on the Blaeberry River are also named after the explorer.
The year 2007 marked the 150th year of Thompson's death and the 200th anniversary of his first crossing of the Rocky Mountains. Commemorative events and exhibits were planned across Canada and the United States from 2007 to 2011 as a celebration of his accomplishments.
In 2007, a commemorative plaque was placed on a wall at the Grey Coat Hospital, the school for the disadvantaged of Westminster David Thompson attended as a boy, by English author and TV presenter Ray Mears.
Thompson was the subject of a 1964 National Film Board of Canada short film David Thompson: The Great Mapmaker , as well as the BBC2 programme Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness (Episode 5), broadcast in November 2009. He's also the subject of 2010 KSPS-TV film Uncharted Territory: David Thompson on the Columbia Plateau.
He is referenced in the 1981 folk song "Northwest Passage" by Stan Rogers.
The national park service, Parks Canada, announced in 2018 that it had named its new research vessel , to be used for underwater archaeology, including sea floor mapping, and for marine science in the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic Oceans, and the Great Lakes. It will be the main platform for research on the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site.
The David Thompson Astronomical Observatory at Fort William Historical Park was named to commemorate David Thompson and his discoveries.
See also
Exploration of North America
Fur trade
Works
1814: Map of the North-West Territory of the Province of Canada
1897: New light on the early history of the greater Northwest (edited by Elliott Coues) Volume I; Volume II; Volume III
1916: David Thompson's narrative of his explorations in western America, 1784–1812 (edited by J.B. Tyrrell)
1950: David Thompson's journals relating to Montana and adjacent regions, 1808–1812 (edited by M. Catherine White)
1962: David Thompson's narrative, 1784–1812 (edited by Richard Glover)
1974: David Thompson's journal of the international boundary survey, 1817–1827: western Lake Erie, August–September 1819 (edited by Clarke E. Leverette)
1993: Columbia Journals (edited by Barbara Belyea)
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812 " Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
2006/2007: "David Thompson in Alberta 1787–1812"; "David Thompson on the Columbia River 1807–1812"; "The Explorations and Travels of David Thompson 1784–1812"; "Posts and Forts of the North American Fur Trade 1600–1870" Contemporary and Historical Maps: David Thompson (Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consultin
2010 : Official Documentary of Thompson was released by national geographic, ca.
References
Notes
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812" Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
Further reading
Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection
External links
David Thompson's Narrative of His Explorations in Western America 1784–1812 Vol's I and II, Champlain Society 1916, PDF (B/W) 25.1 MB
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Tyrrell edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Glover edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
David Thompson: Map Maker, Explorer and Visionary, online exhibit on Archives of Ontario website
DavidThompson200: bicentennial commemorations of Thompson's explorations
KSPS Public TV (PBS), , Narrative of David Thompson's life and travels. / Feb 2011
The Writings of David Thompson edited by William E. Moreau. Three volumes.
David Thompson Papers, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library
North West Company
English surveyors
Canadian people of Welsh descent
English cartographers
English explorers
Canadian cartographers
Canadian male canoeists
Canadian explorers
Canadian surveyors
English emigrants to pre-Confederation Canada
Explorers of British Columbia
Explorers of Canada
North West Company people
People from Westminster
People from Montreal
Pre-Confederation Quebec people
Interior of British Columbia
Hudson's Bay Company people
1770 births
1857 deaths
History of the Pacific Northwest
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Explorers of Washington (state)
People educated at Grey Coat Hospital
English explorers of North America
Welsh topographers
Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery | false | [
"\"What Else Is There?\" is the third single from the Norwegian duo Röyksopp's second album The Understanding. It features the vocals of Karin Dreijer from the Swedish electronica duo The Knife. The album was released in the UK with the help of Astralwerks.\n\nThe single was used in an O2 television advertisement in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia during 2008. It was also used in the 2006 film Cashback and the 2007 film, Meet Bill. Trentemøller's remix of \"What Else is There?\" was featured in an episode of the HBO show Entourage.\n\nThe song was covered by extreme metal band Enslaved as a bonus track for their album E.\n\nThe song was listed as the 375th best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media.\n\nOfficial versions\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Album Version) – 5:17\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Radio Edit) – 3:38\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Jacques Lu Cont Radio Mix) – 3:46\n\"What Else Is There?\" (The Emperor Machine Vocal Version) – 8:03\n\"What Else Is There?\" (The Emperor Machine Dub Version) – 7:51\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Mix) – 8:25\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Edit) – 4:50\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Remix) (Radio Edit) – 3:06\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Trentemøller Remix) – 7:42\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Vitalic Remix) – 5:14\n\nResponse\nThe single was officially released on 5 December 2005 in the UK. The single had a limited release on 21 November 2005 to promote the upcoming album. On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at number 32, while on the UK Dance Chart, it reached number one.\n\nMusic video\nThe music video was directed by Martin de Thurah. It features Norwegian model Marianne Schröder who is shown lip-syncing Dreijer's voice. Schröder is depicted as a floating woman traveling across stormy landscapes and within empty houses. Dreijer makes a cameo appearance as a woman wearing an Elizabethan ruff while dining alone at a festive table.\n\nMovie spots\n\nThe song is also featured in the movie Meet Bill as characters played by Jessica Alba and Aaron Eckhart smoke marijuana while listening to it. It is also part of the end credits music of the film Cashback.\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n2005 singles\nRöyksopp songs\nAstralwerks singles\nSongs written by Svein Berge\nSongs written by Torbjørn Brundtland\n2004 songs\nSongs written by Roger Greenaway\nSongs written by Olof Dreijer\nSongs written by Karin Dreijer",
"The Fokker F.I (company designation V.5) was a prototype German fighter triplane design by Reinhold Platz of World War I. It was an improved version of the V.4 prototype triplane. For many decades, the V.5 was misidentified as the V.4.\n\nAbout the only noticeable difference between the F.I's overall appearance and the later production Fokker Dr.I examples was a subtle convex curve on the outlines of the tailplane's otherwise \"diagonal\" leading edge planform, leading into the aerodynamic balancing surface at the end of each elevator tip.\n\nIdflieg designated the first three V.5 aircraft F.I, but all subsequent triplanes were designated Dr.I. Werner Voss was shot down while flying F.I 103/17. Manfred von Richthofen flew F.I 102/17 in September 1917, scoring his 60th victory in the aircraft on the 7th of that month. Von Richthofen then went back to flying his Albatros D.V. Kurt Wolff was shot down in F.I 102/17 on 15 September 1917. F.I 101/17 was tested to destruction in August 1918, failing at a load factor of 7.75.\n\nReferences\n\n1910s German fighter aircraft\nF 01 (1917)\nTriplanes\nSingle-engined tractor aircraft\nRotary-engined aircraft"
] |
[
"David Thompson (explorer)",
"Appearance and personality",
"What was Thompson like as a person?",
"He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant.",
"What else was noticeable about his appearance?",
"His figure was short and compact,"
] | C_e4e0f0e98a3e41878ec328673efaad58_1 | Did he have any other distinguishing features? | 3 | Did David Thompson have any other distinguishing features besides being short and compact? | David Thompson (explorer) | In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson: I was well placed at table between one of the Miss McGillivray's and a singular-looking person of about fifty. He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant. His figure was short and compact, and his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square, as if by one stroke of the shears, just above the eyebrows. His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown, while the expression of his deeply-furrowed features was friendly and intelligent, but his cut-short nose gave him an odd look. His speech betrayed the Welshman, although he left his native hills when very young. I might have been spared this description of Mr David Thompson by saying he greatly resembled Curran the Irish Orator... I afterwards travelled much with him, and have now only to speak of him with great respect, or, I ought to say, with admiration... No living person possesses a tithe of his information respecting the Hudson's Bay countries... Never mind his Bunyan-like face and cropped hair; he has a very powerful mind, and a singular faculty of picture-making. He can create a wilderness and people it with warring savages, or climb the Rocky Mountains with you in a snow-storm, so clearly and palpably, that only shut your eyes and you hear the crack of the rifle, or feel the snow-flakes melt on your cheeks as he talks. CANNOTANSWER | his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square, | David Thompson (30 April 1770 – 10 February 1857) was a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and cartographer, known to some native peoples as Koo-Koo-Sint or "the Stargazer". Over Thompson's career, he traveled across North America, mapping of North America along the way. For this historic feat, Thompson has been described as the "greatest practical land geographer that the world has produced".
Early life
David Thompson was born in Westminster, Middlesex, to recent Welsh migrants David and Ann Thompson. When Thompson was two, his father died. Due to the financial hardship with his mother without resources, Thompson, 29 April 1777, the day before his seventh birthday, and his older brother were placed in the Grey Coat Hospital, a school for the disadvantaged of Westminster. Thompson graduated to the Grey Coat mathematical school, well known for teaching navigation and surveying. He received an education for the Royal Navy: including mathematics of trigonometry and geometry, practical navigation including using of nautical instruments, finding latitudes and longitudes and making navigational calculations from observing the sun, moon and tides and the drawing of maps and charts, taking land measurements and sketching landscapes. He later built on these to make his career. In 1784, at the age of 14, the Grey Coat treasurer paid the Hudson's Bay Company the sum of five pounds, upon which Thompson became the company's indentured servant for a period of seven years to be trained as a clerk. He set sail on 28 May of that year, and left England for North America.
Hudson's Bay Company (HBC)
On 2 September 1784, Thompson arrived in Churchill (now in Manitoba) and was put to work as a clerk/secretary, copying the personal papers of the governor of Fort Churchill, Samuel Hearne. The next year he was transferred to nearby York Factory, and over the next few years spent time as a secretary at Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, and South Branch House before arriving at Manchester House in 1787. During those years he learned to keep accounts and other records, calculate values of furs (It was noted that he also had several expensive beaver pelts at that time even when a secretary's job would not pay terribly well), track supplies and other duties.
On 23 December 1788, Thompson seriously fractured his tibia, forcing him to spend the next two winters at Cumberland House convalescing. It was during this time that he greatly refined and expanded his mathematical, astronomical, and surveying skills under the tutelage of Hudson's Bay Company surveyor Philip Turnor. It was also during this time that he lost sight in his right eye.
In 1790, with his apprenticeship nearing its end, Thompson requested a set of surveying tools in place of the typical parting gift of fine clothes offered by the company to those completing their indenture. He received both. He entered the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company as a fur trader. In 1792 he completed his first significant survey, mapping a route to Lake Athabasca (where today's Alberta/Saskatchewan border is located). Between February and May 1793, Thompson made 34 observations of the longitude of Cumberland House using lunar distances. The mean of these observations was 102°12′ W, about 2' east of the modern value. The mean error of the 34 observations was about 15' of longitude. Broughton (2009) notes that the precision of the type of sextant used by Thompson was 15" of arc, corresponding to 7.5' of longitude giving an absolute limit to the precision of an individual observation. The error in Thompson's mean was several times less than this. The time he took on these observations, about 3 hours of calculation each, indicates that he understood the power of averages.
In recognition of his map-making and surveying skills, the company promoted Thompson to the surveyor in 1794. He continued working for the Hudson's Bay Company until 23 May 1797 when, frustrated by an order to cease surveying and focus on the fur trade, he left. He walked in the snow in order to enter the employ of the competition, the North West Company. There he continued to work as a fur trader and surveyor.
North West Company
Thompson's decision to defect to the North West Company (NWC) in 1797 without providing the customary one-year notice was not well received by his former employers. But the North West Company was more supportive of Thompson pursuing his work on surveying and mapping the interior of what was to become Canada, as they judged it in the company's interest to know the exact locations of their settlements and the distance from each other. In 1797, Thompson was sent south by his employers to survey part of the Canada-US boundary along the water routes from Lake Superior to Lake of the Woods to satisfy unresolved questions of territory arising from the Jay Treaty between Great Britain and the United States after the American Revolutionary War.
By 1798 Thompson had completed a survey of from Grand Portage, through Lake Winnipeg, to the headwaters of the Assiniboine and Mississippi rivers, as well as two sides of Lake Superior. In 1798, the company sent him to Red Deer Lake (Lac La Biche in present-day Alberta) to establish a trading post. (The English translation of Lac la Biche: Red Deer Lake, was first recorded on the Mackenzie map of 1793.) Thompson spent the next few seasons trading based in Fort George (now in Alberta), and during this time led several expeditions into the Rocky Mountains.
On 10 July 1804, at the annual meeting of the North West Company in Kaministiquia, Thompson was made a full partner of the company. He became a 'wintering partner', who was based in the field rather than Montreal, with two of the 92 NWC's shares worth more than £4,000. He spent the next few seasons based there managing the fur trading operations but still finding time to expand his surveys of the waterways around Lake Superior. At the 1806 company meeting, officers decided to send Thompson back out into the interior. Concern over the American-backed expedition of Lewis and Clark prompted the North West Company to charge Thompson with the task of finding a route to the Pacific to open up the lucrative trading territories of the Pacific Northwest.
Columbia River travels
After the general meeting in 1806, Thompson travelled to Rocky Mountain House and prepared for an expedition to follow the Columbia River to the Pacific. In June 1807 Thompson crossed the Rocky Mountains and spent the summer surveying the Columbia basin; he continued to survey the area over the next few seasons. Thompson mapped and established trading posts in Northwestern Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Western Canada. Trading posts he founded included Kootenae House, Kullyspell House and Saleesh House; the latter two were the first trading posts west of the Rockies in Idaho and Montana, respectively. These posts established by Thompson extended North West Company fur trading territory into the Columbia Basin drainage area. The maps he made of the Columbia River basin east of the Cascade Mountains were of such high quality and detail that they continued to be useful into the 20th-century.
In early 1810, Thompson was returning eastward toward Montreal but, while en route at Rainy Lake, received orders to return to the Rocky Mountains and establish a route to the mouth of the Columbia. The North West Company was responding to the plans of American John Jacob Astor to send a ship around the Americas to establish a fur trading post of the Pacific Fur Company on the Pacific Coast. During his return, Thompson was delayed by an angry group of Peigan natives at Howse Pass. He was ultimately forced to seek a new route across the Rocky Mountains and found one through the Athabasca Pass.
David Thompson was the first European to navigate the full length of the Columbia River. Between Kettle Falls (3 July 1811) and the Junction of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (9 July) he was travelling through country that had never been visited by Europeans, and took time to visit the villages along the way to establish good relations, helped by copious quantities of tobacco. In 1805 Lewis and Clark had descended the Snake River, and then continued down the Columbia. On reaching the junction Thompson erected a pole and a notice claiming the country for Great Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a trading post at the site. This notice was found later that year by Astor company workers looking to establish an inland fur post, contributing to their selection of a more northerly site at Fort Okanogan. The North West Company established its post of Fort Nez Percés near the Snake River confluence several years later. Continuing down the Columbia, Thompson passed over the Celilo Falls, almost losing the canoe on the rocks, and portaged around the rapids of The Dalles and the Cascades Rapids. On 14 July 1811, Thompson reached the partially constructed Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia, arriving two months after the Pacific Fur Company's ship, the Tonquin.
Before returning upriver and across the mountains, Thompson hired Naukane, a Native Hawaiian Takane labourer brought to Fort Astoria by the Pacific Fur Company's ship Tonquin. Naukane, known as Coxe to Thompson, accompanied Thompson across the continent to Lake Superior before journeying on to England.
Thompson wintered at Saleesh House before beginning his final journey back to Montreal in 1812, where the North West Company was based.
In his published journals, Thompson recorded seeing large footprints (“which measured fourteen inches in length by eight inches in breadth”) near what is now Jasper, Alberta, in 1811. It has been suggested that these prints were similar to what has since been called the sasquatch. However, Thompson noted that these tracks showed "a small Nail at the end of each [toe]", and stated that these tracks "very much resembles a large Bear's Track".
The years 1807-1812 are the most carefully scrutinized in his career and his most enduring historical legacy, due to his development of the commercial routes across the Rockies, and his mapping of the lands they traverse.
Appearance and personality
In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson:
Marriage and children
On 10 June 1799 at Île-à-la-Crosse, Thompson married Charlotte Small, a thirteen-year-old Métis daughter of Scottish fur trader Patrick Small and a Cree mother. Their marriage was formalised thirteen years later at the Scotch Presbyterian Church in Montreal on 30 October 1812. He and Charlotte had 13 children together; five of them were born before he left the fur trade. The family did not adjust easily to life in Eastern Canada; they lived in Montreal while he was traveling. Two of the children, John (aged 5) and Emma (aged 7), died of round worms, a common parasite. By the time of Thompson's death, the couple had been married 57 years, the longest marriage known in Canada pre-Confederation.
Later life
Upon his arrival back in Montreal, Thompson retired with a generous pension from the North West Company. He settled in nearby Terrebonne and worked on completing his great map, a summary of his lifetime of exploring and surveying the interior of North America. The map covered the wide area stretching from Lake Superior to the Pacific, and was given by Thompson to the North West Company. Thompson's 1814 map, his greatest achievement, was so accurate that 100 years later it was still the basis for many of the maps issued by the Canadian government. It now resides in the Archives of Ontario.
In 1815, Thompson moved his family to Williamstown, Upper Canada, and a few years later was employed to survey the newly established borders with the United States from Lake of the Woods to the Eastern Townships of Quebec, established by Treaty of Ghent after the War of 1812. In 1843 Thompson completed his atlas of the region from Hudson Bay to the Pacific Ocean.
Afterwards, Thompson returned to a life as a land owner, but soon financial misfortune would ruin him. By 1831 he was so deeply in debt he was forced to take up a position as a surveyor for the British American Land Company to provide for his family. His luck continued to worsen and he was forced to move in with his daughter and son-in-law in 1845. He began work on a manuscript chronicling his life exploring the continent, but this project was left unfinished when his sight failed him completely in 1851.
Death and afterward
The land mass mapped by Thompson amounted to of wilderness (one-fifth of the continent). His contemporary, the great explorer Alexander Mackenzie, remarked that Thompson did more in ten months than he would have thought possible in two years.
Despite these significant achievements, Thompson died in Montreal in near obscurity on 10 February 1857, his accomplishments almost unrecognised. He never finished the book of his 28 years in the fur trade, based on his 77 field notebooks, before he died. In the 1890s geologist J.B. Tyrrell resurrected Thompson's notes and in 1916 published them as David Thompson's Narrative, as part of the General Series of the Champlain Society. Further editions and re-examinations of Thompson's life and works were published in 1962 by Richard Glover, in 1971 by Victor Hopwood, and in 2015 by William Moreau.
Thompson's body was interred in Montreal's Mount Royal Cemetery in an unmarked grave. It was not until 1926 that efforts by J.B. Tyrrell and the Canadian Historical Society resulted in the placing of a tombstone to mark his grave. The next year, Thompson was named a National Historic Person by the federal government, one of the earliest such designations. A federal plaque reflecting that status is located at Jasper National Park, Alberta. Meantime, Thompson's achievements are central reasons for other national historic designations:
David Thompson on the Columbia River National Historic Event, marked at Castlegar, BC
Athabasca Pass National Historic Site (NHS), at Jasper National Park
Boat Encampment NHS, BC
Howse Pass NHS, Banff National Park, Alberta
Kootenae House NHS, BC
Rocky Mountain House NHS, Alberta
In 1957, one hundred years after his death, Canada's post office department honoured him with his image on a postage stamp. The David Thompson Highway in Alberta was named in his honour, along with David Thompson High School situated on the side of the highway near Leslieville, Alberta. There are also two David Thompson Secondary Schools, one in Vancouver, BC, and one in Invermere, BC.
His prowess as a geographer is now well-recognized. He has been called "the greatest land geographer that the world has produced."
There is a monument dedicated to David Thompson (maintained by the state of North Dakota) near the former town site of the ghost town Verendrye, North Dakota, located approximately north and west of Karlsruhe, North Dakota. Thompson Falls, Montana, and British Columbia's Thompson River and Thompson Falls on the Blaeberry River are also named after the explorer.
The year 2007 marked the 150th year of Thompson's death and the 200th anniversary of his first crossing of the Rocky Mountains. Commemorative events and exhibits were planned across Canada and the United States from 2007 to 2011 as a celebration of his accomplishments.
In 2007, a commemorative plaque was placed on a wall at the Grey Coat Hospital, the school for the disadvantaged of Westminster David Thompson attended as a boy, by English author and TV presenter Ray Mears.
Thompson was the subject of a 1964 National Film Board of Canada short film David Thompson: The Great Mapmaker , as well as the BBC2 programme Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness (Episode 5), broadcast in November 2009. He's also the subject of 2010 KSPS-TV film Uncharted Territory: David Thompson on the Columbia Plateau.
He is referenced in the 1981 folk song "Northwest Passage" by Stan Rogers.
The national park service, Parks Canada, announced in 2018 that it had named its new research vessel , to be used for underwater archaeology, including sea floor mapping, and for marine science in the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic Oceans, and the Great Lakes. It will be the main platform for research on the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site.
The David Thompson Astronomical Observatory at Fort William Historical Park was named to commemorate David Thompson and his discoveries.
See also
Exploration of North America
Fur trade
Works
1814: Map of the North-West Territory of the Province of Canada
1897: New light on the early history of the greater Northwest (edited by Elliott Coues) Volume I; Volume II; Volume III
1916: David Thompson's narrative of his explorations in western America, 1784–1812 (edited by J.B. Tyrrell)
1950: David Thompson's journals relating to Montana and adjacent regions, 1808–1812 (edited by M. Catherine White)
1962: David Thompson's narrative, 1784–1812 (edited by Richard Glover)
1974: David Thompson's journal of the international boundary survey, 1817–1827: western Lake Erie, August–September 1819 (edited by Clarke E. Leverette)
1993: Columbia Journals (edited by Barbara Belyea)
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812 " Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
2006/2007: "David Thompson in Alberta 1787–1812"; "David Thompson on the Columbia River 1807–1812"; "The Explorations and Travels of David Thompson 1784–1812"; "Posts and Forts of the North American Fur Trade 1600–1870" Contemporary and Historical Maps: David Thompson (Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consultin
2010 : Official Documentary of Thompson was released by national geographic, ca.
References
Notes
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812" Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
Further reading
Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection
External links
David Thompson's Narrative of His Explorations in Western America 1784–1812 Vol's I and II, Champlain Society 1916, PDF (B/W) 25.1 MB
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Tyrrell edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Glover edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
David Thompson: Map Maker, Explorer and Visionary, online exhibit on Archives of Ontario website
DavidThompson200: bicentennial commemorations of Thompson's explorations
KSPS Public TV (PBS), , Narrative of David Thompson's life and travels. / Feb 2011
The Writings of David Thompson edited by William E. Moreau. Three volumes.
David Thompson Papers, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library
North West Company
English surveyors
Canadian people of Welsh descent
English cartographers
English explorers
Canadian cartographers
Canadian male canoeists
Canadian explorers
Canadian surveyors
English emigrants to pre-Confederation Canada
Explorers of British Columbia
Explorers of Canada
North West Company people
People from Westminster
People from Montreal
Pre-Confederation Quebec people
Interior of British Columbia
Hudson's Bay Company people
1770 births
1857 deaths
History of the Pacific Northwest
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Explorers of Washington (state)
People educated at Grey Coat Hospital
English explorers of North America
Welsh topographers
Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery | false | [
"In linguistics, a register complex is a combination of phonation type, pitch, length, vowel quality and/or other variants that function dependently as distinguishing features within a single phonological system. In languages employing register systems, differences in a distinguishing feature correlate relative to the quality of another distinguishing feature.\n\nFor instance, in a system where pitch, voice quality and stress timing were distinguishing features, the meaning of a vowel-consonant cluster like \"Pai\" (as in the English word \"Pie\") may depend on whether the cluster is voiced in a high, medium or low pitch relative to the clearness, breathiness and glotteral quality of speech as well as relative to the duration of the cluster relative to other neighboring clusters. Thus, \"Pai\" voiced in a high tone with a breathy quality and unstressed along with other unstressed clusters would connote a different meaning if any of the three features changed relative to other features.\n\nMany register languages are tonal. However, tone is not a universal distinguishing feature among register systems and register complexes are not a component of most tonal languages. In fact, tonal languages can employ either a register tone systems or a contour tone systems. Mandarin has a contour tone system whose distinguishing feature of the tones are their shifts in pitch (their pitch shapes or contours, such as rising, falling, dipping, or peaking), rather than simply their pitch relative to one another as in a register tone system. Register tone systems are found throughout Africa, such as in the Bantu languages. In some register tone systems, there is a default tone (usually low in a two-tone system or mid in a three-tone system), which is more common and less salient than other tones. There are also languages that combine register and contour tones, such as the Kru languages, but in such cases, the register tones may be analysed as being 'level' (unvarying pitch) contour tones. Furthermore, often the term 'register', when it is not in the phrase 'register tone', indicates vowel phonation combined with tone in a single phonological system. Burmese, Khmer and possibly Vietnamese are register languages. Burmese is usually considered a tonal language and Khmer a vowel-phonation language, but in both cases, differences in relative pitch or pitch contours are correlated with vowel phonation and so neither exists independently.\n\nReferences\n\nLinguistics",
"Under Canadian trade-mark law, the \"doctrine of functionality\" provides that features that are primarily functional in nature cannot be registered as trade-marks. The doctrine of functionality reflects the purpose of trade-mark, which is the protection of the distinctiveness of the wares and services associated with a trade-mark. Unlike patents, trade-marks do not protect the utilitarian features of products. The doctrine of functionality is reflected in section 13(2) of the \"Trade-marks Act\", which provides that: \"No registration of a distinguishing guise interferes with the use of any utilitarian feature embodied in the distinguishing guise\". On the basis of functionality, courts have denied trade-mark protection for such features as the pattern of knobs on LEGO blocks and the shape of the head of an electric razor.\n\nReferences\n\nSee also\nCanadian trade-mark law\nKirkbi AG v. Ritvik Holdings Inc.\n\nCanadian trademark law"
] |
[
"David Thompson (explorer)",
"Appearance and personality",
"What was Thompson like as a person?",
"He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant.",
"What else was noticeable about his appearance?",
"His figure was short and compact,",
"Did he have any other distinguishing features?",
"his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square,"
] | C_e4e0f0e98a3e41878ec328673efaad58_1 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 4 | Besides David Thompson's long, square-cut black hair, are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | David Thompson (explorer) | In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson: I was well placed at table between one of the Miss McGillivray's and a singular-looking person of about fifty. He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant. His figure was short and compact, and his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square, as if by one stroke of the shears, just above the eyebrows. His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown, while the expression of his deeply-furrowed features was friendly and intelligent, but his cut-short nose gave him an odd look. His speech betrayed the Welshman, although he left his native hills when very young. I might have been spared this description of Mr David Thompson by saying he greatly resembled Curran the Irish Orator... I afterwards travelled much with him, and have now only to speak of him with great respect, or, I ought to say, with admiration... No living person possesses a tithe of his information respecting the Hudson's Bay countries... Never mind his Bunyan-like face and cropped hair; he has a very powerful mind, and a singular faculty of picture-making. He can create a wilderness and people it with warring savages, or climb the Rocky Mountains with you in a snow-storm, so clearly and palpably, that only shut your eyes and you hear the crack of the rifle, or feel the snow-flakes melt on your cheeks as he talks. CANNOTANSWER | His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown, | David Thompson (30 April 1770 – 10 February 1857) was a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and cartographer, known to some native peoples as Koo-Koo-Sint or "the Stargazer". Over Thompson's career, he traveled across North America, mapping of North America along the way. For this historic feat, Thompson has been described as the "greatest practical land geographer that the world has produced".
Early life
David Thompson was born in Westminster, Middlesex, to recent Welsh migrants David and Ann Thompson. When Thompson was two, his father died. Due to the financial hardship with his mother without resources, Thompson, 29 April 1777, the day before his seventh birthday, and his older brother were placed in the Grey Coat Hospital, a school for the disadvantaged of Westminster. Thompson graduated to the Grey Coat mathematical school, well known for teaching navigation and surveying. He received an education for the Royal Navy: including mathematics of trigonometry and geometry, practical navigation including using of nautical instruments, finding latitudes and longitudes and making navigational calculations from observing the sun, moon and tides and the drawing of maps and charts, taking land measurements and sketching landscapes. He later built on these to make his career. In 1784, at the age of 14, the Grey Coat treasurer paid the Hudson's Bay Company the sum of five pounds, upon which Thompson became the company's indentured servant for a period of seven years to be trained as a clerk. He set sail on 28 May of that year, and left England for North America.
Hudson's Bay Company (HBC)
On 2 September 1784, Thompson arrived in Churchill (now in Manitoba) and was put to work as a clerk/secretary, copying the personal papers of the governor of Fort Churchill, Samuel Hearne. The next year he was transferred to nearby York Factory, and over the next few years spent time as a secretary at Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, and South Branch House before arriving at Manchester House in 1787. During those years he learned to keep accounts and other records, calculate values of furs (It was noted that he also had several expensive beaver pelts at that time even when a secretary's job would not pay terribly well), track supplies and other duties.
On 23 December 1788, Thompson seriously fractured his tibia, forcing him to spend the next two winters at Cumberland House convalescing. It was during this time that he greatly refined and expanded his mathematical, astronomical, and surveying skills under the tutelage of Hudson's Bay Company surveyor Philip Turnor. It was also during this time that he lost sight in his right eye.
In 1790, with his apprenticeship nearing its end, Thompson requested a set of surveying tools in place of the typical parting gift of fine clothes offered by the company to those completing their indenture. He received both. He entered the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company as a fur trader. In 1792 he completed his first significant survey, mapping a route to Lake Athabasca (where today's Alberta/Saskatchewan border is located). Between February and May 1793, Thompson made 34 observations of the longitude of Cumberland House using lunar distances. The mean of these observations was 102°12′ W, about 2' east of the modern value. The mean error of the 34 observations was about 15' of longitude. Broughton (2009) notes that the precision of the type of sextant used by Thompson was 15" of arc, corresponding to 7.5' of longitude giving an absolute limit to the precision of an individual observation. The error in Thompson's mean was several times less than this. The time he took on these observations, about 3 hours of calculation each, indicates that he understood the power of averages.
In recognition of his map-making and surveying skills, the company promoted Thompson to the surveyor in 1794. He continued working for the Hudson's Bay Company until 23 May 1797 when, frustrated by an order to cease surveying and focus on the fur trade, he left. He walked in the snow in order to enter the employ of the competition, the North West Company. There he continued to work as a fur trader and surveyor.
North West Company
Thompson's decision to defect to the North West Company (NWC) in 1797 without providing the customary one-year notice was not well received by his former employers. But the North West Company was more supportive of Thompson pursuing his work on surveying and mapping the interior of what was to become Canada, as they judged it in the company's interest to know the exact locations of their settlements and the distance from each other. In 1797, Thompson was sent south by his employers to survey part of the Canada-US boundary along the water routes from Lake Superior to Lake of the Woods to satisfy unresolved questions of territory arising from the Jay Treaty between Great Britain and the United States after the American Revolutionary War.
By 1798 Thompson had completed a survey of from Grand Portage, through Lake Winnipeg, to the headwaters of the Assiniboine and Mississippi rivers, as well as two sides of Lake Superior. In 1798, the company sent him to Red Deer Lake (Lac La Biche in present-day Alberta) to establish a trading post. (The English translation of Lac la Biche: Red Deer Lake, was first recorded on the Mackenzie map of 1793.) Thompson spent the next few seasons trading based in Fort George (now in Alberta), and during this time led several expeditions into the Rocky Mountains.
On 10 July 1804, at the annual meeting of the North West Company in Kaministiquia, Thompson was made a full partner of the company. He became a 'wintering partner', who was based in the field rather than Montreal, with two of the 92 NWC's shares worth more than £4,000. He spent the next few seasons based there managing the fur trading operations but still finding time to expand his surveys of the waterways around Lake Superior. At the 1806 company meeting, officers decided to send Thompson back out into the interior. Concern over the American-backed expedition of Lewis and Clark prompted the North West Company to charge Thompson with the task of finding a route to the Pacific to open up the lucrative trading territories of the Pacific Northwest.
Columbia River travels
After the general meeting in 1806, Thompson travelled to Rocky Mountain House and prepared for an expedition to follow the Columbia River to the Pacific. In June 1807 Thompson crossed the Rocky Mountains and spent the summer surveying the Columbia basin; he continued to survey the area over the next few seasons. Thompson mapped and established trading posts in Northwestern Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Western Canada. Trading posts he founded included Kootenae House, Kullyspell House and Saleesh House; the latter two were the first trading posts west of the Rockies in Idaho and Montana, respectively. These posts established by Thompson extended North West Company fur trading territory into the Columbia Basin drainage area. The maps he made of the Columbia River basin east of the Cascade Mountains were of such high quality and detail that they continued to be useful into the 20th-century.
In early 1810, Thompson was returning eastward toward Montreal but, while en route at Rainy Lake, received orders to return to the Rocky Mountains and establish a route to the mouth of the Columbia. The North West Company was responding to the plans of American John Jacob Astor to send a ship around the Americas to establish a fur trading post of the Pacific Fur Company on the Pacific Coast. During his return, Thompson was delayed by an angry group of Peigan natives at Howse Pass. He was ultimately forced to seek a new route across the Rocky Mountains and found one through the Athabasca Pass.
David Thompson was the first European to navigate the full length of the Columbia River. Between Kettle Falls (3 July 1811) and the Junction of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (9 July) he was travelling through country that had never been visited by Europeans, and took time to visit the villages along the way to establish good relations, helped by copious quantities of tobacco. In 1805 Lewis and Clark had descended the Snake River, and then continued down the Columbia. On reaching the junction Thompson erected a pole and a notice claiming the country for Great Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a trading post at the site. This notice was found later that year by Astor company workers looking to establish an inland fur post, contributing to their selection of a more northerly site at Fort Okanogan. The North West Company established its post of Fort Nez Percés near the Snake River confluence several years later. Continuing down the Columbia, Thompson passed over the Celilo Falls, almost losing the canoe on the rocks, and portaged around the rapids of The Dalles and the Cascades Rapids. On 14 July 1811, Thompson reached the partially constructed Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia, arriving two months after the Pacific Fur Company's ship, the Tonquin.
Before returning upriver and across the mountains, Thompson hired Naukane, a Native Hawaiian Takane labourer brought to Fort Astoria by the Pacific Fur Company's ship Tonquin. Naukane, known as Coxe to Thompson, accompanied Thompson across the continent to Lake Superior before journeying on to England.
Thompson wintered at Saleesh House before beginning his final journey back to Montreal in 1812, where the North West Company was based.
In his published journals, Thompson recorded seeing large footprints (“which measured fourteen inches in length by eight inches in breadth”) near what is now Jasper, Alberta, in 1811. It has been suggested that these prints were similar to what has since been called the sasquatch. However, Thompson noted that these tracks showed "a small Nail at the end of each [toe]", and stated that these tracks "very much resembles a large Bear's Track".
The years 1807-1812 are the most carefully scrutinized in his career and his most enduring historical legacy, due to his development of the commercial routes across the Rockies, and his mapping of the lands they traverse.
Appearance and personality
In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson:
Marriage and children
On 10 June 1799 at Île-à-la-Crosse, Thompson married Charlotte Small, a thirteen-year-old Métis daughter of Scottish fur trader Patrick Small and a Cree mother. Their marriage was formalised thirteen years later at the Scotch Presbyterian Church in Montreal on 30 October 1812. He and Charlotte had 13 children together; five of them were born before he left the fur trade. The family did not adjust easily to life in Eastern Canada; they lived in Montreal while he was traveling. Two of the children, John (aged 5) and Emma (aged 7), died of round worms, a common parasite. By the time of Thompson's death, the couple had been married 57 years, the longest marriage known in Canada pre-Confederation.
Later life
Upon his arrival back in Montreal, Thompson retired with a generous pension from the North West Company. He settled in nearby Terrebonne and worked on completing his great map, a summary of his lifetime of exploring and surveying the interior of North America. The map covered the wide area stretching from Lake Superior to the Pacific, and was given by Thompson to the North West Company. Thompson's 1814 map, his greatest achievement, was so accurate that 100 years later it was still the basis for many of the maps issued by the Canadian government. It now resides in the Archives of Ontario.
In 1815, Thompson moved his family to Williamstown, Upper Canada, and a few years later was employed to survey the newly established borders with the United States from Lake of the Woods to the Eastern Townships of Quebec, established by Treaty of Ghent after the War of 1812. In 1843 Thompson completed his atlas of the region from Hudson Bay to the Pacific Ocean.
Afterwards, Thompson returned to a life as a land owner, but soon financial misfortune would ruin him. By 1831 he was so deeply in debt he was forced to take up a position as a surveyor for the British American Land Company to provide for his family. His luck continued to worsen and he was forced to move in with his daughter and son-in-law in 1845. He began work on a manuscript chronicling his life exploring the continent, but this project was left unfinished when his sight failed him completely in 1851.
Death and afterward
The land mass mapped by Thompson amounted to of wilderness (one-fifth of the continent). His contemporary, the great explorer Alexander Mackenzie, remarked that Thompson did more in ten months than he would have thought possible in two years.
Despite these significant achievements, Thompson died in Montreal in near obscurity on 10 February 1857, his accomplishments almost unrecognised. He never finished the book of his 28 years in the fur trade, based on his 77 field notebooks, before he died. In the 1890s geologist J.B. Tyrrell resurrected Thompson's notes and in 1916 published them as David Thompson's Narrative, as part of the General Series of the Champlain Society. Further editions and re-examinations of Thompson's life and works were published in 1962 by Richard Glover, in 1971 by Victor Hopwood, and in 2015 by William Moreau.
Thompson's body was interred in Montreal's Mount Royal Cemetery in an unmarked grave. It was not until 1926 that efforts by J.B. Tyrrell and the Canadian Historical Society resulted in the placing of a tombstone to mark his grave. The next year, Thompson was named a National Historic Person by the federal government, one of the earliest such designations. A federal plaque reflecting that status is located at Jasper National Park, Alberta. Meantime, Thompson's achievements are central reasons for other national historic designations:
David Thompson on the Columbia River National Historic Event, marked at Castlegar, BC
Athabasca Pass National Historic Site (NHS), at Jasper National Park
Boat Encampment NHS, BC
Howse Pass NHS, Banff National Park, Alberta
Kootenae House NHS, BC
Rocky Mountain House NHS, Alberta
In 1957, one hundred years after his death, Canada's post office department honoured him with his image on a postage stamp. The David Thompson Highway in Alberta was named in his honour, along with David Thompson High School situated on the side of the highway near Leslieville, Alberta. There are also two David Thompson Secondary Schools, one in Vancouver, BC, and one in Invermere, BC.
His prowess as a geographer is now well-recognized. He has been called "the greatest land geographer that the world has produced."
There is a monument dedicated to David Thompson (maintained by the state of North Dakota) near the former town site of the ghost town Verendrye, North Dakota, located approximately north and west of Karlsruhe, North Dakota. Thompson Falls, Montana, and British Columbia's Thompson River and Thompson Falls on the Blaeberry River are also named after the explorer.
The year 2007 marked the 150th year of Thompson's death and the 200th anniversary of his first crossing of the Rocky Mountains. Commemorative events and exhibits were planned across Canada and the United States from 2007 to 2011 as a celebration of his accomplishments.
In 2007, a commemorative plaque was placed on a wall at the Grey Coat Hospital, the school for the disadvantaged of Westminster David Thompson attended as a boy, by English author and TV presenter Ray Mears.
Thompson was the subject of a 1964 National Film Board of Canada short film David Thompson: The Great Mapmaker , as well as the BBC2 programme Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness (Episode 5), broadcast in November 2009. He's also the subject of 2010 KSPS-TV film Uncharted Territory: David Thompson on the Columbia Plateau.
He is referenced in the 1981 folk song "Northwest Passage" by Stan Rogers.
The national park service, Parks Canada, announced in 2018 that it had named its new research vessel , to be used for underwater archaeology, including sea floor mapping, and for marine science in the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic Oceans, and the Great Lakes. It will be the main platform for research on the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site.
The David Thompson Astronomical Observatory at Fort William Historical Park was named to commemorate David Thompson and his discoveries.
See also
Exploration of North America
Fur trade
Works
1814: Map of the North-West Territory of the Province of Canada
1897: New light on the early history of the greater Northwest (edited by Elliott Coues) Volume I; Volume II; Volume III
1916: David Thompson's narrative of his explorations in western America, 1784–1812 (edited by J.B. Tyrrell)
1950: David Thompson's journals relating to Montana and adjacent regions, 1808–1812 (edited by M. Catherine White)
1962: David Thompson's narrative, 1784–1812 (edited by Richard Glover)
1974: David Thompson's journal of the international boundary survey, 1817–1827: western Lake Erie, August–September 1819 (edited by Clarke E. Leverette)
1993: Columbia Journals (edited by Barbara Belyea)
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812 " Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
2006/2007: "David Thompson in Alberta 1787–1812"; "David Thompson on the Columbia River 1807–1812"; "The Explorations and Travels of David Thompson 1784–1812"; "Posts and Forts of the North American Fur Trade 1600–1870" Contemporary and Historical Maps: David Thompson (Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consultin
2010 : Official Documentary of Thompson was released by national geographic, ca.
References
Notes
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812" Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
Further reading
Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection
External links
David Thompson's Narrative of His Explorations in Western America 1784–1812 Vol's I and II, Champlain Society 1916, PDF (B/W) 25.1 MB
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Tyrrell edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Glover edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
David Thompson: Map Maker, Explorer and Visionary, online exhibit on Archives of Ontario website
DavidThompson200: bicentennial commemorations of Thompson's explorations
KSPS Public TV (PBS), , Narrative of David Thompson's life and travels. / Feb 2011
The Writings of David Thompson edited by William E. Moreau. Three volumes.
David Thompson Papers, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library
North West Company
English surveyors
Canadian people of Welsh descent
English cartographers
English explorers
Canadian cartographers
Canadian male canoeists
Canadian explorers
Canadian surveyors
English emigrants to pre-Confederation Canada
Explorers of British Columbia
Explorers of Canada
North West Company people
People from Westminster
People from Montreal
Pre-Confederation Quebec people
Interior of British Columbia
Hudson's Bay Company people
1770 births
1857 deaths
History of the Pacific Northwest
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Explorers of Washington (state)
People educated at Grey Coat Hospital
English explorers of North America
Welsh topographers
Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery | false | [
"Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region",
"Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts"
] |
[
"David Thompson (explorer)",
"Appearance and personality",
"What was Thompson like as a person?",
"He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant.",
"What else was noticeable about his appearance?",
"His figure was short and compact,",
"Did he have any other distinguishing features?",
"his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown,"
] | C_e4e0f0e98a3e41878ec328673efaad58_1 | Did he wear a beard? | 5 | Did David Thompson wear a beard? | David Thompson (explorer) | In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson: I was well placed at table between one of the Miss McGillivray's and a singular-looking person of about fifty. He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant. His figure was short and compact, and his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square, as if by one stroke of the shears, just above the eyebrows. His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown, while the expression of his deeply-furrowed features was friendly and intelligent, but his cut-short nose gave him an odd look. His speech betrayed the Welshman, although he left his native hills when very young. I might have been spared this description of Mr David Thompson by saying he greatly resembled Curran the Irish Orator... I afterwards travelled much with him, and have now only to speak of him with great respect, or, I ought to say, with admiration... No living person possesses a tithe of his information respecting the Hudson's Bay countries... Never mind his Bunyan-like face and cropped hair; he has a very powerful mind, and a singular faculty of picture-making. He can create a wilderness and people it with warring savages, or climb the Rocky Mountains with you in a snow-storm, so clearly and palpably, that only shut your eyes and you hear the crack of the rifle, or feel the snow-flakes melt on your cheeks as he talks. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | David Thompson (30 April 1770 – 10 February 1857) was a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and cartographer, known to some native peoples as Koo-Koo-Sint or "the Stargazer". Over Thompson's career, he traveled across North America, mapping of North America along the way. For this historic feat, Thompson has been described as the "greatest practical land geographer that the world has produced".
Early life
David Thompson was born in Westminster, Middlesex, to recent Welsh migrants David and Ann Thompson. When Thompson was two, his father died. Due to the financial hardship with his mother without resources, Thompson, 29 April 1777, the day before his seventh birthday, and his older brother were placed in the Grey Coat Hospital, a school for the disadvantaged of Westminster. Thompson graduated to the Grey Coat mathematical school, well known for teaching navigation and surveying. He received an education for the Royal Navy: including mathematics of trigonometry and geometry, practical navigation including using of nautical instruments, finding latitudes and longitudes and making navigational calculations from observing the sun, moon and tides and the drawing of maps and charts, taking land measurements and sketching landscapes. He later built on these to make his career. In 1784, at the age of 14, the Grey Coat treasurer paid the Hudson's Bay Company the sum of five pounds, upon which Thompson became the company's indentured servant for a period of seven years to be trained as a clerk. He set sail on 28 May of that year, and left England for North America.
Hudson's Bay Company (HBC)
On 2 September 1784, Thompson arrived in Churchill (now in Manitoba) and was put to work as a clerk/secretary, copying the personal papers of the governor of Fort Churchill, Samuel Hearne. The next year he was transferred to nearby York Factory, and over the next few years spent time as a secretary at Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, and South Branch House before arriving at Manchester House in 1787. During those years he learned to keep accounts and other records, calculate values of furs (It was noted that he also had several expensive beaver pelts at that time even when a secretary's job would not pay terribly well), track supplies and other duties.
On 23 December 1788, Thompson seriously fractured his tibia, forcing him to spend the next two winters at Cumberland House convalescing. It was during this time that he greatly refined and expanded his mathematical, astronomical, and surveying skills under the tutelage of Hudson's Bay Company surveyor Philip Turnor. It was also during this time that he lost sight in his right eye.
In 1790, with his apprenticeship nearing its end, Thompson requested a set of surveying tools in place of the typical parting gift of fine clothes offered by the company to those completing their indenture. He received both. He entered the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company as a fur trader. In 1792 he completed his first significant survey, mapping a route to Lake Athabasca (where today's Alberta/Saskatchewan border is located). Between February and May 1793, Thompson made 34 observations of the longitude of Cumberland House using lunar distances. The mean of these observations was 102°12′ W, about 2' east of the modern value. The mean error of the 34 observations was about 15' of longitude. Broughton (2009) notes that the precision of the type of sextant used by Thompson was 15" of arc, corresponding to 7.5' of longitude giving an absolute limit to the precision of an individual observation. The error in Thompson's mean was several times less than this. The time he took on these observations, about 3 hours of calculation each, indicates that he understood the power of averages.
In recognition of his map-making and surveying skills, the company promoted Thompson to the surveyor in 1794. He continued working for the Hudson's Bay Company until 23 May 1797 when, frustrated by an order to cease surveying and focus on the fur trade, he left. He walked in the snow in order to enter the employ of the competition, the North West Company. There he continued to work as a fur trader and surveyor.
North West Company
Thompson's decision to defect to the North West Company (NWC) in 1797 without providing the customary one-year notice was not well received by his former employers. But the North West Company was more supportive of Thompson pursuing his work on surveying and mapping the interior of what was to become Canada, as they judged it in the company's interest to know the exact locations of their settlements and the distance from each other. In 1797, Thompson was sent south by his employers to survey part of the Canada-US boundary along the water routes from Lake Superior to Lake of the Woods to satisfy unresolved questions of territory arising from the Jay Treaty between Great Britain and the United States after the American Revolutionary War.
By 1798 Thompson had completed a survey of from Grand Portage, through Lake Winnipeg, to the headwaters of the Assiniboine and Mississippi rivers, as well as two sides of Lake Superior. In 1798, the company sent him to Red Deer Lake (Lac La Biche in present-day Alberta) to establish a trading post. (The English translation of Lac la Biche: Red Deer Lake, was first recorded on the Mackenzie map of 1793.) Thompson spent the next few seasons trading based in Fort George (now in Alberta), and during this time led several expeditions into the Rocky Mountains.
On 10 July 1804, at the annual meeting of the North West Company in Kaministiquia, Thompson was made a full partner of the company. He became a 'wintering partner', who was based in the field rather than Montreal, with two of the 92 NWC's shares worth more than £4,000. He spent the next few seasons based there managing the fur trading operations but still finding time to expand his surveys of the waterways around Lake Superior. At the 1806 company meeting, officers decided to send Thompson back out into the interior. Concern over the American-backed expedition of Lewis and Clark prompted the North West Company to charge Thompson with the task of finding a route to the Pacific to open up the lucrative trading territories of the Pacific Northwest.
Columbia River travels
After the general meeting in 1806, Thompson travelled to Rocky Mountain House and prepared for an expedition to follow the Columbia River to the Pacific. In June 1807 Thompson crossed the Rocky Mountains and spent the summer surveying the Columbia basin; he continued to survey the area over the next few seasons. Thompson mapped and established trading posts in Northwestern Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Western Canada. Trading posts he founded included Kootenae House, Kullyspell House and Saleesh House; the latter two were the first trading posts west of the Rockies in Idaho and Montana, respectively. These posts established by Thompson extended North West Company fur trading territory into the Columbia Basin drainage area. The maps he made of the Columbia River basin east of the Cascade Mountains were of such high quality and detail that they continued to be useful into the 20th-century.
In early 1810, Thompson was returning eastward toward Montreal but, while en route at Rainy Lake, received orders to return to the Rocky Mountains and establish a route to the mouth of the Columbia. The North West Company was responding to the plans of American John Jacob Astor to send a ship around the Americas to establish a fur trading post of the Pacific Fur Company on the Pacific Coast. During his return, Thompson was delayed by an angry group of Peigan natives at Howse Pass. He was ultimately forced to seek a new route across the Rocky Mountains and found one through the Athabasca Pass.
David Thompson was the first European to navigate the full length of the Columbia River. Between Kettle Falls (3 July 1811) and the Junction of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (9 July) he was travelling through country that had never been visited by Europeans, and took time to visit the villages along the way to establish good relations, helped by copious quantities of tobacco. In 1805 Lewis and Clark had descended the Snake River, and then continued down the Columbia. On reaching the junction Thompson erected a pole and a notice claiming the country for Great Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a trading post at the site. This notice was found later that year by Astor company workers looking to establish an inland fur post, contributing to their selection of a more northerly site at Fort Okanogan. The North West Company established its post of Fort Nez Percés near the Snake River confluence several years later. Continuing down the Columbia, Thompson passed over the Celilo Falls, almost losing the canoe on the rocks, and portaged around the rapids of The Dalles and the Cascades Rapids. On 14 July 1811, Thompson reached the partially constructed Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia, arriving two months after the Pacific Fur Company's ship, the Tonquin.
Before returning upriver and across the mountains, Thompson hired Naukane, a Native Hawaiian Takane labourer brought to Fort Astoria by the Pacific Fur Company's ship Tonquin. Naukane, known as Coxe to Thompson, accompanied Thompson across the continent to Lake Superior before journeying on to England.
Thompson wintered at Saleesh House before beginning his final journey back to Montreal in 1812, where the North West Company was based.
In his published journals, Thompson recorded seeing large footprints (“which measured fourteen inches in length by eight inches in breadth”) near what is now Jasper, Alberta, in 1811. It has been suggested that these prints were similar to what has since been called the sasquatch. However, Thompson noted that these tracks showed "a small Nail at the end of each [toe]", and stated that these tracks "very much resembles a large Bear's Track".
The years 1807-1812 are the most carefully scrutinized in his career and his most enduring historical legacy, due to his development of the commercial routes across the Rockies, and his mapping of the lands they traverse.
Appearance and personality
In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson:
Marriage and children
On 10 June 1799 at Île-à-la-Crosse, Thompson married Charlotte Small, a thirteen-year-old Métis daughter of Scottish fur trader Patrick Small and a Cree mother. Their marriage was formalised thirteen years later at the Scotch Presbyterian Church in Montreal on 30 October 1812. He and Charlotte had 13 children together; five of them were born before he left the fur trade. The family did not adjust easily to life in Eastern Canada; they lived in Montreal while he was traveling. Two of the children, John (aged 5) and Emma (aged 7), died of round worms, a common parasite. By the time of Thompson's death, the couple had been married 57 years, the longest marriage known in Canada pre-Confederation.
Later life
Upon his arrival back in Montreal, Thompson retired with a generous pension from the North West Company. He settled in nearby Terrebonne and worked on completing his great map, a summary of his lifetime of exploring and surveying the interior of North America. The map covered the wide area stretching from Lake Superior to the Pacific, and was given by Thompson to the North West Company. Thompson's 1814 map, his greatest achievement, was so accurate that 100 years later it was still the basis for many of the maps issued by the Canadian government. It now resides in the Archives of Ontario.
In 1815, Thompson moved his family to Williamstown, Upper Canada, and a few years later was employed to survey the newly established borders with the United States from Lake of the Woods to the Eastern Townships of Quebec, established by Treaty of Ghent after the War of 1812. In 1843 Thompson completed his atlas of the region from Hudson Bay to the Pacific Ocean.
Afterwards, Thompson returned to a life as a land owner, but soon financial misfortune would ruin him. By 1831 he was so deeply in debt he was forced to take up a position as a surveyor for the British American Land Company to provide for his family. His luck continued to worsen and he was forced to move in with his daughter and son-in-law in 1845. He began work on a manuscript chronicling his life exploring the continent, but this project was left unfinished when his sight failed him completely in 1851.
Death and afterward
The land mass mapped by Thompson amounted to of wilderness (one-fifth of the continent). His contemporary, the great explorer Alexander Mackenzie, remarked that Thompson did more in ten months than he would have thought possible in two years.
Despite these significant achievements, Thompson died in Montreal in near obscurity on 10 February 1857, his accomplishments almost unrecognised. He never finished the book of his 28 years in the fur trade, based on his 77 field notebooks, before he died. In the 1890s geologist J.B. Tyrrell resurrected Thompson's notes and in 1916 published them as David Thompson's Narrative, as part of the General Series of the Champlain Society. Further editions and re-examinations of Thompson's life and works were published in 1962 by Richard Glover, in 1971 by Victor Hopwood, and in 2015 by William Moreau.
Thompson's body was interred in Montreal's Mount Royal Cemetery in an unmarked grave. It was not until 1926 that efforts by J.B. Tyrrell and the Canadian Historical Society resulted in the placing of a tombstone to mark his grave. The next year, Thompson was named a National Historic Person by the federal government, one of the earliest such designations. A federal plaque reflecting that status is located at Jasper National Park, Alberta. Meantime, Thompson's achievements are central reasons for other national historic designations:
David Thompson on the Columbia River National Historic Event, marked at Castlegar, BC
Athabasca Pass National Historic Site (NHS), at Jasper National Park
Boat Encampment NHS, BC
Howse Pass NHS, Banff National Park, Alberta
Kootenae House NHS, BC
Rocky Mountain House NHS, Alberta
In 1957, one hundred years after his death, Canada's post office department honoured him with his image on a postage stamp. The David Thompson Highway in Alberta was named in his honour, along with David Thompson High School situated on the side of the highway near Leslieville, Alberta. There are also two David Thompson Secondary Schools, one in Vancouver, BC, and one in Invermere, BC.
His prowess as a geographer is now well-recognized. He has been called "the greatest land geographer that the world has produced."
There is a monument dedicated to David Thompson (maintained by the state of North Dakota) near the former town site of the ghost town Verendrye, North Dakota, located approximately north and west of Karlsruhe, North Dakota. Thompson Falls, Montana, and British Columbia's Thompson River and Thompson Falls on the Blaeberry River are also named after the explorer.
The year 2007 marked the 150th year of Thompson's death and the 200th anniversary of his first crossing of the Rocky Mountains. Commemorative events and exhibits were planned across Canada and the United States from 2007 to 2011 as a celebration of his accomplishments.
In 2007, a commemorative plaque was placed on a wall at the Grey Coat Hospital, the school for the disadvantaged of Westminster David Thompson attended as a boy, by English author and TV presenter Ray Mears.
Thompson was the subject of a 1964 National Film Board of Canada short film David Thompson: The Great Mapmaker , as well as the BBC2 programme Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness (Episode 5), broadcast in November 2009. He's also the subject of 2010 KSPS-TV film Uncharted Territory: David Thompson on the Columbia Plateau.
He is referenced in the 1981 folk song "Northwest Passage" by Stan Rogers.
The national park service, Parks Canada, announced in 2018 that it had named its new research vessel , to be used for underwater archaeology, including sea floor mapping, and for marine science in the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic Oceans, and the Great Lakes. It will be the main platform for research on the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site.
The David Thompson Astronomical Observatory at Fort William Historical Park was named to commemorate David Thompson and his discoveries.
See also
Exploration of North America
Fur trade
Works
1814: Map of the North-West Territory of the Province of Canada
1897: New light on the early history of the greater Northwest (edited by Elliott Coues) Volume I; Volume II; Volume III
1916: David Thompson's narrative of his explorations in western America, 1784–1812 (edited by J.B. Tyrrell)
1950: David Thompson's journals relating to Montana and adjacent regions, 1808–1812 (edited by M. Catherine White)
1962: David Thompson's narrative, 1784–1812 (edited by Richard Glover)
1974: David Thompson's journal of the international boundary survey, 1817–1827: western Lake Erie, August–September 1819 (edited by Clarke E. Leverette)
1993: Columbia Journals (edited by Barbara Belyea)
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812 " Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
2006/2007: "David Thompson in Alberta 1787–1812"; "David Thompson on the Columbia River 1807–1812"; "The Explorations and Travels of David Thompson 1784–1812"; "Posts and Forts of the North American Fur Trade 1600–1870" Contemporary and Historical Maps: David Thompson (Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consultin
2010 : Official Documentary of Thompson was released by national geographic, ca.
References
Notes
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812" Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
Further reading
Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection
External links
David Thompson's Narrative of His Explorations in Western America 1784–1812 Vol's I and II, Champlain Society 1916, PDF (B/W) 25.1 MB
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Tyrrell edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Glover edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
David Thompson: Map Maker, Explorer and Visionary, online exhibit on Archives of Ontario website
DavidThompson200: bicentennial commemorations of Thompson's explorations
KSPS Public TV (PBS), , Narrative of David Thompson's life and travels. / Feb 2011
The Writings of David Thompson edited by William E. Moreau. Three volumes.
David Thompson Papers, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library
North West Company
English surveyors
Canadian people of Welsh descent
English cartographers
English explorers
Canadian cartographers
Canadian male canoeists
Canadian explorers
Canadian surveyors
English emigrants to pre-Confederation Canada
Explorers of British Columbia
Explorers of Canada
North West Company people
People from Westminster
People from Montreal
Pre-Confederation Quebec people
Interior of British Columbia
Hudson's Bay Company people
1770 births
1857 deaths
History of the Pacific Northwest
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Explorers of Washington (state)
People educated at Grey Coat Hospital
English explorers of North America
Welsh topographers
Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery | false | [
"Simratpal \"Simmer\" Singh is a practicing Sikh United States Army officer and combat veteran. He won a federal lawsuit, Singh v. Carter, against the U.S. Department of Defense to be allowed to wear a religious beard and turban in uniform.\n\nHe graduated from West Point in 2010 and chose, while he was there, to shave in order to follow their rules and attend West Point. He completed Army Ranger School and a tour in Afghanistan, earning a Bronze Star medal. In 2016 he won a court case against the U.S. Department of Defense and gained permission to wear a religious beard and turban in uniform. Capt. Singh asked the Army in October 2015 to allow him to wear his beard and turban. They granted him temporary accommodation in December 2015. When the accommodation was about to expire in February 2016, the Army told Captain Singh to report for a series of tests. Singh sued on the grounds that other soldiers were not required to do similar activities and that the test was religious discrimination. In 2016 he won a permanent accommodation, making him the first active duty Sikh soldier to be approved to dress with his religious beliefs while in active duty.\n\nIn January 2017, the Army issued new regulations stating that all Sikh soldiers can wear their religious articles while serving.\n\nSingh is currently in a staff position at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.\n\nSingh's great grandfather served in World War I for the British Indian Army.\n\nReferences \n\nUnited States Military Academy alumni\nLiving people\nYear of birth missing (living people)\nSikhs\nAmerican Sikhs",
"A Van Dyke (sometimes spelled Vandyke, or Van Dyck) is a style of facial hair named after the 17th-century Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641). The artist's name is today normally spelt as “van Dyck\", though there are many variants, but when the term for the beard became popular \"Van Dyke\" was more common in English. A Van Dyke specifically consists of any growth of both a moustache and goatee with all hair on the cheeks shaved. Even this particular style, though, has many variants, including a curled moustache versus a non-curled one and a soul patch versus none. The style is sometimes called a \"Charlie\" after King Charles I of England, who was painted with this type of beard by van Dyck. \"Pike-devant\" or \"pickedevant\" are other little-known synonyms for a Van Dyke beard.\n\nPopularity\nThis style of beard was popular in Europe in the 17th century. It died out in Britain with the Restoration, when French styles and wigs became popular. The Van Dyke beard style is named after the 17th-century Flemish painter Anthony Van Dyke. For some time after, however, some men, known as \"vow-beards\", continued to wear them, vowing to wear them until the King did so again. It became popular in the United States in the 19th century. Columnist Edith Sessions Tupper, of the Chicago Chronicle (1895–1908), condemned this style, along with the goatee, as indicative of a man \"who was selfish, sinister, and pompous as a peacock.\" \n\nThe style was worn by van Dyck himself and by many of the sitters for his portraits, including King Charles I of England. The Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin also wore a Van Dyke. The Van Dyke had a revival in the 19th century and was worn by several well-known figures, including General Custer (among other styles) and the actor Monty Woolley. Colonel Sanders would also qualify as having a Van Dyke.\n\nExamples\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nBeard styles"
] |
[
"David Thompson (explorer)",
"Appearance and personality",
"What was Thompson like as a person?",
"He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant.",
"What else was noticeable about his appearance?",
"His figure was short and compact,",
"Did he have any other distinguishing features?",
"his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown,",
"Did he wear a beard?",
"I don't know."
] | C_e4e0f0e98a3e41878ec328673efaad58_1 | How did he wear his clothes? | 6 | How did David Thompson wear his clothes? | David Thompson (explorer) | In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson: I was well placed at table between one of the Miss McGillivray's and a singular-looking person of about fifty. He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant. His figure was short and compact, and his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square, as if by one stroke of the shears, just above the eyebrows. His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown, while the expression of his deeply-furrowed features was friendly and intelligent, but his cut-short nose gave him an odd look. His speech betrayed the Welshman, although he left his native hills when very young. I might have been spared this description of Mr David Thompson by saying he greatly resembled Curran the Irish Orator... I afterwards travelled much with him, and have now only to speak of him with great respect, or, I ought to say, with admiration... No living person possesses a tithe of his information respecting the Hudson's Bay countries... Never mind his Bunyan-like face and cropped hair; he has a very powerful mind, and a singular faculty of picture-making. He can create a wilderness and people it with warring savages, or climb the Rocky Mountains with you in a snow-storm, so clearly and palpably, that only shut your eyes and you hear the crack of the rifle, or feel the snow-flakes melt on your cheeks as he talks. CANNOTANSWER | was plainly dressed, | David Thompson (30 April 1770 – 10 February 1857) was a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and cartographer, known to some native peoples as Koo-Koo-Sint or "the Stargazer". Over Thompson's career, he traveled across North America, mapping of North America along the way. For this historic feat, Thompson has been described as the "greatest practical land geographer that the world has produced".
Early life
David Thompson was born in Westminster, Middlesex, to recent Welsh migrants David and Ann Thompson. When Thompson was two, his father died. Due to the financial hardship with his mother without resources, Thompson, 29 April 1777, the day before his seventh birthday, and his older brother were placed in the Grey Coat Hospital, a school for the disadvantaged of Westminster. Thompson graduated to the Grey Coat mathematical school, well known for teaching navigation and surveying. He received an education for the Royal Navy: including mathematics of trigonometry and geometry, practical navigation including using of nautical instruments, finding latitudes and longitudes and making navigational calculations from observing the sun, moon and tides and the drawing of maps and charts, taking land measurements and sketching landscapes. He later built on these to make his career. In 1784, at the age of 14, the Grey Coat treasurer paid the Hudson's Bay Company the sum of five pounds, upon which Thompson became the company's indentured servant for a period of seven years to be trained as a clerk. He set sail on 28 May of that year, and left England for North America.
Hudson's Bay Company (HBC)
On 2 September 1784, Thompson arrived in Churchill (now in Manitoba) and was put to work as a clerk/secretary, copying the personal papers of the governor of Fort Churchill, Samuel Hearne. The next year he was transferred to nearby York Factory, and over the next few years spent time as a secretary at Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, and South Branch House before arriving at Manchester House in 1787. During those years he learned to keep accounts and other records, calculate values of furs (It was noted that he also had several expensive beaver pelts at that time even when a secretary's job would not pay terribly well), track supplies and other duties.
On 23 December 1788, Thompson seriously fractured his tibia, forcing him to spend the next two winters at Cumberland House convalescing. It was during this time that he greatly refined and expanded his mathematical, astronomical, and surveying skills under the tutelage of Hudson's Bay Company surveyor Philip Turnor. It was also during this time that he lost sight in his right eye.
In 1790, with his apprenticeship nearing its end, Thompson requested a set of surveying tools in place of the typical parting gift of fine clothes offered by the company to those completing their indenture. He received both. He entered the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company as a fur trader. In 1792 he completed his first significant survey, mapping a route to Lake Athabasca (where today's Alberta/Saskatchewan border is located). Between February and May 1793, Thompson made 34 observations of the longitude of Cumberland House using lunar distances. The mean of these observations was 102°12′ W, about 2' east of the modern value. The mean error of the 34 observations was about 15' of longitude. Broughton (2009) notes that the precision of the type of sextant used by Thompson was 15" of arc, corresponding to 7.5' of longitude giving an absolute limit to the precision of an individual observation. The error in Thompson's mean was several times less than this. The time he took on these observations, about 3 hours of calculation each, indicates that he understood the power of averages.
In recognition of his map-making and surveying skills, the company promoted Thompson to the surveyor in 1794. He continued working for the Hudson's Bay Company until 23 May 1797 when, frustrated by an order to cease surveying and focus on the fur trade, he left. He walked in the snow in order to enter the employ of the competition, the North West Company. There he continued to work as a fur trader and surveyor.
North West Company
Thompson's decision to defect to the North West Company (NWC) in 1797 without providing the customary one-year notice was not well received by his former employers. But the North West Company was more supportive of Thompson pursuing his work on surveying and mapping the interior of what was to become Canada, as they judged it in the company's interest to know the exact locations of their settlements and the distance from each other. In 1797, Thompson was sent south by his employers to survey part of the Canada-US boundary along the water routes from Lake Superior to Lake of the Woods to satisfy unresolved questions of territory arising from the Jay Treaty between Great Britain and the United States after the American Revolutionary War.
By 1798 Thompson had completed a survey of from Grand Portage, through Lake Winnipeg, to the headwaters of the Assiniboine and Mississippi rivers, as well as two sides of Lake Superior. In 1798, the company sent him to Red Deer Lake (Lac La Biche in present-day Alberta) to establish a trading post. (The English translation of Lac la Biche: Red Deer Lake, was first recorded on the Mackenzie map of 1793.) Thompson spent the next few seasons trading based in Fort George (now in Alberta), and during this time led several expeditions into the Rocky Mountains.
On 10 July 1804, at the annual meeting of the North West Company in Kaministiquia, Thompson was made a full partner of the company. He became a 'wintering partner', who was based in the field rather than Montreal, with two of the 92 NWC's shares worth more than £4,000. He spent the next few seasons based there managing the fur trading operations but still finding time to expand his surveys of the waterways around Lake Superior. At the 1806 company meeting, officers decided to send Thompson back out into the interior. Concern over the American-backed expedition of Lewis and Clark prompted the North West Company to charge Thompson with the task of finding a route to the Pacific to open up the lucrative trading territories of the Pacific Northwest.
Columbia River travels
After the general meeting in 1806, Thompson travelled to Rocky Mountain House and prepared for an expedition to follow the Columbia River to the Pacific. In June 1807 Thompson crossed the Rocky Mountains and spent the summer surveying the Columbia basin; he continued to survey the area over the next few seasons. Thompson mapped and established trading posts in Northwestern Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Western Canada. Trading posts he founded included Kootenae House, Kullyspell House and Saleesh House; the latter two were the first trading posts west of the Rockies in Idaho and Montana, respectively. These posts established by Thompson extended North West Company fur trading territory into the Columbia Basin drainage area. The maps he made of the Columbia River basin east of the Cascade Mountains were of such high quality and detail that they continued to be useful into the 20th-century.
In early 1810, Thompson was returning eastward toward Montreal but, while en route at Rainy Lake, received orders to return to the Rocky Mountains and establish a route to the mouth of the Columbia. The North West Company was responding to the plans of American John Jacob Astor to send a ship around the Americas to establish a fur trading post of the Pacific Fur Company on the Pacific Coast. During his return, Thompson was delayed by an angry group of Peigan natives at Howse Pass. He was ultimately forced to seek a new route across the Rocky Mountains and found one through the Athabasca Pass.
David Thompson was the first European to navigate the full length of the Columbia River. Between Kettle Falls (3 July 1811) and the Junction of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (9 July) he was travelling through country that had never been visited by Europeans, and took time to visit the villages along the way to establish good relations, helped by copious quantities of tobacco. In 1805 Lewis and Clark had descended the Snake River, and then continued down the Columbia. On reaching the junction Thompson erected a pole and a notice claiming the country for Great Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a trading post at the site. This notice was found later that year by Astor company workers looking to establish an inland fur post, contributing to their selection of a more northerly site at Fort Okanogan. The North West Company established its post of Fort Nez Percés near the Snake River confluence several years later. Continuing down the Columbia, Thompson passed over the Celilo Falls, almost losing the canoe on the rocks, and portaged around the rapids of The Dalles and the Cascades Rapids. On 14 July 1811, Thompson reached the partially constructed Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia, arriving two months after the Pacific Fur Company's ship, the Tonquin.
Before returning upriver and across the mountains, Thompson hired Naukane, a Native Hawaiian Takane labourer brought to Fort Astoria by the Pacific Fur Company's ship Tonquin. Naukane, known as Coxe to Thompson, accompanied Thompson across the continent to Lake Superior before journeying on to England.
Thompson wintered at Saleesh House before beginning his final journey back to Montreal in 1812, where the North West Company was based.
In his published journals, Thompson recorded seeing large footprints (“which measured fourteen inches in length by eight inches in breadth”) near what is now Jasper, Alberta, in 1811. It has been suggested that these prints were similar to what has since been called the sasquatch. However, Thompson noted that these tracks showed "a small Nail at the end of each [toe]", and stated that these tracks "very much resembles a large Bear's Track".
The years 1807-1812 are the most carefully scrutinized in his career and his most enduring historical legacy, due to his development of the commercial routes across the Rockies, and his mapping of the lands they traverse.
Appearance and personality
In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson:
Marriage and children
On 10 June 1799 at Île-à-la-Crosse, Thompson married Charlotte Small, a thirteen-year-old Métis daughter of Scottish fur trader Patrick Small and a Cree mother. Their marriage was formalised thirteen years later at the Scotch Presbyterian Church in Montreal on 30 October 1812. He and Charlotte had 13 children together; five of them were born before he left the fur trade. The family did not adjust easily to life in Eastern Canada; they lived in Montreal while he was traveling. Two of the children, John (aged 5) and Emma (aged 7), died of round worms, a common parasite. By the time of Thompson's death, the couple had been married 57 years, the longest marriage known in Canada pre-Confederation.
Later life
Upon his arrival back in Montreal, Thompson retired with a generous pension from the North West Company. He settled in nearby Terrebonne and worked on completing his great map, a summary of his lifetime of exploring and surveying the interior of North America. The map covered the wide area stretching from Lake Superior to the Pacific, and was given by Thompson to the North West Company. Thompson's 1814 map, his greatest achievement, was so accurate that 100 years later it was still the basis for many of the maps issued by the Canadian government. It now resides in the Archives of Ontario.
In 1815, Thompson moved his family to Williamstown, Upper Canada, and a few years later was employed to survey the newly established borders with the United States from Lake of the Woods to the Eastern Townships of Quebec, established by Treaty of Ghent after the War of 1812. In 1843 Thompson completed his atlas of the region from Hudson Bay to the Pacific Ocean.
Afterwards, Thompson returned to a life as a land owner, but soon financial misfortune would ruin him. By 1831 he was so deeply in debt he was forced to take up a position as a surveyor for the British American Land Company to provide for his family. His luck continued to worsen and he was forced to move in with his daughter and son-in-law in 1845. He began work on a manuscript chronicling his life exploring the continent, but this project was left unfinished when his sight failed him completely in 1851.
Death and afterward
The land mass mapped by Thompson amounted to of wilderness (one-fifth of the continent). His contemporary, the great explorer Alexander Mackenzie, remarked that Thompson did more in ten months than he would have thought possible in two years.
Despite these significant achievements, Thompson died in Montreal in near obscurity on 10 February 1857, his accomplishments almost unrecognised. He never finished the book of his 28 years in the fur trade, based on his 77 field notebooks, before he died. In the 1890s geologist J.B. Tyrrell resurrected Thompson's notes and in 1916 published them as David Thompson's Narrative, as part of the General Series of the Champlain Society. Further editions and re-examinations of Thompson's life and works were published in 1962 by Richard Glover, in 1971 by Victor Hopwood, and in 2015 by William Moreau.
Thompson's body was interred in Montreal's Mount Royal Cemetery in an unmarked grave. It was not until 1926 that efforts by J.B. Tyrrell and the Canadian Historical Society resulted in the placing of a tombstone to mark his grave. The next year, Thompson was named a National Historic Person by the federal government, one of the earliest such designations. A federal plaque reflecting that status is located at Jasper National Park, Alberta. Meantime, Thompson's achievements are central reasons for other national historic designations:
David Thompson on the Columbia River National Historic Event, marked at Castlegar, BC
Athabasca Pass National Historic Site (NHS), at Jasper National Park
Boat Encampment NHS, BC
Howse Pass NHS, Banff National Park, Alberta
Kootenae House NHS, BC
Rocky Mountain House NHS, Alberta
In 1957, one hundred years after his death, Canada's post office department honoured him with his image on a postage stamp. The David Thompson Highway in Alberta was named in his honour, along with David Thompson High School situated on the side of the highway near Leslieville, Alberta. There are also two David Thompson Secondary Schools, one in Vancouver, BC, and one in Invermere, BC.
His prowess as a geographer is now well-recognized. He has been called "the greatest land geographer that the world has produced."
There is a monument dedicated to David Thompson (maintained by the state of North Dakota) near the former town site of the ghost town Verendrye, North Dakota, located approximately north and west of Karlsruhe, North Dakota. Thompson Falls, Montana, and British Columbia's Thompson River and Thompson Falls on the Blaeberry River are also named after the explorer.
The year 2007 marked the 150th year of Thompson's death and the 200th anniversary of his first crossing of the Rocky Mountains. Commemorative events and exhibits were planned across Canada and the United States from 2007 to 2011 as a celebration of his accomplishments.
In 2007, a commemorative plaque was placed on a wall at the Grey Coat Hospital, the school for the disadvantaged of Westminster David Thompson attended as a boy, by English author and TV presenter Ray Mears.
Thompson was the subject of a 1964 National Film Board of Canada short film David Thompson: The Great Mapmaker , as well as the BBC2 programme Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness (Episode 5), broadcast in November 2009. He's also the subject of 2010 KSPS-TV film Uncharted Territory: David Thompson on the Columbia Plateau.
He is referenced in the 1981 folk song "Northwest Passage" by Stan Rogers.
The national park service, Parks Canada, announced in 2018 that it had named its new research vessel , to be used for underwater archaeology, including sea floor mapping, and for marine science in the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic Oceans, and the Great Lakes. It will be the main platform for research on the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site.
The David Thompson Astronomical Observatory at Fort William Historical Park was named to commemorate David Thompson and his discoveries.
See also
Exploration of North America
Fur trade
Works
1814: Map of the North-West Territory of the Province of Canada
1897: New light on the early history of the greater Northwest (edited by Elliott Coues) Volume I; Volume II; Volume III
1916: David Thompson's narrative of his explorations in western America, 1784–1812 (edited by J.B. Tyrrell)
1950: David Thompson's journals relating to Montana and adjacent regions, 1808–1812 (edited by M. Catherine White)
1962: David Thompson's narrative, 1784–1812 (edited by Richard Glover)
1974: David Thompson's journal of the international boundary survey, 1817–1827: western Lake Erie, August–September 1819 (edited by Clarke E. Leverette)
1993: Columbia Journals (edited by Barbara Belyea)
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812 " Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
2006/2007: "David Thompson in Alberta 1787–1812"; "David Thompson on the Columbia River 1807–1812"; "The Explorations and Travels of David Thompson 1784–1812"; "Posts and Forts of the North American Fur Trade 1600–1870" Contemporary and Historical Maps: David Thompson (Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consultin
2010 : Official Documentary of Thompson was released by national geographic, ca.
References
Notes
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812" Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
Further reading
Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection
External links
David Thompson's Narrative of His Explorations in Western America 1784–1812 Vol's I and II, Champlain Society 1916, PDF (B/W) 25.1 MB
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Tyrrell edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Glover edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
David Thompson: Map Maker, Explorer and Visionary, online exhibit on Archives of Ontario website
DavidThompson200: bicentennial commemorations of Thompson's explorations
KSPS Public TV (PBS), , Narrative of David Thompson's life and travels. / Feb 2011
The Writings of David Thompson edited by William E. Moreau. Three volumes.
David Thompson Papers, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library
North West Company
English surveyors
Canadian people of Welsh descent
English cartographers
English explorers
Canadian cartographers
Canadian male canoeists
Canadian explorers
Canadian surveyors
English emigrants to pre-Confederation Canada
Explorers of British Columbia
Explorers of Canada
North West Company people
People from Westminster
People from Montreal
Pre-Confederation Quebec people
Interior of British Columbia
Hudson's Bay Company people
1770 births
1857 deaths
History of the Pacific Northwest
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Explorers of Washington (state)
People educated at Grey Coat Hospital
English explorers of North America
Welsh topographers
Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery | false | [
"Zoran Ladicorbic (born 1947), known as Zoran, is an American fashion designer who launched his business in 1976. He is particularly known for extremely minimalist, understated garments following the American sportswear principle, in neutral colors (occasionally red, purple or blue) and high quality natural fabrics such as silk, linen and cashmere wool. His clothes have been described as \"Gap for the very rich\", and as \"revolutionary\" due to being designed without \"built-in obsolescence\".\n\nEarly life\nBorn in the Banat in 1947, Zoran trained as an architect before migrating to the United States in 1972 where he worked in clothing retail and as an accessory designer for Scott Barrie before launching his label. In 1983, Zoran stated that he considered himself an American.\n\nFashion\nZoran's first collection, produced in 1976, offered five simple, one-size-fits-all designs made in white or black crepe-de-chine; all he could afford at the time. This collection, named \"Five Easy Pieces\", was sold through Henri Bendel, where it sold out quickly, leading to increasingly larger orders. In 1982, Zoran offered some of his garments in cotton knit for summer, which enabled a wider range of customers to afford them, and also produced velour resort wear which could be worn both on the beach and for formal occasions.\n\nZoran received his first Coty Award nomination in 1980, but did not win until 1982, when he was awarded a Special Award for menswear separates. He was also shortlisted for the Coty in 1983, but declined his nomination.\n\nBy 1983 Zoran's name had become a byword for clothing that reflected his minimalist purity of line. He was based in Greenwich Village, rather than in the Seventh Avenue, the focus of New York's garment industry. Also in 1983, with the exception of Barneys, Zoran pulled his clothes from sale through the major American stores, and opened his first shop in Washington D.C. Whilst also selling clothes through the London boutique Browns, he also chose to focus on private clients such as Queen Noor of Jordan, Isabella Rossellini and Lauren Hutton. By 1999, he was again selling through department stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue.\n\nIn 1993, Zoran described his approach to fashion as \"simplicity in fabric and way of cut. You cannot produce complicated clothes or spend 10 days making a dress. Mine is all done by scaling measurements. I use the body as the land, as when building a house.\" Suzy Menkes described his work at the time as based on loose and easy fits, playing only with proportion, color and texture, such as lining chiffon with lamé, or pairing velvet with alpaca.\n\nAlthough his clothes were extremely expensive and the designer refused to allow them to be reduced in price, they consistently sold well. In 1999, The New York Times noted that wholesale revenues of Zoran were probably around the $25 million mark; with profit margins equivalent to those of Armani. Philip B. Miller, the then chairman of Saks, declared that Zoran was ranked \"at the very top\".\n\nWhile regularly referred to as \"reclusive and recalcitrant\", and as someone maintaining a \"low profile\", Zoran is noted for his strong opinions. In 1983, he declared that the only jewelry a woman should wear with his clothing should be her children or her husband. In the same interview, when asked what designers he admired, alongside Coco Chanel, he declared Chairman Mao Zedong's wife, Jiang Qing \"the ultimate designer, the designer of the century\", for having helped create the uniform worn by a billion Chinese. In 1993, he told Menkes, \"Clothes should never touch the body,\" declaring that only prostitutes wore tight clothing. Zoran's clients have recalled being advised not to wear make-up or painted toenails with his clothing, with Gloria Vanderbilt describing how when the designer saw her wearing an Armani suit at a book reading, he promptly covered her outfit with one of his own chiffon stoles.\n\nZoran relied on the loyalty of his customer base and the high quality of his deliberately logo-free clothing for his success, notably avoiding publicity, advertising, and licensing deals for his name. He rarely held fashion shows. In the early 2000s he withdrew from traditional retail and as of 2014, is believed to currently work on a private basis for individual clients.\n\nReferences\n\n1947 births\nLiving people\nAmerican fashion designers\nYugoslav emigrants to the United States\nYugoslav artists",
"Andrew Christian is an American men's underwear, swimwear, sportswear and lingerie manufacturer named after its founder, Andrew Christian.\n\nHistory\nAndrew Christian started the clothing line in 1997. He sold his clothing in local boutiques. He chose a generic cross icon for his logo as he wanted to avoid religious connotations.\n\nThe regular fashions were followed, over the years, by sportswear, swimwear, and then underwear, \"and that's when things really took off.\" In 2006, with the addition of the underwear lines, sales grew exponentially.\n\nIn the 2007/2008 season the company produced Obama-themed underwear, donating $1 from every sale to the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign.\n\nIn 2008 Christian released Black Line, \"a higher end dressy line of men's wear,\" inspired by the clothes he made for himself, and features ready-to-wear tailored pants and vests.\n\nIn the 2008/2009 season the company started making clothes for women as well as men. In 2013 it expanded the sportswear lines.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \nAndrew Christian homepage\n\nSwimwear manufacturers\nUnderwear brands\nClothing brands of the United States\nClothing companies established in 2001\nManufacturing companies based in Los Angeles\nMenswear designers\n2001 establishments in California"
] |
[
"David Thompson (explorer)",
"Appearance and personality",
"What was Thompson like as a person?",
"He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant.",
"What else was noticeable about his appearance?",
"His figure was short and compact,",
"Did he have any other distinguishing features?",
"his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown,",
"Did he wear a beard?",
"I don't know.",
"How did he wear his clothes?",
"was plainly dressed,"
] | C_e4e0f0e98a3e41878ec328673efaad58_1 | What else was unique about his appearance? | 7 | Besides David Thompson's ruddy-brown complexion and plain clothes, what else was unique about Thompson's appearance? | David Thompson (explorer) | In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson: I was well placed at table between one of the Miss McGillivray's and a singular-looking person of about fifty. He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant. His figure was short and compact, and his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square, as if by one stroke of the shears, just above the eyebrows. His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown, while the expression of his deeply-furrowed features was friendly and intelligent, but his cut-short nose gave him an odd look. His speech betrayed the Welshman, although he left his native hills when very young. I might have been spared this description of Mr David Thompson by saying he greatly resembled Curran the Irish Orator... I afterwards travelled much with him, and have now only to speak of him with great respect, or, I ought to say, with admiration... No living person possesses a tithe of his information respecting the Hudson's Bay countries... Never mind his Bunyan-like face and cropped hair; he has a very powerful mind, and a singular faculty of picture-making. He can create a wilderness and people it with warring savages, or climb the Rocky Mountains with you in a snow-storm, so clearly and palpably, that only shut your eyes and you hear the crack of the rifle, or feel the snow-flakes melt on your cheeks as he talks. CANNOTANSWER | by saying he greatly resembled Curran the Irish Orator... | David Thompson (30 April 1770 – 10 February 1857) was a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and cartographer, known to some native peoples as Koo-Koo-Sint or "the Stargazer". Over Thompson's career, he traveled across North America, mapping of North America along the way. For this historic feat, Thompson has been described as the "greatest practical land geographer that the world has produced".
Early life
David Thompson was born in Westminster, Middlesex, to recent Welsh migrants David and Ann Thompson. When Thompson was two, his father died. Due to the financial hardship with his mother without resources, Thompson, 29 April 1777, the day before his seventh birthday, and his older brother were placed in the Grey Coat Hospital, a school for the disadvantaged of Westminster. Thompson graduated to the Grey Coat mathematical school, well known for teaching navigation and surveying. He received an education for the Royal Navy: including mathematics of trigonometry and geometry, practical navigation including using of nautical instruments, finding latitudes and longitudes and making navigational calculations from observing the sun, moon and tides and the drawing of maps and charts, taking land measurements and sketching landscapes. He later built on these to make his career. In 1784, at the age of 14, the Grey Coat treasurer paid the Hudson's Bay Company the sum of five pounds, upon which Thompson became the company's indentured servant for a period of seven years to be trained as a clerk. He set sail on 28 May of that year, and left England for North America.
Hudson's Bay Company (HBC)
On 2 September 1784, Thompson arrived in Churchill (now in Manitoba) and was put to work as a clerk/secretary, copying the personal papers of the governor of Fort Churchill, Samuel Hearne. The next year he was transferred to nearby York Factory, and over the next few years spent time as a secretary at Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, and South Branch House before arriving at Manchester House in 1787. During those years he learned to keep accounts and other records, calculate values of furs (It was noted that he also had several expensive beaver pelts at that time even when a secretary's job would not pay terribly well), track supplies and other duties.
On 23 December 1788, Thompson seriously fractured his tibia, forcing him to spend the next two winters at Cumberland House convalescing. It was during this time that he greatly refined and expanded his mathematical, astronomical, and surveying skills under the tutelage of Hudson's Bay Company surveyor Philip Turnor. It was also during this time that he lost sight in his right eye.
In 1790, with his apprenticeship nearing its end, Thompson requested a set of surveying tools in place of the typical parting gift of fine clothes offered by the company to those completing their indenture. He received both. He entered the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company as a fur trader. In 1792 he completed his first significant survey, mapping a route to Lake Athabasca (where today's Alberta/Saskatchewan border is located). Between February and May 1793, Thompson made 34 observations of the longitude of Cumberland House using lunar distances. The mean of these observations was 102°12′ W, about 2' east of the modern value. The mean error of the 34 observations was about 15' of longitude. Broughton (2009) notes that the precision of the type of sextant used by Thompson was 15" of arc, corresponding to 7.5' of longitude giving an absolute limit to the precision of an individual observation. The error in Thompson's mean was several times less than this. The time he took on these observations, about 3 hours of calculation each, indicates that he understood the power of averages.
In recognition of his map-making and surveying skills, the company promoted Thompson to the surveyor in 1794. He continued working for the Hudson's Bay Company until 23 May 1797 when, frustrated by an order to cease surveying and focus on the fur trade, he left. He walked in the snow in order to enter the employ of the competition, the North West Company. There he continued to work as a fur trader and surveyor.
North West Company
Thompson's decision to defect to the North West Company (NWC) in 1797 without providing the customary one-year notice was not well received by his former employers. But the North West Company was more supportive of Thompson pursuing his work on surveying and mapping the interior of what was to become Canada, as they judged it in the company's interest to know the exact locations of their settlements and the distance from each other. In 1797, Thompson was sent south by his employers to survey part of the Canada-US boundary along the water routes from Lake Superior to Lake of the Woods to satisfy unresolved questions of territory arising from the Jay Treaty between Great Britain and the United States after the American Revolutionary War.
By 1798 Thompson had completed a survey of from Grand Portage, through Lake Winnipeg, to the headwaters of the Assiniboine and Mississippi rivers, as well as two sides of Lake Superior. In 1798, the company sent him to Red Deer Lake (Lac La Biche in present-day Alberta) to establish a trading post. (The English translation of Lac la Biche: Red Deer Lake, was first recorded on the Mackenzie map of 1793.) Thompson spent the next few seasons trading based in Fort George (now in Alberta), and during this time led several expeditions into the Rocky Mountains.
On 10 July 1804, at the annual meeting of the North West Company in Kaministiquia, Thompson was made a full partner of the company. He became a 'wintering partner', who was based in the field rather than Montreal, with two of the 92 NWC's shares worth more than £4,000. He spent the next few seasons based there managing the fur trading operations but still finding time to expand his surveys of the waterways around Lake Superior. At the 1806 company meeting, officers decided to send Thompson back out into the interior. Concern over the American-backed expedition of Lewis and Clark prompted the North West Company to charge Thompson with the task of finding a route to the Pacific to open up the lucrative trading territories of the Pacific Northwest.
Columbia River travels
After the general meeting in 1806, Thompson travelled to Rocky Mountain House and prepared for an expedition to follow the Columbia River to the Pacific. In June 1807 Thompson crossed the Rocky Mountains and spent the summer surveying the Columbia basin; he continued to survey the area over the next few seasons. Thompson mapped and established trading posts in Northwestern Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Western Canada. Trading posts he founded included Kootenae House, Kullyspell House and Saleesh House; the latter two were the first trading posts west of the Rockies in Idaho and Montana, respectively. These posts established by Thompson extended North West Company fur trading territory into the Columbia Basin drainage area. The maps he made of the Columbia River basin east of the Cascade Mountains were of such high quality and detail that they continued to be useful into the 20th-century.
In early 1810, Thompson was returning eastward toward Montreal but, while en route at Rainy Lake, received orders to return to the Rocky Mountains and establish a route to the mouth of the Columbia. The North West Company was responding to the plans of American John Jacob Astor to send a ship around the Americas to establish a fur trading post of the Pacific Fur Company on the Pacific Coast. During his return, Thompson was delayed by an angry group of Peigan natives at Howse Pass. He was ultimately forced to seek a new route across the Rocky Mountains and found one through the Athabasca Pass.
David Thompson was the first European to navigate the full length of the Columbia River. Between Kettle Falls (3 July 1811) and the Junction of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (9 July) he was travelling through country that had never been visited by Europeans, and took time to visit the villages along the way to establish good relations, helped by copious quantities of tobacco. In 1805 Lewis and Clark had descended the Snake River, and then continued down the Columbia. On reaching the junction Thompson erected a pole and a notice claiming the country for Great Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a trading post at the site. This notice was found later that year by Astor company workers looking to establish an inland fur post, contributing to their selection of a more northerly site at Fort Okanogan. The North West Company established its post of Fort Nez Percés near the Snake River confluence several years later. Continuing down the Columbia, Thompson passed over the Celilo Falls, almost losing the canoe on the rocks, and portaged around the rapids of The Dalles and the Cascades Rapids. On 14 July 1811, Thompson reached the partially constructed Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia, arriving two months after the Pacific Fur Company's ship, the Tonquin.
Before returning upriver and across the mountains, Thompson hired Naukane, a Native Hawaiian Takane labourer brought to Fort Astoria by the Pacific Fur Company's ship Tonquin. Naukane, known as Coxe to Thompson, accompanied Thompson across the continent to Lake Superior before journeying on to England.
Thompson wintered at Saleesh House before beginning his final journey back to Montreal in 1812, where the North West Company was based.
In his published journals, Thompson recorded seeing large footprints (“which measured fourteen inches in length by eight inches in breadth”) near what is now Jasper, Alberta, in 1811. It has been suggested that these prints were similar to what has since been called the sasquatch. However, Thompson noted that these tracks showed "a small Nail at the end of each [toe]", and stated that these tracks "very much resembles a large Bear's Track".
The years 1807-1812 are the most carefully scrutinized in his career and his most enduring historical legacy, due to his development of the commercial routes across the Rockies, and his mapping of the lands they traverse.
Appearance and personality
In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson:
Marriage and children
On 10 June 1799 at Île-à-la-Crosse, Thompson married Charlotte Small, a thirteen-year-old Métis daughter of Scottish fur trader Patrick Small and a Cree mother. Their marriage was formalised thirteen years later at the Scotch Presbyterian Church in Montreal on 30 October 1812. He and Charlotte had 13 children together; five of them were born before he left the fur trade. The family did not adjust easily to life in Eastern Canada; they lived in Montreal while he was traveling. Two of the children, John (aged 5) and Emma (aged 7), died of round worms, a common parasite. By the time of Thompson's death, the couple had been married 57 years, the longest marriage known in Canada pre-Confederation.
Later life
Upon his arrival back in Montreal, Thompson retired with a generous pension from the North West Company. He settled in nearby Terrebonne and worked on completing his great map, a summary of his lifetime of exploring and surveying the interior of North America. The map covered the wide area stretching from Lake Superior to the Pacific, and was given by Thompson to the North West Company. Thompson's 1814 map, his greatest achievement, was so accurate that 100 years later it was still the basis for many of the maps issued by the Canadian government. It now resides in the Archives of Ontario.
In 1815, Thompson moved his family to Williamstown, Upper Canada, and a few years later was employed to survey the newly established borders with the United States from Lake of the Woods to the Eastern Townships of Quebec, established by Treaty of Ghent after the War of 1812. In 1843 Thompson completed his atlas of the region from Hudson Bay to the Pacific Ocean.
Afterwards, Thompson returned to a life as a land owner, but soon financial misfortune would ruin him. By 1831 he was so deeply in debt he was forced to take up a position as a surveyor for the British American Land Company to provide for his family. His luck continued to worsen and he was forced to move in with his daughter and son-in-law in 1845. He began work on a manuscript chronicling his life exploring the continent, but this project was left unfinished when his sight failed him completely in 1851.
Death and afterward
The land mass mapped by Thompson amounted to of wilderness (one-fifth of the continent). His contemporary, the great explorer Alexander Mackenzie, remarked that Thompson did more in ten months than he would have thought possible in two years.
Despite these significant achievements, Thompson died in Montreal in near obscurity on 10 February 1857, his accomplishments almost unrecognised. He never finished the book of his 28 years in the fur trade, based on his 77 field notebooks, before he died. In the 1890s geologist J.B. Tyrrell resurrected Thompson's notes and in 1916 published them as David Thompson's Narrative, as part of the General Series of the Champlain Society. Further editions and re-examinations of Thompson's life and works were published in 1962 by Richard Glover, in 1971 by Victor Hopwood, and in 2015 by William Moreau.
Thompson's body was interred in Montreal's Mount Royal Cemetery in an unmarked grave. It was not until 1926 that efforts by J.B. Tyrrell and the Canadian Historical Society resulted in the placing of a tombstone to mark his grave. The next year, Thompson was named a National Historic Person by the federal government, one of the earliest such designations. A federal plaque reflecting that status is located at Jasper National Park, Alberta. Meantime, Thompson's achievements are central reasons for other national historic designations:
David Thompson on the Columbia River National Historic Event, marked at Castlegar, BC
Athabasca Pass National Historic Site (NHS), at Jasper National Park
Boat Encampment NHS, BC
Howse Pass NHS, Banff National Park, Alberta
Kootenae House NHS, BC
Rocky Mountain House NHS, Alberta
In 1957, one hundred years after his death, Canada's post office department honoured him with his image on a postage stamp. The David Thompson Highway in Alberta was named in his honour, along with David Thompson High School situated on the side of the highway near Leslieville, Alberta. There are also two David Thompson Secondary Schools, one in Vancouver, BC, and one in Invermere, BC.
His prowess as a geographer is now well-recognized. He has been called "the greatest land geographer that the world has produced."
There is a monument dedicated to David Thompson (maintained by the state of North Dakota) near the former town site of the ghost town Verendrye, North Dakota, located approximately north and west of Karlsruhe, North Dakota. Thompson Falls, Montana, and British Columbia's Thompson River and Thompson Falls on the Blaeberry River are also named after the explorer.
The year 2007 marked the 150th year of Thompson's death and the 200th anniversary of his first crossing of the Rocky Mountains. Commemorative events and exhibits were planned across Canada and the United States from 2007 to 2011 as a celebration of his accomplishments.
In 2007, a commemorative plaque was placed on a wall at the Grey Coat Hospital, the school for the disadvantaged of Westminster David Thompson attended as a boy, by English author and TV presenter Ray Mears.
Thompson was the subject of a 1964 National Film Board of Canada short film David Thompson: The Great Mapmaker , as well as the BBC2 programme Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness (Episode 5), broadcast in November 2009. He's also the subject of 2010 KSPS-TV film Uncharted Territory: David Thompson on the Columbia Plateau.
He is referenced in the 1981 folk song "Northwest Passage" by Stan Rogers.
The national park service, Parks Canada, announced in 2018 that it had named its new research vessel , to be used for underwater archaeology, including sea floor mapping, and for marine science in the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic Oceans, and the Great Lakes. It will be the main platform for research on the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site.
The David Thompson Astronomical Observatory at Fort William Historical Park was named to commemorate David Thompson and his discoveries.
See also
Exploration of North America
Fur trade
Works
1814: Map of the North-West Territory of the Province of Canada
1897: New light on the early history of the greater Northwest (edited by Elliott Coues) Volume I; Volume II; Volume III
1916: David Thompson's narrative of his explorations in western America, 1784–1812 (edited by J.B. Tyrrell)
1950: David Thompson's journals relating to Montana and adjacent regions, 1808–1812 (edited by M. Catherine White)
1962: David Thompson's narrative, 1784–1812 (edited by Richard Glover)
1974: David Thompson's journal of the international boundary survey, 1817–1827: western Lake Erie, August–September 1819 (edited by Clarke E. Leverette)
1993: Columbia Journals (edited by Barbara Belyea)
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812 " Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
2006/2007: "David Thompson in Alberta 1787–1812"; "David Thompson on the Columbia River 1807–1812"; "The Explorations and Travels of David Thompson 1784–1812"; "Posts and Forts of the North American Fur Trade 1600–1870" Contemporary and Historical Maps: David Thompson (Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consultin
2010 : Official Documentary of Thompson was released by national geographic, ca.
References
Notes
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812" Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
Further reading
Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection
External links
David Thompson's Narrative of His Explorations in Western America 1784–1812 Vol's I and II, Champlain Society 1916, PDF (B/W) 25.1 MB
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Tyrrell edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Glover edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
David Thompson: Map Maker, Explorer and Visionary, online exhibit on Archives of Ontario website
DavidThompson200: bicentennial commemorations of Thompson's explorations
KSPS Public TV (PBS), , Narrative of David Thompson's life and travels. / Feb 2011
The Writings of David Thompson edited by William E. Moreau. Three volumes.
David Thompson Papers, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library
North West Company
English surveyors
Canadian people of Welsh descent
English cartographers
English explorers
Canadian cartographers
Canadian male canoeists
Canadian explorers
Canadian surveyors
English emigrants to pre-Confederation Canada
Explorers of British Columbia
Explorers of Canada
North West Company people
People from Westminster
People from Montreal
Pre-Confederation Quebec people
Interior of British Columbia
Hudson's Bay Company people
1770 births
1857 deaths
History of the Pacific Northwest
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Explorers of Washington (state)
People educated at Grey Coat Hospital
English explorers of North America
Welsh topographers
Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery | false | [
"\"What Else Is There?\" is the third single from the Norwegian duo Röyksopp's second album The Understanding. It features the vocals of Karin Dreijer from the Swedish electronica duo The Knife. The album was released in the UK with the help of Astralwerks.\n\nThe single was used in an O2 television advertisement in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia during 2008. It was also used in the 2006 film Cashback and the 2007 film, Meet Bill. Trentemøller's remix of \"What Else is There?\" was featured in an episode of the HBO show Entourage.\n\nThe song was covered by extreme metal band Enslaved as a bonus track for their album E.\n\nThe song was listed as the 375th best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media.\n\nOfficial versions\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Album Version) – 5:17\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Radio Edit) – 3:38\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Jacques Lu Cont Radio Mix) – 3:46\n\"What Else Is There?\" (The Emperor Machine Vocal Version) – 8:03\n\"What Else Is There?\" (The Emperor Machine Dub Version) – 7:51\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Mix) – 8:25\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Edit) – 4:50\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Remix) (Radio Edit) – 3:06\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Trentemøller Remix) – 7:42\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Vitalic Remix) – 5:14\n\nResponse\nThe single was officially released on 5 December 2005 in the UK. The single had a limited release on 21 November 2005 to promote the upcoming album. On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at number 32, while on the UK Dance Chart, it reached number one.\n\nMusic video\nThe music video was directed by Martin de Thurah. It features Norwegian model Marianne Schröder who is shown lip-syncing Dreijer's voice. Schröder is depicted as a floating woman traveling across stormy landscapes and within empty houses. Dreijer makes a cameo appearance as a woman wearing an Elizabethan ruff while dining alone at a festive table.\n\nMovie spots\n\nThe song is also featured in the movie Meet Bill as characters played by Jessica Alba and Aaron Eckhart smoke marijuana while listening to it. It is also part of the end credits music of the film Cashback.\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n2005 singles\nRöyksopp songs\nAstralwerks singles\nSongs written by Svein Berge\nSongs written by Torbjørn Brundtland\n2004 songs\nSongs written by Roger Greenaway\nSongs written by Olof Dreijer\nSongs written by Karin Dreijer",
"Self Made (Hebrew: Boreg) is a 2014 Israeli film directed by Shira Geffen.\n\nSynopsis\nThe film follows an Israeli artist (Michal) and Palestinian DIY store clerk (Nadine) who swap their lives because of a mix-up at a border security checkpoint.\n\nCast\n\nZidane Awad as Ebrahem\nSarah Adler as Michal\nSamira Saraya as Nadine\nDoraid Liddawi\nNa'ama Shoham\nZiyad Bakri\n\nCritical reception\nThe film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival and at the Jerusalem Film Festival. It was also shown at the opening night of the AICE Israeli Film Festival in Melbourne, Australia.\n\nIn a review for The Hollywood Reporter, critic Clarence Tsui said the film was full of \"black humor\" and \"surreal episodes to talk about gritty issues in reality.\" She added, \"What Geffen is trying to put across is how an individual's appearance is just a façade.\" She concluded that it was, \"an entertaining and pensive thought about the straitjackets imposed on women or maybe just about everyone else too.\"\n\nReferences\n\n2014 films\nIsraeli films"
] |
[
"David Thompson (explorer)",
"Appearance and personality",
"What was Thompson like as a person?",
"He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant.",
"What else was noticeable about his appearance?",
"His figure was short and compact,",
"Did he have any other distinguishing features?",
"his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown,",
"Did he wear a beard?",
"I don't know.",
"How did he wear his clothes?",
"was plainly dressed,",
"What else was unique about his appearance?",
"by saying he greatly resembled Curran the Irish Orator..."
] | C_e4e0f0e98a3e41878ec328673efaad58_1 | What was his most defining feature? | 8 | What was David Thompson's most defining feature? | David Thompson (explorer) | In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson: I was well placed at table between one of the Miss McGillivray's and a singular-looking person of about fifty. He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant. His figure was short and compact, and his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square, as if by one stroke of the shears, just above the eyebrows. His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown, while the expression of his deeply-furrowed features was friendly and intelligent, but his cut-short nose gave him an odd look. His speech betrayed the Welshman, although he left his native hills when very young. I might have been spared this description of Mr David Thompson by saying he greatly resembled Curran the Irish Orator... I afterwards travelled much with him, and have now only to speak of him with great respect, or, I ought to say, with admiration... No living person possesses a tithe of his information respecting the Hudson's Bay countries... Never mind his Bunyan-like face and cropped hair; he has a very powerful mind, and a singular faculty of picture-making. He can create a wilderness and people it with warring savages, or climb the Rocky Mountains with you in a snow-storm, so clearly and palpably, that only shut your eyes and you hear the crack of the rifle, or feel the snow-flakes melt on your cheeks as he talks. CANNOTANSWER | he has a very powerful mind, | David Thompson (30 April 1770 – 10 February 1857) was a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and cartographer, known to some native peoples as Koo-Koo-Sint or "the Stargazer". Over Thompson's career, he traveled across North America, mapping of North America along the way. For this historic feat, Thompson has been described as the "greatest practical land geographer that the world has produced".
Early life
David Thompson was born in Westminster, Middlesex, to recent Welsh migrants David and Ann Thompson. When Thompson was two, his father died. Due to the financial hardship with his mother without resources, Thompson, 29 April 1777, the day before his seventh birthday, and his older brother were placed in the Grey Coat Hospital, a school for the disadvantaged of Westminster. Thompson graduated to the Grey Coat mathematical school, well known for teaching navigation and surveying. He received an education for the Royal Navy: including mathematics of trigonometry and geometry, practical navigation including using of nautical instruments, finding latitudes and longitudes and making navigational calculations from observing the sun, moon and tides and the drawing of maps and charts, taking land measurements and sketching landscapes. He later built on these to make his career. In 1784, at the age of 14, the Grey Coat treasurer paid the Hudson's Bay Company the sum of five pounds, upon which Thompson became the company's indentured servant for a period of seven years to be trained as a clerk. He set sail on 28 May of that year, and left England for North America.
Hudson's Bay Company (HBC)
On 2 September 1784, Thompson arrived in Churchill (now in Manitoba) and was put to work as a clerk/secretary, copying the personal papers of the governor of Fort Churchill, Samuel Hearne. The next year he was transferred to nearby York Factory, and over the next few years spent time as a secretary at Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, and South Branch House before arriving at Manchester House in 1787. During those years he learned to keep accounts and other records, calculate values of furs (It was noted that he also had several expensive beaver pelts at that time even when a secretary's job would not pay terribly well), track supplies and other duties.
On 23 December 1788, Thompson seriously fractured his tibia, forcing him to spend the next two winters at Cumberland House convalescing. It was during this time that he greatly refined and expanded his mathematical, astronomical, and surveying skills under the tutelage of Hudson's Bay Company surveyor Philip Turnor. It was also during this time that he lost sight in his right eye.
In 1790, with his apprenticeship nearing its end, Thompson requested a set of surveying tools in place of the typical parting gift of fine clothes offered by the company to those completing their indenture. He received both. He entered the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company as a fur trader. In 1792 he completed his first significant survey, mapping a route to Lake Athabasca (where today's Alberta/Saskatchewan border is located). Between February and May 1793, Thompson made 34 observations of the longitude of Cumberland House using lunar distances. The mean of these observations was 102°12′ W, about 2' east of the modern value. The mean error of the 34 observations was about 15' of longitude. Broughton (2009) notes that the precision of the type of sextant used by Thompson was 15" of arc, corresponding to 7.5' of longitude giving an absolute limit to the precision of an individual observation. The error in Thompson's mean was several times less than this. The time he took on these observations, about 3 hours of calculation each, indicates that he understood the power of averages.
In recognition of his map-making and surveying skills, the company promoted Thompson to the surveyor in 1794. He continued working for the Hudson's Bay Company until 23 May 1797 when, frustrated by an order to cease surveying and focus on the fur trade, he left. He walked in the snow in order to enter the employ of the competition, the North West Company. There he continued to work as a fur trader and surveyor.
North West Company
Thompson's decision to defect to the North West Company (NWC) in 1797 without providing the customary one-year notice was not well received by his former employers. But the North West Company was more supportive of Thompson pursuing his work on surveying and mapping the interior of what was to become Canada, as they judged it in the company's interest to know the exact locations of their settlements and the distance from each other. In 1797, Thompson was sent south by his employers to survey part of the Canada-US boundary along the water routes from Lake Superior to Lake of the Woods to satisfy unresolved questions of territory arising from the Jay Treaty between Great Britain and the United States after the American Revolutionary War.
By 1798 Thompson had completed a survey of from Grand Portage, through Lake Winnipeg, to the headwaters of the Assiniboine and Mississippi rivers, as well as two sides of Lake Superior. In 1798, the company sent him to Red Deer Lake (Lac La Biche in present-day Alberta) to establish a trading post. (The English translation of Lac la Biche: Red Deer Lake, was first recorded on the Mackenzie map of 1793.) Thompson spent the next few seasons trading based in Fort George (now in Alberta), and during this time led several expeditions into the Rocky Mountains.
On 10 July 1804, at the annual meeting of the North West Company in Kaministiquia, Thompson was made a full partner of the company. He became a 'wintering partner', who was based in the field rather than Montreal, with two of the 92 NWC's shares worth more than £4,000. He spent the next few seasons based there managing the fur trading operations but still finding time to expand his surveys of the waterways around Lake Superior. At the 1806 company meeting, officers decided to send Thompson back out into the interior. Concern over the American-backed expedition of Lewis and Clark prompted the North West Company to charge Thompson with the task of finding a route to the Pacific to open up the lucrative trading territories of the Pacific Northwest.
Columbia River travels
After the general meeting in 1806, Thompson travelled to Rocky Mountain House and prepared for an expedition to follow the Columbia River to the Pacific. In June 1807 Thompson crossed the Rocky Mountains and spent the summer surveying the Columbia basin; he continued to survey the area over the next few seasons. Thompson mapped and established trading posts in Northwestern Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Western Canada. Trading posts he founded included Kootenae House, Kullyspell House and Saleesh House; the latter two were the first trading posts west of the Rockies in Idaho and Montana, respectively. These posts established by Thompson extended North West Company fur trading territory into the Columbia Basin drainage area. The maps he made of the Columbia River basin east of the Cascade Mountains were of such high quality and detail that they continued to be useful into the 20th-century.
In early 1810, Thompson was returning eastward toward Montreal but, while en route at Rainy Lake, received orders to return to the Rocky Mountains and establish a route to the mouth of the Columbia. The North West Company was responding to the plans of American John Jacob Astor to send a ship around the Americas to establish a fur trading post of the Pacific Fur Company on the Pacific Coast. During his return, Thompson was delayed by an angry group of Peigan natives at Howse Pass. He was ultimately forced to seek a new route across the Rocky Mountains and found one through the Athabasca Pass.
David Thompson was the first European to navigate the full length of the Columbia River. Between Kettle Falls (3 July 1811) and the Junction of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (9 July) he was travelling through country that had never been visited by Europeans, and took time to visit the villages along the way to establish good relations, helped by copious quantities of tobacco. In 1805 Lewis and Clark had descended the Snake River, and then continued down the Columbia. On reaching the junction Thompson erected a pole and a notice claiming the country for Great Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a trading post at the site. This notice was found later that year by Astor company workers looking to establish an inland fur post, contributing to their selection of a more northerly site at Fort Okanogan. The North West Company established its post of Fort Nez Percés near the Snake River confluence several years later. Continuing down the Columbia, Thompson passed over the Celilo Falls, almost losing the canoe on the rocks, and portaged around the rapids of The Dalles and the Cascades Rapids. On 14 July 1811, Thompson reached the partially constructed Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia, arriving two months after the Pacific Fur Company's ship, the Tonquin.
Before returning upriver and across the mountains, Thompson hired Naukane, a Native Hawaiian Takane labourer brought to Fort Astoria by the Pacific Fur Company's ship Tonquin. Naukane, known as Coxe to Thompson, accompanied Thompson across the continent to Lake Superior before journeying on to England.
Thompson wintered at Saleesh House before beginning his final journey back to Montreal in 1812, where the North West Company was based.
In his published journals, Thompson recorded seeing large footprints (“which measured fourteen inches in length by eight inches in breadth”) near what is now Jasper, Alberta, in 1811. It has been suggested that these prints were similar to what has since been called the sasquatch. However, Thompson noted that these tracks showed "a small Nail at the end of each [toe]", and stated that these tracks "very much resembles a large Bear's Track".
The years 1807-1812 are the most carefully scrutinized in his career and his most enduring historical legacy, due to his development of the commercial routes across the Rockies, and his mapping of the lands they traverse.
Appearance and personality
In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson:
Marriage and children
On 10 June 1799 at Île-à-la-Crosse, Thompson married Charlotte Small, a thirteen-year-old Métis daughter of Scottish fur trader Patrick Small and a Cree mother. Their marriage was formalised thirteen years later at the Scotch Presbyterian Church in Montreal on 30 October 1812. He and Charlotte had 13 children together; five of them were born before he left the fur trade. The family did not adjust easily to life in Eastern Canada; they lived in Montreal while he was traveling. Two of the children, John (aged 5) and Emma (aged 7), died of round worms, a common parasite. By the time of Thompson's death, the couple had been married 57 years, the longest marriage known in Canada pre-Confederation.
Later life
Upon his arrival back in Montreal, Thompson retired with a generous pension from the North West Company. He settled in nearby Terrebonne and worked on completing his great map, a summary of his lifetime of exploring and surveying the interior of North America. The map covered the wide area stretching from Lake Superior to the Pacific, and was given by Thompson to the North West Company. Thompson's 1814 map, his greatest achievement, was so accurate that 100 years later it was still the basis for many of the maps issued by the Canadian government. It now resides in the Archives of Ontario.
In 1815, Thompson moved his family to Williamstown, Upper Canada, and a few years later was employed to survey the newly established borders with the United States from Lake of the Woods to the Eastern Townships of Quebec, established by Treaty of Ghent after the War of 1812. In 1843 Thompson completed his atlas of the region from Hudson Bay to the Pacific Ocean.
Afterwards, Thompson returned to a life as a land owner, but soon financial misfortune would ruin him. By 1831 he was so deeply in debt he was forced to take up a position as a surveyor for the British American Land Company to provide for his family. His luck continued to worsen and he was forced to move in with his daughter and son-in-law in 1845. He began work on a manuscript chronicling his life exploring the continent, but this project was left unfinished when his sight failed him completely in 1851.
Death and afterward
The land mass mapped by Thompson amounted to of wilderness (one-fifth of the continent). His contemporary, the great explorer Alexander Mackenzie, remarked that Thompson did more in ten months than he would have thought possible in two years.
Despite these significant achievements, Thompson died in Montreal in near obscurity on 10 February 1857, his accomplishments almost unrecognised. He never finished the book of his 28 years in the fur trade, based on his 77 field notebooks, before he died. In the 1890s geologist J.B. Tyrrell resurrected Thompson's notes and in 1916 published them as David Thompson's Narrative, as part of the General Series of the Champlain Society. Further editions and re-examinations of Thompson's life and works were published in 1962 by Richard Glover, in 1971 by Victor Hopwood, and in 2015 by William Moreau.
Thompson's body was interred in Montreal's Mount Royal Cemetery in an unmarked grave. It was not until 1926 that efforts by J.B. Tyrrell and the Canadian Historical Society resulted in the placing of a tombstone to mark his grave. The next year, Thompson was named a National Historic Person by the federal government, one of the earliest such designations. A federal plaque reflecting that status is located at Jasper National Park, Alberta. Meantime, Thompson's achievements are central reasons for other national historic designations:
David Thompson on the Columbia River National Historic Event, marked at Castlegar, BC
Athabasca Pass National Historic Site (NHS), at Jasper National Park
Boat Encampment NHS, BC
Howse Pass NHS, Banff National Park, Alberta
Kootenae House NHS, BC
Rocky Mountain House NHS, Alberta
In 1957, one hundred years after his death, Canada's post office department honoured him with his image on a postage stamp. The David Thompson Highway in Alberta was named in his honour, along with David Thompson High School situated on the side of the highway near Leslieville, Alberta. There are also two David Thompson Secondary Schools, one in Vancouver, BC, and one in Invermere, BC.
His prowess as a geographer is now well-recognized. He has been called "the greatest land geographer that the world has produced."
There is a monument dedicated to David Thompson (maintained by the state of North Dakota) near the former town site of the ghost town Verendrye, North Dakota, located approximately north and west of Karlsruhe, North Dakota. Thompson Falls, Montana, and British Columbia's Thompson River and Thompson Falls on the Blaeberry River are also named after the explorer.
The year 2007 marked the 150th year of Thompson's death and the 200th anniversary of his first crossing of the Rocky Mountains. Commemorative events and exhibits were planned across Canada and the United States from 2007 to 2011 as a celebration of his accomplishments.
In 2007, a commemorative plaque was placed on a wall at the Grey Coat Hospital, the school for the disadvantaged of Westminster David Thompson attended as a boy, by English author and TV presenter Ray Mears.
Thompson was the subject of a 1964 National Film Board of Canada short film David Thompson: The Great Mapmaker , as well as the BBC2 programme Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness (Episode 5), broadcast in November 2009. He's also the subject of 2010 KSPS-TV film Uncharted Territory: David Thompson on the Columbia Plateau.
He is referenced in the 1981 folk song "Northwest Passage" by Stan Rogers.
The national park service, Parks Canada, announced in 2018 that it had named its new research vessel , to be used for underwater archaeology, including sea floor mapping, and for marine science in the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic Oceans, and the Great Lakes. It will be the main platform for research on the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site.
The David Thompson Astronomical Observatory at Fort William Historical Park was named to commemorate David Thompson and his discoveries.
See also
Exploration of North America
Fur trade
Works
1814: Map of the North-West Territory of the Province of Canada
1897: New light on the early history of the greater Northwest (edited by Elliott Coues) Volume I; Volume II; Volume III
1916: David Thompson's narrative of his explorations in western America, 1784–1812 (edited by J.B. Tyrrell)
1950: David Thompson's journals relating to Montana and adjacent regions, 1808–1812 (edited by M. Catherine White)
1962: David Thompson's narrative, 1784–1812 (edited by Richard Glover)
1974: David Thompson's journal of the international boundary survey, 1817–1827: western Lake Erie, August–September 1819 (edited by Clarke E. Leverette)
1993: Columbia Journals (edited by Barbara Belyea)
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812 " Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
2006/2007: "David Thompson in Alberta 1787–1812"; "David Thompson on the Columbia River 1807–1812"; "The Explorations and Travels of David Thompson 1784–1812"; "Posts and Forts of the North American Fur Trade 1600–1870" Contemporary and Historical Maps: David Thompson (Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consultin
2010 : Official Documentary of Thompson was released by national geographic, ca.
References
Notes
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812" Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
Further reading
Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection
External links
David Thompson's Narrative of His Explorations in Western America 1784–1812 Vol's I and II, Champlain Society 1916, PDF (B/W) 25.1 MB
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Tyrrell edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Glover edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
David Thompson: Map Maker, Explorer and Visionary, online exhibit on Archives of Ontario website
DavidThompson200: bicentennial commemorations of Thompson's explorations
KSPS Public TV (PBS), , Narrative of David Thompson's life and travels. / Feb 2011
The Writings of David Thompson edited by William E. Moreau. Three volumes.
David Thompson Papers, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library
North West Company
English surveyors
Canadian people of Welsh descent
English cartographers
English explorers
Canadian cartographers
Canadian male canoeists
Canadian explorers
Canadian surveyors
English emigrants to pre-Confederation Canada
Explorers of British Columbia
Explorers of Canada
North West Company people
People from Westminster
People from Montreal
Pre-Confederation Quebec people
Interior of British Columbia
Hudson's Bay Company people
1770 births
1857 deaths
History of the Pacific Northwest
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Explorers of Washington (state)
People educated at Grey Coat Hospital
English explorers of North America
Welsh topographers
Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery | false | [
"A defining vocabulary is a list of words used by lexicographers to write dictionary definitions. The underlying principle goes back to Samuel Johnson's notion that words should be defined using 'terms less abstruse than that which is to be explained', and a defining vocabulary provides the lexicographer with a restricted list of high-frequency words which can be used for producing simple definitions of any word in the dictionary.\n\nDefining vocabularies are especially common in English monolingual learner's dictionaries. The first such dictionary to use a defining vocabulary was the New Method English Dictionary by Michael West and James Endicott (published in 1935), a small dictionary written using a defining vocabulary of just 1,490 words. When the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English was first published in 1978, its most striking feature was its use of a 2,000-word defining vocabulary based on Michael West's General Service List, and since then defining vocabularies have become a standard component of monolingual learner's dictionaries for English and for other languages.\n\nDiffering opinions\nUsing a defining vocabulary is not without its problems, and some scholars have argued that it can lead to definitions which are insufficiently precise or accurate, or that words in the list are sometimes used in non-central meanings. The more common view, however, is that the disadvantages are outweighed by the advantages, and there is some empirical research which supports this position. Almost all English learner's dictionaries have a defining vocabulary, and these range in size between 2000 and 3000 words, for example:\nLongman Dictionary of Contemporary English: approximately 2,000 words\nMacmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners: approximately 2,500 words\nOxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary: approximately 3,000 words\n\nIt is possible that, in electronic dictionaries at least, the need for a controlled defining vocabulary will disappear. In some online dictionaries, such as the Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, every word in every definition is hyperlinked to its own entry, so that a user who is unsure of the meaning of a word in a definition can immediately see the definition for the word that is causing problems. However, this strategy works only if all the definitions are written in reasonably accessible language, which argues for some sort of defining vocabulary to be maintained in dictionaries aimed at language learners.\n\nIntermediate-level language learners are likely to have receptive familiarity with most words in a typical 2,000-word defining vocabulary. To accommodate beginning-level learners, the defining vocabulary can be divided into two or more layers, where words in one layer are explained using only the simpler words from the previous layers. This strategy is used in the Learn These Words First multi-layer dictionary, where a 360-word beginning-level defining vocabulary is used to explain a 2,000-word intermediate-level defining vocabulary, which in turn is used to define the remaining words in the dictionary.\n\nNotes\n\nSee also\nDictionary\nCore glossary\nControlled Vocabulary\nAdvanced learner's dictionary\nBasic English\nAppendix:Basic English word list\nE-Prime\n\nExternal links\nThe Longman Defining Vocabulary (1988).\nThe Macmillan Defining Vocabulary.\nThe Oxford 3000 Defining Vocabulary.\nLearn These Words First: Multi-Layer Dictionary.\n\nLexicography\nDictionaries by type",
"Andrej Giňa (January 1, 1936 – September 30, 2015) was a Czech writer of Romani origin who specialised in the transcription of traditional Romani stories which were spread through word of mouth.\n\nBiography \nHis works have been praised by scholars in Central Europe and further afar as key aspects of Romani literature. His most famous work was adapted into film by CT1 - Dilino a Cert. Other works include Paťiv: ještě víme, co je úcta: vyprávění, úvahy, pohádky (2013) and Bijav: romane priphende = Svatba: romské povídky (1991).\n\nPersonal life \nGiňa was born into a family where music was a defining feature of life. His father was in fact a blacksmith and musician although he was illiterate. His short stay in Prague was followed by settling down in Rokycany, where in the 1960s his work was refused to be published. In 1989 he joined the Romani Citizens Initiative where he embarked on a journey of Romani rights in Czechoslovakia. Giňa was also part of a successful band which paved the way for other rom-pop artists called Rytmus 84. They had released several songs before their dissolution and remain an engrained part of Romani music to this day.\n\nDeath \nGiňa died 30 September 2015 of cancer. His funeral was attended by many supporters and fellow activists.\n\nReferences\n\nCzech male writers\nRomani writers\n1936 births\n2015 deaths\nDeaths from cancer in the Czech Republic"
] |
[
"David Thompson (explorer)",
"Appearance and personality",
"What was Thompson like as a person?",
"He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant.",
"What else was noticeable about his appearance?",
"His figure was short and compact,",
"Did he have any other distinguishing features?",
"his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown,",
"Did he wear a beard?",
"I don't know.",
"How did he wear his clothes?",
"was plainly dressed,",
"What else was unique about his appearance?",
"by saying he greatly resembled Curran the Irish Orator...",
"What was his most defining feature?",
"he has a very powerful mind,"
] | C_e4e0f0e98a3e41878ec328673efaad58_1 | Did he have any issues with anger? | 9 | Did David Thompson have any issues with anger? | David Thompson (explorer) | In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson: I was well placed at table between one of the Miss McGillivray's and a singular-looking person of about fifty. He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant. His figure was short and compact, and his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square, as if by one stroke of the shears, just above the eyebrows. His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown, while the expression of his deeply-furrowed features was friendly and intelligent, but his cut-short nose gave him an odd look. His speech betrayed the Welshman, although he left his native hills when very young. I might have been spared this description of Mr David Thompson by saying he greatly resembled Curran the Irish Orator... I afterwards travelled much with him, and have now only to speak of him with great respect, or, I ought to say, with admiration... No living person possesses a tithe of his information respecting the Hudson's Bay countries... Never mind his Bunyan-like face and cropped hair; he has a very powerful mind, and a singular faculty of picture-making. He can create a wilderness and people it with warring savages, or climb the Rocky Mountains with you in a snow-storm, so clearly and palpably, that only shut your eyes and you hear the crack of the rifle, or feel the snow-flakes melt on your cheeks as he talks. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | David Thompson (30 April 1770 – 10 February 1857) was a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and cartographer, known to some native peoples as Koo-Koo-Sint or "the Stargazer". Over Thompson's career, he traveled across North America, mapping of North America along the way. For this historic feat, Thompson has been described as the "greatest practical land geographer that the world has produced".
Early life
David Thompson was born in Westminster, Middlesex, to recent Welsh migrants David and Ann Thompson. When Thompson was two, his father died. Due to the financial hardship with his mother without resources, Thompson, 29 April 1777, the day before his seventh birthday, and his older brother were placed in the Grey Coat Hospital, a school for the disadvantaged of Westminster. Thompson graduated to the Grey Coat mathematical school, well known for teaching navigation and surveying. He received an education for the Royal Navy: including mathematics of trigonometry and geometry, practical navigation including using of nautical instruments, finding latitudes and longitudes and making navigational calculations from observing the sun, moon and tides and the drawing of maps and charts, taking land measurements and sketching landscapes. He later built on these to make his career. In 1784, at the age of 14, the Grey Coat treasurer paid the Hudson's Bay Company the sum of five pounds, upon which Thompson became the company's indentured servant for a period of seven years to be trained as a clerk. He set sail on 28 May of that year, and left England for North America.
Hudson's Bay Company (HBC)
On 2 September 1784, Thompson arrived in Churchill (now in Manitoba) and was put to work as a clerk/secretary, copying the personal papers of the governor of Fort Churchill, Samuel Hearne. The next year he was transferred to nearby York Factory, and over the next few years spent time as a secretary at Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, and South Branch House before arriving at Manchester House in 1787. During those years he learned to keep accounts and other records, calculate values of furs (It was noted that he also had several expensive beaver pelts at that time even when a secretary's job would not pay terribly well), track supplies and other duties.
On 23 December 1788, Thompson seriously fractured his tibia, forcing him to spend the next two winters at Cumberland House convalescing. It was during this time that he greatly refined and expanded his mathematical, astronomical, and surveying skills under the tutelage of Hudson's Bay Company surveyor Philip Turnor. It was also during this time that he lost sight in his right eye.
In 1790, with his apprenticeship nearing its end, Thompson requested a set of surveying tools in place of the typical parting gift of fine clothes offered by the company to those completing their indenture. He received both. He entered the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company as a fur trader. In 1792 he completed his first significant survey, mapping a route to Lake Athabasca (where today's Alberta/Saskatchewan border is located). Between February and May 1793, Thompson made 34 observations of the longitude of Cumberland House using lunar distances. The mean of these observations was 102°12′ W, about 2' east of the modern value. The mean error of the 34 observations was about 15' of longitude. Broughton (2009) notes that the precision of the type of sextant used by Thompson was 15" of arc, corresponding to 7.5' of longitude giving an absolute limit to the precision of an individual observation. The error in Thompson's mean was several times less than this. The time he took on these observations, about 3 hours of calculation each, indicates that he understood the power of averages.
In recognition of his map-making and surveying skills, the company promoted Thompson to the surveyor in 1794. He continued working for the Hudson's Bay Company until 23 May 1797 when, frustrated by an order to cease surveying and focus on the fur trade, he left. He walked in the snow in order to enter the employ of the competition, the North West Company. There he continued to work as a fur trader and surveyor.
North West Company
Thompson's decision to defect to the North West Company (NWC) in 1797 without providing the customary one-year notice was not well received by his former employers. But the North West Company was more supportive of Thompson pursuing his work on surveying and mapping the interior of what was to become Canada, as they judged it in the company's interest to know the exact locations of their settlements and the distance from each other. In 1797, Thompson was sent south by his employers to survey part of the Canada-US boundary along the water routes from Lake Superior to Lake of the Woods to satisfy unresolved questions of territory arising from the Jay Treaty between Great Britain and the United States after the American Revolutionary War.
By 1798 Thompson had completed a survey of from Grand Portage, through Lake Winnipeg, to the headwaters of the Assiniboine and Mississippi rivers, as well as two sides of Lake Superior. In 1798, the company sent him to Red Deer Lake (Lac La Biche in present-day Alberta) to establish a trading post. (The English translation of Lac la Biche: Red Deer Lake, was first recorded on the Mackenzie map of 1793.) Thompson spent the next few seasons trading based in Fort George (now in Alberta), and during this time led several expeditions into the Rocky Mountains.
On 10 July 1804, at the annual meeting of the North West Company in Kaministiquia, Thompson was made a full partner of the company. He became a 'wintering partner', who was based in the field rather than Montreal, with two of the 92 NWC's shares worth more than £4,000. He spent the next few seasons based there managing the fur trading operations but still finding time to expand his surveys of the waterways around Lake Superior. At the 1806 company meeting, officers decided to send Thompson back out into the interior. Concern over the American-backed expedition of Lewis and Clark prompted the North West Company to charge Thompson with the task of finding a route to the Pacific to open up the lucrative trading territories of the Pacific Northwest.
Columbia River travels
After the general meeting in 1806, Thompson travelled to Rocky Mountain House and prepared for an expedition to follow the Columbia River to the Pacific. In June 1807 Thompson crossed the Rocky Mountains and spent the summer surveying the Columbia basin; he continued to survey the area over the next few seasons. Thompson mapped and established trading posts in Northwestern Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Western Canada. Trading posts he founded included Kootenae House, Kullyspell House and Saleesh House; the latter two were the first trading posts west of the Rockies in Idaho and Montana, respectively. These posts established by Thompson extended North West Company fur trading territory into the Columbia Basin drainage area. The maps he made of the Columbia River basin east of the Cascade Mountains were of such high quality and detail that they continued to be useful into the 20th-century.
In early 1810, Thompson was returning eastward toward Montreal but, while en route at Rainy Lake, received orders to return to the Rocky Mountains and establish a route to the mouth of the Columbia. The North West Company was responding to the plans of American John Jacob Astor to send a ship around the Americas to establish a fur trading post of the Pacific Fur Company on the Pacific Coast. During his return, Thompson was delayed by an angry group of Peigan natives at Howse Pass. He was ultimately forced to seek a new route across the Rocky Mountains and found one through the Athabasca Pass.
David Thompson was the first European to navigate the full length of the Columbia River. Between Kettle Falls (3 July 1811) and the Junction of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (9 July) he was travelling through country that had never been visited by Europeans, and took time to visit the villages along the way to establish good relations, helped by copious quantities of tobacco. In 1805 Lewis and Clark had descended the Snake River, and then continued down the Columbia. On reaching the junction Thompson erected a pole and a notice claiming the country for Great Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a trading post at the site. This notice was found later that year by Astor company workers looking to establish an inland fur post, contributing to their selection of a more northerly site at Fort Okanogan. The North West Company established its post of Fort Nez Percés near the Snake River confluence several years later. Continuing down the Columbia, Thompson passed over the Celilo Falls, almost losing the canoe on the rocks, and portaged around the rapids of The Dalles and the Cascades Rapids. On 14 July 1811, Thompson reached the partially constructed Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia, arriving two months after the Pacific Fur Company's ship, the Tonquin.
Before returning upriver and across the mountains, Thompson hired Naukane, a Native Hawaiian Takane labourer brought to Fort Astoria by the Pacific Fur Company's ship Tonquin. Naukane, known as Coxe to Thompson, accompanied Thompson across the continent to Lake Superior before journeying on to England.
Thompson wintered at Saleesh House before beginning his final journey back to Montreal in 1812, where the North West Company was based.
In his published journals, Thompson recorded seeing large footprints (“which measured fourteen inches in length by eight inches in breadth”) near what is now Jasper, Alberta, in 1811. It has been suggested that these prints were similar to what has since been called the sasquatch. However, Thompson noted that these tracks showed "a small Nail at the end of each [toe]", and stated that these tracks "very much resembles a large Bear's Track".
The years 1807-1812 are the most carefully scrutinized in his career and his most enduring historical legacy, due to his development of the commercial routes across the Rockies, and his mapping of the lands they traverse.
Appearance and personality
In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson:
Marriage and children
On 10 June 1799 at Île-à-la-Crosse, Thompson married Charlotte Small, a thirteen-year-old Métis daughter of Scottish fur trader Patrick Small and a Cree mother. Their marriage was formalised thirteen years later at the Scotch Presbyterian Church in Montreal on 30 October 1812. He and Charlotte had 13 children together; five of them were born before he left the fur trade. The family did not adjust easily to life in Eastern Canada; they lived in Montreal while he was traveling. Two of the children, John (aged 5) and Emma (aged 7), died of round worms, a common parasite. By the time of Thompson's death, the couple had been married 57 years, the longest marriage known in Canada pre-Confederation.
Later life
Upon his arrival back in Montreal, Thompson retired with a generous pension from the North West Company. He settled in nearby Terrebonne and worked on completing his great map, a summary of his lifetime of exploring and surveying the interior of North America. The map covered the wide area stretching from Lake Superior to the Pacific, and was given by Thompson to the North West Company. Thompson's 1814 map, his greatest achievement, was so accurate that 100 years later it was still the basis for many of the maps issued by the Canadian government. It now resides in the Archives of Ontario.
In 1815, Thompson moved his family to Williamstown, Upper Canada, and a few years later was employed to survey the newly established borders with the United States from Lake of the Woods to the Eastern Townships of Quebec, established by Treaty of Ghent after the War of 1812. In 1843 Thompson completed his atlas of the region from Hudson Bay to the Pacific Ocean.
Afterwards, Thompson returned to a life as a land owner, but soon financial misfortune would ruin him. By 1831 he was so deeply in debt he was forced to take up a position as a surveyor for the British American Land Company to provide for his family. His luck continued to worsen and he was forced to move in with his daughter and son-in-law in 1845. He began work on a manuscript chronicling his life exploring the continent, but this project was left unfinished when his sight failed him completely in 1851.
Death and afterward
The land mass mapped by Thompson amounted to of wilderness (one-fifth of the continent). His contemporary, the great explorer Alexander Mackenzie, remarked that Thompson did more in ten months than he would have thought possible in two years.
Despite these significant achievements, Thompson died in Montreal in near obscurity on 10 February 1857, his accomplishments almost unrecognised. He never finished the book of his 28 years in the fur trade, based on his 77 field notebooks, before he died. In the 1890s geologist J.B. Tyrrell resurrected Thompson's notes and in 1916 published them as David Thompson's Narrative, as part of the General Series of the Champlain Society. Further editions and re-examinations of Thompson's life and works were published in 1962 by Richard Glover, in 1971 by Victor Hopwood, and in 2015 by William Moreau.
Thompson's body was interred in Montreal's Mount Royal Cemetery in an unmarked grave. It was not until 1926 that efforts by J.B. Tyrrell and the Canadian Historical Society resulted in the placing of a tombstone to mark his grave. The next year, Thompson was named a National Historic Person by the federal government, one of the earliest such designations. A federal plaque reflecting that status is located at Jasper National Park, Alberta. Meantime, Thompson's achievements are central reasons for other national historic designations:
David Thompson on the Columbia River National Historic Event, marked at Castlegar, BC
Athabasca Pass National Historic Site (NHS), at Jasper National Park
Boat Encampment NHS, BC
Howse Pass NHS, Banff National Park, Alberta
Kootenae House NHS, BC
Rocky Mountain House NHS, Alberta
In 1957, one hundred years after his death, Canada's post office department honoured him with his image on a postage stamp. The David Thompson Highway in Alberta was named in his honour, along with David Thompson High School situated on the side of the highway near Leslieville, Alberta. There are also two David Thompson Secondary Schools, one in Vancouver, BC, and one in Invermere, BC.
His prowess as a geographer is now well-recognized. He has been called "the greatest land geographer that the world has produced."
There is a monument dedicated to David Thompson (maintained by the state of North Dakota) near the former town site of the ghost town Verendrye, North Dakota, located approximately north and west of Karlsruhe, North Dakota. Thompson Falls, Montana, and British Columbia's Thompson River and Thompson Falls on the Blaeberry River are also named after the explorer.
The year 2007 marked the 150th year of Thompson's death and the 200th anniversary of his first crossing of the Rocky Mountains. Commemorative events and exhibits were planned across Canada and the United States from 2007 to 2011 as a celebration of his accomplishments.
In 2007, a commemorative plaque was placed on a wall at the Grey Coat Hospital, the school for the disadvantaged of Westminster David Thompson attended as a boy, by English author and TV presenter Ray Mears.
Thompson was the subject of a 1964 National Film Board of Canada short film David Thompson: The Great Mapmaker , as well as the BBC2 programme Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness (Episode 5), broadcast in November 2009. He's also the subject of 2010 KSPS-TV film Uncharted Territory: David Thompson on the Columbia Plateau.
He is referenced in the 1981 folk song "Northwest Passage" by Stan Rogers.
The national park service, Parks Canada, announced in 2018 that it had named its new research vessel , to be used for underwater archaeology, including sea floor mapping, and for marine science in the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic Oceans, and the Great Lakes. It will be the main platform for research on the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site.
The David Thompson Astronomical Observatory at Fort William Historical Park was named to commemorate David Thompson and his discoveries.
See also
Exploration of North America
Fur trade
Works
1814: Map of the North-West Territory of the Province of Canada
1897: New light on the early history of the greater Northwest (edited by Elliott Coues) Volume I; Volume II; Volume III
1916: David Thompson's narrative of his explorations in western America, 1784–1812 (edited by J.B. Tyrrell)
1950: David Thompson's journals relating to Montana and adjacent regions, 1808–1812 (edited by M. Catherine White)
1962: David Thompson's narrative, 1784–1812 (edited by Richard Glover)
1974: David Thompson's journal of the international boundary survey, 1817–1827: western Lake Erie, August–September 1819 (edited by Clarke E. Leverette)
1993: Columbia Journals (edited by Barbara Belyea)
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812 " Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
2006/2007: "David Thompson in Alberta 1787–1812"; "David Thompson on the Columbia River 1807–1812"; "The Explorations and Travels of David Thompson 1784–1812"; "Posts and Forts of the North American Fur Trade 1600–1870" Contemporary and Historical Maps: David Thompson (Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consultin
2010 : Official Documentary of Thompson was released by national geographic, ca.
References
Notes
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812" Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
Further reading
Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection
External links
David Thompson's Narrative of His Explorations in Western America 1784–1812 Vol's I and II, Champlain Society 1916, PDF (B/W) 25.1 MB
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Tyrrell edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Glover edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
David Thompson: Map Maker, Explorer and Visionary, online exhibit on Archives of Ontario website
DavidThompson200: bicentennial commemorations of Thompson's explorations
KSPS Public TV (PBS), , Narrative of David Thompson's life and travels. / Feb 2011
The Writings of David Thompson edited by William E. Moreau. Three volumes.
David Thompson Papers, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library
North West Company
English surveyors
Canadian people of Welsh descent
English cartographers
English explorers
Canadian cartographers
Canadian male canoeists
Canadian explorers
Canadian surveyors
English emigrants to pre-Confederation Canada
Explorers of British Columbia
Explorers of Canada
North West Company people
People from Westminster
People from Montreal
Pre-Confederation Quebec people
Interior of British Columbia
Hudson's Bay Company people
1770 births
1857 deaths
History of the Pacific Northwest
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Explorers of Washington (state)
People educated at Grey Coat Hospital
English explorers of North America
Welsh topographers
Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery | false | [
"Computer rage refers to negative psychological responses towards a computer due to heightened anger or frustration. Examples of computer rage include cursing or yelling at a computer, slamming or throwing a keyboard or a mouse , and assaulting the computer or monitor with an object or weapon.\n\nNotable cases \nIn April 2015, a Colorado man was cited for firing a gun within a residential area when he took his computer into a back alley and shot it eight times with a 9mm pistol. When questioned, he told police that he had become so frustrated with his computer that he had \"reached critical mass,\" and stated that after he had shot his computer, \"the angels sung on high.\" In 2007, a German man threw his computer out the window in the middle of the night, startling his neighbors. German police were sympathetic and did not press charges, stating, \"Who hasn't felt like doing that?\" In 2006, the staged surveillance video \"Bad Day\", showing a man assaulting his computer at work, became a viral hit on the Internet, reaching over two million views. Other instances of reported computer rage have ranged from a restaurant owner who threw his laptop into a deep fryer, to an individual who attempted to throw his computer out the window, but forgot that the window was closed.\n\nPrevalence \nIn 1999, it was speculated that computer rage had become more common than road rage in traffic, but in a 2015 study, it was found that reported rates of anger when using a computer were lower than reported rates of anger while driving. However, reports of anger while driving or using computers were found to be far more common than anger in other situations.\n\nIn a 2013 survey of American adults, 36% of respondents who reported experiencing computer issues, also reported that they had screamed, yelled, cursed, or physically assaulted their computers within the last six months.\n\nIn 2009, a survey was conducted with British computer users about their experiences with computers. This survey found that 54% of respondents reported verbally abusing their computers, and 40% reported that they had become physically violent toward their computers. The survey also found that most users experienced computer rage three to four times a month.\n\nDifferences in types of computer rage have also been found between different geographical regions. For example, one survey found that individuals from London have been found to be five times more likely to physically assault their computers, while those from Yorkshire and the Humber were found to be more likely to yell at their computers. Differences have also been observed for age groups, as younger adults (18–24 years old) have reported more abusive behaviors in the face of computer frustration when compared to older adults (over 35 years old). Individuals with less computer experience in particular have also been reported to experience increased feelings of anger and helplessness when it comes to computers, but other research has argued that it is the self-efficacy beliefs about computers that are predictive of computer frustration, not the amount of computer experience or use.\n\nIn 1999 Professor Robert J. Edelmann, a Chartered Clinical, Forensic and Health Psychologist and a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, was offering a special helpline in the UK for those suffering from technology related anger.\n\nCauses\n\nComputer factors \n\nUsers can experience computer anger and frustration for a number of reasons. American adults surveyed in 2013 reported that almost half (46%) of their computer problems were due to malware or computer viruses, followed by software issues (10%) and not enough memory (8%). In another survey, users reported email, word processors, web browsing, operating system crashes, inability to locate features, and program crashes as frequent initiators of computer frustration. These technical issues, paired with tight timelines, poor work progress, and failure to complete a computer task can create heightened computer anger and frustration. When this anger and frustration exceeds a person's control, it can turn into rage.\n\nPsychological factors \n\nResearch on emotion has shown that anger is often caused by interruptions of plans and expectations, especially through the violation of social norms. This sense of anger can be magnified when the individual does not understand why they are unable to meet their goal or task at hand or why there was a violation of social norms. Psychologists have argued that this is particularly relevant to computer rage, as computer users interact with computers in a similar manner that they interact with other people (for more information, see The Media Equation). Thus, when computers fail to function in the face of incoming deadlines or an important task to accomplish, users can feel betrayed by the computer in the same way they can feel betrayed by other people. Specifically, when users fail to understand why their computer will not work properly, often in the times they need it to the most, it can invoke a sense of hostility as it is interpreted as a breach of social norms or a personal attack. Consistent with this finding, perceived betrayal by the computer can also elicit other negative emotions. One survey of US adults reported that 10% of users who experience computer issues experienced feeling helplessness, and 4% reported feeling victimized. In the same survey, 7% adults ages 18–34 reported that they had cried over their computer problems within the previous six months.\n\nDangers and potential benefits \nComputer rage can result in damaged property or physical injuries, as well as psychological harm. Some experts have suggested that venting frustrations on the computer may have some benefits, but other experts disagree. For example, yelling at the computer has been suggested as a way to moderate one's anger to avoid the ill effects of anger suppression, but new research has suggested that yelling can negatively affect health in itself. Alternatively, releasing anger on a computer has been viewed as advantageous as it directs this rage at an object as opposed to another person, and can make individuals feel better afterwards.\n\nPrevention and management \nIn response to computer issues that invoke frustration, some experts have suggested walking away from the computer for 15 minutes to \"cool off\". Other methods to prevent computer rage can be backing up computer data often, increasing memory of the computer, and even imagining pleasant images, such as petting an animal. Adopting a goal of improving computer knowledge may also be beneficial, as users are less likely to report computer rage when they view the issue as a challenge and not as a setback. If computer rage cannot be avoided, guidelines on how to rage with minimal consequences, such as wearing safety goggles and taking frustration out on older equipment, can be followed to reduce the likelihood of injury and significant property loss.\n\nEmployers of staff who work with computers, often in situations where time is crucial, can take steps to prevent computer rage, such as making sure there is adequate software, and providing employees with anger management strategies. Some computer technician companies have reported that, to reduce computer rage, their technicians are trained on how to work with customers in sensitive psychological states just as much as how to diagnose and fix technical issues.\n\nDesigning computer interfaces to display more emotional support when errors occur, or provide therapy strategies, has also been suggested as a way to mitigate computer anger and rage. The application of affective computing has been shown to effectively mitigate negative emotions connected to computer use. One study found that an interface that sought the user's feelings, provided empathy, and validated reported emotional states significantly reduced negative emotions associated with computer frustration for users. Another study found that when error messages contain positive wording (\"Great that the computer will soon work again\") compared to negative wording (\"This is frustrating\") or a neutral error message, users exhibited more signs of happiness.\n\nSee also \nRage (emotion)\nAir rage\nRoad rage\nWrap rage\nTechnostress\nThe Media Equation\nDebugging\nHang (computing)\nDigital media use and mental health\n\nReferences \n\nRage (emotion)\nComputers\nDigital media use and mental health",
"Anger management is a psycho-therapeutic program for anger prevention and control. It has been described as deploying anger successfully. Anger is frequently a result of frustration, or of feeling blocked or thwarted from something the subject feels is important. Anger can also be a defensive response to underlying fear or feelings of vulnerability or powerlessness. Anger management programs consider anger to be a motivation caused by an identifiable reason which can be logically analyzed and addressed.\n\nOverview \n\nThe ideal goal of anger management is to control and regulate anger so that it does not result in problems. Anger is an active emotion that calls a person feeling it to respond. People get into anger issues because both the instigator and instigated lack interpersonal and social skills to maintain self-control. Research on affect and self-regulation shows that \nit occurs because negative emotional states often impairs impulse control. They can train to respond to their anger as unwanted and unpleasant rather than react to its need. Turning a blind eye or forgiveness is a tool to turn anger off. Getting enough sleep, exercise and good diet are tools which can assist in preventing anger. Professionals who deal with those who have trouble managing anger include occupational therapists, mental health counselors, drug and alcohol counselors, social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists.\n\nHistory\n\nThe negative effects of anger have been observed throughout history. Advice for countering seemingly uncontrollable rage has been offered by ancient philosophers, pious men, and modern psychologists. In de Ira, Seneca the Younger (4 BC – 65 AD) advised for pre-emptively guarding against confrontational situations, perspective taking, and not inciting anger in anger-prone individuals. Other philosophers echoed Seneca with Galen recommending seeking out a mentor for aid in anger reduction. In the Middle Ages, the people would serve as both examples of self-control and mediators of anger-induced disputes. Examples of intercession for the common people from the wrath of local rulers abound in hagiographies. The story of St. Francis of Assisi and the metaphorical Wolf of Gubbio is one famous instance.\n\nIn modern times, the concept of controlling anger has translated into anger management programs based on the research of psychologists. Classical psychotherapy based anger management interventions originated in the 1970s. Success in treating anxiety with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions developed by Meichebaum inspired Novaco to modify the stress inoculation training to be suitable for anger management. Stress and anger are sufficiently similar that such a modification was able to create a successful branch of treatment. Both stress and anger are caused by external stimuli, mediated by internal processing, and expressed in either adaptive or maladaptive forms. Meichebaum, and later Novaco, used each aspect of experiencing the relevant emotion as an opportunity for improvement to the patient's overall well-being.\n\nPotential causes for development of problems\n\nMedical causes\nDrug addiction, alcoholism, a mental disability, biochemical changes and PTSD can all lead to a person committing an aggressive act against another person. Not having sufficient skills on how to handle oneself when faced with aggression can lead to very undesirable outcomes. These factors are typically associated with a heightened chance of anger, but there are other, less-known factors that can lead to people acting in a negative way. Prolonged or intense anger and frustration contributes to physical conditions such as headaches, digestive problems, high blood pressure and heart disease. Problems dealing with angry feelings may be linked to psychological disorders such as anxiety or depression. Angry outbursts can be a way of trying to cope with unhappiness or depression.\n\nMigraines: Frequent migraine can be associated with levels of aggression and the need for anger management. A 2013 study examined migraines and its association with anger problems in young children (m = 11.2 years of age). The patients in the study were split into low migraine attack frequency (AF), intermediate AF, high frequency, and chronic migraine AF. The tendency for a participant to inhibit their anger and not lash out was found more in children with higher AF. Children that qualified for low migraine AF actually had more anger expression.\n\nPsychological causes\nPsychological factors such as stress, abuse, poor social or familial situations, and poverty can be linked to anger problems. Without proper anger management, individuals may be more prone to violence. They also may have increased stress levels, which can have both mental and physical symptoms if not taken care of sooner rather than later. Thankfully, there are many different methods of treatment that can help an individual control and cope with their anger.\n\nTrauma \nA history of trauma can result in increased anger. Anger is not associated with aggression in all individuals with symptoms of PTSD. Sexual trauma is particularly correlated with anger, as well as childhood trauma since more often than not, they either didn’t know what was going on and/or didn’t have any control over what was going on. It is important to recognize and validate trauma, rather than ignoring it and having their symptoms worsen.\n\nTypes of treatment \n\nSome effective anger management techniques include relaxation techniques, monitored breathing exercises, cognitive restructuring and imagery (e.g. Stosny's Healing imagery Explain oneself emphatically what and why it makes you respond angrily Apply kindness and compassion to self Love oneself Solving the co-morbid problems phases), problem solving, improving communication strategies and interpersonal skills (DEAR MAN & GIVE). Below are specific types of anger management treatment approaches supported by empirical studies. Several of the studies examined used self-report, which some psychologists feel could be a limitation for results. People do not want others to think of them as angry individuals, so their answers could be changed to fit how society wants them to behave.\n\nPrevention and Relationship Enhancement Program \n\nThe Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) is a program that was used in a study consisting of Air Force families. The families were assigned to either a traditional multi-couple group format or a self-directed book version focusing on relationship satisfaction and anger management skills. There was a significant main effect for time related to both relationship satisfaction (pretest M = 49.8, SD = 17.6; post-test M = 53.8, SD = 17.6, F(1, 76) = 6.91, p < .01), and anger management skills, (pretest M = 32.2, SD = 4.2; post-test M = 34.6, SD = 4.0, F(1, 74) = 31.79, p < .001).\n\nThe self-directed book version did not show as positive of results. Improving a couple's anger management skills can be a vital step in ensuring there are no violent outbreaks throughout the relationship.\n\nCognitive behavioral therapy \n\nThe use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is frequent in anger management treatment. By trying to get a patient to open up about their emotions and feelings and being driven to accomplish a specific task (in this case controlling anger), a person is cognitively motivated to use positive skills towards their behavior.\n\nStudies show using a mix of CBT as well as other therapies on the participants/clients increased the effective usage of the anger management techniques and that they also felt more in control of their own anger. Personal changes like these can lead to less aggression and fewer violent acts. The use of play therapy with this is also found efficient in tackling anger issues among children.\n\nPositive mentalization and personal development \n\nThis is a style that is commonly used in elementary schools for students expressing anger outbursts. Researchers who have looked into the reason for young student anger have found that one common reason could be the inability to adjust socially. Students that were selected for this study received a daily one-hour session throughout one week of school. The researchers of the mentalization program educated children through group therapy in positive psychology and tried to do activities that put the child in a happy mood while interacting. At the end of the week, research showed that there was a negative correlation between anger and social adjustment. This process lowered the overall anger levels of the students involved in social adjustment deficits.\n\nUse of personal development (PD) led to higher views of themselves and more positive self-esteem. Aggression has been shown to be a result of poor self-worth as well as thinking that those around us do not care or support us, so this PD is vital in helping change a person's self-perception.\n\nAnger journaling \n\nUnderstanding one's own emotions can be a crucial piece of learning how to deal with anger. Children who wrote down their negative emotions in an \"anger diary\" actually ended up improving their emotional understanding, which in turn led to less aggression. When it comes to dealing with their emotions, children show the ability to learn best by seeing direct examples of instances that led to certain levels of anger. By seeing the reasons why they got angry, they can in the future try to avoid those actions or be prepared for the feeling they experience if they do find themselves doing something that typically results in them being angry.\n\nThere is not sufficient evidence of this needing to be implemented in elementary schools, but this activity is a common tool used in therapies, so it could lead to children writing down their negative feelings and anger and help them to re-evaluate their position and take personal time to cool down instead of lashing out and doing aggressive actions in person.\n\nOther evidence-based approaches \n\nAnger management interventions are based in cognitive behavioral techniques and follow in a three-step process. First, the client learns to identify situations that can potentially trigger the feeling of anger. A situation that elicits anger is often referred to as an anger cue. If a potential trigger can be avoided, the individual can not only avoid unwanted outbursts, but also avoid internal conflict. Often anger occurs through automatic thought and irrational beliefs, these pose a problem for treatment because the patient may respond too quickly to change the thought or behavior. Wright, Day, & Howells referred to this phenomenon as the \"hijacking of the cognitive system by the emotional system\". Second, relaxation techniques are taught as appropriate responses to the identified situations. Common techniques include regulating breathing and physically removing themselves from the situation. Finally, role-play is used to practice the application of the learned techniques for future encounters with anger-inducing situations in the individual's life. The end result of repetition is an automatic response of learned beneficial techniques. Modifications of each general step result in distinctive programs. Additionally, different fields of psychology will change aspects of the above three-step process, which is primarily based in cognitive-behavioral therapy. Group, family, and relaxation only therapies each contribute to the wider range of available anger management programs.\n\nRelaxation therapy can reduce cognition and motivations to act out, and through relaxation, clients gain coping skills to better manage their anger. This therapy addresses various aspects of anger such as physiological, cognitive, behavioral, and social. These aspects combined are what make relaxation an effective treatment for anger. Mindfulness attempts to teach clients acceptance of bodily sensations and emotions. Mindfulness originated in Eastern spiritual traditions that are practiced through meditation. A two-prong component of mindfulness includes: self-regulation and orientation toward the present moment. The center of this therapy technique is experiencing the present moment in a non-judgmental manner that is reflective of meditation. In practice, clients observe breathing, sitting and walking during meditations. The goal is for clients to understand that his or her thoughts of anger are merely thoughts rather than reality. Mindfulness is also a technique used in the relaxation approach because the technique halts physiological arousal. An example of this is Meditation on the Soles of the Feet (SoF) which has been shown to help persons with mild intellectual disability decrease aggressive behavior by mindfully focusing on the soles of their feet.\n\nRational emotive behavior therapy explains anger through the client's beliefs and emotion, rather than the event itself. The concept involves clients interpreting events in a rational manner in order to avoid irrational thoughts that lead to anger. Delayed reaction technique is when clients attempt to uncover what is making them angry before acting out on their anger. This allows them to have time to change what is making them angry and increase time before their response; this encourages thought on a more rational level. In addition, clients are also encouraged to avoid demands in an anti-oppressive order to avoid anger. An example of a demand placed on a client may be that, \"I have to have this done by my standards\". Research is starting to show that the better individuals understand what anger management is and how it can help them personally and in relationships, aggressive actions are less likely to occur.\n\nAnger treatments' success rates can be difficult to estimate because excessive, severe anger is not a recognized disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This manual is used as a reference for mental health professionals. Some research does exist on comparing various treatments for anger, but they also describe methodological difficulties in making accurate comparisons. The best practice for anger treatment is to use multiple techniques rather than a single technique. The relaxation approach had the highest success rate as a standalone treatment. The effectiveness of the CBT-based anger management therapies has been evaluated by a number of meta-analyses. In a 1998 meta-analysis with 50 studies and 1640 individuals, measures of anger and aggression were used to compare the effects of the anger management intervention with no treatment. A significant effect for anger management was found with a 67% chance of improvement for individuals having received the anger management as compared to the individuals without the therapy. In addition, a 2009 meta-analysis compared psychological treatments for anger across 96 studies. After an average of 8 sessions, a significant improvement in anger reduction resulted. Overall, the completion of an anger management program is likely to result in long-lasting positive changes in behavior. Successful interventions can result in not only a reduction of the outward display of aggression, but also a decrease in the internal level of anger.\n\nMedication \nAs anger is a psychological concern, treating with medication is a secondary line of approach. However, if there is a medical reason for an anger response certain psychotropic medications are prescribed by doctors to complement the psychotherapy intervention. Medications include Antidepressants, Anti-psychotics, Anti-seizure and Beta blockers. These drugs specifically do not target anger directly, but they have a calming outcome that can support control of rage and negative feeling.\n\nAntidepressants may have a particular role when anger is a manifestation of depression. Anger attacks are found in 40% of those with major depressive disorder with 64–71% of cases responding to an SSRI such as fluoxetine.\n\nValerian roots and saffron threads are herbal supplements that supposedly help in lowering stress and promotes calm feelings. Passionflower and chamomile are generally consumed in tea for supporting mood by reducing anxiety.\n\nAffected populations\n\nAdults\nOne motivation for seeking anger management can be career-related. As both a preventative and corrective tool, anger management is available to help individuals cope with potentially anger-inducing aspects of their jobs. One such situation applies to caretakers of individuals with mental illness. The daily stress combined with slow or no progress with the people under their care can create a high level of frustration. Skills training for caretakers of relatives with dementia has been developed to help cope with these feelings of frustration in a positive manner.\n\nAnger management is also beneficial in law enforcement. The role of police officers is to protect civilians, however, conflicts between the police and the general public can develop. The goal of anger management would be to reduce such occurrences like police brutality from negatively impacting the relationship between law enforcement and citizens. Anger management programs tailored towards this goal could orient themselves towards these means by focusing on conflict resolution and including specific law enforcement scenarios in the training. This need was noticed by Novaco, who originally designed an intervention for anger management based on cognitive behavioral therapy, resulting in a specialized skills training program for law enforcement.\n\nCouples also in the brink of dissolution of their marriage need to understand what to do about intimate partner violence, and the more knowledgeable the individuals are on how to manage their anger, the better prepared they are when confronted with a problem with another person.\n\nChildren and adolescents\nThe ability for young children to understand their emotions and how to react in certain situations can greatly increase their chance of expressing themselves in an appropriate manner. A 2010 study from the Journal of Applied School Psychology looked at four 4th grade boys who took part in different activities with the school psychologist, ranging from how to deal with emotions to practicing anger reduction strategies. They found a positive correlation between partaking in these meetings and less anger expressing in a multitude of locations (school, home, etc.).\n\nAnger management programs with a cognitive-behavioral basis have been modified for children and adolescents. There are three common types of CBT aimed at the youth. First, life skills development (communication, empathy, assertiveness, etc.) uses modeling to teach appropriate reactions to anger. Second, effective education focuses on identifying the feelings of anger and relaxation. Finally, problem solving conveys a view of cause and effect for situations as an alternative to anger. A wide range of methods can be used to convey these three components, with both age and severity being important factors. For younger children, involvement can be increased by presenting anger management in more of a fun format with educational games and activities being available. For adolescents, group therapy can be an effective form given the resemblance to the individual's natural social environment. The severity of expressed anger issues often relates to the intensity of the subsequent anger management program. A few violent outbursts in a classroom setting could result in several sessions with the school's counselor. However, more severe juvenile delinquency could result in court-mandated anger management sessions in a juvenile correctional facility.\n\nThe effectiveness of anger management has been studied in children and adolescents for the purpose of evaluating existing programs and designing more effective programs. In a meta-analyses of 40 studies, an overall effect size of 0.67 was found for CBT anger management treatment, suggesting anger management as a legitimate approach to problematic levels of anger. Skills development (0.79) and problem solving (0.67) both had a higher impact than affective education (0.36). This was believed to be due to behavioral aspects being more easily conveyed than cognitive for children. The true value from early interventions aimed at youths comes from the preventative aspect. Curbing negative behaviors early in life could lead to a more positive outlook as an adult.\n\nIndividuals with intellectual disabilities\n\nIndividuals with intellectual disabilities can struggle with managing anger. When faced with aggression from individuals with an intellectual disability, caretakers often employ a combination of four different strategies. Depending on both the setting and individual, the following strategies for aggression minimization present in different ways.\n\n Reactive strategies – Aim to minimize impact of overtly aggressive behavior by using established protocols. Ex. Enforced isolation after the start of a violent outburst.\n Ecological interventions – Attempt to reduce aggression level by changing an aspect of the environment for a more calming effect. Ex. Reducing ambient noise to lower irritation.\n Contingency management – Focuses on modifying behavior through a combination of reinforcement and punishment. Ex. Using a token economy to enforce rules concerning behavior.\n Positive programming – Teaches positive reaction skills as an alternative to aggression. Ex. Anger management with a CBT background.\n\nThe need for anger management is also evident in situations where individuals with intellectual disabilities are prescribed psychotropic medication as the result of aggressive or self-injurious behavior. The medication's role as a chemical restraint does not help modify the underlying cause of aggression. Sedation is best used as an emergency measure with skills training as a long-term solution to decreasing the overall rate of violent incidents. In a meta-analysis reviewing 80 studies, behavioral-based interventions were found to be generally effective in modifying behavior. Additionally, cognitive behavioral therapy as administered by lay therapists was found to be effective, which supports the feasibility of such anger management programs.\n\nThis is a group that a majority of the population might not associate with having AM problems, but research shows over half of the population of Americans with intellectual disabilities displays violent and aggressive actions somewhat regularly. People with a learning disability tend to express anger and aggression to even those who help them on a daily basis. Adults with intellectual disabilities are at high risk of acting aggressive and being sent to clinics due to their actions.\n\nThe \"theory of the mind\" approach states that people with anger management problems tend to be unsteady mentally and are not able to internalize any blame for their actions. One of the main reasons for anger outbursts is externalizing blame and having a quick impulse to lash out. These individuals need to have a better understanding of what their actions mean and that they should understand that blaming themselves for problems can sometimes be the right thing to do.\n\nViolent criminals \n\nOne study found that offenders who were currently in high-security hospitals that went through a self-report 20 class training program actually had very positive results. Results of the self-report showed a decrease in aggression and a lack of responding when angry. There were two issues to keep in mind though; a hospital setting and a setting in which the researchers did not want to provoke much anger due to the instability of the patients.\n\nIn one meta-analysis study composed of studies completed from 1979 to 2010, school-aged children who were identified as having aggressive personalities were given several different anger management classes. Overall, results showed slightly positive results for children receiving the classes (less aggression). The courses aimed at reducing negative emotions in the children and trying to help them with self-control. While no overarching conclusions could be made, researchers state that children going through anger management courses are more prepared to combat their anger internally and less likely to act out.\n\nSubstance abusers \n\nThere is no statistical information that shows people who substance abuse also have high rates of aggressive actions. However, researchers believe this is a group of people that should be studied due to their questionable decision-making and typically unstable mental health. Substance abusers could benefit from anger management to prevent potential aggression.\n\nPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) individuals \n\nThis group can benefit from extended CBT dealing with anger management issues. One study dealing with n= 86 war veterans found that during the 12 sessions of training, anger traits slightly dropped as well as small reductions in expressing anger. Research also indicates that their antisocial personality traits upon return can put them behind in society, so finding the right anger management courses is of vital importance. There were not significant enough findings from this study to definitely recommend veterans with PTSD to use CBT anger management courses.\n\nPeople with traumatic brain injuries \n\nPeople with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can display impulsive, aggressive and dangerous actions. A study in the Brain Injury showed that one way to prevent such actions is a community-based treatment of people with TBI. Results indicated that the need to lash out diminished after the 12-week program, and a series of post-treatment testing showed a decline in self-reported frequency of angry actions. Other specific results included: significant decreases in the frequency of experiencing angry feelings and the frequency of outward expression of anger as well as significant increases in the frequency of controlling feelings of anger.\n\nAssociated people\n\nSeneca \n\nOne of the first people to study anger and the control of anger was the Roman philosopher Seneca. He studied anger during his lifetime, c. 4 BC – AD 65, and from his experiences and observations he formulated ways to control anger. This could be considered an early form of anger management. Seneca noted the importance of how to avoid becoming angry, how to quit being angry, and how to deal with anger in other people.\nBefore him, Athenodorus Cananites (74 BC – 7 AD) counseled Octavian to recite the alphabet before acting in anger.\n\nAnother theorist who came after Seneca was Galen, a Roman era philosopher, who built on the work of Seneca to formulate new ideas in the area of anger management. Galen stresses the importance of a mentor to help deal with excess anger.\n\nPeter Stearns \n\nSir Peter Stearns played an important part in researching the differences in anger between genders. Stearns concluded that there are similarities between male and females experience of anger. June Crawford came up with an opposing idea about how the two genders deal with anger. Her research concluded that men and women deal with anger by different means.\n\nRaymond Novaco \nWorks from Raymond Novaco in the 1970s have contributed to many of the recent ideas on the management of anger. These ideas have led to the implementation of different anger management programs. Novaco stressed the importance of looking at the situations that led up to the anger in order to have control over the anger. He stated that anger is an emotional response to situations, and that anger occurs in three modalities, either cognitive, somaticaffective or behavioral. After discovering the anger, there should be discussion and self-examination in order to relieve the anger. This process was thought to help the client identify the situations that lead to anger and deal with the anger depending on the step that the anger is occurring in. The client is able to use different relaxation skills to reduce their anger before it advances.\n\nBenefits\nThe benefits of undergoing anger management brings around the successful reduction in anger and violent outbursts. Personal relationships that have been previously strained by a high level of aggression may undergo improvement. Professionally, workplace relationships have a similar outcome that are beneficial to an individual's career and personal sense of satisfaction. Legally, continued attendance to anger management programs, mandated or not, can be seen as a sign of good faith. For incarcerated individuals, an earlier parole time can be the result of good behavior learned from anger management classes. From an emotional standpoint, reducing the internal level of anger results in a decrease in stress and an increase in overall happiness as a result.\n\nFrom a medical standpoint, physical illnesses also improve from positive emotional and behavioral changes. Anger management style and overall level of anger has been associated with both acute and chronic pain sensitivity. Blood pressure is another physiological aspect effected by anger, with increased levels of anger being correlated with higher blood pressure. The implications of an effect on blood pressure for overall health is made evident by the link between high blood pressure and the increased risk of cardiovascular disease. An increase in the immune system's efficacy has also been observed as a result of the increased level of relaxation. Successful anger management could also lead to an overall longer life span due to the decrease in reckless behavior and violent altercations.\n\nImpediments\nThere are a number of factors that can lower the probability of a successful anger management intervention. One such obstacle is the level of the individual's motivation. Overall low readiness is an impediment to the effectiveness of anger management due to the lower attendance rates and negative effect on the therapeutic alliance. Involuntary assignment to an anger management program, for example court mandated sessions, will result in a lower average motivation level than voluntary admission. In one study with incarcerated inmates, there was a correlation found between individual readiness and improvement.\n\nAdditionally, given the component of anger as a social construct, difficulty with communication between cultures can serve as another impediment. What is deemed an appropriate expression of anger is culturally dependent. Therefore, a mismatch between client and therapist could result in a misunderstanding as to the end goal of the program. For example, a client could only wish to decrease physical violence, while the therapist aims to decrease both verbal and physical outbursts. Gender-dependent expectations of anger expression can contribute as well to societal standards. The same violent outburst for a man and woman is subject to different interpretations due to anger being seen as more permissible in males.\n\nThe cost of taking anger management could also be a significant obstacle if the person does not have health insurance. The time required for anger management depends on the program. Weekly one-hour sessions with eight to 12 sessions per program are common, but a single intensive all-day session variety exists as well. The monetary cost can amount to $90–$120 per session for general therapy, or much higher fees for specialized coaching. The availability of anger management programs locally can be problematic for more isolated areas, creating an additional cost for travel. However, online options can follow the same structure as an in-person intervention with similar outcomes.\n\nReligion\nAn Islamic hadith-i-sherif states, \"Whoever is overtaken by anger (ghadab) should sit down if he is standing up. If anger continues, he should lie down on one of his sides!\"\n\nSee also\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n American Psychological Association – Anger\n Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Tips\n Psychological Self Help\n Anger Management Villanova University, Pennsylvania\n Anger Management Techniques\n\nPsychotherapies\nMindfulness (psychology)"
] |
[
"David Thompson (explorer)",
"Appearance and personality",
"What was Thompson like as a person?",
"He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant.",
"What else was noticeable about his appearance?",
"His figure was short and compact,",
"Did he have any other distinguishing features?",
"his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown,",
"Did he wear a beard?",
"I don't know.",
"How did he wear his clothes?",
"was plainly dressed,",
"What else was unique about his appearance?",
"by saying he greatly resembled Curran the Irish Orator...",
"What was his most defining feature?",
"he has a very powerful mind,",
"Did he have any issues with anger?",
"I don't know."
] | C_e4e0f0e98a3e41878ec328673efaad58_1 | Was his personality reserved? | 10 | Was David Thompson's personality reserved? | David Thompson (explorer) | In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson: I was well placed at table between one of the Miss McGillivray's and a singular-looking person of about fifty. He was plainly dressed, quiet, and observant. His figure was short and compact, and his black hair was worn long all round, and cut square, as if by one stroke of the shears, just above the eyebrows. His complexion was of the gardener's ruddy brown, while the expression of his deeply-furrowed features was friendly and intelligent, but his cut-short nose gave him an odd look. His speech betrayed the Welshman, although he left his native hills when very young. I might have been spared this description of Mr David Thompson by saying he greatly resembled Curran the Irish Orator... I afterwards travelled much with him, and have now only to speak of him with great respect, or, I ought to say, with admiration... No living person possesses a tithe of his information respecting the Hudson's Bay countries... Never mind his Bunyan-like face and cropped hair; he has a very powerful mind, and a singular faculty of picture-making. He can create a wilderness and people it with warring savages, or climb the Rocky Mountains with you in a snow-storm, so clearly and palpably, that only shut your eyes and you hear the crack of the rifle, or feel the snow-flakes melt on your cheeks as he talks. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | David Thompson (30 April 1770 – 10 February 1857) was a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and cartographer, known to some native peoples as Koo-Koo-Sint or "the Stargazer". Over Thompson's career, he traveled across North America, mapping of North America along the way. For this historic feat, Thompson has been described as the "greatest practical land geographer that the world has produced".
Early life
David Thompson was born in Westminster, Middlesex, to recent Welsh migrants David and Ann Thompson. When Thompson was two, his father died. Due to the financial hardship with his mother without resources, Thompson, 29 April 1777, the day before his seventh birthday, and his older brother were placed in the Grey Coat Hospital, a school for the disadvantaged of Westminster. Thompson graduated to the Grey Coat mathematical school, well known for teaching navigation and surveying. He received an education for the Royal Navy: including mathematics of trigonometry and geometry, practical navigation including using of nautical instruments, finding latitudes and longitudes and making navigational calculations from observing the sun, moon and tides and the drawing of maps and charts, taking land measurements and sketching landscapes. He later built on these to make his career. In 1784, at the age of 14, the Grey Coat treasurer paid the Hudson's Bay Company the sum of five pounds, upon which Thompson became the company's indentured servant for a period of seven years to be trained as a clerk. He set sail on 28 May of that year, and left England for North America.
Hudson's Bay Company (HBC)
On 2 September 1784, Thompson arrived in Churchill (now in Manitoba) and was put to work as a clerk/secretary, copying the personal papers of the governor of Fort Churchill, Samuel Hearne. The next year he was transferred to nearby York Factory, and over the next few years spent time as a secretary at Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, and South Branch House before arriving at Manchester House in 1787. During those years he learned to keep accounts and other records, calculate values of furs (It was noted that he also had several expensive beaver pelts at that time even when a secretary's job would not pay terribly well), track supplies and other duties.
On 23 December 1788, Thompson seriously fractured his tibia, forcing him to spend the next two winters at Cumberland House convalescing. It was during this time that he greatly refined and expanded his mathematical, astronomical, and surveying skills under the tutelage of Hudson's Bay Company surveyor Philip Turnor. It was also during this time that he lost sight in his right eye.
In 1790, with his apprenticeship nearing its end, Thompson requested a set of surveying tools in place of the typical parting gift of fine clothes offered by the company to those completing their indenture. He received both. He entered the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company as a fur trader. In 1792 he completed his first significant survey, mapping a route to Lake Athabasca (where today's Alberta/Saskatchewan border is located). Between February and May 1793, Thompson made 34 observations of the longitude of Cumberland House using lunar distances. The mean of these observations was 102°12′ W, about 2' east of the modern value. The mean error of the 34 observations was about 15' of longitude. Broughton (2009) notes that the precision of the type of sextant used by Thompson was 15" of arc, corresponding to 7.5' of longitude giving an absolute limit to the precision of an individual observation. The error in Thompson's mean was several times less than this. The time he took on these observations, about 3 hours of calculation each, indicates that he understood the power of averages.
In recognition of his map-making and surveying skills, the company promoted Thompson to the surveyor in 1794. He continued working for the Hudson's Bay Company until 23 May 1797 when, frustrated by an order to cease surveying and focus on the fur trade, he left. He walked in the snow in order to enter the employ of the competition, the North West Company. There he continued to work as a fur trader and surveyor.
North West Company
Thompson's decision to defect to the North West Company (NWC) in 1797 without providing the customary one-year notice was not well received by his former employers. But the North West Company was more supportive of Thompson pursuing his work on surveying and mapping the interior of what was to become Canada, as they judged it in the company's interest to know the exact locations of their settlements and the distance from each other. In 1797, Thompson was sent south by his employers to survey part of the Canada-US boundary along the water routes from Lake Superior to Lake of the Woods to satisfy unresolved questions of territory arising from the Jay Treaty between Great Britain and the United States after the American Revolutionary War.
By 1798 Thompson had completed a survey of from Grand Portage, through Lake Winnipeg, to the headwaters of the Assiniboine and Mississippi rivers, as well as two sides of Lake Superior. In 1798, the company sent him to Red Deer Lake (Lac La Biche in present-day Alberta) to establish a trading post. (The English translation of Lac la Biche: Red Deer Lake, was first recorded on the Mackenzie map of 1793.) Thompson spent the next few seasons trading based in Fort George (now in Alberta), and during this time led several expeditions into the Rocky Mountains.
On 10 July 1804, at the annual meeting of the North West Company in Kaministiquia, Thompson was made a full partner of the company. He became a 'wintering partner', who was based in the field rather than Montreal, with two of the 92 NWC's shares worth more than £4,000. He spent the next few seasons based there managing the fur trading operations but still finding time to expand his surveys of the waterways around Lake Superior. At the 1806 company meeting, officers decided to send Thompson back out into the interior. Concern over the American-backed expedition of Lewis and Clark prompted the North West Company to charge Thompson with the task of finding a route to the Pacific to open up the lucrative trading territories of the Pacific Northwest.
Columbia River travels
After the general meeting in 1806, Thompson travelled to Rocky Mountain House and prepared for an expedition to follow the Columbia River to the Pacific. In June 1807 Thompson crossed the Rocky Mountains and spent the summer surveying the Columbia basin; he continued to survey the area over the next few seasons. Thompson mapped and established trading posts in Northwestern Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Western Canada. Trading posts he founded included Kootenae House, Kullyspell House and Saleesh House; the latter two were the first trading posts west of the Rockies in Idaho and Montana, respectively. These posts established by Thompson extended North West Company fur trading territory into the Columbia Basin drainage area. The maps he made of the Columbia River basin east of the Cascade Mountains were of such high quality and detail that they continued to be useful into the 20th-century.
In early 1810, Thompson was returning eastward toward Montreal but, while en route at Rainy Lake, received orders to return to the Rocky Mountains and establish a route to the mouth of the Columbia. The North West Company was responding to the plans of American John Jacob Astor to send a ship around the Americas to establish a fur trading post of the Pacific Fur Company on the Pacific Coast. During his return, Thompson was delayed by an angry group of Peigan natives at Howse Pass. He was ultimately forced to seek a new route across the Rocky Mountains and found one through the Athabasca Pass.
David Thompson was the first European to navigate the full length of the Columbia River. Between Kettle Falls (3 July 1811) and the Junction of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (9 July) he was travelling through country that had never been visited by Europeans, and took time to visit the villages along the way to establish good relations, helped by copious quantities of tobacco. In 1805 Lewis and Clark had descended the Snake River, and then continued down the Columbia. On reaching the junction Thompson erected a pole and a notice claiming the country for Great Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a trading post at the site. This notice was found later that year by Astor company workers looking to establish an inland fur post, contributing to their selection of a more northerly site at Fort Okanogan. The North West Company established its post of Fort Nez Percés near the Snake River confluence several years later. Continuing down the Columbia, Thompson passed over the Celilo Falls, almost losing the canoe on the rocks, and portaged around the rapids of The Dalles and the Cascades Rapids. On 14 July 1811, Thompson reached the partially constructed Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia, arriving two months after the Pacific Fur Company's ship, the Tonquin.
Before returning upriver and across the mountains, Thompson hired Naukane, a Native Hawaiian Takane labourer brought to Fort Astoria by the Pacific Fur Company's ship Tonquin. Naukane, known as Coxe to Thompson, accompanied Thompson across the continent to Lake Superior before journeying on to England.
Thompson wintered at Saleesh House before beginning his final journey back to Montreal in 1812, where the North West Company was based.
In his published journals, Thompson recorded seeing large footprints (“which measured fourteen inches in length by eight inches in breadth”) near what is now Jasper, Alberta, in 1811. It has been suggested that these prints were similar to what has since been called the sasquatch. However, Thompson noted that these tracks showed "a small Nail at the end of each [toe]", and stated that these tracks "very much resembles a large Bear's Track".
The years 1807-1812 are the most carefully scrutinized in his career and his most enduring historical legacy, due to his development of the commercial routes across the Rockies, and his mapping of the lands they traverse.
Appearance and personality
In 1820, the English geologist, John Jeremiah Bigsby, attended a dinner party given by The Hon. William McGillivray at his home, Chateau St. Antoine, one of the early estates in Montreal's Golden Square Mile. He describes the party and some of the guests in his entertaining book The Shoe and Canoe, giving an excellent description of David Thompson:
Marriage and children
On 10 June 1799 at Île-à-la-Crosse, Thompson married Charlotte Small, a thirteen-year-old Métis daughter of Scottish fur trader Patrick Small and a Cree mother. Their marriage was formalised thirteen years later at the Scotch Presbyterian Church in Montreal on 30 October 1812. He and Charlotte had 13 children together; five of them were born before he left the fur trade. The family did not adjust easily to life in Eastern Canada; they lived in Montreal while he was traveling. Two of the children, John (aged 5) and Emma (aged 7), died of round worms, a common parasite. By the time of Thompson's death, the couple had been married 57 years, the longest marriage known in Canada pre-Confederation.
Later life
Upon his arrival back in Montreal, Thompson retired with a generous pension from the North West Company. He settled in nearby Terrebonne and worked on completing his great map, a summary of his lifetime of exploring and surveying the interior of North America. The map covered the wide area stretching from Lake Superior to the Pacific, and was given by Thompson to the North West Company. Thompson's 1814 map, his greatest achievement, was so accurate that 100 years later it was still the basis for many of the maps issued by the Canadian government. It now resides in the Archives of Ontario.
In 1815, Thompson moved his family to Williamstown, Upper Canada, and a few years later was employed to survey the newly established borders with the United States from Lake of the Woods to the Eastern Townships of Quebec, established by Treaty of Ghent after the War of 1812. In 1843 Thompson completed his atlas of the region from Hudson Bay to the Pacific Ocean.
Afterwards, Thompson returned to a life as a land owner, but soon financial misfortune would ruin him. By 1831 he was so deeply in debt he was forced to take up a position as a surveyor for the British American Land Company to provide for his family. His luck continued to worsen and he was forced to move in with his daughter and son-in-law in 1845. He began work on a manuscript chronicling his life exploring the continent, but this project was left unfinished when his sight failed him completely in 1851.
Death and afterward
The land mass mapped by Thompson amounted to of wilderness (one-fifth of the continent). His contemporary, the great explorer Alexander Mackenzie, remarked that Thompson did more in ten months than he would have thought possible in two years.
Despite these significant achievements, Thompson died in Montreal in near obscurity on 10 February 1857, his accomplishments almost unrecognised. He never finished the book of his 28 years in the fur trade, based on his 77 field notebooks, before he died. In the 1890s geologist J.B. Tyrrell resurrected Thompson's notes and in 1916 published them as David Thompson's Narrative, as part of the General Series of the Champlain Society. Further editions and re-examinations of Thompson's life and works were published in 1962 by Richard Glover, in 1971 by Victor Hopwood, and in 2015 by William Moreau.
Thompson's body was interred in Montreal's Mount Royal Cemetery in an unmarked grave. It was not until 1926 that efforts by J.B. Tyrrell and the Canadian Historical Society resulted in the placing of a tombstone to mark his grave. The next year, Thompson was named a National Historic Person by the federal government, one of the earliest such designations. A federal plaque reflecting that status is located at Jasper National Park, Alberta. Meantime, Thompson's achievements are central reasons for other national historic designations:
David Thompson on the Columbia River National Historic Event, marked at Castlegar, BC
Athabasca Pass National Historic Site (NHS), at Jasper National Park
Boat Encampment NHS, BC
Howse Pass NHS, Banff National Park, Alberta
Kootenae House NHS, BC
Rocky Mountain House NHS, Alberta
In 1957, one hundred years after his death, Canada's post office department honoured him with his image on a postage stamp. The David Thompson Highway in Alberta was named in his honour, along with David Thompson High School situated on the side of the highway near Leslieville, Alberta. There are also two David Thompson Secondary Schools, one in Vancouver, BC, and one in Invermere, BC.
His prowess as a geographer is now well-recognized. He has been called "the greatest land geographer that the world has produced."
There is a monument dedicated to David Thompson (maintained by the state of North Dakota) near the former town site of the ghost town Verendrye, North Dakota, located approximately north and west of Karlsruhe, North Dakota. Thompson Falls, Montana, and British Columbia's Thompson River and Thompson Falls on the Blaeberry River are also named after the explorer.
The year 2007 marked the 150th year of Thompson's death and the 200th anniversary of his first crossing of the Rocky Mountains. Commemorative events and exhibits were planned across Canada and the United States from 2007 to 2011 as a celebration of his accomplishments.
In 2007, a commemorative plaque was placed on a wall at the Grey Coat Hospital, the school for the disadvantaged of Westminster David Thompson attended as a boy, by English author and TV presenter Ray Mears.
Thompson was the subject of a 1964 National Film Board of Canada short film David Thompson: The Great Mapmaker , as well as the BBC2 programme Ray Mears' Northern Wilderness (Episode 5), broadcast in November 2009. He's also the subject of 2010 KSPS-TV film Uncharted Territory: David Thompson on the Columbia Plateau.
He is referenced in the 1981 folk song "Northwest Passage" by Stan Rogers.
The national park service, Parks Canada, announced in 2018 that it had named its new research vessel , to be used for underwater archaeology, including sea floor mapping, and for marine science in the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic Oceans, and the Great Lakes. It will be the main platform for research on the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site.
The David Thompson Astronomical Observatory at Fort William Historical Park was named to commemorate David Thompson and his discoveries.
See also
Exploration of North America
Fur trade
Works
1814: Map of the North-West Territory of the Province of Canada
1897: New light on the early history of the greater Northwest (edited by Elliott Coues) Volume I; Volume II; Volume III
1916: David Thompson's narrative of his explorations in western America, 1784–1812 (edited by J.B. Tyrrell)
1950: David Thompson's journals relating to Montana and adjacent regions, 1808–1812 (edited by M. Catherine White)
1962: David Thompson's narrative, 1784–1812 (edited by Richard Glover)
1974: David Thompson's journal of the international boundary survey, 1817–1827: western Lake Erie, August–September 1819 (edited by Clarke E. Leverette)
1993: Columbia Journals (edited by Barbara Belyea)
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812 " Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
2006/2007: "David Thompson in Alberta 1787–1812"; "David Thompson on the Columbia River 1807–1812"; "The Explorations and Travels of David Thompson 1784–1812"; "Posts and Forts of the North American Fur Trade 1600–1870" Contemporary and Historical Maps: David Thompson (Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consultin
2010 : Official Documentary of Thompson was released by national geographic, ca.
References
Notes
2006: "Moccasin Miles – The Travels of Charlotte Small Thompson 1799–1812" Contemporary and Historical Maps: Charlotte Small (S. Leanne Playter/Andreas N. Korsos|Publisher: Arcturus Consulting)
Further reading
Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection
External links
David Thompson's Narrative of His Explorations in Western America 1784–1812 Vol's I and II, Champlain Society 1916, PDF (B/W) 25.1 MB
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Tyrrell edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Complete text of David Thompson's Narrative (Glover edition) Champlain Society digital collection
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
David Thompson: Map Maker, Explorer and Visionary, online exhibit on Archives of Ontario website
DavidThompson200: bicentennial commemorations of Thompson's explorations
KSPS Public TV (PBS), , Narrative of David Thompson's life and travels. / Feb 2011
The Writings of David Thompson edited by William E. Moreau. Three volumes.
David Thompson Papers, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library
North West Company
English surveyors
Canadian people of Welsh descent
English cartographers
English explorers
Canadian cartographers
Canadian male canoeists
Canadian explorers
Canadian surveyors
English emigrants to pre-Confederation Canada
Explorers of British Columbia
Explorers of Canada
North West Company people
People from Westminster
People from Montreal
Pre-Confederation Quebec people
Interior of British Columbia
Hudson's Bay Company people
1770 births
1857 deaths
History of the Pacific Northwest
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
Explorers of Washington (state)
People educated at Grey Coat Hospital
English explorers of North America
Welsh topographers
Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery | false | [
"Tahira Aurangzeb () is a Pakistani politician who has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, since August 2018. Previously she was a member of the National Assembly from March 2008 to May 2018.\n\nShe is mother of Maryam Aurangzeb who was born from her 1st marriage to Mr. Asharaf. Later when she entered politics she divorced her first husband and married a political personality from PMLN.\n\nPolitical career\nShe was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) on a seat reserved for women from Punjab in the 2008 Pakistani general election.\n\nShe was re elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PML-N on a reserved seat for women from Punjab in 2013 Pakistani general election.\n\nShe was re elected to the National Assembly as a candidate of PML-N on a reserved seat for women from Punjab in 2018 Pakistani general election.\n\nReferences\n\nLiving people\nPakistan Muslim League (N) MNAs\nPunjabi people\nPakistani MNAs 2013–2018\nPakistani MNAs 2008–2013\nWomen members of the National Assembly of Pakistan\nYear of birth missing (living people)\nPakistani MNAs 2018–2023\n21st-century Pakistani women politicians",
"Louis Vivet (also Louis Vivé or Vive) (b. February 12, 1863, in Paris, France) was one of the first mental health patients to be diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, colloquially known as \"multiple [or] split personalities.\" Within one year of his 1885 diagnosis, the term \"multiple personality\" appeared in psychological literature in direct reference to Vivet.\n\nEarly life and first symptoms \n\nVivet was born on February 12, 1863, in Paris to a young mother who worked as a prostitute and who beat and neglected him. After turning to crime at age eight, Vivet was sent to a house of corrections, where he was raised until the age of 18.\nWhile working on a farm at age 17, Vivet became paralyzed from the waist down due to severe trauma resulting from a viper wrapping itself around his hand, inducing psychosomatic paralysis. Vivet went on to work as a tailor during his paralysis, until one-and-a-half years later, when he suddenly regained the use of his legs and began walking. When confronted by the asylum (which had begun housing him upon his paralysis) regarding his newfound ability to walk, Vivet responded with confusion, not recognizing any of the hospital staff and accusing them of imprisoning him.\n\nDiagnosis and multiple personalities\n\nDiagnosis and treatment \nAlthough Vivet was purported to have up to ten personalities, recent re-evaluations of the medical literature has led some psychologists to believe that he had only two personalities, and that any other personalities were the direct result of hypnosis by therapists. Vivet's symptoms, including loss of time and amnesia, were explained by the first psychologist to treat him, Camuset, as divisions in his personality, and were not directly linked to his history of childhood trauma until his case was re-evaluated approximately 100 years later. Some experts believe that Vivet did not have DID at all, and that his behavior was similar to that of a fugue state.\n\nPhilosopher Ian Hacking has argued that the term \"multiple personality disorder\" first came into use on July 25, 1885, when Vivet entered the health system and became the subject of intensive psychiatric experimentation. He was subjected to a variety of treatments for what doctors initially believed to be \"hysteria,\" including \"morphines, injections of pilocarpine, oil of ipecac to induce vomiting, and magnets on numerous parts of the body; but the only treatment that could halt an attack was pressure on the achilles tendon or the rotulian tendon below the kneecap...he was repeatedly hypnotized.\"\n\nMultiple personalities \nThe return of Vivet's motor skills was accompanied by a stark change in personality: when paralyzed, Vivet was kind, reserved, intellectual, and meek, while in his walking state, he was arrogant, confrontational, and conniving. Vivet's memories were segregated entirely between his different personalities. He had no recollection of his actions conducted as his various personalities...he could only recall the memories of his current personality, except any memories pre-dating the traumatic viper incident.\n\nPsychologist Pierre Janet described Vivet as having six \"existences.\" He continues:\n\nIn popular culture \n\n It is claimed that Robert Louis Stevenson was influenced by Vivet's story while writing the novella Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.\nStephenson denied that Jekyll had multiple personality disorder. Stephenson was not aware of Vivet's story while writing Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde; he was only made aware of the case afterwards. See notes on the novella.\n\nSee also \n Dissociative identity disorder\n Experimental psychology\n History of psychology\n Personality psychology\n\nFootnotes \n\n1863 births\nYear of death missing\nPeople with dissociative identity disorder"
] |
[
"LeVar Burton",
"Reading Rainbow"
] | C_7ffd221fa08847e0bf27d7a5b2cf04a5_0 | What was LeVar Burton's involvement with Reading Rainbow? | 1 | What was LeVar Burton's involvement with Reading Rainbow? | LeVar Burton | Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons, making it one of the longest-running children's programs on the network. The series garnered over 200 broadcast awards over its run, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards, 11 of which were in the Outstanding Children's Series category. Burton himself won 12 Emmy awards as host and producer of the show. After Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, a new media company for children. Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. At RRKIDZ, Burton serves as co-founder and curator-in-chief, ensuring that the projects produced under the banner meet the high expectations and trust of the Reading Rainbow brand. On May 28, 2014, Burton and numerous coworkers from other past works started a Kickstarter campaign project to bring back Reading Rainbow. To keep with the changing formats to which young children are exposed, his efforts are being directed at making this new program web-based, following the success of the tablet application he helped create in recent years. His desire is to have the new Reading Rainbow be integrated into the classrooms of elementary schools across the country, and for schools in need to have free access. The Kickstarter campaign has since raised over $5 million, reaching triple its goal in only three days. CANNOTANSWER | Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow | Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and children's television host. He is known for his roles as Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), and as host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for more than 23 years (1983–2006), for which he has received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards, and a Peabody Award as host and executive producer of the show.
His other roles include Cap Jackson in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Donald Lang in Dummy (1979), Tommy Price in The Hunter (1980), which earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, and Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali (2001). Burton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards for his narration of the book The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1990, he was honored for his achievements in television with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Burton was chosen as the Grand Marshal of the 2022 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, on October 5, 2021. He presided over the parade and the afternoon Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2022.
Early life
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. was born in Landstuhl, West Germany. His mother, Erma Gene (née Christian), was a social worker, administrator, and educator, while his father and namesake was a photographer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps stationed at Landstuhl at the time of his son's birth. Burton and his two sisters were raised by his mother in Sacramento, California.
As a teen, Burton, who was raised Roman Catholic, entered St. Pius X Minor Seminary in Galt, California, intending to become a priest. At 17, questioning the Catholic faith, he changed his vocation to acting, and at 19, while an undergraduate at the University of Southern California, he won a starring role in the 1977 television miniseries Roots.
Career
Early work
Burton made his acting debut in 1976 with Almos' a Man, a film based on the Richard Wright short story "The Man Who Was Almost a Man," in which he stars alongside Madge Sinclair.
Roots
Burton's breakthrough role was as the young Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), based on the novel of the same name by Alex Haley. Burton has described his first day playing Kunta as the start of his professional career. As a result of his performance, he was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series category.
He reprised the role of Kunta Kinte in the 1988 television film Roots: The Gift. When asked about the societal influence of Roots, Burton is quoted as saying: "It expanded the consciousness of people. Blacks and whites began to see each other as human beings, not as stereotypes. And if you throw a pebble into the pond, you're going to get ripples. I think the only constant is change, and it's always slow. Anything that happens overnight is lacking in foundation. Roots is part of a changing trend, and it's still being played out."
Reading Rainbow
Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons.
After Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, a new media company for children. Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. At RRKIDZ, Burton serves as co-founder and curator-in-chief, ensuring that the projects produced under the banner meet the high expectations and trust of the Reading Rainbow brand.
On May 28, 2014, Burton and numerous coworkers from other past works started a Kickstarter campaign project to bring back Reading Rainbow. To keep with the changing formats to which young children are exposed, his efforts are being directed at making this new program web based, following the success of the tablet application he helped create in recent years. His desire is to have the new Reading Rainbow be integrated into the classrooms of elementary schools across the country, and for schools in need to have free access. The Kickstarter campaign has since raised more than $5 million, reaching triple its goal in only three days.
In 2017, Burton was sued by the public broadcasting company WNED-TV for alleged copyright infringement for use of the Reading Rainbow brand in marketing the new iPad app and other online media. RRKIDZ later became known as LeVar Burton Kids and the iPad app, Skybrary.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
In 1986, Gene Roddenberry approached Burton with the role of the then Lieutenant Junior Grade Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. The character is blind but is granted "sight" through the use of a prosthetic device called a VISOR worn over his eyes. La Forge started out serving as the USS Enterprise's helmsman, and as of the show's second season, had become its chief engineer. At the time, Burton was considerably better known than Patrick Stewart in the United States, due to his roles in Roots and Reading Rainbow. When the show premiered, the Associated Press stated that Burton's role was essentially the "new Spock." In a 2019 interview, Burton laughed in disbelief at the idea, stating "that speculation never came to fruition."
Burton also portrayed La Forge in the subsequent feature films based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, from Star Trek Generations (1994) to Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).
He directed two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and several episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise.
Other appearances
Burton played a role as a visitor to Fantasy Island, guest star on “The Love Boat”, was a participant in Battle of the Network Stars, a guest of the Muppet Shows televised premiere party for the release of The Muppet Movie, and a frequent guest on several game shows.
In 1986, he appeared in the music video for the song "Word Up!" by the funk/R&B group Cameo.
In 1987, Burton played Dave Robinson, a journalist (sports writer), in the third season of Murder, She Wrote, episode 16 – "Death Takes a Dive", starring Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher.
Burton accepted an invitation to host Rebop, a multicultural series designed for young people aged 9–15, produced by WGBH for PBS.
On television, Burton has helped dramatize the last days of Jim Jones's suicide cult in Guyana, the life and times of Jesse Owens, and the life of the nine-year-old Booker T. Washington. He portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2001 film Ali. He also portrayed Detroit Tiger Ron LeFlore in the television movie One in a Million, The Ron LeFlore Story.
In 1992, a clip of Burton's voice was sampled by DC Talk for the track "Time is..." on their album Free at Last. The sample is at the very end of the song, in which Burton can be heard saying: "Whoa, wait a minute."
He has also lent his voice to several animated projects, including Kwame in the cartoon series Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990–1993) and The New Adventures of Captain Planet (1993–1996), Family Guy, Batman: The Animated Series and Gargoyles. Burton is on the audio version of The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. Burton has been cast as voice actor for Black Lightning in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD.
Burton appeared several times as a celebrity guest on the Dick Clark-hosted $25,000 and $100,000 Pyramids, from 1982 until 1988. Burton also was the strongest link in the special Star Trek episode of The Weakest Link. He defeated his final opponent Robert Picardo and won $167,500 for his charity, Junior Achievement of Southern California, a record for the show at that time and the largest amount won in any Celebrity Edition of the show (it was later surpassed by a $188,500 win in a "Tournament of Losers" episode).
He has made appearances in such sitcoms as Becker.
Burton is the host and executive producer of a documentary titled The Science of Peace, which was in production as of 2007. It investigates the science and technology aimed at enabling world peace, sometimes called peace science. The film explores some of the concepts of shared noetic consciousness, having been sponsored in part by the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
He appeared in an April Fool's episode of Smosh pretending to have taken over the channel and making various edits at popular Smosh videos.
He makes occasional appearances on This Week in Tech, where he is a self-proclaimed "nerd", and also participated in the Consumer Electronics Show 2010.
In 2010, he made an appearance on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! as the ghost of himself in the episode "Greene Machine".
In February 2011, Burton made an appearance as himself on NBC's Community in the episode "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking", and then again in January 2014's "Geothermal Escapism".
Burton has appeared as a fictionalized, humorous version of himself on The Big Bang Theory, first appearing in the episode "The Toast Derivation", in which he almost attends a party thrown by Sheldon (before swearing off Twitter), in November 2012 in the episode "The Habitation Configuration", in which he appears on "Fun With Flags" in exchange for lunch and gas money, and again in the November 2014 episode "The Champagne Reflection", in which he returns for the 232nd episode of "Fun With Flags" in exchange for Sheldon deleting his contact details.
In 2012, he had a recurring role as dean Paul Haley on the TNT series Perception. For the second season (2013), he became part of the regular cast.
In 2014, he had a guest appearance in an introduction section for the 200th episode of Achievement Hunter's show, Achievement Hunter Weekly Update (AHWU). In May 2014, he appeared as a guest on the YouTube channel SciShow, explaining the science behind double, tertiary, and quaternary rainbows. Late in 2014, he had another guest appearance on a 24-hour Extra Life, a fundraising organization for Children's Miracle Network hospitals, stream by Rooster Teeth. Burton has also taped a recycling field trip for YouTube.
In 2017, Burton began a podcast, LeVar Burton Reads. Each episode features Burton reading a short story. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he continues to read on his podcast and also give live readings three times a week during a Twitter livestream focused at different time to different children, young adults, and adult audiences.
In November 2020, he appeared as himself on The Eric Andre Show. His segment was a callback to Lance Reddick's interview (2013) in which he mentioned LeVar by name and dressed as an amalgam of Kunta Kinte and Geordi La Forge.
Burton served as a guest host on Jeopardy! from July 26 to July 30, 2021. This came after a petition asking the show's producers to select him was signed by more than 250,000 fans. Unfortunately, the ratings were less than ideal due to tapering audience curiosity and forced viewership competition with NBC's coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which trampled syndicated shows across the board.
Burton also teaches the "Power of Storytelling" in the MasterClass.
Directing
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Burton directed episodes for each of the various Star Trek series then in production. He has directed more Star Trek episodes than any other former regular cast member.
He has also directed episodes of Charmed, JAG, Las Vegas, and Soul Food: The Series, as well as the miniseries Miracle's Boys and the biopic The Tiger Woods Story. He also directed the 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie Smart House starring Katey Sagal, Kevin Kilner and Jessica Steen. In August 2020, it was revealed that Burton will sit in the director's chair for Two-Front War from Lou Reda Productions, a multi-perspective docuseries will give "an emotionally raw look at the connection between the fight for civil rights in America and the struggle for equality of Black soldiers in Vietnam".
His first theatrical film direction was Blizzard (2003), for which he received a "Best of Fest" award from the Chicago International Children's Film Festival, and a Genie Award nomination for his work on the film's theme song, "Center of My Heart".
Burton is on the board of directors for the Directors Guild of America.
Personal life
LeVar Burton married Stephanie Cozart, a professional make-up artist, on October 3, 1992. Burton has two children, son Eian Burton Smith and daughter Michaela "Mica" Jean Burton. The family lives in Sherman Oaks, California.
Burton does not identify with any religion, saying: "I walked away from the seminary, I walked away from Catholicism, I walked away from organized religion because I felt that there was more for me to explore in the world, and that I could do that without adhering to one specific belief system or another."
In 2012, Burton joined the board of directors for the AIDS Research Alliance, a non-profit, medical research organization dedicated to finding a cure for AIDS.
In 2016, Burton was one of the five inaugural honorees to the Sacramento Walk of Stars. In 2019, Councilmember Larry Carr, representing the Meadowview neighborhood, led the renaming of Richfield Park to LeVar Burton Park in his honor. The park is in the Meadowview neighborhood, near the house where Burton and his sisters grew up.
Filmography
Awards and honors
Awards
Nominations
1977 – Emmy – Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Performance in a Drama or Comedy Series – Roots (Part 1, "Kunta Kinte")
1998, 2001, 2005 – Image Awards variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special — Reading Rainbow (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Self)
2004 – Genie Award – Best Achievement in Music-Original Song – Blizzard (Co-composer "Center of My Heart")
2006 – Black Reel Award – Best Director-Television – Miracle's Boys
Wins
1990 – Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7030 Hollywood Boulevard for television achievement
1992 – Peabody Award – Reading Rainbow (as executive producer of episode, "The Wall")
1994, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003 – Image Award – variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special – Reading Rainbow (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
2000 – Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album – The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.
1990, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
2001, 2002 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Self)
2003 – Television Critics Association Award – Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
2004 – Chicago International Children's Film Festival – Best of Fest – Blizzard (Director)
Books
Aftermath, 1997,
The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm, 2014,
A Kids Book About Imagination, 2021,
See also
References
Further reading
Nishikawa, Kinohi. "LeVar Burton". The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature. Ed. Hans Ostrom and J. David Macey Jr., 5 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005. 219.
External links
RRKIDZ (Reading Rainbow) – LeVar Burton, Co-Founder, Curator-in-Chief
Burton / Wolfe Entertainment (production company)
1957 births
African-American male actors
African-American television directors
African-American television personalities
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American men podcasters
American podcasters
American television directors
Daytime Emmy Award winners
Former Roman Catholics
Grammy Award winners
Living people
Male actors from California
Male actors from Sacramento, California
PBS people
Reading Rainbow
USC School of Dramatic Arts alumni
People from Landstuhl
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
HIV/AIDS activists
African-American religious skeptics
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people | true | [
"LeVar Burton Reads is a podcast hosted by LeVar Burton, where he reads a piece of short fiction and shares his thoughts on it.\n\nReception \nLeVar Burton Reads has been well received by both USA Today and The New Yorker.\n\nThe podcast won the 2020 Ignyte Award for Best Fiction Podcast.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n\nhttps://lifehacker.com/you-can-get-levar-burton-to-read-your-work-on-his-podca-1847528167/amp\n\nhttps://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896764696/levar-burton-is-still-reading-to-us-during-the-pandemic\n\nhttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1174246\n\nhttps://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2018/3/18/17120694/levar-burton-reads-science-fiction-fantasy-short-stories-podcast-pod-hunters\n\nhttps://www.indiewire.com/2017/07/neil-gaiman-levar-burton-reads-podcast-1201860114/amp/\n\nhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/on-parenting/levar-burton-wants-to-read-you-a-story-it-might-be-what-you-need-right-now/2020/05/02/c4ff0022-8976-11ea-ac8a-fe9b8088e101_story.html\n\nhttps://nerdist.com/article/levar-burtons-new-podcast-is-like-reading-rainbow-for-adults/?amp\n\nhttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/reading-rainbow-owner-accuses-levar-burton-theft-extortion-lawsuit-1027372/amp/\n\nhttps://www.vulture.com/2017/10/levar-burton-now-allowed-to-use-reading-rainbow-catchphrase.html\n\nhttps://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/levar-burton-podcast/\n\nhttps://bookriot.com/best-of-levar-burton-reads/amp/\n\nhttps://www.pajiba.com/podcasts_1/review-levar-burton-reads-is-reading-rainbow-for-grownups.php\n\n2017 podcast debuts\nAmerican podcasts\nAudio podcasts\nSpeculative fiction podcasts\nWorks based on short fiction",
"Reading Rainbow is an American educational children's television series that originally aired on PBS from July 11, 1983 to November 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until August 28, 2009. 155 30-minute episodes were produced over 21 seasons. Before its official premiere, the show aired for test audiences in the Nebraska and Buffalo, New York markets (their PBS member stations, the Nebraska ETV [now Nebraska Public Media] and WNED-TV, respectively, were co-producers of the show). \n\nThe show was designed to encourage a love of books and reading among children. In 2012, an iPad and Kindle Fire educational interactive book reading and video field trip application was launched bearing the name of the program.\n\nThe public television series garnered over 200 broadcast awards, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards, 10 of which were in the \"Outstanding Children's Series\" category. The concept of a reading series for children originated with Twila Liggett, PhD who in partnership with Cecily Truett Lancit and Larry Lancit, at Lancit Media Productions in New York created the television series. The original team also included Lynne Brenner Ganek, Ellen Schecter, and host LeVar Burton. The show's title was conceived by an unknown intern at WNED.\n\nEach episode centered on a topic from a featured children's book which was explored through a number of on-location segments or stories. The show also recommended books for children to look for when they went to the library. It is the third-longest running children's series in PBS history, after Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. It was also one of the first PBS shows to be broadcast in stereo.\n\nAfter the show's cancellation on November 10, 2006, reruns aired until August 28, 2009, when it was removed from the schedule. On June 20, 2012, the Reading Rainbow App was released for the iPad and, within 36 hours, became the #1 most-downloaded educational app in the iTunes App Store. Built from the ground up by LeVar Burton and his company, RRKIDZ, the app allows children to read unlimited books, explore video field trips starring Burton, and earn rewards for reading. On the week of July 11, 2013, Reading Rainbow celebrated its 30th anniversary.\n\nIn May 2014, a Kickstarter campaign was launched to raise funds to make the app available online, Android, game consoles, smartphones, and other streaming devices along with creating a classroom version with the subscription fee waived for up to 13,000 disadvantaged classrooms. The effort met its initial fundraising goal of $1,000,000 in 11 hours, and ended a few days later at $5,408,916 from 105,857 backers. This campaign led to the launch of Skybrary by Reading Rainbow, a web-based expansion of the Reading Rainbow app experience.\n\nDue to a legal dispute, licensing of the Reading Rainbow brand was revoked from RRKidz in October 2017, and all its platforms (including Skybrary) were rebranded to LeVar Burton Kids.\n\nShow details\nReading Rainbow was hosted by actor and executive producer LeVar Burton, who at the time was known for his role in Roots. The show was produced first by Lancit Media Entertainment (1983-2001), and then, by On-Screen Entertainment (2002-2006). Every episode featured a different children's picture book, often narrated by a celebrity. The featured story's illustrations were scanned by the camera in a technique known as \"iconographic animation\" of each page shown in succession, although on certain occasions the shots would be animated.\n\nAfter the featured story, Burton visited many places relating to the episode's theme, often featuring interviews with guests. One episode featured a behind-the-scenes look at Star Trek: The Next Generation, a series in which Burton was a main cast member. \n\nThe last segment of each show, called Book Reviews, began with Burton's introductory catchphrase, \"But you don't have to take my word for it,\" and featured children giving capsule reviews of books they liked. At the end of almost every episode, Burton signs-off with \"I'll see you next time.\"\n\nThe series' pilot, which aired as the show's 8th episode in 1983, featured the book Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and was narrated by Doug Parvin. It was created and produced in 1981. The daughters of producer Larry Lancit, Shaune and Caitlin Lancit, were often featured in the series, notably as the children thanking the sponsors at the beginning and end of the show.\n\nTheme song and opening sequence\nThe show's theme song was written by Steve Horelick, Dennis Neil Kleinman, and Janet Weir; Horelick also served as the series' music director and composer for all 155 episodes and received an Emmy nomination in 2007 for his work on the series. Over the show's 23-year run, it went through three different versions of the theme song. The original theme (used from 1983 to 1999) was performed by Tina Fabrique and featured one of the first uses of the Buchla synthesizer in a TV theme song. The original opening sequence, which consisted of an animated butterfly transforming the surroundings of young children reading books into animated fantasy lands, was used until January 1, 1999. The introductory animation was produced by Ovation Films, Inc. and designed and animated by Bill Davis.\n\nOn January 4, 1999, episodes began using a new live-action opening sequence and featured CGI in a space-themed world, with a new arrangement of the original song by Steve Horelick and performed by Johnny Kemp. A third intro was used starting on January 3, 2000, with a rerecorded version with the original lyrics performed by R&B artist Chaka Khan. This opening sequence is mostly the same as the second one, but features footage of Burton in place of some of the animated elements.\n\nFinal years as a TV series (2005–2006)\nOriginal production of the series was to have ended after April 4, 2005, with the show continuing to air in reruns, but host LeVar Burton said on February 7, 2006, that five new episodes of the show would be shot in 2006 despite the continuing financial issues of PBS. The show aired its final original episode on November 10, 2006 and continued to air reruns until 2009.\n\nRelaunch as an app\n\nAnnouncement and early developments (2010–2014)\nFormer executive producer LeVar Burton announced on his Twitter feed on March 19, 2010, that \"Reading Rainbow 2.0 is in the works.\" In 2011, WNED, the PBS affiliate in Buffalo, New York that owns the Reading Rainbow brand, licensed rights to the brand to Burton and his company, RRKidz. On March 4, 2012, he announced that it was the \"last day of shooting before launch!\"\n\nOn June 13, 2012, in a special presentation at Apple Inc's annual World Wide Developers Conference, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, introduced the new Reading Rainbow iPad App. It became available in Apple's iTunes Store on June 20, 2012, and within 36 hours was the #1 educational app. In January 2014, the Reading Rainbow App surpassed 10M books read and video field trips watched by children in 18 months.\n\nKickstarter revival campaign and aftermath (2014–17)\nOn May 28, 2014, LeVar Burton started a Kickstarter fund to revive the show and materials. In under 12 hours the show had reached its $1 million goal. The new goal is to create an educational version for schools to use, free of cost to those schools in need, and help America get back to high literacy rates. They are also going to create a website for students to use to assist them with learning how to read. The following day, May 29, 2014, they reached $2million (double their goal) at 1:15 pm. PST. The campaign raised $5,408,916 on Kickstarter with another $1million from Family Guy creator/animator Seth MacFarlane and $70,000 raised via direct contributions. The grand total was $6,478,916.\n\nWith 105,857 backers, the campaign holds Kickstarter's record for most backers and is the 8th highest amount raised on Kickstarter (as of June 1, 2015).\n\nThe first product of the Kickstarter campaign was Skybrary by Reading Rainbow. Launched in May 2015, it was a web based subscription service that duplicated the Reading Rainbow app experience. In addition to narrating many of the books, Burton hosted video fieldtrips which connected kids to real world experiences at places like NASA HQ and Niagara Falls.\n\nIn March 2016, RRKidz launched a new online educational service called Reading Rainbow Skybrary for Schools that follows the same mission of the television series, while expanding to integrate into classroom curriculums.\n\nIn August 2017, WNED filed a wide-ranging lawsuit against Burton and RRKidz that demanded Burton's company hand over administrative access to other websites and social media accounts. The lawsuit also sought to enjoin Burton from using the Reading Rainbow catchphrase, \"But you don't have to take my word for it,\" on his podcast.\n\nIn October 2017, WNED and RRKidz settled out of court. While the exact terms were confidential, the end result was that RRKidz was no longer a licensee of the Reading Rainbow brand. RRKidz was rebranded LeVar Burton Kids and its services (including Skybrary) removed references to Reading Rainbow. In addition, Burton was allowed to continue using the Reading Rainbow catchphrase. Visiting the official Reading Rainbow website provided a page that stated \"Recent legal disputes between WNED and LeVar Burton/RRKIDZ have been resolved and RRKIDZ no longer licenses the Reading Rainbow brand from WNED. WNED is currently working on the next chapter of Reading Rainbow and will continue its mission of fostering education for a new generation.\"\n\nWNED announced in November 2018 that research and development had begun on a new Reading Rainbow program thanks to a $200,000 grant from The John R. Oishei Foundation.\n\nSkybrary was acquired by Reading is Fundamental in March 2019.\n\nAccolades\n\nAnimation producers\n\nFeature Book filming\nThe photographing of the Feature Book segments was by:\n Centron Films (1983–1987; renamed in 1986 to \"Centron Productions Inc.\")\n Loren Dolezal (1988–1998; renamed in 1995 to \"Dolezal Animation\"); Take Ten Animation teamed up with Dolezal from 1995 to 1998.\n On Screen Entertainment (2000–2006)\n Roger Holden, designer of the digital animation photography system used by Centron Films to film the Feature Book segments (1983–87)\n\nGuest readers and contributors\n\n Marv Albert\n Jason Alexander (Pet Stories You Don't Have to Walk)\n Maya Angelou (All the Colors of the Race)\n Michael Ansara (The Gift of the Sacred Dog, Sheila MacGill-Callahan's and Barry Moser's And Still the Turtle Watched)\n Lucie Arnaz (When Aunt Lena Did the Rhumba)\n Edward Asner (Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo)\n James Avery (Berlioz the Bear, Game Day)\n Hoyt Axton (Meanwhile Back at the Ranch)\n Julia Barr (Raccoons and Ripe Corn, Deer at the Brook, Come Out, Muskrats)\n Angela Bassett (The Wonderful Towers of Watts)\n Orson Bean (The Runaway Duck)\n Philip Bosco (Desert Giant: The World of the Saguaro Cactus)\n Reizl Bozyk (Mrs. Katz and Tush)\n Wayne Brady (Mr. George Baker)\n Jeff Bridges (The Tin Forest)\n Fran Brill (Dive to the Coral Reefs)\n Matthew Broderick (Owen)\n Ruth Buzzi (Miss Nelson is Back)\n David Canary (Work Song)\n Jose Canseco\n Diahann Carroll (Show Way)\n Dixie Carter (Come a Tide)\n Lacey Chabert (Snowy Day: Stories and Poems)\n Julia Child (Florence and Eric Take the Cake)\n Roy Clark (Barn Dance)\n Kevin Clash (Elmo from Sesame Street)\n Imogene Coca (Imogene's Antlers)\n James Coco (Perfect the Pig)\n Tim Conway (The Secret Shortcut)\n Bill Cosby (Arthur's Eyes, Dennis Nolan's Big Pig)\n Denise Crosby\n Jim Cummings (Frog and Toad)\n Jane Curtin (Duncan and Dolores)\n Tyne Daly (Amazing Grace)\n Keith David (Follow the Drinking Gourd)\n Ossie Davis (Summer)\n Ruby Dee (Simon's Book, Tar Beach, Badger's Parting Gifts)\n Josie de Guzman (Saturday Sancocho)\n Brian Dennehy (Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express)\n Phyllis Diller (Ludlow Laughs)\n Michael Dorn\n Ann Duquesnay (Hip Cat)\n Eliza Dushku (Unique Monique)\n Buddy Ebsen (Steven Kellogg's Paul Bunyan)\n Georgia Engel (Chickens Aren't the Only Ones)\n Hector Elizondo (Brush)\n Fernando Escandon (Hill of Fire)\n Lola Falana (Sophie and Lou)\n Peter Falk (The Robbery at the Diamond Dog Diner)\n Jamie Farr (The Sign Painter's Dream)\n Barbara Feldon (The Life Cycle of the Honeybee)\n Tovah Feldshuh (The Piggy in the Puddle)\n Ron Foster (My Little Island)\n Jonathan Frakes\n Vincent Gardenia (Louis the Fish, The Adventures of Taxi Dog)\n Richard Gere\n Jack Gilford (The Purple Coat)\n Whoopi Goldberg\n Jane Goodall\n Robert Guillaume (My Shadow)\n Lorne Greene (Ox-Cart Man)\n Ed Harris (Enemy Pie)\n Jo Hayden (Martha Speaks)\n Jim Henson (Kermit the Frog from The Muppets)\n William Hickey (Dennis Nolan's Monster Bubbles: A Counting Book, Willi Glasauer's (Greetings from the Surreal)\n Gregory Hines (Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin)\n Anna Holbrook (Regina's Big Mistake)\n Lena Horne (Snowy Day: Stories and Poems)\n Beth Howland (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie)\n Scott Irby-Ranniar (My Life with the Wave)\n Anne Jackson (Stellaluna)\n Victoria Jackson (Tooth-Gnasher Superflash)\n James Earl Jones (Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain)\n Raul Julia (Mystery on the Docks)\n Madeline Kahn (Bea and Mr. Jones)\n Carol Kane (Someplace Else)\n Charles Kimbrough (June 29, 1999)\n Regina King (Max)\n Eartha Kitt (Is This a House for Hermit Crab?)\n Linda Lavin (Ruth Law Thrills a Nation)\n Robin Leach\n Michael Learned (Appelemando's Dreams)\n Maya Lin\n Viveca Lindfors (Rechenka's Eggs)\n Amy Linker (A Chair for My Mother)\n Keye Luke (The Paper Crane)\n Michele Mariana (Stay Away from the Junkyard!)\n Olga Merediz (Borreguita and the Coyote)\n Andrea McArdle (Lemonade for Sale)\n Gates McFadden\n Bobby McFerrin\n Mark McGwire\n Marilyn Michaels (Gregory the Terrible Eater)\n Stephanie Mills (Bea and Mr. Jones)\n Helen Mirren (How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World)\n Robert Morse (Sunken Treasure)\n Fred Newman (Mama Don't Allow, Fox on the Job)\n Jerry Orbach (Germs Make Me Sick!)\n Corinne Orr (Aliki's Mummies Made in Egypt)\n Frank Oz (Fozzie Bear from The Muppets)\n Jane Pauley (Humphrey the Lost Whale: A True Story)\n Peter Pitofsky\n Faith Prince (Nosey Mrs. Rat)\n Freddie Prinze Jr. (Beegu)\n Keshia Knight Pulliam (The Magic School Bus: Inside the Earth)\n Gilda Radner (The Tortoise and the Hare)\n Phylicia Rashad (Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters)\n Lou Rawls (Ty's One Man Band)\n Alaina Reed (The Milk Makers)\n Lionel Richie\n Jason Robards (Sam the Sea Cow)\n Al Roker (Hail to Mail)\n Zelda Rubinstein (A Three Hat Day)\n Run-D.M.C.\n Lea Salonga (Silent Lotus)\n Isabel Sanford (The Patchwork Quilt)\n Susan Sarandon (The Shaman's Apprentice: A Tale of the Amazon Rainforest)\n Josh Saviano (Little Nino's Pizzeria)\n John Sebastian\n Pete Seeger (Abiyoyo)\n Martin Short (Animal Cafe)\n Marina Sirtis\n Phoebe Snow (The Gift of the Sacred Dog)\n Brent Spiner\n Arnold Stang (Alistair in Outer Space, Alistair's Time Machine, Archibald Frisby)\n Stomp\n Patrick Stewart (On the Day You Were Born)\n Jerry Stiller (Digging Up Dinosaurs)\n Regina Taylor (Uncle Jed's Barber Shop)\n Lynne Thigpen (The Salamander Room)\n Sada Thompson (Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie)\n Lauren Tom (Liang and the Magic Paintbrush)\n Michelle Trachtenberg (Math Curse)\n Alex Trebek\n Leslie Uggams (Jack, the Seal and the Sea)\n Ben Vereen (Ty's One Man Band)\n Ralph Waite (Rumplestilitskin)\n Bree Walker\n Eli Wallach (Once There Was a Tree)\n Adam West (The Bionic Bunny Show)\n Steve Whitmire (Waldo C. Graphic from The Muppets)\n William Windom (Hot-Air Henry)\n Michael Winslow (Space Case)\n Hattie Winston (Galimoto)\n Alfre Woodard (Visiting Day)\n\nWriting and illustrating contest\n\nIn 1995, the creators launched the first contest called \"Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest\". The annual writing and illustrating competition for children grades K through 3 continued until 2009 when it was relaunched as \"PBS Kids Go! Writers Contest\". It was renamed to the PBS Kids Writers Contest in 2014.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n \n ReadingRainbow.com Reading Rainbow website by RRKidz, Inc.\n Reading Rainbow App for Kindle Fire on the Amazon Appstore\n Reading Rainbow App for iPad on the Apple App Store\n\n \n1983 American television series debuts\n2006 American television series endings\n1980s American children's television series\n1990s American children's television series\n2000s American children's television series\nAmerican children's adventure television series\nAmerican children's education television series\nAmerican children's fantasy television series\nAmerican television series with live action and animation\nEnglish-language television shows\nKickstarter-funded software\nPBS Kids shows\nPBS original programming\nReading and literacy television series"
] |
[
"LeVar Burton",
"Reading Rainbow",
"What was LeVar Burton's involvement with Reading Rainbow?",
"Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow"
] | C_7ffd221fa08847e0bf27d7a5b2cf04a5_0 | When did the Reading Rainbow start? | 2 | When did the Reading Rainbow debut? | LeVar Burton | Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons, making it one of the longest-running children's programs on the network. The series garnered over 200 broadcast awards over its run, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards, 11 of which were in the Outstanding Children's Series category. Burton himself won 12 Emmy awards as host and producer of the show. After Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, a new media company for children. Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. At RRKIDZ, Burton serves as co-founder and curator-in-chief, ensuring that the projects produced under the banner meet the high expectations and trust of the Reading Rainbow brand. On May 28, 2014, Burton and numerous coworkers from other past works started a Kickstarter campaign project to bring back Reading Rainbow. To keep with the changing formats to which young children are exposed, his efforts are being directed at making this new program web-based, following the success of the tablet application he helped create in recent years. His desire is to have the new Reading Rainbow be integrated into the classrooms of elementary schools across the country, and for schools in need to have free access. The Kickstarter campaign has since raised over $5 million, reaching triple its goal in only three days. CANNOTANSWER | starting in 1983 for PBS. | Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and children's television host. He is known for his roles as Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), and as host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for more than 23 years (1983–2006), for which he has received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards, and a Peabody Award as host and executive producer of the show.
His other roles include Cap Jackson in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Donald Lang in Dummy (1979), Tommy Price in The Hunter (1980), which earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, and Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali (2001). Burton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards for his narration of the book The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1990, he was honored for his achievements in television with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Burton was chosen as the Grand Marshal of the 2022 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, on October 5, 2021. He presided over the parade and the afternoon Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2022.
Early life
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. was born in Landstuhl, West Germany. His mother, Erma Gene (née Christian), was a social worker, administrator, and educator, while his father and namesake was a photographer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps stationed at Landstuhl at the time of his son's birth. Burton and his two sisters were raised by his mother in Sacramento, California.
As a teen, Burton, who was raised Roman Catholic, entered St. Pius X Minor Seminary in Galt, California, intending to become a priest. At 17, questioning the Catholic faith, he changed his vocation to acting, and at 19, while an undergraduate at the University of Southern California, he won a starring role in the 1977 television miniseries Roots.
Career
Early work
Burton made his acting debut in 1976 with Almos' a Man, a film based on the Richard Wright short story "The Man Who Was Almost a Man," in which he stars alongside Madge Sinclair.
Roots
Burton's breakthrough role was as the young Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), based on the novel of the same name by Alex Haley. Burton has described his first day playing Kunta as the start of his professional career. As a result of his performance, he was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series category.
He reprised the role of Kunta Kinte in the 1988 television film Roots: The Gift. When asked about the societal influence of Roots, Burton is quoted as saying: "It expanded the consciousness of people. Blacks and whites began to see each other as human beings, not as stereotypes. And if you throw a pebble into the pond, you're going to get ripples. I think the only constant is change, and it's always slow. Anything that happens overnight is lacking in foundation. Roots is part of a changing trend, and it's still being played out."
Reading Rainbow
Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons.
After Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, a new media company for children. Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. At RRKIDZ, Burton serves as co-founder and curator-in-chief, ensuring that the projects produced under the banner meet the high expectations and trust of the Reading Rainbow brand.
On May 28, 2014, Burton and numerous coworkers from other past works started a Kickstarter campaign project to bring back Reading Rainbow. To keep with the changing formats to which young children are exposed, his efforts are being directed at making this new program web based, following the success of the tablet application he helped create in recent years. His desire is to have the new Reading Rainbow be integrated into the classrooms of elementary schools across the country, and for schools in need to have free access. The Kickstarter campaign has since raised more than $5 million, reaching triple its goal in only three days.
In 2017, Burton was sued by the public broadcasting company WNED-TV for alleged copyright infringement for use of the Reading Rainbow brand in marketing the new iPad app and other online media. RRKIDZ later became known as LeVar Burton Kids and the iPad app, Skybrary.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
In 1986, Gene Roddenberry approached Burton with the role of the then Lieutenant Junior Grade Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. The character is blind but is granted "sight" through the use of a prosthetic device called a VISOR worn over his eyes. La Forge started out serving as the USS Enterprise's helmsman, and as of the show's second season, had become its chief engineer. At the time, Burton was considerably better known than Patrick Stewart in the United States, due to his roles in Roots and Reading Rainbow. When the show premiered, the Associated Press stated that Burton's role was essentially the "new Spock." In a 2019 interview, Burton laughed in disbelief at the idea, stating "that speculation never came to fruition."
Burton also portrayed La Forge in the subsequent feature films based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, from Star Trek Generations (1994) to Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).
He directed two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and several episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise.
Other appearances
Burton played a role as a visitor to Fantasy Island, guest star on “The Love Boat”, was a participant in Battle of the Network Stars, a guest of the Muppet Shows televised premiere party for the release of The Muppet Movie, and a frequent guest on several game shows.
In 1986, he appeared in the music video for the song "Word Up!" by the funk/R&B group Cameo.
In 1987, Burton played Dave Robinson, a journalist (sports writer), in the third season of Murder, She Wrote, episode 16 – "Death Takes a Dive", starring Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher.
Burton accepted an invitation to host Rebop, a multicultural series designed for young people aged 9–15, produced by WGBH for PBS.
On television, Burton has helped dramatize the last days of Jim Jones's suicide cult in Guyana, the life and times of Jesse Owens, and the life of the nine-year-old Booker T. Washington. He portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2001 film Ali. He also portrayed Detroit Tiger Ron LeFlore in the television movie One in a Million, The Ron LeFlore Story.
In 1992, a clip of Burton's voice was sampled by DC Talk for the track "Time is..." on their album Free at Last. The sample is at the very end of the song, in which Burton can be heard saying: "Whoa, wait a minute."
He has also lent his voice to several animated projects, including Kwame in the cartoon series Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990–1993) and The New Adventures of Captain Planet (1993–1996), Family Guy, Batman: The Animated Series and Gargoyles. Burton is on the audio version of The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. Burton has been cast as voice actor for Black Lightning in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD.
Burton appeared several times as a celebrity guest on the Dick Clark-hosted $25,000 and $100,000 Pyramids, from 1982 until 1988. Burton also was the strongest link in the special Star Trek episode of The Weakest Link. He defeated his final opponent Robert Picardo and won $167,500 for his charity, Junior Achievement of Southern California, a record for the show at that time and the largest amount won in any Celebrity Edition of the show (it was later surpassed by a $188,500 win in a "Tournament of Losers" episode).
He has made appearances in such sitcoms as Becker.
Burton is the host and executive producer of a documentary titled The Science of Peace, which was in production as of 2007. It investigates the science and technology aimed at enabling world peace, sometimes called peace science. The film explores some of the concepts of shared noetic consciousness, having been sponsored in part by the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
He appeared in an April Fool's episode of Smosh pretending to have taken over the channel and making various edits at popular Smosh videos.
He makes occasional appearances on This Week in Tech, where he is a self-proclaimed "nerd", and also participated in the Consumer Electronics Show 2010.
In 2010, he made an appearance on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! as the ghost of himself in the episode "Greene Machine".
In February 2011, Burton made an appearance as himself on NBC's Community in the episode "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking", and then again in January 2014's "Geothermal Escapism".
Burton has appeared as a fictionalized, humorous version of himself on The Big Bang Theory, first appearing in the episode "The Toast Derivation", in which he almost attends a party thrown by Sheldon (before swearing off Twitter), in November 2012 in the episode "The Habitation Configuration", in which he appears on "Fun With Flags" in exchange for lunch and gas money, and again in the November 2014 episode "The Champagne Reflection", in which he returns for the 232nd episode of "Fun With Flags" in exchange for Sheldon deleting his contact details.
In 2012, he had a recurring role as dean Paul Haley on the TNT series Perception. For the second season (2013), he became part of the regular cast.
In 2014, he had a guest appearance in an introduction section for the 200th episode of Achievement Hunter's show, Achievement Hunter Weekly Update (AHWU). In May 2014, he appeared as a guest on the YouTube channel SciShow, explaining the science behind double, tertiary, and quaternary rainbows. Late in 2014, he had another guest appearance on a 24-hour Extra Life, a fundraising organization for Children's Miracle Network hospitals, stream by Rooster Teeth. Burton has also taped a recycling field trip for YouTube.
In 2017, Burton began a podcast, LeVar Burton Reads. Each episode features Burton reading a short story. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he continues to read on his podcast and also give live readings three times a week during a Twitter livestream focused at different time to different children, young adults, and adult audiences.
In November 2020, he appeared as himself on The Eric Andre Show. His segment was a callback to Lance Reddick's interview (2013) in which he mentioned LeVar by name and dressed as an amalgam of Kunta Kinte and Geordi La Forge.
Burton served as a guest host on Jeopardy! from July 26 to July 30, 2021. This came after a petition asking the show's producers to select him was signed by more than 250,000 fans. Unfortunately, the ratings were less than ideal due to tapering audience curiosity and forced viewership competition with NBC's coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which trampled syndicated shows across the board.
Burton also teaches the "Power of Storytelling" in the MasterClass.
Directing
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Burton directed episodes for each of the various Star Trek series then in production. He has directed more Star Trek episodes than any other former regular cast member.
He has also directed episodes of Charmed, JAG, Las Vegas, and Soul Food: The Series, as well as the miniseries Miracle's Boys and the biopic The Tiger Woods Story. He also directed the 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie Smart House starring Katey Sagal, Kevin Kilner and Jessica Steen. In August 2020, it was revealed that Burton will sit in the director's chair for Two-Front War from Lou Reda Productions, a multi-perspective docuseries will give "an emotionally raw look at the connection between the fight for civil rights in America and the struggle for equality of Black soldiers in Vietnam".
His first theatrical film direction was Blizzard (2003), for which he received a "Best of Fest" award from the Chicago International Children's Film Festival, and a Genie Award nomination for his work on the film's theme song, "Center of My Heart".
Burton is on the board of directors for the Directors Guild of America.
Personal life
LeVar Burton married Stephanie Cozart, a professional make-up artist, on October 3, 1992. Burton has two children, son Eian Burton Smith and daughter Michaela "Mica" Jean Burton. The family lives in Sherman Oaks, California.
Burton does not identify with any religion, saying: "I walked away from the seminary, I walked away from Catholicism, I walked away from organized religion because I felt that there was more for me to explore in the world, and that I could do that without adhering to one specific belief system or another."
In 2012, Burton joined the board of directors for the AIDS Research Alliance, a non-profit, medical research organization dedicated to finding a cure for AIDS.
In 2016, Burton was one of the five inaugural honorees to the Sacramento Walk of Stars. In 2019, Councilmember Larry Carr, representing the Meadowview neighborhood, led the renaming of Richfield Park to LeVar Burton Park in his honor. The park is in the Meadowview neighborhood, near the house where Burton and his sisters grew up.
Filmography
Awards and honors
Awards
Nominations
1977 – Emmy – Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Performance in a Drama or Comedy Series – Roots (Part 1, "Kunta Kinte")
1998, 2001, 2005 – Image Awards variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special — Reading Rainbow (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Self)
2004 – Genie Award – Best Achievement in Music-Original Song – Blizzard (Co-composer "Center of My Heart")
2006 – Black Reel Award – Best Director-Television – Miracle's Boys
Wins
1990 – Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7030 Hollywood Boulevard for television achievement
1992 – Peabody Award – Reading Rainbow (as executive producer of episode, "The Wall")
1994, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003 – Image Award – variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special – Reading Rainbow (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
2000 – Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album – The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.
1990, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
2001, 2002 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Self)
2003 – Television Critics Association Award – Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
2004 – Chicago International Children's Film Festival – Best of Fest – Blizzard (Director)
Books
Aftermath, 1997,
The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm, 2014,
A Kids Book About Imagination, 2021,
See also
References
Further reading
Nishikawa, Kinohi. "LeVar Burton". The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature. Ed. Hans Ostrom and J. David Macey Jr., 5 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005. 219.
External links
RRKIDZ (Reading Rainbow) – LeVar Burton, Co-Founder, Curator-in-Chief
Burton / Wolfe Entertainment (production company)
1957 births
African-American male actors
African-American television directors
African-American television personalities
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American men podcasters
American podcasters
American television directors
Daytime Emmy Award winners
Former Roman Catholics
Grammy Award winners
Living people
Male actors from California
Male actors from Sacramento, California
PBS people
Reading Rainbow
USC School of Dramatic Arts alumni
People from Landstuhl
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
HIV/AIDS activists
African-American religious skeptics
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people | true | [
"The PBS Kids Writers Contest is an annual art and literature competition for students grades kindergarten to 12 in the United States. The competition was relaunched under the name PBS Kids Go! Writers Contest in 2009 as a continuation from its predecessor called Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest which was started in 1995.\n\nEarly years\nIn 1995, the first competition was launched by the creators of Reading Rainbow children television program. The annual competition had been sponsored to complement the Reading Rainbow program to inspire children to have a lifelong love of reading. The competition encouraged, challenged and rewarded children to write and illustrate their own picture books. The entries were submitted to the local stations for local judging. The winners at local level would then be submitted for national-level judging.\n\nAfter a few years, the number of entries that were submitted nationally had been increased to almost 40,000. The number of participants continued to increase at the peak in 2007 with more than 50,000 entries.\n\nReading Rainbow funding\nThe future of the competition became questionable starting in 2006 when the funding for the Reading Rainbow program started to dry up. There was a new funding agreement but no new program had been produced since April 2006 when the commitment for funding of 52 new episodes did not pan out. The program was on a rerun since then by another funding source. This funding issue caused the creators to cancel the national-level competition in 2006. However, the local competitions organized by local public broadcasting stations continued. As the participants of the competition continued to grow into 2007 even without any new episode of Reading Rainbow, the WNED-TV station in Buffalo, New York which was a co-creator of the program took ownership to administrate the national-level judging. The national-level competition resumed in 2007. The Reading Rainbow rerun had finally come to an end on August 28, 2009. At that time, the level of participation in the competition was still high with 90 participating stations. With a strong call for expansion of the competition despite the cancellation of the program, the PBS headquarters arranged to have the winning entries to continue to be accessible online as they had been until December 2009.\n\nRelaunch\nIn November 2009, PBS secured its partnership with WNED-TV to launch the competition in the same format as in prior years but with the new name as PBS Kids Go! Writers Contest. They also launched a new website for the competition to update information and archive winning stories. In 2014, one year after the discontinuation of PBS Kids Go!, PBS changed the name of the Writers Contest to the PBS Kids Writers Contest.\n\nFormat\nChildren who are in grades K through 3 within the viewing areas of participate local stations can submit their entries to their local stations. Stories can be fact or fiction, and prose or poetry but each story must be done by single author. Stories with the illustrations done by kindergarten and first grade have word count of 50-200 words, and 100-350 words for grades 2 and 3. Each local PBS station handles local judging separately by grade levels. The first place winners from each station are sent to the national contest later in the year.\n\nWinners\nWinners include Vinay Patil\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial Website\n\nReading and literacy television series\nAmerican children's literary awards\nWriting contests\nVisual arts awards\nReading Rainbow",
"Finian's Rainbow (29 May 2003 – 24 March 2021) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He won ten of his fifteen starts, including the Maghull Novices' Chase, Queen Mother Champion Chase, and Melling Chase. He was owned by Michael Buckley, trained by Nicky Henderson, and was ridden by Barry Geraghty in all but one of his races.\n\nBackground\nFinian's Rainbow was foaled on 29 May 2003. A bay gelding, he was bred by J. O'Keeffe. He was sired by Tiraaz, who won the Prix Royal-Oak in 1998. Finian's Rainbow's dam was Trinity Gale, a daughter of top National Hunt sire Strong Gale, who was the leading jump racing sire in Great Britain and Ireland for six seasons. Trinity Gale raced in seven hurdle races in 1993 and 1994, without winning; she did however win a point-to-point race at Ballon Racecourse. Finian's Rainbow died on 24 March 2021 from complications due to colic.\n\nRacing career\n\n2008–09 season\nIn his first start under rules, Finian's Rainbow won a two-mile National Hunt flat race at Kempton Park, beating Stoney's Treasure by six lengths. This was his only start of the 2008–09 season.\n\n2009–10 season\nAt the start of the 2009–10 season he won his first race over hurdles in November, when he beat favourite Sereth by fifteen lengths in a Class 3 Novices' Hurdle race over two miles and half a furlong at Newbury. On his next start he finished third, one length behind winner Reve De Sivola, in the Grade 1 Challow Novices' Hurdle. After winning another Class 3 Novices Hurdle at Ascot, Finian's Rainbow went to the Cheltenham Festival, where he was one of seventeen horses to contest the Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle. Rite of Passage, who had finished third in the previous season's Champion Bumper started as the 7/2 favourite, with Finian's Rainbow third favourite at 11/2. He was with the leaders when they jumped the second to last hurdle, but could not keep pace with them in the final stages. The race was won by Peddlers Cross by one and a half lengths from Reve De Sivola, with Rite of Passage a further three and three quarter lengths back in third. Finian's Rainbow finished in fifth place, six and three quarter lengths behind the winner.\n\n2010–11 season\nFinian's Rainbow started the 2010–11 season in November 2010, when he won a Class 3 Novices' Chase at Newbury over two miles and one furlong, easily beating Hell's Bay by twelve lengths. The following January he won another Novices' Chase at Newbury, before starting as the 2/5 favourite for the Kingmaker Novices' Chase at Warwick. He won the race by eleven lengths from Stagecoach Pearl, after being eased up in the final stages by jockey Andrew Tinkler. Finian's Rainbow went to the Cheltenham Festival again, this time contesting the Arkle Challenge Trophy. With regular jockey Barry Geraghty back on board, he raced near the front of the ten-runner field throughout the race. He was leading until he hit the last fence, after which he was overtaken by Captain Chris and could not get back on terms. Captain Chris won the race by two and three quarter lengths from Finian's Rainbow, with Realt Dubh a further six lengths back in third and pre-race favourite Medermit in fourth place.\n\nAt Aintree on 9 April, Finian's Rainbow was one of seven horses to run in the Maghull Novices' Chase over two miles. He started as the odd-on favourite for the race. Also near the front of the betting were Ghizao, Starluck and Dan Breen. Finian's Rainbow led the race from the start. He was challenged by Ghizao with two fences left to jump, but beat him by two lengths. The two were over twenty lengths clear of Dan Breen, who finished in third place. This was Finian's Rainbow's first Grade 1 win and his final race of the season.\n\n2011–12 season\n\nEarly season\nHis first race out of novice company was the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton Park in December 2011. He led in the early stages of the race, but was overtaken when he made a mistake jumping the fourth to last fence. He dropped about four lengths back, but ran on in the finishing straight and regained the lead in the final few yards, beating Wishful Thinking by three quarters of a length. In the Victor Chandler Chase he was beaten by one and a quarter lengths by Somersby. Finian's Rainbow was nearly four lengths ahead of leading novice Al Ferof, who finished in third place.\n\nChampion Chase\nIn the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, he faced a quality field that included the previous two winners Sizing Europe and Big Zeb. These were the first three in the betting, with Sizing Europe starting as the 4/5 favourite, Finian's Rainbow at 4/1, Big Zeb at 13/2. Wishful Thinking was leading until he fell at the fourth fence and went through the rail, injuring a photographer. Sizing Europe and Finian's Rainbow began to pull clear with two fences left to jump. However, the last fence was omitted as the photographer and Wishful Thinking's jockey Richard Johnson were injured. This appeared to cause some confusion as to whether the fence should be jumped, with the leading pair veering right to miss the fence and coming close to each other. Finian's Rainbow and Sizing Europe fought for the lead along the finishing straight, until Finian's Rainbow slowly pulled away in the final 100 yards. He beat Sizing Europe by one and a quarter lengths. Big Zeb was another fifteen lengths behind in third, and Gauvain a further eleven lengths down in fourth place. After the race Sizing Europe's jockey Andrew Lynch said to trainer Henry de Bromhead, \"the last cost me the race\". Finian's Rainbow's jockey Barry Geraghty said: \"It's a brilliant day – you dream of days like this. I'm genuinely so delighted for Michael Buckley. He's had a good few disappointments this season, but he's had patience with this fellow and I really am delighted for him.\"\n\nMelling Chase\nIn his final start of the season, Finian's Rainbow started as the 13/8 favourite for the two and a half mile Melling Chase, further than he had previously raced over fences. In the early stages he tracked leaders Albertas Run and Poquelin. He hit the tenth fence, but took the lead from Albertas Run two fences out. He then pulled clear to win by seven lengths from Wishfull Thinking, with Albertas Run finishing in third place. Trainer Nicky Henderson said after the race: \"Today he was always in a comfortable position just behind and you hoped he was in cruise control and he probably was. When he [Geraghty] switched him on he picked it up very quickly.\" At the end of the season he had an official rating of 173, making him the Anglo-Irish Champion two-mile chaser for the season. He was the fourth highest rated chaser overall, behind Kauto Star, Long Run and Master Minded.\n\n2012–13 season\nFinian's Rainbow made a disappointing start to the 2012–13 National Hunt season, when, in heavy ground, he finished last of the four runners and 24 lengths behind winner Captain Chris in the Amlin 1965 Chase. It was originally intended that he would run in the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day, but was withdrawn, with trainer Nicky Henderson saying he would not run due to the heavy ground.\n\nPedigree\n\nNote: b. = Bay, br. = Brown, ch. = Chestnut, gr. = Grey\n\nReferences\n\n2003 racehorse births\nCheltenham Festival winners\nRacehorses bred in Ireland\nRacehorses trained in the United Kingdom\nThoroughbred family 9\n2021 racehorse deaths"
] |
[
"LeVar Burton",
"Reading Rainbow",
"What was LeVar Burton's involvement with Reading Rainbow?",
"Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow",
"When did the Reading Rainbow start?",
"starting in 1983 for PBS."
] | C_7ffd221fa08847e0bf27d7a5b2cf04a5_0 | What audience was the show for? | 3 | What audience was the Reading Rainbow for? | LeVar Burton | Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons, making it one of the longest-running children's programs on the network. The series garnered over 200 broadcast awards over its run, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards, 11 of which were in the Outstanding Children's Series category. Burton himself won 12 Emmy awards as host and producer of the show. After Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, a new media company for children. Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. At RRKIDZ, Burton serves as co-founder and curator-in-chief, ensuring that the projects produced under the banner meet the high expectations and trust of the Reading Rainbow brand. On May 28, 2014, Burton and numerous coworkers from other past works started a Kickstarter campaign project to bring back Reading Rainbow. To keep with the changing formats to which young children are exposed, his efforts are being directed at making this new program web-based, following the success of the tablet application he helped create in recent years. His desire is to have the new Reading Rainbow be integrated into the classrooms of elementary schools across the country, and for schools in need to have free access. The Kickstarter campaign has since raised over $5 million, reaching triple its goal in only three days. CANNOTANSWER | one of the longest-running children's programs on the network. | Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and children's television host. He is known for his roles as Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), and as host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for more than 23 years (1983–2006), for which he has received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards, and a Peabody Award as host and executive producer of the show.
His other roles include Cap Jackson in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Donald Lang in Dummy (1979), Tommy Price in The Hunter (1980), which earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, and Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali (2001). Burton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards for his narration of the book The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1990, he was honored for his achievements in television with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Burton was chosen as the Grand Marshal of the 2022 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, on October 5, 2021. He presided over the parade and the afternoon Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2022.
Early life
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. was born in Landstuhl, West Germany. His mother, Erma Gene (née Christian), was a social worker, administrator, and educator, while his father and namesake was a photographer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps stationed at Landstuhl at the time of his son's birth. Burton and his two sisters were raised by his mother in Sacramento, California.
As a teen, Burton, who was raised Roman Catholic, entered St. Pius X Minor Seminary in Galt, California, intending to become a priest. At 17, questioning the Catholic faith, he changed his vocation to acting, and at 19, while an undergraduate at the University of Southern California, he won a starring role in the 1977 television miniseries Roots.
Career
Early work
Burton made his acting debut in 1976 with Almos' a Man, a film based on the Richard Wright short story "The Man Who Was Almost a Man," in which he stars alongside Madge Sinclair.
Roots
Burton's breakthrough role was as the young Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), based on the novel of the same name by Alex Haley. Burton has described his first day playing Kunta as the start of his professional career. As a result of his performance, he was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series category.
He reprised the role of Kunta Kinte in the 1988 television film Roots: The Gift. When asked about the societal influence of Roots, Burton is quoted as saying: "It expanded the consciousness of people. Blacks and whites began to see each other as human beings, not as stereotypes. And if you throw a pebble into the pond, you're going to get ripples. I think the only constant is change, and it's always slow. Anything that happens overnight is lacking in foundation. Roots is part of a changing trend, and it's still being played out."
Reading Rainbow
Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons.
After Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, a new media company for children. Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. At RRKIDZ, Burton serves as co-founder and curator-in-chief, ensuring that the projects produced under the banner meet the high expectations and trust of the Reading Rainbow brand.
On May 28, 2014, Burton and numerous coworkers from other past works started a Kickstarter campaign project to bring back Reading Rainbow. To keep with the changing formats to which young children are exposed, his efforts are being directed at making this new program web based, following the success of the tablet application he helped create in recent years. His desire is to have the new Reading Rainbow be integrated into the classrooms of elementary schools across the country, and for schools in need to have free access. The Kickstarter campaign has since raised more than $5 million, reaching triple its goal in only three days.
In 2017, Burton was sued by the public broadcasting company WNED-TV for alleged copyright infringement for use of the Reading Rainbow brand in marketing the new iPad app and other online media. RRKIDZ later became known as LeVar Burton Kids and the iPad app, Skybrary.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
In 1986, Gene Roddenberry approached Burton with the role of the then Lieutenant Junior Grade Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. The character is blind but is granted "sight" through the use of a prosthetic device called a VISOR worn over his eyes. La Forge started out serving as the USS Enterprise's helmsman, and as of the show's second season, had become its chief engineer. At the time, Burton was considerably better known than Patrick Stewart in the United States, due to his roles in Roots and Reading Rainbow. When the show premiered, the Associated Press stated that Burton's role was essentially the "new Spock." In a 2019 interview, Burton laughed in disbelief at the idea, stating "that speculation never came to fruition."
Burton also portrayed La Forge in the subsequent feature films based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, from Star Trek Generations (1994) to Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).
He directed two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and several episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise.
Other appearances
Burton played a role as a visitor to Fantasy Island, guest star on “The Love Boat”, was a participant in Battle of the Network Stars, a guest of the Muppet Shows televised premiere party for the release of The Muppet Movie, and a frequent guest on several game shows.
In 1986, he appeared in the music video for the song "Word Up!" by the funk/R&B group Cameo.
In 1987, Burton played Dave Robinson, a journalist (sports writer), in the third season of Murder, She Wrote, episode 16 – "Death Takes a Dive", starring Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher.
Burton accepted an invitation to host Rebop, a multicultural series designed for young people aged 9–15, produced by WGBH for PBS.
On television, Burton has helped dramatize the last days of Jim Jones's suicide cult in Guyana, the life and times of Jesse Owens, and the life of the nine-year-old Booker T. Washington. He portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2001 film Ali. He also portrayed Detroit Tiger Ron LeFlore in the television movie One in a Million, The Ron LeFlore Story.
In 1992, a clip of Burton's voice was sampled by DC Talk for the track "Time is..." on their album Free at Last. The sample is at the very end of the song, in which Burton can be heard saying: "Whoa, wait a minute."
He has also lent his voice to several animated projects, including Kwame in the cartoon series Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990–1993) and The New Adventures of Captain Planet (1993–1996), Family Guy, Batman: The Animated Series and Gargoyles. Burton is on the audio version of The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. Burton has been cast as voice actor for Black Lightning in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD.
Burton appeared several times as a celebrity guest on the Dick Clark-hosted $25,000 and $100,000 Pyramids, from 1982 until 1988. Burton also was the strongest link in the special Star Trek episode of The Weakest Link. He defeated his final opponent Robert Picardo and won $167,500 for his charity, Junior Achievement of Southern California, a record for the show at that time and the largest amount won in any Celebrity Edition of the show (it was later surpassed by a $188,500 win in a "Tournament of Losers" episode).
He has made appearances in such sitcoms as Becker.
Burton is the host and executive producer of a documentary titled The Science of Peace, which was in production as of 2007. It investigates the science and technology aimed at enabling world peace, sometimes called peace science. The film explores some of the concepts of shared noetic consciousness, having been sponsored in part by the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
He appeared in an April Fool's episode of Smosh pretending to have taken over the channel and making various edits at popular Smosh videos.
He makes occasional appearances on This Week in Tech, where he is a self-proclaimed "nerd", and also participated in the Consumer Electronics Show 2010.
In 2010, he made an appearance on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! as the ghost of himself in the episode "Greene Machine".
In February 2011, Burton made an appearance as himself on NBC's Community in the episode "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking", and then again in January 2014's "Geothermal Escapism".
Burton has appeared as a fictionalized, humorous version of himself on The Big Bang Theory, first appearing in the episode "The Toast Derivation", in which he almost attends a party thrown by Sheldon (before swearing off Twitter), in November 2012 in the episode "The Habitation Configuration", in which he appears on "Fun With Flags" in exchange for lunch and gas money, and again in the November 2014 episode "The Champagne Reflection", in which he returns for the 232nd episode of "Fun With Flags" in exchange for Sheldon deleting his contact details.
In 2012, he had a recurring role as dean Paul Haley on the TNT series Perception. For the second season (2013), he became part of the regular cast.
In 2014, he had a guest appearance in an introduction section for the 200th episode of Achievement Hunter's show, Achievement Hunter Weekly Update (AHWU). In May 2014, he appeared as a guest on the YouTube channel SciShow, explaining the science behind double, tertiary, and quaternary rainbows. Late in 2014, he had another guest appearance on a 24-hour Extra Life, a fundraising organization for Children's Miracle Network hospitals, stream by Rooster Teeth. Burton has also taped a recycling field trip for YouTube.
In 2017, Burton began a podcast, LeVar Burton Reads. Each episode features Burton reading a short story. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he continues to read on his podcast and also give live readings three times a week during a Twitter livestream focused at different time to different children, young adults, and adult audiences.
In November 2020, he appeared as himself on The Eric Andre Show. His segment was a callback to Lance Reddick's interview (2013) in which he mentioned LeVar by name and dressed as an amalgam of Kunta Kinte and Geordi La Forge.
Burton served as a guest host on Jeopardy! from July 26 to July 30, 2021. This came after a petition asking the show's producers to select him was signed by more than 250,000 fans. Unfortunately, the ratings were less than ideal due to tapering audience curiosity and forced viewership competition with NBC's coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which trampled syndicated shows across the board.
Burton also teaches the "Power of Storytelling" in the MasterClass.
Directing
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Burton directed episodes for each of the various Star Trek series then in production. He has directed more Star Trek episodes than any other former regular cast member.
He has also directed episodes of Charmed, JAG, Las Vegas, and Soul Food: The Series, as well as the miniseries Miracle's Boys and the biopic The Tiger Woods Story. He also directed the 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie Smart House starring Katey Sagal, Kevin Kilner and Jessica Steen. In August 2020, it was revealed that Burton will sit in the director's chair for Two-Front War from Lou Reda Productions, a multi-perspective docuseries will give "an emotionally raw look at the connection between the fight for civil rights in America and the struggle for equality of Black soldiers in Vietnam".
His first theatrical film direction was Blizzard (2003), for which he received a "Best of Fest" award from the Chicago International Children's Film Festival, and a Genie Award nomination for his work on the film's theme song, "Center of My Heart".
Burton is on the board of directors for the Directors Guild of America.
Personal life
LeVar Burton married Stephanie Cozart, a professional make-up artist, on October 3, 1992. Burton has two children, son Eian Burton Smith and daughter Michaela "Mica" Jean Burton. The family lives in Sherman Oaks, California.
Burton does not identify with any religion, saying: "I walked away from the seminary, I walked away from Catholicism, I walked away from organized religion because I felt that there was more for me to explore in the world, and that I could do that without adhering to one specific belief system or another."
In 2012, Burton joined the board of directors for the AIDS Research Alliance, a non-profit, medical research organization dedicated to finding a cure for AIDS.
In 2016, Burton was one of the five inaugural honorees to the Sacramento Walk of Stars. In 2019, Councilmember Larry Carr, representing the Meadowview neighborhood, led the renaming of Richfield Park to LeVar Burton Park in his honor. The park is in the Meadowview neighborhood, near the house where Burton and his sisters grew up.
Filmography
Awards and honors
Awards
Nominations
1977 – Emmy – Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Performance in a Drama or Comedy Series – Roots (Part 1, "Kunta Kinte")
1998, 2001, 2005 – Image Awards variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special — Reading Rainbow (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Self)
2004 – Genie Award – Best Achievement in Music-Original Song – Blizzard (Co-composer "Center of My Heart")
2006 – Black Reel Award – Best Director-Television – Miracle's Boys
Wins
1990 – Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7030 Hollywood Boulevard for television achievement
1992 – Peabody Award – Reading Rainbow (as executive producer of episode, "The Wall")
1994, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003 – Image Award – variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special – Reading Rainbow (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
2000 – Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album – The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.
1990, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
2001, 2002 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Self)
2003 – Television Critics Association Award – Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
2004 – Chicago International Children's Film Festival – Best of Fest – Blizzard (Director)
Books
Aftermath, 1997,
The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm, 2014,
A Kids Book About Imagination, 2021,
See also
References
Further reading
Nishikawa, Kinohi. "LeVar Burton". The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature. Ed. Hans Ostrom and J. David Macey Jr., 5 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005. 219.
External links
RRKIDZ (Reading Rainbow) – LeVar Burton, Co-Founder, Curator-in-Chief
Burton / Wolfe Entertainment (production company)
1957 births
African-American male actors
African-American television directors
African-American television personalities
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American men podcasters
American podcasters
American television directors
Daytime Emmy Award winners
Former Roman Catholics
Grammy Award winners
Living people
Male actors from California
Male actors from Sacramento, California
PBS people
Reading Rainbow
USC School of Dramatic Arts alumni
People from Landstuhl
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
HIV/AIDS activists
African-American religious skeptics
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people | false | [
"An Audience with... is a British entertainment television show produced by London Weekend Television (now part of ITV Studios), in which a host, usually a singer or comedian, performs for an invited audience of celebrity guests, interspersed with questions from the audience, in a lighthearted revue/tribute style.\n\nHistory\nThe show's title began as An Audience with Jasper Carrott, for a normal six-part television series for the comedian. His first television show, it was broadcast in 1978 and produced by London Weekend Television (LWT). From 1980 onwards, the show became An Audience with...[name(s) of host(s)], with one-off special guest hosts performing in front of celebrity audiences.\n\nThe show was traditionally broadcast on ITV on Saturday nights, while some shows in the 1980s were broadcast on Channel 4. The show has been commissioned at varying intervals, with ten shows broadcast in the 1980s, followed by twenty in each in the decades of the 1990s and 2000s. From 1994 there were at least one show, and often several, broadcast per year, with the exception of 2000 and 2003.\n\nSome hosts appeared multiple times. Dame Edna Everage was host three times, while Freddie Starr, Ken Dodd, Joan Rivers, Shirley Bassey, Al Murray and Donny Osmond were all asked to return once. One show, for Jeremy Beadle, was hosted posthumously in 2008. In 2010, a five-part highlights series of the show, 30 Years of An Audience With, was broadcast on ITV.\n\nMore recent shows focused more on musicians and singers rather than comedians - the last comedian given An Audience with... was Al Murray in 2007.\n\nAn Audience with Jasper Carrott\nThe An Audience With title was first used in a television series produced by London Weekend Television (LWT) for the comedian Jasper Carrott, which aired for six episodes in 1978.\n\nAn Audience with...\nFrom 1980, the show took on a format where a special guest would host a one-off show in front of a celebrity audience, and have their name appended to the title. Dame Edna Everage was the first host of An Audience with... in 1980.\n\nThe show has had numerous hosts since then, mostly comedians and singers. Occasionally, pop groups, actors and television presenters also hosted the show. Unusual hosts have included a puppet, Sooty, cast members of ITV soap opera Coronation Street, and boxer Lennox Lewis. The Spice Girls were the first pop group to host the show, in 1997. In 2006, An Audience with Take That was the first time the show was performed live. The second was the next show, An Audience with Lionel Richie.\n\nHosts were often joined on stage by special guests. Singer Lionel Richie was joined by Westlife, Lulu was joined in a duet with former husband Maurice Gibb, the Bee Gees performed with Boyzone, Ricky Martin was joined by Kylie Minogue, and Take That performed Relight My Fire with Lulu. All round entertainer Des O'Connor was joined on stage by Martine McCutcheon, and dueted with Lionel Richie in a version of \"Three Times a Lady\". Comedian Ronnie Corbett had his long-time comedy partner Ronnie Barker as his special guest, while Lennox Lewis had football player Ian Wright as his special guest conducting an interview with him.\n\nComedian hosts often involved audience members on stage, such as Brian Conley's sword-and-card trick on Christine Hamilton performed blindfolded and Freddie Starr's act of seemingly throwing knives at a blindfolded Garry Bushell. Comedians will also interact with the audience, with Freddie Starr throwing maggots over Faith Brown, and Al Murray, in his Pub Landlord persona, spilling drinks over them. Singing based shows also sometimes involved comic relief, with Frank Skinner appearing in drag as one of Lulu's backing singers, and Kylie Minogue being joined on stage by Kermit the Frog for a romantic duet.\n\nAn Audience Without... Jeremy Beadle\nAfter the death of the television practical joker Jeremy Beadle on 30 January 2008, ITV decided to commission An Audience Without... Jeremy Beadle, to celebrate his best work and raise money for some of his favourite charities. Broadcast on 16 May 2008, the show was hosted by Chris Tarrant, and included the results of an ITV public vote choosing his top-5 best ever pranks from his show Beadle's About. This episode was produced by Talent Television.\n\n30 Years of An Audience With\nIn 2010, ITV broadcast 30 Years of An Audience With, looking back at the history of the series, with interviews from past guests, and clips from old shows. The show was broadcast in five-hour-long episodes, from 17 July 2010 to 14 August 2010.\n\nLes Dawson\nIn June 1993, Les Dawson was due to record an edition of An Audience with..., but died a fortnight prior to the planned recording. On the 20th anniversary of the comedian's untimely death, ITV decided to mark the occasion with the use of a technology which gave the illusion he was on stage.\n\nThe chief executive of Musion Systems the company that provided the technology, told the Today programme's Sarah Montague: \"...it's not actually a hologram but the world perceives what we do as holograms, so we call it holograms.\" He explained how the technology allows people \"to appear as though [they are] on stage\".\n\nAdele \nOn 2 November 2021, it was announced that the format would return for one night only on 21 November for a show hosted by Adele. The singer's fourth album, 30, was released two days prior, and this was the first televised performances of songs from the album in the United Kingdom. The special was filmed on 6 November, at the London Palladium, with the audience consisting of Adele's personal heroes and friends, musicians, actors, artists, sportspeople and more. These included Boy George, Hannah Waddingham, Naomi Campbell, Stormzy, Emma Thompson, Dawn French, Suranne Jones, David Tennant, Samuel L. Jackson, Dua Lipa, Mel B, Nick Grimshaw, Clara Amfo, Gareth Southgate, Alan Carr, Olly Alexander and Emma Watson.\n\nList of episodes\n\nHome media \nIn 2007, selected An Audience with... shows were individually released on DVD. Prior to this, the October 1985 show featuring Billy Connolly had been issued on its own, both in VHS format and on DVD. Virgin Video released the extended uncut studio version, with a runtime of approximately 78 minutes, instead of the 50-minute television version. On 14 November 2005, Network released An Audience with Dame Edna Everage, which featured all three appearances, across two discs and became a bestseller.\n\nAs of 2021, eleven An Audience with... shows have been made available on the video on demand service, BritBox. The episodes available were hosted by Harry Hill, Billy Connolly, Bob Monkhouse, Sir Cliff Richard, Jimmy Tarbuck, Ken Dodd, Kenneth Williams, Peter Ustinov, Ronnie Corbett, Shirley Bassey and Victoria Wood.\n\nAn Audience with Adele was the first to be made available on the ITV Hub.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n.\n.\n\n1980 British television series debuts\n1980s British television series\n1990s British television series\n2000s British television series\n2010s British television series\n2020s British television series\nChannel 4 comedy\nITV comedy\nTelevision series by ITV Studios\nEnglish-language television shows",
"Zero e lode! (literally \"Zero cum laude!\") is an Italian game show adapted from the BBC's Pointless. The show was presented by Alessandro Greco and aired on Rai 1 from 11 September 2017 to 1 June 2018.\n\nFormat\n\nZero e lode! follows the same format as its British original. There are four competing duos. All questions have been given to a hundred members of the public before broadcast, and competitors seek to give the answers that the fewest of them knew. For example, the first question on the first episode was fields of data on the Italian identity card. \"Eye colour\" scored 56 points, \"Identifying signs\" scored 39 and \"Civil status\" 40. \"State\" was a wrong answer worth 100 points, while pointless answers worth zero points included \"Mayor (or delegate) signature\". The duo with the highest score is eliminated.\n\nOnce there are only two duos remaining, they compete in a head-to-head until one duo has won on three questions. This duo then plays for €10,000 if they can find a pointless answer for the final question. In the first episode, the question was characters from the 1975 film Fantozzi. As they did not win, the money rolled over and the next day the jackpot was €11,000.\n\nThe record jackpot was on 24 May 2018, when €49,000 was shared between a duo who found a pointless answer for words in the dictionary between pesca and pesco, namely pesciera (fish bowl).\n\nHistory\nThe show was announced in August 2017 to begin on 11 September, at 2 pm. The show debuted with an 11.37% audience share for its unattractive broadcast time, but this fell to 9% as audiences complained of not understanding the rules. After a week of celebrity specials, the audience reached a new record of 11.48% (1.597 million people) on 26 October. The audience rose to 12-13% during a telethon week in December.\n\nThe final episode of the season aired on 1 June 2018, with Greco visibly moved by the experience. Days later, the show was not renewed for a second season. Greco said that he did well to increase the show's ratings, as it had feared cancellation by Christmas and the initial plan was for it to end in March. The official explanation by Rai for the cancellation was that the audience was too male and changed the channel afterwards instead of staying to watch La vita in diretta, a talk show with a largely female audience.\n\nReferences\n\nPointless\n2017 Italian television series debuts\n2018 television series endings\nItalian game shows\nRAI original programming"
] |
[
"LeVar Burton",
"Reading Rainbow",
"What was LeVar Burton's involvement with Reading Rainbow?",
"Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow",
"When did the Reading Rainbow start?",
"starting in 1983 for PBS.",
"What audience was the show for?",
"one of the longest-running children's programs on the network."
] | C_7ffd221fa08847e0bf27d7a5b2cf04a5_0 | What was the content of the show? | 4 | What was the content of the Reading Rainbow? | LeVar Burton | Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons, making it one of the longest-running children's programs on the network. The series garnered over 200 broadcast awards over its run, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards, 11 of which were in the Outstanding Children's Series category. Burton himself won 12 Emmy awards as host and producer of the show. After Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, a new media company for children. Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. At RRKIDZ, Burton serves as co-founder and curator-in-chief, ensuring that the projects produced under the banner meet the high expectations and trust of the Reading Rainbow brand. On May 28, 2014, Burton and numerous coworkers from other past works started a Kickstarter campaign project to bring back Reading Rainbow. To keep with the changing formats to which young children are exposed, his efforts are being directed at making this new program web-based, following the success of the tablet application he helped create in recent years. His desire is to have the new Reading Rainbow be integrated into the classrooms of elementary schools across the country, and for schools in need to have free access. The Kickstarter campaign has since raised over $5 million, reaching triple its goal in only three days. CANNOTANSWER | The series ran for 23 seasons, | Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and children's television host. He is known for his roles as Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), and as host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for more than 23 years (1983–2006), for which he has received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards, and a Peabody Award as host and executive producer of the show.
His other roles include Cap Jackson in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Donald Lang in Dummy (1979), Tommy Price in The Hunter (1980), which earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, and Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali (2001). Burton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards for his narration of the book The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1990, he was honored for his achievements in television with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Burton was chosen as the Grand Marshal of the 2022 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, on October 5, 2021. He presided over the parade and the afternoon Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2022.
Early life
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. was born in Landstuhl, West Germany. His mother, Erma Gene (née Christian), was a social worker, administrator, and educator, while his father and namesake was a photographer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps stationed at Landstuhl at the time of his son's birth. Burton and his two sisters were raised by his mother in Sacramento, California.
As a teen, Burton, who was raised Roman Catholic, entered St. Pius X Minor Seminary in Galt, California, intending to become a priest. At 17, questioning the Catholic faith, he changed his vocation to acting, and at 19, while an undergraduate at the University of Southern California, he won a starring role in the 1977 television miniseries Roots.
Career
Early work
Burton made his acting debut in 1976 with Almos' a Man, a film based on the Richard Wright short story "The Man Who Was Almost a Man," in which he stars alongside Madge Sinclair.
Roots
Burton's breakthrough role was as the young Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), based on the novel of the same name by Alex Haley. Burton has described his first day playing Kunta as the start of his professional career. As a result of his performance, he was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series category.
He reprised the role of Kunta Kinte in the 1988 television film Roots: The Gift. When asked about the societal influence of Roots, Burton is quoted as saying: "It expanded the consciousness of people. Blacks and whites began to see each other as human beings, not as stereotypes. And if you throw a pebble into the pond, you're going to get ripples. I think the only constant is change, and it's always slow. Anything that happens overnight is lacking in foundation. Roots is part of a changing trend, and it's still being played out."
Reading Rainbow
Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons.
After Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, a new media company for children. Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. At RRKIDZ, Burton serves as co-founder and curator-in-chief, ensuring that the projects produced under the banner meet the high expectations and trust of the Reading Rainbow brand.
On May 28, 2014, Burton and numerous coworkers from other past works started a Kickstarter campaign project to bring back Reading Rainbow. To keep with the changing formats to which young children are exposed, his efforts are being directed at making this new program web based, following the success of the tablet application he helped create in recent years. His desire is to have the new Reading Rainbow be integrated into the classrooms of elementary schools across the country, and for schools in need to have free access. The Kickstarter campaign has since raised more than $5 million, reaching triple its goal in only three days.
In 2017, Burton was sued by the public broadcasting company WNED-TV for alleged copyright infringement for use of the Reading Rainbow brand in marketing the new iPad app and other online media. RRKIDZ later became known as LeVar Burton Kids and the iPad app, Skybrary.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
In 1986, Gene Roddenberry approached Burton with the role of the then Lieutenant Junior Grade Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. The character is blind but is granted "sight" through the use of a prosthetic device called a VISOR worn over his eyes. La Forge started out serving as the USS Enterprise's helmsman, and as of the show's second season, had become its chief engineer. At the time, Burton was considerably better known than Patrick Stewart in the United States, due to his roles in Roots and Reading Rainbow. When the show premiered, the Associated Press stated that Burton's role was essentially the "new Spock." In a 2019 interview, Burton laughed in disbelief at the idea, stating "that speculation never came to fruition."
Burton also portrayed La Forge in the subsequent feature films based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, from Star Trek Generations (1994) to Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).
He directed two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and several episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise.
Other appearances
Burton played a role as a visitor to Fantasy Island, guest star on “The Love Boat”, was a participant in Battle of the Network Stars, a guest of the Muppet Shows televised premiere party for the release of The Muppet Movie, and a frequent guest on several game shows.
In 1986, he appeared in the music video for the song "Word Up!" by the funk/R&B group Cameo.
In 1987, Burton played Dave Robinson, a journalist (sports writer), in the third season of Murder, She Wrote, episode 16 – "Death Takes a Dive", starring Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher.
Burton accepted an invitation to host Rebop, a multicultural series designed for young people aged 9–15, produced by WGBH for PBS.
On television, Burton has helped dramatize the last days of Jim Jones's suicide cult in Guyana, the life and times of Jesse Owens, and the life of the nine-year-old Booker T. Washington. He portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2001 film Ali. He also portrayed Detroit Tiger Ron LeFlore in the television movie One in a Million, The Ron LeFlore Story.
In 1992, a clip of Burton's voice was sampled by DC Talk for the track "Time is..." on their album Free at Last. The sample is at the very end of the song, in which Burton can be heard saying: "Whoa, wait a minute."
He has also lent his voice to several animated projects, including Kwame in the cartoon series Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990–1993) and The New Adventures of Captain Planet (1993–1996), Family Guy, Batman: The Animated Series and Gargoyles. Burton is on the audio version of The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. Burton has been cast as voice actor for Black Lightning in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD.
Burton appeared several times as a celebrity guest on the Dick Clark-hosted $25,000 and $100,000 Pyramids, from 1982 until 1988. Burton also was the strongest link in the special Star Trek episode of The Weakest Link. He defeated his final opponent Robert Picardo and won $167,500 for his charity, Junior Achievement of Southern California, a record for the show at that time and the largest amount won in any Celebrity Edition of the show (it was later surpassed by a $188,500 win in a "Tournament of Losers" episode).
He has made appearances in such sitcoms as Becker.
Burton is the host and executive producer of a documentary titled The Science of Peace, which was in production as of 2007. It investigates the science and technology aimed at enabling world peace, sometimes called peace science. The film explores some of the concepts of shared noetic consciousness, having been sponsored in part by the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
He appeared in an April Fool's episode of Smosh pretending to have taken over the channel and making various edits at popular Smosh videos.
He makes occasional appearances on This Week in Tech, where he is a self-proclaimed "nerd", and also participated in the Consumer Electronics Show 2010.
In 2010, he made an appearance on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! as the ghost of himself in the episode "Greene Machine".
In February 2011, Burton made an appearance as himself on NBC's Community in the episode "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking", and then again in January 2014's "Geothermal Escapism".
Burton has appeared as a fictionalized, humorous version of himself on The Big Bang Theory, first appearing in the episode "The Toast Derivation", in which he almost attends a party thrown by Sheldon (before swearing off Twitter), in November 2012 in the episode "The Habitation Configuration", in which he appears on "Fun With Flags" in exchange for lunch and gas money, and again in the November 2014 episode "The Champagne Reflection", in which he returns for the 232nd episode of "Fun With Flags" in exchange for Sheldon deleting his contact details.
In 2012, he had a recurring role as dean Paul Haley on the TNT series Perception. For the second season (2013), he became part of the regular cast.
In 2014, he had a guest appearance in an introduction section for the 200th episode of Achievement Hunter's show, Achievement Hunter Weekly Update (AHWU). In May 2014, he appeared as a guest on the YouTube channel SciShow, explaining the science behind double, tertiary, and quaternary rainbows. Late in 2014, he had another guest appearance on a 24-hour Extra Life, a fundraising organization for Children's Miracle Network hospitals, stream by Rooster Teeth. Burton has also taped a recycling field trip for YouTube.
In 2017, Burton began a podcast, LeVar Burton Reads. Each episode features Burton reading a short story. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he continues to read on his podcast and also give live readings three times a week during a Twitter livestream focused at different time to different children, young adults, and adult audiences.
In November 2020, he appeared as himself on The Eric Andre Show. His segment was a callback to Lance Reddick's interview (2013) in which he mentioned LeVar by name and dressed as an amalgam of Kunta Kinte and Geordi La Forge.
Burton served as a guest host on Jeopardy! from July 26 to July 30, 2021. This came after a petition asking the show's producers to select him was signed by more than 250,000 fans. Unfortunately, the ratings were less than ideal due to tapering audience curiosity and forced viewership competition with NBC's coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which trampled syndicated shows across the board.
Burton also teaches the "Power of Storytelling" in the MasterClass.
Directing
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Burton directed episodes for each of the various Star Trek series then in production. He has directed more Star Trek episodes than any other former regular cast member.
He has also directed episodes of Charmed, JAG, Las Vegas, and Soul Food: The Series, as well as the miniseries Miracle's Boys and the biopic The Tiger Woods Story. He also directed the 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie Smart House starring Katey Sagal, Kevin Kilner and Jessica Steen. In August 2020, it was revealed that Burton will sit in the director's chair for Two-Front War from Lou Reda Productions, a multi-perspective docuseries will give "an emotionally raw look at the connection between the fight for civil rights in America and the struggle for equality of Black soldiers in Vietnam".
His first theatrical film direction was Blizzard (2003), for which he received a "Best of Fest" award from the Chicago International Children's Film Festival, and a Genie Award nomination for his work on the film's theme song, "Center of My Heart".
Burton is on the board of directors for the Directors Guild of America.
Personal life
LeVar Burton married Stephanie Cozart, a professional make-up artist, on October 3, 1992. Burton has two children, son Eian Burton Smith and daughter Michaela "Mica" Jean Burton. The family lives in Sherman Oaks, California.
Burton does not identify with any religion, saying: "I walked away from the seminary, I walked away from Catholicism, I walked away from organized religion because I felt that there was more for me to explore in the world, and that I could do that without adhering to one specific belief system or another."
In 2012, Burton joined the board of directors for the AIDS Research Alliance, a non-profit, medical research organization dedicated to finding a cure for AIDS.
In 2016, Burton was one of the five inaugural honorees to the Sacramento Walk of Stars. In 2019, Councilmember Larry Carr, representing the Meadowview neighborhood, led the renaming of Richfield Park to LeVar Burton Park in his honor. The park is in the Meadowview neighborhood, near the house where Burton and his sisters grew up.
Filmography
Awards and honors
Awards
Nominations
1977 – Emmy – Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Performance in a Drama or Comedy Series – Roots (Part 1, "Kunta Kinte")
1998, 2001, 2005 – Image Awards variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special — Reading Rainbow (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Self)
2004 – Genie Award – Best Achievement in Music-Original Song – Blizzard (Co-composer "Center of My Heart")
2006 – Black Reel Award – Best Director-Television – Miracle's Boys
Wins
1990 – Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7030 Hollywood Boulevard for television achievement
1992 – Peabody Award – Reading Rainbow (as executive producer of episode, "The Wall")
1994, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003 – Image Award – variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special – Reading Rainbow (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
2000 – Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album – The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.
1990, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
2001, 2002 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Self)
2003 – Television Critics Association Award – Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
2004 – Chicago International Children's Film Festival – Best of Fest – Blizzard (Director)
Books
Aftermath, 1997,
The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm, 2014,
A Kids Book About Imagination, 2021,
See also
References
Further reading
Nishikawa, Kinohi. "LeVar Burton". The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature. Ed. Hans Ostrom and J. David Macey Jr., 5 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005. 219.
External links
RRKIDZ (Reading Rainbow) – LeVar Burton, Co-Founder, Curator-in-Chief
Burton / Wolfe Entertainment (production company)
1957 births
African-American male actors
African-American television directors
African-American television personalities
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American men podcasters
American podcasters
American television directors
Daytime Emmy Award winners
Former Roman Catholics
Grammy Award winners
Living people
Male actors from California
Male actors from Sacramento, California
PBS people
Reading Rainbow
USC School of Dramatic Arts alumni
People from Landstuhl
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
HIV/AIDS activists
African-American religious skeptics
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people | false | [
"WhitebaitMedia is a local independent New Zealand production company producing children's programmes. It was founded by Janine Morrell-Gunn in 1998.\n\nHistory\n\nMorrell-Gunn worked as an executive producer for TVNZ's Children's Unit while it was based in Christchurch, New Zealand. When the Unit moved to Wellington's Avalon studios, in 1998, Morrell-Gunn remained in Christchurch to start her own company, Whitebait Productions.\n\nWhitebait's first commission was Bumble, a preschool series about a bee and his friends. The first actor to wear the Bumble suit was her husband, Jason Gunn. Whitebait Productions has also produced the Jessie.com series for What Now TV (which sold to Disney Australia, and English programmes for Japan), the interactive pop talent quest Wannabes for Three, and the series Tuhono, a youth hip-hop show, for Māori Television. The show Animal Academy was produced by Whitebait also for TVNZ and is screened regularly on TVNZ 2.\n\nWhitebait Productions has produced What Now? since the shows relaunch.\n\nIn April 2009, Whitebait's newest show The Erin Simpson Show came on air. The show was originally planned as a three-year series, the show went from strength to strength securing an additional two years of New Zealand on Air funding. On 6 December 2013, The Erin Simpson Show aired its last, 770th, episode.\n\nWhitebaitMedia was formerly Whitebait-TV, before a rebrand in 2015. The name was changed to reflect the growing need for content outside of the TV screen, including mobile and web content to complement the broadcast programming.\n\nShows\nThe list below is all of the productions and shows created by WhitebaitMedia:\nJessie.com (2001-2002)\nWannabes (2002-2005)\nBumble (1999-2002),\nWhat Now? (2009–present)\nTuhono (2004)\nThe Erin Simpson Show (2009-2013)\nAnimal Academy\nThe 4:30 Show (2014-2015)\nThe Adam and Eve Show (2016-2017)\n2Kaha\nFanimals (2018-2019)\nDarwin and Newts (2018–present)\nBrain Busters (2020–present)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nNZ On Screen, Janine Morrell-Gunn biography\n\nTelevision production companies of New Zealand\nMass media in Christchurch\nMass media in Wellington",
"FireStation is a Pakistani live interactive show. The entire product was conceptualized by AAG TV and the first episode was aired on 21 June 2010.\n\nVJ's\nHere is a list of the VJ's of FireStation of the latest season held by AAG TV\n\n Ali Safina\n Sanam Jung\n Ali Ansari\n Amafah\n Zarmeena\n Raheel Butt\n Yasir Jalbani\n Marium Ansari\n Rehab\n Saad\n\nProduction and execution\nThe entire concept of the show was executed and produced by Umar Amanullah and Executive Producer at AAG TV.\n\nInteractive content\nThe entire interactive content of the show such as polls, contests, and activities on www.aag.tv was brain child of Ali Tim and Samia Baleegh.\n\nPakistani television series\n2010 Pakistani television series debuts"
] |
[
"LeVar Burton",
"Reading Rainbow",
"What was LeVar Burton's involvement with Reading Rainbow?",
"Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow",
"When did the Reading Rainbow start?",
"starting in 1983 for PBS.",
"What audience was the show for?",
"one of the longest-running children's programs on the network.",
"What was the content of the show?",
"The series ran for 23 seasons,"
] | C_7ffd221fa08847e0bf27d7a5b2cf04a5_0 | What did Burton do after Reading Rainbow? | 5 | What did LeVar Burton do after Reading Rainbow? | LeVar Burton | Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons, making it one of the longest-running children's programs on the network. The series garnered over 200 broadcast awards over its run, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards, 11 of which were in the Outstanding Children's Series category. Burton himself won 12 Emmy awards as host and producer of the show. After Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, a new media company for children. Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. At RRKIDZ, Burton serves as co-founder and curator-in-chief, ensuring that the projects produced under the banner meet the high expectations and trust of the Reading Rainbow brand. On May 28, 2014, Burton and numerous coworkers from other past works started a Kickstarter campaign project to bring back Reading Rainbow. To keep with the changing formats to which young children are exposed, his efforts are being directed at making this new program web-based, following the success of the tablet application he helped create in recent years. His desire is to have the new Reading Rainbow be integrated into the classrooms of elementary schools across the country, and for schools in need to have free access. The Kickstarter campaign has since raised over $5 million, reaching triple its goal in only three days. CANNOTANSWER | Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, | Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and children's television host. He is known for his roles as Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), and as host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for more than 23 years (1983–2006), for which he has received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards, and a Peabody Award as host and executive producer of the show.
His other roles include Cap Jackson in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Donald Lang in Dummy (1979), Tommy Price in The Hunter (1980), which earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, and Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali (2001). Burton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards for his narration of the book The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1990, he was honored for his achievements in television with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Burton was chosen as the Grand Marshal of the 2022 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, on October 5, 2021. He presided over the parade and the afternoon Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2022.
Early life
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. was born in Landstuhl, West Germany. His mother, Erma Gene (née Christian), was a social worker, administrator, and educator, while his father and namesake was a photographer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps stationed at Landstuhl at the time of his son's birth. Burton and his two sisters were raised by his mother in Sacramento, California.
As a teen, Burton, who was raised Roman Catholic, entered St. Pius X Minor Seminary in Galt, California, intending to become a priest. At 17, questioning the Catholic faith, he changed his vocation to acting, and at 19, while an undergraduate at the University of Southern California, he won a starring role in the 1977 television miniseries Roots.
Career
Early work
Burton made his acting debut in 1976 with Almos' a Man, a film based on the Richard Wright short story "The Man Who Was Almost a Man," in which he stars alongside Madge Sinclair.
Roots
Burton's breakthrough role was as the young Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), based on the novel of the same name by Alex Haley. Burton has described his first day playing Kunta as the start of his professional career. As a result of his performance, he was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series category.
He reprised the role of Kunta Kinte in the 1988 television film Roots: The Gift. When asked about the societal influence of Roots, Burton is quoted as saying: "It expanded the consciousness of people. Blacks and whites began to see each other as human beings, not as stereotypes. And if you throw a pebble into the pond, you're going to get ripples. I think the only constant is change, and it's always slow. Anything that happens overnight is lacking in foundation. Roots is part of a changing trend, and it's still being played out."
Reading Rainbow
Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons.
After Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, a new media company for children. Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. At RRKIDZ, Burton serves as co-founder and curator-in-chief, ensuring that the projects produced under the banner meet the high expectations and trust of the Reading Rainbow brand.
On May 28, 2014, Burton and numerous coworkers from other past works started a Kickstarter campaign project to bring back Reading Rainbow. To keep with the changing formats to which young children are exposed, his efforts are being directed at making this new program web based, following the success of the tablet application he helped create in recent years. His desire is to have the new Reading Rainbow be integrated into the classrooms of elementary schools across the country, and for schools in need to have free access. The Kickstarter campaign has since raised more than $5 million, reaching triple its goal in only three days.
In 2017, Burton was sued by the public broadcasting company WNED-TV for alleged copyright infringement for use of the Reading Rainbow brand in marketing the new iPad app and other online media. RRKIDZ later became known as LeVar Burton Kids and the iPad app, Skybrary.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
In 1986, Gene Roddenberry approached Burton with the role of the then Lieutenant Junior Grade Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. The character is blind but is granted "sight" through the use of a prosthetic device called a VISOR worn over his eyes. La Forge started out serving as the USS Enterprise's helmsman, and as of the show's second season, had become its chief engineer. At the time, Burton was considerably better known than Patrick Stewart in the United States, due to his roles in Roots and Reading Rainbow. When the show premiered, the Associated Press stated that Burton's role was essentially the "new Spock." In a 2019 interview, Burton laughed in disbelief at the idea, stating "that speculation never came to fruition."
Burton also portrayed La Forge in the subsequent feature films based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, from Star Trek Generations (1994) to Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).
He directed two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and several episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise.
Other appearances
Burton played a role as a visitor to Fantasy Island, guest star on “The Love Boat”, was a participant in Battle of the Network Stars, a guest of the Muppet Shows televised premiere party for the release of The Muppet Movie, and a frequent guest on several game shows.
In 1986, he appeared in the music video for the song "Word Up!" by the funk/R&B group Cameo.
In 1987, Burton played Dave Robinson, a journalist (sports writer), in the third season of Murder, She Wrote, episode 16 – "Death Takes a Dive", starring Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher.
Burton accepted an invitation to host Rebop, a multicultural series designed for young people aged 9–15, produced by WGBH for PBS.
On television, Burton has helped dramatize the last days of Jim Jones's suicide cult in Guyana, the life and times of Jesse Owens, and the life of the nine-year-old Booker T. Washington. He portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2001 film Ali. He also portrayed Detroit Tiger Ron LeFlore in the television movie One in a Million, The Ron LeFlore Story.
In 1992, a clip of Burton's voice was sampled by DC Talk for the track "Time is..." on their album Free at Last. The sample is at the very end of the song, in which Burton can be heard saying: "Whoa, wait a minute."
He has also lent his voice to several animated projects, including Kwame in the cartoon series Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990–1993) and The New Adventures of Captain Planet (1993–1996), Family Guy, Batman: The Animated Series and Gargoyles. Burton is on the audio version of The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. Burton has been cast as voice actor for Black Lightning in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD.
Burton appeared several times as a celebrity guest on the Dick Clark-hosted $25,000 and $100,000 Pyramids, from 1982 until 1988. Burton also was the strongest link in the special Star Trek episode of The Weakest Link. He defeated his final opponent Robert Picardo and won $167,500 for his charity, Junior Achievement of Southern California, a record for the show at that time and the largest amount won in any Celebrity Edition of the show (it was later surpassed by a $188,500 win in a "Tournament of Losers" episode).
He has made appearances in such sitcoms as Becker.
Burton is the host and executive producer of a documentary titled The Science of Peace, which was in production as of 2007. It investigates the science and technology aimed at enabling world peace, sometimes called peace science. The film explores some of the concepts of shared noetic consciousness, having been sponsored in part by the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
He appeared in an April Fool's episode of Smosh pretending to have taken over the channel and making various edits at popular Smosh videos.
He makes occasional appearances on This Week in Tech, where he is a self-proclaimed "nerd", and also participated in the Consumer Electronics Show 2010.
In 2010, he made an appearance on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! as the ghost of himself in the episode "Greene Machine".
In February 2011, Burton made an appearance as himself on NBC's Community in the episode "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking", and then again in January 2014's "Geothermal Escapism".
Burton has appeared as a fictionalized, humorous version of himself on The Big Bang Theory, first appearing in the episode "The Toast Derivation", in which he almost attends a party thrown by Sheldon (before swearing off Twitter), in November 2012 in the episode "The Habitation Configuration", in which he appears on "Fun With Flags" in exchange for lunch and gas money, and again in the November 2014 episode "The Champagne Reflection", in which he returns for the 232nd episode of "Fun With Flags" in exchange for Sheldon deleting his contact details.
In 2012, he had a recurring role as dean Paul Haley on the TNT series Perception. For the second season (2013), he became part of the regular cast.
In 2014, he had a guest appearance in an introduction section for the 200th episode of Achievement Hunter's show, Achievement Hunter Weekly Update (AHWU). In May 2014, he appeared as a guest on the YouTube channel SciShow, explaining the science behind double, tertiary, and quaternary rainbows. Late in 2014, he had another guest appearance on a 24-hour Extra Life, a fundraising organization for Children's Miracle Network hospitals, stream by Rooster Teeth. Burton has also taped a recycling field trip for YouTube.
In 2017, Burton began a podcast, LeVar Burton Reads. Each episode features Burton reading a short story. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he continues to read on his podcast and also give live readings three times a week during a Twitter livestream focused at different time to different children, young adults, and adult audiences.
In November 2020, he appeared as himself on The Eric Andre Show. His segment was a callback to Lance Reddick's interview (2013) in which he mentioned LeVar by name and dressed as an amalgam of Kunta Kinte and Geordi La Forge.
Burton served as a guest host on Jeopardy! from July 26 to July 30, 2021. This came after a petition asking the show's producers to select him was signed by more than 250,000 fans. Unfortunately, the ratings were less than ideal due to tapering audience curiosity and forced viewership competition with NBC's coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which trampled syndicated shows across the board.
Burton also teaches the "Power of Storytelling" in the MasterClass.
Directing
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Burton directed episodes for each of the various Star Trek series then in production. He has directed more Star Trek episodes than any other former regular cast member.
He has also directed episodes of Charmed, JAG, Las Vegas, and Soul Food: The Series, as well as the miniseries Miracle's Boys and the biopic The Tiger Woods Story. He also directed the 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie Smart House starring Katey Sagal, Kevin Kilner and Jessica Steen. In August 2020, it was revealed that Burton will sit in the director's chair for Two-Front War from Lou Reda Productions, a multi-perspective docuseries will give "an emotionally raw look at the connection between the fight for civil rights in America and the struggle for equality of Black soldiers in Vietnam".
His first theatrical film direction was Blizzard (2003), for which he received a "Best of Fest" award from the Chicago International Children's Film Festival, and a Genie Award nomination for his work on the film's theme song, "Center of My Heart".
Burton is on the board of directors for the Directors Guild of America.
Personal life
LeVar Burton married Stephanie Cozart, a professional make-up artist, on October 3, 1992. Burton has two children, son Eian Burton Smith and daughter Michaela "Mica" Jean Burton. The family lives in Sherman Oaks, California.
Burton does not identify with any religion, saying: "I walked away from the seminary, I walked away from Catholicism, I walked away from organized religion because I felt that there was more for me to explore in the world, and that I could do that without adhering to one specific belief system or another."
In 2012, Burton joined the board of directors for the AIDS Research Alliance, a non-profit, medical research organization dedicated to finding a cure for AIDS.
In 2016, Burton was one of the five inaugural honorees to the Sacramento Walk of Stars. In 2019, Councilmember Larry Carr, representing the Meadowview neighborhood, led the renaming of Richfield Park to LeVar Burton Park in his honor. The park is in the Meadowview neighborhood, near the house where Burton and his sisters grew up.
Filmography
Awards and honors
Awards
Nominations
1977 – Emmy – Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Performance in a Drama or Comedy Series – Roots (Part 1, "Kunta Kinte")
1998, 2001, 2005 – Image Awards variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special — Reading Rainbow (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Self)
2004 – Genie Award – Best Achievement in Music-Original Song – Blizzard (Co-composer "Center of My Heart")
2006 – Black Reel Award – Best Director-Television – Miracle's Boys
Wins
1990 – Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7030 Hollywood Boulevard for television achievement
1992 – Peabody Award – Reading Rainbow (as executive producer of episode, "The Wall")
1994, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003 – Image Award – variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special – Reading Rainbow (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
2000 – Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album – The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.
1990, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
2001, 2002 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Self)
2003 – Television Critics Association Award – Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
2004 – Chicago International Children's Film Festival – Best of Fest – Blizzard (Director)
Books
Aftermath, 1997,
The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm, 2014,
A Kids Book About Imagination, 2021,
See also
References
Further reading
Nishikawa, Kinohi. "LeVar Burton". The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature. Ed. Hans Ostrom and J. David Macey Jr., 5 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005. 219.
External links
RRKIDZ (Reading Rainbow) – LeVar Burton, Co-Founder, Curator-in-Chief
Burton / Wolfe Entertainment (production company)
1957 births
African-American male actors
African-American television directors
African-American television personalities
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American men podcasters
American podcasters
American television directors
Daytime Emmy Award winners
Former Roman Catholics
Grammy Award winners
Living people
Male actors from California
Male actors from Sacramento, California
PBS people
Reading Rainbow
USC School of Dramatic Arts alumni
People from Landstuhl
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
HIV/AIDS activists
African-American religious skeptics
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people | true | [
"LeVar Burton Reads is a podcast hosted by LeVar Burton, where he reads a piece of short fiction and shares his thoughts on it.\n\nReception \nLeVar Burton Reads has been well received by both USA Today and The New Yorker.\n\nThe podcast won the 2020 Ignyte Award for Best Fiction Podcast.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n\nhttps://lifehacker.com/you-can-get-levar-burton-to-read-your-work-on-his-podca-1847528167/amp\n\nhttps://www.npr.org/2020/07/29/896764696/levar-burton-is-still-reading-to-us-during-the-pandemic\n\nhttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1174246\n\nhttps://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2018/3/18/17120694/levar-burton-reads-science-fiction-fantasy-short-stories-podcast-pod-hunters\n\nhttps://www.indiewire.com/2017/07/neil-gaiman-levar-burton-reads-podcast-1201860114/amp/\n\nhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/on-parenting/levar-burton-wants-to-read-you-a-story-it-might-be-what-you-need-right-now/2020/05/02/c4ff0022-8976-11ea-ac8a-fe9b8088e101_story.html\n\nhttps://nerdist.com/article/levar-burtons-new-podcast-is-like-reading-rainbow-for-adults/?amp\n\nhttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/reading-rainbow-owner-accuses-levar-burton-theft-extortion-lawsuit-1027372/amp/\n\nhttps://www.vulture.com/2017/10/levar-burton-now-allowed-to-use-reading-rainbow-catchphrase.html\n\nhttps://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/levar-burton-podcast/\n\nhttps://bookriot.com/best-of-levar-burton-reads/amp/\n\nhttps://www.pajiba.com/podcasts_1/review-levar-burton-reads-is-reading-rainbow-for-grownups.php\n\n2017 podcast debuts\nAmerican podcasts\nAudio podcasts\nSpeculative fiction podcasts\nWorks based on short fiction",
"Reading Rainbow is an American educational children's television series that originally aired on PBS from July 11, 1983 to November 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until August 28, 2009. 155 30-minute episodes were produced over 21 seasons. Before its official premiere, the show aired for test audiences in the Nebraska and Buffalo, New York markets (their PBS member stations, the Nebraska ETV [now Nebraska Public Media] and WNED-TV, respectively, were co-producers of the show). \n\nThe show was designed to encourage a love of books and reading among children. In 2012, an iPad and Kindle Fire educational interactive book reading and video field trip application was launched bearing the name of the program.\n\nThe public television series garnered over 200 broadcast awards, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards, 10 of which were in the \"Outstanding Children's Series\" category. The concept of a reading series for children originated with Twila Liggett, PhD who in partnership with Cecily Truett Lancit and Larry Lancit, at Lancit Media Productions in New York created the television series. The original team also included Lynne Brenner Ganek, Ellen Schecter, and host LeVar Burton. The show's title was conceived by an unknown intern at WNED.\n\nEach episode centered on a topic from a featured children's book which was explored through a number of on-location segments or stories. The show also recommended books for children to look for when they went to the library. It is the third-longest running children's series in PBS history, after Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. It was also one of the first PBS shows to be broadcast in stereo.\n\nAfter the show's cancellation on November 10, 2006, reruns aired until August 28, 2009, when it was removed from the schedule. On June 20, 2012, the Reading Rainbow App was released for the iPad and, within 36 hours, became the #1 most-downloaded educational app in the iTunes App Store. Built from the ground up by LeVar Burton and his company, RRKIDZ, the app allows children to read unlimited books, explore video field trips starring Burton, and earn rewards for reading. On the week of July 11, 2013, Reading Rainbow celebrated its 30th anniversary.\n\nIn May 2014, a Kickstarter campaign was launched to raise funds to make the app available online, Android, game consoles, smartphones, and other streaming devices along with creating a classroom version with the subscription fee waived for up to 13,000 disadvantaged classrooms. The effort met its initial fundraising goal of $1,000,000 in 11 hours, and ended a few days later at $5,408,916 from 105,857 backers. This campaign led to the launch of Skybrary by Reading Rainbow, a web-based expansion of the Reading Rainbow app experience.\n\nDue to a legal dispute, licensing of the Reading Rainbow brand was revoked from RRKidz in October 2017, and all its platforms (including Skybrary) were rebranded to LeVar Burton Kids.\n\nShow details\nReading Rainbow was hosted by actor and executive producer LeVar Burton, who at the time was known for his role in Roots. The show was produced first by Lancit Media Entertainment (1983-2001), and then, by On-Screen Entertainment (2002-2006). Every episode featured a different children's picture book, often narrated by a celebrity. The featured story's illustrations were scanned by the camera in a technique known as \"iconographic animation\" of each page shown in succession, although on certain occasions the shots would be animated.\n\nAfter the featured story, Burton visited many places relating to the episode's theme, often featuring interviews with guests. One episode featured a behind-the-scenes look at Star Trek: The Next Generation, a series in which Burton was a main cast member. \n\nThe last segment of each show, called Book Reviews, began with Burton's introductory catchphrase, \"But you don't have to take my word for it,\" and featured children giving capsule reviews of books they liked. At the end of almost every episode, Burton signs-off with \"I'll see you next time.\"\n\nThe series' pilot, which aired as the show's 8th episode in 1983, featured the book Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and was narrated by Doug Parvin. It was created and produced in 1981. The daughters of producer Larry Lancit, Shaune and Caitlin Lancit, were often featured in the series, notably as the children thanking the sponsors at the beginning and end of the show.\n\nTheme song and opening sequence\nThe show's theme song was written by Steve Horelick, Dennis Neil Kleinman, and Janet Weir; Horelick also served as the series' music director and composer for all 155 episodes and received an Emmy nomination in 2007 for his work on the series. Over the show's 23-year run, it went through three different versions of the theme song. The original theme (used from 1983 to 1999) was performed by Tina Fabrique and featured one of the first uses of the Buchla synthesizer in a TV theme song. The original opening sequence, which consisted of an animated butterfly transforming the surroundings of young children reading books into animated fantasy lands, was used until January 1, 1999. The introductory animation was produced by Ovation Films, Inc. and designed and animated by Bill Davis.\n\nOn January 4, 1999, episodes began using a new live-action opening sequence and featured CGI in a space-themed world, with a new arrangement of the original song by Steve Horelick and performed by Johnny Kemp. A third intro was used starting on January 3, 2000, with a rerecorded version with the original lyrics performed by R&B artist Chaka Khan. This opening sequence is mostly the same as the second one, but features footage of Burton in place of some of the animated elements.\n\nFinal years as a TV series (2005–2006)\nOriginal production of the series was to have ended after April 4, 2005, with the show continuing to air in reruns, but host LeVar Burton said on February 7, 2006, that five new episodes of the show would be shot in 2006 despite the continuing financial issues of PBS. The show aired its final original episode on November 10, 2006 and continued to air reruns until 2009.\n\nRelaunch as an app\n\nAnnouncement and early developments (2010–2014)\nFormer executive producer LeVar Burton announced on his Twitter feed on March 19, 2010, that \"Reading Rainbow 2.0 is in the works.\" In 2011, WNED, the PBS affiliate in Buffalo, New York that owns the Reading Rainbow brand, licensed rights to the brand to Burton and his company, RRKidz. On March 4, 2012, he announced that it was the \"last day of shooting before launch!\"\n\nOn June 13, 2012, in a special presentation at Apple Inc's annual World Wide Developers Conference, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, introduced the new Reading Rainbow iPad App. It became available in Apple's iTunes Store on June 20, 2012, and within 36 hours was the #1 educational app. In January 2014, the Reading Rainbow App surpassed 10M books read and video field trips watched by children in 18 months.\n\nKickstarter revival campaign and aftermath (2014–17)\nOn May 28, 2014, LeVar Burton started a Kickstarter fund to revive the show and materials. In under 12 hours the show had reached its $1 million goal. The new goal is to create an educational version for schools to use, free of cost to those schools in need, and help America get back to high literacy rates. They are also going to create a website for students to use to assist them with learning how to read. The following day, May 29, 2014, they reached $2million (double their goal) at 1:15 pm. PST. The campaign raised $5,408,916 on Kickstarter with another $1million from Family Guy creator/animator Seth MacFarlane and $70,000 raised via direct contributions. The grand total was $6,478,916.\n\nWith 105,857 backers, the campaign holds Kickstarter's record for most backers and is the 8th highest amount raised on Kickstarter (as of June 1, 2015).\n\nThe first product of the Kickstarter campaign was Skybrary by Reading Rainbow. Launched in May 2015, it was a web based subscription service that duplicated the Reading Rainbow app experience. In addition to narrating many of the books, Burton hosted video fieldtrips which connected kids to real world experiences at places like NASA HQ and Niagara Falls.\n\nIn March 2016, RRKidz launched a new online educational service called Reading Rainbow Skybrary for Schools that follows the same mission of the television series, while expanding to integrate into classroom curriculums.\n\nIn August 2017, WNED filed a wide-ranging lawsuit against Burton and RRKidz that demanded Burton's company hand over administrative access to other websites and social media accounts. The lawsuit also sought to enjoin Burton from using the Reading Rainbow catchphrase, \"But you don't have to take my word for it,\" on his podcast.\n\nIn October 2017, WNED and RRKidz settled out of court. While the exact terms were confidential, the end result was that RRKidz was no longer a licensee of the Reading Rainbow brand. RRKidz was rebranded LeVar Burton Kids and its services (including Skybrary) removed references to Reading Rainbow. In addition, Burton was allowed to continue using the Reading Rainbow catchphrase. Visiting the official Reading Rainbow website provided a page that stated \"Recent legal disputes between WNED and LeVar Burton/RRKIDZ have been resolved and RRKIDZ no longer licenses the Reading Rainbow brand from WNED. WNED is currently working on the next chapter of Reading Rainbow and will continue its mission of fostering education for a new generation.\"\n\nWNED announced in November 2018 that research and development had begun on a new Reading Rainbow program thanks to a $200,000 grant from The John R. Oishei Foundation.\n\nSkybrary was acquired by Reading is Fundamental in March 2019.\n\nAccolades\n\nAnimation producers\n\nFeature Book filming\nThe photographing of the Feature Book segments was by:\n Centron Films (1983–1987; renamed in 1986 to \"Centron Productions Inc.\")\n Loren Dolezal (1988–1998; renamed in 1995 to \"Dolezal Animation\"); Take Ten Animation teamed up with Dolezal from 1995 to 1998.\n On Screen Entertainment (2000–2006)\n Roger Holden, designer of the digital animation photography system used by Centron Films to film the Feature Book segments (1983–87)\n\nGuest readers and contributors\n\n Marv Albert\n Jason Alexander (Pet Stories You Don't Have to Walk)\n Maya Angelou (All the Colors of the Race)\n Michael Ansara (The Gift of the Sacred Dog, Sheila MacGill-Callahan's and Barry Moser's And Still the Turtle Watched)\n Lucie Arnaz (When Aunt Lena Did the Rhumba)\n Edward Asner (Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo)\n James Avery (Berlioz the Bear, Game Day)\n Hoyt Axton (Meanwhile Back at the Ranch)\n Julia Barr (Raccoons and Ripe Corn, Deer at the Brook, Come Out, Muskrats)\n Angela Bassett (The Wonderful Towers of Watts)\n Orson Bean (The Runaway Duck)\n Philip Bosco (Desert Giant: The World of the Saguaro Cactus)\n Reizl Bozyk (Mrs. Katz and Tush)\n Wayne Brady (Mr. George Baker)\n Jeff Bridges (The Tin Forest)\n Fran Brill (Dive to the Coral Reefs)\n Matthew Broderick (Owen)\n Ruth Buzzi (Miss Nelson is Back)\n David Canary (Work Song)\n Jose Canseco\n Diahann Carroll (Show Way)\n Dixie Carter (Come a Tide)\n Lacey Chabert (Snowy Day: Stories and Poems)\n Julia Child (Florence and Eric Take the Cake)\n Roy Clark (Barn Dance)\n Kevin Clash (Elmo from Sesame Street)\n Imogene Coca (Imogene's Antlers)\n James Coco (Perfect the Pig)\n Tim Conway (The Secret Shortcut)\n Bill Cosby (Arthur's Eyes, Dennis Nolan's Big Pig)\n Denise Crosby\n Jim Cummings (Frog and Toad)\n Jane Curtin (Duncan and Dolores)\n Tyne Daly (Amazing Grace)\n Keith David (Follow the Drinking Gourd)\n Ossie Davis (Summer)\n Ruby Dee (Simon's Book, Tar Beach, Badger's Parting Gifts)\n Josie de Guzman (Saturday Sancocho)\n Brian Dennehy (Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express)\n Phyllis Diller (Ludlow Laughs)\n Michael Dorn\n Ann Duquesnay (Hip Cat)\n Eliza Dushku (Unique Monique)\n Buddy Ebsen (Steven Kellogg's Paul Bunyan)\n Georgia Engel (Chickens Aren't the Only Ones)\n Hector Elizondo (Brush)\n Fernando Escandon (Hill of Fire)\n Lola Falana (Sophie and Lou)\n Peter Falk (The Robbery at the Diamond Dog Diner)\n Jamie Farr (The Sign Painter's Dream)\n Barbara Feldon (The Life Cycle of the Honeybee)\n Tovah Feldshuh (The Piggy in the Puddle)\n Ron Foster (My Little Island)\n Jonathan Frakes\n Vincent Gardenia (Louis the Fish, The Adventures of Taxi Dog)\n Richard Gere\n Jack Gilford (The Purple Coat)\n Whoopi Goldberg\n Jane Goodall\n Robert Guillaume (My Shadow)\n Lorne Greene (Ox-Cart Man)\n Ed Harris (Enemy Pie)\n Jo Hayden (Martha Speaks)\n Jim Henson (Kermit the Frog from The Muppets)\n William Hickey (Dennis Nolan's Monster Bubbles: A Counting Book, Willi Glasauer's (Greetings from the Surreal)\n Gregory Hines (Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin)\n Anna Holbrook (Regina's Big Mistake)\n Lena Horne (Snowy Day: Stories and Poems)\n Beth Howland (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie)\n Scott Irby-Ranniar (My Life with the Wave)\n Anne Jackson (Stellaluna)\n Victoria Jackson (Tooth-Gnasher Superflash)\n James Earl Jones (Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain)\n Raul Julia (Mystery on the Docks)\n Madeline Kahn (Bea and Mr. Jones)\n Carol Kane (Someplace Else)\n Charles Kimbrough (June 29, 1999)\n Regina King (Max)\n Eartha Kitt (Is This a House for Hermit Crab?)\n Linda Lavin (Ruth Law Thrills a Nation)\n Robin Leach\n Michael Learned (Appelemando's Dreams)\n Maya Lin\n Viveca Lindfors (Rechenka's Eggs)\n Amy Linker (A Chair for My Mother)\n Keye Luke (The Paper Crane)\n Michele Mariana (Stay Away from the Junkyard!)\n Olga Merediz (Borreguita and the Coyote)\n Andrea McArdle (Lemonade for Sale)\n Gates McFadden\n Bobby McFerrin\n Mark McGwire\n Marilyn Michaels (Gregory the Terrible Eater)\n Stephanie Mills (Bea and Mr. Jones)\n Helen Mirren (How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World)\n Robert Morse (Sunken Treasure)\n Fred Newman (Mama Don't Allow, Fox on the Job)\n Jerry Orbach (Germs Make Me Sick!)\n Corinne Orr (Aliki's Mummies Made in Egypt)\n Frank Oz (Fozzie Bear from The Muppets)\n Jane Pauley (Humphrey the Lost Whale: A True Story)\n Peter Pitofsky\n Faith Prince (Nosey Mrs. Rat)\n Freddie Prinze Jr. (Beegu)\n Keshia Knight Pulliam (The Magic School Bus: Inside the Earth)\n Gilda Radner (The Tortoise and the Hare)\n Phylicia Rashad (Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters)\n Lou Rawls (Ty's One Man Band)\n Alaina Reed (The Milk Makers)\n Lionel Richie\n Jason Robards (Sam the Sea Cow)\n Al Roker (Hail to Mail)\n Zelda Rubinstein (A Three Hat Day)\n Run-D.M.C.\n Lea Salonga (Silent Lotus)\n Isabel Sanford (The Patchwork Quilt)\n Susan Sarandon (The Shaman's Apprentice: A Tale of the Amazon Rainforest)\n Josh Saviano (Little Nino's Pizzeria)\n John Sebastian\n Pete Seeger (Abiyoyo)\n Martin Short (Animal Cafe)\n Marina Sirtis\n Phoebe Snow (The Gift of the Sacred Dog)\n Brent Spiner\n Arnold Stang (Alistair in Outer Space, Alistair's Time Machine, Archibald Frisby)\n Stomp\n Patrick Stewart (On the Day You Were Born)\n Jerry Stiller (Digging Up Dinosaurs)\n Regina Taylor (Uncle Jed's Barber Shop)\n Lynne Thigpen (The Salamander Room)\n Sada Thompson (Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie)\n Lauren Tom (Liang and the Magic Paintbrush)\n Michelle Trachtenberg (Math Curse)\n Alex Trebek\n Leslie Uggams (Jack, the Seal and the Sea)\n Ben Vereen (Ty's One Man Band)\n Ralph Waite (Rumplestilitskin)\n Bree Walker\n Eli Wallach (Once There Was a Tree)\n Adam West (The Bionic Bunny Show)\n Steve Whitmire (Waldo C. Graphic from The Muppets)\n William Windom (Hot-Air Henry)\n Michael Winslow (Space Case)\n Hattie Winston (Galimoto)\n Alfre Woodard (Visiting Day)\n\nWriting and illustrating contest\n\nIn 1995, the creators launched the first contest called \"Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest\". The annual writing and illustrating competition for children grades K through 3 continued until 2009 when it was relaunched as \"PBS Kids Go! Writers Contest\". It was renamed to the PBS Kids Writers Contest in 2014.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n \n ReadingRainbow.com Reading Rainbow website by RRKidz, Inc.\n Reading Rainbow App for Kindle Fire on the Amazon Appstore\n Reading Rainbow App for iPad on the Apple App Store\n\n \n1983 American television series debuts\n2006 American television series endings\n1980s American children's television series\n1990s American children's television series\n2000s American children's television series\nAmerican children's adventure television series\nAmerican children's education television series\nAmerican children's fantasy television series\nAmerican television series with live action and animation\nEnglish-language television shows\nKickstarter-funded software\nPBS Kids shows\nPBS original programming\nReading and literacy television series"
] |
[
"LeVar Burton",
"Reading Rainbow",
"What was LeVar Burton's involvement with Reading Rainbow?",
"Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow",
"When did the Reading Rainbow start?",
"starting in 1983 for PBS.",
"What audience was the show for?",
"one of the longest-running children's programs on the network.",
"What was the content of the show?",
"The series ran for 23 seasons,",
"What did Burton do after Reading Rainbow?",
"Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ,"
] | C_7ffd221fa08847e0bf27d7a5b2cf04a5_0 | Did the show win any awards? | 6 | Did the Reading Rainbow win any awards? | LeVar Burton | Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons, making it one of the longest-running children's programs on the network. The series garnered over 200 broadcast awards over its run, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards, 11 of which were in the Outstanding Children's Series category. Burton himself won 12 Emmy awards as host and producer of the show. After Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, a new media company for children. Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. At RRKIDZ, Burton serves as co-founder and curator-in-chief, ensuring that the projects produced under the banner meet the high expectations and trust of the Reading Rainbow brand. On May 28, 2014, Burton and numerous coworkers from other past works started a Kickstarter campaign project to bring back Reading Rainbow. To keep with the changing formats to which young children are exposed, his efforts are being directed at making this new program web-based, following the success of the tablet application he helped create in recent years. His desire is to have the new Reading Rainbow be integrated into the classrooms of elementary schools across the country, and for schools in need to have free access. The Kickstarter campaign has since raised over $5 million, reaching triple its goal in only three days. CANNOTANSWER | The series garnered over 200 broadcast awards over its run, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards, | Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and children's television host. He is known for his roles as Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), and as host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for more than 23 years (1983–2006), for which he has received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards, and a Peabody Award as host and executive producer of the show.
His other roles include Cap Jackson in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Donald Lang in Dummy (1979), Tommy Price in The Hunter (1980), which earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, and Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali (2001). Burton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards for his narration of the book The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1990, he was honored for his achievements in television with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Burton was chosen as the Grand Marshal of the 2022 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, on October 5, 2021. He presided over the parade and the afternoon Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2022.
Early life
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. was born in Landstuhl, West Germany. His mother, Erma Gene (née Christian), was a social worker, administrator, and educator, while his father and namesake was a photographer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps stationed at Landstuhl at the time of his son's birth. Burton and his two sisters were raised by his mother in Sacramento, California.
As a teen, Burton, who was raised Roman Catholic, entered St. Pius X Minor Seminary in Galt, California, intending to become a priest. At 17, questioning the Catholic faith, he changed his vocation to acting, and at 19, while an undergraduate at the University of Southern California, he won a starring role in the 1977 television miniseries Roots.
Career
Early work
Burton made his acting debut in 1976 with Almos' a Man, a film based on the Richard Wright short story "The Man Who Was Almost a Man," in which he stars alongside Madge Sinclair.
Roots
Burton's breakthrough role was as the young Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), based on the novel of the same name by Alex Haley. Burton has described his first day playing Kunta as the start of his professional career. As a result of his performance, he was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series category.
He reprised the role of Kunta Kinte in the 1988 television film Roots: The Gift. When asked about the societal influence of Roots, Burton is quoted as saying: "It expanded the consciousness of people. Blacks and whites began to see each other as human beings, not as stereotypes. And if you throw a pebble into the pond, you're going to get ripples. I think the only constant is change, and it's always slow. Anything that happens overnight is lacking in foundation. Roots is part of a changing trend, and it's still being played out."
Reading Rainbow
Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons.
After Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, a new media company for children. Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. At RRKIDZ, Burton serves as co-founder and curator-in-chief, ensuring that the projects produced under the banner meet the high expectations and trust of the Reading Rainbow brand.
On May 28, 2014, Burton and numerous coworkers from other past works started a Kickstarter campaign project to bring back Reading Rainbow. To keep with the changing formats to which young children are exposed, his efforts are being directed at making this new program web based, following the success of the tablet application he helped create in recent years. His desire is to have the new Reading Rainbow be integrated into the classrooms of elementary schools across the country, and for schools in need to have free access. The Kickstarter campaign has since raised more than $5 million, reaching triple its goal in only three days.
In 2017, Burton was sued by the public broadcasting company WNED-TV for alleged copyright infringement for use of the Reading Rainbow brand in marketing the new iPad app and other online media. RRKIDZ later became known as LeVar Burton Kids and the iPad app, Skybrary.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
In 1986, Gene Roddenberry approached Burton with the role of the then Lieutenant Junior Grade Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. The character is blind but is granted "sight" through the use of a prosthetic device called a VISOR worn over his eyes. La Forge started out serving as the USS Enterprise's helmsman, and as of the show's second season, had become its chief engineer. At the time, Burton was considerably better known than Patrick Stewart in the United States, due to his roles in Roots and Reading Rainbow. When the show premiered, the Associated Press stated that Burton's role was essentially the "new Spock." In a 2019 interview, Burton laughed in disbelief at the idea, stating "that speculation never came to fruition."
Burton also portrayed La Forge in the subsequent feature films based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, from Star Trek Generations (1994) to Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).
He directed two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and several episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise.
Other appearances
Burton played a role as a visitor to Fantasy Island, guest star on “The Love Boat”, was a participant in Battle of the Network Stars, a guest of the Muppet Shows televised premiere party for the release of The Muppet Movie, and a frequent guest on several game shows.
In 1986, he appeared in the music video for the song "Word Up!" by the funk/R&B group Cameo.
In 1987, Burton played Dave Robinson, a journalist (sports writer), in the third season of Murder, She Wrote, episode 16 – "Death Takes a Dive", starring Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher.
Burton accepted an invitation to host Rebop, a multicultural series designed for young people aged 9–15, produced by WGBH for PBS.
On television, Burton has helped dramatize the last days of Jim Jones's suicide cult in Guyana, the life and times of Jesse Owens, and the life of the nine-year-old Booker T. Washington. He portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2001 film Ali. He also portrayed Detroit Tiger Ron LeFlore in the television movie One in a Million, The Ron LeFlore Story.
In 1992, a clip of Burton's voice was sampled by DC Talk for the track "Time is..." on their album Free at Last. The sample is at the very end of the song, in which Burton can be heard saying: "Whoa, wait a minute."
He has also lent his voice to several animated projects, including Kwame in the cartoon series Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990–1993) and The New Adventures of Captain Planet (1993–1996), Family Guy, Batman: The Animated Series and Gargoyles. Burton is on the audio version of The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. Burton has been cast as voice actor for Black Lightning in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD.
Burton appeared several times as a celebrity guest on the Dick Clark-hosted $25,000 and $100,000 Pyramids, from 1982 until 1988. Burton also was the strongest link in the special Star Trek episode of The Weakest Link. He defeated his final opponent Robert Picardo and won $167,500 for his charity, Junior Achievement of Southern California, a record for the show at that time and the largest amount won in any Celebrity Edition of the show (it was later surpassed by a $188,500 win in a "Tournament of Losers" episode).
He has made appearances in such sitcoms as Becker.
Burton is the host and executive producer of a documentary titled The Science of Peace, which was in production as of 2007. It investigates the science and technology aimed at enabling world peace, sometimes called peace science. The film explores some of the concepts of shared noetic consciousness, having been sponsored in part by the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
He appeared in an April Fool's episode of Smosh pretending to have taken over the channel and making various edits at popular Smosh videos.
He makes occasional appearances on This Week in Tech, where he is a self-proclaimed "nerd", and also participated in the Consumer Electronics Show 2010.
In 2010, he made an appearance on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! as the ghost of himself in the episode "Greene Machine".
In February 2011, Burton made an appearance as himself on NBC's Community in the episode "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking", and then again in January 2014's "Geothermal Escapism".
Burton has appeared as a fictionalized, humorous version of himself on The Big Bang Theory, first appearing in the episode "The Toast Derivation", in which he almost attends a party thrown by Sheldon (before swearing off Twitter), in November 2012 in the episode "The Habitation Configuration", in which he appears on "Fun With Flags" in exchange for lunch and gas money, and again in the November 2014 episode "The Champagne Reflection", in which he returns for the 232nd episode of "Fun With Flags" in exchange for Sheldon deleting his contact details.
In 2012, he had a recurring role as dean Paul Haley on the TNT series Perception. For the second season (2013), he became part of the regular cast.
In 2014, he had a guest appearance in an introduction section for the 200th episode of Achievement Hunter's show, Achievement Hunter Weekly Update (AHWU). In May 2014, he appeared as a guest on the YouTube channel SciShow, explaining the science behind double, tertiary, and quaternary rainbows. Late in 2014, he had another guest appearance on a 24-hour Extra Life, a fundraising organization for Children's Miracle Network hospitals, stream by Rooster Teeth. Burton has also taped a recycling field trip for YouTube.
In 2017, Burton began a podcast, LeVar Burton Reads. Each episode features Burton reading a short story. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he continues to read on his podcast and also give live readings three times a week during a Twitter livestream focused at different time to different children, young adults, and adult audiences.
In November 2020, he appeared as himself on The Eric Andre Show. His segment was a callback to Lance Reddick's interview (2013) in which he mentioned LeVar by name and dressed as an amalgam of Kunta Kinte and Geordi La Forge.
Burton served as a guest host on Jeopardy! from July 26 to July 30, 2021. This came after a petition asking the show's producers to select him was signed by more than 250,000 fans. Unfortunately, the ratings were less than ideal due to tapering audience curiosity and forced viewership competition with NBC's coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which trampled syndicated shows across the board.
Burton also teaches the "Power of Storytelling" in the MasterClass.
Directing
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Burton directed episodes for each of the various Star Trek series then in production. He has directed more Star Trek episodes than any other former regular cast member.
He has also directed episodes of Charmed, JAG, Las Vegas, and Soul Food: The Series, as well as the miniseries Miracle's Boys and the biopic The Tiger Woods Story. He also directed the 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie Smart House starring Katey Sagal, Kevin Kilner and Jessica Steen. In August 2020, it was revealed that Burton will sit in the director's chair for Two-Front War from Lou Reda Productions, a multi-perspective docuseries will give "an emotionally raw look at the connection between the fight for civil rights in America and the struggle for equality of Black soldiers in Vietnam".
His first theatrical film direction was Blizzard (2003), for which he received a "Best of Fest" award from the Chicago International Children's Film Festival, and a Genie Award nomination for his work on the film's theme song, "Center of My Heart".
Burton is on the board of directors for the Directors Guild of America.
Personal life
LeVar Burton married Stephanie Cozart, a professional make-up artist, on October 3, 1992. Burton has two children, son Eian Burton Smith and daughter Michaela "Mica" Jean Burton. The family lives in Sherman Oaks, California.
Burton does not identify with any religion, saying: "I walked away from the seminary, I walked away from Catholicism, I walked away from organized religion because I felt that there was more for me to explore in the world, and that I could do that without adhering to one specific belief system or another."
In 2012, Burton joined the board of directors for the AIDS Research Alliance, a non-profit, medical research organization dedicated to finding a cure for AIDS.
In 2016, Burton was one of the five inaugural honorees to the Sacramento Walk of Stars. In 2019, Councilmember Larry Carr, representing the Meadowview neighborhood, led the renaming of Richfield Park to LeVar Burton Park in his honor. The park is in the Meadowview neighborhood, near the house where Burton and his sisters grew up.
Filmography
Awards and honors
Awards
Nominations
1977 – Emmy – Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Performance in a Drama or Comedy Series – Roots (Part 1, "Kunta Kinte")
1998, 2001, 2005 – Image Awards variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special — Reading Rainbow (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Self)
2004 – Genie Award – Best Achievement in Music-Original Song – Blizzard (Co-composer "Center of My Heart")
2006 – Black Reel Award – Best Director-Television – Miracle's Boys
Wins
1990 – Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7030 Hollywood Boulevard for television achievement
1992 – Peabody Award – Reading Rainbow (as executive producer of episode, "The Wall")
1994, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003 – Image Award – variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special – Reading Rainbow (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
2000 – Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album – The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.
1990, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
2001, 2002 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Self)
2003 – Television Critics Association Award – Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
2004 – Chicago International Children's Film Festival – Best of Fest – Blizzard (Director)
Books
Aftermath, 1997,
The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm, 2014,
A Kids Book About Imagination, 2021,
See also
References
Further reading
Nishikawa, Kinohi. "LeVar Burton". The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature. Ed. Hans Ostrom and J. David Macey Jr., 5 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005. 219.
External links
RRKIDZ (Reading Rainbow) – LeVar Burton, Co-Founder, Curator-in-Chief
Burton / Wolfe Entertainment (production company)
1957 births
African-American male actors
African-American television directors
African-American television personalities
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American men podcasters
American podcasters
American television directors
Daytime Emmy Award winners
Former Roman Catholics
Grammy Award winners
Living people
Male actors from California
Male actors from Sacramento, California
PBS people
Reading Rainbow
USC School of Dramatic Arts alumni
People from Landstuhl
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
HIV/AIDS activists
African-American religious skeptics
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people | false | [
"The Star Awards for Best Variety Special is an award presented annually at the Star Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1994.\n\nThe category was introduced in 1998, at the 5th Star Awards ceremony; NKF 5th Anniversary Charity Show received the award and it is given in honour of a Mediacorp variety special which has delivered an outstanding overall performance. The nominees are determined by a team of judges employed by Mediacorp; winners are selected by a majority vote from the entire judging panel.\n\nSince its inception, the award has been given to 19 variety specials. Star Awards 2019 is the most recent winner in this category. Since the ceremony held in 2015, NKF Charity Show and Star Awards remain as the only two variety specials to win in this category six times, surpassing Ren Ci Charity Show which has two wins. In addition, Star Awards has been nominated on 18 occasions, more than any other variety special. Lunar New Year's Eve Special holds the record for most nominations without a win, with 11.\n\nThe award was not presented in 2000 & 2018.\n\nRecipients\n\n Each year is linked to the article about the Star Awards held that year.\n\nCategory facts\nMost wins\n\nMost nominations\n\nSee also \nStar Awards\nStar Awards for Best Variety Show Host\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\nStar Awards",
"The 49th Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California in 1997. They were presented in two ceremonies hosted by Bryant Gumbel, one on Saturday, September 13 and another on Sunday, September 14. The September 14th ceremony was televised on CBS.\n\nFrasier became the first series to win Outstanding Comedy Series four consecutive years, it joined Hill Street Blues which won Outstanding Drama Series four straight years a decade earlier. For the first time since 1979, James Burrows did not receive a Directing nomination, ending his run at 17 consecutive years. Beginning the following year, Burrows would begin a new streak that lasted another six years. In the drama field perennial nominee Law & Order won for its seventh season, the first time a show had won for this specific season. In winning Law & Order became the first drama series that did not have serialized story arcs since Hill Street Blues perfected the formula. Law & Order remains the only non-serialized winner since 1981.\n\nFor the first time, not only did the Fox Network win the Lead Actress, Drama award, with Gillian Anderson, for The X-Files, but hers was also the network's first win in any of the Major Acting categories. (Laurence Fishburne and Peter Boyle won for Fox in only guest performances. The latter of which was for The X-Files just the year before.)\n\nThis ceremony marked the end of a 20-year residency for the Primetime Emmy Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium dating back to the 29th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1977 ceremony.\n\nThis is the most recent year in which the Big Four Networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC) took home the top 14 Emmys (Comedy and Drama Series, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress in Comedy and Drama, and Directing and Writing for Comedy and Drama).\n\nThe Larry Sanders Show had 16 nominations and zero wins, tying the record with Northern Exposure in 1993 and becoming the first (and only to date) comedy series to set the record. These records with later be broken by Mad Men in 2012 with 17 nominations and without a single win and The Handmaid's Tale in 2021 with 21 nominations and without a single win.\n\nWinners and nominees\n\nPrograms\n\nActing\n\nLead performances\n\nSupporting performances\n\nGuest performances\n\nDirecting\n\nWriting\n\nMost major nominations\nBy network \n NBC – 50\n HBO – 41\n CBS – 21\n ABC – 19\n\nBy program\n ER (NBC) – 14\n The Larry Sanders Show (HBO) – 12\n NYPD Blue (ABC) – 8\n Seinfeld (NBC) – 7\n Chicago Hope (CBS) / Frasier (NBC) / Mad About You (NBC) / Miss Evers' Boys (HBO) – 6\n\nMost major awards\nBy network \n NBC – 11\n HBO – 7\n ABC – 6\n CBS – 2\n PBS – 2\n\nBy program\n NYPD Blue (ABC) – 4\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Emmys.com list of 1997 Nominees & Winners\n \n\n049\nPrimetime Emmy Awards\n1997 in California\nEvents in Pasadena, California\nSeptember 1997 events in the United States\n20th century in Pasadena, California"
] |
[
"LeVar Burton",
"Reading Rainbow",
"What was LeVar Burton's involvement with Reading Rainbow?",
"Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow",
"When did the Reading Rainbow start?",
"starting in 1983 for PBS.",
"What audience was the show for?",
"one of the longest-running children's programs on the network.",
"What was the content of the show?",
"The series ran for 23 seasons,",
"What did Burton do after Reading Rainbow?",
"Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ,",
"Did the show win any awards?",
"The series garnered over 200 broadcast awards over its run, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards,"
] | C_7ffd221fa08847e0bf27d7a5b2cf04a5_0 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 7 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article in addition to the show winning a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards?? | LeVar Burton | Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons, making it one of the longest-running children's programs on the network. The series garnered over 200 broadcast awards over its run, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards, 11 of which were in the Outstanding Children's Series category. Burton himself won 12 Emmy awards as host and producer of the show. After Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, a new media company for children. Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. At RRKIDZ, Burton serves as co-founder and curator-in-chief, ensuring that the projects produced under the banner meet the high expectations and trust of the Reading Rainbow brand. On May 28, 2014, Burton and numerous coworkers from other past works started a Kickstarter campaign project to bring back Reading Rainbow. To keep with the changing formats to which young children are exposed, his efforts are being directed at making this new program web-based, following the success of the tablet application he helped create in recent years. His desire is to have the new Reading Rainbow be integrated into the classrooms of elementary schools across the country, and for schools in need to have free access. The Kickstarter campaign has since raised over $5 million, reaching triple its goal in only three days. CANNOTANSWER | Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, | Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and children's television host. He is known for his roles as Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), and as host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for more than 23 years (1983–2006), for which he has received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards, and a Peabody Award as host and executive producer of the show.
His other roles include Cap Jackson in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Donald Lang in Dummy (1979), Tommy Price in The Hunter (1980), which earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, and Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali (2001). Burton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards for his narration of the book The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1990, he was honored for his achievements in television with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Burton was chosen as the Grand Marshal of the 2022 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, on October 5, 2021. He presided over the parade and the afternoon Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2022.
Early life
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. was born in Landstuhl, West Germany. His mother, Erma Gene (née Christian), was a social worker, administrator, and educator, while his father and namesake was a photographer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps stationed at Landstuhl at the time of his son's birth. Burton and his two sisters were raised by his mother in Sacramento, California.
As a teen, Burton, who was raised Roman Catholic, entered St. Pius X Minor Seminary in Galt, California, intending to become a priest. At 17, questioning the Catholic faith, he changed his vocation to acting, and at 19, while an undergraduate at the University of Southern California, he won a starring role in the 1977 television miniseries Roots.
Career
Early work
Burton made his acting debut in 1976 with Almos' a Man, a film based on the Richard Wright short story "The Man Who Was Almost a Man," in which he stars alongside Madge Sinclair.
Roots
Burton's breakthrough role was as the young Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), based on the novel of the same name by Alex Haley. Burton has described his first day playing Kunta as the start of his professional career. As a result of his performance, he was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series category.
He reprised the role of Kunta Kinte in the 1988 television film Roots: The Gift. When asked about the societal influence of Roots, Burton is quoted as saying: "It expanded the consciousness of people. Blacks and whites began to see each other as human beings, not as stereotypes. And if you throw a pebble into the pond, you're going to get ripples. I think the only constant is change, and it's always slow. Anything that happens overnight is lacking in foundation. Roots is part of a changing trend, and it's still being played out."
Reading Rainbow
Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons.
After Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, a new media company for children. Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. At RRKIDZ, Burton serves as co-founder and curator-in-chief, ensuring that the projects produced under the banner meet the high expectations and trust of the Reading Rainbow brand.
On May 28, 2014, Burton and numerous coworkers from other past works started a Kickstarter campaign project to bring back Reading Rainbow. To keep with the changing formats to which young children are exposed, his efforts are being directed at making this new program web based, following the success of the tablet application he helped create in recent years. His desire is to have the new Reading Rainbow be integrated into the classrooms of elementary schools across the country, and for schools in need to have free access. The Kickstarter campaign has since raised more than $5 million, reaching triple its goal in only three days.
In 2017, Burton was sued by the public broadcasting company WNED-TV for alleged copyright infringement for use of the Reading Rainbow brand in marketing the new iPad app and other online media. RRKIDZ later became known as LeVar Burton Kids and the iPad app, Skybrary.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
In 1986, Gene Roddenberry approached Burton with the role of the then Lieutenant Junior Grade Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. The character is blind but is granted "sight" through the use of a prosthetic device called a VISOR worn over his eyes. La Forge started out serving as the USS Enterprise's helmsman, and as of the show's second season, had become its chief engineer. At the time, Burton was considerably better known than Patrick Stewart in the United States, due to his roles in Roots and Reading Rainbow. When the show premiered, the Associated Press stated that Burton's role was essentially the "new Spock." In a 2019 interview, Burton laughed in disbelief at the idea, stating "that speculation never came to fruition."
Burton also portrayed La Forge in the subsequent feature films based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, from Star Trek Generations (1994) to Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).
He directed two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and several episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise.
Other appearances
Burton played a role as a visitor to Fantasy Island, guest star on “The Love Boat”, was a participant in Battle of the Network Stars, a guest of the Muppet Shows televised premiere party for the release of The Muppet Movie, and a frequent guest on several game shows.
In 1986, he appeared in the music video for the song "Word Up!" by the funk/R&B group Cameo.
In 1987, Burton played Dave Robinson, a journalist (sports writer), in the third season of Murder, She Wrote, episode 16 – "Death Takes a Dive", starring Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher.
Burton accepted an invitation to host Rebop, a multicultural series designed for young people aged 9–15, produced by WGBH for PBS.
On television, Burton has helped dramatize the last days of Jim Jones's suicide cult in Guyana, the life and times of Jesse Owens, and the life of the nine-year-old Booker T. Washington. He portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2001 film Ali. He also portrayed Detroit Tiger Ron LeFlore in the television movie One in a Million, The Ron LeFlore Story.
In 1992, a clip of Burton's voice was sampled by DC Talk for the track "Time is..." on their album Free at Last. The sample is at the very end of the song, in which Burton can be heard saying: "Whoa, wait a minute."
He has also lent his voice to several animated projects, including Kwame in the cartoon series Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990–1993) and The New Adventures of Captain Planet (1993–1996), Family Guy, Batman: The Animated Series and Gargoyles. Burton is on the audio version of The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. Burton has been cast as voice actor for Black Lightning in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD.
Burton appeared several times as a celebrity guest on the Dick Clark-hosted $25,000 and $100,000 Pyramids, from 1982 until 1988. Burton also was the strongest link in the special Star Trek episode of The Weakest Link. He defeated his final opponent Robert Picardo and won $167,500 for his charity, Junior Achievement of Southern California, a record for the show at that time and the largest amount won in any Celebrity Edition of the show (it was later surpassed by a $188,500 win in a "Tournament of Losers" episode).
He has made appearances in such sitcoms as Becker.
Burton is the host and executive producer of a documentary titled The Science of Peace, which was in production as of 2007. It investigates the science and technology aimed at enabling world peace, sometimes called peace science. The film explores some of the concepts of shared noetic consciousness, having been sponsored in part by the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
He appeared in an April Fool's episode of Smosh pretending to have taken over the channel and making various edits at popular Smosh videos.
He makes occasional appearances on This Week in Tech, where he is a self-proclaimed "nerd", and also participated in the Consumer Electronics Show 2010.
In 2010, he made an appearance on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! as the ghost of himself in the episode "Greene Machine".
In February 2011, Burton made an appearance as himself on NBC's Community in the episode "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking", and then again in January 2014's "Geothermal Escapism".
Burton has appeared as a fictionalized, humorous version of himself on The Big Bang Theory, first appearing in the episode "The Toast Derivation", in which he almost attends a party thrown by Sheldon (before swearing off Twitter), in November 2012 in the episode "The Habitation Configuration", in which he appears on "Fun With Flags" in exchange for lunch and gas money, and again in the November 2014 episode "The Champagne Reflection", in which he returns for the 232nd episode of "Fun With Flags" in exchange for Sheldon deleting his contact details.
In 2012, he had a recurring role as dean Paul Haley on the TNT series Perception. For the second season (2013), he became part of the regular cast.
In 2014, he had a guest appearance in an introduction section for the 200th episode of Achievement Hunter's show, Achievement Hunter Weekly Update (AHWU). In May 2014, he appeared as a guest on the YouTube channel SciShow, explaining the science behind double, tertiary, and quaternary rainbows. Late in 2014, he had another guest appearance on a 24-hour Extra Life, a fundraising organization for Children's Miracle Network hospitals, stream by Rooster Teeth. Burton has also taped a recycling field trip for YouTube.
In 2017, Burton began a podcast, LeVar Burton Reads. Each episode features Burton reading a short story. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he continues to read on his podcast and also give live readings three times a week during a Twitter livestream focused at different time to different children, young adults, and adult audiences.
In November 2020, he appeared as himself on The Eric Andre Show. His segment was a callback to Lance Reddick's interview (2013) in which he mentioned LeVar by name and dressed as an amalgam of Kunta Kinte and Geordi La Forge.
Burton served as a guest host on Jeopardy! from July 26 to July 30, 2021. This came after a petition asking the show's producers to select him was signed by more than 250,000 fans. Unfortunately, the ratings were less than ideal due to tapering audience curiosity and forced viewership competition with NBC's coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which trampled syndicated shows across the board.
Burton also teaches the "Power of Storytelling" in the MasterClass.
Directing
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Burton directed episodes for each of the various Star Trek series then in production. He has directed more Star Trek episodes than any other former regular cast member.
He has also directed episodes of Charmed, JAG, Las Vegas, and Soul Food: The Series, as well as the miniseries Miracle's Boys and the biopic The Tiger Woods Story. He also directed the 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie Smart House starring Katey Sagal, Kevin Kilner and Jessica Steen. In August 2020, it was revealed that Burton will sit in the director's chair for Two-Front War from Lou Reda Productions, a multi-perspective docuseries will give "an emotionally raw look at the connection between the fight for civil rights in America and the struggle for equality of Black soldiers in Vietnam".
His first theatrical film direction was Blizzard (2003), for which he received a "Best of Fest" award from the Chicago International Children's Film Festival, and a Genie Award nomination for his work on the film's theme song, "Center of My Heart".
Burton is on the board of directors for the Directors Guild of America.
Personal life
LeVar Burton married Stephanie Cozart, a professional make-up artist, on October 3, 1992. Burton has two children, son Eian Burton Smith and daughter Michaela "Mica" Jean Burton. The family lives in Sherman Oaks, California.
Burton does not identify with any religion, saying: "I walked away from the seminary, I walked away from Catholicism, I walked away from organized religion because I felt that there was more for me to explore in the world, and that I could do that without adhering to one specific belief system or another."
In 2012, Burton joined the board of directors for the AIDS Research Alliance, a non-profit, medical research organization dedicated to finding a cure for AIDS.
In 2016, Burton was one of the five inaugural honorees to the Sacramento Walk of Stars. In 2019, Councilmember Larry Carr, representing the Meadowview neighborhood, led the renaming of Richfield Park to LeVar Burton Park in his honor. The park is in the Meadowview neighborhood, near the house where Burton and his sisters grew up.
Filmography
Awards and honors
Awards
Nominations
1977 – Emmy – Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Performance in a Drama or Comedy Series – Roots (Part 1, "Kunta Kinte")
1998, 2001, 2005 – Image Awards variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special — Reading Rainbow (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Self)
2004 – Genie Award – Best Achievement in Music-Original Song – Blizzard (Co-composer "Center of My Heart")
2006 – Black Reel Award – Best Director-Television – Miracle's Boys
Wins
1990 – Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7030 Hollywood Boulevard for television achievement
1992 – Peabody Award – Reading Rainbow (as executive producer of episode, "The Wall")
1994, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003 – Image Award – variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special – Reading Rainbow (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
2000 – Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album – The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.
1990, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
2001, 2002 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Self)
2003 – Television Critics Association Award – Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
2004 – Chicago International Children's Film Festival – Best of Fest – Blizzard (Director)
Books
Aftermath, 1997,
The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm, 2014,
A Kids Book About Imagination, 2021,
See also
References
Further reading
Nishikawa, Kinohi. "LeVar Burton". The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature. Ed. Hans Ostrom and J. David Macey Jr., 5 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005. 219.
External links
RRKIDZ (Reading Rainbow) – LeVar Burton, Co-Founder, Curator-in-Chief
Burton / Wolfe Entertainment (production company)
1957 births
African-American male actors
African-American television directors
African-American television personalities
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American men podcasters
American podcasters
American television directors
Daytime Emmy Award winners
Former Roman Catholics
Grammy Award winners
Living people
Male actors from California
Male actors from Sacramento, California
PBS people
Reading Rainbow
USC School of Dramatic Arts alumni
People from Landstuhl
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
HIV/AIDS activists
African-American religious skeptics
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people | true | [
"Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region",
"Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts"
] |
[
"LeVar Burton",
"Reading Rainbow",
"What was LeVar Burton's involvement with Reading Rainbow?",
"Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow",
"When did the Reading Rainbow start?",
"starting in 1983 for PBS.",
"What audience was the show for?",
"one of the longest-running children's programs on the network.",
"What was the content of the show?",
"The series ran for 23 seasons,",
"What did Burton do after Reading Rainbow?",
"Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ,",
"Did the show win any awards?",
"The series garnered over 200 broadcast awards over its run, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success,"
] | C_7ffd221fa08847e0bf27d7a5b2cf04a5_0 | How did the iPad application do? | 8 | How did the Reading Rainbow iPad application do? | LeVar Burton | Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons, making it one of the longest-running children's programs on the network. The series garnered over 200 broadcast awards over its run, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards, 11 of which were in the Outstanding Children's Series category. Burton himself won 12 Emmy awards as host and producer of the show. After Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, a new media company for children. Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. At RRKIDZ, Burton serves as co-founder and curator-in-chief, ensuring that the projects produced under the banner meet the high expectations and trust of the Reading Rainbow brand. On May 28, 2014, Burton and numerous coworkers from other past works started a Kickstarter campaign project to bring back Reading Rainbow. To keep with the changing formats to which young children are exposed, his efforts are being directed at making this new program web-based, following the success of the tablet application he helped create in recent years. His desire is to have the new Reading Rainbow be integrated into the classrooms of elementary schools across the country, and for schools in need to have free access. The Kickstarter campaign has since raised over $5 million, reaching triple its goal in only three days. CANNOTANSWER | becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. | Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and children's television host. He is known for his roles as Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), and as host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for more than 23 years (1983–2006), for which he has received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards, and a Peabody Award as host and executive producer of the show.
His other roles include Cap Jackson in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Donald Lang in Dummy (1979), Tommy Price in The Hunter (1980), which earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, and Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali (2001). Burton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards for his narration of the book The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1990, he was honored for his achievements in television with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Burton was chosen as the Grand Marshal of the 2022 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, on October 5, 2021. He presided over the parade and the afternoon Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2022.
Early life
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. was born in Landstuhl, West Germany. His mother, Erma Gene (née Christian), was a social worker, administrator, and educator, while his father and namesake was a photographer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps stationed at Landstuhl at the time of his son's birth. Burton and his two sisters were raised by his mother in Sacramento, California.
As a teen, Burton, who was raised Roman Catholic, entered St. Pius X Minor Seminary in Galt, California, intending to become a priest. At 17, questioning the Catholic faith, he changed his vocation to acting, and at 19, while an undergraduate at the University of Southern California, he won a starring role in the 1977 television miniseries Roots.
Career
Early work
Burton made his acting debut in 1976 with Almos' a Man, a film based on the Richard Wright short story "The Man Who Was Almost a Man," in which he stars alongside Madge Sinclair.
Roots
Burton's breakthrough role was as the young Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), based on the novel of the same name by Alex Haley. Burton has described his first day playing Kunta as the start of his professional career. As a result of his performance, he was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series category.
He reprised the role of Kunta Kinte in the 1988 television film Roots: The Gift. When asked about the societal influence of Roots, Burton is quoted as saying: "It expanded the consciousness of people. Blacks and whites began to see each other as human beings, not as stereotypes. And if you throw a pebble into the pond, you're going to get ripples. I think the only constant is change, and it's always slow. Anything that happens overnight is lacking in foundation. Roots is part of a changing trend, and it's still being played out."
Reading Rainbow
Burton was the host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons.
After Reading Rainbow went off the air in 2006, Burton and his business partner, Mark Wolfe, acquired the global rights to the brand and formed RRKIDZ, a new media company for children. Reading Rainbow was reimagined as an all new application for the iPad in 2012, and was an immediate success, becoming the number-one educational application within 36 hours. At RRKIDZ, Burton serves as co-founder and curator-in-chief, ensuring that the projects produced under the banner meet the high expectations and trust of the Reading Rainbow brand.
On May 28, 2014, Burton and numerous coworkers from other past works started a Kickstarter campaign project to bring back Reading Rainbow. To keep with the changing formats to which young children are exposed, his efforts are being directed at making this new program web based, following the success of the tablet application he helped create in recent years. His desire is to have the new Reading Rainbow be integrated into the classrooms of elementary schools across the country, and for schools in need to have free access. The Kickstarter campaign has since raised more than $5 million, reaching triple its goal in only three days.
In 2017, Burton was sued by the public broadcasting company WNED-TV for alleged copyright infringement for use of the Reading Rainbow brand in marketing the new iPad app and other online media. RRKIDZ later became known as LeVar Burton Kids and the iPad app, Skybrary.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
In 1986, Gene Roddenberry approached Burton with the role of the then Lieutenant Junior Grade Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. The character is blind but is granted "sight" through the use of a prosthetic device called a VISOR worn over his eyes. La Forge started out serving as the USS Enterprise's helmsman, and as of the show's second season, had become its chief engineer. At the time, Burton was considerably better known than Patrick Stewart in the United States, due to his roles in Roots and Reading Rainbow. When the show premiered, the Associated Press stated that Burton's role was essentially the "new Spock." In a 2019 interview, Burton laughed in disbelief at the idea, stating "that speculation never came to fruition."
Burton also portrayed La Forge in the subsequent feature films based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, from Star Trek Generations (1994) to Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).
He directed two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and several episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise.
Other appearances
Burton played a role as a visitor to Fantasy Island, guest star on “The Love Boat”, was a participant in Battle of the Network Stars, a guest of the Muppet Shows televised premiere party for the release of The Muppet Movie, and a frequent guest on several game shows.
In 1986, he appeared in the music video for the song "Word Up!" by the funk/R&B group Cameo.
In 1987, Burton played Dave Robinson, a journalist (sports writer), in the third season of Murder, She Wrote, episode 16 – "Death Takes a Dive", starring Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher.
Burton accepted an invitation to host Rebop, a multicultural series designed for young people aged 9–15, produced by WGBH for PBS.
On television, Burton has helped dramatize the last days of Jim Jones's suicide cult in Guyana, the life and times of Jesse Owens, and the life of the nine-year-old Booker T. Washington. He portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2001 film Ali. He also portrayed Detroit Tiger Ron LeFlore in the television movie One in a Million, The Ron LeFlore Story.
In 1992, a clip of Burton's voice was sampled by DC Talk for the track "Time is..." on their album Free at Last. The sample is at the very end of the song, in which Burton can be heard saying: "Whoa, wait a minute."
He has also lent his voice to several animated projects, including Kwame in the cartoon series Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990–1993) and The New Adventures of Captain Planet (1993–1996), Family Guy, Batman: The Animated Series and Gargoyles. Burton is on the audio version of The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. Burton has been cast as voice actor for Black Lightning in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD.
Burton appeared several times as a celebrity guest on the Dick Clark-hosted $25,000 and $100,000 Pyramids, from 1982 until 1988. Burton also was the strongest link in the special Star Trek episode of The Weakest Link. He defeated his final opponent Robert Picardo and won $167,500 for his charity, Junior Achievement of Southern California, a record for the show at that time and the largest amount won in any Celebrity Edition of the show (it was later surpassed by a $188,500 win in a "Tournament of Losers" episode).
He has made appearances in such sitcoms as Becker.
Burton is the host and executive producer of a documentary titled The Science of Peace, which was in production as of 2007. It investigates the science and technology aimed at enabling world peace, sometimes called peace science. The film explores some of the concepts of shared noetic consciousness, having been sponsored in part by the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
He appeared in an April Fool's episode of Smosh pretending to have taken over the channel and making various edits at popular Smosh videos.
He makes occasional appearances on This Week in Tech, where he is a self-proclaimed "nerd", and also participated in the Consumer Electronics Show 2010.
In 2010, he made an appearance on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! as the ghost of himself in the episode "Greene Machine".
In February 2011, Burton made an appearance as himself on NBC's Community in the episode "Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking", and then again in January 2014's "Geothermal Escapism".
Burton has appeared as a fictionalized, humorous version of himself on The Big Bang Theory, first appearing in the episode "The Toast Derivation", in which he almost attends a party thrown by Sheldon (before swearing off Twitter), in November 2012 in the episode "The Habitation Configuration", in which he appears on "Fun With Flags" in exchange for lunch and gas money, and again in the November 2014 episode "The Champagne Reflection", in which he returns for the 232nd episode of "Fun With Flags" in exchange for Sheldon deleting his contact details.
In 2012, he had a recurring role as dean Paul Haley on the TNT series Perception. For the second season (2013), he became part of the regular cast.
In 2014, he had a guest appearance in an introduction section for the 200th episode of Achievement Hunter's show, Achievement Hunter Weekly Update (AHWU). In May 2014, he appeared as a guest on the YouTube channel SciShow, explaining the science behind double, tertiary, and quaternary rainbows. Late in 2014, he had another guest appearance on a 24-hour Extra Life, a fundraising organization for Children's Miracle Network hospitals, stream by Rooster Teeth. Burton has also taped a recycling field trip for YouTube.
In 2017, Burton began a podcast, LeVar Burton Reads. Each episode features Burton reading a short story. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he continues to read on his podcast and also give live readings three times a week during a Twitter livestream focused at different time to different children, young adults, and adult audiences.
In November 2020, he appeared as himself on The Eric Andre Show. His segment was a callback to Lance Reddick's interview (2013) in which he mentioned LeVar by name and dressed as an amalgam of Kunta Kinte and Geordi La Forge.
Burton served as a guest host on Jeopardy! from July 26 to July 30, 2021. This came after a petition asking the show's producers to select him was signed by more than 250,000 fans. Unfortunately, the ratings were less than ideal due to tapering audience curiosity and forced viewership competition with NBC's coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which trampled syndicated shows across the board.
Burton also teaches the "Power of Storytelling" in the MasterClass.
Directing
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Burton directed episodes for each of the various Star Trek series then in production. He has directed more Star Trek episodes than any other former regular cast member.
He has also directed episodes of Charmed, JAG, Las Vegas, and Soul Food: The Series, as well as the miniseries Miracle's Boys and the biopic The Tiger Woods Story. He also directed the 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie Smart House starring Katey Sagal, Kevin Kilner and Jessica Steen. In August 2020, it was revealed that Burton will sit in the director's chair for Two-Front War from Lou Reda Productions, a multi-perspective docuseries will give "an emotionally raw look at the connection between the fight for civil rights in America and the struggle for equality of Black soldiers in Vietnam".
His first theatrical film direction was Blizzard (2003), for which he received a "Best of Fest" award from the Chicago International Children's Film Festival, and a Genie Award nomination for his work on the film's theme song, "Center of My Heart".
Burton is on the board of directors for the Directors Guild of America.
Personal life
LeVar Burton married Stephanie Cozart, a professional make-up artist, on October 3, 1992. Burton has two children, son Eian Burton Smith and daughter Michaela "Mica" Jean Burton. The family lives in Sherman Oaks, California.
Burton does not identify with any religion, saying: "I walked away from the seminary, I walked away from Catholicism, I walked away from organized religion because I felt that there was more for me to explore in the world, and that I could do that without adhering to one specific belief system or another."
In 2012, Burton joined the board of directors for the AIDS Research Alliance, a non-profit, medical research organization dedicated to finding a cure for AIDS.
In 2016, Burton was one of the five inaugural honorees to the Sacramento Walk of Stars. In 2019, Councilmember Larry Carr, representing the Meadowview neighborhood, led the renaming of Richfield Park to LeVar Burton Park in his honor. The park is in the Meadowview neighborhood, near the house where Burton and his sisters grew up.
Filmography
Awards and honors
Awards
Nominations
1977 – Emmy – Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Performance in a Drama or Comedy Series – Roots (Part 1, "Kunta Kinte")
1998, 2001, 2005 – Image Awards variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special — Reading Rainbow (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Self)
2004 – Genie Award – Best Achievement in Music-Original Song – Blizzard (Co-composer "Center of My Heart")
2006 – Black Reel Award – Best Director-Television – Miracle's Boys
Wins
1990 – Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7030 Hollywood Boulevard for television achievement
1992 – Peabody Award – Reading Rainbow (as executive producer of episode, "The Wall")
1994, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003 – Image Award – variously for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series and Outstanding Youth or Children's Series/Special – Reading Rainbow (both as Self and as Executive Producer)
2000 – Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album – The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.
1990, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
2001, 2002 – Daytime Emmy – Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series – Reading Rainbow (Self)
2003 – Television Critics Association Award – Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming – Reading Rainbow (Executive Producer)
2004 – Chicago International Children's Film Festival – Best of Fest – Blizzard (Director)
Books
Aftermath, 1997,
The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm, 2014,
A Kids Book About Imagination, 2021,
See also
References
Further reading
Nishikawa, Kinohi. "LeVar Burton". The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature. Ed. Hans Ostrom and J. David Macey Jr., 5 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005. 219.
External links
RRKIDZ (Reading Rainbow) – LeVar Burton, Co-Founder, Curator-in-Chief
Burton / Wolfe Entertainment (production company)
1957 births
African-American male actors
African-American television directors
African-American television personalities
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American men podcasters
American podcasters
American television directors
Daytime Emmy Award winners
Former Roman Catholics
Grammy Award winners
Living people
Male actors from California
Male actors from Sacramento, California
PBS people
Reading Rainbow
USC School of Dramatic Arts alumni
People from Landstuhl
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
HIV/AIDS activists
African-American religious skeptics
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people | true | [
"Tonara is an Israeli education and technology company that developed sheet music software of the same name. It allows music teachers to track the practice sessions of their students.\n\nSoftware\nTonara software is capable of acoustic polyphonic score following, showing the musician's real-time position on the score, and turning the pages automatically as the player reaches the end of a page. The software was initially launched as an iPad application in September 2011. The application includes several free music scores, and additional music scores can be acquired through in-app purchasing. The application also enables users to record their performances, and share them with friends.\n\nReception\nTonara was launched as an iPad application during the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco, on September 12, 2011. The presentation on stage included a live string quartet and a vocal performance by Randi Zuckerberg accompanied by Piano, all of them using Tonara. After its launch, CNN included Tonara in its \"Startup stars\" coverage of the Battlefield, The Guardian called it \"very clever\" and Wired magazine described it as “sheet music for the iPad generation… It’s pretty clear that something interactive like this will do to sheet music what Kindle did to hardback books\". In October 2011, it was selected by Apple as \"App of the Week\" in China, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.\n\nThe first all-Tonara concert took place on November 12, 2011, in New York's Washington Square Park. Two pianists and one violinist played a complete concert repertoire including pieces by Beethoven, Brahms, Bach and Chopin, all from the Tonara store.\n\nSee also\n List of music software\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nSoftware companies established in 2008\nMusic software\nProducts introduced in 2008\nSoftware companies of Israel\n2008 establishments in Israel",
"The iPad Air is a tablet designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced on October 22, 2013, and was released on November 1, 2013. Part of the iPad line of tablet computers, the iPad Air features a thinner design than its predecessors with similarities to the contemporaneous iPad Mini 2.\n \nThe iPad Air's successor, the iPad Air 2, was announced on October 16, 2014, with the first generation iPad Air being discontinued on March 21, 2016.\n\nFeatures\n\nSoftware\nThe iPad Air launched with version 7 of the iOS operating system. iOS 7 introduced a major aesthetic redesign of the operating system, departing from skeuomorphic elements such as green felt in Game Center, wood in Newsstand, and leather in Calendar, in favor of flat, colorful design. Jonathan Ive, the designer of iOS 7's new elements, described the update as \"bringing order to complexity\", highlighting features such as refined typography, new icons, translucency, layering, physics, and gyroscope-driven parallaxing as some of the major changes.\n\nIt can act as a hotspot with some carriers, sharing its Internet connection over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or USB, and also access the Apple App Store, a digital application distribution platform for iOS.\n\nThe iPad Air comes with several applications, including the Safari web browser, Mail, Photos, Video, Music, iTunes Store, App Store, Maps, Notes, Calendar, Game Center, Photo Booth, and Contacts. The iPad Air can optionally sync content and other data with a Mac or Windows computer using iTunes. Although the tablet is not designed to make phone calls over a cellular network, users can use a headset or the built-in speakers and microphone to place phone calls over Wi-Fi or cellular using a VoIP application, such as Skype. The device has a dictation application. This enables users to speak and the iPad types what they say on the screen. An Internet connection is required, as the speech is processed by Apple servers. Apple also began giving away its iLife (iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband) and iWork (Pages, Keynote, Numbers) apps with the device.\n\niOS 8 was released in 2014, alongside iPad Mini 3 and iPhone 6. iOS 8 introduced a variety of new features, including Continuity and Health (Apple)\n\niOS 9 was released in 2015. A major focus for the iPad was the introduction of three new multitasking features The Air supported two of these features, called Slide Over and Picture in Picture. Slide Over allows a user to \"slide\" a second app in from the side of the screen in a smaller window, and have it display information alongside the initial app. Picture in Picture allows a user to watch a video in a small, resizable, moveable window while remaining in another app. The third feature, dubbed Split View (which allows the user to run two apps simultaneously in a 50/50 view), was not supported by the device.\n\niOS 10 was released in 2016. iOS 10 brought new features, such as support for the AirPods.\n\niOS 11 was released in 2017. iOS 11 redesigned the control center, along with other new features.\n\nIn June 2019, Apple announced that it would drop support for the iPad Air with the release of iPadOS 13 in September 2019. The iPad Air is supported to iOS 12, with the latest 12.5.5 update released on September 23, 2021.\n\nDesign\nThe iPad Air marked the first major design change for the iPad since the iPad 2; it has a thinner design that is 7.5 millimeters thick and has a smaller screen bezel similar to the iPad Mini. Apple reduced the overall volume for the iPad Air by using thinner components resulting in a 22% reduction in weight over the iPad 2. It retains the same 9.7-inch screen as the previous iPad model. The new front-facing camera is capable of video in 720p HD, includes face detection, and backside illumination. The rear camera received an upgrade as well; now being called the iSight camera, in addition to the same functions as the front camera it also contains a 5MP CMOS, hybrid IR filter and a fixed ƒ/2.4 aperture. The device was available in space gray and silver colors.\n\nAs with previous generations, Apple continued to use recyclable materials. The enclosure of the iPad Air was milled from a solid block of aluminum making it 100% recyclable. The iPad Air is also free of the harmful materials BFRs and PVC.\n\nHardware\nThe iPad Air inherits most of the same hardware components from the iPhone 5S, such as its Apple A7 system-on-chip and Apple M7 motion processor. The A7 present in the iPad Air is slightly different however, in that it does not use a PoP design which stacks the RAM on top of the SoC. It also features a metal heat spreader to compensate for the slightly faster clock speed and to provide better thermal management. The Air also includes a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera (iSight), a FaceTime HD front-facing camera, support for 802.11n, and an estimated 10 hours of battery life. It boots faster than any previous iPad model.\n\nAs with all previous generations of iPhone and iPad hardware, there are four buttons and one switch on the iPad Air. With the device in its portrait orientation, these are: a \"home\" button on the face of the device under the display that returns the user to the home screen, a wake/sleep button on the top edge of the device, and two buttons on the upper right side of the device performing volume up/down functions, under which is a switch whose function varies according to device settings, functioning either to switch the device into or out of silent mode or to lock/unlock the orientation of the screen. It uses the same home button that was built in previous iPad models and therefore does not include a fingerprint scanner.\n\nIn addition, the WiFi only version weighs 469 grams while the cellular model weighs 478 grams – over 25% lighter than their respective predecessors. The display responds to other sensors: an ambient light sensor to adjust screen brightness and a 3-axis accelerometer to sense orientation and switch between portrait and landscape modes. Unlike the iPhone and iPod Touch's built-in applications, which work in three orientations (portrait, landscape-left and landscape-right), the iPad's built-in applications support screen rotation in all four orientations, including upside-down. Consequently, the device has no intrinsic \"native\" orientation; only the relative position of the home button changes.\n\nThe iPad Air was available with 16, 32, 64 or 128 GB of internal flash memory, with no expansion option. Apple also sells a \"camera connection kit\" with an SD card reader, but it can only be used to transfer photos and videos. As of the announcement of the iPad Pro 9.7-Inch on March 21, 2016, the iPad Air was discontinued.\n\nAll models can connect to a wireless LAN and offer dual band Wi-Fi support. The tablet is also manufactured either with or without the capability to communicate over a cellular network. The iPad Air (and the iPad Mini 2) cellular model comes in two variants, both of which support nano-SIMs, quad-band GSM, penta-band UMTS, and dual-band CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and B. Additionally, one variant also supports LTE bands 1–5, 7, 8, 13, 17–20, 25 and 26 while the other variant supports LTE bands 1–3, 5, 7, 8, 18-20 and TD-LTE bands 38, 39 and 40. Apple's ability to handle many different bands in one device allowed it to offer, for the first time, a single iPad variant which supports all the cellular bands and technologies deployed by all the major North American wireless providers at the time of the device's introduction.\n\nThe audio playback of the iPad Air is in stereo with two speakers located on either side of the Lightning connector.\n\nReception\n\nCritical reception\nThe iPad Air received mainly positive reviews. Writing for AnandTech, Anand Lal Shimpi writes that the iPad Air \"feels like a true successor to the iPad 4,\" praising it for its reduced weight and size. Shimpi further states that the Air \"hits a balance of features, design and ergonomics that I don't think we've ever seen in the iPad.\" UK Editor-in-Chief of TechRadar, Patrick Goss, gave the iPad Air a positive review, giving praise to the A7 chip and camera upgrades, as well as the crisp and colorful display. He concludes by stating: \"It's hard to put into words how much Apple has improved the iPad, offering a stunning level of detail and power with a build quality that's unrivalled.\" Christina Bonnington of Wired awarded the Air a rating of 8 out of 10, calling the performance \"outstanding\" and noting that high-definition video streams and gaming animations are \"smooth and stutter free.\" She also praised the loading speeds of Safari, the web browser.\n\nBonnington criticized the speakers for being slightly muddled. Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak criticized the focus on decreasing size and weight rather than increasing storage space and stated that he did not want an iPad Air as it did not fit his personal needs. Dave Smith of the International Business Times wrote that while the device was nice, it did not bring anything new to the iPad. Smith strongly criticized the lack of a fingerprint reader, and noted that the updates, such as the increased speed and the decreased size and weight, were only slight improvements.\n\nCommercial reception\nThe launch date for the iPad Air did not see as large of a turnout as usual for Apple products; however, this was expected by analysts due to the delayed release of the iPad Mini 2. The iPad Air sold out in Hong Kong just 2 hours after becoming available online.\n\nTimeline\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nProducts introduced in 2013\nProducts and services discontinued in 2019\nAir\niPad (5)\nTablet computers\nTouchscreen portable media players\nTablet computers introduced in 2013"
] |
[
"Piers Morgan",
"Post-Mirror press career"
] | C_3f0f810151cd4c16b3a41b22787c7ca4_0 | How was his career after post-Mirror | 1 | How was Piers Morgan's career after Post-Mirror? | Piers Morgan | In partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership in May 2005, of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its "cash cow", the British Press Awards, in a deal worth PS1 million. This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards. Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006, before being sold to a trade buyer. First News was launched by Morgan on 4 May 2006. A weekly paper aimed at seven to 14-year-olds, he claimed at its launch that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children". Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman". Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs, in 2007. Simon Cowell and others made much of Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in a Mirror headline after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, Mr President". In 2012, following the revelation of Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse against children, Morgan claimed to have "never met" Savile in his lifetime - although it was pointed out that in a 2009 piece by Morgan in The Mail on Sunday's Night & Day magazine claiming that "As I left, Jimmy Savile came up to me. 'Your TV shows are BRILLIANT!. he exclaimed. ... I've always loved Jimmy Savile." Later, in 2017, Morgan accused Ewan McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" for his past support of Roman Polanski cancelling an appearance on Good Morning Britain due to Morgan's comments opposing the Women's March on Washington. He became the editor-at-large of the Mail Online website's US operation in September 2014 and Morgan writes several columns a week. He also writes a weekly diary for the Mail on Sunday Event magazine, having also written one for its predecessor Live. CANNOTANSWER | former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, | Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is an English broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at The Sun. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the News of the World by Rupert Murdoch, which made him the youngest editor of a British national newspaper in more than half a century. From 1995, Morgan edited the Daily Mirror, but was sacked in 2004. He was the editorial director of First News during 2006 to 2007.
On television, Morgan has hosted his own talk shows Piers Morgan's Life Stories (2009–present) and Piers Morgan Live (2011–2014), the latter on the American news network CNN, co-presented the ITV Breakfast programme Good Morning Britain (2015–2021) with Susanna Reid, and judged on the talent competition shows America's Got Talent (2006–2011) and Britain's Got Talent (2007–2010). In 2008, he won the seventh season of the US Celebrity Apprentice. In September 2021, it was announced Morgan would join News Corp as a presenter on their new television channel talkTV and as a columnist for The Sun and New York Post. The series will air in the UK, US, and Australia and is scheduled to launch in early 2022.
Morgan was the editor of the Daily Mirror during the period in which the paper was implicated in the phone hacking scandal. In 2011, Morgan denied having ever hacked a phone and stated that he had not, "to my knowledge published any story obtained from the hacking of a phone". The following year, he was criticised in the findings of the Leveson Inquiry by chair Brian Leveson, who stated that comments made in Morgan's testimony about phone hacking were "utterly unpersuasive" and "that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it". Morgan's outspoken views and controversial comments on Good Morning Britain led Ofcom to adjudicate on multiple occasions. On 9 March 2021, Morgan left the programme with immediate effect, following his criticism of the Oprah with Meghan and Harry interview. Ofcom received over 57,000 complaints from viewers, including a complaint from Meghan, Duchess of Sussex herself; Morgan was subsequently cleared of wrongdoing by Ofcom.
Early life and education
Morgan was born Piers Stefan O'Meara on 30 March 1965 in Surrey, the son of Vincent Eamonn O'Meara, an Irish dentist from County Offaly, and Gabrielle Georgina Sybille (née Oliver), an English woman who raised Morgan Catholic. With regard to his religious views, Morgan still identifies as a Catholic due to his mother's influence, and believes in an afterlife, but does not "go to Confession, probably because it would take [him] too long". He has a brother, Jeremy, who is older than him by two years. A few months after his birth, the family moved to Newick, East Sussex. His father died when Morgan was 11 months old; his mother later married Glynne Pughe-Morgan, a Welsh pub landlord who later worked in the meat distribution business, and he took his stepfather's surname. He was educated at the independent Cumnor House prep school between the ages of seven and 13, then Chailey School, a comprehensive secondary school in Chailey, followed by Priory School, Lewes, for sixth form. After nine months at Lloyd's of London, Morgan studied journalism at Harlow College, joining the Surrey and South London Newspaper Group in 1985.
Press career
At the Murdoch titles (1988–1995)
Morgan began to work as a freelance at The Sun in 1988, at this point dropping his double-barrelled name. He told Hunter Davies in December 1994 that he was personally recruited by Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie to work on the newspaper's show business column "Bizarre", his first high-profile post. Although he was not a fan of pop music, he was considered skilled at self-publicity and became the column's main writer. "I became the Friend of the Stars, a rampant egomaniac, pictured all the time with famous people – Madonna, Stallone, Bowie, Paul McCartney, hundreds of them. It was shameless, as they didn't know me from Adam", he told Davies.
In January 1994, he became editor of the News of the World after being appointed to the job by Rupert Murdoch. Initially an acting editor, he was confirmed in the summer, becoming at 29 the youngest national newspaper editor in more than half a century. In this period, the newspaper led with a series of scoops for which Morgan credited a highly efficient newsdesk and publicist Max Clifford.
Morgan left this post in 1995 shortly after publishing photographs of Catherine Victoria Lockwood, then wife of Charles, Earl Spencer, leaving an addictive disorders clinic in Surrey. This action ran against the editors' code of conduct, a misdemeanour for which the Press Complaints Commission upheld a complaint against Morgan. Murdoch was reported as having said that "the boy went too far" and publicly distanced himself from the story. Fearful of a privacy law action if he had not criticised one of his employees, Murdoch is said to have apologised to Morgan in private.
The incident was reported to have contributed to Morgan's decision to leave for the Daily Mirror editorship. Morgan's autobiography The Insider states that he left the News of the World for the Mirror of his own choice. It asserts he was an admirer of former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for most of her period of office, making the appointment surprising as the Mirror is a Labour-supporting title.
Daily Mirror editor
As editor of the Daily Mirror, Morgan apologised on television for the headline (rendered in upper case) "Achtung Surrender! For You Fritz Ze Euro Championship Is Over" on 25 June 1996, a day before England met Germany in a semi-final of the Euro '96 football championships. The headline was accompanied by an open letter from Morgan parodying Neville Chamberlain's declaration of war on Germany in 1939. "It was intended as a joke, but anyone who was offended by it must have taken it seriously, and to those people I say sorry," he said. Germany won the match and later the championship at Wembley Stadium, London.
A £16 million package of investment in the title was rolled out from January, including the dropping of "Daily" from the masthead in February, which was later reversed. Roy Greenslade wrote in August 1999 that Morgan's editorship "has made a huge difference: his enormous enthusiasm, determination and focus is a major plus".
Morgan was the subject of an investigation in 2000 after Suzy Jagger wrote an article for The Daily Telegraph revealing that he had bought £20,000 worth of shares in the computer company Viglen soon before the Mirror 's "City Slickers" column tipped Viglen as a good buy. Morgan was found by the Press Complaints Commission to have breached the Code of Conduct on financial journalism, but kept his job. The "City Slickers" columnists, Anil Bhoyrul and James Hipwell, were both found to have committed further breaches of the Code and were sacked before the inquiry concluded. Further enquiry by the Department of Trade and Industry in 2004 cleared Morgan of any charges. On 7 December 2005, Bhoyrul and Hipwell were convicted of conspiracy to breach the Financial Services Act. During the trial it emerged that Morgan had bought £67,000 worth of Viglen shares, emptying his bank account and investing under his (first) wife's name as well.
The Mirror attempted to move mid-market in 2002, eschewing the more trivial stories of show-business and gossip, and appointed Christopher Hitchens as a columnist, but sales declined. In October 2003, journalist and television personality Jeremy Clarkson emptied a glass of water over Morgan during the last flight of Concorde in response to some photographs published in the Mirror. In March 2004, at the British Press Awards, Clarkson punched Morgan three times during another argument. in Campbell v MGN Ltd, the Law Lords in May 2004 found in favour of model Naomi Campbell on privacy grounds after the Mirror had published a photograph of her entering a Narcotics Anonymous clinic. Morgan was critical of the judgement saying it was "a good day for lying, drug-abusing prima donnas who want to have their cake with the media and the right to then shamelessly guzzle with their Cristal champagne."
In the wake of the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, Morgan was sacked as editor of the Daily Mirror "with immediate effect" on 14 May 2004, after refusing to apologise to Sly Bailey, then head of Trinity Mirror, for authorising the newspaper's publication of fake photographs. The photos were alleged to show Iraqi prisoners being abused by British Army soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment. Within days the photographs were shown to be crude fakes. According to official British sources, the photographs were apparently shot, in North-West England. Under the headline "SORRY..WE WERE HOAXED", the Mirror responded that it had fallen victim to a "calculated and malicious hoax" and apologised for the publication of the photographs. However, Morgan refused to admit that the photographs were faked, and stated that the abuse shown in the photographs is similar to the sort of abuse that was happening in the British Army in Iraq at the time.
Post-Mirror press activities
In partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership in May 2005 of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its "cash cow", the British Press Awards, in a deal worth £1 million. This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards. Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006, before being sold to a trade buyer.
First News was launched by Morgan on 4 May 2006. A weekly paper aimed at seven to 14-year-olds, he said at its launch that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children". Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman".
In Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs. Simon Cowell outspokenly mocked Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in a Mirror headline after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, Mr President".
In 2012, following the revelation of Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse against children, Morgan said he had "never met" Savile in his lifetime, contradicting a 2009 piece he wrote in The Mail on Sunday Night & Day magazine saying that "As I left, Jimmy Savile came up to me. 'Your TV shows are BRILLIANT!, he exclaimed. ... I've always loved Jimmy Savile."
In September 2014, Morgan became the first editor-at-large of the MailOnline website's US operation and wrote several columns a week.
Television career
Morgan's career expanded into television presenting before he left the Daily Mirror. He presented a three-part television documentary series for the BBC titled The Importance of Being Famous (2003), about fame and the manner in which celebrities are covered by modern media. At the annual Pride of Britain Awards broadcast on ITV, Morgan chaired a panel of prominent people who had chosen the recipients of the awards from 1999 to 2006.
He co-hosted a current affairs interview show on Channel 4 with Amanda Platell, Morgan and Platell. Morgan and Platell were put together because of their opposing political viewpoints; Platell interrogated guests from the right wing, Morgan from the left wing. The show was dropped after three series reputedly because of poor viewing figures, although the chairman of Channel 4 Luke Johnson was reported not to like the programme.
Throughout 2006, Morgan appeared as a judge on the television show America's Got Talent alongside Brandy Norwood and David Hasselhoff on NBC. Morgan was chosen by Simon Cowell as a replacement for himself because of the conditions of his American Idol contract. Morgan appeared as a celebrity contestant on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice in 2007, to raise money for the BBC charity telethon Comic Relief. After his team lost, Morgan was selected by Sir Alan Sugar as the contestant to be fired.
In 2007, Morgan appeared as a judge for the second season of America's Got Talent and also appeared as a judge on Britain's Got Talent on ITV with Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell.
He also presented You Can't Fire Me, I'm Famous on BBC One. He fronted a three-part documentary about Sandbanks for ITV entitled Piers Morgan on Sandbanks in January 2008.
In 2008, Morgan signed a two-year "golden handcuffs" deal with ITV in May, reportedly worth £2 million per year. As part of the deal, he would continue as a judge on Britain's Got Talent for at least two more series and front a new chat show. He also made some interview specials, plus three more documentaries from various countries. Morgan's golden handcuffs deal was the first signing by ITV's new director of television, Peter Fincham.
In February 2009, he began a three-part series, Piers Morgan On..., which saw him visit Dubai, Monte Carlo and Hollywood. The programme returned for a second series in 2010 when Morgan visited Las Vegas in one episode.
In 2009, Morgan also began hosting Piers Morgan's Life Stories on ITV, with Sharon Osbourne as the subject of the first episode. Other guests on the programme included Cheryl and the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
On 17 January 2011, Morgan replaced Larry King in CNN's evening line-up with his show, Piers Morgan Live. After poor ratings, the show was cancelled in February 2014 and ended its run in March 2014. Commenting on the viewing figures, Morgan said that he was "a British guy debating American cultural issues, including guns, which has been very polarizing, and there is no doubt that there are many in the audience who are tired of me banging on about it."
From 13 to 17 April 2015, Morgan guest-hosted five episodes of Good Morning Britain on ITV and became a permanent co-host in November 2015, appearing alongside Susanna Reid and Charlotte Hawkins. He often clashed with Reid, who said of her colleague: "You can't help but go into battle with him every morning". Morgan left the series in March 2021 following a controversy over his remarks about Oprah with Meghan and Harry, which included a heated on-air argument with Alex Beresford.
From 2016 to 2017, Morgan interviewed female murderers on the TV series Killer Women with Piers Morgan. He also presented Serial Killer with Piers Morgan, as part of the 2017 Crime & Punishment season on ITV. In October 2018, Morgan appeared as a cameo on Hollyoaks.
On 16 September 2021, News UK announced its new channel talkTV would launch in 2022, with Morgan being the first name signed up.
Donald Trump
Morgan was the winner of the U.S. celebrity version of The Apprentice, in 2008. He was eventually the overall winner, being named Celebrity Apprentice by host Donald Trump on 27 March, ahead of fellow finalist, American country music star Trace Adkins, and having raised substantially more cash than all the other contestants combined. Morgan was called "ruthless, arrogant, evil and obnoxious" by Trump in the final.
Morgan stated he personally would not vote for Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election (though as a permanent resident of the United States, not a citizen, he is not qualified to vote). He predicted Trump's election as President of the United States and has described himself as a close friend. Morgan interviewed Trump on Good Morning Britain in March 2016.
Morgan appeared on ITV's Loose Women panel show in late January 2017, and was challenged to repudiate Trump. He refused to do so, despite stating that he disagreed with him on many issues relating to gun control, climate change, abortion, and the "Muslim travel ban", saying that he found the principle of the ban understandable, but disagreed with "the way [Trump] has gone about it".
Nearly a fortnight later, on the American talk show Real Time with Bill Maher, Morgan said "There is no Muslim ban", as "85% of the world's Muslims are allowed in the country". Another participant in the discussion, Australian comedian Jim Jefferies, immediately swore at Morgan and criticised his defence of Trump. After the novelist J. K. Rowling tweeted "Yes, watching Piers Morgan being told to fuck off on live TV is *exactly* as satisfying as I'd always imagined", the two began an exchange of words on the social media site.
Morgan criticised Trump after Trump had retweeted Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of the small far-right fascist party Britain First, in late November 2017. He tweeted to Trump: "What the hell are you doing retweeting a bunch of unverified videos by Britain First, a bunch of disgustingly racist far-right extremists? Please STOP this madness & undo your retweets".
In January 2018, Morgan presented President Trump – The Piers Morgan Interview for ITV, which many thought of as "sycophantic" and a "love-in" for Trump. Of respondents to a Radio Times Twitter poll, 88% viewed Morgan as being not "tough enough" on Trump. Morgan interviewed Trump again in July 2018 during his official visit to the UK, this time on Air Force One during an internal flight, in a TV special entitled Piers, The President and Air Force One.
In December 2018, Morgan wrote a letter to Trump formally applying to become White House Chief of Staff.
During Trump's state visit to the United Kingdom in June 2019, Morgan once again interviewed Trump, this time at the Churchill War Rooms.
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Morgan wrote a highly critical article of Trump's handling of the crisis in his column for MailOnline. Morgan particularly took issue with Trump's suggestion of looking into "ingesting" disinfectant as a possible solution, describing it as "batshit crazy". In response to the criticism, Trump unfollowed Morgan on Twitter.
In the aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Morgan stated that Trump was "mentally unfit" to remain as president. He claimed that the pandemic and Trump's election loss that followed had "sent him nuts". In response to whether he regretted his support of Trump, Morgan said "No question. I never thought he was capable of this."
Controversies
Ian Hislop
Morgan appeared as a guest on the BBC satirical news quiz Have I Got News for You in an episode transmitted on 24 May 1996. In it, show regular Ian Hislop accused Morgan of having him followed and having his house watched. The conflict escalated and at one point the host, Angus Deayton, asked if they wished to go outside and have a fight. Later on, guest panellist Clive Anderson confronted Morgan commenting, "the last time I was rude to you, you sent photographers to my doorstep the next day", to which Piers Morgan retorted, "You won't see them this time." The audience responded loudly in favour of Hislop. The Guardian reported on the state of the feud in 2002. "We're about to start exposing the moon-faced midget", Morgan was quoted as saying, to which Hislop responded, "all he's been offering for information about my private life is a £50 reward. My friends think that's not nearly enough."
In 2007, Hislop chose Morgan as one of his pet hates on Room 101. In doing so, Hislop spoke of the history of animosity between himself and Morgan and said that after their exchange on Have I Got News For You (which was shown as a clip), Morgan's reporters were tasked with trying to get gossip on Hislop's private life (including phoning acquaintances of Hislop), and photographers were sent in case Hislop did anything untoward or embarrassing while in their presence. Neither the reporters nor the photographers succeeded. Hislop also said that Morgan had attempted to quell the feud in an article in The Mail on Sunday, saying, "The war is over. I'm officially calling an end to hostilities, at least from my end. I'm sure it won't stop him carrying on his 'Piers Moron' stuff" (Private Eye, the fortnightly satirical magazine that Hislop edits, regularly calls Morgan 'Piers Moron'). Hislop, who was working on a World War I documentary at the time, responded by asking "Is that an armistice or an unconditional surrender?" Although Paul Merton – host of Room 101 at the time and a good friend of Hislop (the pair having captained the teams on Have I Got News For You since its inception) – agreed to put Morgan into Room 101, he then comically rejected Morgan as being "too toxic" for Room 101.
Phone hacking allegations
During Morgan's tenure as editor, the Daily Mirror was advised by Steven Nott that voicemail interception was possible by means of a standard PIN code. Despite staff initially expressing enthusiasm for the story it did not appear in the paper, although it did subsequently feature in a South Wales Argus article and on BBC Radio 5 Live in October 1999. On 18 July 2011 Nott was visited by officers of Operation Weeting.
He came under criticism for his "boasting" about phone hacking from Conservative MP Louise Mensch, who has since apologised for these accusations.
In July 2011, in a sequence of articles, political blogger Paul Staines alleged that while editor of the Daily Mirror in 2002 Morgan published a story concerning the affair of Sven-Göran Eriksson and Ulrika Jonsson while knowing it to have been obtained by phone hacking.
On 20 December 2011, Morgan appeared as a witness by satellite link from the United States at the Leveson Inquiry. While he said he had no reason to believe that phone hacking had occurred at the Mirror while he was in charge there, he admitted to hearing a recording of an answerphone message left by Paul McCartney for Heather Mills, but refused to "discuss where that tape was played or who made [it] – it would compromise a source." Appearing as a witness at the same Inquiry on 9 February 2012, Mills was asked under oath if she had ever made a recording of McCartney's phone call or had played it to Morgan; she replied: "Never". She said that she had never authorised Morgan, or anybody, to access or listen to her voicemails. Mills told the inquiry that Morgan, "a man that has written nothing but awful things about me for years", would have relished telling the inquiry if she had played a personal voicemail message to him.
On 23 May 2012, Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman was a witness at the Leveson Inquiry. He recalled a lunch with the Mirror editor in September 2002 at which Morgan outlined the means of hacking into a mobile phone.
On 28 November 2012, the Channel 4 documentary Taking on the Tabloids, fronted by actor and phone hacking victim Hugh Grant, showed footage from a 2003 interview with Morgan by the singer and phone hacking victim Charlotte Church, during which he explained to her how to avoid answerphone messages being listened to by journalists. He said: "You can access ... voicemails by typing in a number. Now, are you really telling me that journalists aren't going to do that?"
On 29 November 2012, the official findings of the Leveson Inquiry were released, in which Lord Justice Leveson said that Morgan's testimony under oath on phone hacking was "utterly unpersuasive". He stated: "[The] evidence does not establish that [Morgan] authorised the hacking of voicemails or that journalists employed by TMG [Trinity Mirror Group] were indulging in this practice ... What it does, however, clearly prove is that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it."
On 6 December 2013, Morgan was interviewed, under caution, by police officers from Operation Weeting investigating phone hacking allegations at Mirror Group Newspapers during his tenure as editor.
On 24 September 2014, the Trinity Mirror publishing group admitted for the first time that some of its journalists had been involved in phone hacking and agreed to pay compensation to four people who sued for the alleged hacking of voicemails. Six other phone-hacking claims had already been settled. The BBC reported that it had seen legal papers showing that although the alleged hacking could have taken place as early as 1998, the bulk of the alleged wrongdoing took place in the early 2000s when Morgan was the Daily Mirror editor. The admissions by Trinity Mirror came whilst the London Metropolitan Police investigation into the phone hacking allegations was ongoing. Morgan has always denied any involvement in the practice.
Feuds and banned television guests
A feud between Morgan and A. A. Gill began when Morgan described Gill's partner Nicola Formby as a sex kitten on whom the mists of time had taken their toll and said she had shown him "porn shots" of herself. Gill said Morgan had made this up and called him a "pretty objectionable self-publicist".
In May 2011, Morgan banned actor Hugh Grant from his shows on CNN and ITV after Grant spoke out against the need for the tabloid press. On Twitter he responded: "Hugh Grant is now banned, in perpetuity, from @PiersTonight and Life Stories and anything else I ever do. Tedious little man."
On 28 March 2012, MTV referred to the bad relations between Morgan and Madonna, reporting that "Morgan has apparently felt slighted over the years by Madonna...he claims he was lied to by the singer's publicist."
In September 2012, it was reported that Morgan had also banned actor Kelsey Grammer. Morgan himself said, "Kelsey Grammer saw a photo of his ex-wife Camille in the open of our show and legged it." TVGuide reported, "All plans were still a go for the segment until Grammer actually got in the hot seat and saw the footage the producers had planned to peg to the segment, including a picture of his ex-wife". On 26 September 2012, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported that "many say [it] was an ambush by Piers". The Huffington Post reported that "before the interview was scheduled, it was made clear that Grammer would answer all questions, including those about [his ex-wife]. His sole request was not to show any images of her."
On 4 February 2014, transgender advocate Janet Mock appeared as a guest on Piers Morgan Live to discuss her memoir, Redefining Realness. After the interview aired, Mock sent a series of tweets criticising Morgan for describing Mock as being "formerly a man". Morgan responded that he had "never been treated in such a disgraceful manner" by a guest. On 5 February, Mock appeared as a guest again to debate the dispute.
Morgan has repeatedly clashed with actor John Cleese. In 2015 Cleese stated that he "truly detested" Morgan and had avoided him in a restaurant. He also said he thought Morgan was "in jail", erroneously stating that Morgan had "admitted" to authorising phone-hacking. Morgan responded that the "revulsion" between them was "mutual". When Cleese's tweet about detesting Morgan became his most popular to date, Cleese said "clearly I must insult the slimy, attention-seeking little prole more often". Morgan joked that he was glad to have been able to make Cleese "popular again". In 2017 Cleese told Radio Times "I always thought he was an awful creep [...] I just didn't want to have an encounter with him and since then he's been after me and I've been after him."
Morgan strongly objected to the Women's March on Washington on 21 January 2017, the day after Trump's inauguration, describing protesters as "rabid feminists" and the multiple protests as being "vacuous". The actor Ewan McGregor disagreed with Morgan's statements on the Women's March and pulled out of appearing on Good Morning Britain the following Tuesday after discovering Morgan would be interviewing him, along with Reid. Morgan accused McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" for his past support of Roman Polanski.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Morgan was briefly a friend of Meghan Markle before she became the Duchess of Sussex, but claimed she cut him off early in her relationship with Prince Harry. He has been a regular critic of the couple since then, alleging they are hypocrites and claiming the Duchess is a social climber.
When the couple stepped away from conducting official royal duties early in 2020, Morgan described them as being "the two most spoiled brats in history". Ten days later, he said: "Only surprised it took her so long to get Harry to ditch his family, the monarchy, the military and his country. What a piece of work." Responding to Morgan on Twitter, British comedian Gina Yashere wrote of the broadcaster's "constant racist vitriolic abuse disguised as criticism". Morgan responded that Yashere was being "ridiculous", arguing that the critical responses to the Duchess has "nothing to do with her skin color and everything to do with her being a shameless piece of work doing huge damage to our Royal Family." In a segment of Good Morning Britain on 13 January, Morgan interviewed Afua Hirsch, who accused parts of the British media of behaving in a racist manner towards the Duchess, an interpretation that Morgan said was "completely and grotesquely wrong". InfluencHers, a group of 100 African Caribbean women, advocated an advertisers' boycott of Good Morning Britain. The campaigners described the programme as having "sanctioning bullying and blatant unapologetic disrespect of women" in allowing Morgan's treatment of Hirsch.
When challenged by Decca Aitkenhead of The Sunday Times in May 2020 over "his vendetta" against the Duchess, with Aitkenhead suggesting he had gone too far, Morgan said: "I think that's a perfectly fair criticism. It's probably not wise, if you're a columnist, to make things too personal. Have I taken things a bit too far? Probably. Do I think that will govern and temper how I talk about them going forward? Absolutely."
On Good Morning Britain on 8 and 9 March 2021, Morgan said he doubted the accuracy of the account given by the Duchess of Sussex, in the interview Oprah with Meghan and Harry with Oprah Winfrey, in which she spoke of her mental health issues, which included suicidal thoughts, and she and Harry alleged racist comments from the extended family. A tense on-air argument with his co-host Alex Beresford on 9 March led him to walk off the set of the show. Beresford was highly critical of Morgan's attitude towards the Duchess, saying "She's entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you after she cut you off? I don't think she has, But yet you continue to trash her". Later in the day, Morgan quit the programme. The UK's mental health charity Mind expressed "disappointment" in Morgan's comments and said individuals with experience of mental health issues should be "treated with dignity, respect and empathy." ITV plc's chief executive, Carolyn McCall, defended the veracity of the Duchess's comments, adding "importantly everyone should."
ITV News reported the Duchess had complained directly to ITV's CEO about Morgan's comments about mental health, although the broadcaster was not officially commenting on these reports. Ofcom received a complaint from her.
Morgan issued a statement on Twitter, saying, "On Monday, I said I didn't believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I've had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don't. Freedom of speech is a hill I'm happy to die on." Broadcaster Andrew Neil described his departure as "a pity" for ITV because he had brought "energy, dynamism and controversy" to its morning broadcast schedule, adding "it had always lagged way behind the BBC breakfast time show and people tuned in because of him." Neil expressed interest in Morgan joining GB News instead. However, Neil later said that talks were affected by a disagreement: "he's [Morgan] got his own idea of what he is worth and we [GB News] have a slightly different idea of what he's worth". In Morgan's last week, Good Morning Britain surpassed the ratings of BBC Breakfast for the first time, and ITV lost almost £200m in market value following his departure.
Actor and comedian Steve Coogan, a prominent supporter of press regulation, described Morgan as "symptomatic of the problem" with the British tabloid media and accused him of "bullying behaviour" regarding his attitude to the Duchess.
Ofcom complaints
During his tenure at Good Morning Britain, Morgan was the subject of thousands of complaints to the British watchdog, Ofcom, relating to his comments.
In 2015, Morgan was criticised by Ofcom for laughing as a guest repeatedly used the word 'fucking' live on air. Although Ofcom did not take action as his co-presenter Susanna Reid quickly apologised, the watchdog expressed concern at his behaviour. In 2016, Ofcom received 70 complaints in relation to comments made by Morgan during interview with Christian magistrate Richard Page about gay marriage, that viewers felt "implied Christians were homophobic". Ofcom confirmed on 13 April 2016 that Morgan would not be investigated for his comments. On 22 January 2018, during a story about a homeless SAS veteran, who had a petition set up in his name calling on his local council to provide him with social housing, Morgan had refused to read out Herefordshire Council's statement. This was judged by Ofcom to be unfair to the council.
On 11 September 2019, Morgan claimed he identified himself as "a two-spirit penguin" in response to a news piece relating to gender neutrality, and said "the world has gone nuts" over gender. This attracted 950 Ofcom complaints from viewers. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in November 2019, and in response, Morgan admitted "he was personally quite pleased" with having one of the highest number of complaints to any British TV show in 2019.
On 21 January 2020, Morgan was accused of racism and was hit by 1,095 Ofcom complaints for his comments relating to a Chinese dairy advert, in which he said "He's using ching chong ching milk". Morgan also spoke over the advert, saying "ching chang cho jo". He was accused online of using language that is used to antagonise Chinese people and for mocking the Chinese language.
On 9 March 2021, Ofcom launched an investigation into the remarks Morgan made about the Duchess of Sussex's mental health on Good Morning Britain after receiving 41,015 complaints. The regulator confirmed on 12 March that the Duchess of Sussex had complained as well. On 17 March, it was reported that complaints against Morgan had reached 57,000, breaking Ofcom's record. Morgan remained defiant, stating "Only 57,000? I've had more people than that come up and congratulate me in the street for what I said. The vast majority of Britons are right behind me." Ofcom cleared ITV of any wrongdoing in September 2021 and added that restricting Morgan's views would be a "chilling restriction" on freedom of speech but criticised his "apparent disregard" for the subject of suicide. Morgan described the ruling as "a resounding victory for free speech and a resounding defeat for Princess Pinocchios."
Personal life
Morgan married Marion Shalloe, a hospital ward sister, in 1991. The couple had three sons, Albert, Spencer, and Stanley, and separated in 2004 before divorcing in 2008. In June 2010, he married his second wife, journalist Celia Walden, daughter of the former Conservative MP George Walden. On 25 November 2011, Walden gave birth to a daughter, Elise, her first child and Morgan's fourth.
Morgan's primary residence is in Kensington, London. He splits his time between a base in Los Angeles, California and a holiday home in Newick, East Sussex.
Morgan is a fan of Premier League football club Arsenal. He was an outspoken critic of former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and called for his sacking on many occasions. Speaking in defence of Wenger in 2015, former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson labelled Morgan an "incredibly pompous individual". When Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey met Morgan on 26 April 2015, Ramsey refused to shake his hand due to the criticism he received from Morgan during the 2012–13 season. Morgan has responded by calling Ramsey 'whatshisname'.
Politically, Morgan identified as a supporter of the Conservative Party in a 1994 interview, saying he was "still basically a Tory", but expressed admiration for the new Labour Party leader Tony Blair, saying "he's not radical, speaks well and makes sense". He voted for the Kensington Conservative candidate in the 2019 UK general election, after previously voting for the Animal Welfare Party. Morgan has also stated he has previously voted for the Labour Party.
On 24 July 2021, Morgan said he had developed COVID-19 after the Euro 2020 final, despite being fully vaccinated. He added that a strong fever, violent coughing, chills and sneezing fits left him exhausted and fearing what might come next.
Filmography
As himself
Bibliography
References
External links
1965 births
Living people
20th-century English male writers
20th-century English non-fiction writers
21st-century English writers
Alumni of Harlow College
America's Got Talent judges
British monarchists
English diarists
English expatriates in the United States
English male journalists
English newspaper editors
English people of Irish descent
English Roman Catholic writers
English social commentators
English television journalists
English television presenters
CNN people
Conservative Party (UK) people
Daily Mail journalists
Daily Mirror people
Gun control advocates
News of the World people
British opinion journalists
Participants in American reality television series
People educated at Priory School, Lewes
People from Lewes
People from Newick
The Apprentice (franchise) winners
The Sun (United Kingdom) people | true | [
"Richard Freeman Post (November 14, 1918 – April 7, 2015) was an American physicist notable for his work in nuclear fusion, plasma physics, magnetic mirrors, magnetic levitation, magnetic bearing design and direct energy conversion.\n\nPost was a winner of the James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics and led the controlled thermonuclear research group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for 23 years. He held a total of 34 patents in the fields of nuclear fusion, particle accelerators, and electronic and mechanical energy storage.\n\nEarly life and education \nPost was born in 1918 in Pomona, California, the son of Miriam (Colcord) and Freeman Post. He received a BA in physics from Pomona College in 1940 and a PhD in physics from Stanford University in 1951. After his PhD, he was inspired to pursue fusion energy research by a college professor.\n\nCareer\nPost joined the staff at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) as leader of the controlled thermonuclear research group until 1974. During this time, he developed many of the concepts behind magnetic mirrors and direct energy conversion. He worked with Marshall Rosenbluth to develop the stability of plasma inside mirror machines. From 1974 to 1987 he was deputy associate director of the magnetic fusion energy program at LLNL. This was a heavily funded effort by the United States Department of Energy to build a succession of magnetic mirror machines, including the Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF) and the Tandem Mirror Facility. After 1987, Post was senior scientist in the magnetic fusion energy program. He has held advisory roles at NASA, the National Academy of Sciences and the United States Air Force.\n\nHis notable work includes inductrack and magnetically levitated flywheels.\n\nPersonal life\nPost and his wife Marylee (a poet) are the parents of actress Markie Post and her two brothers, Steve and Rodney. Although he retired in 1994, Post continued to work in his lab four days a week, up until the week of his death on April 7, 2015.\n\nReferences\n\nAmerican physicists\nAmerican nuclear physicists\n1918 births\n2015 deaths\nPeople from Pomona, California\nPomona College alumni\nStanford University alumni\nLawrence Livermore National Laboratory staff\nFellows of the American Physical Society",
"Noel Bernard Whitcomb (25 December 1918 - 11 June 1993) was an English journalist and the founder of the Daily Mirror Punters' Club.\n\nEarly life \n\nWhitcomb was born on Christmas Day 1918 and was educated by the Society of Jesus at Farnham. He served in the Royal Artillery during World War II, but his service was curtailed by Tuberculosis.\n\nEarly career \n\nWhitcomb worked for a film trade magazine the Daily Renter before joining the Daily Mirror. He famously discovered a ‘talking’ Jack Russell Terrier. By 1947 he had his own Daily Mirror column, 'Looking at the Lousy World and Seeing the Funny Side'. By 1953, Whitcomb had a full-page column and another on London night life.\n\nDaily Mirror Punters' Club \n\nWhitcomb owned a number of race horses: Heidelberg, winner on the flat, over hurdles and fences; Even Up, who won 14 races; Royal Fanfare, a prolific winner in England, France and Spain; and Mirror Boy, who won the Andy Capp Handicap in 1980.\n\nHe was the Founder President of the successful Daily Mirror Punters' Club. The Daily Mirror Punters' Club was established to enable members to enjoy more affordable admission to racecourses in Britain and throughout the world, making Horse racing more accessible. Within five years, the Daily Mirror Punters’ Club had over 500,000 members.\n\nAn account of a number of the foreign tours on which Whitcomb accompanied members of the Daily Mirror Punters' Club is included in When Next the Tropic Sun? The book is authored by David Johnson, the travel agent who organised the tours for the Daily Mirror Punters' Club and who himself came from a family which had owned racehorses including Sceptre (co-owned with Robert Sevier).\n\nWhitcomb’s career at the Daily Mirror came to an end in 1980, reportedly when its new owner, Robert Maxwell, objected to his expense account.\n\nA detailed account of Whitcomb's career and the establishment of the Daily Mirror Punters' Club is included in his autobiography, A Particular Kind of Fool. The title of Whitcomb's autobiography was derived from a quotation from his hero Evelyn Waugh: Most fools can get a book published, but it takes a particular kind of fool to hold down a job on a daily newspaper.\n\nSee also \n\n Daily Mirror\n Horse racing\n Journalism\n List of horse racing venues\n List of jockeys\n Robert Maxwell\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Daily Mirror\n Racing Post\n\nEnglish male journalists\n1918 births\n1993 deaths\nRoyal Artillery personnel\nBritish Army personnel of World War II\nBritish racehorse owners and breeders"
] |
[
"Piers Morgan",
"Post-Mirror press career",
"How was his career after post-Mirror",
"former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: \"You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you,"
] | C_3f0f810151cd4c16b3a41b22787c7ca4_0 | What else did he say? | 2 | In addition to "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you," what else did George W. Bush say? | Piers Morgan | In partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership in May 2005, of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its "cash cow", the British Press Awards, in a deal worth PS1 million. This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards. Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006, before being sold to a trade buyer. First News was launched by Morgan on 4 May 2006. A weekly paper aimed at seven to 14-year-olds, he claimed at its launch that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children". Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman". Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs, in 2007. Simon Cowell and others made much of Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in a Mirror headline after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, Mr President". In 2012, following the revelation of Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse against children, Morgan claimed to have "never met" Savile in his lifetime - although it was pointed out that in a 2009 piece by Morgan in The Mail on Sunday's Night & Day magazine claiming that "As I left, Jimmy Savile came up to me. 'Your TV shows are BRILLIANT!. he exclaimed. ... I've always loved Jimmy Savile." Later, in 2017, Morgan accused Ewan McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" for his past support of Roman Polanski cancelling an appearance on Good Morning Britain due to Morgan's comments opposing the Women's March on Washington. He became the editor-at-large of the Mail Online website's US operation in September 2014 and Morgan writes several columns a week. He also writes a weekly diary for the Mail on Sunday Event magazine, having also written one for its predecessor Live. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is an English broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at The Sun. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the News of the World by Rupert Murdoch, which made him the youngest editor of a British national newspaper in more than half a century. From 1995, Morgan edited the Daily Mirror, but was sacked in 2004. He was the editorial director of First News during 2006 to 2007.
On television, Morgan has hosted his own talk shows Piers Morgan's Life Stories (2009–present) and Piers Morgan Live (2011–2014), the latter on the American news network CNN, co-presented the ITV Breakfast programme Good Morning Britain (2015–2021) with Susanna Reid, and judged on the talent competition shows America's Got Talent (2006–2011) and Britain's Got Talent (2007–2010). In 2008, he won the seventh season of the US Celebrity Apprentice. In September 2021, it was announced Morgan would join News Corp as a presenter on their new television channel talkTV and as a columnist for The Sun and New York Post. The series will air in the UK, US, and Australia and is scheduled to launch in early 2022.
Morgan was the editor of the Daily Mirror during the period in which the paper was implicated in the phone hacking scandal. In 2011, Morgan denied having ever hacked a phone and stated that he had not, "to my knowledge published any story obtained from the hacking of a phone". The following year, he was criticised in the findings of the Leveson Inquiry by chair Brian Leveson, who stated that comments made in Morgan's testimony about phone hacking were "utterly unpersuasive" and "that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it". Morgan's outspoken views and controversial comments on Good Morning Britain led Ofcom to adjudicate on multiple occasions. On 9 March 2021, Morgan left the programme with immediate effect, following his criticism of the Oprah with Meghan and Harry interview. Ofcom received over 57,000 complaints from viewers, including a complaint from Meghan, Duchess of Sussex herself; Morgan was subsequently cleared of wrongdoing by Ofcom.
Early life and education
Morgan was born Piers Stefan O'Meara on 30 March 1965 in Surrey, the son of Vincent Eamonn O'Meara, an Irish dentist from County Offaly, and Gabrielle Georgina Sybille (née Oliver), an English woman who raised Morgan Catholic. With regard to his religious views, Morgan still identifies as a Catholic due to his mother's influence, and believes in an afterlife, but does not "go to Confession, probably because it would take [him] too long". He has a brother, Jeremy, who is older than him by two years. A few months after his birth, the family moved to Newick, East Sussex. His father died when Morgan was 11 months old; his mother later married Glynne Pughe-Morgan, a Welsh pub landlord who later worked in the meat distribution business, and he took his stepfather's surname. He was educated at the independent Cumnor House prep school between the ages of seven and 13, then Chailey School, a comprehensive secondary school in Chailey, followed by Priory School, Lewes, for sixth form. After nine months at Lloyd's of London, Morgan studied journalism at Harlow College, joining the Surrey and South London Newspaper Group in 1985.
Press career
At the Murdoch titles (1988–1995)
Morgan began to work as a freelance at The Sun in 1988, at this point dropping his double-barrelled name. He told Hunter Davies in December 1994 that he was personally recruited by Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie to work on the newspaper's show business column "Bizarre", his first high-profile post. Although he was not a fan of pop music, he was considered skilled at self-publicity and became the column's main writer. "I became the Friend of the Stars, a rampant egomaniac, pictured all the time with famous people – Madonna, Stallone, Bowie, Paul McCartney, hundreds of them. It was shameless, as they didn't know me from Adam", he told Davies.
In January 1994, he became editor of the News of the World after being appointed to the job by Rupert Murdoch. Initially an acting editor, he was confirmed in the summer, becoming at 29 the youngest national newspaper editor in more than half a century. In this period, the newspaper led with a series of scoops for which Morgan credited a highly efficient newsdesk and publicist Max Clifford.
Morgan left this post in 1995 shortly after publishing photographs of Catherine Victoria Lockwood, then wife of Charles, Earl Spencer, leaving an addictive disorders clinic in Surrey. This action ran against the editors' code of conduct, a misdemeanour for which the Press Complaints Commission upheld a complaint against Morgan. Murdoch was reported as having said that "the boy went too far" and publicly distanced himself from the story. Fearful of a privacy law action if he had not criticised one of his employees, Murdoch is said to have apologised to Morgan in private.
The incident was reported to have contributed to Morgan's decision to leave for the Daily Mirror editorship. Morgan's autobiography The Insider states that he left the News of the World for the Mirror of his own choice. It asserts he was an admirer of former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for most of her period of office, making the appointment surprising as the Mirror is a Labour-supporting title.
Daily Mirror editor
As editor of the Daily Mirror, Morgan apologised on television for the headline (rendered in upper case) "Achtung Surrender! For You Fritz Ze Euro Championship Is Over" on 25 June 1996, a day before England met Germany in a semi-final of the Euro '96 football championships. The headline was accompanied by an open letter from Morgan parodying Neville Chamberlain's declaration of war on Germany in 1939. "It was intended as a joke, but anyone who was offended by it must have taken it seriously, and to those people I say sorry," he said. Germany won the match and later the championship at Wembley Stadium, London.
A £16 million package of investment in the title was rolled out from January, including the dropping of "Daily" from the masthead in February, which was later reversed. Roy Greenslade wrote in August 1999 that Morgan's editorship "has made a huge difference: his enormous enthusiasm, determination and focus is a major plus".
Morgan was the subject of an investigation in 2000 after Suzy Jagger wrote an article for The Daily Telegraph revealing that he had bought £20,000 worth of shares in the computer company Viglen soon before the Mirror 's "City Slickers" column tipped Viglen as a good buy. Morgan was found by the Press Complaints Commission to have breached the Code of Conduct on financial journalism, but kept his job. The "City Slickers" columnists, Anil Bhoyrul and James Hipwell, were both found to have committed further breaches of the Code and were sacked before the inquiry concluded. Further enquiry by the Department of Trade and Industry in 2004 cleared Morgan of any charges. On 7 December 2005, Bhoyrul and Hipwell were convicted of conspiracy to breach the Financial Services Act. During the trial it emerged that Morgan had bought £67,000 worth of Viglen shares, emptying his bank account and investing under his (first) wife's name as well.
The Mirror attempted to move mid-market in 2002, eschewing the more trivial stories of show-business and gossip, and appointed Christopher Hitchens as a columnist, but sales declined. In October 2003, journalist and television personality Jeremy Clarkson emptied a glass of water over Morgan during the last flight of Concorde in response to some photographs published in the Mirror. In March 2004, at the British Press Awards, Clarkson punched Morgan three times during another argument. in Campbell v MGN Ltd, the Law Lords in May 2004 found in favour of model Naomi Campbell on privacy grounds after the Mirror had published a photograph of her entering a Narcotics Anonymous clinic. Morgan was critical of the judgement saying it was "a good day for lying, drug-abusing prima donnas who want to have their cake with the media and the right to then shamelessly guzzle with their Cristal champagne."
In the wake of the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, Morgan was sacked as editor of the Daily Mirror "with immediate effect" on 14 May 2004, after refusing to apologise to Sly Bailey, then head of Trinity Mirror, for authorising the newspaper's publication of fake photographs. The photos were alleged to show Iraqi prisoners being abused by British Army soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment. Within days the photographs were shown to be crude fakes. According to official British sources, the photographs were apparently shot, in North-West England. Under the headline "SORRY..WE WERE HOAXED", the Mirror responded that it had fallen victim to a "calculated and malicious hoax" and apologised for the publication of the photographs. However, Morgan refused to admit that the photographs were faked, and stated that the abuse shown in the photographs is similar to the sort of abuse that was happening in the British Army in Iraq at the time.
Post-Mirror press activities
In partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership in May 2005 of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its "cash cow", the British Press Awards, in a deal worth £1 million. This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards. Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006, before being sold to a trade buyer.
First News was launched by Morgan on 4 May 2006. A weekly paper aimed at seven to 14-year-olds, he said at its launch that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children". Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman".
In Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs. Simon Cowell outspokenly mocked Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in a Mirror headline after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, Mr President".
In 2012, following the revelation of Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse against children, Morgan said he had "never met" Savile in his lifetime, contradicting a 2009 piece he wrote in The Mail on Sunday Night & Day magazine saying that "As I left, Jimmy Savile came up to me. 'Your TV shows are BRILLIANT!, he exclaimed. ... I've always loved Jimmy Savile."
In September 2014, Morgan became the first editor-at-large of the MailOnline website's US operation and wrote several columns a week.
Television career
Morgan's career expanded into television presenting before he left the Daily Mirror. He presented a three-part television documentary series for the BBC titled The Importance of Being Famous (2003), about fame and the manner in which celebrities are covered by modern media. At the annual Pride of Britain Awards broadcast on ITV, Morgan chaired a panel of prominent people who had chosen the recipients of the awards from 1999 to 2006.
He co-hosted a current affairs interview show on Channel 4 with Amanda Platell, Morgan and Platell. Morgan and Platell were put together because of their opposing political viewpoints; Platell interrogated guests from the right wing, Morgan from the left wing. The show was dropped after three series reputedly because of poor viewing figures, although the chairman of Channel 4 Luke Johnson was reported not to like the programme.
Throughout 2006, Morgan appeared as a judge on the television show America's Got Talent alongside Brandy Norwood and David Hasselhoff on NBC. Morgan was chosen by Simon Cowell as a replacement for himself because of the conditions of his American Idol contract. Morgan appeared as a celebrity contestant on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice in 2007, to raise money for the BBC charity telethon Comic Relief. After his team lost, Morgan was selected by Sir Alan Sugar as the contestant to be fired.
In 2007, Morgan appeared as a judge for the second season of America's Got Talent and also appeared as a judge on Britain's Got Talent on ITV with Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell.
He also presented You Can't Fire Me, I'm Famous on BBC One. He fronted a three-part documentary about Sandbanks for ITV entitled Piers Morgan on Sandbanks in January 2008.
In 2008, Morgan signed a two-year "golden handcuffs" deal with ITV in May, reportedly worth £2 million per year. As part of the deal, he would continue as a judge on Britain's Got Talent for at least two more series and front a new chat show. He also made some interview specials, plus three more documentaries from various countries. Morgan's golden handcuffs deal was the first signing by ITV's new director of television, Peter Fincham.
In February 2009, he began a three-part series, Piers Morgan On..., which saw him visit Dubai, Monte Carlo and Hollywood. The programme returned for a second series in 2010 when Morgan visited Las Vegas in one episode.
In 2009, Morgan also began hosting Piers Morgan's Life Stories on ITV, with Sharon Osbourne as the subject of the first episode. Other guests on the programme included Cheryl and the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
On 17 January 2011, Morgan replaced Larry King in CNN's evening line-up with his show, Piers Morgan Live. After poor ratings, the show was cancelled in February 2014 and ended its run in March 2014. Commenting on the viewing figures, Morgan said that he was "a British guy debating American cultural issues, including guns, which has been very polarizing, and there is no doubt that there are many in the audience who are tired of me banging on about it."
From 13 to 17 April 2015, Morgan guest-hosted five episodes of Good Morning Britain on ITV and became a permanent co-host in November 2015, appearing alongside Susanna Reid and Charlotte Hawkins. He often clashed with Reid, who said of her colleague: "You can't help but go into battle with him every morning". Morgan left the series in March 2021 following a controversy over his remarks about Oprah with Meghan and Harry, which included a heated on-air argument with Alex Beresford.
From 2016 to 2017, Morgan interviewed female murderers on the TV series Killer Women with Piers Morgan. He also presented Serial Killer with Piers Morgan, as part of the 2017 Crime & Punishment season on ITV. In October 2018, Morgan appeared as a cameo on Hollyoaks.
On 16 September 2021, News UK announced its new channel talkTV would launch in 2022, with Morgan being the first name signed up.
Donald Trump
Morgan was the winner of the U.S. celebrity version of The Apprentice, in 2008. He was eventually the overall winner, being named Celebrity Apprentice by host Donald Trump on 27 March, ahead of fellow finalist, American country music star Trace Adkins, and having raised substantially more cash than all the other contestants combined. Morgan was called "ruthless, arrogant, evil and obnoxious" by Trump in the final.
Morgan stated he personally would not vote for Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election (though as a permanent resident of the United States, not a citizen, he is not qualified to vote). He predicted Trump's election as President of the United States and has described himself as a close friend. Morgan interviewed Trump on Good Morning Britain in March 2016.
Morgan appeared on ITV's Loose Women panel show in late January 2017, and was challenged to repudiate Trump. He refused to do so, despite stating that he disagreed with him on many issues relating to gun control, climate change, abortion, and the "Muslim travel ban", saying that he found the principle of the ban understandable, but disagreed with "the way [Trump] has gone about it".
Nearly a fortnight later, on the American talk show Real Time with Bill Maher, Morgan said "There is no Muslim ban", as "85% of the world's Muslims are allowed in the country". Another participant in the discussion, Australian comedian Jim Jefferies, immediately swore at Morgan and criticised his defence of Trump. After the novelist J. K. Rowling tweeted "Yes, watching Piers Morgan being told to fuck off on live TV is *exactly* as satisfying as I'd always imagined", the two began an exchange of words on the social media site.
Morgan criticised Trump after Trump had retweeted Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of the small far-right fascist party Britain First, in late November 2017. He tweeted to Trump: "What the hell are you doing retweeting a bunch of unverified videos by Britain First, a bunch of disgustingly racist far-right extremists? Please STOP this madness & undo your retweets".
In January 2018, Morgan presented President Trump – The Piers Morgan Interview for ITV, which many thought of as "sycophantic" and a "love-in" for Trump. Of respondents to a Radio Times Twitter poll, 88% viewed Morgan as being not "tough enough" on Trump. Morgan interviewed Trump again in July 2018 during his official visit to the UK, this time on Air Force One during an internal flight, in a TV special entitled Piers, The President and Air Force One.
In December 2018, Morgan wrote a letter to Trump formally applying to become White House Chief of Staff.
During Trump's state visit to the United Kingdom in June 2019, Morgan once again interviewed Trump, this time at the Churchill War Rooms.
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Morgan wrote a highly critical article of Trump's handling of the crisis in his column for MailOnline. Morgan particularly took issue with Trump's suggestion of looking into "ingesting" disinfectant as a possible solution, describing it as "batshit crazy". In response to the criticism, Trump unfollowed Morgan on Twitter.
In the aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Morgan stated that Trump was "mentally unfit" to remain as president. He claimed that the pandemic and Trump's election loss that followed had "sent him nuts". In response to whether he regretted his support of Trump, Morgan said "No question. I never thought he was capable of this."
Controversies
Ian Hislop
Morgan appeared as a guest on the BBC satirical news quiz Have I Got News for You in an episode transmitted on 24 May 1996. In it, show regular Ian Hislop accused Morgan of having him followed and having his house watched. The conflict escalated and at one point the host, Angus Deayton, asked if they wished to go outside and have a fight. Later on, guest panellist Clive Anderson confronted Morgan commenting, "the last time I was rude to you, you sent photographers to my doorstep the next day", to which Piers Morgan retorted, "You won't see them this time." The audience responded loudly in favour of Hislop. The Guardian reported on the state of the feud in 2002. "We're about to start exposing the moon-faced midget", Morgan was quoted as saying, to which Hislop responded, "all he's been offering for information about my private life is a £50 reward. My friends think that's not nearly enough."
In 2007, Hislop chose Morgan as one of his pet hates on Room 101. In doing so, Hislop spoke of the history of animosity between himself and Morgan and said that after their exchange on Have I Got News For You (which was shown as a clip), Morgan's reporters were tasked with trying to get gossip on Hislop's private life (including phoning acquaintances of Hislop), and photographers were sent in case Hislop did anything untoward or embarrassing while in their presence. Neither the reporters nor the photographers succeeded. Hislop also said that Morgan had attempted to quell the feud in an article in The Mail on Sunday, saying, "The war is over. I'm officially calling an end to hostilities, at least from my end. I'm sure it won't stop him carrying on his 'Piers Moron' stuff" (Private Eye, the fortnightly satirical magazine that Hislop edits, regularly calls Morgan 'Piers Moron'). Hislop, who was working on a World War I documentary at the time, responded by asking "Is that an armistice or an unconditional surrender?" Although Paul Merton – host of Room 101 at the time and a good friend of Hislop (the pair having captained the teams on Have I Got News For You since its inception) – agreed to put Morgan into Room 101, he then comically rejected Morgan as being "too toxic" for Room 101.
Phone hacking allegations
During Morgan's tenure as editor, the Daily Mirror was advised by Steven Nott that voicemail interception was possible by means of a standard PIN code. Despite staff initially expressing enthusiasm for the story it did not appear in the paper, although it did subsequently feature in a South Wales Argus article and on BBC Radio 5 Live in October 1999. On 18 July 2011 Nott was visited by officers of Operation Weeting.
He came under criticism for his "boasting" about phone hacking from Conservative MP Louise Mensch, who has since apologised for these accusations.
In July 2011, in a sequence of articles, political blogger Paul Staines alleged that while editor of the Daily Mirror in 2002 Morgan published a story concerning the affair of Sven-Göran Eriksson and Ulrika Jonsson while knowing it to have been obtained by phone hacking.
On 20 December 2011, Morgan appeared as a witness by satellite link from the United States at the Leveson Inquiry. While he said he had no reason to believe that phone hacking had occurred at the Mirror while he was in charge there, he admitted to hearing a recording of an answerphone message left by Paul McCartney for Heather Mills, but refused to "discuss where that tape was played or who made [it] – it would compromise a source." Appearing as a witness at the same Inquiry on 9 February 2012, Mills was asked under oath if she had ever made a recording of McCartney's phone call or had played it to Morgan; she replied: "Never". She said that she had never authorised Morgan, or anybody, to access or listen to her voicemails. Mills told the inquiry that Morgan, "a man that has written nothing but awful things about me for years", would have relished telling the inquiry if she had played a personal voicemail message to him.
On 23 May 2012, Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman was a witness at the Leveson Inquiry. He recalled a lunch with the Mirror editor in September 2002 at which Morgan outlined the means of hacking into a mobile phone.
On 28 November 2012, the Channel 4 documentary Taking on the Tabloids, fronted by actor and phone hacking victim Hugh Grant, showed footage from a 2003 interview with Morgan by the singer and phone hacking victim Charlotte Church, during which he explained to her how to avoid answerphone messages being listened to by journalists. He said: "You can access ... voicemails by typing in a number. Now, are you really telling me that journalists aren't going to do that?"
On 29 November 2012, the official findings of the Leveson Inquiry were released, in which Lord Justice Leveson said that Morgan's testimony under oath on phone hacking was "utterly unpersuasive". He stated: "[The] evidence does not establish that [Morgan] authorised the hacking of voicemails or that journalists employed by TMG [Trinity Mirror Group] were indulging in this practice ... What it does, however, clearly prove is that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it."
On 6 December 2013, Morgan was interviewed, under caution, by police officers from Operation Weeting investigating phone hacking allegations at Mirror Group Newspapers during his tenure as editor.
On 24 September 2014, the Trinity Mirror publishing group admitted for the first time that some of its journalists had been involved in phone hacking and agreed to pay compensation to four people who sued for the alleged hacking of voicemails. Six other phone-hacking claims had already been settled. The BBC reported that it had seen legal papers showing that although the alleged hacking could have taken place as early as 1998, the bulk of the alleged wrongdoing took place in the early 2000s when Morgan was the Daily Mirror editor. The admissions by Trinity Mirror came whilst the London Metropolitan Police investigation into the phone hacking allegations was ongoing. Morgan has always denied any involvement in the practice.
Feuds and banned television guests
A feud between Morgan and A. A. Gill began when Morgan described Gill's partner Nicola Formby as a sex kitten on whom the mists of time had taken their toll and said she had shown him "porn shots" of herself. Gill said Morgan had made this up and called him a "pretty objectionable self-publicist".
In May 2011, Morgan banned actor Hugh Grant from his shows on CNN and ITV after Grant spoke out against the need for the tabloid press. On Twitter he responded: "Hugh Grant is now banned, in perpetuity, from @PiersTonight and Life Stories and anything else I ever do. Tedious little man."
On 28 March 2012, MTV referred to the bad relations between Morgan and Madonna, reporting that "Morgan has apparently felt slighted over the years by Madonna...he claims he was lied to by the singer's publicist."
In September 2012, it was reported that Morgan had also banned actor Kelsey Grammer. Morgan himself said, "Kelsey Grammer saw a photo of his ex-wife Camille in the open of our show and legged it." TVGuide reported, "All plans were still a go for the segment until Grammer actually got in the hot seat and saw the footage the producers had planned to peg to the segment, including a picture of his ex-wife". On 26 September 2012, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported that "many say [it] was an ambush by Piers". The Huffington Post reported that "before the interview was scheduled, it was made clear that Grammer would answer all questions, including those about [his ex-wife]. His sole request was not to show any images of her."
On 4 February 2014, transgender advocate Janet Mock appeared as a guest on Piers Morgan Live to discuss her memoir, Redefining Realness. After the interview aired, Mock sent a series of tweets criticising Morgan for describing Mock as being "formerly a man". Morgan responded that he had "never been treated in such a disgraceful manner" by a guest. On 5 February, Mock appeared as a guest again to debate the dispute.
Morgan has repeatedly clashed with actor John Cleese. In 2015 Cleese stated that he "truly detested" Morgan and had avoided him in a restaurant. He also said he thought Morgan was "in jail", erroneously stating that Morgan had "admitted" to authorising phone-hacking. Morgan responded that the "revulsion" between them was "mutual". When Cleese's tweet about detesting Morgan became his most popular to date, Cleese said "clearly I must insult the slimy, attention-seeking little prole more often". Morgan joked that he was glad to have been able to make Cleese "popular again". In 2017 Cleese told Radio Times "I always thought he was an awful creep [...] I just didn't want to have an encounter with him and since then he's been after me and I've been after him."
Morgan strongly objected to the Women's March on Washington on 21 January 2017, the day after Trump's inauguration, describing protesters as "rabid feminists" and the multiple protests as being "vacuous". The actor Ewan McGregor disagreed with Morgan's statements on the Women's March and pulled out of appearing on Good Morning Britain the following Tuesday after discovering Morgan would be interviewing him, along with Reid. Morgan accused McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" for his past support of Roman Polanski.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Morgan was briefly a friend of Meghan Markle before she became the Duchess of Sussex, but claimed she cut him off early in her relationship with Prince Harry. He has been a regular critic of the couple since then, alleging they are hypocrites and claiming the Duchess is a social climber.
When the couple stepped away from conducting official royal duties early in 2020, Morgan described them as being "the two most spoiled brats in history". Ten days later, he said: "Only surprised it took her so long to get Harry to ditch his family, the monarchy, the military and his country. What a piece of work." Responding to Morgan on Twitter, British comedian Gina Yashere wrote of the broadcaster's "constant racist vitriolic abuse disguised as criticism". Morgan responded that Yashere was being "ridiculous", arguing that the critical responses to the Duchess has "nothing to do with her skin color and everything to do with her being a shameless piece of work doing huge damage to our Royal Family." In a segment of Good Morning Britain on 13 January, Morgan interviewed Afua Hirsch, who accused parts of the British media of behaving in a racist manner towards the Duchess, an interpretation that Morgan said was "completely and grotesquely wrong". InfluencHers, a group of 100 African Caribbean women, advocated an advertisers' boycott of Good Morning Britain. The campaigners described the programme as having "sanctioning bullying and blatant unapologetic disrespect of women" in allowing Morgan's treatment of Hirsch.
When challenged by Decca Aitkenhead of The Sunday Times in May 2020 over "his vendetta" against the Duchess, with Aitkenhead suggesting he had gone too far, Morgan said: "I think that's a perfectly fair criticism. It's probably not wise, if you're a columnist, to make things too personal. Have I taken things a bit too far? Probably. Do I think that will govern and temper how I talk about them going forward? Absolutely."
On Good Morning Britain on 8 and 9 March 2021, Morgan said he doubted the accuracy of the account given by the Duchess of Sussex, in the interview Oprah with Meghan and Harry with Oprah Winfrey, in which she spoke of her mental health issues, which included suicidal thoughts, and she and Harry alleged racist comments from the extended family. A tense on-air argument with his co-host Alex Beresford on 9 March led him to walk off the set of the show. Beresford was highly critical of Morgan's attitude towards the Duchess, saying "She's entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you after she cut you off? I don't think she has, But yet you continue to trash her". Later in the day, Morgan quit the programme. The UK's mental health charity Mind expressed "disappointment" in Morgan's comments and said individuals with experience of mental health issues should be "treated with dignity, respect and empathy." ITV plc's chief executive, Carolyn McCall, defended the veracity of the Duchess's comments, adding "importantly everyone should."
ITV News reported the Duchess had complained directly to ITV's CEO about Morgan's comments about mental health, although the broadcaster was not officially commenting on these reports. Ofcom received a complaint from her.
Morgan issued a statement on Twitter, saying, "On Monday, I said I didn't believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I've had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don't. Freedom of speech is a hill I'm happy to die on." Broadcaster Andrew Neil described his departure as "a pity" for ITV because he had brought "energy, dynamism and controversy" to its morning broadcast schedule, adding "it had always lagged way behind the BBC breakfast time show and people tuned in because of him." Neil expressed interest in Morgan joining GB News instead. However, Neil later said that talks were affected by a disagreement: "he's [Morgan] got his own idea of what he is worth and we [GB News] have a slightly different idea of what he's worth". In Morgan's last week, Good Morning Britain surpassed the ratings of BBC Breakfast for the first time, and ITV lost almost £200m in market value following his departure.
Actor and comedian Steve Coogan, a prominent supporter of press regulation, described Morgan as "symptomatic of the problem" with the British tabloid media and accused him of "bullying behaviour" regarding his attitude to the Duchess.
Ofcom complaints
During his tenure at Good Morning Britain, Morgan was the subject of thousands of complaints to the British watchdog, Ofcom, relating to his comments.
In 2015, Morgan was criticised by Ofcom for laughing as a guest repeatedly used the word 'fucking' live on air. Although Ofcom did not take action as his co-presenter Susanna Reid quickly apologised, the watchdog expressed concern at his behaviour. In 2016, Ofcom received 70 complaints in relation to comments made by Morgan during interview with Christian magistrate Richard Page about gay marriage, that viewers felt "implied Christians were homophobic". Ofcom confirmed on 13 April 2016 that Morgan would not be investigated for his comments. On 22 January 2018, during a story about a homeless SAS veteran, who had a petition set up in his name calling on his local council to provide him with social housing, Morgan had refused to read out Herefordshire Council's statement. This was judged by Ofcom to be unfair to the council.
On 11 September 2019, Morgan claimed he identified himself as "a two-spirit penguin" in response to a news piece relating to gender neutrality, and said "the world has gone nuts" over gender. This attracted 950 Ofcom complaints from viewers. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in November 2019, and in response, Morgan admitted "he was personally quite pleased" with having one of the highest number of complaints to any British TV show in 2019.
On 21 January 2020, Morgan was accused of racism and was hit by 1,095 Ofcom complaints for his comments relating to a Chinese dairy advert, in which he said "He's using ching chong ching milk". Morgan also spoke over the advert, saying "ching chang cho jo". He was accused online of using language that is used to antagonise Chinese people and for mocking the Chinese language.
On 9 March 2021, Ofcom launched an investigation into the remarks Morgan made about the Duchess of Sussex's mental health on Good Morning Britain after receiving 41,015 complaints. The regulator confirmed on 12 March that the Duchess of Sussex had complained as well. On 17 March, it was reported that complaints against Morgan had reached 57,000, breaking Ofcom's record. Morgan remained defiant, stating "Only 57,000? I've had more people than that come up and congratulate me in the street for what I said. The vast majority of Britons are right behind me." Ofcom cleared ITV of any wrongdoing in September 2021 and added that restricting Morgan's views would be a "chilling restriction" on freedom of speech but criticised his "apparent disregard" for the subject of suicide. Morgan described the ruling as "a resounding victory for free speech and a resounding defeat for Princess Pinocchios."
Personal life
Morgan married Marion Shalloe, a hospital ward sister, in 1991. The couple had three sons, Albert, Spencer, and Stanley, and separated in 2004 before divorcing in 2008. In June 2010, he married his second wife, journalist Celia Walden, daughter of the former Conservative MP George Walden. On 25 November 2011, Walden gave birth to a daughter, Elise, her first child and Morgan's fourth.
Morgan's primary residence is in Kensington, London. He splits his time between a base in Los Angeles, California and a holiday home in Newick, East Sussex.
Morgan is a fan of Premier League football club Arsenal. He was an outspoken critic of former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and called for his sacking on many occasions. Speaking in defence of Wenger in 2015, former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson labelled Morgan an "incredibly pompous individual". When Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey met Morgan on 26 April 2015, Ramsey refused to shake his hand due to the criticism he received from Morgan during the 2012–13 season. Morgan has responded by calling Ramsey 'whatshisname'.
Politically, Morgan identified as a supporter of the Conservative Party in a 1994 interview, saying he was "still basically a Tory", but expressed admiration for the new Labour Party leader Tony Blair, saying "he's not radical, speaks well and makes sense". He voted for the Kensington Conservative candidate in the 2019 UK general election, after previously voting for the Animal Welfare Party. Morgan has also stated he has previously voted for the Labour Party.
On 24 July 2021, Morgan said he had developed COVID-19 after the Euro 2020 final, despite being fully vaccinated. He added that a strong fever, violent coughing, chills and sneezing fits left him exhausted and fearing what might come next.
Filmography
As himself
Bibliography
References
External links
1965 births
Living people
20th-century English male writers
20th-century English non-fiction writers
21st-century English writers
Alumni of Harlow College
America's Got Talent judges
British monarchists
English diarists
English expatriates in the United States
English male journalists
English newspaper editors
English people of Irish descent
English Roman Catholic writers
English social commentators
English television journalists
English television presenters
CNN people
Conservative Party (UK) people
Daily Mail journalists
Daily Mirror people
Gun control advocates
News of the World people
British opinion journalists
Participants in American reality television series
People educated at Priory School, Lewes
People from Lewes
People from Newick
The Apprentice (franchise) winners
The Sun (United Kingdom) people | false | [
"What Is There to Say (or more completely, What Is There to Say: Joe Pass Solo Guitar) is a live album by jazz guitarist Joe Pass, recorded in 1990 and released posthumously in 2001.\n\nTrack listing\n \"Django\" (John Lewis) – 5:02\n \"Old Folks\" (Willard Robison, Dedette Lee Hill) – 4:13\n \"I Concentrate on You\" (Cole Porter) – 4:04\n \"I'll Be Around\" (Alec Wilder) – 5:01\n \"They Can't Take That Away from Me\" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 4:02\n \"Medley: It's All in the Game/Yesterdays\" (Carl Sigman, Charles Dawes, Otto Harbach, Jerome Kern) – 6:29\n \"Come Rain or Come Shine\" (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) – 4:30\n \"On Green Dolphin Street\" (Bronisław Kaper, Ned Washington) – 7:01\n \"What Is There to Say?\" (Vernon Duke, E. Y. \"Yip\" Harburg) – 6:44\n \"Nobody Else But Me\" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern) – 5:17\n \"Lush Life\" (Billy Strayhorn) – 7:15\n\nPersonnel\n Joe Pass – guitar\n\nReferences\n\nJoe Pass live albums\nLive albums published posthumously\n2001 live albums\nPablo Records live albums",
"\n\nTrack listing\n Opening Overture\n \"I Get a Kick Out of You\" (Cole Porter)\n \"You Are the Sunshine of My Life\" (Stevie Wonder)\n \"You Will Be My Music\" (Joe Raposo)\n \"Don't Worry 'bout Me\" (Ted Koehler, Rube Bloom)\n \"If\" (David Gates)\n \"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown\" (Jim Croce)\n \"Ol' Man River\" (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II)\n Famous Monologue\n Saloon Trilogy: \"Last Night When We Were Young\"/\"Violets for Your Furs\"/\"Here's That Rainy Day\" (Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg)/(Matt Dennis, Tom Adair)/(Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke)\n \"I've Got You Under My Skin\" (Porter)\n \"My Kind of Town\" (Sammy Cahn, Van Heusen)\n \"Let Me Try Again\" (Paul Anka, Cahn, Michel Jourdan)\n \"The Lady Is a Tramp\" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)\n \"My Way\" (Anka, Claude Francois, Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaut)\n\nFrank Sinatra's Monologue About the Australian Press\nI do believe this is my interval, as we say... We've been having a marvelous time being chased around the country for three days. You know, I think it's worth mentioning because it's so idiotic, it's so ridiculous what's been happening. We came all the way to Australia because I chose to come here. I haven't been here for a long time and I wanted to come back for a few days. Wait now, wait. I'm not buttering anybody at all. I don't have to. I really don't have to. I like coming here. I like the people. I love your attitude. I like the booze and the beer and everything else that comes into the scene. I also like the way the country's growing and it's a swinging place.\n\nSo we come here and what happens? We gotta run all day long because of the parasites who chase us with automobiles. That's dangerous, too, on the road, you know. Might cause an accident. They won't quit. They wonder why I won't talk to them. I wouldn't drink their water, let alone talk to them. And if any of you folks in the press are in the audience, please quote me properly. Don't mix it up, do it exactly as I'm saying it, please. Write it down very clearly. One idiot called me up and he wanted to know what I had for breakfast. What the hell does he care what I had for breakfast? I was about to tell him what I did after breakfast. Oh, boy, they're murder! We have a name in the States for their counterparts: They're called parasites. Because they take and take and take and never give, absolutely, never give. I don't care what you think about any press in the world, I say they're bums and they'll always be bums, everyone of them. There are just a few exceptions to the rule. Some good editorial writers who don't go out in the street and chase people around. Critics don't bother me, because if I do badly, I know I'm bad before they even write it, and if I'm good, I know I'm good before they write it. It's true. I know best about myself. So, a critic is a critic. He doesn't anger me. It's the scandal man who bugs you, drives you crazy. It's the two-bit-type work that they do. They're pimps. They're just crazy, you know. And the broads who work in the press are the hookers of the press. Need I explain that to you? I might offer them a buck and a half... I'm not sure. I once gave a chick in Washington $2 and I overpaid her, I found out. She didn't even bathe. Imagine what that was like, ha, ha.\n\nNow, it's a good thing I'm not angry. Really. It's a good thing I'm not angry. I couldn't care less. The press of the world never made a person a star who was untalented, nor did they ever hurt any artist who was talented. So we, who have God-given talent, say, \"To hell with them.\" It doesn't make any difference, you know. And I want to say one more thing. From what I see what's happened since I was last here... what, 16 years ago? Twelve years ago. From what I've seen to happen with the type of news that they print in this town shocked me. And do you know what is devastating? It's old-fashioned. It was done in America and England twenty years ago. And they're catching up with it now, with the scandal sheet. They're rags, that's what they are. You use them to train your dog and your parrot. What else do I have to say? Oh, I guess that's it. That'll keep them talking to themselves for a while. I think most of them are a bunch of fags anyway. Never did a hard day's work in their life. I love when they say, \"What do you mean, you won't stand still when I take your picture?\" All of a sudden, they're God. We gotta do what they want us to do. It's incredible. A pox on them... Now, let's get down to some serious business here...\n\nSee also\nConcerts of Frank Sinatra\n\nFrank Sinatra"
] |
[
"Piers Morgan",
"Post-Mirror press career",
"How was his career after post-Mirror",
"former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: \"You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you,",
"What else did he say?",
"I don't know."
] | C_3f0f810151cd4c16b3a41b22787c7ca4_0 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 3 | In addition to George W Bush's quote, are there any other interesting aspects about this article concerning Piers Morgan? | Piers Morgan | In partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership in May 2005, of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its "cash cow", the British Press Awards, in a deal worth PS1 million. This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards. Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006, before being sold to a trade buyer. First News was launched by Morgan on 4 May 2006. A weekly paper aimed at seven to 14-year-olds, he claimed at its launch that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children". Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman". Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs, in 2007. Simon Cowell and others made much of Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in a Mirror headline after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, Mr President". In 2012, following the revelation of Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse against children, Morgan claimed to have "never met" Savile in his lifetime - although it was pointed out that in a 2009 piece by Morgan in The Mail on Sunday's Night & Day magazine claiming that "As I left, Jimmy Savile came up to me. 'Your TV shows are BRILLIANT!. he exclaimed. ... I've always loved Jimmy Savile." Later, in 2017, Morgan accused Ewan McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" for his past support of Roman Polanski cancelling an appearance on Good Morning Britain due to Morgan's comments opposing the Women's March on Washington. He became the editor-at-large of the Mail Online website's US operation in September 2014 and Morgan writes several columns a week. He also writes a weekly diary for the Mail on Sunday Event magazine, having also written one for its predecessor Live. CANNOTANSWER | " Later, in 2017, Morgan accused Ewan McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" | Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is an English broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at The Sun. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the News of the World by Rupert Murdoch, which made him the youngest editor of a British national newspaper in more than half a century. From 1995, Morgan edited the Daily Mirror, but was sacked in 2004. He was the editorial director of First News during 2006 to 2007.
On television, Morgan has hosted his own talk shows Piers Morgan's Life Stories (2009–present) and Piers Morgan Live (2011–2014), the latter on the American news network CNN, co-presented the ITV Breakfast programme Good Morning Britain (2015–2021) with Susanna Reid, and judged on the talent competition shows America's Got Talent (2006–2011) and Britain's Got Talent (2007–2010). In 2008, he won the seventh season of the US Celebrity Apprentice. In September 2021, it was announced Morgan would join News Corp as a presenter on their new television channel talkTV and as a columnist for The Sun and New York Post. The series will air in the UK, US, and Australia and is scheduled to launch in early 2022.
Morgan was the editor of the Daily Mirror during the period in which the paper was implicated in the phone hacking scandal. In 2011, Morgan denied having ever hacked a phone and stated that he had not, "to my knowledge published any story obtained from the hacking of a phone". The following year, he was criticised in the findings of the Leveson Inquiry by chair Brian Leveson, who stated that comments made in Morgan's testimony about phone hacking were "utterly unpersuasive" and "that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it". Morgan's outspoken views and controversial comments on Good Morning Britain led Ofcom to adjudicate on multiple occasions. On 9 March 2021, Morgan left the programme with immediate effect, following his criticism of the Oprah with Meghan and Harry interview. Ofcom received over 57,000 complaints from viewers, including a complaint from Meghan, Duchess of Sussex herself; Morgan was subsequently cleared of wrongdoing by Ofcom.
Early life and education
Morgan was born Piers Stefan O'Meara on 30 March 1965 in Surrey, the son of Vincent Eamonn O'Meara, an Irish dentist from County Offaly, and Gabrielle Georgina Sybille (née Oliver), an English woman who raised Morgan Catholic. With regard to his religious views, Morgan still identifies as a Catholic due to his mother's influence, and believes in an afterlife, but does not "go to Confession, probably because it would take [him] too long". He has a brother, Jeremy, who is older than him by two years. A few months after his birth, the family moved to Newick, East Sussex. His father died when Morgan was 11 months old; his mother later married Glynne Pughe-Morgan, a Welsh pub landlord who later worked in the meat distribution business, and he took his stepfather's surname. He was educated at the independent Cumnor House prep school between the ages of seven and 13, then Chailey School, a comprehensive secondary school in Chailey, followed by Priory School, Lewes, for sixth form. After nine months at Lloyd's of London, Morgan studied journalism at Harlow College, joining the Surrey and South London Newspaper Group in 1985.
Press career
At the Murdoch titles (1988–1995)
Morgan began to work as a freelance at The Sun in 1988, at this point dropping his double-barrelled name. He told Hunter Davies in December 1994 that he was personally recruited by Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie to work on the newspaper's show business column "Bizarre", his first high-profile post. Although he was not a fan of pop music, he was considered skilled at self-publicity and became the column's main writer. "I became the Friend of the Stars, a rampant egomaniac, pictured all the time with famous people – Madonna, Stallone, Bowie, Paul McCartney, hundreds of them. It was shameless, as they didn't know me from Adam", he told Davies.
In January 1994, he became editor of the News of the World after being appointed to the job by Rupert Murdoch. Initially an acting editor, he was confirmed in the summer, becoming at 29 the youngest national newspaper editor in more than half a century. In this period, the newspaper led with a series of scoops for which Morgan credited a highly efficient newsdesk and publicist Max Clifford.
Morgan left this post in 1995 shortly after publishing photographs of Catherine Victoria Lockwood, then wife of Charles, Earl Spencer, leaving an addictive disorders clinic in Surrey. This action ran against the editors' code of conduct, a misdemeanour for which the Press Complaints Commission upheld a complaint against Morgan. Murdoch was reported as having said that "the boy went too far" and publicly distanced himself from the story. Fearful of a privacy law action if he had not criticised one of his employees, Murdoch is said to have apologised to Morgan in private.
The incident was reported to have contributed to Morgan's decision to leave for the Daily Mirror editorship. Morgan's autobiography The Insider states that he left the News of the World for the Mirror of his own choice. It asserts he was an admirer of former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for most of her period of office, making the appointment surprising as the Mirror is a Labour-supporting title.
Daily Mirror editor
As editor of the Daily Mirror, Morgan apologised on television for the headline (rendered in upper case) "Achtung Surrender! For You Fritz Ze Euro Championship Is Over" on 25 June 1996, a day before England met Germany in a semi-final of the Euro '96 football championships. The headline was accompanied by an open letter from Morgan parodying Neville Chamberlain's declaration of war on Germany in 1939. "It was intended as a joke, but anyone who was offended by it must have taken it seriously, and to those people I say sorry," he said. Germany won the match and later the championship at Wembley Stadium, London.
A £16 million package of investment in the title was rolled out from January, including the dropping of "Daily" from the masthead in February, which was later reversed. Roy Greenslade wrote in August 1999 that Morgan's editorship "has made a huge difference: his enormous enthusiasm, determination and focus is a major plus".
Morgan was the subject of an investigation in 2000 after Suzy Jagger wrote an article for The Daily Telegraph revealing that he had bought £20,000 worth of shares in the computer company Viglen soon before the Mirror 's "City Slickers" column tipped Viglen as a good buy. Morgan was found by the Press Complaints Commission to have breached the Code of Conduct on financial journalism, but kept his job. The "City Slickers" columnists, Anil Bhoyrul and James Hipwell, were both found to have committed further breaches of the Code and were sacked before the inquiry concluded. Further enquiry by the Department of Trade and Industry in 2004 cleared Morgan of any charges. On 7 December 2005, Bhoyrul and Hipwell were convicted of conspiracy to breach the Financial Services Act. During the trial it emerged that Morgan had bought £67,000 worth of Viglen shares, emptying his bank account and investing under his (first) wife's name as well.
The Mirror attempted to move mid-market in 2002, eschewing the more trivial stories of show-business and gossip, and appointed Christopher Hitchens as a columnist, but sales declined. In October 2003, journalist and television personality Jeremy Clarkson emptied a glass of water over Morgan during the last flight of Concorde in response to some photographs published in the Mirror. In March 2004, at the British Press Awards, Clarkson punched Morgan three times during another argument. in Campbell v MGN Ltd, the Law Lords in May 2004 found in favour of model Naomi Campbell on privacy grounds after the Mirror had published a photograph of her entering a Narcotics Anonymous clinic. Morgan was critical of the judgement saying it was "a good day for lying, drug-abusing prima donnas who want to have their cake with the media and the right to then shamelessly guzzle with their Cristal champagne."
In the wake of the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, Morgan was sacked as editor of the Daily Mirror "with immediate effect" on 14 May 2004, after refusing to apologise to Sly Bailey, then head of Trinity Mirror, for authorising the newspaper's publication of fake photographs. The photos were alleged to show Iraqi prisoners being abused by British Army soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment. Within days the photographs were shown to be crude fakes. According to official British sources, the photographs were apparently shot, in North-West England. Under the headline "SORRY..WE WERE HOAXED", the Mirror responded that it had fallen victim to a "calculated and malicious hoax" and apologised for the publication of the photographs. However, Morgan refused to admit that the photographs were faked, and stated that the abuse shown in the photographs is similar to the sort of abuse that was happening in the British Army in Iraq at the time.
Post-Mirror press activities
In partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership in May 2005 of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its "cash cow", the British Press Awards, in a deal worth £1 million. This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards. Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006, before being sold to a trade buyer.
First News was launched by Morgan on 4 May 2006. A weekly paper aimed at seven to 14-year-olds, he said at its launch that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children". Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman".
In Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs. Simon Cowell outspokenly mocked Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in a Mirror headline after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, Mr President".
In 2012, following the revelation of Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse against children, Morgan said he had "never met" Savile in his lifetime, contradicting a 2009 piece he wrote in The Mail on Sunday Night & Day magazine saying that "As I left, Jimmy Savile came up to me. 'Your TV shows are BRILLIANT!, he exclaimed. ... I've always loved Jimmy Savile."
In September 2014, Morgan became the first editor-at-large of the MailOnline website's US operation and wrote several columns a week.
Television career
Morgan's career expanded into television presenting before he left the Daily Mirror. He presented a three-part television documentary series for the BBC titled The Importance of Being Famous (2003), about fame and the manner in which celebrities are covered by modern media. At the annual Pride of Britain Awards broadcast on ITV, Morgan chaired a panel of prominent people who had chosen the recipients of the awards from 1999 to 2006.
He co-hosted a current affairs interview show on Channel 4 with Amanda Platell, Morgan and Platell. Morgan and Platell were put together because of their opposing political viewpoints; Platell interrogated guests from the right wing, Morgan from the left wing. The show was dropped after three series reputedly because of poor viewing figures, although the chairman of Channel 4 Luke Johnson was reported not to like the programme.
Throughout 2006, Morgan appeared as a judge on the television show America's Got Talent alongside Brandy Norwood and David Hasselhoff on NBC. Morgan was chosen by Simon Cowell as a replacement for himself because of the conditions of his American Idol contract. Morgan appeared as a celebrity contestant on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice in 2007, to raise money for the BBC charity telethon Comic Relief. After his team lost, Morgan was selected by Sir Alan Sugar as the contestant to be fired.
In 2007, Morgan appeared as a judge for the second season of America's Got Talent and also appeared as a judge on Britain's Got Talent on ITV with Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell.
He also presented You Can't Fire Me, I'm Famous on BBC One. He fronted a three-part documentary about Sandbanks for ITV entitled Piers Morgan on Sandbanks in January 2008.
In 2008, Morgan signed a two-year "golden handcuffs" deal with ITV in May, reportedly worth £2 million per year. As part of the deal, he would continue as a judge on Britain's Got Talent for at least two more series and front a new chat show. He also made some interview specials, plus three more documentaries from various countries. Morgan's golden handcuffs deal was the first signing by ITV's new director of television, Peter Fincham.
In February 2009, he began a three-part series, Piers Morgan On..., which saw him visit Dubai, Monte Carlo and Hollywood. The programme returned for a second series in 2010 when Morgan visited Las Vegas in one episode.
In 2009, Morgan also began hosting Piers Morgan's Life Stories on ITV, with Sharon Osbourne as the subject of the first episode. Other guests on the programme included Cheryl and the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
On 17 January 2011, Morgan replaced Larry King in CNN's evening line-up with his show, Piers Morgan Live. After poor ratings, the show was cancelled in February 2014 and ended its run in March 2014. Commenting on the viewing figures, Morgan said that he was "a British guy debating American cultural issues, including guns, which has been very polarizing, and there is no doubt that there are many in the audience who are tired of me banging on about it."
From 13 to 17 April 2015, Morgan guest-hosted five episodes of Good Morning Britain on ITV and became a permanent co-host in November 2015, appearing alongside Susanna Reid and Charlotte Hawkins. He often clashed with Reid, who said of her colleague: "You can't help but go into battle with him every morning". Morgan left the series in March 2021 following a controversy over his remarks about Oprah with Meghan and Harry, which included a heated on-air argument with Alex Beresford.
From 2016 to 2017, Morgan interviewed female murderers on the TV series Killer Women with Piers Morgan. He also presented Serial Killer with Piers Morgan, as part of the 2017 Crime & Punishment season on ITV. In October 2018, Morgan appeared as a cameo on Hollyoaks.
On 16 September 2021, News UK announced its new channel talkTV would launch in 2022, with Morgan being the first name signed up.
Donald Trump
Morgan was the winner of the U.S. celebrity version of The Apprentice, in 2008. He was eventually the overall winner, being named Celebrity Apprentice by host Donald Trump on 27 March, ahead of fellow finalist, American country music star Trace Adkins, and having raised substantially more cash than all the other contestants combined. Morgan was called "ruthless, arrogant, evil and obnoxious" by Trump in the final.
Morgan stated he personally would not vote for Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election (though as a permanent resident of the United States, not a citizen, he is not qualified to vote). He predicted Trump's election as President of the United States and has described himself as a close friend. Morgan interviewed Trump on Good Morning Britain in March 2016.
Morgan appeared on ITV's Loose Women panel show in late January 2017, and was challenged to repudiate Trump. He refused to do so, despite stating that he disagreed with him on many issues relating to gun control, climate change, abortion, and the "Muslim travel ban", saying that he found the principle of the ban understandable, but disagreed with "the way [Trump] has gone about it".
Nearly a fortnight later, on the American talk show Real Time with Bill Maher, Morgan said "There is no Muslim ban", as "85% of the world's Muslims are allowed in the country". Another participant in the discussion, Australian comedian Jim Jefferies, immediately swore at Morgan and criticised his defence of Trump. After the novelist J. K. Rowling tweeted "Yes, watching Piers Morgan being told to fuck off on live TV is *exactly* as satisfying as I'd always imagined", the two began an exchange of words on the social media site.
Morgan criticised Trump after Trump had retweeted Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of the small far-right fascist party Britain First, in late November 2017. He tweeted to Trump: "What the hell are you doing retweeting a bunch of unverified videos by Britain First, a bunch of disgustingly racist far-right extremists? Please STOP this madness & undo your retweets".
In January 2018, Morgan presented President Trump – The Piers Morgan Interview for ITV, which many thought of as "sycophantic" and a "love-in" for Trump. Of respondents to a Radio Times Twitter poll, 88% viewed Morgan as being not "tough enough" on Trump. Morgan interviewed Trump again in July 2018 during his official visit to the UK, this time on Air Force One during an internal flight, in a TV special entitled Piers, The President and Air Force One.
In December 2018, Morgan wrote a letter to Trump formally applying to become White House Chief of Staff.
During Trump's state visit to the United Kingdom in June 2019, Morgan once again interviewed Trump, this time at the Churchill War Rooms.
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Morgan wrote a highly critical article of Trump's handling of the crisis in his column for MailOnline. Morgan particularly took issue with Trump's suggestion of looking into "ingesting" disinfectant as a possible solution, describing it as "batshit crazy". In response to the criticism, Trump unfollowed Morgan on Twitter.
In the aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Morgan stated that Trump was "mentally unfit" to remain as president. He claimed that the pandemic and Trump's election loss that followed had "sent him nuts". In response to whether he regretted his support of Trump, Morgan said "No question. I never thought he was capable of this."
Controversies
Ian Hislop
Morgan appeared as a guest on the BBC satirical news quiz Have I Got News for You in an episode transmitted on 24 May 1996. In it, show regular Ian Hislop accused Morgan of having him followed and having his house watched. The conflict escalated and at one point the host, Angus Deayton, asked if they wished to go outside and have a fight. Later on, guest panellist Clive Anderson confronted Morgan commenting, "the last time I was rude to you, you sent photographers to my doorstep the next day", to which Piers Morgan retorted, "You won't see them this time." The audience responded loudly in favour of Hislop. The Guardian reported on the state of the feud in 2002. "We're about to start exposing the moon-faced midget", Morgan was quoted as saying, to which Hislop responded, "all he's been offering for information about my private life is a £50 reward. My friends think that's not nearly enough."
In 2007, Hislop chose Morgan as one of his pet hates on Room 101. In doing so, Hislop spoke of the history of animosity between himself and Morgan and said that after their exchange on Have I Got News For You (which was shown as a clip), Morgan's reporters were tasked with trying to get gossip on Hislop's private life (including phoning acquaintances of Hislop), and photographers were sent in case Hislop did anything untoward or embarrassing while in their presence. Neither the reporters nor the photographers succeeded. Hislop also said that Morgan had attempted to quell the feud in an article in The Mail on Sunday, saying, "The war is over. I'm officially calling an end to hostilities, at least from my end. I'm sure it won't stop him carrying on his 'Piers Moron' stuff" (Private Eye, the fortnightly satirical magazine that Hislop edits, regularly calls Morgan 'Piers Moron'). Hislop, who was working on a World War I documentary at the time, responded by asking "Is that an armistice or an unconditional surrender?" Although Paul Merton – host of Room 101 at the time and a good friend of Hislop (the pair having captained the teams on Have I Got News For You since its inception) – agreed to put Morgan into Room 101, he then comically rejected Morgan as being "too toxic" for Room 101.
Phone hacking allegations
During Morgan's tenure as editor, the Daily Mirror was advised by Steven Nott that voicemail interception was possible by means of a standard PIN code. Despite staff initially expressing enthusiasm for the story it did not appear in the paper, although it did subsequently feature in a South Wales Argus article and on BBC Radio 5 Live in October 1999. On 18 July 2011 Nott was visited by officers of Operation Weeting.
He came under criticism for his "boasting" about phone hacking from Conservative MP Louise Mensch, who has since apologised for these accusations.
In July 2011, in a sequence of articles, political blogger Paul Staines alleged that while editor of the Daily Mirror in 2002 Morgan published a story concerning the affair of Sven-Göran Eriksson and Ulrika Jonsson while knowing it to have been obtained by phone hacking.
On 20 December 2011, Morgan appeared as a witness by satellite link from the United States at the Leveson Inquiry. While he said he had no reason to believe that phone hacking had occurred at the Mirror while he was in charge there, he admitted to hearing a recording of an answerphone message left by Paul McCartney for Heather Mills, but refused to "discuss where that tape was played or who made [it] – it would compromise a source." Appearing as a witness at the same Inquiry on 9 February 2012, Mills was asked under oath if she had ever made a recording of McCartney's phone call or had played it to Morgan; she replied: "Never". She said that she had never authorised Morgan, or anybody, to access or listen to her voicemails. Mills told the inquiry that Morgan, "a man that has written nothing but awful things about me for years", would have relished telling the inquiry if she had played a personal voicemail message to him.
On 23 May 2012, Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman was a witness at the Leveson Inquiry. He recalled a lunch with the Mirror editor in September 2002 at which Morgan outlined the means of hacking into a mobile phone.
On 28 November 2012, the Channel 4 documentary Taking on the Tabloids, fronted by actor and phone hacking victim Hugh Grant, showed footage from a 2003 interview with Morgan by the singer and phone hacking victim Charlotte Church, during which he explained to her how to avoid answerphone messages being listened to by journalists. He said: "You can access ... voicemails by typing in a number. Now, are you really telling me that journalists aren't going to do that?"
On 29 November 2012, the official findings of the Leveson Inquiry were released, in which Lord Justice Leveson said that Morgan's testimony under oath on phone hacking was "utterly unpersuasive". He stated: "[The] evidence does not establish that [Morgan] authorised the hacking of voicemails or that journalists employed by TMG [Trinity Mirror Group] were indulging in this practice ... What it does, however, clearly prove is that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it."
On 6 December 2013, Morgan was interviewed, under caution, by police officers from Operation Weeting investigating phone hacking allegations at Mirror Group Newspapers during his tenure as editor.
On 24 September 2014, the Trinity Mirror publishing group admitted for the first time that some of its journalists had been involved in phone hacking and agreed to pay compensation to four people who sued for the alleged hacking of voicemails. Six other phone-hacking claims had already been settled. The BBC reported that it had seen legal papers showing that although the alleged hacking could have taken place as early as 1998, the bulk of the alleged wrongdoing took place in the early 2000s when Morgan was the Daily Mirror editor. The admissions by Trinity Mirror came whilst the London Metropolitan Police investigation into the phone hacking allegations was ongoing. Morgan has always denied any involvement in the practice.
Feuds and banned television guests
A feud between Morgan and A. A. Gill began when Morgan described Gill's partner Nicola Formby as a sex kitten on whom the mists of time had taken their toll and said she had shown him "porn shots" of herself. Gill said Morgan had made this up and called him a "pretty objectionable self-publicist".
In May 2011, Morgan banned actor Hugh Grant from his shows on CNN and ITV after Grant spoke out against the need for the tabloid press. On Twitter he responded: "Hugh Grant is now banned, in perpetuity, from @PiersTonight and Life Stories and anything else I ever do. Tedious little man."
On 28 March 2012, MTV referred to the bad relations between Morgan and Madonna, reporting that "Morgan has apparently felt slighted over the years by Madonna...he claims he was lied to by the singer's publicist."
In September 2012, it was reported that Morgan had also banned actor Kelsey Grammer. Morgan himself said, "Kelsey Grammer saw a photo of his ex-wife Camille in the open of our show and legged it." TVGuide reported, "All plans were still a go for the segment until Grammer actually got in the hot seat and saw the footage the producers had planned to peg to the segment, including a picture of his ex-wife". On 26 September 2012, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported that "many say [it] was an ambush by Piers". The Huffington Post reported that "before the interview was scheduled, it was made clear that Grammer would answer all questions, including those about [his ex-wife]. His sole request was not to show any images of her."
On 4 February 2014, transgender advocate Janet Mock appeared as a guest on Piers Morgan Live to discuss her memoir, Redefining Realness. After the interview aired, Mock sent a series of tweets criticising Morgan for describing Mock as being "formerly a man". Morgan responded that he had "never been treated in such a disgraceful manner" by a guest. On 5 February, Mock appeared as a guest again to debate the dispute.
Morgan has repeatedly clashed with actor John Cleese. In 2015 Cleese stated that he "truly detested" Morgan and had avoided him in a restaurant. He also said he thought Morgan was "in jail", erroneously stating that Morgan had "admitted" to authorising phone-hacking. Morgan responded that the "revulsion" between them was "mutual". When Cleese's tweet about detesting Morgan became his most popular to date, Cleese said "clearly I must insult the slimy, attention-seeking little prole more often". Morgan joked that he was glad to have been able to make Cleese "popular again". In 2017 Cleese told Radio Times "I always thought he was an awful creep [...] I just didn't want to have an encounter with him and since then he's been after me and I've been after him."
Morgan strongly objected to the Women's March on Washington on 21 January 2017, the day after Trump's inauguration, describing protesters as "rabid feminists" and the multiple protests as being "vacuous". The actor Ewan McGregor disagreed with Morgan's statements on the Women's March and pulled out of appearing on Good Morning Britain the following Tuesday after discovering Morgan would be interviewing him, along with Reid. Morgan accused McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" for his past support of Roman Polanski.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Morgan was briefly a friend of Meghan Markle before she became the Duchess of Sussex, but claimed she cut him off early in her relationship with Prince Harry. He has been a regular critic of the couple since then, alleging they are hypocrites and claiming the Duchess is a social climber.
When the couple stepped away from conducting official royal duties early in 2020, Morgan described them as being "the two most spoiled brats in history". Ten days later, he said: "Only surprised it took her so long to get Harry to ditch his family, the monarchy, the military and his country. What a piece of work." Responding to Morgan on Twitter, British comedian Gina Yashere wrote of the broadcaster's "constant racist vitriolic abuse disguised as criticism". Morgan responded that Yashere was being "ridiculous", arguing that the critical responses to the Duchess has "nothing to do with her skin color and everything to do with her being a shameless piece of work doing huge damage to our Royal Family." In a segment of Good Morning Britain on 13 January, Morgan interviewed Afua Hirsch, who accused parts of the British media of behaving in a racist manner towards the Duchess, an interpretation that Morgan said was "completely and grotesquely wrong". InfluencHers, a group of 100 African Caribbean women, advocated an advertisers' boycott of Good Morning Britain. The campaigners described the programme as having "sanctioning bullying and blatant unapologetic disrespect of women" in allowing Morgan's treatment of Hirsch.
When challenged by Decca Aitkenhead of The Sunday Times in May 2020 over "his vendetta" against the Duchess, with Aitkenhead suggesting he had gone too far, Morgan said: "I think that's a perfectly fair criticism. It's probably not wise, if you're a columnist, to make things too personal. Have I taken things a bit too far? Probably. Do I think that will govern and temper how I talk about them going forward? Absolutely."
On Good Morning Britain on 8 and 9 March 2021, Morgan said he doubted the accuracy of the account given by the Duchess of Sussex, in the interview Oprah with Meghan and Harry with Oprah Winfrey, in which she spoke of her mental health issues, which included suicidal thoughts, and she and Harry alleged racist comments from the extended family. A tense on-air argument with his co-host Alex Beresford on 9 March led him to walk off the set of the show. Beresford was highly critical of Morgan's attitude towards the Duchess, saying "She's entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you after she cut you off? I don't think she has, But yet you continue to trash her". Later in the day, Morgan quit the programme. The UK's mental health charity Mind expressed "disappointment" in Morgan's comments and said individuals with experience of mental health issues should be "treated with dignity, respect and empathy." ITV plc's chief executive, Carolyn McCall, defended the veracity of the Duchess's comments, adding "importantly everyone should."
ITV News reported the Duchess had complained directly to ITV's CEO about Morgan's comments about mental health, although the broadcaster was not officially commenting on these reports. Ofcom received a complaint from her.
Morgan issued a statement on Twitter, saying, "On Monday, I said I didn't believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I've had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don't. Freedom of speech is a hill I'm happy to die on." Broadcaster Andrew Neil described his departure as "a pity" for ITV because he had brought "energy, dynamism and controversy" to its morning broadcast schedule, adding "it had always lagged way behind the BBC breakfast time show and people tuned in because of him." Neil expressed interest in Morgan joining GB News instead. However, Neil later said that talks were affected by a disagreement: "he's [Morgan] got his own idea of what he is worth and we [GB News] have a slightly different idea of what he's worth". In Morgan's last week, Good Morning Britain surpassed the ratings of BBC Breakfast for the first time, and ITV lost almost £200m in market value following his departure.
Actor and comedian Steve Coogan, a prominent supporter of press regulation, described Morgan as "symptomatic of the problem" with the British tabloid media and accused him of "bullying behaviour" regarding his attitude to the Duchess.
Ofcom complaints
During his tenure at Good Morning Britain, Morgan was the subject of thousands of complaints to the British watchdog, Ofcom, relating to his comments.
In 2015, Morgan was criticised by Ofcom for laughing as a guest repeatedly used the word 'fucking' live on air. Although Ofcom did not take action as his co-presenter Susanna Reid quickly apologised, the watchdog expressed concern at his behaviour. In 2016, Ofcom received 70 complaints in relation to comments made by Morgan during interview with Christian magistrate Richard Page about gay marriage, that viewers felt "implied Christians were homophobic". Ofcom confirmed on 13 April 2016 that Morgan would not be investigated for his comments. On 22 January 2018, during a story about a homeless SAS veteran, who had a petition set up in his name calling on his local council to provide him with social housing, Morgan had refused to read out Herefordshire Council's statement. This was judged by Ofcom to be unfair to the council.
On 11 September 2019, Morgan claimed he identified himself as "a two-spirit penguin" in response to a news piece relating to gender neutrality, and said "the world has gone nuts" over gender. This attracted 950 Ofcom complaints from viewers. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in November 2019, and in response, Morgan admitted "he was personally quite pleased" with having one of the highest number of complaints to any British TV show in 2019.
On 21 January 2020, Morgan was accused of racism and was hit by 1,095 Ofcom complaints for his comments relating to a Chinese dairy advert, in which he said "He's using ching chong ching milk". Morgan also spoke over the advert, saying "ching chang cho jo". He was accused online of using language that is used to antagonise Chinese people and for mocking the Chinese language.
On 9 March 2021, Ofcom launched an investigation into the remarks Morgan made about the Duchess of Sussex's mental health on Good Morning Britain after receiving 41,015 complaints. The regulator confirmed on 12 March that the Duchess of Sussex had complained as well. On 17 March, it was reported that complaints against Morgan had reached 57,000, breaking Ofcom's record. Morgan remained defiant, stating "Only 57,000? I've had more people than that come up and congratulate me in the street for what I said. The vast majority of Britons are right behind me." Ofcom cleared ITV of any wrongdoing in September 2021 and added that restricting Morgan's views would be a "chilling restriction" on freedom of speech but criticised his "apparent disregard" for the subject of suicide. Morgan described the ruling as "a resounding victory for free speech and a resounding defeat for Princess Pinocchios."
Personal life
Morgan married Marion Shalloe, a hospital ward sister, in 1991. The couple had three sons, Albert, Spencer, and Stanley, and separated in 2004 before divorcing in 2008. In June 2010, he married his second wife, journalist Celia Walden, daughter of the former Conservative MP George Walden. On 25 November 2011, Walden gave birth to a daughter, Elise, her first child and Morgan's fourth.
Morgan's primary residence is in Kensington, London. He splits his time between a base in Los Angeles, California and a holiday home in Newick, East Sussex.
Morgan is a fan of Premier League football club Arsenal. He was an outspoken critic of former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and called for his sacking on many occasions. Speaking in defence of Wenger in 2015, former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson labelled Morgan an "incredibly pompous individual". When Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey met Morgan on 26 April 2015, Ramsey refused to shake his hand due to the criticism he received from Morgan during the 2012–13 season. Morgan has responded by calling Ramsey 'whatshisname'.
Politically, Morgan identified as a supporter of the Conservative Party in a 1994 interview, saying he was "still basically a Tory", but expressed admiration for the new Labour Party leader Tony Blair, saying "he's not radical, speaks well and makes sense". He voted for the Kensington Conservative candidate in the 2019 UK general election, after previously voting for the Animal Welfare Party. Morgan has also stated he has previously voted for the Labour Party.
On 24 July 2021, Morgan said he had developed COVID-19 after the Euro 2020 final, despite being fully vaccinated. He added that a strong fever, violent coughing, chills and sneezing fits left him exhausted and fearing what might come next.
Filmography
As himself
Bibliography
References
External links
1965 births
Living people
20th-century English male writers
20th-century English non-fiction writers
21st-century English writers
Alumni of Harlow College
America's Got Talent judges
British monarchists
English diarists
English expatriates in the United States
English male journalists
English newspaper editors
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The Sun (United Kingdom) people | false | [
"Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region",
"Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts"
] |
[
"Piers Morgan",
"Post-Mirror press career",
"How was his career after post-Mirror",
"former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: \"You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you,",
"What else did he say?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"\" Later, in 2017, Morgan accused Ewan McGregor of being a \"paedophile-loving hypocrite\""
] | C_3f0f810151cd4c16b3a41b22787c7ca4_0 | Did he say more rude things after that? | 4 | After Piers Morgan accused Ewan McGregor of being a paedophile-loving hypocrite, did Piers say more rude things? | Piers Morgan | In partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership in May 2005, of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its "cash cow", the British Press Awards, in a deal worth PS1 million. This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards. Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006, before being sold to a trade buyer. First News was launched by Morgan on 4 May 2006. A weekly paper aimed at seven to 14-year-olds, he claimed at its launch that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children". Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman". Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs, in 2007. Simon Cowell and others made much of Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in a Mirror headline after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, Mr President". In 2012, following the revelation of Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse against children, Morgan claimed to have "never met" Savile in his lifetime - although it was pointed out that in a 2009 piece by Morgan in The Mail on Sunday's Night & Day magazine claiming that "As I left, Jimmy Savile came up to me. 'Your TV shows are BRILLIANT!. he exclaimed. ... I've always loved Jimmy Savile." Later, in 2017, Morgan accused Ewan McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" for his past support of Roman Polanski cancelling an appearance on Good Morning Britain due to Morgan's comments opposing the Women's March on Washington. He became the editor-at-large of the Mail Online website's US operation in September 2014 and Morgan writes several columns a week. He also writes a weekly diary for the Mail on Sunday Event magazine, having also written one for its predecessor Live. CANNOTANSWER | cancelling an appearance on Good Morning Britain due to Morgan's comments opposing the Women's March on Washington. | Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is an English broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at The Sun. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the News of the World by Rupert Murdoch, which made him the youngest editor of a British national newspaper in more than half a century. From 1995, Morgan edited the Daily Mirror, but was sacked in 2004. He was the editorial director of First News during 2006 to 2007.
On television, Morgan has hosted his own talk shows Piers Morgan's Life Stories (2009–present) and Piers Morgan Live (2011–2014), the latter on the American news network CNN, co-presented the ITV Breakfast programme Good Morning Britain (2015–2021) with Susanna Reid, and judged on the talent competition shows America's Got Talent (2006–2011) and Britain's Got Talent (2007–2010). In 2008, he won the seventh season of the US Celebrity Apprentice. In September 2021, it was announced Morgan would join News Corp as a presenter on their new television channel talkTV and as a columnist for The Sun and New York Post. The series will air in the UK, US, and Australia and is scheduled to launch in early 2022.
Morgan was the editor of the Daily Mirror during the period in which the paper was implicated in the phone hacking scandal. In 2011, Morgan denied having ever hacked a phone and stated that he had not, "to my knowledge published any story obtained from the hacking of a phone". The following year, he was criticised in the findings of the Leveson Inquiry by chair Brian Leveson, who stated that comments made in Morgan's testimony about phone hacking were "utterly unpersuasive" and "that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it". Morgan's outspoken views and controversial comments on Good Morning Britain led Ofcom to adjudicate on multiple occasions. On 9 March 2021, Morgan left the programme with immediate effect, following his criticism of the Oprah with Meghan and Harry interview. Ofcom received over 57,000 complaints from viewers, including a complaint from Meghan, Duchess of Sussex herself; Morgan was subsequently cleared of wrongdoing by Ofcom.
Early life and education
Morgan was born Piers Stefan O'Meara on 30 March 1965 in Surrey, the son of Vincent Eamonn O'Meara, an Irish dentist from County Offaly, and Gabrielle Georgina Sybille (née Oliver), an English woman who raised Morgan Catholic. With regard to his religious views, Morgan still identifies as a Catholic due to his mother's influence, and believes in an afterlife, but does not "go to Confession, probably because it would take [him] too long". He has a brother, Jeremy, who is older than him by two years. A few months after his birth, the family moved to Newick, East Sussex. His father died when Morgan was 11 months old; his mother later married Glynne Pughe-Morgan, a Welsh pub landlord who later worked in the meat distribution business, and he took his stepfather's surname. He was educated at the independent Cumnor House prep school between the ages of seven and 13, then Chailey School, a comprehensive secondary school in Chailey, followed by Priory School, Lewes, for sixth form. After nine months at Lloyd's of London, Morgan studied journalism at Harlow College, joining the Surrey and South London Newspaper Group in 1985.
Press career
At the Murdoch titles (1988–1995)
Morgan began to work as a freelance at The Sun in 1988, at this point dropping his double-barrelled name. He told Hunter Davies in December 1994 that he was personally recruited by Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie to work on the newspaper's show business column "Bizarre", his first high-profile post. Although he was not a fan of pop music, he was considered skilled at self-publicity and became the column's main writer. "I became the Friend of the Stars, a rampant egomaniac, pictured all the time with famous people – Madonna, Stallone, Bowie, Paul McCartney, hundreds of them. It was shameless, as they didn't know me from Adam", he told Davies.
In January 1994, he became editor of the News of the World after being appointed to the job by Rupert Murdoch. Initially an acting editor, he was confirmed in the summer, becoming at 29 the youngest national newspaper editor in more than half a century. In this period, the newspaper led with a series of scoops for which Morgan credited a highly efficient newsdesk and publicist Max Clifford.
Morgan left this post in 1995 shortly after publishing photographs of Catherine Victoria Lockwood, then wife of Charles, Earl Spencer, leaving an addictive disorders clinic in Surrey. This action ran against the editors' code of conduct, a misdemeanour for which the Press Complaints Commission upheld a complaint against Morgan. Murdoch was reported as having said that "the boy went too far" and publicly distanced himself from the story. Fearful of a privacy law action if he had not criticised one of his employees, Murdoch is said to have apologised to Morgan in private.
The incident was reported to have contributed to Morgan's decision to leave for the Daily Mirror editorship. Morgan's autobiography The Insider states that he left the News of the World for the Mirror of his own choice. It asserts he was an admirer of former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for most of her period of office, making the appointment surprising as the Mirror is a Labour-supporting title.
Daily Mirror editor
As editor of the Daily Mirror, Morgan apologised on television for the headline (rendered in upper case) "Achtung Surrender! For You Fritz Ze Euro Championship Is Over" on 25 June 1996, a day before England met Germany in a semi-final of the Euro '96 football championships. The headline was accompanied by an open letter from Morgan parodying Neville Chamberlain's declaration of war on Germany in 1939. "It was intended as a joke, but anyone who was offended by it must have taken it seriously, and to those people I say sorry," he said. Germany won the match and later the championship at Wembley Stadium, London.
A £16 million package of investment in the title was rolled out from January, including the dropping of "Daily" from the masthead in February, which was later reversed. Roy Greenslade wrote in August 1999 that Morgan's editorship "has made a huge difference: his enormous enthusiasm, determination and focus is a major plus".
Morgan was the subject of an investigation in 2000 after Suzy Jagger wrote an article for The Daily Telegraph revealing that he had bought £20,000 worth of shares in the computer company Viglen soon before the Mirror 's "City Slickers" column tipped Viglen as a good buy. Morgan was found by the Press Complaints Commission to have breached the Code of Conduct on financial journalism, but kept his job. The "City Slickers" columnists, Anil Bhoyrul and James Hipwell, were both found to have committed further breaches of the Code and were sacked before the inquiry concluded. Further enquiry by the Department of Trade and Industry in 2004 cleared Morgan of any charges. On 7 December 2005, Bhoyrul and Hipwell were convicted of conspiracy to breach the Financial Services Act. During the trial it emerged that Morgan had bought £67,000 worth of Viglen shares, emptying his bank account and investing under his (first) wife's name as well.
The Mirror attempted to move mid-market in 2002, eschewing the more trivial stories of show-business and gossip, and appointed Christopher Hitchens as a columnist, but sales declined. In October 2003, journalist and television personality Jeremy Clarkson emptied a glass of water over Morgan during the last flight of Concorde in response to some photographs published in the Mirror. In March 2004, at the British Press Awards, Clarkson punched Morgan three times during another argument. in Campbell v MGN Ltd, the Law Lords in May 2004 found in favour of model Naomi Campbell on privacy grounds after the Mirror had published a photograph of her entering a Narcotics Anonymous clinic. Morgan was critical of the judgement saying it was "a good day for lying, drug-abusing prima donnas who want to have their cake with the media and the right to then shamelessly guzzle with their Cristal champagne."
In the wake of the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, Morgan was sacked as editor of the Daily Mirror "with immediate effect" on 14 May 2004, after refusing to apologise to Sly Bailey, then head of Trinity Mirror, for authorising the newspaper's publication of fake photographs. The photos were alleged to show Iraqi prisoners being abused by British Army soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment. Within days the photographs were shown to be crude fakes. According to official British sources, the photographs were apparently shot, in North-West England. Under the headline "SORRY..WE WERE HOAXED", the Mirror responded that it had fallen victim to a "calculated and malicious hoax" and apologised for the publication of the photographs. However, Morgan refused to admit that the photographs were faked, and stated that the abuse shown in the photographs is similar to the sort of abuse that was happening in the British Army in Iraq at the time.
Post-Mirror press activities
In partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership in May 2005 of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its "cash cow", the British Press Awards, in a deal worth £1 million. This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards. Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006, before being sold to a trade buyer.
First News was launched by Morgan on 4 May 2006. A weekly paper aimed at seven to 14-year-olds, he said at its launch that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children". Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman".
In Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs. Simon Cowell outspokenly mocked Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in a Mirror headline after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, Mr President".
In 2012, following the revelation of Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse against children, Morgan said he had "never met" Savile in his lifetime, contradicting a 2009 piece he wrote in The Mail on Sunday Night & Day magazine saying that "As I left, Jimmy Savile came up to me. 'Your TV shows are BRILLIANT!, he exclaimed. ... I've always loved Jimmy Savile."
In September 2014, Morgan became the first editor-at-large of the MailOnline website's US operation and wrote several columns a week.
Television career
Morgan's career expanded into television presenting before he left the Daily Mirror. He presented a three-part television documentary series for the BBC titled The Importance of Being Famous (2003), about fame and the manner in which celebrities are covered by modern media. At the annual Pride of Britain Awards broadcast on ITV, Morgan chaired a panel of prominent people who had chosen the recipients of the awards from 1999 to 2006.
He co-hosted a current affairs interview show on Channel 4 with Amanda Platell, Morgan and Platell. Morgan and Platell were put together because of their opposing political viewpoints; Platell interrogated guests from the right wing, Morgan from the left wing. The show was dropped after three series reputedly because of poor viewing figures, although the chairman of Channel 4 Luke Johnson was reported not to like the programme.
Throughout 2006, Morgan appeared as a judge on the television show America's Got Talent alongside Brandy Norwood and David Hasselhoff on NBC. Morgan was chosen by Simon Cowell as a replacement for himself because of the conditions of his American Idol contract. Morgan appeared as a celebrity contestant on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice in 2007, to raise money for the BBC charity telethon Comic Relief. After his team lost, Morgan was selected by Sir Alan Sugar as the contestant to be fired.
In 2007, Morgan appeared as a judge for the second season of America's Got Talent and also appeared as a judge on Britain's Got Talent on ITV with Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell.
He also presented You Can't Fire Me, I'm Famous on BBC One. He fronted a three-part documentary about Sandbanks for ITV entitled Piers Morgan on Sandbanks in January 2008.
In 2008, Morgan signed a two-year "golden handcuffs" deal with ITV in May, reportedly worth £2 million per year. As part of the deal, he would continue as a judge on Britain's Got Talent for at least two more series and front a new chat show. He also made some interview specials, plus three more documentaries from various countries. Morgan's golden handcuffs deal was the first signing by ITV's new director of television, Peter Fincham.
In February 2009, he began a three-part series, Piers Morgan On..., which saw him visit Dubai, Monte Carlo and Hollywood. The programme returned for a second series in 2010 when Morgan visited Las Vegas in one episode.
In 2009, Morgan also began hosting Piers Morgan's Life Stories on ITV, with Sharon Osbourne as the subject of the first episode. Other guests on the programme included Cheryl and the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
On 17 January 2011, Morgan replaced Larry King in CNN's evening line-up with his show, Piers Morgan Live. After poor ratings, the show was cancelled in February 2014 and ended its run in March 2014. Commenting on the viewing figures, Morgan said that he was "a British guy debating American cultural issues, including guns, which has been very polarizing, and there is no doubt that there are many in the audience who are tired of me banging on about it."
From 13 to 17 April 2015, Morgan guest-hosted five episodes of Good Morning Britain on ITV and became a permanent co-host in November 2015, appearing alongside Susanna Reid and Charlotte Hawkins. He often clashed with Reid, who said of her colleague: "You can't help but go into battle with him every morning". Morgan left the series in March 2021 following a controversy over his remarks about Oprah with Meghan and Harry, which included a heated on-air argument with Alex Beresford.
From 2016 to 2017, Morgan interviewed female murderers on the TV series Killer Women with Piers Morgan. He also presented Serial Killer with Piers Morgan, as part of the 2017 Crime & Punishment season on ITV. In October 2018, Morgan appeared as a cameo on Hollyoaks.
On 16 September 2021, News UK announced its new channel talkTV would launch in 2022, with Morgan being the first name signed up.
Donald Trump
Morgan was the winner of the U.S. celebrity version of The Apprentice, in 2008. He was eventually the overall winner, being named Celebrity Apprentice by host Donald Trump on 27 March, ahead of fellow finalist, American country music star Trace Adkins, and having raised substantially more cash than all the other contestants combined. Morgan was called "ruthless, arrogant, evil and obnoxious" by Trump in the final.
Morgan stated he personally would not vote for Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election (though as a permanent resident of the United States, not a citizen, he is not qualified to vote). He predicted Trump's election as President of the United States and has described himself as a close friend. Morgan interviewed Trump on Good Morning Britain in March 2016.
Morgan appeared on ITV's Loose Women panel show in late January 2017, and was challenged to repudiate Trump. He refused to do so, despite stating that he disagreed with him on many issues relating to gun control, climate change, abortion, and the "Muslim travel ban", saying that he found the principle of the ban understandable, but disagreed with "the way [Trump] has gone about it".
Nearly a fortnight later, on the American talk show Real Time with Bill Maher, Morgan said "There is no Muslim ban", as "85% of the world's Muslims are allowed in the country". Another participant in the discussion, Australian comedian Jim Jefferies, immediately swore at Morgan and criticised his defence of Trump. After the novelist J. K. Rowling tweeted "Yes, watching Piers Morgan being told to fuck off on live TV is *exactly* as satisfying as I'd always imagined", the two began an exchange of words on the social media site.
Morgan criticised Trump after Trump had retweeted Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of the small far-right fascist party Britain First, in late November 2017. He tweeted to Trump: "What the hell are you doing retweeting a bunch of unverified videos by Britain First, a bunch of disgustingly racist far-right extremists? Please STOP this madness & undo your retweets".
In January 2018, Morgan presented President Trump – The Piers Morgan Interview for ITV, which many thought of as "sycophantic" and a "love-in" for Trump. Of respondents to a Radio Times Twitter poll, 88% viewed Morgan as being not "tough enough" on Trump. Morgan interviewed Trump again in July 2018 during his official visit to the UK, this time on Air Force One during an internal flight, in a TV special entitled Piers, The President and Air Force One.
In December 2018, Morgan wrote a letter to Trump formally applying to become White House Chief of Staff.
During Trump's state visit to the United Kingdom in June 2019, Morgan once again interviewed Trump, this time at the Churchill War Rooms.
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Morgan wrote a highly critical article of Trump's handling of the crisis in his column for MailOnline. Morgan particularly took issue with Trump's suggestion of looking into "ingesting" disinfectant as a possible solution, describing it as "batshit crazy". In response to the criticism, Trump unfollowed Morgan on Twitter.
In the aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Morgan stated that Trump was "mentally unfit" to remain as president. He claimed that the pandemic and Trump's election loss that followed had "sent him nuts". In response to whether he regretted his support of Trump, Morgan said "No question. I never thought he was capable of this."
Controversies
Ian Hislop
Morgan appeared as a guest on the BBC satirical news quiz Have I Got News for You in an episode transmitted on 24 May 1996. In it, show regular Ian Hislop accused Morgan of having him followed and having his house watched. The conflict escalated and at one point the host, Angus Deayton, asked if they wished to go outside and have a fight. Later on, guest panellist Clive Anderson confronted Morgan commenting, "the last time I was rude to you, you sent photographers to my doorstep the next day", to which Piers Morgan retorted, "You won't see them this time." The audience responded loudly in favour of Hislop. The Guardian reported on the state of the feud in 2002. "We're about to start exposing the moon-faced midget", Morgan was quoted as saying, to which Hislop responded, "all he's been offering for information about my private life is a £50 reward. My friends think that's not nearly enough."
In 2007, Hislop chose Morgan as one of his pet hates on Room 101. In doing so, Hislop spoke of the history of animosity between himself and Morgan and said that after their exchange on Have I Got News For You (which was shown as a clip), Morgan's reporters were tasked with trying to get gossip on Hislop's private life (including phoning acquaintances of Hislop), and photographers were sent in case Hislop did anything untoward or embarrassing while in their presence. Neither the reporters nor the photographers succeeded. Hislop also said that Morgan had attempted to quell the feud in an article in The Mail on Sunday, saying, "The war is over. I'm officially calling an end to hostilities, at least from my end. I'm sure it won't stop him carrying on his 'Piers Moron' stuff" (Private Eye, the fortnightly satirical magazine that Hislop edits, regularly calls Morgan 'Piers Moron'). Hislop, who was working on a World War I documentary at the time, responded by asking "Is that an armistice or an unconditional surrender?" Although Paul Merton – host of Room 101 at the time and a good friend of Hislop (the pair having captained the teams on Have I Got News For You since its inception) – agreed to put Morgan into Room 101, he then comically rejected Morgan as being "too toxic" for Room 101.
Phone hacking allegations
During Morgan's tenure as editor, the Daily Mirror was advised by Steven Nott that voicemail interception was possible by means of a standard PIN code. Despite staff initially expressing enthusiasm for the story it did not appear in the paper, although it did subsequently feature in a South Wales Argus article and on BBC Radio 5 Live in October 1999. On 18 July 2011 Nott was visited by officers of Operation Weeting.
He came under criticism for his "boasting" about phone hacking from Conservative MP Louise Mensch, who has since apologised for these accusations.
In July 2011, in a sequence of articles, political blogger Paul Staines alleged that while editor of the Daily Mirror in 2002 Morgan published a story concerning the affair of Sven-Göran Eriksson and Ulrika Jonsson while knowing it to have been obtained by phone hacking.
On 20 December 2011, Morgan appeared as a witness by satellite link from the United States at the Leveson Inquiry. While he said he had no reason to believe that phone hacking had occurred at the Mirror while he was in charge there, he admitted to hearing a recording of an answerphone message left by Paul McCartney for Heather Mills, but refused to "discuss where that tape was played or who made [it] – it would compromise a source." Appearing as a witness at the same Inquiry on 9 February 2012, Mills was asked under oath if she had ever made a recording of McCartney's phone call or had played it to Morgan; she replied: "Never". She said that she had never authorised Morgan, or anybody, to access or listen to her voicemails. Mills told the inquiry that Morgan, "a man that has written nothing but awful things about me for years", would have relished telling the inquiry if she had played a personal voicemail message to him.
On 23 May 2012, Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman was a witness at the Leveson Inquiry. He recalled a lunch with the Mirror editor in September 2002 at which Morgan outlined the means of hacking into a mobile phone.
On 28 November 2012, the Channel 4 documentary Taking on the Tabloids, fronted by actor and phone hacking victim Hugh Grant, showed footage from a 2003 interview with Morgan by the singer and phone hacking victim Charlotte Church, during which he explained to her how to avoid answerphone messages being listened to by journalists. He said: "You can access ... voicemails by typing in a number. Now, are you really telling me that journalists aren't going to do that?"
On 29 November 2012, the official findings of the Leveson Inquiry were released, in which Lord Justice Leveson said that Morgan's testimony under oath on phone hacking was "utterly unpersuasive". He stated: "[The] evidence does not establish that [Morgan] authorised the hacking of voicemails or that journalists employed by TMG [Trinity Mirror Group] were indulging in this practice ... What it does, however, clearly prove is that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it."
On 6 December 2013, Morgan was interviewed, under caution, by police officers from Operation Weeting investigating phone hacking allegations at Mirror Group Newspapers during his tenure as editor.
On 24 September 2014, the Trinity Mirror publishing group admitted for the first time that some of its journalists had been involved in phone hacking and agreed to pay compensation to four people who sued for the alleged hacking of voicemails. Six other phone-hacking claims had already been settled. The BBC reported that it had seen legal papers showing that although the alleged hacking could have taken place as early as 1998, the bulk of the alleged wrongdoing took place in the early 2000s when Morgan was the Daily Mirror editor. The admissions by Trinity Mirror came whilst the London Metropolitan Police investigation into the phone hacking allegations was ongoing. Morgan has always denied any involvement in the practice.
Feuds and banned television guests
A feud between Morgan and A. A. Gill began when Morgan described Gill's partner Nicola Formby as a sex kitten on whom the mists of time had taken their toll and said she had shown him "porn shots" of herself. Gill said Morgan had made this up and called him a "pretty objectionable self-publicist".
In May 2011, Morgan banned actor Hugh Grant from his shows on CNN and ITV after Grant spoke out against the need for the tabloid press. On Twitter he responded: "Hugh Grant is now banned, in perpetuity, from @PiersTonight and Life Stories and anything else I ever do. Tedious little man."
On 28 March 2012, MTV referred to the bad relations between Morgan and Madonna, reporting that "Morgan has apparently felt slighted over the years by Madonna...he claims he was lied to by the singer's publicist."
In September 2012, it was reported that Morgan had also banned actor Kelsey Grammer. Morgan himself said, "Kelsey Grammer saw a photo of his ex-wife Camille in the open of our show and legged it." TVGuide reported, "All plans were still a go for the segment until Grammer actually got in the hot seat and saw the footage the producers had planned to peg to the segment, including a picture of his ex-wife". On 26 September 2012, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported that "many say [it] was an ambush by Piers". The Huffington Post reported that "before the interview was scheduled, it was made clear that Grammer would answer all questions, including those about [his ex-wife]. His sole request was not to show any images of her."
On 4 February 2014, transgender advocate Janet Mock appeared as a guest on Piers Morgan Live to discuss her memoir, Redefining Realness. After the interview aired, Mock sent a series of tweets criticising Morgan for describing Mock as being "formerly a man". Morgan responded that he had "never been treated in such a disgraceful manner" by a guest. On 5 February, Mock appeared as a guest again to debate the dispute.
Morgan has repeatedly clashed with actor John Cleese. In 2015 Cleese stated that he "truly detested" Morgan and had avoided him in a restaurant. He also said he thought Morgan was "in jail", erroneously stating that Morgan had "admitted" to authorising phone-hacking. Morgan responded that the "revulsion" between them was "mutual". When Cleese's tweet about detesting Morgan became his most popular to date, Cleese said "clearly I must insult the slimy, attention-seeking little prole more often". Morgan joked that he was glad to have been able to make Cleese "popular again". In 2017 Cleese told Radio Times "I always thought he was an awful creep [...] I just didn't want to have an encounter with him and since then he's been after me and I've been after him."
Morgan strongly objected to the Women's March on Washington on 21 January 2017, the day after Trump's inauguration, describing protesters as "rabid feminists" and the multiple protests as being "vacuous". The actor Ewan McGregor disagreed with Morgan's statements on the Women's March and pulled out of appearing on Good Morning Britain the following Tuesday after discovering Morgan would be interviewing him, along with Reid. Morgan accused McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" for his past support of Roman Polanski.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Morgan was briefly a friend of Meghan Markle before she became the Duchess of Sussex, but claimed she cut him off early in her relationship with Prince Harry. He has been a regular critic of the couple since then, alleging they are hypocrites and claiming the Duchess is a social climber.
When the couple stepped away from conducting official royal duties early in 2020, Morgan described them as being "the two most spoiled brats in history". Ten days later, he said: "Only surprised it took her so long to get Harry to ditch his family, the monarchy, the military and his country. What a piece of work." Responding to Morgan on Twitter, British comedian Gina Yashere wrote of the broadcaster's "constant racist vitriolic abuse disguised as criticism". Morgan responded that Yashere was being "ridiculous", arguing that the critical responses to the Duchess has "nothing to do with her skin color and everything to do with her being a shameless piece of work doing huge damage to our Royal Family." In a segment of Good Morning Britain on 13 January, Morgan interviewed Afua Hirsch, who accused parts of the British media of behaving in a racist manner towards the Duchess, an interpretation that Morgan said was "completely and grotesquely wrong". InfluencHers, a group of 100 African Caribbean women, advocated an advertisers' boycott of Good Morning Britain. The campaigners described the programme as having "sanctioning bullying and blatant unapologetic disrespect of women" in allowing Morgan's treatment of Hirsch.
When challenged by Decca Aitkenhead of The Sunday Times in May 2020 over "his vendetta" against the Duchess, with Aitkenhead suggesting he had gone too far, Morgan said: "I think that's a perfectly fair criticism. It's probably not wise, if you're a columnist, to make things too personal. Have I taken things a bit too far? Probably. Do I think that will govern and temper how I talk about them going forward? Absolutely."
On Good Morning Britain on 8 and 9 March 2021, Morgan said he doubted the accuracy of the account given by the Duchess of Sussex, in the interview Oprah with Meghan and Harry with Oprah Winfrey, in which she spoke of her mental health issues, which included suicidal thoughts, and she and Harry alleged racist comments from the extended family. A tense on-air argument with his co-host Alex Beresford on 9 March led him to walk off the set of the show. Beresford was highly critical of Morgan's attitude towards the Duchess, saying "She's entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you after she cut you off? I don't think she has, But yet you continue to trash her". Later in the day, Morgan quit the programme. The UK's mental health charity Mind expressed "disappointment" in Morgan's comments and said individuals with experience of mental health issues should be "treated with dignity, respect and empathy." ITV plc's chief executive, Carolyn McCall, defended the veracity of the Duchess's comments, adding "importantly everyone should."
ITV News reported the Duchess had complained directly to ITV's CEO about Morgan's comments about mental health, although the broadcaster was not officially commenting on these reports. Ofcom received a complaint from her.
Morgan issued a statement on Twitter, saying, "On Monday, I said I didn't believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I've had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don't. Freedom of speech is a hill I'm happy to die on." Broadcaster Andrew Neil described his departure as "a pity" for ITV because he had brought "energy, dynamism and controversy" to its morning broadcast schedule, adding "it had always lagged way behind the BBC breakfast time show and people tuned in because of him." Neil expressed interest in Morgan joining GB News instead. However, Neil later said that talks were affected by a disagreement: "he's [Morgan] got his own idea of what he is worth and we [GB News] have a slightly different idea of what he's worth". In Morgan's last week, Good Morning Britain surpassed the ratings of BBC Breakfast for the first time, and ITV lost almost £200m in market value following his departure.
Actor and comedian Steve Coogan, a prominent supporter of press regulation, described Morgan as "symptomatic of the problem" with the British tabloid media and accused him of "bullying behaviour" regarding his attitude to the Duchess.
Ofcom complaints
During his tenure at Good Morning Britain, Morgan was the subject of thousands of complaints to the British watchdog, Ofcom, relating to his comments.
In 2015, Morgan was criticised by Ofcom for laughing as a guest repeatedly used the word 'fucking' live on air. Although Ofcom did not take action as his co-presenter Susanna Reid quickly apologised, the watchdog expressed concern at his behaviour. In 2016, Ofcom received 70 complaints in relation to comments made by Morgan during interview with Christian magistrate Richard Page about gay marriage, that viewers felt "implied Christians were homophobic". Ofcom confirmed on 13 April 2016 that Morgan would not be investigated for his comments. On 22 January 2018, during a story about a homeless SAS veteran, who had a petition set up in his name calling on his local council to provide him with social housing, Morgan had refused to read out Herefordshire Council's statement. This was judged by Ofcom to be unfair to the council.
On 11 September 2019, Morgan claimed he identified himself as "a two-spirit penguin" in response to a news piece relating to gender neutrality, and said "the world has gone nuts" over gender. This attracted 950 Ofcom complaints from viewers. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in November 2019, and in response, Morgan admitted "he was personally quite pleased" with having one of the highest number of complaints to any British TV show in 2019.
On 21 January 2020, Morgan was accused of racism and was hit by 1,095 Ofcom complaints for his comments relating to a Chinese dairy advert, in which he said "He's using ching chong ching milk". Morgan also spoke over the advert, saying "ching chang cho jo". He was accused online of using language that is used to antagonise Chinese people and for mocking the Chinese language.
On 9 March 2021, Ofcom launched an investigation into the remarks Morgan made about the Duchess of Sussex's mental health on Good Morning Britain after receiving 41,015 complaints. The regulator confirmed on 12 March that the Duchess of Sussex had complained as well. On 17 March, it was reported that complaints against Morgan had reached 57,000, breaking Ofcom's record. Morgan remained defiant, stating "Only 57,000? I've had more people than that come up and congratulate me in the street for what I said. The vast majority of Britons are right behind me." Ofcom cleared ITV of any wrongdoing in September 2021 and added that restricting Morgan's views would be a "chilling restriction" on freedom of speech but criticised his "apparent disregard" for the subject of suicide. Morgan described the ruling as "a resounding victory for free speech and a resounding defeat for Princess Pinocchios."
Personal life
Morgan married Marion Shalloe, a hospital ward sister, in 1991. The couple had three sons, Albert, Spencer, and Stanley, and separated in 2004 before divorcing in 2008. In June 2010, he married his second wife, journalist Celia Walden, daughter of the former Conservative MP George Walden. On 25 November 2011, Walden gave birth to a daughter, Elise, her first child and Morgan's fourth.
Morgan's primary residence is in Kensington, London. He splits his time between a base in Los Angeles, California and a holiday home in Newick, East Sussex.
Morgan is a fan of Premier League football club Arsenal. He was an outspoken critic of former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and called for his sacking on many occasions. Speaking in defence of Wenger in 2015, former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson labelled Morgan an "incredibly pompous individual". When Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey met Morgan on 26 April 2015, Ramsey refused to shake his hand due to the criticism he received from Morgan during the 2012–13 season. Morgan has responded by calling Ramsey 'whatshisname'.
Politically, Morgan identified as a supporter of the Conservative Party in a 1994 interview, saying he was "still basically a Tory", but expressed admiration for the new Labour Party leader Tony Blair, saying "he's not radical, speaks well and makes sense". He voted for the Kensington Conservative candidate in the 2019 UK general election, after previously voting for the Animal Welfare Party. Morgan has also stated he has previously voted for the Labour Party.
On 24 July 2021, Morgan said he had developed COVID-19 after the Euro 2020 final, despite being fully vaccinated. He added that a strong fever, violent coughing, chills and sneezing fits left him exhausted and fearing what might come next.
Filmography
As himself
Bibliography
References
External links
1965 births
Living people
20th-century English male writers
20th-century English non-fiction writers
21st-century English writers
Alumni of Harlow College
America's Got Talent judges
British monarchists
English diarists
English expatriates in the United States
English male journalists
English newspaper editors
English people of Irish descent
English Roman Catholic writers
English social commentators
English television journalists
English television presenters
CNN people
Conservative Party (UK) people
Daily Mail journalists
Daily Mirror people
Gun control advocates
News of the World people
British opinion journalists
Participants in American reality television series
People educated at Priory School, Lewes
People from Lewes
People from Newick
The Apprentice (franchise) winners
The Sun (United Kingdom) people | false | [
"Field Day is a studio album by Dag Nasty, released in 1988 through Giant Records; it was released in Europe through We Bite Records.\n\nThe album features a cover of The Ruts classic \"Staring at the Rude Boys.\" It also offers a new recording of Dag Nasty's \"Under Your Influence.\" The original version appears on the band's debut LP Can I Say, with vocalist Dave Smalley.\n\nThe CD bonus track \"12XU\" was written by Wire, and was also covered by Brian Baker's former band Minor Threat.\n\nThe album had sold more than 30,000 copies within a year of its release.\n\nTrack listing\n\"Trouble Is\" - 3:33\n\"Field Day\" - 2:28\n\"Things That Make No Sense\" - 2:44\n\"The Ambulance Song\" - 3:38\n\"Staring at the Rude Boys\" - 2:49\n\"13 Seconds Underwater\" - 0:46\n\"La Penita\" - 4:09\n\"Dear Mrs. Touma\" - 2:37\n\"Matt\" - 1:34\n\"I've Heard\" - 0:12\n\"Under Your Influence\" - 3:37\n\"Typical\" - 2:37\n\"Here's to You\" - 2:49\n\"16 Count\" - 0:21\n\nCD bonus tracks\n\"Never Green Lane\" - 1:55\n\"You're Mine\" - 3:52\n\"All Ages Show\" - 2:38\n\"12XU\" - 1:31\n\nTracks 16 & 17 originally from the All Ages Show 7\" EP.\nTracks 15 & 18 originally from the Trouble Is 12\" EP.\n\nPersonnel\nDag Nasty\nPeter Cortner - Vocals\nBrian Baker - Guitars\nDoug Carrion - Bass\nScott Garrett - Drums\n\nReferences\n\nDag Nasty albums\n1988 albums",
"\"Rude Removal\" (also known as Dexter's Rude Removal) is a cartoon segment originally produced for the animated television series Dexter's Laboratory for Cartoon Network. It was intended to air as part of an episode from the second season in 1997, but was banned and rejected due to the characters swearing even though the swear words were censored. In the segment, Dexter and Dee Dee are accidentally split into two pairs, a polite pair and a rude pair, with the latter depicted as using profanity with bleep censorship. The segment was only screened at some animation festivals before finally being released online by Adult Swim on January 22, 2013.\n\nPlot \nDexter invents the Rude Removal System, a machine to remove the rudeness from his sister Dee Dee. However, Dee Dee thinks Dexter is the one who is rude. They start fighting and both wind up in the machine. Inadvertently, the Rude Removal System is activated, splitting the pair into well-behaved and rude halves, with the well behaved duplicates speaking with British accents, and the rude duplicates speaking with New York City accents while using profanity. The rude pair harbors destructive tendencies by insulting their mother and destroying the house and Dexter's lab. Dexter and Dee Dee trick their rude halves back into the Rude Removal System and reverse the process, combining the rude and polite halves and resolving the problem. The segment ends with Dexter and Dee Dee's mother holding a bar of soap, poised to wash the filthy words from their mouths.\n\nProduction \nThe \"Rude Removal\" segment was produced during the second season of Dexter's Laboratory in 1997, and features a seven-minute runtime. It was directed by Rob Renzetti and storyboard by Chong Lee and Craig McCracken, the latter of whom did confirm that he never had a copy, and neither did creator Genndy Tartakovsky. Main cast member Jeff Bennett did not participate in a voice role throughout this segment. The segment was never broadcast on television. Series creator Genndy Tartakovsky commented that \"standards didn't like it\". Linda Simensky, then-vice president of original programming for Cartoon Network, said \"I still think it's very funny. It probably would air better late at night.\" After being asked about it on his Tumblr page, Calvin Wong, writer and storyboard artist for Regular Show, said that Cartoon Network denied that it was in their media library. The title card depicted Dee Dee flipping viewers the bird, and Dexter mooning at the audience.\n\nScreenings and release \nDespite never airing on television, \"Rude Removal\" did see limited showing at certain animation festivals and conventions, including an event at the 1998 World Animation Celebration on February 21, 1998. Tartakovsky would sometimes show the cartoon when he spoke in public. One such showing occurred during a lecture given at the Rhode Island School of Design on November 15, 2008. He was asked about the segment during a Reddit AMA in October 2012, and he replied \"Next time I do a public appearance I'll bring it with me!\". Adult Swim later asked fans on Twitter if there was still any interest in the segment, and the response was \"overwhelming\".\n\nThe segment was finally uploaded to YouTube and Adult Swim's official website on January 22, 2013. The released segment is censored. The video has been made private, but re-uploads can be found.\n\nReception \nIn his review of \"Rude Removal\", Erik Adams of The A.V. Club opined that the segment was \"nowhere near as crass\" as anticipated. He concluded that \"if Cartoon Network would've aired 'Rude Removal' with all its bleeps intact, we would've never learned how to use such filthy language.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n \n\n1997 American television episodes\nCensorship in the United States\nDexter's Laboratory\nAnimated television episodes\nTelevision episodes about cloning\nTelevision episodes about profanity\nTelevision controversies in the United States\nTelevision episodes pulled from general rotation\nUnaired television episodes\nAnimation controversies in television\nObscenity controversies in television\nObscenity controversies in animation"
] |
[
"Piers Morgan",
"Post-Mirror press career",
"How was his career after post-Mirror",
"former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: \"You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you,",
"What else did he say?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"\" Later, in 2017, Morgan accused Ewan McGregor of being a \"paedophile-loving hypocrite\"",
"Did he say more rude things after that?",
"cancelling an appearance on Good Morning Britain due to Morgan's comments opposing the Women's March on Washington."
] | C_3f0f810151cd4c16b3a41b22787c7ca4_0 | Was he ever in law trouble for the things he said? | 5 | Was Piers Morgan ever in law trouble for the things he said? | Piers Morgan | In partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership in May 2005, of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its "cash cow", the British Press Awards, in a deal worth PS1 million. This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards. Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006, before being sold to a trade buyer. First News was launched by Morgan on 4 May 2006. A weekly paper aimed at seven to 14-year-olds, he claimed at its launch that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children". Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman". Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs, in 2007. Simon Cowell and others made much of Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in a Mirror headline after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, Mr President". In 2012, following the revelation of Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse against children, Morgan claimed to have "never met" Savile in his lifetime - although it was pointed out that in a 2009 piece by Morgan in The Mail on Sunday's Night & Day magazine claiming that "As I left, Jimmy Savile came up to me. 'Your TV shows are BRILLIANT!. he exclaimed. ... I've always loved Jimmy Savile." Later, in 2017, Morgan accused Ewan McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" for his past support of Roman Polanski cancelling an appearance on Good Morning Britain due to Morgan's comments opposing the Women's March on Washington. He became the editor-at-large of the Mail Online website's US operation in September 2014 and Morgan writes several columns a week. He also writes a weekly diary for the Mail on Sunday Event magazine, having also written one for its predecessor Live. CANNOTANSWER | 2014 and Morgan writes several columns a week. He | Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is an English broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at The Sun. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the News of the World by Rupert Murdoch, which made him the youngest editor of a British national newspaper in more than half a century. From 1995, Morgan edited the Daily Mirror, but was sacked in 2004. He was the editorial director of First News during 2006 to 2007.
On television, Morgan has hosted his own talk shows Piers Morgan's Life Stories (2009–present) and Piers Morgan Live (2011–2014), the latter on the American news network CNN, co-presented the ITV Breakfast programme Good Morning Britain (2015–2021) with Susanna Reid, and judged on the talent competition shows America's Got Talent (2006–2011) and Britain's Got Talent (2007–2010). In 2008, he won the seventh season of the US Celebrity Apprentice. In September 2021, it was announced Morgan would join News Corp as a presenter on their new television channel talkTV and as a columnist for The Sun and New York Post. The series will air in the UK, US, and Australia and is scheduled to launch in early 2022.
Morgan was the editor of the Daily Mirror during the period in which the paper was implicated in the phone hacking scandal. In 2011, Morgan denied having ever hacked a phone and stated that he had not, "to my knowledge published any story obtained from the hacking of a phone". The following year, he was criticised in the findings of the Leveson Inquiry by chair Brian Leveson, who stated that comments made in Morgan's testimony about phone hacking were "utterly unpersuasive" and "that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it". Morgan's outspoken views and controversial comments on Good Morning Britain led Ofcom to adjudicate on multiple occasions. On 9 March 2021, Morgan left the programme with immediate effect, following his criticism of the Oprah with Meghan and Harry interview. Ofcom received over 57,000 complaints from viewers, including a complaint from Meghan, Duchess of Sussex herself; Morgan was subsequently cleared of wrongdoing by Ofcom.
Early life and education
Morgan was born Piers Stefan O'Meara on 30 March 1965 in Surrey, the son of Vincent Eamonn O'Meara, an Irish dentist from County Offaly, and Gabrielle Georgina Sybille (née Oliver), an English woman who raised Morgan Catholic. With regard to his religious views, Morgan still identifies as a Catholic due to his mother's influence, and believes in an afterlife, but does not "go to Confession, probably because it would take [him] too long". He has a brother, Jeremy, who is older than him by two years. A few months after his birth, the family moved to Newick, East Sussex. His father died when Morgan was 11 months old; his mother later married Glynne Pughe-Morgan, a Welsh pub landlord who later worked in the meat distribution business, and he took his stepfather's surname. He was educated at the independent Cumnor House prep school between the ages of seven and 13, then Chailey School, a comprehensive secondary school in Chailey, followed by Priory School, Lewes, for sixth form. After nine months at Lloyd's of London, Morgan studied journalism at Harlow College, joining the Surrey and South London Newspaper Group in 1985.
Press career
At the Murdoch titles (1988–1995)
Morgan began to work as a freelance at The Sun in 1988, at this point dropping his double-barrelled name. He told Hunter Davies in December 1994 that he was personally recruited by Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie to work on the newspaper's show business column "Bizarre", his first high-profile post. Although he was not a fan of pop music, he was considered skilled at self-publicity and became the column's main writer. "I became the Friend of the Stars, a rampant egomaniac, pictured all the time with famous people – Madonna, Stallone, Bowie, Paul McCartney, hundreds of them. It was shameless, as they didn't know me from Adam", he told Davies.
In January 1994, he became editor of the News of the World after being appointed to the job by Rupert Murdoch. Initially an acting editor, he was confirmed in the summer, becoming at 29 the youngest national newspaper editor in more than half a century. In this period, the newspaper led with a series of scoops for which Morgan credited a highly efficient newsdesk and publicist Max Clifford.
Morgan left this post in 1995 shortly after publishing photographs of Catherine Victoria Lockwood, then wife of Charles, Earl Spencer, leaving an addictive disorders clinic in Surrey. This action ran against the editors' code of conduct, a misdemeanour for which the Press Complaints Commission upheld a complaint against Morgan. Murdoch was reported as having said that "the boy went too far" and publicly distanced himself from the story. Fearful of a privacy law action if he had not criticised one of his employees, Murdoch is said to have apologised to Morgan in private.
The incident was reported to have contributed to Morgan's decision to leave for the Daily Mirror editorship. Morgan's autobiography The Insider states that he left the News of the World for the Mirror of his own choice. It asserts he was an admirer of former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for most of her period of office, making the appointment surprising as the Mirror is a Labour-supporting title.
Daily Mirror editor
As editor of the Daily Mirror, Morgan apologised on television for the headline (rendered in upper case) "Achtung Surrender! For You Fritz Ze Euro Championship Is Over" on 25 June 1996, a day before England met Germany in a semi-final of the Euro '96 football championships. The headline was accompanied by an open letter from Morgan parodying Neville Chamberlain's declaration of war on Germany in 1939. "It was intended as a joke, but anyone who was offended by it must have taken it seriously, and to those people I say sorry," he said. Germany won the match and later the championship at Wembley Stadium, London.
A £16 million package of investment in the title was rolled out from January, including the dropping of "Daily" from the masthead in February, which was later reversed. Roy Greenslade wrote in August 1999 that Morgan's editorship "has made a huge difference: his enormous enthusiasm, determination and focus is a major plus".
Morgan was the subject of an investigation in 2000 after Suzy Jagger wrote an article for The Daily Telegraph revealing that he had bought £20,000 worth of shares in the computer company Viglen soon before the Mirror 's "City Slickers" column tipped Viglen as a good buy. Morgan was found by the Press Complaints Commission to have breached the Code of Conduct on financial journalism, but kept his job. The "City Slickers" columnists, Anil Bhoyrul and James Hipwell, were both found to have committed further breaches of the Code and were sacked before the inquiry concluded. Further enquiry by the Department of Trade and Industry in 2004 cleared Morgan of any charges. On 7 December 2005, Bhoyrul and Hipwell were convicted of conspiracy to breach the Financial Services Act. During the trial it emerged that Morgan had bought £67,000 worth of Viglen shares, emptying his bank account and investing under his (first) wife's name as well.
The Mirror attempted to move mid-market in 2002, eschewing the more trivial stories of show-business and gossip, and appointed Christopher Hitchens as a columnist, but sales declined. In October 2003, journalist and television personality Jeremy Clarkson emptied a glass of water over Morgan during the last flight of Concorde in response to some photographs published in the Mirror. In March 2004, at the British Press Awards, Clarkson punched Morgan three times during another argument. in Campbell v MGN Ltd, the Law Lords in May 2004 found in favour of model Naomi Campbell on privacy grounds after the Mirror had published a photograph of her entering a Narcotics Anonymous clinic. Morgan was critical of the judgement saying it was "a good day for lying, drug-abusing prima donnas who want to have their cake with the media and the right to then shamelessly guzzle with their Cristal champagne."
In the wake of the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, Morgan was sacked as editor of the Daily Mirror "with immediate effect" on 14 May 2004, after refusing to apologise to Sly Bailey, then head of Trinity Mirror, for authorising the newspaper's publication of fake photographs. The photos were alleged to show Iraqi prisoners being abused by British Army soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment. Within days the photographs were shown to be crude fakes. According to official British sources, the photographs were apparently shot, in North-West England. Under the headline "SORRY..WE WERE HOAXED", the Mirror responded that it had fallen victim to a "calculated and malicious hoax" and apologised for the publication of the photographs. However, Morgan refused to admit that the photographs were faked, and stated that the abuse shown in the photographs is similar to the sort of abuse that was happening in the British Army in Iraq at the time.
Post-Mirror press activities
In partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership in May 2005 of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its "cash cow", the British Press Awards, in a deal worth £1 million. This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards. Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006, before being sold to a trade buyer.
First News was launched by Morgan on 4 May 2006. A weekly paper aimed at seven to 14-year-olds, he said at its launch that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children". Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman".
In Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs. Simon Cowell outspokenly mocked Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in a Mirror headline after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, Mr President".
In 2012, following the revelation of Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse against children, Morgan said he had "never met" Savile in his lifetime, contradicting a 2009 piece he wrote in The Mail on Sunday Night & Day magazine saying that "As I left, Jimmy Savile came up to me. 'Your TV shows are BRILLIANT!, he exclaimed. ... I've always loved Jimmy Savile."
In September 2014, Morgan became the first editor-at-large of the MailOnline website's US operation and wrote several columns a week.
Television career
Morgan's career expanded into television presenting before he left the Daily Mirror. He presented a three-part television documentary series for the BBC titled The Importance of Being Famous (2003), about fame and the manner in which celebrities are covered by modern media. At the annual Pride of Britain Awards broadcast on ITV, Morgan chaired a panel of prominent people who had chosen the recipients of the awards from 1999 to 2006.
He co-hosted a current affairs interview show on Channel 4 with Amanda Platell, Morgan and Platell. Morgan and Platell were put together because of their opposing political viewpoints; Platell interrogated guests from the right wing, Morgan from the left wing. The show was dropped after three series reputedly because of poor viewing figures, although the chairman of Channel 4 Luke Johnson was reported not to like the programme.
Throughout 2006, Morgan appeared as a judge on the television show America's Got Talent alongside Brandy Norwood and David Hasselhoff on NBC. Morgan was chosen by Simon Cowell as a replacement for himself because of the conditions of his American Idol contract. Morgan appeared as a celebrity contestant on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice in 2007, to raise money for the BBC charity telethon Comic Relief. After his team lost, Morgan was selected by Sir Alan Sugar as the contestant to be fired.
In 2007, Morgan appeared as a judge for the second season of America's Got Talent and also appeared as a judge on Britain's Got Talent on ITV with Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell.
He also presented You Can't Fire Me, I'm Famous on BBC One. He fronted a three-part documentary about Sandbanks for ITV entitled Piers Morgan on Sandbanks in January 2008.
In 2008, Morgan signed a two-year "golden handcuffs" deal with ITV in May, reportedly worth £2 million per year. As part of the deal, he would continue as a judge on Britain's Got Talent for at least two more series and front a new chat show. He also made some interview specials, plus three more documentaries from various countries. Morgan's golden handcuffs deal was the first signing by ITV's new director of television, Peter Fincham.
In February 2009, he began a three-part series, Piers Morgan On..., which saw him visit Dubai, Monte Carlo and Hollywood. The programme returned for a second series in 2010 when Morgan visited Las Vegas in one episode.
In 2009, Morgan also began hosting Piers Morgan's Life Stories on ITV, with Sharon Osbourne as the subject of the first episode. Other guests on the programme included Cheryl and the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
On 17 January 2011, Morgan replaced Larry King in CNN's evening line-up with his show, Piers Morgan Live. After poor ratings, the show was cancelled in February 2014 and ended its run in March 2014. Commenting on the viewing figures, Morgan said that he was "a British guy debating American cultural issues, including guns, which has been very polarizing, and there is no doubt that there are many in the audience who are tired of me banging on about it."
From 13 to 17 April 2015, Morgan guest-hosted five episodes of Good Morning Britain on ITV and became a permanent co-host in November 2015, appearing alongside Susanna Reid and Charlotte Hawkins. He often clashed with Reid, who said of her colleague: "You can't help but go into battle with him every morning". Morgan left the series in March 2021 following a controversy over his remarks about Oprah with Meghan and Harry, which included a heated on-air argument with Alex Beresford.
From 2016 to 2017, Morgan interviewed female murderers on the TV series Killer Women with Piers Morgan. He also presented Serial Killer with Piers Morgan, as part of the 2017 Crime & Punishment season on ITV. In October 2018, Morgan appeared as a cameo on Hollyoaks.
On 16 September 2021, News UK announced its new channel talkTV would launch in 2022, with Morgan being the first name signed up.
Donald Trump
Morgan was the winner of the U.S. celebrity version of The Apprentice, in 2008. He was eventually the overall winner, being named Celebrity Apprentice by host Donald Trump on 27 March, ahead of fellow finalist, American country music star Trace Adkins, and having raised substantially more cash than all the other contestants combined. Morgan was called "ruthless, arrogant, evil and obnoxious" by Trump in the final.
Morgan stated he personally would not vote for Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election (though as a permanent resident of the United States, not a citizen, he is not qualified to vote). He predicted Trump's election as President of the United States and has described himself as a close friend. Morgan interviewed Trump on Good Morning Britain in March 2016.
Morgan appeared on ITV's Loose Women panel show in late January 2017, and was challenged to repudiate Trump. He refused to do so, despite stating that he disagreed with him on many issues relating to gun control, climate change, abortion, and the "Muslim travel ban", saying that he found the principle of the ban understandable, but disagreed with "the way [Trump] has gone about it".
Nearly a fortnight later, on the American talk show Real Time with Bill Maher, Morgan said "There is no Muslim ban", as "85% of the world's Muslims are allowed in the country". Another participant in the discussion, Australian comedian Jim Jefferies, immediately swore at Morgan and criticised his defence of Trump. After the novelist J. K. Rowling tweeted "Yes, watching Piers Morgan being told to fuck off on live TV is *exactly* as satisfying as I'd always imagined", the two began an exchange of words on the social media site.
Morgan criticised Trump after Trump had retweeted Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of the small far-right fascist party Britain First, in late November 2017. He tweeted to Trump: "What the hell are you doing retweeting a bunch of unverified videos by Britain First, a bunch of disgustingly racist far-right extremists? Please STOP this madness & undo your retweets".
In January 2018, Morgan presented President Trump – The Piers Morgan Interview for ITV, which many thought of as "sycophantic" and a "love-in" for Trump. Of respondents to a Radio Times Twitter poll, 88% viewed Morgan as being not "tough enough" on Trump. Morgan interviewed Trump again in July 2018 during his official visit to the UK, this time on Air Force One during an internal flight, in a TV special entitled Piers, The President and Air Force One.
In December 2018, Morgan wrote a letter to Trump formally applying to become White House Chief of Staff.
During Trump's state visit to the United Kingdom in June 2019, Morgan once again interviewed Trump, this time at the Churchill War Rooms.
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Morgan wrote a highly critical article of Trump's handling of the crisis in his column for MailOnline. Morgan particularly took issue with Trump's suggestion of looking into "ingesting" disinfectant as a possible solution, describing it as "batshit crazy". In response to the criticism, Trump unfollowed Morgan on Twitter.
In the aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Morgan stated that Trump was "mentally unfit" to remain as president. He claimed that the pandemic and Trump's election loss that followed had "sent him nuts". In response to whether he regretted his support of Trump, Morgan said "No question. I never thought he was capable of this."
Controversies
Ian Hislop
Morgan appeared as a guest on the BBC satirical news quiz Have I Got News for You in an episode transmitted on 24 May 1996. In it, show regular Ian Hislop accused Morgan of having him followed and having his house watched. The conflict escalated and at one point the host, Angus Deayton, asked if they wished to go outside and have a fight. Later on, guest panellist Clive Anderson confronted Morgan commenting, "the last time I was rude to you, you sent photographers to my doorstep the next day", to which Piers Morgan retorted, "You won't see them this time." The audience responded loudly in favour of Hislop. The Guardian reported on the state of the feud in 2002. "We're about to start exposing the moon-faced midget", Morgan was quoted as saying, to which Hislop responded, "all he's been offering for information about my private life is a £50 reward. My friends think that's not nearly enough."
In 2007, Hislop chose Morgan as one of his pet hates on Room 101. In doing so, Hislop spoke of the history of animosity between himself and Morgan and said that after their exchange on Have I Got News For You (which was shown as a clip), Morgan's reporters were tasked with trying to get gossip on Hislop's private life (including phoning acquaintances of Hislop), and photographers were sent in case Hislop did anything untoward or embarrassing while in their presence. Neither the reporters nor the photographers succeeded. Hislop also said that Morgan had attempted to quell the feud in an article in The Mail on Sunday, saying, "The war is over. I'm officially calling an end to hostilities, at least from my end. I'm sure it won't stop him carrying on his 'Piers Moron' stuff" (Private Eye, the fortnightly satirical magazine that Hislop edits, regularly calls Morgan 'Piers Moron'). Hislop, who was working on a World War I documentary at the time, responded by asking "Is that an armistice or an unconditional surrender?" Although Paul Merton – host of Room 101 at the time and a good friend of Hislop (the pair having captained the teams on Have I Got News For You since its inception) – agreed to put Morgan into Room 101, he then comically rejected Morgan as being "too toxic" for Room 101.
Phone hacking allegations
During Morgan's tenure as editor, the Daily Mirror was advised by Steven Nott that voicemail interception was possible by means of a standard PIN code. Despite staff initially expressing enthusiasm for the story it did not appear in the paper, although it did subsequently feature in a South Wales Argus article and on BBC Radio 5 Live in October 1999. On 18 July 2011 Nott was visited by officers of Operation Weeting.
He came under criticism for his "boasting" about phone hacking from Conservative MP Louise Mensch, who has since apologised for these accusations.
In July 2011, in a sequence of articles, political blogger Paul Staines alleged that while editor of the Daily Mirror in 2002 Morgan published a story concerning the affair of Sven-Göran Eriksson and Ulrika Jonsson while knowing it to have been obtained by phone hacking.
On 20 December 2011, Morgan appeared as a witness by satellite link from the United States at the Leveson Inquiry. While he said he had no reason to believe that phone hacking had occurred at the Mirror while he was in charge there, he admitted to hearing a recording of an answerphone message left by Paul McCartney for Heather Mills, but refused to "discuss where that tape was played or who made [it] – it would compromise a source." Appearing as a witness at the same Inquiry on 9 February 2012, Mills was asked under oath if she had ever made a recording of McCartney's phone call or had played it to Morgan; she replied: "Never". She said that she had never authorised Morgan, or anybody, to access or listen to her voicemails. Mills told the inquiry that Morgan, "a man that has written nothing but awful things about me for years", would have relished telling the inquiry if she had played a personal voicemail message to him.
On 23 May 2012, Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman was a witness at the Leveson Inquiry. He recalled a lunch with the Mirror editor in September 2002 at which Morgan outlined the means of hacking into a mobile phone.
On 28 November 2012, the Channel 4 documentary Taking on the Tabloids, fronted by actor and phone hacking victim Hugh Grant, showed footage from a 2003 interview with Morgan by the singer and phone hacking victim Charlotte Church, during which he explained to her how to avoid answerphone messages being listened to by journalists. He said: "You can access ... voicemails by typing in a number. Now, are you really telling me that journalists aren't going to do that?"
On 29 November 2012, the official findings of the Leveson Inquiry were released, in which Lord Justice Leveson said that Morgan's testimony under oath on phone hacking was "utterly unpersuasive". He stated: "[The] evidence does not establish that [Morgan] authorised the hacking of voicemails or that journalists employed by TMG [Trinity Mirror Group] were indulging in this practice ... What it does, however, clearly prove is that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it."
On 6 December 2013, Morgan was interviewed, under caution, by police officers from Operation Weeting investigating phone hacking allegations at Mirror Group Newspapers during his tenure as editor.
On 24 September 2014, the Trinity Mirror publishing group admitted for the first time that some of its journalists had been involved in phone hacking and agreed to pay compensation to four people who sued for the alleged hacking of voicemails. Six other phone-hacking claims had already been settled. The BBC reported that it had seen legal papers showing that although the alleged hacking could have taken place as early as 1998, the bulk of the alleged wrongdoing took place in the early 2000s when Morgan was the Daily Mirror editor. The admissions by Trinity Mirror came whilst the London Metropolitan Police investigation into the phone hacking allegations was ongoing. Morgan has always denied any involvement in the practice.
Feuds and banned television guests
A feud between Morgan and A. A. Gill began when Morgan described Gill's partner Nicola Formby as a sex kitten on whom the mists of time had taken their toll and said she had shown him "porn shots" of herself. Gill said Morgan had made this up and called him a "pretty objectionable self-publicist".
In May 2011, Morgan banned actor Hugh Grant from his shows on CNN and ITV after Grant spoke out against the need for the tabloid press. On Twitter he responded: "Hugh Grant is now banned, in perpetuity, from @PiersTonight and Life Stories and anything else I ever do. Tedious little man."
On 28 March 2012, MTV referred to the bad relations between Morgan and Madonna, reporting that "Morgan has apparently felt slighted over the years by Madonna...he claims he was lied to by the singer's publicist."
In September 2012, it was reported that Morgan had also banned actor Kelsey Grammer. Morgan himself said, "Kelsey Grammer saw a photo of his ex-wife Camille in the open of our show and legged it." TVGuide reported, "All plans were still a go for the segment until Grammer actually got in the hot seat and saw the footage the producers had planned to peg to the segment, including a picture of his ex-wife". On 26 September 2012, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported that "many say [it] was an ambush by Piers". The Huffington Post reported that "before the interview was scheduled, it was made clear that Grammer would answer all questions, including those about [his ex-wife]. His sole request was not to show any images of her."
On 4 February 2014, transgender advocate Janet Mock appeared as a guest on Piers Morgan Live to discuss her memoir, Redefining Realness. After the interview aired, Mock sent a series of tweets criticising Morgan for describing Mock as being "formerly a man". Morgan responded that he had "never been treated in such a disgraceful manner" by a guest. On 5 February, Mock appeared as a guest again to debate the dispute.
Morgan has repeatedly clashed with actor John Cleese. In 2015 Cleese stated that he "truly detested" Morgan and had avoided him in a restaurant. He also said he thought Morgan was "in jail", erroneously stating that Morgan had "admitted" to authorising phone-hacking. Morgan responded that the "revulsion" between them was "mutual". When Cleese's tweet about detesting Morgan became his most popular to date, Cleese said "clearly I must insult the slimy, attention-seeking little prole more often". Morgan joked that he was glad to have been able to make Cleese "popular again". In 2017 Cleese told Radio Times "I always thought he was an awful creep [...] I just didn't want to have an encounter with him and since then he's been after me and I've been after him."
Morgan strongly objected to the Women's March on Washington on 21 January 2017, the day after Trump's inauguration, describing protesters as "rabid feminists" and the multiple protests as being "vacuous". The actor Ewan McGregor disagreed with Morgan's statements on the Women's March and pulled out of appearing on Good Morning Britain the following Tuesday after discovering Morgan would be interviewing him, along with Reid. Morgan accused McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" for his past support of Roman Polanski.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Morgan was briefly a friend of Meghan Markle before she became the Duchess of Sussex, but claimed she cut him off early in her relationship with Prince Harry. He has been a regular critic of the couple since then, alleging they are hypocrites and claiming the Duchess is a social climber.
When the couple stepped away from conducting official royal duties early in 2020, Morgan described them as being "the two most spoiled brats in history". Ten days later, he said: "Only surprised it took her so long to get Harry to ditch his family, the monarchy, the military and his country. What a piece of work." Responding to Morgan on Twitter, British comedian Gina Yashere wrote of the broadcaster's "constant racist vitriolic abuse disguised as criticism". Morgan responded that Yashere was being "ridiculous", arguing that the critical responses to the Duchess has "nothing to do with her skin color and everything to do with her being a shameless piece of work doing huge damage to our Royal Family." In a segment of Good Morning Britain on 13 January, Morgan interviewed Afua Hirsch, who accused parts of the British media of behaving in a racist manner towards the Duchess, an interpretation that Morgan said was "completely and grotesquely wrong". InfluencHers, a group of 100 African Caribbean women, advocated an advertisers' boycott of Good Morning Britain. The campaigners described the programme as having "sanctioning bullying and blatant unapologetic disrespect of women" in allowing Morgan's treatment of Hirsch.
When challenged by Decca Aitkenhead of The Sunday Times in May 2020 over "his vendetta" against the Duchess, with Aitkenhead suggesting he had gone too far, Morgan said: "I think that's a perfectly fair criticism. It's probably not wise, if you're a columnist, to make things too personal. Have I taken things a bit too far? Probably. Do I think that will govern and temper how I talk about them going forward? Absolutely."
On Good Morning Britain on 8 and 9 March 2021, Morgan said he doubted the accuracy of the account given by the Duchess of Sussex, in the interview Oprah with Meghan and Harry with Oprah Winfrey, in which she spoke of her mental health issues, which included suicidal thoughts, and she and Harry alleged racist comments from the extended family. A tense on-air argument with his co-host Alex Beresford on 9 March led him to walk off the set of the show. Beresford was highly critical of Morgan's attitude towards the Duchess, saying "She's entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you after she cut you off? I don't think she has, But yet you continue to trash her". Later in the day, Morgan quit the programme. The UK's mental health charity Mind expressed "disappointment" in Morgan's comments and said individuals with experience of mental health issues should be "treated with dignity, respect and empathy." ITV plc's chief executive, Carolyn McCall, defended the veracity of the Duchess's comments, adding "importantly everyone should."
ITV News reported the Duchess had complained directly to ITV's CEO about Morgan's comments about mental health, although the broadcaster was not officially commenting on these reports. Ofcom received a complaint from her.
Morgan issued a statement on Twitter, saying, "On Monday, I said I didn't believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I've had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don't. Freedom of speech is a hill I'm happy to die on." Broadcaster Andrew Neil described his departure as "a pity" for ITV because he had brought "energy, dynamism and controversy" to its morning broadcast schedule, adding "it had always lagged way behind the BBC breakfast time show and people tuned in because of him." Neil expressed interest in Morgan joining GB News instead. However, Neil later said that talks were affected by a disagreement: "he's [Morgan] got his own idea of what he is worth and we [GB News] have a slightly different idea of what he's worth". In Morgan's last week, Good Morning Britain surpassed the ratings of BBC Breakfast for the first time, and ITV lost almost £200m in market value following his departure.
Actor and comedian Steve Coogan, a prominent supporter of press regulation, described Morgan as "symptomatic of the problem" with the British tabloid media and accused him of "bullying behaviour" regarding his attitude to the Duchess.
Ofcom complaints
During his tenure at Good Morning Britain, Morgan was the subject of thousands of complaints to the British watchdog, Ofcom, relating to his comments.
In 2015, Morgan was criticised by Ofcom for laughing as a guest repeatedly used the word 'fucking' live on air. Although Ofcom did not take action as his co-presenter Susanna Reid quickly apologised, the watchdog expressed concern at his behaviour. In 2016, Ofcom received 70 complaints in relation to comments made by Morgan during interview with Christian magistrate Richard Page about gay marriage, that viewers felt "implied Christians were homophobic". Ofcom confirmed on 13 April 2016 that Morgan would not be investigated for his comments. On 22 January 2018, during a story about a homeless SAS veteran, who had a petition set up in his name calling on his local council to provide him with social housing, Morgan had refused to read out Herefordshire Council's statement. This was judged by Ofcom to be unfair to the council.
On 11 September 2019, Morgan claimed he identified himself as "a two-spirit penguin" in response to a news piece relating to gender neutrality, and said "the world has gone nuts" over gender. This attracted 950 Ofcom complaints from viewers. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in November 2019, and in response, Morgan admitted "he was personally quite pleased" with having one of the highest number of complaints to any British TV show in 2019.
On 21 January 2020, Morgan was accused of racism and was hit by 1,095 Ofcom complaints for his comments relating to a Chinese dairy advert, in which he said "He's using ching chong ching milk". Morgan also spoke over the advert, saying "ching chang cho jo". He was accused online of using language that is used to antagonise Chinese people and for mocking the Chinese language.
On 9 March 2021, Ofcom launched an investigation into the remarks Morgan made about the Duchess of Sussex's mental health on Good Morning Britain after receiving 41,015 complaints. The regulator confirmed on 12 March that the Duchess of Sussex had complained as well. On 17 March, it was reported that complaints against Morgan had reached 57,000, breaking Ofcom's record. Morgan remained defiant, stating "Only 57,000? I've had more people than that come up and congratulate me in the street for what I said. The vast majority of Britons are right behind me." Ofcom cleared ITV of any wrongdoing in September 2021 and added that restricting Morgan's views would be a "chilling restriction" on freedom of speech but criticised his "apparent disregard" for the subject of suicide. Morgan described the ruling as "a resounding victory for free speech and a resounding defeat for Princess Pinocchios."
Personal life
Morgan married Marion Shalloe, a hospital ward sister, in 1991. The couple had three sons, Albert, Spencer, and Stanley, and separated in 2004 before divorcing in 2008. In June 2010, he married his second wife, journalist Celia Walden, daughter of the former Conservative MP George Walden. On 25 November 2011, Walden gave birth to a daughter, Elise, her first child and Morgan's fourth.
Morgan's primary residence is in Kensington, London. He splits his time between a base in Los Angeles, California and a holiday home in Newick, East Sussex.
Morgan is a fan of Premier League football club Arsenal. He was an outspoken critic of former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and called for his sacking on many occasions. Speaking in defence of Wenger in 2015, former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson labelled Morgan an "incredibly pompous individual". When Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey met Morgan on 26 April 2015, Ramsey refused to shake his hand due to the criticism he received from Morgan during the 2012–13 season. Morgan has responded by calling Ramsey 'whatshisname'.
Politically, Morgan identified as a supporter of the Conservative Party in a 1994 interview, saying he was "still basically a Tory", but expressed admiration for the new Labour Party leader Tony Blair, saying "he's not radical, speaks well and makes sense". He voted for the Kensington Conservative candidate in the 2019 UK general election, after previously voting for the Animal Welfare Party. Morgan has also stated he has previously voted for the Labour Party.
On 24 July 2021, Morgan said he had developed COVID-19 after the Euro 2020 final, despite being fully vaccinated. He added that a strong fever, violent coughing, chills and sneezing fits left him exhausted and fearing what might come next.
Filmography
As himself
Bibliography
References
External links
1965 births
Living people
20th-century English male writers
20th-century English non-fiction writers
21st-century English writers
Alumni of Harlow College
America's Got Talent judges
British monarchists
English diarists
English expatriates in the United States
English male journalists
English newspaper editors
English people of Irish descent
English Roman Catholic writers
English social commentators
English television journalists
English television presenters
CNN people
Conservative Party (UK) people
Daily Mail journalists
Daily Mirror people
Gun control advocates
News of the World people
British opinion journalists
Participants in American reality television series
People educated at Priory School, Lewes
People from Lewes
People from Newick
The Apprentice (franchise) winners
The Sun (United Kingdom) people | false | [
"is a UK labour law case concerning the contract of employment. It held that promises to make no compulsory redundancies in a collective agreement were \"aspirational\" and not apt for being incorporated into individual contracts of employment. This meant that, aside from the collective agreement being unenforceable under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, section 179, the promises to employees could be broken.\n\nFacts\nThe car manufacturer, MG Rover was in trouble. Mrs Kaur's contract said,\n\nHer work place collective agreement was called 'The Way Ahead Partnership Agreement' signed in 1997, which in 'Job Security 2.1.' said the following.\n\nMrs Kaur was threatened with redundancy in 2003. She claimed an injunction against being dismissed.\n\nJudgment\nKeene LJ said that even when there were express words, the question was whether the context and character of the agreement made them apt for incorporation into individual contracts. Therefore, the agreement was not intended to create individual rights.\n\nJonathan Parker LJ and Brooke LJ agreed.\n\nSee also\n\nEmployment contract in English law\nAutoclenz Ltd v Belcher [2011] UKSC 41\nNanjing Automobile (Group) Corporation\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nUnited Kingdom labour case law\nCourt of Appeal (England and Wales) cases\n2004 in case law\n2004 in British law\nRover Company\nUnited Kingdom employment contract case law",
"Jake Carter (born Jacob Carter; 11 August 1998) is a singer and the winner of series 2 of the Irish television dance competition Dancing with the Stars. He is the younger brother of country music singer Nathan Carter.\n\nCareer \nIn 2017, Carter burst on to the Irish music scene after a performance on The Late Late Show with Ryan Tubridy, performing his first single, \"Trouble\". The single accompanied with a music video received a lot of air play on Irish country music radio stations and reached number one on the Irish Country Music iTunes chart.\n\nHe followed up \"Trouble\" with an EP titled Three Things.\n\nAppearances\n\nAladdin\nIn December 2017, Carter appeared as the title character Aladdin in the Belfast SSE Arena pantomime production of Aladdin.\n\nDancing with the Stars \nIn December 2017, Carter was confirmed as one of the eleven celebrities taking part in the second series of the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars.\n\nCarter was paired with Irish professional dancer, Karen Byrne for the series. They won the competition on 25 March 2018.\n\n Dancing with the Stars performances\n\nPersonal life \nCarter was born to Ian and Noreen In 1998. His older brother Nathan Carter is a well-known Irish country and folk music star. Carter has toured extensively with his brother, most recently supporting him on Irish arena tour in March 2018. He also has a sister, Kiara Carter. Since 2018, Carter has been in a relationship with his Dancing with the Stars professional partner, Karen Byrne.\n\nDiscography\n\nEPs\n2017: Three Things\n1. \"Just Wanna Kiss You\" (3:02) - 2. \"Wild and Free\" (3:22) 3. \"Havin' a Party\" (3:04) 4. \"I Ain't Ever Coming Down\" (3:05) 5. \"Fallin' for You\" (2:57)\n\nSingles / videography\n2016: \"Trouble\"\n2017: \"Wild and Free\"\n2017: \"Havin' a Party\"\n2017: \"I Just Wanna Kiss You\"\n2018: \"Fallin' for You\"\n2018: \"The Little Things You Do\"\n2018: \"2018\"\n2018: \"Take Me Dancing\" (feat. Una Healy)\n2019: “Supernatural”\n2019: \"I Won't be Leaving\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1998 births\nLiving people\nCountry singers from Northern Ireland\nMale singers from Northern Ireland\nMusicians from Liverpool\nDancing with the Stars winners"
] |
[
"Piers Morgan",
"Post-Mirror press career",
"How was his career after post-Mirror",
"former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: \"You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you,",
"What else did he say?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"\" Later, in 2017, Morgan accused Ewan McGregor of being a \"paedophile-loving hypocrite\"",
"Did he say more rude things after that?",
"cancelling an appearance on Good Morning Britain due to Morgan's comments opposing the Women's March on Washington.",
"Was he ever in law trouble for the things he said?",
"2014 and Morgan writes several columns a week. He"
] | C_3f0f810151cd4c16b3a41b22787c7ca4_0 | Writes for who? | 6 | Who does Piers Morgan write several columns a week for? | Piers Morgan | In partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership in May 2005, of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its "cash cow", the British Press Awards, in a deal worth PS1 million. This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards. Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006, before being sold to a trade buyer. First News was launched by Morgan on 4 May 2006. A weekly paper aimed at seven to 14-year-olds, he claimed at its launch that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children". Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman". Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs, in 2007. Simon Cowell and others made much of Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in a Mirror headline after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, Mr President". In 2012, following the revelation of Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse against children, Morgan claimed to have "never met" Savile in his lifetime - although it was pointed out that in a 2009 piece by Morgan in The Mail on Sunday's Night & Day magazine claiming that "As I left, Jimmy Savile came up to me. 'Your TV shows are BRILLIANT!. he exclaimed. ... I've always loved Jimmy Savile." Later, in 2017, Morgan accused Ewan McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" for his past support of Roman Polanski cancelling an appearance on Good Morning Britain due to Morgan's comments opposing the Women's March on Washington. He became the editor-at-large of the Mail Online website's US operation in September 2014 and Morgan writes several columns a week. He also writes a weekly diary for the Mail on Sunday Event magazine, having also written one for its predecessor Live. CANNOTANSWER | He became the editor-at-large of the Mail Online website's US operation in September 2014 and Morgan writes | Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is an English broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at The Sun. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the News of the World by Rupert Murdoch, which made him the youngest editor of a British national newspaper in more than half a century. From 1995, Morgan edited the Daily Mirror, but was sacked in 2004. He was the editorial director of First News during 2006 to 2007.
On television, Morgan has hosted his own talk shows Piers Morgan's Life Stories (2009–present) and Piers Morgan Live (2011–2014), the latter on the American news network CNN, co-presented the ITV Breakfast programme Good Morning Britain (2015–2021) with Susanna Reid, and judged on the talent competition shows America's Got Talent (2006–2011) and Britain's Got Talent (2007–2010). In 2008, he won the seventh season of the US Celebrity Apprentice. In September 2021, it was announced Morgan would join News Corp as a presenter on their new television channel talkTV and as a columnist for The Sun and New York Post. The series will air in the UK, US, and Australia and is scheduled to launch in early 2022.
Morgan was the editor of the Daily Mirror during the period in which the paper was implicated in the phone hacking scandal. In 2011, Morgan denied having ever hacked a phone and stated that he had not, "to my knowledge published any story obtained from the hacking of a phone". The following year, he was criticised in the findings of the Leveson Inquiry by chair Brian Leveson, who stated that comments made in Morgan's testimony about phone hacking were "utterly unpersuasive" and "that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it". Morgan's outspoken views and controversial comments on Good Morning Britain led Ofcom to adjudicate on multiple occasions. On 9 March 2021, Morgan left the programme with immediate effect, following his criticism of the Oprah with Meghan and Harry interview. Ofcom received over 57,000 complaints from viewers, including a complaint from Meghan, Duchess of Sussex herself; Morgan was subsequently cleared of wrongdoing by Ofcom.
Early life and education
Morgan was born Piers Stefan O'Meara on 30 March 1965 in Surrey, the son of Vincent Eamonn O'Meara, an Irish dentist from County Offaly, and Gabrielle Georgina Sybille (née Oliver), an English woman who raised Morgan Catholic. With regard to his religious views, Morgan still identifies as a Catholic due to his mother's influence, and believes in an afterlife, but does not "go to Confession, probably because it would take [him] too long". He has a brother, Jeremy, who is older than him by two years. A few months after his birth, the family moved to Newick, East Sussex. His father died when Morgan was 11 months old; his mother later married Glynne Pughe-Morgan, a Welsh pub landlord who later worked in the meat distribution business, and he took his stepfather's surname. He was educated at the independent Cumnor House prep school between the ages of seven and 13, then Chailey School, a comprehensive secondary school in Chailey, followed by Priory School, Lewes, for sixth form. After nine months at Lloyd's of London, Morgan studied journalism at Harlow College, joining the Surrey and South London Newspaper Group in 1985.
Press career
At the Murdoch titles (1988–1995)
Morgan began to work as a freelance at The Sun in 1988, at this point dropping his double-barrelled name. He told Hunter Davies in December 1994 that he was personally recruited by Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie to work on the newspaper's show business column "Bizarre", his first high-profile post. Although he was not a fan of pop music, he was considered skilled at self-publicity and became the column's main writer. "I became the Friend of the Stars, a rampant egomaniac, pictured all the time with famous people – Madonna, Stallone, Bowie, Paul McCartney, hundreds of them. It was shameless, as they didn't know me from Adam", he told Davies.
In January 1994, he became editor of the News of the World after being appointed to the job by Rupert Murdoch. Initially an acting editor, he was confirmed in the summer, becoming at 29 the youngest national newspaper editor in more than half a century. In this period, the newspaper led with a series of scoops for which Morgan credited a highly efficient newsdesk and publicist Max Clifford.
Morgan left this post in 1995 shortly after publishing photographs of Catherine Victoria Lockwood, then wife of Charles, Earl Spencer, leaving an addictive disorders clinic in Surrey. This action ran against the editors' code of conduct, a misdemeanour for which the Press Complaints Commission upheld a complaint against Morgan. Murdoch was reported as having said that "the boy went too far" and publicly distanced himself from the story. Fearful of a privacy law action if he had not criticised one of his employees, Murdoch is said to have apologised to Morgan in private.
The incident was reported to have contributed to Morgan's decision to leave for the Daily Mirror editorship. Morgan's autobiography The Insider states that he left the News of the World for the Mirror of his own choice. It asserts he was an admirer of former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for most of her period of office, making the appointment surprising as the Mirror is a Labour-supporting title.
Daily Mirror editor
As editor of the Daily Mirror, Morgan apologised on television for the headline (rendered in upper case) "Achtung Surrender! For You Fritz Ze Euro Championship Is Over" on 25 June 1996, a day before England met Germany in a semi-final of the Euro '96 football championships. The headline was accompanied by an open letter from Morgan parodying Neville Chamberlain's declaration of war on Germany in 1939. "It was intended as a joke, but anyone who was offended by it must have taken it seriously, and to those people I say sorry," he said. Germany won the match and later the championship at Wembley Stadium, London.
A £16 million package of investment in the title was rolled out from January, including the dropping of "Daily" from the masthead in February, which was later reversed. Roy Greenslade wrote in August 1999 that Morgan's editorship "has made a huge difference: his enormous enthusiasm, determination and focus is a major plus".
Morgan was the subject of an investigation in 2000 after Suzy Jagger wrote an article for The Daily Telegraph revealing that he had bought £20,000 worth of shares in the computer company Viglen soon before the Mirror 's "City Slickers" column tipped Viglen as a good buy. Morgan was found by the Press Complaints Commission to have breached the Code of Conduct on financial journalism, but kept his job. The "City Slickers" columnists, Anil Bhoyrul and James Hipwell, were both found to have committed further breaches of the Code and were sacked before the inquiry concluded. Further enquiry by the Department of Trade and Industry in 2004 cleared Morgan of any charges. On 7 December 2005, Bhoyrul and Hipwell were convicted of conspiracy to breach the Financial Services Act. During the trial it emerged that Morgan had bought £67,000 worth of Viglen shares, emptying his bank account and investing under his (first) wife's name as well.
The Mirror attempted to move mid-market in 2002, eschewing the more trivial stories of show-business and gossip, and appointed Christopher Hitchens as a columnist, but sales declined. In October 2003, journalist and television personality Jeremy Clarkson emptied a glass of water over Morgan during the last flight of Concorde in response to some photographs published in the Mirror. In March 2004, at the British Press Awards, Clarkson punched Morgan three times during another argument. in Campbell v MGN Ltd, the Law Lords in May 2004 found in favour of model Naomi Campbell on privacy grounds after the Mirror had published a photograph of her entering a Narcotics Anonymous clinic. Morgan was critical of the judgement saying it was "a good day for lying, drug-abusing prima donnas who want to have their cake with the media and the right to then shamelessly guzzle with their Cristal champagne."
In the wake of the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, Morgan was sacked as editor of the Daily Mirror "with immediate effect" on 14 May 2004, after refusing to apologise to Sly Bailey, then head of Trinity Mirror, for authorising the newspaper's publication of fake photographs. The photos were alleged to show Iraqi prisoners being abused by British Army soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment. Within days the photographs were shown to be crude fakes. According to official British sources, the photographs were apparently shot, in North-West England. Under the headline "SORRY..WE WERE HOAXED", the Mirror responded that it had fallen victim to a "calculated and malicious hoax" and apologised for the publication of the photographs. However, Morgan refused to admit that the photographs were faked, and stated that the abuse shown in the photographs is similar to the sort of abuse that was happening in the British Army in Iraq at the time.
Post-Mirror press activities
In partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership in May 2005 of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its "cash cow", the British Press Awards, in a deal worth £1 million. This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards. Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006, before being sold to a trade buyer.
First News was launched by Morgan on 4 May 2006. A weekly paper aimed at seven to 14-year-olds, he said at its launch that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children". Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman".
In Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs. Simon Cowell outspokenly mocked Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in a Mirror headline after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, Mr President".
In 2012, following the revelation of Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse against children, Morgan said he had "never met" Savile in his lifetime, contradicting a 2009 piece he wrote in The Mail on Sunday Night & Day magazine saying that "As I left, Jimmy Savile came up to me. 'Your TV shows are BRILLIANT!, he exclaimed. ... I've always loved Jimmy Savile."
In September 2014, Morgan became the first editor-at-large of the MailOnline website's US operation and wrote several columns a week.
Television career
Morgan's career expanded into television presenting before he left the Daily Mirror. He presented a three-part television documentary series for the BBC titled The Importance of Being Famous (2003), about fame and the manner in which celebrities are covered by modern media. At the annual Pride of Britain Awards broadcast on ITV, Morgan chaired a panel of prominent people who had chosen the recipients of the awards from 1999 to 2006.
He co-hosted a current affairs interview show on Channel 4 with Amanda Platell, Morgan and Platell. Morgan and Platell were put together because of their opposing political viewpoints; Platell interrogated guests from the right wing, Morgan from the left wing. The show was dropped after three series reputedly because of poor viewing figures, although the chairman of Channel 4 Luke Johnson was reported not to like the programme.
Throughout 2006, Morgan appeared as a judge on the television show America's Got Talent alongside Brandy Norwood and David Hasselhoff on NBC. Morgan was chosen by Simon Cowell as a replacement for himself because of the conditions of his American Idol contract. Morgan appeared as a celebrity contestant on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice in 2007, to raise money for the BBC charity telethon Comic Relief. After his team lost, Morgan was selected by Sir Alan Sugar as the contestant to be fired.
In 2007, Morgan appeared as a judge for the second season of America's Got Talent and also appeared as a judge on Britain's Got Talent on ITV with Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell.
He also presented You Can't Fire Me, I'm Famous on BBC One. He fronted a three-part documentary about Sandbanks for ITV entitled Piers Morgan on Sandbanks in January 2008.
In 2008, Morgan signed a two-year "golden handcuffs" deal with ITV in May, reportedly worth £2 million per year. As part of the deal, he would continue as a judge on Britain's Got Talent for at least two more series and front a new chat show. He also made some interview specials, plus three more documentaries from various countries. Morgan's golden handcuffs deal was the first signing by ITV's new director of television, Peter Fincham.
In February 2009, he began a three-part series, Piers Morgan On..., which saw him visit Dubai, Monte Carlo and Hollywood. The programme returned for a second series in 2010 when Morgan visited Las Vegas in one episode.
In 2009, Morgan also began hosting Piers Morgan's Life Stories on ITV, with Sharon Osbourne as the subject of the first episode. Other guests on the programme included Cheryl and the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
On 17 January 2011, Morgan replaced Larry King in CNN's evening line-up with his show, Piers Morgan Live. After poor ratings, the show was cancelled in February 2014 and ended its run in March 2014. Commenting on the viewing figures, Morgan said that he was "a British guy debating American cultural issues, including guns, which has been very polarizing, and there is no doubt that there are many in the audience who are tired of me banging on about it."
From 13 to 17 April 2015, Morgan guest-hosted five episodes of Good Morning Britain on ITV and became a permanent co-host in November 2015, appearing alongside Susanna Reid and Charlotte Hawkins. He often clashed with Reid, who said of her colleague: "You can't help but go into battle with him every morning". Morgan left the series in March 2021 following a controversy over his remarks about Oprah with Meghan and Harry, which included a heated on-air argument with Alex Beresford.
From 2016 to 2017, Morgan interviewed female murderers on the TV series Killer Women with Piers Morgan. He also presented Serial Killer with Piers Morgan, as part of the 2017 Crime & Punishment season on ITV. In October 2018, Morgan appeared as a cameo on Hollyoaks.
On 16 September 2021, News UK announced its new channel talkTV would launch in 2022, with Morgan being the first name signed up.
Donald Trump
Morgan was the winner of the U.S. celebrity version of The Apprentice, in 2008. He was eventually the overall winner, being named Celebrity Apprentice by host Donald Trump on 27 March, ahead of fellow finalist, American country music star Trace Adkins, and having raised substantially more cash than all the other contestants combined. Morgan was called "ruthless, arrogant, evil and obnoxious" by Trump in the final.
Morgan stated he personally would not vote for Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election (though as a permanent resident of the United States, not a citizen, he is not qualified to vote). He predicted Trump's election as President of the United States and has described himself as a close friend. Morgan interviewed Trump on Good Morning Britain in March 2016.
Morgan appeared on ITV's Loose Women panel show in late January 2017, and was challenged to repudiate Trump. He refused to do so, despite stating that he disagreed with him on many issues relating to gun control, climate change, abortion, and the "Muslim travel ban", saying that he found the principle of the ban understandable, but disagreed with "the way [Trump] has gone about it".
Nearly a fortnight later, on the American talk show Real Time with Bill Maher, Morgan said "There is no Muslim ban", as "85% of the world's Muslims are allowed in the country". Another participant in the discussion, Australian comedian Jim Jefferies, immediately swore at Morgan and criticised his defence of Trump. After the novelist J. K. Rowling tweeted "Yes, watching Piers Morgan being told to fuck off on live TV is *exactly* as satisfying as I'd always imagined", the two began an exchange of words on the social media site.
Morgan criticised Trump after Trump had retweeted Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of the small far-right fascist party Britain First, in late November 2017. He tweeted to Trump: "What the hell are you doing retweeting a bunch of unverified videos by Britain First, a bunch of disgustingly racist far-right extremists? Please STOP this madness & undo your retweets".
In January 2018, Morgan presented President Trump – The Piers Morgan Interview for ITV, which many thought of as "sycophantic" and a "love-in" for Trump. Of respondents to a Radio Times Twitter poll, 88% viewed Morgan as being not "tough enough" on Trump. Morgan interviewed Trump again in July 2018 during his official visit to the UK, this time on Air Force One during an internal flight, in a TV special entitled Piers, The President and Air Force One.
In December 2018, Morgan wrote a letter to Trump formally applying to become White House Chief of Staff.
During Trump's state visit to the United Kingdom in June 2019, Morgan once again interviewed Trump, this time at the Churchill War Rooms.
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Morgan wrote a highly critical article of Trump's handling of the crisis in his column for MailOnline. Morgan particularly took issue with Trump's suggestion of looking into "ingesting" disinfectant as a possible solution, describing it as "batshit crazy". In response to the criticism, Trump unfollowed Morgan on Twitter.
In the aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Morgan stated that Trump was "mentally unfit" to remain as president. He claimed that the pandemic and Trump's election loss that followed had "sent him nuts". In response to whether he regretted his support of Trump, Morgan said "No question. I never thought he was capable of this."
Controversies
Ian Hislop
Morgan appeared as a guest on the BBC satirical news quiz Have I Got News for You in an episode transmitted on 24 May 1996. In it, show regular Ian Hislop accused Morgan of having him followed and having his house watched. The conflict escalated and at one point the host, Angus Deayton, asked if they wished to go outside and have a fight. Later on, guest panellist Clive Anderson confronted Morgan commenting, "the last time I was rude to you, you sent photographers to my doorstep the next day", to which Piers Morgan retorted, "You won't see them this time." The audience responded loudly in favour of Hislop. The Guardian reported on the state of the feud in 2002. "We're about to start exposing the moon-faced midget", Morgan was quoted as saying, to which Hislop responded, "all he's been offering for information about my private life is a £50 reward. My friends think that's not nearly enough."
In 2007, Hislop chose Morgan as one of his pet hates on Room 101. In doing so, Hislop spoke of the history of animosity between himself and Morgan and said that after their exchange on Have I Got News For You (which was shown as a clip), Morgan's reporters were tasked with trying to get gossip on Hislop's private life (including phoning acquaintances of Hislop), and photographers were sent in case Hislop did anything untoward or embarrassing while in their presence. Neither the reporters nor the photographers succeeded. Hislop also said that Morgan had attempted to quell the feud in an article in The Mail on Sunday, saying, "The war is over. I'm officially calling an end to hostilities, at least from my end. I'm sure it won't stop him carrying on his 'Piers Moron' stuff" (Private Eye, the fortnightly satirical magazine that Hislop edits, regularly calls Morgan 'Piers Moron'). Hislop, who was working on a World War I documentary at the time, responded by asking "Is that an armistice or an unconditional surrender?" Although Paul Merton – host of Room 101 at the time and a good friend of Hislop (the pair having captained the teams on Have I Got News For You since its inception) – agreed to put Morgan into Room 101, he then comically rejected Morgan as being "too toxic" for Room 101.
Phone hacking allegations
During Morgan's tenure as editor, the Daily Mirror was advised by Steven Nott that voicemail interception was possible by means of a standard PIN code. Despite staff initially expressing enthusiasm for the story it did not appear in the paper, although it did subsequently feature in a South Wales Argus article and on BBC Radio 5 Live in October 1999. On 18 July 2011 Nott was visited by officers of Operation Weeting.
He came under criticism for his "boasting" about phone hacking from Conservative MP Louise Mensch, who has since apologised for these accusations.
In July 2011, in a sequence of articles, political blogger Paul Staines alleged that while editor of the Daily Mirror in 2002 Morgan published a story concerning the affair of Sven-Göran Eriksson and Ulrika Jonsson while knowing it to have been obtained by phone hacking.
On 20 December 2011, Morgan appeared as a witness by satellite link from the United States at the Leveson Inquiry. While he said he had no reason to believe that phone hacking had occurred at the Mirror while he was in charge there, he admitted to hearing a recording of an answerphone message left by Paul McCartney for Heather Mills, but refused to "discuss where that tape was played or who made [it] – it would compromise a source." Appearing as a witness at the same Inquiry on 9 February 2012, Mills was asked under oath if she had ever made a recording of McCartney's phone call or had played it to Morgan; she replied: "Never". She said that she had never authorised Morgan, or anybody, to access or listen to her voicemails. Mills told the inquiry that Morgan, "a man that has written nothing but awful things about me for years", would have relished telling the inquiry if she had played a personal voicemail message to him.
On 23 May 2012, Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman was a witness at the Leveson Inquiry. He recalled a lunch with the Mirror editor in September 2002 at which Morgan outlined the means of hacking into a mobile phone.
On 28 November 2012, the Channel 4 documentary Taking on the Tabloids, fronted by actor and phone hacking victim Hugh Grant, showed footage from a 2003 interview with Morgan by the singer and phone hacking victim Charlotte Church, during which he explained to her how to avoid answerphone messages being listened to by journalists. He said: "You can access ... voicemails by typing in a number. Now, are you really telling me that journalists aren't going to do that?"
On 29 November 2012, the official findings of the Leveson Inquiry were released, in which Lord Justice Leveson said that Morgan's testimony under oath on phone hacking was "utterly unpersuasive". He stated: "[The] evidence does not establish that [Morgan] authorised the hacking of voicemails or that journalists employed by TMG [Trinity Mirror Group] were indulging in this practice ... What it does, however, clearly prove is that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it."
On 6 December 2013, Morgan was interviewed, under caution, by police officers from Operation Weeting investigating phone hacking allegations at Mirror Group Newspapers during his tenure as editor.
On 24 September 2014, the Trinity Mirror publishing group admitted for the first time that some of its journalists had been involved in phone hacking and agreed to pay compensation to four people who sued for the alleged hacking of voicemails. Six other phone-hacking claims had already been settled. The BBC reported that it had seen legal papers showing that although the alleged hacking could have taken place as early as 1998, the bulk of the alleged wrongdoing took place in the early 2000s when Morgan was the Daily Mirror editor. The admissions by Trinity Mirror came whilst the London Metropolitan Police investigation into the phone hacking allegations was ongoing. Morgan has always denied any involvement in the practice.
Feuds and banned television guests
A feud between Morgan and A. A. Gill began when Morgan described Gill's partner Nicola Formby as a sex kitten on whom the mists of time had taken their toll and said she had shown him "porn shots" of herself. Gill said Morgan had made this up and called him a "pretty objectionable self-publicist".
In May 2011, Morgan banned actor Hugh Grant from his shows on CNN and ITV after Grant spoke out against the need for the tabloid press. On Twitter he responded: "Hugh Grant is now banned, in perpetuity, from @PiersTonight and Life Stories and anything else I ever do. Tedious little man."
On 28 March 2012, MTV referred to the bad relations between Morgan and Madonna, reporting that "Morgan has apparently felt slighted over the years by Madonna...he claims he was lied to by the singer's publicist."
In September 2012, it was reported that Morgan had also banned actor Kelsey Grammer. Morgan himself said, "Kelsey Grammer saw a photo of his ex-wife Camille in the open of our show and legged it." TVGuide reported, "All plans were still a go for the segment until Grammer actually got in the hot seat and saw the footage the producers had planned to peg to the segment, including a picture of his ex-wife". On 26 September 2012, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported that "many say [it] was an ambush by Piers". The Huffington Post reported that "before the interview was scheduled, it was made clear that Grammer would answer all questions, including those about [his ex-wife]. His sole request was not to show any images of her."
On 4 February 2014, transgender advocate Janet Mock appeared as a guest on Piers Morgan Live to discuss her memoir, Redefining Realness. After the interview aired, Mock sent a series of tweets criticising Morgan for describing Mock as being "formerly a man". Morgan responded that he had "never been treated in such a disgraceful manner" by a guest. On 5 February, Mock appeared as a guest again to debate the dispute.
Morgan has repeatedly clashed with actor John Cleese. In 2015 Cleese stated that he "truly detested" Morgan and had avoided him in a restaurant. He also said he thought Morgan was "in jail", erroneously stating that Morgan had "admitted" to authorising phone-hacking. Morgan responded that the "revulsion" between them was "mutual". When Cleese's tweet about detesting Morgan became his most popular to date, Cleese said "clearly I must insult the slimy, attention-seeking little prole more often". Morgan joked that he was glad to have been able to make Cleese "popular again". In 2017 Cleese told Radio Times "I always thought he was an awful creep [...] I just didn't want to have an encounter with him and since then he's been after me and I've been after him."
Morgan strongly objected to the Women's March on Washington on 21 January 2017, the day after Trump's inauguration, describing protesters as "rabid feminists" and the multiple protests as being "vacuous". The actor Ewan McGregor disagreed with Morgan's statements on the Women's March and pulled out of appearing on Good Morning Britain the following Tuesday after discovering Morgan would be interviewing him, along with Reid. Morgan accused McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" for his past support of Roman Polanski.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Morgan was briefly a friend of Meghan Markle before she became the Duchess of Sussex, but claimed she cut him off early in her relationship with Prince Harry. He has been a regular critic of the couple since then, alleging they are hypocrites and claiming the Duchess is a social climber.
When the couple stepped away from conducting official royal duties early in 2020, Morgan described them as being "the two most spoiled brats in history". Ten days later, he said: "Only surprised it took her so long to get Harry to ditch his family, the monarchy, the military and his country. What a piece of work." Responding to Morgan on Twitter, British comedian Gina Yashere wrote of the broadcaster's "constant racist vitriolic abuse disguised as criticism". Morgan responded that Yashere was being "ridiculous", arguing that the critical responses to the Duchess has "nothing to do with her skin color and everything to do with her being a shameless piece of work doing huge damage to our Royal Family." In a segment of Good Morning Britain on 13 January, Morgan interviewed Afua Hirsch, who accused parts of the British media of behaving in a racist manner towards the Duchess, an interpretation that Morgan said was "completely and grotesquely wrong". InfluencHers, a group of 100 African Caribbean women, advocated an advertisers' boycott of Good Morning Britain. The campaigners described the programme as having "sanctioning bullying and blatant unapologetic disrespect of women" in allowing Morgan's treatment of Hirsch.
When challenged by Decca Aitkenhead of The Sunday Times in May 2020 over "his vendetta" against the Duchess, with Aitkenhead suggesting he had gone too far, Morgan said: "I think that's a perfectly fair criticism. It's probably not wise, if you're a columnist, to make things too personal. Have I taken things a bit too far? Probably. Do I think that will govern and temper how I talk about them going forward? Absolutely."
On Good Morning Britain on 8 and 9 March 2021, Morgan said he doubted the accuracy of the account given by the Duchess of Sussex, in the interview Oprah with Meghan and Harry with Oprah Winfrey, in which she spoke of her mental health issues, which included suicidal thoughts, and she and Harry alleged racist comments from the extended family. A tense on-air argument with his co-host Alex Beresford on 9 March led him to walk off the set of the show. Beresford was highly critical of Morgan's attitude towards the Duchess, saying "She's entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you after she cut you off? I don't think she has, But yet you continue to trash her". Later in the day, Morgan quit the programme. The UK's mental health charity Mind expressed "disappointment" in Morgan's comments and said individuals with experience of mental health issues should be "treated with dignity, respect and empathy." ITV plc's chief executive, Carolyn McCall, defended the veracity of the Duchess's comments, adding "importantly everyone should."
ITV News reported the Duchess had complained directly to ITV's CEO about Morgan's comments about mental health, although the broadcaster was not officially commenting on these reports. Ofcom received a complaint from her.
Morgan issued a statement on Twitter, saying, "On Monday, I said I didn't believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I've had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don't. Freedom of speech is a hill I'm happy to die on." Broadcaster Andrew Neil described his departure as "a pity" for ITV because he had brought "energy, dynamism and controversy" to its morning broadcast schedule, adding "it had always lagged way behind the BBC breakfast time show and people tuned in because of him." Neil expressed interest in Morgan joining GB News instead. However, Neil later said that talks were affected by a disagreement: "he's [Morgan] got his own idea of what he is worth and we [GB News] have a slightly different idea of what he's worth". In Morgan's last week, Good Morning Britain surpassed the ratings of BBC Breakfast for the first time, and ITV lost almost £200m in market value following his departure.
Actor and comedian Steve Coogan, a prominent supporter of press regulation, described Morgan as "symptomatic of the problem" with the British tabloid media and accused him of "bullying behaviour" regarding his attitude to the Duchess.
Ofcom complaints
During his tenure at Good Morning Britain, Morgan was the subject of thousands of complaints to the British watchdog, Ofcom, relating to his comments.
In 2015, Morgan was criticised by Ofcom for laughing as a guest repeatedly used the word 'fucking' live on air. Although Ofcom did not take action as his co-presenter Susanna Reid quickly apologised, the watchdog expressed concern at his behaviour. In 2016, Ofcom received 70 complaints in relation to comments made by Morgan during interview with Christian magistrate Richard Page about gay marriage, that viewers felt "implied Christians were homophobic". Ofcom confirmed on 13 April 2016 that Morgan would not be investigated for his comments. On 22 January 2018, during a story about a homeless SAS veteran, who had a petition set up in his name calling on his local council to provide him with social housing, Morgan had refused to read out Herefordshire Council's statement. This was judged by Ofcom to be unfair to the council.
On 11 September 2019, Morgan claimed he identified himself as "a two-spirit penguin" in response to a news piece relating to gender neutrality, and said "the world has gone nuts" over gender. This attracted 950 Ofcom complaints from viewers. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in November 2019, and in response, Morgan admitted "he was personally quite pleased" with having one of the highest number of complaints to any British TV show in 2019.
On 21 January 2020, Morgan was accused of racism and was hit by 1,095 Ofcom complaints for his comments relating to a Chinese dairy advert, in which he said "He's using ching chong ching milk". Morgan also spoke over the advert, saying "ching chang cho jo". He was accused online of using language that is used to antagonise Chinese people and for mocking the Chinese language.
On 9 March 2021, Ofcom launched an investigation into the remarks Morgan made about the Duchess of Sussex's mental health on Good Morning Britain after receiving 41,015 complaints. The regulator confirmed on 12 March that the Duchess of Sussex had complained as well. On 17 March, it was reported that complaints against Morgan had reached 57,000, breaking Ofcom's record. Morgan remained defiant, stating "Only 57,000? I've had more people than that come up and congratulate me in the street for what I said. The vast majority of Britons are right behind me." Ofcom cleared ITV of any wrongdoing in September 2021 and added that restricting Morgan's views would be a "chilling restriction" on freedom of speech but criticised his "apparent disregard" for the subject of suicide. Morgan described the ruling as "a resounding victory for free speech and a resounding defeat for Princess Pinocchios."
Personal life
Morgan married Marion Shalloe, a hospital ward sister, in 1991. The couple had three sons, Albert, Spencer, and Stanley, and separated in 2004 before divorcing in 2008. In June 2010, he married his second wife, journalist Celia Walden, daughter of the former Conservative MP George Walden. On 25 November 2011, Walden gave birth to a daughter, Elise, her first child and Morgan's fourth.
Morgan's primary residence is in Kensington, London. He splits his time between a base in Los Angeles, California and a holiday home in Newick, East Sussex.
Morgan is a fan of Premier League football club Arsenal. He was an outspoken critic of former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and called for his sacking on many occasions. Speaking in defence of Wenger in 2015, former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson labelled Morgan an "incredibly pompous individual". When Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey met Morgan on 26 April 2015, Ramsey refused to shake his hand due to the criticism he received from Morgan during the 2012–13 season. Morgan has responded by calling Ramsey 'whatshisname'.
Politically, Morgan identified as a supporter of the Conservative Party in a 1994 interview, saying he was "still basically a Tory", but expressed admiration for the new Labour Party leader Tony Blair, saying "he's not radical, speaks well and makes sense". He voted for the Kensington Conservative candidate in the 2019 UK general election, after previously voting for the Animal Welfare Party. Morgan has also stated he has previously voted for the Labour Party.
On 24 July 2021, Morgan said he had developed COVID-19 after the Euro 2020 final, despite being fully vaccinated. He added that a strong fever, violent coughing, chills and sneezing fits left him exhausted and fearing what might come next.
Filmography
As himself
Bibliography
References
External links
1965 births
Living people
20th-century English male writers
20th-century English non-fiction writers
21st-century English writers
Alumni of Harlow College
America's Got Talent judges
British monarchists
English diarists
English expatriates in the United States
English male journalists
English newspaper editors
English people of Irish descent
English Roman Catholic writers
English social commentators
English television journalists
English television presenters
CNN people
Conservative Party (UK) people
Daily Mail journalists
Daily Mirror people
Gun control advocates
News of the World people
British opinion journalists
Participants in American reality television series
People educated at Priory School, Lewes
People from Lewes
People from Newick
The Apprentice (franchise) winners
The Sun (United Kingdom) people | false | [
"Marisa Mackle (born c. 1973) is a romance novelist of over 13 books who also writes for children.\n\nLife and work\nBorn in Armagh, Northern Ireland about 1973, Mackle now lives in Dublin, Ireland. She was educated in Mount Anville in Dublin before travelling Europe for several years. She became an air hostess and a receptionist and has used her experiences in her novels. She began writing in hotels while working as an air hostess. Her first novel was successful and today she writes both books and articles, including for the Herald. Her novels are mostly romance novels however she also writes for children.\n\nShe has two sisters and is vegan. She has one son.\n\nBibliography\n Mr. Right for the Night (2002)\n So Long Mr. Wrong! (2003)\n The Mile High Guy (2004)\n Chinese Whispers (2005)\n Man Hunt (2006)\n Confessions of an Air Hostess (2007)\n Living Next Door to Alice (2008)\n Party Animal (2008)\n Anything for Love(2009)\n Along Came a Stork (2011)\n More Than A Feeling (2011)\n The Secret Nanny Club (2012)\n No More Fish (2013)\n\nNovels for children\n The Girl in the Yellow Dress (2010)\n Lucy Goes to Hollywood (2011)\n\nReferences \n\nIrish women novelists\nWriters from Dublin (city)\nLiving people\nPeople from Armagh (city)\n1970s births",
"Branka Primorac (Zagreb, 1964) is Croatian novelist and journalist.\n\nShe attended Faculty of Political Sciences on Zagreb University. She writes for newspapers Večernji list.\n\nHe wrote several novels for children. She writes about adolescence, Croatian War for Independence, culture, animals and love.\n\nBranka Primorac won three Croatian literary prizes for her works.\n\nReferences \n\nLiving people\n1964 births\nJournalists from Zagreb\nWriters from Zagreb\nCroatian columnists"
] |
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"former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: \"You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you,",
"What else did he say?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"\" Later, in 2017, Morgan accused Ewan McGregor of being a \"paedophile-loving hypocrite\"",
"Did he say more rude things after that?",
"cancelling an appearance on Good Morning Britain due to Morgan's comments opposing the Women's March on Washington.",
"Was he ever in law trouble for the things he said?",
"2014 and Morgan writes several columns a week. He",
"Writes for who?",
"He became the editor-at-large of the Mail Online website's US operation in September 2014 and Morgan writes"
] | C_3f0f810151cd4c16b3a41b22787c7ca4_0 | Does he still work there? | 7 | Does Piers Morgan still work as editor-at-large of the Mail Online website's US operation? | Piers Morgan | In partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership in May 2005, of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its "cash cow", the British Press Awards, in a deal worth PS1 million. This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards. Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006, before being sold to a trade buyer. First News was launched by Morgan on 4 May 2006. A weekly paper aimed at seven to 14-year-olds, he claimed at its launch that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children". Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman". Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs, in 2007. Simon Cowell and others made much of Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in a Mirror headline after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, Mr President". In 2012, following the revelation of Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse against children, Morgan claimed to have "never met" Savile in his lifetime - although it was pointed out that in a 2009 piece by Morgan in The Mail on Sunday's Night & Day magazine claiming that "As I left, Jimmy Savile came up to me. 'Your TV shows are BRILLIANT!. he exclaimed. ... I've always loved Jimmy Savile." Later, in 2017, Morgan accused Ewan McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" for his past support of Roman Polanski cancelling an appearance on Good Morning Britain due to Morgan's comments opposing the Women's March on Washington. He became the editor-at-large of the Mail Online website's US operation in September 2014 and Morgan writes several columns a week. He also writes a weekly diary for the Mail on Sunday Event magazine, having also written one for its predecessor Live. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is an English broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at The Sun. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the News of the World by Rupert Murdoch, which made him the youngest editor of a British national newspaper in more than half a century. From 1995, Morgan edited the Daily Mirror, but was sacked in 2004. He was the editorial director of First News during 2006 to 2007.
On television, Morgan has hosted his own talk shows Piers Morgan's Life Stories (2009–present) and Piers Morgan Live (2011–2014), the latter on the American news network CNN, co-presented the ITV Breakfast programme Good Morning Britain (2015–2021) with Susanna Reid, and judged on the talent competition shows America's Got Talent (2006–2011) and Britain's Got Talent (2007–2010). In 2008, he won the seventh season of the US Celebrity Apprentice. In September 2021, it was announced Morgan would join News Corp as a presenter on their new television channel talkTV and as a columnist for The Sun and New York Post. The series will air in the UK, US, and Australia and is scheduled to launch in early 2022.
Morgan was the editor of the Daily Mirror during the period in which the paper was implicated in the phone hacking scandal. In 2011, Morgan denied having ever hacked a phone and stated that he had not, "to my knowledge published any story obtained from the hacking of a phone". The following year, he was criticised in the findings of the Leveson Inquiry by chair Brian Leveson, who stated that comments made in Morgan's testimony about phone hacking were "utterly unpersuasive" and "that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it". Morgan's outspoken views and controversial comments on Good Morning Britain led Ofcom to adjudicate on multiple occasions. On 9 March 2021, Morgan left the programme with immediate effect, following his criticism of the Oprah with Meghan and Harry interview. Ofcom received over 57,000 complaints from viewers, including a complaint from Meghan, Duchess of Sussex herself; Morgan was subsequently cleared of wrongdoing by Ofcom.
Early life and education
Morgan was born Piers Stefan O'Meara on 30 March 1965 in Surrey, the son of Vincent Eamonn O'Meara, an Irish dentist from County Offaly, and Gabrielle Georgina Sybille (née Oliver), an English woman who raised Morgan Catholic. With regard to his religious views, Morgan still identifies as a Catholic due to his mother's influence, and believes in an afterlife, but does not "go to Confession, probably because it would take [him] too long". He has a brother, Jeremy, who is older than him by two years. A few months after his birth, the family moved to Newick, East Sussex. His father died when Morgan was 11 months old; his mother later married Glynne Pughe-Morgan, a Welsh pub landlord who later worked in the meat distribution business, and he took his stepfather's surname. He was educated at the independent Cumnor House prep school between the ages of seven and 13, then Chailey School, a comprehensive secondary school in Chailey, followed by Priory School, Lewes, for sixth form. After nine months at Lloyd's of London, Morgan studied journalism at Harlow College, joining the Surrey and South London Newspaper Group in 1985.
Press career
At the Murdoch titles (1988–1995)
Morgan began to work as a freelance at The Sun in 1988, at this point dropping his double-barrelled name. He told Hunter Davies in December 1994 that he was personally recruited by Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie to work on the newspaper's show business column "Bizarre", his first high-profile post. Although he was not a fan of pop music, he was considered skilled at self-publicity and became the column's main writer. "I became the Friend of the Stars, a rampant egomaniac, pictured all the time with famous people – Madonna, Stallone, Bowie, Paul McCartney, hundreds of them. It was shameless, as they didn't know me from Adam", he told Davies.
In January 1994, he became editor of the News of the World after being appointed to the job by Rupert Murdoch. Initially an acting editor, he was confirmed in the summer, becoming at 29 the youngest national newspaper editor in more than half a century. In this period, the newspaper led with a series of scoops for which Morgan credited a highly efficient newsdesk and publicist Max Clifford.
Morgan left this post in 1995 shortly after publishing photographs of Catherine Victoria Lockwood, then wife of Charles, Earl Spencer, leaving an addictive disorders clinic in Surrey. This action ran against the editors' code of conduct, a misdemeanour for which the Press Complaints Commission upheld a complaint against Morgan. Murdoch was reported as having said that "the boy went too far" and publicly distanced himself from the story. Fearful of a privacy law action if he had not criticised one of his employees, Murdoch is said to have apologised to Morgan in private.
The incident was reported to have contributed to Morgan's decision to leave for the Daily Mirror editorship. Morgan's autobiography The Insider states that he left the News of the World for the Mirror of his own choice. It asserts he was an admirer of former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for most of her period of office, making the appointment surprising as the Mirror is a Labour-supporting title.
Daily Mirror editor
As editor of the Daily Mirror, Morgan apologised on television for the headline (rendered in upper case) "Achtung Surrender! For You Fritz Ze Euro Championship Is Over" on 25 June 1996, a day before England met Germany in a semi-final of the Euro '96 football championships. The headline was accompanied by an open letter from Morgan parodying Neville Chamberlain's declaration of war on Germany in 1939. "It was intended as a joke, but anyone who was offended by it must have taken it seriously, and to those people I say sorry," he said. Germany won the match and later the championship at Wembley Stadium, London.
A £16 million package of investment in the title was rolled out from January, including the dropping of "Daily" from the masthead in February, which was later reversed. Roy Greenslade wrote in August 1999 that Morgan's editorship "has made a huge difference: his enormous enthusiasm, determination and focus is a major plus".
Morgan was the subject of an investigation in 2000 after Suzy Jagger wrote an article for The Daily Telegraph revealing that he had bought £20,000 worth of shares in the computer company Viglen soon before the Mirror 's "City Slickers" column tipped Viglen as a good buy. Morgan was found by the Press Complaints Commission to have breached the Code of Conduct on financial journalism, but kept his job. The "City Slickers" columnists, Anil Bhoyrul and James Hipwell, were both found to have committed further breaches of the Code and were sacked before the inquiry concluded. Further enquiry by the Department of Trade and Industry in 2004 cleared Morgan of any charges. On 7 December 2005, Bhoyrul and Hipwell were convicted of conspiracy to breach the Financial Services Act. During the trial it emerged that Morgan had bought £67,000 worth of Viglen shares, emptying his bank account and investing under his (first) wife's name as well.
The Mirror attempted to move mid-market in 2002, eschewing the more trivial stories of show-business and gossip, and appointed Christopher Hitchens as a columnist, but sales declined. In October 2003, journalist and television personality Jeremy Clarkson emptied a glass of water over Morgan during the last flight of Concorde in response to some photographs published in the Mirror. In March 2004, at the British Press Awards, Clarkson punched Morgan three times during another argument. in Campbell v MGN Ltd, the Law Lords in May 2004 found in favour of model Naomi Campbell on privacy grounds after the Mirror had published a photograph of her entering a Narcotics Anonymous clinic. Morgan was critical of the judgement saying it was "a good day for lying, drug-abusing prima donnas who want to have their cake with the media and the right to then shamelessly guzzle with their Cristal champagne."
In the wake of the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, Morgan was sacked as editor of the Daily Mirror "with immediate effect" on 14 May 2004, after refusing to apologise to Sly Bailey, then head of Trinity Mirror, for authorising the newspaper's publication of fake photographs. The photos were alleged to show Iraqi prisoners being abused by British Army soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment. Within days the photographs were shown to be crude fakes. According to official British sources, the photographs were apparently shot, in North-West England. Under the headline "SORRY..WE WERE HOAXED", the Mirror responded that it had fallen victim to a "calculated and malicious hoax" and apologised for the publication of the photographs. However, Morgan refused to admit that the photographs were faked, and stated that the abuse shown in the photographs is similar to the sort of abuse that was happening in the British Army in Iraq at the time.
Post-Mirror press activities
In partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership in May 2005 of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its "cash cow", the British Press Awards, in a deal worth £1 million. This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards. Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006, before being sold to a trade buyer.
First News was launched by Morgan on 4 May 2006. A weekly paper aimed at seven to 14-year-olds, he said at its launch that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children". Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman".
In Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs. Simon Cowell outspokenly mocked Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in a Mirror headline after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, Mr President".
In 2012, following the revelation of Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse against children, Morgan said he had "never met" Savile in his lifetime, contradicting a 2009 piece he wrote in The Mail on Sunday Night & Day magazine saying that "As I left, Jimmy Savile came up to me. 'Your TV shows are BRILLIANT!, he exclaimed. ... I've always loved Jimmy Savile."
In September 2014, Morgan became the first editor-at-large of the MailOnline website's US operation and wrote several columns a week.
Television career
Morgan's career expanded into television presenting before he left the Daily Mirror. He presented a three-part television documentary series for the BBC titled The Importance of Being Famous (2003), about fame and the manner in which celebrities are covered by modern media. At the annual Pride of Britain Awards broadcast on ITV, Morgan chaired a panel of prominent people who had chosen the recipients of the awards from 1999 to 2006.
He co-hosted a current affairs interview show on Channel 4 with Amanda Platell, Morgan and Platell. Morgan and Platell were put together because of their opposing political viewpoints; Platell interrogated guests from the right wing, Morgan from the left wing. The show was dropped after three series reputedly because of poor viewing figures, although the chairman of Channel 4 Luke Johnson was reported not to like the programme.
Throughout 2006, Morgan appeared as a judge on the television show America's Got Talent alongside Brandy Norwood and David Hasselhoff on NBC. Morgan was chosen by Simon Cowell as a replacement for himself because of the conditions of his American Idol contract. Morgan appeared as a celebrity contestant on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice in 2007, to raise money for the BBC charity telethon Comic Relief. After his team lost, Morgan was selected by Sir Alan Sugar as the contestant to be fired.
In 2007, Morgan appeared as a judge for the second season of America's Got Talent and also appeared as a judge on Britain's Got Talent on ITV with Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell.
He also presented You Can't Fire Me, I'm Famous on BBC One. He fronted a three-part documentary about Sandbanks for ITV entitled Piers Morgan on Sandbanks in January 2008.
In 2008, Morgan signed a two-year "golden handcuffs" deal with ITV in May, reportedly worth £2 million per year. As part of the deal, he would continue as a judge on Britain's Got Talent for at least two more series and front a new chat show. He also made some interview specials, plus three more documentaries from various countries. Morgan's golden handcuffs deal was the first signing by ITV's new director of television, Peter Fincham.
In February 2009, he began a three-part series, Piers Morgan On..., which saw him visit Dubai, Monte Carlo and Hollywood. The programme returned for a second series in 2010 when Morgan visited Las Vegas in one episode.
In 2009, Morgan also began hosting Piers Morgan's Life Stories on ITV, with Sharon Osbourne as the subject of the first episode. Other guests on the programme included Cheryl and the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
On 17 January 2011, Morgan replaced Larry King in CNN's evening line-up with his show, Piers Morgan Live. After poor ratings, the show was cancelled in February 2014 and ended its run in March 2014. Commenting on the viewing figures, Morgan said that he was "a British guy debating American cultural issues, including guns, which has been very polarizing, and there is no doubt that there are many in the audience who are tired of me banging on about it."
From 13 to 17 April 2015, Morgan guest-hosted five episodes of Good Morning Britain on ITV and became a permanent co-host in November 2015, appearing alongside Susanna Reid and Charlotte Hawkins. He often clashed with Reid, who said of her colleague: "You can't help but go into battle with him every morning". Morgan left the series in March 2021 following a controversy over his remarks about Oprah with Meghan and Harry, which included a heated on-air argument with Alex Beresford.
From 2016 to 2017, Morgan interviewed female murderers on the TV series Killer Women with Piers Morgan. He also presented Serial Killer with Piers Morgan, as part of the 2017 Crime & Punishment season on ITV. In October 2018, Morgan appeared as a cameo on Hollyoaks.
On 16 September 2021, News UK announced its new channel talkTV would launch in 2022, with Morgan being the first name signed up.
Donald Trump
Morgan was the winner of the U.S. celebrity version of The Apprentice, in 2008. He was eventually the overall winner, being named Celebrity Apprentice by host Donald Trump on 27 March, ahead of fellow finalist, American country music star Trace Adkins, and having raised substantially more cash than all the other contestants combined. Morgan was called "ruthless, arrogant, evil and obnoxious" by Trump in the final.
Morgan stated he personally would not vote for Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election (though as a permanent resident of the United States, not a citizen, he is not qualified to vote). He predicted Trump's election as President of the United States and has described himself as a close friend. Morgan interviewed Trump on Good Morning Britain in March 2016.
Morgan appeared on ITV's Loose Women panel show in late January 2017, and was challenged to repudiate Trump. He refused to do so, despite stating that he disagreed with him on many issues relating to gun control, climate change, abortion, and the "Muslim travel ban", saying that he found the principle of the ban understandable, but disagreed with "the way [Trump] has gone about it".
Nearly a fortnight later, on the American talk show Real Time with Bill Maher, Morgan said "There is no Muslim ban", as "85% of the world's Muslims are allowed in the country". Another participant in the discussion, Australian comedian Jim Jefferies, immediately swore at Morgan and criticised his defence of Trump. After the novelist J. K. Rowling tweeted "Yes, watching Piers Morgan being told to fuck off on live TV is *exactly* as satisfying as I'd always imagined", the two began an exchange of words on the social media site.
Morgan criticised Trump after Trump had retweeted Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of the small far-right fascist party Britain First, in late November 2017. He tweeted to Trump: "What the hell are you doing retweeting a bunch of unverified videos by Britain First, a bunch of disgustingly racist far-right extremists? Please STOP this madness & undo your retweets".
In January 2018, Morgan presented President Trump – The Piers Morgan Interview for ITV, which many thought of as "sycophantic" and a "love-in" for Trump. Of respondents to a Radio Times Twitter poll, 88% viewed Morgan as being not "tough enough" on Trump. Morgan interviewed Trump again in July 2018 during his official visit to the UK, this time on Air Force One during an internal flight, in a TV special entitled Piers, The President and Air Force One.
In December 2018, Morgan wrote a letter to Trump formally applying to become White House Chief of Staff.
During Trump's state visit to the United Kingdom in June 2019, Morgan once again interviewed Trump, this time at the Churchill War Rooms.
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Morgan wrote a highly critical article of Trump's handling of the crisis in his column for MailOnline. Morgan particularly took issue with Trump's suggestion of looking into "ingesting" disinfectant as a possible solution, describing it as "batshit crazy". In response to the criticism, Trump unfollowed Morgan on Twitter.
In the aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Morgan stated that Trump was "mentally unfit" to remain as president. He claimed that the pandemic and Trump's election loss that followed had "sent him nuts". In response to whether he regretted his support of Trump, Morgan said "No question. I never thought he was capable of this."
Controversies
Ian Hislop
Morgan appeared as a guest on the BBC satirical news quiz Have I Got News for You in an episode transmitted on 24 May 1996. In it, show regular Ian Hislop accused Morgan of having him followed and having his house watched. The conflict escalated and at one point the host, Angus Deayton, asked if they wished to go outside and have a fight. Later on, guest panellist Clive Anderson confronted Morgan commenting, "the last time I was rude to you, you sent photographers to my doorstep the next day", to which Piers Morgan retorted, "You won't see them this time." The audience responded loudly in favour of Hislop. The Guardian reported on the state of the feud in 2002. "We're about to start exposing the moon-faced midget", Morgan was quoted as saying, to which Hislop responded, "all he's been offering for information about my private life is a £50 reward. My friends think that's not nearly enough."
In 2007, Hislop chose Morgan as one of his pet hates on Room 101. In doing so, Hislop spoke of the history of animosity between himself and Morgan and said that after their exchange on Have I Got News For You (which was shown as a clip), Morgan's reporters were tasked with trying to get gossip on Hislop's private life (including phoning acquaintances of Hislop), and photographers were sent in case Hislop did anything untoward or embarrassing while in their presence. Neither the reporters nor the photographers succeeded. Hislop also said that Morgan had attempted to quell the feud in an article in The Mail on Sunday, saying, "The war is over. I'm officially calling an end to hostilities, at least from my end. I'm sure it won't stop him carrying on his 'Piers Moron' stuff" (Private Eye, the fortnightly satirical magazine that Hislop edits, regularly calls Morgan 'Piers Moron'). Hislop, who was working on a World War I documentary at the time, responded by asking "Is that an armistice or an unconditional surrender?" Although Paul Merton – host of Room 101 at the time and a good friend of Hislop (the pair having captained the teams on Have I Got News For You since its inception) – agreed to put Morgan into Room 101, he then comically rejected Morgan as being "too toxic" for Room 101.
Phone hacking allegations
During Morgan's tenure as editor, the Daily Mirror was advised by Steven Nott that voicemail interception was possible by means of a standard PIN code. Despite staff initially expressing enthusiasm for the story it did not appear in the paper, although it did subsequently feature in a South Wales Argus article and on BBC Radio 5 Live in October 1999. On 18 July 2011 Nott was visited by officers of Operation Weeting.
He came under criticism for his "boasting" about phone hacking from Conservative MP Louise Mensch, who has since apologised for these accusations.
In July 2011, in a sequence of articles, political blogger Paul Staines alleged that while editor of the Daily Mirror in 2002 Morgan published a story concerning the affair of Sven-Göran Eriksson and Ulrika Jonsson while knowing it to have been obtained by phone hacking.
On 20 December 2011, Morgan appeared as a witness by satellite link from the United States at the Leveson Inquiry. While he said he had no reason to believe that phone hacking had occurred at the Mirror while he was in charge there, he admitted to hearing a recording of an answerphone message left by Paul McCartney for Heather Mills, but refused to "discuss where that tape was played or who made [it] – it would compromise a source." Appearing as a witness at the same Inquiry on 9 February 2012, Mills was asked under oath if she had ever made a recording of McCartney's phone call or had played it to Morgan; she replied: "Never". She said that she had never authorised Morgan, or anybody, to access or listen to her voicemails. Mills told the inquiry that Morgan, "a man that has written nothing but awful things about me for years", would have relished telling the inquiry if she had played a personal voicemail message to him.
On 23 May 2012, Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman was a witness at the Leveson Inquiry. He recalled a lunch with the Mirror editor in September 2002 at which Morgan outlined the means of hacking into a mobile phone.
On 28 November 2012, the Channel 4 documentary Taking on the Tabloids, fronted by actor and phone hacking victim Hugh Grant, showed footage from a 2003 interview with Morgan by the singer and phone hacking victim Charlotte Church, during which he explained to her how to avoid answerphone messages being listened to by journalists. He said: "You can access ... voicemails by typing in a number. Now, are you really telling me that journalists aren't going to do that?"
On 29 November 2012, the official findings of the Leveson Inquiry were released, in which Lord Justice Leveson said that Morgan's testimony under oath on phone hacking was "utterly unpersuasive". He stated: "[The] evidence does not establish that [Morgan] authorised the hacking of voicemails or that journalists employed by TMG [Trinity Mirror Group] were indulging in this practice ... What it does, however, clearly prove is that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it."
On 6 December 2013, Morgan was interviewed, under caution, by police officers from Operation Weeting investigating phone hacking allegations at Mirror Group Newspapers during his tenure as editor.
On 24 September 2014, the Trinity Mirror publishing group admitted for the first time that some of its journalists had been involved in phone hacking and agreed to pay compensation to four people who sued for the alleged hacking of voicemails. Six other phone-hacking claims had already been settled. The BBC reported that it had seen legal papers showing that although the alleged hacking could have taken place as early as 1998, the bulk of the alleged wrongdoing took place in the early 2000s when Morgan was the Daily Mirror editor. The admissions by Trinity Mirror came whilst the London Metropolitan Police investigation into the phone hacking allegations was ongoing. Morgan has always denied any involvement in the practice.
Feuds and banned television guests
A feud between Morgan and A. A. Gill began when Morgan described Gill's partner Nicola Formby as a sex kitten on whom the mists of time had taken their toll and said she had shown him "porn shots" of herself. Gill said Morgan had made this up and called him a "pretty objectionable self-publicist".
In May 2011, Morgan banned actor Hugh Grant from his shows on CNN and ITV after Grant spoke out against the need for the tabloid press. On Twitter he responded: "Hugh Grant is now banned, in perpetuity, from @PiersTonight and Life Stories and anything else I ever do. Tedious little man."
On 28 March 2012, MTV referred to the bad relations between Morgan and Madonna, reporting that "Morgan has apparently felt slighted over the years by Madonna...he claims he was lied to by the singer's publicist."
In September 2012, it was reported that Morgan had also banned actor Kelsey Grammer. Morgan himself said, "Kelsey Grammer saw a photo of his ex-wife Camille in the open of our show and legged it." TVGuide reported, "All plans were still a go for the segment until Grammer actually got in the hot seat and saw the footage the producers had planned to peg to the segment, including a picture of his ex-wife". On 26 September 2012, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported that "many say [it] was an ambush by Piers". The Huffington Post reported that "before the interview was scheduled, it was made clear that Grammer would answer all questions, including those about [his ex-wife]. His sole request was not to show any images of her."
On 4 February 2014, transgender advocate Janet Mock appeared as a guest on Piers Morgan Live to discuss her memoir, Redefining Realness. After the interview aired, Mock sent a series of tweets criticising Morgan for describing Mock as being "formerly a man". Morgan responded that he had "never been treated in such a disgraceful manner" by a guest. On 5 February, Mock appeared as a guest again to debate the dispute.
Morgan has repeatedly clashed with actor John Cleese. In 2015 Cleese stated that he "truly detested" Morgan and had avoided him in a restaurant. He also said he thought Morgan was "in jail", erroneously stating that Morgan had "admitted" to authorising phone-hacking. Morgan responded that the "revulsion" between them was "mutual". When Cleese's tweet about detesting Morgan became his most popular to date, Cleese said "clearly I must insult the slimy, attention-seeking little prole more often". Morgan joked that he was glad to have been able to make Cleese "popular again". In 2017 Cleese told Radio Times "I always thought he was an awful creep [...] I just didn't want to have an encounter with him and since then he's been after me and I've been after him."
Morgan strongly objected to the Women's March on Washington on 21 January 2017, the day after Trump's inauguration, describing protesters as "rabid feminists" and the multiple protests as being "vacuous". The actor Ewan McGregor disagreed with Morgan's statements on the Women's March and pulled out of appearing on Good Morning Britain the following Tuesday after discovering Morgan would be interviewing him, along with Reid. Morgan accused McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" for his past support of Roman Polanski.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Morgan was briefly a friend of Meghan Markle before she became the Duchess of Sussex, but claimed she cut him off early in her relationship with Prince Harry. He has been a regular critic of the couple since then, alleging they are hypocrites and claiming the Duchess is a social climber.
When the couple stepped away from conducting official royal duties early in 2020, Morgan described them as being "the two most spoiled brats in history". Ten days later, he said: "Only surprised it took her so long to get Harry to ditch his family, the monarchy, the military and his country. What a piece of work." Responding to Morgan on Twitter, British comedian Gina Yashere wrote of the broadcaster's "constant racist vitriolic abuse disguised as criticism". Morgan responded that Yashere was being "ridiculous", arguing that the critical responses to the Duchess has "nothing to do with her skin color and everything to do with her being a shameless piece of work doing huge damage to our Royal Family." In a segment of Good Morning Britain on 13 January, Morgan interviewed Afua Hirsch, who accused parts of the British media of behaving in a racist manner towards the Duchess, an interpretation that Morgan said was "completely and grotesquely wrong". InfluencHers, a group of 100 African Caribbean women, advocated an advertisers' boycott of Good Morning Britain. The campaigners described the programme as having "sanctioning bullying and blatant unapologetic disrespect of women" in allowing Morgan's treatment of Hirsch.
When challenged by Decca Aitkenhead of The Sunday Times in May 2020 over "his vendetta" against the Duchess, with Aitkenhead suggesting he had gone too far, Morgan said: "I think that's a perfectly fair criticism. It's probably not wise, if you're a columnist, to make things too personal. Have I taken things a bit too far? Probably. Do I think that will govern and temper how I talk about them going forward? Absolutely."
On Good Morning Britain on 8 and 9 March 2021, Morgan said he doubted the accuracy of the account given by the Duchess of Sussex, in the interview Oprah with Meghan and Harry with Oprah Winfrey, in which she spoke of her mental health issues, which included suicidal thoughts, and she and Harry alleged racist comments from the extended family. A tense on-air argument with his co-host Alex Beresford on 9 March led him to walk off the set of the show. Beresford was highly critical of Morgan's attitude towards the Duchess, saying "She's entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you after she cut you off? I don't think she has, But yet you continue to trash her". Later in the day, Morgan quit the programme. The UK's mental health charity Mind expressed "disappointment" in Morgan's comments and said individuals with experience of mental health issues should be "treated with dignity, respect and empathy." ITV plc's chief executive, Carolyn McCall, defended the veracity of the Duchess's comments, adding "importantly everyone should."
ITV News reported the Duchess had complained directly to ITV's CEO about Morgan's comments about mental health, although the broadcaster was not officially commenting on these reports. Ofcom received a complaint from her.
Morgan issued a statement on Twitter, saying, "On Monday, I said I didn't believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I've had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don't. Freedom of speech is a hill I'm happy to die on." Broadcaster Andrew Neil described his departure as "a pity" for ITV because he had brought "energy, dynamism and controversy" to its morning broadcast schedule, adding "it had always lagged way behind the BBC breakfast time show and people tuned in because of him." Neil expressed interest in Morgan joining GB News instead. However, Neil later said that talks were affected by a disagreement: "he's [Morgan] got his own idea of what he is worth and we [GB News] have a slightly different idea of what he's worth". In Morgan's last week, Good Morning Britain surpassed the ratings of BBC Breakfast for the first time, and ITV lost almost £200m in market value following his departure.
Actor and comedian Steve Coogan, a prominent supporter of press regulation, described Morgan as "symptomatic of the problem" with the British tabloid media and accused him of "bullying behaviour" regarding his attitude to the Duchess.
Ofcom complaints
During his tenure at Good Morning Britain, Morgan was the subject of thousands of complaints to the British watchdog, Ofcom, relating to his comments.
In 2015, Morgan was criticised by Ofcom for laughing as a guest repeatedly used the word 'fucking' live on air. Although Ofcom did not take action as his co-presenter Susanna Reid quickly apologised, the watchdog expressed concern at his behaviour. In 2016, Ofcom received 70 complaints in relation to comments made by Morgan during interview with Christian magistrate Richard Page about gay marriage, that viewers felt "implied Christians were homophobic". Ofcom confirmed on 13 April 2016 that Morgan would not be investigated for his comments. On 22 January 2018, during a story about a homeless SAS veteran, who had a petition set up in his name calling on his local council to provide him with social housing, Morgan had refused to read out Herefordshire Council's statement. This was judged by Ofcom to be unfair to the council.
On 11 September 2019, Morgan claimed he identified himself as "a two-spirit penguin" in response to a news piece relating to gender neutrality, and said "the world has gone nuts" over gender. This attracted 950 Ofcom complaints from viewers. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in November 2019, and in response, Morgan admitted "he was personally quite pleased" with having one of the highest number of complaints to any British TV show in 2019.
On 21 January 2020, Morgan was accused of racism and was hit by 1,095 Ofcom complaints for his comments relating to a Chinese dairy advert, in which he said "He's using ching chong ching milk". Morgan also spoke over the advert, saying "ching chang cho jo". He was accused online of using language that is used to antagonise Chinese people and for mocking the Chinese language.
On 9 March 2021, Ofcom launched an investigation into the remarks Morgan made about the Duchess of Sussex's mental health on Good Morning Britain after receiving 41,015 complaints. The regulator confirmed on 12 March that the Duchess of Sussex had complained as well. On 17 March, it was reported that complaints against Morgan had reached 57,000, breaking Ofcom's record. Morgan remained defiant, stating "Only 57,000? I've had more people than that come up and congratulate me in the street for what I said. The vast majority of Britons are right behind me." Ofcom cleared ITV of any wrongdoing in September 2021 and added that restricting Morgan's views would be a "chilling restriction" on freedom of speech but criticised his "apparent disregard" for the subject of suicide. Morgan described the ruling as "a resounding victory for free speech and a resounding defeat for Princess Pinocchios."
Personal life
Morgan married Marion Shalloe, a hospital ward sister, in 1991. The couple had three sons, Albert, Spencer, and Stanley, and separated in 2004 before divorcing in 2008. In June 2010, he married his second wife, journalist Celia Walden, daughter of the former Conservative MP George Walden. On 25 November 2011, Walden gave birth to a daughter, Elise, her first child and Morgan's fourth.
Morgan's primary residence is in Kensington, London. He splits his time between a base in Los Angeles, California and a holiday home in Newick, East Sussex.
Morgan is a fan of Premier League football club Arsenal. He was an outspoken critic of former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and called for his sacking on many occasions. Speaking in defence of Wenger in 2015, former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson labelled Morgan an "incredibly pompous individual". When Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey met Morgan on 26 April 2015, Ramsey refused to shake his hand due to the criticism he received from Morgan during the 2012–13 season. Morgan has responded by calling Ramsey 'whatshisname'.
Politically, Morgan identified as a supporter of the Conservative Party in a 1994 interview, saying he was "still basically a Tory", but expressed admiration for the new Labour Party leader Tony Blair, saying "he's not radical, speaks well and makes sense". He voted for the Kensington Conservative candidate in the 2019 UK general election, after previously voting for the Animal Welfare Party. Morgan has also stated he has previously voted for the Labour Party.
On 24 July 2021, Morgan said he had developed COVID-19 after the Euro 2020 final, despite being fully vaccinated. He added that a strong fever, violent coughing, chills and sneezing fits left him exhausted and fearing what might come next.
Filmography
As himself
Bibliography
References
External links
1965 births
Living people
20th-century English male writers
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The Apprentice (franchise) winners
The Sun (United Kingdom) people | false | [
"I Wish I Had a Wife is a 2001 South Korean film about a lonely banker who meets a schoolteacher.\n\nPlot\nBong-soo (Sol Kyung-Gu) has been working as manager of a small bank in an apartment complex for three years. During his three years there, 23 years if you count his school days, Bong-soo has never been late. However, he purposely decides to skip work one day. There is only one reason. Inside a subway train that has suddenly stopped on his way to work, everyone around him reaches for their cell phones to call someone. At that moment, he realized that he does not have a single person to call. He does not know that inside the educational center across the street from the bank where he works, a 27-year-old woman Won-ju (Jeon Do-Yeon) is looking over to him, nourishing a small love. Bong-soo and Won-ju run into each other every day, at the Ramen restaurant, at the bank, at the bus station.\n\nAll kinds of trivial incidents occur but Bong-soo still does not truly recognize Won-ju's presence. One day, while looking over the bank's CCTV tapes, Bong-soo discovers someone pitifully calling out his name to the small, closed-circuit camera that does not even record sound.\n\nAwards\n2001 Baeksang Arts Awards\n Best Actress - Jeon Do-yeon\n Best New Director - Park Heung-sik\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n\n2001 films\nSouth Korean films\nKorean-language films\nFilms directed by Park Heung-sik (born 1965)\nSouth Korean romantic drama films",
"\"Moonshine Lullaby\" is a song from the 1946 musical Annie Get Your Gun, by Irving Berlin. It was first performed by Ethel Merman. Other singers to have recorded the song include Bernadette Peters in 1999, Doris Day, and Mary Martin in 1957. The song itself is considered a lullaby, but the lyrics are about a still where moonshine is brewed illegally.\n\nLyrics\nAnnie: \nBehind the hill\nThere's a busy little still\nWhere your Pappy's workin' in the moonlight\n\nYour lovin' paw\nIsn't quite within the law\nSo he's hidin' there behind the hill\n\nBye bye baby\nStop your '\nDon't cry baby\nDay will be dawning\n\nAnd when it does\nFrom the mountain where he wuz\nHe'll be coming with jug of moonshine\n\nSo count your sheep\nMama's singing you to sleep\nWith the Moonshine Lullaby\n\nTrio: Loo Loo\nBehind the hill\nThere's a busy little still\nWhere your Pappy's workin' in the moonlight\n\nYour lovin' paw\nIsn't quite within the law\nSo he's hidin' there behind the hill\n\nAnnie and Trio: \nBye bye baby\nStop your '\nDon't cry baby\nDay will be dawning\n\nTrio:\nAnd when it does\nFrom the mountain where he wuz\nHe'll be coming with jug of moonshine\n\nAnnie: \nSo count your sheep\nMama's singing you to sleep\nWith the Moonshine Lullaby\n\nKids: \nDream of Pappy\nVery happy\nWith his jug of mountain rye\n\nAnnie: \nSo count your sheep\nMama's singing you to sleep\nWith the Moonshine Lullaby\n\nReferences\n\nSongs from Annie Get Your Gun\nSongs written by Irving Berlin\n1946 songs"
] |
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"former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: \"You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you,",
"What else did he say?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"\" Later, in 2017, Morgan accused Ewan McGregor of being a \"paedophile-loving hypocrite\"",
"Did he say more rude things after that?",
"cancelling an appearance on Good Morning Britain due to Morgan's comments opposing the Women's March on Washington.",
"Was he ever in law trouble for the things he said?",
"2014 and Morgan writes several columns a week. He",
"Writes for who?",
"He became the editor-at-large of the Mail Online website's US operation in September 2014 and Morgan writes",
"Does he still work there?",
"I don't know."
] | C_3f0f810151cd4c16b3a41b22787c7ca4_0 | Why is he so bold in his speech? | 8 | Why is Piers Morgan so bold in his speech? | Piers Morgan | In partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership in May 2005, of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its "cash cow", the British Press Awards, in a deal worth PS1 million. This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards. Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006, before being sold to a trade buyer. First News was launched by Morgan on 4 May 2006. A weekly paper aimed at seven to 14-year-olds, he claimed at its launch that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children". Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman". Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs, in 2007. Simon Cowell and others made much of Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in a Mirror headline after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, Mr President". In 2012, following the revelation of Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse against children, Morgan claimed to have "never met" Savile in his lifetime - although it was pointed out that in a 2009 piece by Morgan in The Mail on Sunday's Night & Day magazine claiming that "As I left, Jimmy Savile came up to me. 'Your TV shows are BRILLIANT!. he exclaimed. ... I've always loved Jimmy Savile." Later, in 2017, Morgan accused Ewan McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" for his past support of Roman Polanski cancelling an appearance on Good Morning Britain due to Morgan's comments opposing the Women's March on Washington. He became the editor-at-large of the Mail Online website's US operation in September 2014 and Morgan writes several columns a week. He also writes a weekly diary for the Mail on Sunday Event magazine, having also written one for its predecessor Live. CANNOTANSWER | bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman". | Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is an English broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at The Sun. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the News of the World by Rupert Murdoch, which made him the youngest editor of a British national newspaper in more than half a century. From 1995, Morgan edited the Daily Mirror, but was sacked in 2004. He was the editorial director of First News during 2006 to 2007.
On television, Morgan has hosted his own talk shows Piers Morgan's Life Stories (2009–present) and Piers Morgan Live (2011–2014), the latter on the American news network CNN, co-presented the ITV Breakfast programme Good Morning Britain (2015–2021) with Susanna Reid, and judged on the talent competition shows America's Got Talent (2006–2011) and Britain's Got Talent (2007–2010). In 2008, he won the seventh season of the US Celebrity Apprentice. In September 2021, it was announced Morgan would join News Corp as a presenter on their new television channel talkTV and as a columnist for The Sun and New York Post. The series will air in the UK, US, and Australia and is scheduled to launch in early 2022.
Morgan was the editor of the Daily Mirror during the period in which the paper was implicated in the phone hacking scandal. In 2011, Morgan denied having ever hacked a phone and stated that he had not, "to my knowledge published any story obtained from the hacking of a phone". The following year, he was criticised in the findings of the Leveson Inquiry by chair Brian Leveson, who stated that comments made in Morgan's testimony about phone hacking were "utterly unpersuasive" and "that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it". Morgan's outspoken views and controversial comments on Good Morning Britain led Ofcom to adjudicate on multiple occasions. On 9 March 2021, Morgan left the programme with immediate effect, following his criticism of the Oprah with Meghan and Harry interview. Ofcom received over 57,000 complaints from viewers, including a complaint from Meghan, Duchess of Sussex herself; Morgan was subsequently cleared of wrongdoing by Ofcom.
Early life and education
Morgan was born Piers Stefan O'Meara on 30 March 1965 in Surrey, the son of Vincent Eamonn O'Meara, an Irish dentist from County Offaly, and Gabrielle Georgina Sybille (née Oliver), an English woman who raised Morgan Catholic. With regard to his religious views, Morgan still identifies as a Catholic due to his mother's influence, and believes in an afterlife, but does not "go to Confession, probably because it would take [him] too long". He has a brother, Jeremy, who is older than him by two years. A few months after his birth, the family moved to Newick, East Sussex. His father died when Morgan was 11 months old; his mother later married Glynne Pughe-Morgan, a Welsh pub landlord who later worked in the meat distribution business, and he took his stepfather's surname. He was educated at the independent Cumnor House prep school between the ages of seven and 13, then Chailey School, a comprehensive secondary school in Chailey, followed by Priory School, Lewes, for sixth form. After nine months at Lloyd's of London, Morgan studied journalism at Harlow College, joining the Surrey and South London Newspaper Group in 1985.
Press career
At the Murdoch titles (1988–1995)
Morgan began to work as a freelance at The Sun in 1988, at this point dropping his double-barrelled name. He told Hunter Davies in December 1994 that he was personally recruited by Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie to work on the newspaper's show business column "Bizarre", his first high-profile post. Although he was not a fan of pop music, he was considered skilled at self-publicity and became the column's main writer. "I became the Friend of the Stars, a rampant egomaniac, pictured all the time with famous people – Madonna, Stallone, Bowie, Paul McCartney, hundreds of them. It was shameless, as they didn't know me from Adam", he told Davies.
In January 1994, he became editor of the News of the World after being appointed to the job by Rupert Murdoch. Initially an acting editor, he was confirmed in the summer, becoming at 29 the youngest national newspaper editor in more than half a century. In this period, the newspaper led with a series of scoops for which Morgan credited a highly efficient newsdesk and publicist Max Clifford.
Morgan left this post in 1995 shortly after publishing photographs of Catherine Victoria Lockwood, then wife of Charles, Earl Spencer, leaving an addictive disorders clinic in Surrey. This action ran against the editors' code of conduct, a misdemeanour for which the Press Complaints Commission upheld a complaint against Morgan. Murdoch was reported as having said that "the boy went too far" and publicly distanced himself from the story. Fearful of a privacy law action if he had not criticised one of his employees, Murdoch is said to have apologised to Morgan in private.
The incident was reported to have contributed to Morgan's decision to leave for the Daily Mirror editorship. Morgan's autobiography The Insider states that he left the News of the World for the Mirror of his own choice. It asserts he was an admirer of former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for most of her period of office, making the appointment surprising as the Mirror is a Labour-supporting title.
Daily Mirror editor
As editor of the Daily Mirror, Morgan apologised on television for the headline (rendered in upper case) "Achtung Surrender! For You Fritz Ze Euro Championship Is Over" on 25 June 1996, a day before England met Germany in a semi-final of the Euro '96 football championships. The headline was accompanied by an open letter from Morgan parodying Neville Chamberlain's declaration of war on Germany in 1939. "It was intended as a joke, but anyone who was offended by it must have taken it seriously, and to those people I say sorry," he said. Germany won the match and later the championship at Wembley Stadium, London.
A £16 million package of investment in the title was rolled out from January, including the dropping of "Daily" from the masthead in February, which was later reversed. Roy Greenslade wrote in August 1999 that Morgan's editorship "has made a huge difference: his enormous enthusiasm, determination and focus is a major plus".
Morgan was the subject of an investigation in 2000 after Suzy Jagger wrote an article for The Daily Telegraph revealing that he had bought £20,000 worth of shares in the computer company Viglen soon before the Mirror 's "City Slickers" column tipped Viglen as a good buy. Morgan was found by the Press Complaints Commission to have breached the Code of Conduct on financial journalism, but kept his job. The "City Slickers" columnists, Anil Bhoyrul and James Hipwell, were both found to have committed further breaches of the Code and were sacked before the inquiry concluded. Further enquiry by the Department of Trade and Industry in 2004 cleared Morgan of any charges. On 7 December 2005, Bhoyrul and Hipwell were convicted of conspiracy to breach the Financial Services Act. During the trial it emerged that Morgan had bought £67,000 worth of Viglen shares, emptying his bank account and investing under his (first) wife's name as well.
The Mirror attempted to move mid-market in 2002, eschewing the more trivial stories of show-business and gossip, and appointed Christopher Hitchens as a columnist, but sales declined. In October 2003, journalist and television personality Jeremy Clarkson emptied a glass of water over Morgan during the last flight of Concorde in response to some photographs published in the Mirror. In March 2004, at the British Press Awards, Clarkson punched Morgan three times during another argument. in Campbell v MGN Ltd, the Law Lords in May 2004 found in favour of model Naomi Campbell on privacy grounds after the Mirror had published a photograph of her entering a Narcotics Anonymous clinic. Morgan was critical of the judgement saying it was "a good day for lying, drug-abusing prima donnas who want to have their cake with the media and the right to then shamelessly guzzle with their Cristal champagne."
In the wake of the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, Morgan was sacked as editor of the Daily Mirror "with immediate effect" on 14 May 2004, after refusing to apologise to Sly Bailey, then head of Trinity Mirror, for authorising the newspaper's publication of fake photographs. The photos were alleged to show Iraqi prisoners being abused by British Army soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment. Within days the photographs were shown to be crude fakes. According to official British sources, the photographs were apparently shot, in North-West England. Under the headline "SORRY..WE WERE HOAXED", the Mirror responded that it had fallen victim to a "calculated and malicious hoax" and apologised for the publication of the photographs. However, Morgan refused to admit that the photographs were faked, and stated that the abuse shown in the photographs is similar to the sort of abuse that was happening in the British Army in Iraq at the time.
Post-Mirror press activities
In partnership with Matthew Freud, he gained ownership in May 2005 of Press Gazette, a media trade publication together with its "cash cow", the British Press Awards, in a deal worth £1 million. This ownership was cited as one of the reasons many major newspapers boycotted the 2006 awards. Press Gazette entered administrative receivership toward the end of 2006, before being sold to a trade buyer.
First News was launched by Morgan on 4 May 2006. A weekly paper aimed at seven to 14-year-olds, he said at its launch that the paper was to be "Britain's first national newspaper for children". Morgan was editorial director at First News, responsible for bringing in celebrity involvement. He referred to the role as "editorial overlord and frontman".
In Morgan was filmed falling off a Segway, breaking three ribs. Simon Cowell outspokenly mocked Morgan's previous comment in 2003, in a Mirror headline after former U.S. President George W. Bush fell off a Segway: "You'd have to be an idiot to fall off wouldn't you, Mr President".
In 2012, following the revelation of Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse against children, Morgan said he had "never met" Savile in his lifetime, contradicting a 2009 piece he wrote in The Mail on Sunday Night & Day magazine saying that "As I left, Jimmy Savile came up to me. 'Your TV shows are BRILLIANT!, he exclaimed. ... I've always loved Jimmy Savile."
In September 2014, Morgan became the first editor-at-large of the MailOnline website's US operation and wrote several columns a week.
Television career
Morgan's career expanded into television presenting before he left the Daily Mirror. He presented a three-part television documentary series for the BBC titled The Importance of Being Famous (2003), about fame and the manner in which celebrities are covered by modern media. At the annual Pride of Britain Awards broadcast on ITV, Morgan chaired a panel of prominent people who had chosen the recipients of the awards from 1999 to 2006.
He co-hosted a current affairs interview show on Channel 4 with Amanda Platell, Morgan and Platell. Morgan and Platell were put together because of their opposing political viewpoints; Platell interrogated guests from the right wing, Morgan from the left wing. The show was dropped after three series reputedly because of poor viewing figures, although the chairman of Channel 4 Luke Johnson was reported not to like the programme.
Throughout 2006, Morgan appeared as a judge on the television show America's Got Talent alongside Brandy Norwood and David Hasselhoff on NBC. Morgan was chosen by Simon Cowell as a replacement for himself because of the conditions of his American Idol contract. Morgan appeared as a celebrity contestant on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice in 2007, to raise money for the BBC charity telethon Comic Relief. After his team lost, Morgan was selected by Sir Alan Sugar as the contestant to be fired.
In 2007, Morgan appeared as a judge for the second season of America's Got Talent and also appeared as a judge on Britain's Got Talent on ITV with Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell.
He also presented You Can't Fire Me, I'm Famous on BBC One. He fronted a three-part documentary about Sandbanks for ITV entitled Piers Morgan on Sandbanks in January 2008.
In 2008, Morgan signed a two-year "golden handcuffs" deal with ITV in May, reportedly worth £2 million per year. As part of the deal, he would continue as a judge on Britain's Got Talent for at least two more series and front a new chat show. He also made some interview specials, plus three more documentaries from various countries. Morgan's golden handcuffs deal was the first signing by ITV's new director of television, Peter Fincham.
In February 2009, he began a three-part series, Piers Morgan On..., which saw him visit Dubai, Monte Carlo and Hollywood. The programme returned for a second series in 2010 when Morgan visited Las Vegas in one episode.
In 2009, Morgan also began hosting Piers Morgan's Life Stories on ITV, with Sharon Osbourne as the subject of the first episode. Other guests on the programme included Cheryl and the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
On 17 January 2011, Morgan replaced Larry King in CNN's evening line-up with his show, Piers Morgan Live. After poor ratings, the show was cancelled in February 2014 and ended its run in March 2014. Commenting on the viewing figures, Morgan said that he was "a British guy debating American cultural issues, including guns, which has been very polarizing, and there is no doubt that there are many in the audience who are tired of me banging on about it."
From 13 to 17 April 2015, Morgan guest-hosted five episodes of Good Morning Britain on ITV and became a permanent co-host in November 2015, appearing alongside Susanna Reid and Charlotte Hawkins. He often clashed with Reid, who said of her colleague: "You can't help but go into battle with him every morning". Morgan left the series in March 2021 following a controversy over his remarks about Oprah with Meghan and Harry, which included a heated on-air argument with Alex Beresford.
From 2016 to 2017, Morgan interviewed female murderers on the TV series Killer Women with Piers Morgan. He also presented Serial Killer with Piers Morgan, as part of the 2017 Crime & Punishment season on ITV. In October 2018, Morgan appeared as a cameo on Hollyoaks.
On 16 September 2021, News UK announced its new channel talkTV would launch in 2022, with Morgan being the first name signed up.
Donald Trump
Morgan was the winner of the U.S. celebrity version of The Apprentice, in 2008. He was eventually the overall winner, being named Celebrity Apprentice by host Donald Trump on 27 March, ahead of fellow finalist, American country music star Trace Adkins, and having raised substantially more cash than all the other contestants combined. Morgan was called "ruthless, arrogant, evil and obnoxious" by Trump in the final.
Morgan stated he personally would not vote for Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election (though as a permanent resident of the United States, not a citizen, he is not qualified to vote). He predicted Trump's election as President of the United States and has described himself as a close friend. Morgan interviewed Trump on Good Morning Britain in March 2016.
Morgan appeared on ITV's Loose Women panel show in late January 2017, and was challenged to repudiate Trump. He refused to do so, despite stating that he disagreed with him on many issues relating to gun control, climate change, abortion, and the "Muslim travel ban", saying that he found the principle of the ban understandable, but disagreed with "the way [Trump] has gone about it".
Nearly a fortnight later, on the American talk show Real Time with Bill Maher, Morgan said "There is no Muslim ban", as "85% of the world's Muslims are allowed in the country". Another participant in the discussion, Australian comedian Jim Jefferies, immediately swore at Morgan and criticised his defence of Trump. After the novelist J. K. Rowling tweeted "Yes, watching Piers Morgan being told to fuck off on live TV is *exactly* as satisfying as I'd always imagined", the two began an exchange of words on the social media site.
Morgan criticised Trump after Trump had retweeted Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of the small far-right fascist party Britain First, in late November 2017. He tweeted to Trump: "What the hell are you doing retweeting a bunch of unverified videos by Britain First, a bunch of disgustingly racist far-right extremists? Please STOP this madness & undo your retweets".
In January 2018, Morgan presented President Trump – The Piers Morgan Interview for ITV, which many thought of as "sycophantic" and a "love-in" for Trump. Of respondents to a Radio Times Twitter poll, 88% viewed Morgan as being not "tough enough" on Trump. Morgan interviewed Trump again in July 2018 during his official visit to the UK, this time on Air Force One during an internal flight, in a TV special entitled Piers, The President and Air Force One.
In December 2018, Morgan wrote a letter to Trump formally applying to become White House Chief of Staff.
During Trump's state visit to the United Kingdom in June 2019, Morgan once again interviewed Trump, this time at the Churchill War Rooms.
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Morgan wrote a highly critical article of Trump's handling of the crisis in his column for MailOnline. Morgan particularly took issue with Trump's suggestion of looking into "ingesting" disinfectant as a possible solution, describing it as "batshit crazy". In response to the criticism, Trump unfollowed Morgan on Twitter.
In the aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Morgan stated that Trump was "mentally unfit" to remain as president. He claimed that the pandemic and Trump's election loss that followed had "sent him nuts". In response to whether he regretted his support of Trump, Morgan said "No question. I never thought he was capable of this."
Controversies
Ian Hislop
Morgan appeared as a guest on the BBC satirical news quiz Have I Got News for You in an episode transmitted on 24 May 1996. In it, show regular Ian Hislop accused Morgan of having him followed and having his house watched. The conflict escalated and at one point the host, Angus Deayton, asked if they wished to go outside and have a fight. Later on, guest panellist Clive Anderson confronted Morgan commenting, "the last time I was rude to you, you sent photographers to my doorstep the next day", to which Piers Morgan retorted, "You won't see them this time." The audience responded loudly in favour of Hislop. The Guardian reported on the state of the feud in 2002. "We're about to start exposing the moon-faced midget", Morgan was quoted as saying, to which Hislop responded, "all he's been offering for information about my private life is a £50 reward. My friends think that's not nearly enough."
In 2007, Hislop chose Morgan as one of his pet hates on Room 101. In doing so, Hislop spoke of the history of animosity between himself and Morgan and said that after their exchange on Have I Got News For You (which was shown as a clip), Morgan's reporters were tasked with trying to get gossip on Hislop's private life (including phoning acquaintances of Hislop), and photographers were sent in case Hislop did anything untoward or embarrassing while in their presence. Neither the reporters nor the photographers succeeded. Hislop also said that Morgan had attempted to quell the feud in an article in The Mail on Sunday, saying, "The war is over. I'm officially calling an end to hostilities, at least from my end. I'm sure it won't stop him carrying on his 'Piers Moron' stuff" (Private Eye, the fortnightly satirical magazine that Hislop edits, regularly calls Morgan 'Piers Moron'). Hislop, who was working on a World War I documentary at the time, responded by asking "Is that an armistice or an unconditional surrender?" Although Paul Merton – host of Room 101 at the time and a good friend of Hislop (the pair having captained the teams on Have I Got News For You since its inception) – agreed to put Morgan into Room 101, he then comically rejected Morgan as being "too toxic" for Room 101.
Phone hacking allegations
During Morgan's tenure as editor, the Daily Mirror was advised by Steven Nott that voicemail interception was possible by means of a standard PIN code. Despite staff initially expressing enthusiasm for the story it did not appear in the paper, although it did subsequently feature in a South Wales Argus article and on BBC Radio 5 Live in October 1999. On 18 July 2011 Nott was visited by officers of Operation Weeting.
He came under criticism for his "boasting" about phone hacking from Conservative MP Louise Mensch, who has since apologised for these accusations.
In July 2011, in a sequence of articles, political blogger Paul Staines alleged that while editor of the Daily Mirror in 2002 Morgan published a story concerning the affair of Sven-Göran Eriksson and Ulrika Jonsson while knowing it to have been obtained by phone hacking.
On 20 December 2011, Morgan appeared as a witness by satellite link from the United States at the Leveson Inquiry. While he said he had no reason to believe that phone hacking had occurred at the Mirror while he was in charge there, he admitted to hearing a recording of an answerphone message left by Paul McCartney for Heather Mills, but refused to "discuss where that tape was played or who made [it] – it would compromise a source." Appearing as a witness at the same Inquiry on 9 February 2012, Mills was asked under oath if she had ever made a recording of McCartney's phone call or had played it to Morgan; she replied: "Never". She said that she had never authorised Morgan, or anybody, to access or listen to her voicemails. Mills told the inquiry that Morgan, "a man that has written nothing but awful things about me for years", would have relished telling the inquiry if she had played a personal voicemail message to him.
On 23 May 2012, Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman was a witness at the Leveson Inquiry. He recalled a lunch with the Mirror editor in September 2002 at which Morgan outlined the means of hacking into a mobile phone.
On 28 November 2012, the Channel 4 documentary Taking on the Tabloids, fronted by actor and phone hacking victim Hugh Grant, showed footage from a 2003 interview with Morgan by the singer and phone hacking victim Charlotte Church, during which he explained to her how to avoid answerphone messages being listened to by journalists. He said: "You can access ... voicemails by typing in a number. Now, are you really telling me that journalists aren't going to do that?"
On 29 November 2012, the official findings of the Leveson Inquiry were released, in which Lord Justice Leveson said that Morgan's testimony under oath on phone hacking was "utterly unpersuasive". He stated: "[The] evidence does not establish that [Morgan] authorised the hacking of voicemails or that journalists employed by TMG [Trinity Mirror Group] were indulging in this practice ... What it does, however, clearly prove is that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it."
On 6 December 2013, Morgan was interviewed, under caution, by police officers from Operation Weeting investigating phone hacking allegations at Mirror Group Newspapers during his tenure as editor.
On 24 September 2014, the Trinity Mirror publishing group admitted for the first time that some of its journalists had been involved in phone hacking and agreed to pay compensation to four people who sued for the alleged hacking of voicemails. Six other phone-hacking claims had already been settled. The BBC reported that it had seen legal papers showing that although the alleged hacking could have taken place as early as 1998, the bulk of the alleged wrongdoing took place in the early 2000s when Morgan was the Daily Mirror editor. The admissions by Trinity Mirror came whilst the London Metropolitan Police investigation into the phone hacking allegations was ongoing. Morgan has always denied any involvement in the practice.
Feuds and banned television guests
A feud between Morgan and A. A. Gill began when Morgan described Gill's partner Nicola Formby as a sex kitten on whom the mists of time had taken their toll and said she had shown him "porn shots" of herself. Gill said Morgan had made this up and called him a "pretty objectionable self-publicist".
In May 2011, Morgan banned actor Hugh Grant from his shows on CNN and ITV after Grant spoke out against the need for the tabloid press. On Twitter he responded: "Hugh Grant is now banned, in perpetuity, from @PiersTonight and Life Stories and anything else I ever do. Tedious little man."
On 28 March 2012, MTV referred to the bad relations between Morgan and Madonna, reporting that "Morgan has apparently felt slighted over the years by Madonna...he claims he was lied to by the singer's publicist."
In September 2012, it was reported that Morgan had also banned actor Kelsey Grammer. Morgan himself said, "Kelsey Grammer saw a photo of his ex-wife Camille in the open of our show and legged it." TVGuide reported, "All plans were still a go for the segment until Grammer actually got in the hot seat and saw the footage the producers had planned to peg to the segment, including a picture of his ex-wife". On 26 September 2012, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported that "many say [it] was an ambush by Piers". The Huffington Post reported that "before the interview was scheduled, it was made clear that Grammer would answer all questions, including those about [his ex-wife]. His sole request was not to show any images of her."
On 4 February 2014, transgender advocate Janet Mock appeared as a guest on Piers Morgan Live to discuss her memoir, Redefining Realness. After the interview aired, Mock sent a series of tweets criticising Morgan for describing Mock as being "formerly a man". Morgan responded that he had "never been treated in such a disgraceful manner" by a guest. On 5 February, Mock appeared as a guest again to debate the dispute.
Morgan has repeatedly clashed with actor John Cleese. In 2015 Cleese stated that he "truly detested" Morgan and had avoided him in a restaurant. He also said he thought Morgan was "in jail", erroneously stating that Morgan had "admitted" to authorising phone-hacking. Morgan responded that the "revulsion" between them was "mutual". When Cleese's tweet about detesting Morgan became his most popular to date, Cleese said "clearly I must insult the slimy, attention-seeking little prole more often". Morgan joked that he was glad to have been able to make Cleese "popular again". In 2017 Cleese told Radio Times "I always thought he was an awful creep [...] I just didn't want to have an encounter with him and since then he's been after me and I've been after him."
Morgan strongly objected to the Women's March on Washington on 21 January 2017, the day after Trump's inauguration, describing protesters as "rabid feminists" and the multiple protests as being "vacuous". The actor Ewan McGregor disagreed with Morgan's statements on the Women's March and pulled out of appearing on Good Morning Britain the following Tuesday after discovering Morgan would be interviewing him, along with Reid. Morgan accused McGregor of being a "paedophile-loving hypocrite" for his past support of Roman Polanski.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Morgan was briefly a friend of Meghan Markle before she became the Duchess of Sussex, but claimed she cut him off early in her relationship with Prince Harry. He has been a regular critic of the couple since then, alleging they are hypocrites and claiming the Duchess is a social climber.
When the couple stepped away from conducting official royal duties early in 2020, Morgan described them as being "the two most spoiled brats in history". Ten days later, he said: "Only surprised it took her so long to get Harry to ditch his family, the monarchy, the military and his country. What a piece of work." Responding to Morgan on Twitter, British comedian Gina Yashere wrote of the broadcaster's "constant racist vitriolic abuse disguised as criticism". Morgan responded that Yashere was being "ridiculous", arguing that the critical responses to the Duchess has "nothing to do with her skin color and everything to do with her being a shameless piece of work doing huge damage to our Royal Family." In a segment of Good Morning Britain on 13 January, Morgan interviewed Afua Hirsch, who accused parts of the British media of behaving in a racist manner towards the Duchess, an interpretation that Morgan said was "completely and grotesquely wrong". InfluencHers, a group of 100 African Caribbean women, advocated an advertisers' boycott of Good Morning Britain. The campaigners described the programme as having "sanctioning bullying and blatant unapologetic disrespect of women" in allowing Morgan's treatment of Hirsch.
When challenged by Decca Aitkenhead of The Sunday Times in May 2020 over "his vendetta" against the Duchess, with Aitkenhead suggesting he had gone too far, Morgan said: "I think that's a perfectly fair criticism. It's probably not wise, if you're a columnist, to make things too personal. Have I taken things a bit too far? Probably. Do I think that will govern and temper how I talk about them going forward? Absolutely."
On Good Morning Britain on 8 and 9 March 2021, Morgan said he doubted the accuracy of the account given by the Duchess of Sussex, in the interview Oprah with Meghan and Harry with Oprah Winfrey, in which she spoke of her mental health issues, which included suicidal thoughts, and she and Harry alleged racist comments from the extended family. A tense on-air argument with his co-host Alex Beresford on 9 March led him to walk off the set of the show. Beresford was highly critical of Morgan's attitude towards the Duchess, saying "She's entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you after she cut you off? I don't think she has, But yet you continue to trash her". Later in the day, Morgan quit the programme. The UK's mental health charity Mind expressed "disappointment" in Morgan's comments and said individuals with experience of mental health issues should be "treated with dignity, respect and empathy." ITV plc's chief executive, Carolyn McCall, defended the veracity of the Duchess's comments, adding "importantly everyone should."
ITV News reported the Duchess had complained directly to ITV's CEO about Morgan's comments about mental health, although the broadcaster was not officially commenting on these reports. Ofcom received a complaint from her.
Morgan issued a statement on Twitter, saying, "On Monday, I said I didn't believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I've had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don't. Freedom of speech is a hill I'm happy to die on." Broadcaster Andrew Neil described his departure as "a pity" for ITV because he had brought "energy, dynamism and controversy" to its morning broadcast schedule, adding "it had always lagged way behind the BBC breakfast time show and people tuned in because of him." Neil expressed interest in Morgan joining GB News instead. However, Neil later said that talks were affected by a disagreement: "he's [Morgan] got his own idea of what he is worth and we [GB News] have a slightly different idea of what he's worth". In Morgan's last week, Good Morning Britain surpassed the ratings of BBC Breakfast for the first time, and ITV lost almost £200m in market value following his departure.
Actor and comedian Steve Coogan, a prominent supporter of press regulation, described Morgan as "symptomatic of the problem" with the British tabloid media and accused him of "bullying behaviour" regarding his attitude to the Duchess.
Ofcom complaints
During his tenure at Good Morning Britain, Morgan was the subject of thousands of complaints to the British watchdog, Ofcom, relating to his comments.
In 2015, Morgan was criticised by Ofcom for laughing as a guest repeatedly used the word 'fucking' live on air. Although Ofcom did not take action as his co-presenter Susanna Reid quickly apologised, the watchdog expressed concern at his behaviour. In 2016, Ofcom received 70 complaints in relation to comments made by Morgan during interview with Christian magistrate Richard Page about gay marriage, that viewers felt "implied Christians were homophobic". Ofcom confirmed on 13 April 2016 that Morgan would not be investigated for his comments. On 22 January 2018, during a story about a homeless SAS veteran, who had a petition set up in his name calling on his local council to provide him with social housing, Morgan had refused to read out Herefordshire Council's statement. This was judged by Ofcom to be unfair to the council.
On 11 September 2019, Morgan claimed he identified himself as "a two-spirit penguin" in response to a news piece relating to gender neutrality, and said "the world has gone nuts" over gender. This attracted 950 Ofcom complaints from viewers. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in November 2019, and in response, Morgan admitted "he was personally quite pleased" with having one of the highest number of complaints to any British TV show in 2019.
On 21 January 2020, Morgan was accused of racism and was hit by 1,095 Ofcom complaints for his comments relating to a Chinese dairy advert, in which he said "He's using ching chong ching milk". Morgan also spoke over the advert, saying "ching chang cho jo". He was accused online of using language that is used to antagonise Chinese people and for mocking the Chinese language.
On 9 March 2021, Ofcom launched an investigation into the remarks Morgan made about the Duchess of Sussex's mental health on Good Morning Britain after receiving 41,015 complaints. The regulator confirmed on 12 March that the Duchess of Sussex had complained as well. On 17 March, it was reported that complaints against Morgan had reached 57,000, breaking Ofcom's record. Morgan remained defiant, stating "Only 57,000? I've had more people than that come up and congratulate me in the street for what I said. The vast majority of Britons are right behind me." Ofcom cleared ITV of any wrongdoing in September 2021 and added that restricting Morgan's views would be a "chilling restriction" on freedom of speech but criticised his "apparent disregard" for the subject of suicide. Morgan described the ruling as "a resounding victory for free speech and a resounding defeat for Princess Pinocchios."
Personal life
Morgan married Marion Shalloe, a hospital ward sister, in 1991. The couple had three sons, Albert, Spencer, and Stanley, and separated in 2004 before divorcing in 2008. In June 2010, he married his second wife, journalist Celia Walden, daughter of the former Conservative MP George Walden. On 25 November 2011, Walden gave birth to a daughter, Elise, her first child and Morgan's fourth.
Morgan's primary residence is in Kensington, London. He splits his time between a base in Los Angeles, California and a holiday home in Newick, East Sussex.
Morgan is a fan of Premier League football club Arsenal. He was an outspoken critic of former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and called for his sacking on many occasions. Speaking in defence of Wenger in 2015, former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson labelled Morgan an "incredibly pompous individual". When Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey met Morgan on 26 April 2015, Ramsey refused to shake his hand due to the criticism he received from Morgan during the 2012–13 season. Morgan has responded by calling Ramsey 'whatshisname'.
Politically, Morgan identified as a supporter of the Conservative Party in a 1994 interview, saying he was "still basically a Tory", but expressed admiration for the new Labour Party leader Tony Blair, saying "he's not radical, speaks well and makes sense". He voted for the Kensington Conservative candidate in the 2019 UK general election, after previously voting for the Animal Welfare Party. Morgan has also stated he has previously voted for the Labour Party.
On 24 July 2021, Morgan said he had developed COVID-19 after the Euro 2020 final, despite being fully vaccinated. He added that a strong fever, violent coughing, chills and sneezing fits left him exhausted and fearing what might come next.
Filmography
As himself
Bibliography
References
External links
1965 births
Living people
20th-century English male writers
20th-century English non-fiction writers
21st-century English writers
Alumni of Harlow College
America's Got Talent judges
British monarchists
English diarists
English expatriates in the United States
English male journalists
English newspaper editors
English people of Irish descent
English Roman Catholic writers
English social commentators
English television journalists
English television presenters
CNN people
Conservative Party (UK) people
Daily Mail journalists
Daily Mirror people
Gun control advocates
News of the World people
British opinion journalists
Participants in American reality television series
People educated at Priory School, Lewes
People from Lewes
People from Newick
The Apprentice (franchise) winners
The Sun (United Kingdom) people | true | [
"Blackboard bold is a typeface style that is often used for certain symbols in mathematical texts, in which certain lines of the symbol (usually vertical or near-vertical lines) are doubled. The symbols usually denote number sets. One way of producing blackboard bold is to double-strike a character with a small offset on a typewriter. Thus, they are also referred to as double struck.\n\nIn typography, such a font with characters that are not solid is called an \"inline\", \"shaded\", or \"tooled\" font.\n\nHistory\n\nOrigin \nIn some texts, these symbols are simply shown in bold type. Blackboard bold in fact originated from the attempt to write bold letters on blackboards in a way that clearly differentiated them from non-bold letters (by using the edge rather than the point of a chalk). It then made its way back into print form as a separate style from ordinary bold, possibly starting with the original 1965 edition of Gunning and Rossi's textbook on complex analysis.\n\nUse in textbooks \n\nIn the 1960s and 1970s, blackboard bold spread quickly in classrooms and is now widely used in the English- and French-speaking worlds. In textbooks, however, the situation is not so clear cut. Many mathematicians adopted blackboard bold, but many others still prefer to use bold.\n\nWell-known books where the blackboard bold style is used include Lindsay Childs' A Concrete Introduction to Higher Algebra, which is widely used as a text for undergraduate courses in the US, John Stillwell's Elements of Number Theory, and Edward Barbeau's \"University of Toronto Mathematics Competition (2001–2015)\", which is often used to prepare for mathematics competitions.\n\nJean-Pierre Serre used double-struck letters when he wrote bold on the blackboard, whereas his published works (like his well-known \"Cohomologie galoisienne\") have consistently used ordinary bold for the same symbols.\n\nDonald Knuth also preferred boldface to blackboard bold and so did not include blackboard bold in the Computer Modern fonts that he created for the TeX mathematical typesetting system.\n\nSerge Lang also used boldface instead of blackboard bold in his highly influential Algebra.\n\nThe Chicago Manual of Style evolved over this issue. In 1993, for the 14th edition, it advised that \"blackboard bold should be confined to the classroom\" (13.14). In 2003, for the 15th edition, it stated that \"open-faced (blackboard) symbols are reserved for familiar systems of numbers\" (14.12).\n\nEncoding \nTeX, the standard typesetting system for mathematical texts, does not contain direct support for blackboard bold symbols, but the add-on AMS Fonts package (amsfonts) by the American Mathematical Society provides this facility for uppercase letters (e.g., is written as \\mathbb{R}). The amssymb package loads amsfonts.\n\nIn Unicode, a few of the more common blackboard bold characters (ℂ, ℍ, ℕ, ℙ, ℚ, ℝ, and ℤ) are encoded in the Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP) in the Letterlike Symbols (2100–214F) area, named DOUBLE-STRUCK CAPITAL C etc. The rest, however, are encoded outside the BMP, in Mathematical Alphanumeric Symbols (1D400–1D7FF), specifically from U+1D538 to U+1D550 (uppercase, excluding those encoded in the BMP), U+1D552 to U+1D56B (lowercase) and U+1D7D8 to U+1D7E1 (digits).\n\nUsage \n\nThe following table shows all available Unicode blackboard bold characters.\n\nThe first column shows the letter as typically rendered by the ubiquitous LaTeX markup system. The second column shows the Unicode code point. The third column shows the Unicode symbol itself (which will only display correctly on browsers that support Unicode and have access to a suitable font). The fourth column describes some typical usage in mathematical texts. Some of the symbols (particularly and ) are nearly universal in their interpretation, while others are more varied in use. \n\nIn addition, a blackboard-bold μn (not found in Unicode) is sometimes used by number theorists and algebraic geometers to designate the group scheme of nth roots of unity.\n\nLaTeX notes:\n Only uppercase letters are given LaTeX renderings because is used here.\n Italicized blackboard bold is not rendered in LaTeX here due to the complexity involved.\n\nSee also\nMathematical alphanumeric symbols\nSet notation\n\nReferences\n\nBibliography\n\nExternal links\n\nMathematical notation\nMathematical typefaces",
"Trevor Harley is emeritus chair of Cognitive Psychology. His primary research is in the psychology of language. From 2003 until 2016 he was Head and Dean of the School of Psychology at the University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom. He is author of \"The Psychology of Language\", currently in its fourth edition, published by Psychology Press, and \"Talking the talk\", a book about the psychology of language (psycholinguistics) aimed at a more general audience.\n\nBiography\n\nCareer\n\nTrevor Harley was born in 1958 in London and grew up near Southampton. He was educated at Price's Grammar School, Fareham. His undergraduate degree was in Natural Sciences at St John's College in the University of Cambridge. He stayed at Cambridge to study for his PhD under the supervision of Brian Butterworth. His PhD was on \"Slips of the tongue and what they tell us about speech production\".\n\nFor his PhD and later research he collected a corpus of several thousand naturally occurring speech errors, and focused on one word substitutes for another (e.g. saying \"pass the pepper\" instead of \"pass the salt\"). He concluded that speech production is an interactive, parallel process, leading him to an interest in connectionist modeling, and research on computational modeling, ageing, and metacognition.\n\nAfter his PhD he took a temporary lectureship at the University of Dundee. He then moved to the University of Warwick, where he stayed until 1996, then moving to a Senior Lectureship at Dundee. He was awarded a personal chair in 2003, and became Head of Department in the same year, and later Dean in 2006.\n\nIn addition to his academic work, he is an author of a novel, Dirty old rascal (), a fantasy about a cook set in the strange Castle where no misdeed goes unpunished. Harley has published an article, Why the earth is almost flat: Imaging and the death of cognitive psychology. He has recently performed as a stand-up comic, performing at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2013.\n\nResearch Interests\nHarley's current main research interest is in metacognition, this interest grew out of his research on ageing and his interest in consciousness. More topics about his research on metacognition is covered in his forthcoming book, Cognition: The mindful brain - why we behave as we do.\nAnother of his research interest includes how we produce language, although he now studies this in the wider context of how we represent meaning, how language is affected by brain damage, and by normal and pathological ageing (e.g. Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases). He also works on how we control our own cognition, and how this ability changes with age. Underlying all his research is a belief that the mind is a parallel, interactive computer, best studied by experimentation and computational modeling. As well as his interest in language and computational modeling, he was also interested in the research of ageing and metacognition.\n\nHe is also interested in the weather, and maintains a site about severe weather events in Britain and the British weather in general available from trevorharley.com, calling this role as a \"psychometeorologist\". He also carries out psychological research about the weather, including why are people so interested in the weather? He maintains a weather station at Lundie near Dundee.\n\nHe wrote a famous article called Promises, Promises in which he argued that cognitive neuropsychologists have increasingly deviated from the original goals and methods of the subject.\n\nThe Psychology of Language\nOne of Harley's most famous publications is the book The Psychology of Language. In this book, he discusses psycholinguistics, which is the study of relationships that exist between linguistic behaviour and psychological processes. Harley discusses both the low cognitive level processes, including speech and visual word recognition, and the high cognitive level processes that are involved in comprehension. The text covers recent connectionist models of language, describing complex ideas in a clear and approachable manner. Following a strong developmental theme, the text describes how children acquire language (sometimes more than one), and also how they learn to read.\n\nSelected publications\n Harley, T. A. (2014). The Psychology of Language: From data to theory (4th. ed.) Hove: Psychology Press. (Earlier editions 2008, 2001, 1995.)\n Harley, T.A. (2010). Psycholinguistics. (6 volumes) London: SAGE.\n Harley, T.A. (2009). Talking the talk: Language, Psychology and Science. Hove: Psychology press.\n Harley, T.A. (2006). Speech errors: Psycholinguistic approach. K. Brown (Ed.), The Encyclopaedia of Language and Linguistics (2nd. Ed., Vol. 11: pp. 739–744), Oxford: Elsevier.\n Harley, T.A., Jessiman, L.J., MacAndrew, S.B.G., & Astell, A.J. (2008). I don't know what I know: Evidence of preserved semantic knowledge but impaired metalinguistic knowledge in adults with probable Alzheimer's disease. Aphasiology, 22, 321-335.\n Harley, T. A., & O'Mara, D. A. (2006). Hyphenation can improve reading in acquired phonological dyslexia. Aphasiology, 20, 744-761.\n Harley, T. A., & Grant, F. (2004). The role of functional and perceptual attributes: Evidence from picture naming in dementia. Brain and Language, 91, 223-234.\n Harley, T. A. (2004). Does cognitive neuropsychology have a future? Lead article in a special issue of Cognitive Neuropsychology, 21, 3-16.\n Astell, A. J. & Harley, T. A. (2002). Accessing semantic knowledge in dementia: Evidence from a word definition task. Brain and Language, 82, 312-326.\n Harley, T. A. (2003). Nice weather for the time of year: The British obsession with the weather. In S. Strauss & B. Orlove (Eds.), Weather, climate, culture (pp. 103–118). Oxford: Berg Publishers.\n Harley, T. A., & MacAndrew, S. B. G. (2001). Constraints upon word substitution speech errors. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 30, 395-418.\n Vousden, J., Brown, G. D. A., & Harley, T. A. (2000). Oscillator-based control of the serial ordering of phonology in speech production. Cognitive Psychology, 41, 101-175.\n Harley, T. A., & Bown, H. (1998). What causes tip-of-the-tongue states? British Journal of Psychology, 89, 151-174.\n Astell, A. J., & Harley, T. A. (1998). Naming problems in dementia: Semantic or lexical? Aphasiology, 12, 357-374.\n Harley, T. A. (1993). Phonological activation of semantic competitors during lexical access in speech production. Language and Cognitive Processes, 8, 291-309.\n Harley, T. A. (1990). Environmental contamination of normal speech. Applied Psycholinguistics, 11, 45-72.\n Harley, T. A. (1984). A critique of top-down independent levels models of speech production: Evidence from non-plan-internal speech errors. Cognitive Science, 8, 191-219.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n Academic Homepage at the School of Psychology, University of Dundee, retrieved 15 July 2008\n http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/scotland/tayside_and_central/7521264.stm for information on research into memory loss in Alzheimer's disease.\n\n1958 births\nLiving people\nBritish psychologists\nAcademics of the University of Dundee\nAlumni of St John's College, Cambridge\nExperimental psychologists\nCognitive psychologists\nPsycholinguists\nEnglish meteorologists"
] |
[
"Mark Ronson",
"2001-05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing"
] | C_d5d7c57a056e48fbb1667f80ffeb5358_1 | What was Here Comes the Fuzz? | 1 | What was Mark Ronson's Here Comes the Fuzz? | Mark Ronson | Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement. Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales it was well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nikka Costa, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. It was featured that year in the movie Honey and its soundtrack. The song was later used in the movies Hitch and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him. Ronson has since produced multiple songs on the albums of singers Lamya, Macy Gray, Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Robbie Williams. In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks." CANNOTANSWER | Ronson's debut album, | Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is an English-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbie Williams, Miley Cyrus, Queens of the Stone Age, Kevin Parker and Bruno Mars. He has received seven Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Winehouse's album Back to Black and two for Record of the Year singles "Rehab" and "Uptown Funk". He received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award for co-writing the song "Shallow" (performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper) for the film A Star is Born (2018).
Ronson was born in London and raised in New York City. His stepfather is Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, which contributed to a childhood surrounded by music. While attending New York University, Ronson became a popular DJ in the hip-hop scene. His debut album Here Comes the Fuzz failed to have an effect on the charts. In 2006, he received acclaim for producing albums for Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera, and Amy Winehouse. In 2007, Ronson released his second album, Version. The album reached number two in the UK and included three top ten singles and earned him the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist. He subsequently released his third studio album, Record Collection, peaking at number two in the UK.
In 2014, Ronson released his single "Uptown Funk" featuring vocals from Bruno Mars. The single spent 14 consecutive weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and became one of the best-selling singles of all-time. His fourth studio album, Uptown Special, became his most successful album to date. In 2018, he founded his own label, Zelig Records (an imprint of Columbia Records), and formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo, they released their debut single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa for which he received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
In 2015, he became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which helps disadvantaged youth through music. He has also worked with the End the Silence campaign to raise money and awareness for the Hope and Homes for Children charity and served as an artist mentor at Turnaround Arts, a national program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which helped low-performing schools through arts education.
Early life
Mark Daniel Ronson was born in Notting Hill, London, England, to Laurence Ronson, a then music manager and publisher, now real estate developer, and Ann Dexter-Jones (née Dexter), a writer, jewelry designer, and socialite. His Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors emigrated from Austria, Lithuania, and Russia. He was brought up in a Conservative Jewish household and celebrated his Bar Mitzvah.
After his parents' divorce, his mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones. Of note, Jones wrote Foreigner's hit song "I Want to Know What Love Is" about his burgeoning relationship with Dexter-Jones.
Ronson, along with his mother, stepfather, and sisters, moved to New York City when he was eight years old. Living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, he counted Sean Lennon among his childhood friends. At twelve, being a self-described music nerd, he pestered Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner into an internship at the magazine. He attended high school at the private Collegiate School in Manhattan before attending Vassar College and then New York University. In 2008, he obtained American citizenship so that he could vote in that year's election.
Family
He was born into the Ronson family, formerly one of Britain's wealthiest families and founders of Heron International; following success in the 1980s, they lost $1 billion of their wealth in the property crash of the early 1990s. He is the nephew of businessman Gerald Ronson.
Through his mother, he is distantly related to British Conservative politicians Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan, and Odeon Cinemas founder Oscar Deutsch.
Ronson's has two younger sisters, twins Charlotte Ronson, a fashion designer, and Samantha Ronson, a singer and DJ. Through his mother's second marriage to Mick Jones he has two elder step-siblings and two half-siblings, including actress Annabelle Dexter-Jones. Through his father's second marriage, he has three other half-siblings.
Career
While attending New York University, Ronson became a regular in the downtown hip hop night life. He became known as a DJ on the New York club scene by 1993, charging $50 per job. He was known for his diverse, genre-spanning selection. He attracted a wide audience by fusing funk, hip hop, and rock and roll into his setlists, and playing songs that were popular in both the United States and the United Kingdom. He was soon popular and sought-after DJ in New York City, frequently booked for high-profile events and private parties. In 1999, Ronson was featured in an ad wearing Tommy Hilfiger denim in the recording studio for an ad campaign for the company.
2001–05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing
Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager, Dominique Trenier, heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement.
Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales, it was generally well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The lead single and best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features the rappers Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. The song charted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and was used in a number of films, including in Honey (2003) and on its soundtrack. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him.
In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks."
2006–09: Version
On 2 April 2007, Ronson released a cover of The Smiths' track "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" under the title "Stop Me", featuring singer Daniel Merriweather. It reached number 2 in the UK singles charts, giving Ronson his highest-peaking single until 2014's "Uptown Funk". Ronson remixed the Bob Dylan song "Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine" in promotion for the three-disc Bob Dylan set titled Dylan released October 2007. Ronson has also produced Candie Payne's "One More Chance (Ronson mix)" in 2007.
The album Version was well received by critics particularly in the UK and US. In May 2007 it was awarded the title Album of the Month by the British dance music magazine, Mixmag. On 23 June, Ronson made the cover of The Guardian newspaper's Guide magazine, alongside singer Lily Allen.
In June 2007, Ronson signed DC hip hop artist Wale to Allido Records. In late 2007, he focused on production, working with Daniel Merriweather on his debut album, and recording again with Amy Winehouse and Robbie Williams.
On 24 October 2007, Ronson performed a one-off set at The Roundhouse in Camden, London as part of the BBC Electric Proms 2007. The performance featured the BBC Concert Orchestra and included special guests Terry Hall, Sean Lennon, Tim Burgess, Alex Greenwald, Ricky Wilson, Charlie Waller, Adele and Kyle Falconer.
In December 2007, Ronson received his first Grammy Award nomination, for 'Producer of the Year, Non-Classical'. Ronson's work with Amy Winehouse also received substantial accolades, gaining 6 nominations. Winehouse's "Back to Black" album, mostly produced by Ronson, was nominated for 'Album of the Year' and 'Best Pop Vocal Album'. Her song "Rehab" received nods for 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance', 'Song of the Year' and 'Record of the Year'. Ronson would go on to win three Grammys: 'Producer of the Year' as well as 'Best Pop Vocal Album' and 'Record of the Year' (the latter two of which he shared with Amy Winehouse) in early February 2008.
Ronson is credited as producer on a mixtape album called Man in the Mirror, released in January 2008 by the rapper Rhymefest which is a tribute to the pop star Michael Jackson. The album features Rhymefest appearing to speak to Michael Jackson using archive audio from interviews with the pop star. The same month Ronson received three nominations for the Brit Awards, including 'Best Male Solo Artist,' 'Best Album' (Version) and 'Song of the Year' ("Valerie"). Ronson won his first Brit for 'Best Male Solo Artist' in mid-February 2008 over favourite Mika. He also performed a medley of Coldplay's "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" with Adele, "Stop Me" with Daniel Merriweather, and "Valerie" with Amy Winehouse.
The performance allowed for a large boost in sales in the iTunes UK Top 100. "Valerie" would jump almost 30 spots in the days after the event, while "Just", "Stop Me" and "Oh My God" all appeared in the chart as well. That same week, Ronson appeared twice in the UK Top 40, with "Valerie" rebounding to number 13 and "Just" at number 31, his fourth Top 40 entry from "Version". The Brits performance also allowed for "Version" to climb 18 spots to number 4.
Around this time, Ronson received his first number one on an international chart (Dutch Top 40) for "Valerie," which spent four consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. He collaborated with Kaiser Chiefs on their third album.
Ronson toured the album "Version" extensively through both the UK and Europe during 2008. Notable sold-out performances at The Hammersmith Apollo and Brixton Academy. Ronson is known to champion new upcoming artists on the road with him, such as Sam Sparro and Julian Perretta. Ronson's string backing was provided by the all-female string quartet Demon Strings.
On 2 July 2008, in Paris, Mark Ronson performed live with Duran Duran for an invited audience. They played new arrangements by Ronson of some Duran Duran songs, along with tracks from the band's new album, Red Carpet Massacre. Ronson & the Version Players also performed songs from his album Version. Simon LeBon sang. As of March 2009, Ronson was working with the group on their 13th album. The Album, titled All You Need Is Now, was released digitally exclusively via Apple's iTunes on 21 December 2010, while the physical CD was released in March 2011 with additional tracks. In 2013–14 Ronson was once again in the studio producing Duran Duran's 14th album, Paper Gods, making it the first time the band has worked with the same producer on consecutive albums since Colin Thurston produced their first two albums in the 1980s.
2010–12: Record Collection
In the Spring of 2010, Ronson confirmed the name of his new album Record Collection, and said that he hoped to have it out by September 2010. Additionally, Ronson announced the name of his new band, "The Business Intl.'", which is the alias adopted by Ronson on the third studio album. The first single "Bang Bang Bang". which featured rapper Q-Tip and singer MNDR was released on 12 July 2010, where it peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, giving Ronson his fourth Top 10 single. The single also entered the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 18. The second single from the album, "The Bike Song", was released on 19 September 2010, and features Kyle Falconer from The View and Spank Rock. The album was released on 27 September 2010. This is the first Ronson album on which he features as a singer.
Although Ronson had never met Michael Jackson he was given the vocal track to a song titled "Lovely Way", sung by Michael Jackson, in 2010 to produce for Jackson's posthumous album Michael. He submitted the track, but it did not make the tracklisting for Michael. Ronson said about the rumours surrounding the vocals on the track (due to the controversy surrounding the Cascio tracks on that same album), "It was definitely him singing. I was given a vocal track to work with but I never actually met Michael. [...] It's in the vein of Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and John Lennon's 'Imagine'."
He provided the score for the 2011 film Arthur. Ronson was one of the artists featured in the 2012 documentary Re:GENERATION Music Project. His song "A La Modeliste" features Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, members of The Dap-Kings, and Zigaboo Modeliste.
2013–2017: Uptown Special and Amy
On 30 October 2014, Ronson announced, via Twitter, a new single from his upcoming album, to be released on 10 November 2014. The single, "Uptown Funk," features Bruno Mars on vocals. On 22 November 2014, Ronson and Mars appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live performing "Uptown Funk" and "Feel Right" (featuring Mystikal). "Uptown Funk" reached number one in the UK and US singles charts, and also became the all-time most streamed track in a single week in the UK, having been streamed a record 2.49 million times in a week. "Uptown Funk" reached the top 10 in nearly every country it charted; it spent fifteen weeks at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, fourteen weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and seven weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart. In February 2015 the song won Ronson the Brit Award for British Single of the Year. As of November 2021, the song's music video on YouTube has amassed over 4.3 billion views.
In 2015, Ronson starred in the documentary film Amy about his late friend Amy Winehouse. His voice features in the film where he talks about his career and relationship with Winehouse and there is footage of Ronson from the recording session of the single "Back to Black" from March 2006 and also at Winehouse's funeral in London in July 2011. On 16 October 2015, Ronson became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation. In January 2016, Ronson was nominated for two Brit Awards; Best British Male Solo Artist, and British Producer of the Year, at the 2016 Brit Awards.
At the 2016 Grammy Awards Ronson won two awards for "Uptown Funk", including Record of the Year. Jason Iley, the head of Sony Music UK and Ronson's UK label Columbia Records, hailed Ronson as "a true gentleman" and "one of the most considerate, kind and humble artists in our industry." He added, "the monumental success of Uptown Funk is so thoroughly deserved and has established itself as, not only one of the Records of the Year but of our lifetime."
He went on to executive produce Lady Gaga's fifth album Joanne.
Ronson produced the Queens of the Stone Age's 2017 album Villains.
2018–present: Silk City, "Shallow" and Late Night Feelings
In 2018, Ronson founded his own label, Zelig Records, an imprint of Columbia Records and the first artist he signed was singer King Princess. He also formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo. Their first single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa was released on 6 September and peaked at the US Dance Club Songs and received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
In May 2018, it was revealed that Ronson was working with Miley Cyrus in the studio. Their first collaboration "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" was released in November 2018. Ronson also co-wrote the song "Shallow" for the film A Star Is Born with his frequent collaborators Lady Gaga, Andrew Wyatt, and Anthony Rossomando. The song earned Ronson an Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, as well as two Grammy nominations, winning the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
On 12 April 2019, it was announced that Mark Ronson would release his fifth album Late Night Feelings, on 26 June 2019. The album features Miley Cyrus, Angel Olsen, Lykke Li and Camila Cabello. Ronson has described the album as a collection of "sad bangers," with the title track laying down a warm mid-tempo dance groove under Li's melancholy vocals.
On 12 October 2019, BBC Two broadcast the documentary Mark Ronson: From the Heart, directed by Carl Hindmarch.
In June of 2021, Ronson, along with Foo Fighters shared a "re-verson" of the Foo Fighters then latest single Making a Fire.
Personal life
Ronson divides his time between London, Los Angeles, and New York. Since childhood, he has been a fan of English Premier League football club Chelsea F.C. and is also a fan of the New York Knicks basketball team.
In 2009, Ronson was voted the most stylish man in the UK by GQ magazine.
In 2011, a portrait of Ronson was painted by British artist Joe Simpson; the painting was exhibited around the UK, including a solo exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
In 2015 he was named one of the magazine's 50 best dressed British men. >
On 20 August 2019, Ronson, along with several other celebrities, invested in a funding round for Lowell Herb Co, a California cannabis brand. He is known to be "a dedicated cannabis consumer".
Relationships
In 2002, Ronson began dating the actress-singer Rashida Jones. They became engaged in March 2003, with Ronson proposing by creating a crossword puzzle with the message "Will you marry me." Their relationship ended approximately one year later.
On 3 September 2011, Ronson married French actress and singer Joséphine de La Baume, who had previously appeared in the music video for "The Bike Song". On 16 May 2017, it was reported that de La Baume had filed for divorce from Ronson, listing the separation date as 21 April 2017. The divorce was finalized in October 2018. On 4 September 2021, Ronson announced his marriage to actress Grace Gummer, after a year of dating.
Lawsuit
In 2017, Lastrada Entertainment claimed that "Uptown Funk" infringed the copyright of Zapp & Roger's 1980 hit song "More Bounce to the Ounce". A total of three lawsuits had been filed by different parties.
Discography
Here Comes the Fuzz (2003)
Version (2007)
Record Collection (with The Business Intl.) (2010)
Uptown Special (2015)
Late Night Feelings (2019)
Filmography
Zoolander (2001) – Himself
Amy (2015) – Himself
Gaga: Five Foot Two (2017) – Himself
Spies in Disguise (2019) – Agency Control Room Technician (cameo)
Videos
Ronson created a video, along with directors Gary Breslin and Jordan Galland, called Circuit Breaker, which was an homage to the video game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In 2001, Ronson appeared in the Aaliyah music video "More Than a Woman" as a DJ. On 30 July 2021, the documentary series Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson was released on Apple TV+.
Production discography
Adapted from AllMusic. Bold denotes a commercial single.
Other singles
1997: Posse-O – "It's Up to You..."*
1998: Powerule – "Heatin' Up"*
1998: Powerule – "Rhymes to Bust" / "It's Your Right"*
2002: J-Live – "School's In"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "City Rules"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "She's Got Me"*
2005: Rhymefest – "These Days"*
2005: Rhymefest – "Brand New"*
2007: Candie Payne – "One More Chance"*
2007: Bob Dylan – "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) (Mark Ronson Re-version)"*
2008: Leon Jean-Marie – "Bed of Nails"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Never Miss a Beat"*
2008: Wiley – "Cash in My Pocket"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Good Days Bad Days"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Change"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Red"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Impossible"
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Out of the Game"*
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Jericho"*
2013: Giggs – "(Is It Gangsta?) Yes Yes Yes"*
2015: Duran Duran featuring Janelle Monáe and Nile Rodgers – "Pressure Off"*
2016: Various Artists – "Hands"*
2018: Michael Jackson - "Diamonds Are Invincible"* (Mash-Up)
2018: Silk City - "Electricity"* featuring Dua Lipa, Diplo and Mark Ronson
2018: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – "Shallow"*
2020: Troye Sivan featuring Kacey Musgraves and Mark Ronson - "Easy"*
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Mark Ronson and Boy George
1975 births
20th-century English musicians
21st-century English musicians
Allido Records artists
APRA Award winners
British Ashkenazi Jews
Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters
Brit Award winners
British alternative rock musicians
British hip hop DJs
Collegiate School (New York) alumni
English DJs
DJs from London
English emigrants to the United States
English people of Austrian-Jewish descent
English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
English people of Russian-Jewish descent
English multi-instrumentalists
English record producers
English songwriters
Golden Globe Award-winning musicians
Grammy Award winners
Hip hop record producers
Jewish English musicians
Jewish hip hop record producers
Jewish singers
Living people
People from Notting Hill
People from the Upper West Side
M
Mark Ronson
Silk City (duo) members
Sony Music UK artists
The Flip Squad members
Tisch School of the Arts alumni | true | [
"Planet Gemini is an American doom metal band. They distribute their music over the internet for free.\n\nHistory\nPlanet Gemini was formed in 1997 by vocalist and guitarist Hellion and bassist Josh in Boston, Massachusetts. The band's first \"official\" release, 13, was made available for download on July 13, 2002 along with album artwork, inlay art and CD label art for their fans to print up themselves. The band's second release, Cauldron of Fuzz, was recorded from leftovers from 13 and was originally slated to be an EP. The original plan was for them to go into the studio and record all night to put three new songs onto the EP for their own collection. They wrote five songs the first night and followed it up the next weekend. Without any sleep they improvised another whole album, and continued the tradition of writing the Cauldron of Fuzz albums under heavy sleep deprivation.\n\nPost-Josh\nIn July 2006, Josh decided to part ways with the Planet Gemini project, causing Hellion to continue the band on his own. Now a one-man project Planet Gemini's album \"Legacy\" has been canceled (because the album was supposed to celebrate 10 years of H & Josh's music). On October 31, 2006, Hellion released Cauldron of Fuzz IV: The Finale, for download on the band's official webpage. It was a collection of all unfinished demos and he and Josh worked on. This album will never be completed out of respect for the previous band member. On October 31, 2007, Hellion released Cauldron of Fuzz V: Sometimes it Comes Back, available for free download via the band's official webpage.\n\nOther Planet Gemini collaborators\nHellion has worked with Jeff \"Oly\" Olson of the Chicago-based Doom Metal band Trouble. On a project that was tentatively entitled \"The HOLY Project\".\n\nHellion also collaborated with Vinny Appice in 2006, which never got released due to Josh leaving the band.\n\nHellion is also working on a side project called \"Loomis\" that he has talked little about on his webpage which consists of four local musicians Dan Jagoda (drums), Greg Furious (bass), Jeff Saude (guitar), Hellion (guitar, vocals). Hellion stated on his webpage that he would have demos available as soon as they are written on his official webpage.\n\nMusical style\nPlanet Gemini produced a much more groove oriented doom metal. Influences include Black Sabbath, Trouble, Candlemass, and other doom metal bands.\n\nDiscography\n 13 - July 2002\n Cauldron of Fuzz - October 31, 2002\n SuperGod[t]Devilman - July 2003\n Cauldron of Fuzz 2 (The Ritual Continues) - October 31, 2003\n Cauldron of Fuzz 2 (The Bonus Material) - October 31, 2003\n Blueprint DIABOLIC (Demo) - June 2004\n Legion: Cauldron of Fuzz 3 - October 31, 2004\n Wizards Blood - December 2005\n Cauldron of Fuzz IV: The Finale 2006\n Cauldron of Fuzz V: Sometimes it Comes Back - 2007Cauldron of Fuzz V: Sometimes it Comes Back [The Unrated Version] - TBD\n Wicked - August 4, 2008\n Cauldron of Fuzz: SiX - October 31, 2009\n See How the Hands Do Murder (Compilation) - 2011 \t \n The Devil Bides His Time (Compilation) - 2011 \t \n The Midnight Channel'' - February 28, 2016\n\nExternal links\n Official Website\n Official Myspace Page\n Planet Gemini's Virb Page\n\nAmerican doom metal musical groups\nHeavy metal musical groups from Massachusetts\nMusical groups established in 1997",
"\"Ooh Wee\" is a song by Mark Ronson featuring Ghostface Killah, Nate Dogg, Trife and Saigon. It was released as the lead single from Ronson's debut studio album, Here Comes the Fuzz, on 20 October 2003. It charted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart, and caused Ronson to return to the UK after many years of living in the United States.\n\nBackground\n\"Ooh Wee\" was released as Ronson's debut single, from his album Here Comes the Fuzz. It features Ghostface Killah, Nate Dogg, Trife and Saigon. The record was produced in New York, where Ronson was living at the time. The song samples \"Scorpio\" by Dennis Coffey and \"Sunny\" by Boney M; in an interview with Rolling Stone, Ronson stated that he decided to sample the song after hearing it in the film Boogie Nights, and listening to the end of the film to the credits after discovering that the record wasn't on the film's soundtrack.\n\nThe record was made only thinking of giving it to Ghostface Killah. Ronson's manager contacted Killah, who had previously been acquainted with each other. However, once Killah had added his part, he thought having an extra voice would complement the record, so he contacted the head of his label to see if he could get Nate Dogg on the record. After sending Dogg the record, it took him less than 24 hours to return it with his part recorded.\n\nMusic video\nA music video for the song was created. It features all four rappers and Ronson miming to the original track. For it, Ronson had the back of his shaved in such a manner that the words \"Here Comes the Fuzz\" appear on his head; a shot of this begins the video. During his 4Music #Hangout, he explained that the barber who cut his hair that day only spoke English and could not read or write it, and so to him he was in fact carving a picture in to the back of Ronson's head.\n\nCritical reception\nThe Guardian described it as \"fizzy disco-rap ... informed by the freewheeling, celebratory spirit of late 80s hip-hop\".\n\nIn popular culture\nIt was featured in the 2003 movie Honey and its soundtrack. The song was later used in the movies Hitch and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.\n\nAs of 2019, the song was featured in various Domino’s Pizza adverts in the UK.\n\nIt was featured in the official trailer for the 2019 movie Spies in Disguise.\n\nCharts\n\nChart performance\n\"Ooh Wee\" had a positive chart performance. The song charted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart; this, coupled with Elektra Records' decision to drop Ronson, culminated in Ronson returning to London. The song also charted at number 82 on the MegaCharts, number 83 on the Australian Singles Chart number 95 on the German Singles Chart and in America number 32 on the Rhythmic Top 40 and number 80 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.\n\nWeekly charts\n\nReferences\n\n2003 songs\nGhostface Killah songs\nNate Dogg songs\nMark Ronson songs\nSongs written by Mark Ronson\nSongs written by Nate Dogg\nElektra Records singles"
] |
[
"Mark Ronson",
"2001-05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing",
"What was Here Comes the Fuzz?",
"Ronson's debut album,"
] | C_d5d7c57a056e48fbb1667f80ffeb5358_1 | When was it released? | 2 | When was Mark Ronson's Here Comes the Fuzz released? | Mark Ronson | Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement. Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales it was well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nikka Costa, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. It was featured that year in the movie Honey and its soundtrack. The song was later used in the movies Hitch and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him. Ronson has since produced multiple songs on the albums of singers Lamya, Macy Gray, Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Robbie Williams. In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks." CANNOTANSWER | 2003. | Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is an English-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbie Williams, Miley Cyrus, Queens of the Stone Age, Kevin Parker and Bruno Mars. He has received seven Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Winehouse's album Back to Black and two for Record of the Year singles "Rehab" and "Uptown Funk". He received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award for co-writing the song "Shallow" (performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper) for the film A Star is Born (2018).
Ronson was born in London and raised in New York City. His stepfather is Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, which contributed to a childhood surrounded by music. While attending New York University, Ronson became a popular DJ in the hip-hop scene. His debut album Here Comes the Fuzz failed to have an effect on the charts. In 2006, he received acclaim for producing albums for Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera, and Amy Winehouse. In 2007, Ronson released his second album, Version. The album reached number two in the UK and included three top ten singles and earned him the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist. He subsequently released his third studio album, Record Collection, peaking at number two in the UK.
In 2014, Ronson released his single "Uptown Funk" featuring vocals from Bruno Mars. The single spent 14 consecutive weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and became one of the best-selling singles of all-time. His fourth studio album, Uptown Special, became his most successful album to date. In 2018, he founded his own label, Zelig Records (an imprint of Columbia Records), and formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo, they released their debut single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa for which he received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
In 2015, he became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which helps disadvantaged youth through music. He has also worked with the End the Silence campaign to raise money and awareness for the Hope and Homes for Children charity and served as an artist mentor at Turnaround Arts, a national program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which helped low-performing schools through arts education.
Early life
Mark Daniel Ronson was born in Notting Hill, London, England, to Laurence Ronson, a then music manager and publisher, now real estate developer, and Ann Dexter-Jones (née Dexter), a writer, jewelry designer, and socialite. His Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors emigrated from Austria, Lithuania, and Russia. He was brought up in a Conservative Jewish household and celebrated his Bar Mitzvah.
After his parents' divorce, his mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones. Of note, Jones wrote Foreigner's hit song "I Want to Know What Love Is" about his burgeoning relationship with Dexter-Jones.
Ronson, along with his mother, stepfather, and sisters, moved to New York City when he was eight years old. Living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, he counted Sean Lennon among his childhood friends. At twelve, being a self-described music nerd, he pestered Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner into an internship at the magazine. He attended high school at the private Collegiate School in Manhattan before attending Vassar College and then New York University. In 2008, he obtained American citizenship so that he could vote in that year's election.
Family
He was born into the Ronson family, formerly one of Britain's wealthiest families and founders of Heron International; following success in the 1980s, they lost $1 billion of their wealth in the property crash of the early 1990s. He is the nephew of businessman Gerald Ronson.
Through his mother, he is distantly related to British Conservative politicians Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan, and Odeon Cinemas founder Oscar Deutsch.
Ronson's has two younger sisters, twins Charlotte Ronson, a fashion designer, and Samantha Ronson, a singer and DJ. Through his mother's second marriage to Mick Jones he has two elder step-siblings and two half-siblings, including actress Annabelle Dexter-Jones. Through his father's second marriage, he has three other half-siblings.
Career
While attending New York University, Ronson became a regular in the downtown hip hop night life. He became known as a DJ on the New York club scene by 1993, charging $50 per job. He was known for his diverse, genre-spanning selection. He attracted a wide audience by fusing funk, hip hop, and rock and roll into his setlists, and playing songs that were popular in both the United States and the United Kingdom. He was soon popular and sought-after DJ in New York City, frequently booked for high-profile events and private parties. In 1999, Ronson was featured in an ad wearing Tommy Hilfiger denim in the recording studio for an ad campaign for the company.
2001–05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing
Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager, Dominique Trenier, heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement.
Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales, it was generally well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The lead single and best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features the rappers Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. The song charted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and was used in a number of films, including in Honey (2003) and on its soundtrack. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him.
In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks."
2006–09: Version
On 2 April 2007, Ronson released a cover of The Smiths' track "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" under the title "Stop Me", featuring singer Daniel Merriweather. It reached number 2 in the UK singles charts, giving Ronson his highest-peaking single until 2014's "Uptown Funk". Ronson remixed the Bob Dylan song "Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine" in promotion for the three-disc Bob Dylan set titled Dylan released October 2007. Ronson has also produced Candie Payne's "One More Chance (Ronson mix)" in 2007.
The album Version was well received by critics particularly in the UK and US. In May 2007 it was awarded the title Album of the Month by the British dance music magazine, Mixmag. On 23 June, Ronson made the cover of The Guardian newspaper's Guide magazine, alongside singer Lily Allen.
In June 2007, Ronson signed DC hip hop artist Wale to Allido Records. In late 2007, he focused on production, working with Daniel Merriweather on his debut album, and recording again with Amy Winehouse and Robbie Williams.
On 24 October 2007, Ronson performed a one-off set at The Roundhouse in Camden, London as part of the BBC Electric Proms 2007. The performance featured the BBC Concert Orchestra and included special guests Terry Hall, Sean Lennon, Tim Burgess, Alex Greenwald, Ricky Wilson, Charlie Waller, Adele and Kyle Falconer.
In December 2007, Ronson received his first Grammy Award nomination, for 'Producer of the Year, Non-Classical'. Ronson's work with Amy Winehouse also received substantial accolades, gaining 6 nominations. Winehouse's "Back to Black" album, mostly produced by Ronson, was nominated for 'Album of the Year' and 'Best Pop Vocal Album'. Her song "Rehab" received nods for 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance', 'Song of the Year' and 'Record of the Year'. Ronson would go on to win three Grammys: 'Producer of the Year' as well as 'Best Pop Vocal Album' and 'Record of the Year' (the latter two of which he shared with Amy Winehouse) in early February 2008.
Ronson is credited as producer on a mixtape album called Man in the Mirror, released in January 2008 by the rapper Rhymefest which is a tribute to the pop star Michael Jackson. The album features Rhymefest appearing to speak to Michael Jackson using archive audio from interviews with the pop star. The same month Ronson received three nominations for the Brit Awards, including 'Best Male Solo Artist,' 'Best Album' (Version) and 'Song of the Year' ("Valerie"). Ronson won his first Brit for 'Best Male Solo Artist' in mid-February 2008 over favourite Mika. He also performed a medley of Coldplay's "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" with Adele, "Stop Me" with Daniel Merriweather, and "Valerie" with Amy Winehouse.
The performance allowed for a large boost in sales in the iTunes UK Top 100. "Valerie" would jump almost 30 spots in the days after the event, while "Just", "Stop Me" and "Oh My God" all appeared in the chart as well. That same week, Ronson appeared twice in the UK Top 40, with "Valerie" rebounding to number 13 and "Just" at number 31, his fourth Top 40 entry from "Version". The Brits performance also allowed for "Version" to climb 18 spots to number 4.
Around this time, Ronson received his first number one on an international chart (Dutch Top 40) for "Valerie," which spent four consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. He collaborated with Kaiser Chiefs on their third album.
Ronson toured the album "Version" extensively through both the UK and Europe during 2008. Notable sold-out performances at The Hammersmith Apollo and Brixton Academy. Ronson is known to champion new upcoming artists on the road with him, such as Sam Sparro and Julian Perretta. Ronson's string backing was provided by the all-female string quartet Demon Strings.
On 2 July 2008, in Paris, Mark Ronson performed live with Duran Duran for an invited audience. They played new arrangements by Ronson of some Duran Duran songs, along with tracks from the band's new album, Red Carpet Massacre. Ronson & the Version Players also performed songs from his album Version. Simon LeBon sang. As of March 2009, Ronson was working with the group on their 13th album. The Album, titled All You Need Is Now, was released digitally exclusively via Apple's iTunes on 21 December 2010, while the physical CD was released in March 2011 with additional tracks. In 2013–14 Ronson was once again in the studio producing Duran Duran's 14th album, Paper Gods, making it the first time the band has worked with the same producer on consecutive albums since Colin Thurston produced their first two albums in the 1980s.
2010–12: Record Collection
In the Spring of 2010, Ronson confirmed the name of his new album Record Collection, and said that he hoped to have it out by September 2010. Additionally, Ronson announced the name of his new band, "The Business Intl.'", which is the alias adopted by Ronson on the third studio album. The first single "Bang Bang Bang". which featured rapper Q-Tip and singer MNDR was released on 12 July 2010, where it peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, giving Ronson his fourth Top 10 single. The single also entered the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 18. The second single from the album, "The Bike Song", was released on 19 September 2010, and features Kyle Falconer from The View and Spank Rock. The album was released on 27 September 2010. This is the first Ronson album on which he features as a singer.
Although Ronson had never met Michael Jackson he was given the vocal track to a song titled "Lovely Way", sung by Michael Jackson, in 2010 to produce for Jackson's posthumous album Michael. He submitted the track, but it did not make the tracklisting for Michael. Ronson said about the rumours surrounding the vocals on the track (due to the controversy surrounding the Cascio tracks on that same album), "It was definitely him singing. I was given a vocal track to work with but I never actually met Michael. [...] It's in the vein of Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and John Lennon's 'Imagine'."
He provided the score for the 2011 film Arthur. Ronson was one of the artists featured in the 2012 documentary Re:GENERATION Music Project. His song "A La Modeliste" features Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, members of The Dap-Kings, and Zigaboo Modeliste.
2013–2017: Uptown Special and Amy
On 30 October 2014, Ronson announced, via Twitter, a new single from his upcoming album, to be released on 10 November 2014. The single, "Uptown Funk," features Bruno Mars on vocals. On 22 November 2014, Ronson and Mars appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live performing "Uptown Funk" and "Feel Right" (featuring Mystikal). "Uptown Funk" reached number one in the UK and US singles charts, and also became the all-time most streamed track in a single week in the UK, having been streamed a record 2.49 million times in a week. "Uptown Funk" reached the top 10 in nearly every country it charted; it spent fifteen weeks at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, fourteen weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and seven weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart. In February 2015 the song won Ronson the Brit Award for British Single of the Year. As of November 2021, the song's music video on YouTube has amassed over 4.3 billion views.
In 2015, Ronson starred in the documentary film Amy about his late friend Amy Winehouse. His voice features in the film where he talks about his career and relationship with Winehouse and there is footage of Ronson from the recording session of the single "Back to Black" from March 2006 and also at Winehouse's funeral in London in July 2011. On 16 October 2015, Ronson became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation. In January 2016, Ronson was nominated for two Brit Awards; Best British Male Solo Artist, and British Producer of the Year, at the 2016 Brit Awards.
At the 2016 Grammy Awards Ronson won two awards for "Uptown Funk", including Record of the Year. Jason Iley, the head of Sony Music UK and Ronson's UK label Columbia Records, hailed Ronson as "a true gentleman" and "one of the most considerate, kind and humble artists in our industry." He added, "the monumental success of Uptown Funk is so thoroughly deserved and has established itself as, not only one of the Records of the Year but of our lifetime."
He went on to executive produce Lady Gaga's fifth album Joanne.
Ronson produced the Queens of the Stone Age's 2017 album Villains.
2018–present: Silk City, "Shallow" and Late Night Feelings
In 2018, Ronson founded his own label, Zelig Records, an imprint of Columbia Records and the first artist he signed was singer King Princess. He also formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo. Their first single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa was released on 6 September and peaked at the US Dance Club Songs and received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
In May 2018, it was revealed that Ronson was working with Miley Cyrus in the studio. Their first collaboration "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" was released in November 2018. Ronson also co-wrote the song "Shallow" for the film A Star Is Born with his frequent collaborators Lady Gaga, Andrew Wyatt, and Anthony Rossomando. The song earned Ronson an Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, as well as two Grammy nominations, winning the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
On 12 April 2019, it was announced that Mark Ronson would release his fifth album Late Night Feelings, on 26 June 2019. The album features Miley Cyrus, Angel Olsen, Lykke Li and Camila Cabello. Ronson has described the album as a collection of "sad bangers," with the title track laying down a warm mid-tempo dance groove under Li's melancholy vocals.
On 12 October 2019, BBC Two broadcast the documentary Mark Ronson: From the Heart, directed by Carl Hindmarch.
In June of 2021, Ronson, along with Foo Fighters shared a "re-verson" of the Foo Fighters then latest single Making a Fire.
Personal life
Ronson divides his time between London, Los Angeles, and New York. Since childhood, he has been a fan of English Premier League football club Chelsea F.C. and is also a fan of the New York Knicks basketball team.
In 2009, Ronson was voted the most stylish man in the UK by GQ magazine.
In 2011, a portrait of Ronson was painted by British artist Joe Simpson; the painting was exhibited around the UK, including a solo exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
In 2015 he was named one of the magazine's 50 best dressed British men. >
On 20 August 2019, Ronson, along with several other celebrities, invested in a funding round for Lowell Herb Co, a California cannabis brand. He is known to be "a dedicated cannabis consumer".
Relationships
In 2002, Ronson began dating the actress-singer Rashida Jones. They became engaged in March 2003, with Ronson proposing by creating a crossword puzzle with the message "Will you marry me." Their relationship ended approximately one year later.
On 3 September 2011, Ronson married French actress and singer Joséphine de La Baume, who had previously appeared in the music video for "The Bike Song". On 16 May 2017, it was reported that de La Baume had filed for divorce from Ronson, listing the separation date as 21 April 2017. The divorce was finalized in October 2018. On 4 September 2021, Ronson announced his marriage to actress Grace Gummer, after a year of dating.
Lawsuit
In 2017, Lastrada Entertainment claimed that "Uptown Funk" infringed the copyright of Zapp & Roger's 1980 hit song "More Bounce to the Ounce". A total of three lawsuits had been filed by different parties.
Discography
Here Comes the Fuzz (2003)
Version (2007)
Record Collection (with The Business Intl.) (2010)
Uptown Special (2015)
Late Night Feelings (2019)
Filmography
Zoolander (2001) – Himself
Amy (2015) – Himself
Gaga: Five Foot Two (2017) – Himself
Spies in Disguise (2019) – Agency Control Room Technician (cameo)
Videos
Ronson created a video, along with directors Gary Breslin and Jordan Galland, called Circuit Breaker, which was an homage to the video game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In 2001, Ronson appeared in the Aaliyah music video "More Than a Woman" as a DJ. On 30 July 2021, the documentary series Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson was released on Apple TV+.
Production discography
Adapted from AllMusic. Bold denotes a commercial single.
Other singles
1997: Posse-O – "It's Up to You..."*
1998: Powerule – "Heatin' Up"*
1998: Powerule – "Rhymes to Bust" / "It's Your Right"*
2002: J-Live – "School's In"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "City Rules"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "She's Got Me"*
2005: Rhymefest – "These Days"*
2005: Rhymefest – "Brand New"*
2007: Candie Payne – "One More Chance"*
2007: Bob Dylan – "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) (Mark Ronson Re-version)"*
2008: Leon Jean-Marie – "Bed of Nails"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Never Miss a Beat"*
2008: Wiley – "Cash in My Pocket"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Good Days Bad Days"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Change"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Red"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Impossible"
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Out of the Game"*
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Jericho"*
2013: Giggs – "(Is It Gangsta?) Yes Yes Yes"*
2015: Duran Duran featuring Janelle Monáe and Nile Rodgers – "Pressure Off"*
2016: Various Artists – "Hands"*
2018: Michael Jackson - "Diamonds Are Invincible"* (Mash-Up)
2018: Silk City - "Electricity"* featuring Dua Lipa, Diplo and Mark Ronson
2018: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – "Shallow"*
2020: Troye Sivan featuring Kacey Musgraves and Mark Ronson - "Easy"*
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Mark Ronson and Boy George
1975 births
20th-century English musicians
21st-century English musicians
Allido Records artists
APRA Award winners
British Ashkenazi Jews
Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters
Brit Award winners
British alternative rock musicians
British hip hop DJs
Collegiate School (New York) alumni
English DJs
DJs from London
English emigrants to the United States
English people of Austrian-Jewish descent
English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
English people of Russian-Jewish descent
English multi-instrumentalists
English record producers
English songwriters
Golden Globe Award-winning musicians
Grammy Award winners
Hip hop record producers
Jewish English musicians
Jewish hip hop record producers
Jewish singers
Living people
People from Notting Hill
People from the Upper West Side
M
Mark Ronson
Silk City (duo) members
Sony Music UK artists
The Flip Squad members
Tisch School of the Arts alumni | true | [
"When the Bough Breaks is the second solo album from Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward. It was originally released on April 27, 1997, on Cleopatra Records.\n\nTrack listing\n\"Hate\" – 5:00\n\"Children Killing Children\" – 3:51\n\"Growth\" – 5:45\n\"When I was a Child\" – 4:54\n\"Please Help Mommy (She's a Junkie)\" – 6:40\n\"Shine\" – 5:06\n\"Step Lightly (On the Grass)\" – 5:59\n\"Love & Innocence\" – 1:00\n\"Animals\" – 6:32\n\"Nighthawks Stars & Pines\" – 6:45\n\"Try Life\" – 5:35\n\"When the Bough Breaks\" – 9:45\n\nCD Cleopatra CL9981 (US 1997)\n\nMusicians\n\nBill Ward - vocals, lyrics, musical arrangements\nKeith Lynch - guitars\nPaul Ill - bass, double bass, synthesizer, tape loops\nRonnie Ciago - drums\n\nCover art and reprint issues\n\nAs originally released, this album featured cover art that had two roses on it. After it was released, Bill Ward (as with Ward One, his first solo album) stated on his website that the released cover art was not the correct one that was intended to be released. Additionally, the liner notes for the original printing had lyrics that were so small, most people needed a magnifying glass to read them. This was eventually corrected in 2000 when the version of the album with Bill on the cover from the 70's was released. The album was later on released in a special digipak style of case, but this was later said to be released prematurely, and was withdrawn.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nWhen the Bough Breaks at Bill Ward's site\nWhen the Bough Breaks at Black Sabbath Online\n\nBill Ward (musician) albums\nBlack Sabbath\n1997 albums\nCleopatra Records albums",
"Joseph Jin Dechen (; June 19, 1919 – November 21, 2002) was a Chinese Catholic priest and Bishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nanyang.\n\nBiography\nHe was ordained a priest in 1944. In 1958, he was arrested for the first time and sentenced to life in prison. This sentence was settled and he was released in 1973. In December 1981, when he was Bishop Emeritus in Roman Catholic Diocese of Nanyang, he was again arrested, charged with resistance to abortion and birth control, and was sentenced to 15 years of prison and five years of subsequent loss of political rights on July 27, 1982. He was detained in the Third Province Prison in Yu County (now Yuzhou), near Zhengzhou in Henan, and was pardoned and released in May 1992 and ordered to stay in his village Jinjiajiang, near Nanyang. He was out of weakness when he was released from prison.\n\nReferences\n\n1919 births\n2002 deaths\n20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in China"
] |
[
"Mark Ronson",
"2001-05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing",
"What was Here Comes the Fuzz?",
"Ronson's debut album,",
"When was it released?",
"2003."
] | C_d5d7c57a056e48fbb1667f80ffeb5358_1 | Did he produce the album? | 3 | Did Mark Ronson produce the album Here Comes the Fuzz? | Mark Ronson | Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement. Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales it was well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nikka Costa, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. It was featured that year in the movie Honey and its soundtrack. The song was later used in the movies Hitch and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him. Ronson has since produced multiple songs on the albums of singers Lamya, Macy Gray, Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Robbie Williams. In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks." CANNOTANSWER | Mark made the leap from DJ to producer | Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is an English-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbie Williams, Miley Cyrus, Queens of the Stone Age, Kevin Parker and Bruno Mars. He has received seven Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Winehouse's album Back to Black and two for Record of the Year singles "Rehab" and "Uptown Funk". He received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award for co-writing the song "Shallow" (performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper) for the film A Star is Born (2018).
Ronson was born in London and raised in New York City. His stepfather is Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, which contributed to a childhood surrounded by music. While attending New York University, Ronson became a popular DJ in the hip-hop scene. His debut album Here Comes the Fuzz failed to have an effect on the charts. In 2006, he received acclaim for producing albums for Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera, and Amy Winehouse. In 2007, Ronson released his second album, Version. The album reached number two in the UK and included three top ten singles and earned him the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist. He subsequently released his third studio album, Record Collection, peaking at number two in the UK.
In 2014, Ronson released his single "Uptown Funk" featuring vocals from Bruno Mars. The single spent 14 consecutive weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and became one of the best-selling singles of all-time. His fourth studio album, Uptown Special, became his most successful album to date. In 2018, he founded his own label, Zelig Records (an imprint of Columbia Records), and formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo, they released their debut single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa for which he received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
In 2015, he became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which helps disadvantaged youth through music. He has also worked with the End the Silence campaign to raise money and awareness for the Hope and Homes for Children charity and served as an artist mentor at Turnaround Arts, a national program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which helped low-performing schools through arts education.
Early life
Mark Daniel Ronson was born in Notting Hill, London, England, to Laurence Ronson, a then music manager and publisher, now real estate developer, and Ann Dexter-Jones (née Dexter), a writer, jewelry designer, and socialite. His Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors emigrated from Austria, Lithuania, and Russia. He was brought up in a Conservative Jewish household and celebrated his Bar Mitzvah.
After his parents' divorce, his mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones. Of note, Jones wrote Foreigner's hit song "I Want to Know What Love Is" about his burgeoning relationship with Dexter-Jones.
Ronson, along with his mother, stepfather, and sisters, moved to New York City when he was eight years old. Living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, he counted Sean Lennon among his childhood friends. At twelve, being a self-described music nerd, he pestered Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner into an internship at the magazine. He attended high school at the private Collegiate School in Manhattan before attending Vassar College and then New York University. In 2008, he obtained American citizenship so that he could vote in that year's election.
Family
He was born into the Ronson family, formerly one of Britain's wealthiest families and founders of Heron International; following success in the 1980s, they lost $1 billion of their wealth in the property crash of the early 1990s. He is the nephew of businessman Gerald Ronson.
Through his mother, he is distantly related to British Conservative politicians Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan, and Odeon Cinemas founder Oscar Deutsch.
Ronson's has two younger sisters, twins Charlotte Ronson, a fashion designer, and Samantha Ronson, a singer and DJ. Through his mother's second marriage to Mick Jones he has two elder step-siblings and two half-siblings, including actress Annabelle Dexter-Jones. Through his father's second marriage, he has three other half-siblings.
Career
While attending New York University, Ronson became a regular in the downtown hip hop night life. He became known as a DJ on the New York club scene by 1993, charging $50 per job. He was known for his diverse, genre-spanning selection. He attracted a wide audience by fusing funk, hip hop, and rock and roll into his setlists, and playing songs that were popular in both the United States and the United Kingdom. He was soon popular and sought-after DJ in New York City, frequently booked for high-profile events and private parties. In 1999, Ronson was featured in an ad wearing Tommy Hilfiger denim in the recording studio for an ad campaign for the company.
2001–05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing
Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager, Dominique Trenier, heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement.
Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales, it was generally well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The lead single and best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features the rappers Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. The song charted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and was used in a number of films, including in Honey (2003) and on its soundtrack. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him.
In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks."
2006–09: Version
On 2 April 2007, Ronson released a cover of The Smiths' track "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" under the title "Stop Me", featuring singer Daniel Merriweather. It reached number 2 in the UK singles charts, giving Ronson his highest-peaking single until 2014's "Uptown Funk". Ronson remixed the Bob Dylan song "Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine" in promotion for the three-disc Bob Dylan set titled Dylan released October 2007. Ronson has also produced Candie Payne's "One More Chance (Ronson mix)" in 2007.
The album Version was well received by critics particularly in the UK and US. In May 2007 it was awarded the title Album of the Month by the British dance music magazine, Mixmag. On 23 June, Ronson made the cover of The Guardian newspaper's Guide magazine, alongside singer Lily Allen.
In June 2007, Ronson signed DC hip hop artist Wale to Allido Records. In late 2007, he focused on production, working with Daniel Merriweather on his debut album, and recording again with Amy Winehouse and Robbie Williams.
On 24 October 2007, Ronson performed a one-off set at The Roundhouse in Camden, London as part of the BBC Electric Proms 2007. The performance featured the BBC Concert Orchestra and included special guests Terry Hall, Sean Lennon, Tim Burgess, Alex Greenwald, Ricky Wilson, Charlie Waller, Adele and Kyle Falconer.
In December 2007, Ronson received his first Grammy Award nomination, for 'Producer of the Year, Non-Classical'. Ronson's work with Amy Winehouse also received substantial accolades, gaining 6 nominations. Winehouse's "Back to Black" album, mostly produced by Ronson, was nominated for 'Album of the Year' and 'Best Pop Vocal Album'. Her song "Rehab" received nods for 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance', 'Song of the Year' and 'Record of the Year'. Ronson would go on to win three Grammys: 'Producer of the Year' as well as 'Best Pop Vocal Album' and 'Record of the Year' (the latter two of which he shared with Amy Winehouse) in early February 2008.
Ronson is credited as producer on a mixtape album called Man in the Mirror, released in January 2008 by the rapper Rhymefest which is a tribute to the pop star Michael Jackson. The album features Rhymefest appearing to speak to Michael Jackson using archive audio from interviews with the pop star. The same month Ronson received three nominations for the Brit Awards, including 'Best Male Solo Artist,' 'Best Album' (Version) and 'Song of the Year' ("Valerie"). Ronson won his first Brit for 'Best Male Solo Artist' in mid-February 2008 over favourite Mika. He also performed a medley of Coldplay's "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" with Adele, "Stop Me" with Daniel Merriweather, and "Valerie" with Amy Winehouse.
The performance allowed for a large boost in sales in the iTunes UK Top 100. "Valerie" would jump almost 30 spots in the days after the event, while "Just", "Stop Me" and "Oh My God" all appeared in the chart as well. That same week, Ronson appeared twice in the UK Top 40, with "Valerie" rebounding to number 13 and "Just" at number 31, his fourth Top 40 entry from "Version". The Brits performance also allowed for "Version" to climb 18 spots to number 4.
Around this time, Ronson received his first number one on an international chart (Dutch Top 40) for "Valerie," which spent four consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. He collaborated with Kaiser Chiefs on their third album.
Ronson toured the album "Version" extensively through both the UK and Europe during 2008. Notable sold-out performances at The Hammersmith Apollo and Brixton Academy. Ronson is known to champion new upcoming artists on the road with him, such as Sam Sparro and Julian Perretta. Ronson's string backing was provided by the all-female string quartet Demon Strings.
On 2 July 2008, in Paris, Mark Ronson performed live with Duran Duran for an invited audience. They played new arrangements by Ronson of some Duran Duran songs, along with tracks from the band's new album, Red Carpet Massacre. Ronson & the Version Players also performed songs from his album Version. Simon LeBon sang. As of March 2009, Ronson was working with the group on their 13th album. The Album, titled All You Need Is Now, was released digitally exclusively via Apple's iTunes on 21 December 2010, while the physical CD was released in March 2011 with additional tracks. In 2013–14 Ronson was once again in the studio producing Duran Duran's 14th album, Paper Gods, making it the first time the band has worked with the same producer on consecutive albums since Colin Thurston produced their first two albums in the 1980s.
2010–12: Record Collection
In the Spring of 2010, Ronson confirmed the name of his new album Record Collection, and said that he hoped to have it out by September 2010. Additionally, Ronson announced the name of his new band, "The Business Intl.'", which is the alias adopted by Ronson on the third studio album. The first single "Bang Bang Bang". which featured rapper Q-Tip and singer MNDR was released on 12 July 2010, where it peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, giving Ronson his fourth Top 10 single. The single also entered the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 18. The second single from the album, "The Bike Song", was released on 19 September 2010, and features Kyle Falconer from The View and Spank Rock. The album was released on 27 September 2010. This is the first Ronson album on which he features as a singer.
Although Ronson had never met Michael Jackson he was given the vocal track to a song titled "Lovely Way", sung by Michael Jackson, in 2010 to produce for Jackson's posthumous album Michael. He submitted the track, but it did not make the tracklisting for Michael. Ronson said about the rumours surrounding the vocals on the track (due to the controversy surrounding the Cascio tracks on that same album), "It was definitely him singing. I was given a vocal track to work with but I never actually met Michael. [...] It's in the vein of Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and John Lennon's 'Imagine'."
He provided the score for the 2011 film Arthur. Ronson was one of the artists featured in the 2012 documentary Re:GENERATION Music Project. His song "A La Modeliste" features Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, members of The Dap-Kings, and Zigaboo Modeliste.
2013–2017: Uptown Special and Amy
On 30 October 2014, Ronson announced, via Twitter, a new single from his upcoming album, to be released on 10 November 2014. The single, "Uptown Funk," features Bruno Mars on vocals. On 22 November 2014, Ronson and Mars appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live performing "Uptown Funk" and "Feel Right" (featuring Mystikal). "Uptown Funk" reached number one in the UK and US singles charts, and also became the all-time most streamed track in a single week in the UK, having been streamed a record 2.49 million times in a week. "Uptown Funk" reached the top 10 in nearly every country it charted; it spent fifteen weeks at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, fourteen weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and seven weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart. In February 2015 the song won Ronson the Brit Award for British Single of the Year. As of November 2021, the song's music video on YouTube has amassed over 4.3 billion views.
In 2015, Ronson starred in the documentary film Amy about his late friend Amy Winehouse. His voice features in the film where he talks about his career and relationship with Winehouse and there is footage of Ronson from the recording session of the single "Back to Black" from March 2006 and also at Winehouse's funeral in London in July 2011. On 16 October 2015, Ronson became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation. In January 2016, Ronson was nominated for two Brit Awards; Best British Male Solo Artist, and British Producer of the Year, at the 2016 Brit Awards.
At the 2016 Grammy Awards Ronson won two awards for "Uptown Funk", including Record of the Year. Jason Iley, the head of Sony Music UK and Ronson's UK label Columbia Records, hailed Ronson as "a true gentleman" and "one of the most considerate, kind and humble artists in our industry." He added, "the monumental success of Uptown Funk is so thoroughly deserved and has established itself as, not only one of the Records of the Year but of our lifetime."
He went on to executive produce Lady Gaga's fifth album Joanne.
Ronson produced the Queens of the Stone Age's 2017 album Villains.
2018–present: Silk City, "Shallow" and Late Night Feelings
In 2018, Ronson founded his own label, Zelig Records, an imprint of Columbia Records and the first artist he signed was singer King Princess. He also formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo. Their first single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa was released on 6 September and peaked at the US Dance Club Songs and received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
In May 2018, it was revealed that Ronson was working with Miley Cyrus in the studio. Their first collaboration "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" was released in November 2018. Ronson also co-wrote the song "Shallow" for the film A Star Is Born with his frequent collaborators Lady Gaga, Andrew Wyatt, and Anthony Rossomando. The song earned Ronson an Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, as well as two Grammy nominations, winning the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
On 12 April 2019, it was announced that Mark Ronson would release his fifth album Late Night Feelings, on 26 June 2019. The album features Miley Cyrus, Angel Olsen, Lykke Li and Camila Cabello. Ronson has described the album as a collection of "sad bangers," with the title track laying down a warm mid-tempo dance groove under Li's melancholy vocals.
On 12 October 2019, BBC Two broadcast the documentary Mark Ronson: From the Heart, directed by Carl Hindmarch.
In June of 2021, Ronson, along with Foo Fighters shared a "re-verson" of the Foo Fighters then latest single Making a Fire.
Personal life
Ronson divides his time between London, Los Angeles, and New York. Since childhood, he has been a fan of English Premier League football club Chelsea F.C. and is also a fan of the New York Knicks basketball team.
In 2009, Ronson was voted the most stylish man in the UK by GQ magazine.
In 2011, a portrait of Ronson was painted by British artist Joe Simpson; the painting was exhibited around the UK, including a solo exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
In 2015 he was named one of the magazine's 50 best dressed British men. >
On 20 August 2019, Ronson, along with several other celebrities, invested in a funding round for Lowell Herb Co, a California cannabis brand. He is known to be "a dedicated cannabis consumer".
Relationships
In 2002, Ronson began dating the actress-singer Rashida Jones. They became engaged in March 2003, with Ronson proposing by creating a crossword puzzle with the message "Will you marry me." Their relationship ended approximately one year later.
On 3 September 2011, Ronson married French actress and singer Joséphine de La Baume, who had previously appeared in the music video for "The Bike Song". On 16 May 2017, it was reported that de La Baume had filed for divorce from Ronson, listing the separation date as 21 April 2017. The divorce was finalized in October 2018. On 4 September 2021, Ronson announced his marriage to actress Grace Gummer, after a year of dating.
Lawsuit
In 2017, Lastrada Entertainment claimed that "Uptown Funk" infringed the copyright of Zapp & Roger's 1980 hit song "More Bounce to the Ounce". A total of three lawsuits had been filed by different parties.
Discography
Here Comes the Fuzz (2003)
Version (2007)
Record Collection (with The Business Intl.) (2010)
Uptown Special (2015)
Late Night Feelings (2019)
Filmography
Zoolander (2001) – Himself
Amy (2015) – Himself
Gaga: Five Foot Two (2017) – Himself
Spies in Disguise (2019) – Agency Control Room Technician (cameo)
Videos
Ronson created a video, along with directors Gary Breslin and Jordan Galland, called Circuit Breaker, which was an homage to the video game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In 2001, Ronson appeared in the Aaliyah music video "More Than a Woman" as a DJ. On 30 July 2021, the documentary series Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson was released on Apple TV+.
Production discography
Adapted from AllMusic. Bold denotes a commercial single.
Other singles
1997: Posse-O – "It's Up to You..."*
1998: Powerule – "Heatin' Up"*
1998: Powerule – "Rhymes to Bust" / "It's Your Right"*
2002: J-Live – "School's In"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "City Rules"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "She's Got Me"*
2005: Rhymefest – "These Days"*
2005: Rhymefest – "Brand New"*
2007: Candie Payne – "One More Chance"*
2007: Bob Dylan – "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) (Mark Ronson Re-version)"*
2008: Leon Jean-Marie – "Bed of Nails"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Never Miss a Beat"*
2008: Wiley – "Cash in My Pocket"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Good Days Bad Days"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Change"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Red"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Impossible"
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Out of the Game"*
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Jericho"*
2013: Giggs – "(Is It Gangsta?) Yes Yes Yes"*
2015: Duran Duran featuring Janelle Monáe and Nile Rodgers – "Pressure Off"*
2016: Various Artists – "Hands"*
2018: Michael Jackson - "Diamonds Are Invincible"* (Mash-Up)
2018: Silk City - "Electricity"* featuring Dua Lipa, Diplo and Mark Ronson
2018: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – "Shallow"*
2020: Troye Sivan featuring Kacey Musgraves and Mark Ronson - "Easy"*
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Mark Ronson and Boy George
1975 births
20th-century English musicians
21st-century English musicians
Allido Records artists
APRA Award winners
British Ashkenazi Jews
Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters
Brit Award winners
British alternative rock musicians
British hip hop DJs
Collegiate School (New York) alumni
English DJs
DJs from London
English emigrants to the United States
English people of Austrian-Jewish descent
English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
English people of Russian-Jewish descent
English multi-instrumentalists
English record producers
English songwriters
Golden Globe Award-winning musicians
Grammy Award winners
Hip hop record producers
Jewish English musicians
Jewish hip hop record producers
Jewish singers
Living people
People from Notting Hill
People from the Upper West Side
M
Mark Ronson
Silk City (duo) members
Sony Music UK artists
The Flip Squad members
Tisch School of the Arts alumni | true | [
"Joe Chiccarelli is an American record producer, mixer and engineer, who is a native of Boston, Massachusetts, and has been active since the 1980s. He has produced albums by Stan Ridgway, Morrissey, Oingo Boingo, Spoon, The Shins, Sandra Bernhard, My Morning Jacket, Counting Crows, Augie March, Manchester Orchestra, Minus the Bear, Boy & Bear, Kurt Elling, Saints of Valory, and Big Talk. Other artists include Elton John, Rufus Wainwright, U2, Alanis Morissette, Beck, Etta James, Jamie Cullum, Al Stewart, Tori Amos, The Strokes, The Killers, Cage The Elephant, Cafe Tacuba, Pink Martini, Christina Perri, Glenn Frey and Jason Mraz.\n\nChiccarelli also engineered Frank Zappa's albums Sheik Yerbouti, Joe's Garage Acts I, II & III and Tinseltown Rebellion, and engineered the White Stripes 2007 album Icky Thump. He also engineered The Raconteurs, Consolers of the Lonely, for which he received his eighth of ten Grammy awards, for Best Engineered Album of 2008. He is responsible for album sales well over 50 million.\n\nCareer\nChiccarelli got his first taste of the studio through a cousin who owned Boston's Fleetwood Studio. He also worked as an engineer at Music Designers Recording Studio in Boston. Chiccarelli moved west where he scored an assistant engineer gig at L.A.'s Cherokee Studios. He got his career break engineering Frank Zappa's album Sheik Yerbouti. In an interview with HitQuarters, Chiccarelli said: \"[Zappa's] engineer couldn't make the session and so he decided to take a chance on me. I'm so thankful ever since that day because he gave me a career.\"\n\nHe is credited with discovering singer Tori Amos and signing her first band, Y Kant Tori Read, to a label deal. However, Chiccarelli refuted this in an interview with HitQuarters saying, \"That's a myth. Tori was already signed to Atlantic Records as a solo artist when I got involved.\" In 1998, he mixed the Latin album Un Tributo (a José José), a tribute to José José.\n\nIn 2009 Chiccarelli produced sessions for Brandi Carlile as well as Minus the Bear's album Omni, released on May 4, 2010. He produced four tracks on The Strokes' fourth album, Angles. He also produced the debut album from Australian group Boy & Bear. The band received five ARIA awards for the album. He also engineered and mixed track's on Morrissey's Swords album.\n\nIn 2011, Chiccarelli produced Jason Mraz's fourth album Love Is a Four Letter Word, released April 17, 2012 and Alanis Morissette's upcoming Havoc and Bright Lights as well as the album Songs of Patience for Alberta Cross. In 2012 he produced what became a Gold album, Departures, for Australian artist Bernard Fanning as well as tracks for Dwight Yoakam. His 2013 album projects include Divine Fits, Hellogoodbye, Saints Of Valory, Plain White T's, Need To Breathe, The Madden Brothers, Number One Charting Australian Album \"Greeting from California\", and Oxbow. In 2014 he has produced Morrissey's album, World Peace is None of Your Business as well as five songs on Spoon's album They Want My Soul, and tracks with The Rocketboys, Ivan & Alyosha, JEFF the Brotherhood and Victorian Halls. In 2015 he produced a duets album for Doug Seegers and Jill Johnson, becoming a Platinum Number One album in Sweden. Album releases in 2016 include new albums from Oxbow, Buffalo Sunn, Bleached, Cherry Glazerr, Night Riots, SPEAK and Broken Social Scene. Album sessions in 2017 include Flogging Molly, Jamie Lawson, The Wonders Years, Vance Joy and Morrissey. Album Sessions in 2018 include debut album for Rare Americans, new albums for Broken Social Scene, Charly Bliss, Half Moon Run, Morrissey, The Shelters and Run River North. 2019 sessions include Morrissey, The Falls, The Jacks, Rare Americans, Little Dragon, Taylor Janzen and the Juno Award Winning album for Half Moon Run's \"A Blemish In The Great Light\" . 2020 Sessions include Didirri, The Dumes, Duncan Laurence, Jagwar Twin, Liily, and Classless Act.2021 Sessions include new albums for The Districts and Cayucas.\n\nSelected discography\n\n2004\nPink Martini – Hang On Little Tomato (Producer)\n\n2006\nMika – Life in Cartoon Motion (Recorded)\n\n2007\nThe Shins – Wincing the Night Away (Produce/Record/Mix)\nThe White Stripes – Icky Thump (Record/Mix)\nCastella – How Did We Get Here (Produce/Record/Mix)\nKurt Elling (Concord) – Nightmoves (Produce/Record)\nGrace Potter and the Nocturnals (Hollywood) – This Is Somewhere (Engineered)\n\n2008\nThe Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely (Record/Mix)\nGeorgia (Atlantic) – (Engineered)\nMy Morning Jacket (ATO) – Evil Urges (Produce/Record)\nAugie March (Sony Music Australia) – Watch Me Disappear (Producer)\n\n2009\nEly Guerra (Homey) – Hombre Invisible (Mix)\nCory Chisel (RCA) – Death Won't Send a Letter (Produce/Record/Mix)\nDredg (Universal Germany) – (Mix)\nCamera Can't Lie (Atlantic) – (Record)\nPonderosa (New West) – Moonlight Revival (Produce/Record)\nSondre Lerche (Rounder) – Heartbeat Radio (Mix)\nMika (Universal) – The Boy Who Knew Too Much (Record)\nManchester Orchestra (Canvasback) – Mean Everything to Nothing (Produce/Mix)\n\n2010\nAdam Stephens (Saddle Creek) – We Live on Cliffs (Produce/Record/Mix)\nMinus the Bear (Dangerbird) – Omni (Produce/Record/Mix)\nYoung the Giant (Roadrunner) – Young the Giant (Produce/Record/Mix)\nJuan Campodónico (Universal Latin) – (Record)\nIlse DeLange (Universal Holland) – Next to Me (Record)\nRachael Yamagata (Warner) – (Produce/Record/Mix)\nThe Killers (Island) – \"Boots\" (Producer)\n\n2011\nThe Strokes (RCA) – Angles (Produce/Record)\nBig Talk (Anti) – Big Talk (Produce/Record/Mix)\nManchester Orchestra (Columbia) – Simple Math (Produce/Record/Mix)\nGin Wigmore (Universal) – Gravel & Wine (Record/Mix)\nChristina Perri (Atlantic) – Produce/Record\nAlberta Cross (Ark) – Produce/Record\nBoy & Bear (Universal) – Produce/Mix\nTiziano Ferro (EMI Italy) – Record\nJason Mraz (Atlantic) – Produce/Record\nDwight Yoakam (Warner) – Co-produce/Record\n\n2012\nEleni Mandell (YepRoc) – I Can See the Future (Produce/Record/Mix)\nKeaton Henson (Sony UK) – Produce/Mix\nCafe Tacuba (Universal) – Co-Produce/Mix\nDropkick Murphys (Born & Bred) – Mix\nAlanis Morissette (Collective Sounds) – Produce/Mix\nEleni Mandell (Yep Roc) – Produced/Mix\n\n2013\nHelloGoodbye (OldFriends) - Produce/Mix\nSaints of Valory – \"Neon Eyes\" (Atlantic) – Engineer/Producer\nDivine Fits – \"Ain't That The Way\" (Merge) – Engineer/Producer\nRussian Red (Sony) – Produce/Record\nPlain White T's – \"Should've Gone to Bed\" (Hollywood) – Engineer/Produce\nBernard Fanning – Departures – Mixing/Producer\n\n2014\nSpoon (Loma Vista/Universal) – Produce/Record\nReal Estate \"Talking Backwards\" (Domino) – Mix\nNeedToBreathe (Atlantic) – Produce/Record\nSaints Of Valory (Atlantic) – Produce/Record\nMorrissey (Harvest/Capitol) – Produce/Mix\nThe Madden Brothers (Capitol) – Produce/Mix\n\n2015\nThe Front Bottoms – Back on Top (Atlantic) – Produce/Mix\nJeff The Brotherhood (Warner Bros.) – Produce/Record\nIvan & Alyosha (Dualtone) – Produce/Mix\nOn An On – And the Wave Has Two Sides(RollCall) – Producer/Engineer/Mixing\nVictorian Halls – Hyperalgesia (Victory) – Mixing\n\n2016\nDoug Seegers (Universal) – Produce/Mix\nBleached (Secretly Canadian) – Produce/Record\nMilow (Universal) – Produce/Record\nThe Arkells (Universal) – Produce/Record\nThe Augustines (Universal) – Produce/Mix\n\n2017\nMorrissey (BMG) - Produce/Mix\nCherry Glazerr (Secretly Canadian) – Produce/Record\nJamie Lawson (Warner UK) – Produce/Mix\nFlogging Molly (Concord) – Produce/Mix\nBroken Social Scene (Universal) – Produce/Record\nWildling (Warner Bros) – Produce/Record\nOxbow - Thin Black Duke (HydraHead) – Produce/Mix\nNight Riots (Sumerian) – Produce/Mix\nMeresha (Sonic Dolphin) – Produce/Mix\n\n2018\nThe Wonder Year (Hopeless) - Produce/Record\nOnly Yours (Pirates Blend) - Produce/Record\nVance Joy (Atlantic)\"Thinking of You \" - Produce/Record\nMorrissey (BMG) \"Back On the Chain Gang\" - Produce/Record/Mix\nBen Hazlewood (MintMusic) \"Months & Miles\" - Produce/Record\nHelloGoodbye (Old Friends) - Mix\n\n2019\nBroken Social Scene (Arts & Crafts)EP - Produce\nRun River North (Nettwerk) \"Hands Up\" - Produce/Record\nMorrissey (BMG) \"California Son\" - Produce/Record/Mix\nRare Americans (RA) - Produce/Record\nCharly Bliss (Barsuk) \"Young Enough\" - Produce/Record\nThe Shelters (Warner Bros) \"Jupiter Sidecar\" - Produce/Record\n2020\nMorrissey (BMG) \"I Am Not a Dog on a Chain\" - Produce/Record/Mix\nThe Jacks (Universal) \"Remember You\" - Produce/Record\nHalf Moon Run (Glassnote) \"A Blemish in The Great Light\" - Produce/Record\nTaylor Janzen (Glassnote) \"Ruined Plans\" - Produce/Record\n\n1980s and 1990s\nPoco – Under the Gun – Engineer/Mix/Record\nNo Nukes – Engineer/Mix/Record\nFrank Zappa – Tinseltown Rebellion (1981) – Engineer\nFrank Zappa – [[Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar|Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar and Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar Some More]] (1981) – Engineer/Mix/Record\nOingo Boingo – Only a Lad – Produce/Engineer\nJuice Newton – Juice – Engineer/Record\nDel Shannon – Drop Down and Get Me – Engineer/Mix\nRobert Williams – Buy My Record EP – Producer\nPoco – Blue and Gray – Engineer\nRed Rider – As Far as Siam – Engineer/Mix/Record\nRed Rider – Neruda – Engineer\nWillie Phoenix – Willie Phoenix – Produce/Engineer\nJuice Newton – Quiet Lies – Engineer/Record\nOingo Boingo – Nothing to Fear – Producer/Engineer/Recording\nFast Times at Ridgemont High – Producer\nToronto – Girls Night Out – Mixing\nJuice Newton – Dirty Looks – Mixing\nRay Manzarek – Carmina Burana – Mixing/Mixing Engineer\nFrank Zappa – Baby Snakes – Mixing\nGlenn Frey – The Allnighter – Mixing\nVan Stephenson – Righteous Anger – Engineer/Mixing/Record\nCarla Olson / The Textones – Midnight Mission – Engineer/Mixing\nRomeo Void – Instincts – Mixing\nPoco – Inamorata – Producer/Engineer\nBangles – All Over the Place – Mixing\nVision Quest (Original Soundtrack) – Engineer/Mixing/Record\nPat Benatar – Seven the Hard Way – Producer/Engineer\nVince DiCola – Rocky IV (soundtrack) – Producer, Engineer\nLone Justice – Lone Justice – Engineer/Overdub Engineer/Recording\nTaxxi – Expose – Engineer\nTodd Sharp – Who Am I? – Mixing\nAgent Orange – This Is the Voice – Mixing\nThe Lover Speaks – The Lover Speaks – Engineer/Mixing/Record\nStan Ridgway – The Big Heat – Producer/Engineer/Mixing\nLone Justice – Shelter – Engineer/Mixing/Co-Producer\nTonio K. – Romeo Unchained – Engineer\nJuice Newton – Old Flame – Engineer/Recording\nRobert Tepper – No Easy Way Out – Producer\nGeorge Thorogood / George Thorogood & the Destroyers – Nadine – Engineer/Mixing/Record\nBob Geldof – Deep in the Heart of Nowhere – Engineer/Mixing/Recording\nCobra – Producer\nJulie Brown – Trapped in the Body of a White Girl – Producer\nAlison Moyet – Raindancing – Engineer/Recording\nJellybean – Just Visiting This Planet – Engineer/Recording\nBreakfast Club – Breakfast Club – Engineer\nThe Dream Syndicate – 50 in a 25 Zone – Mixing\nTori Amos – Y Kant Tori Read (1988) – Producer/Engineer\nTom Cochrane / Tom Cochrane & Red Rider – Victory Day – Mixing\nJoan Baez – Recently – Engineer/Mixing\nAl Stewart – Last Days of the Century – Producer\nTreat Her Right – Tied to the Tracks – Mixing\nJoan Baez – Speaking of Dreams – Mixing\nStan Ridgway – Mosquitos – Producer\nJames Horner – Field of Dreams – Mixing\nOingo Boingo – Best of Oingo Boingo: Skeletons in the Closet – Producer\nLuba – All of Nothing – Producer\nRobert Tepper – Modern Madness – Producer\nGeorge Thorogood / George Thorogood & the Destroyers – Better Than the Rest – Engineer/Mixing/Record\nHugh Cornwell – Nosferatu – Engineer/Mixing/Record\nFrank Zappa – Sheik Yerbouti – Engineer/Remixing/Overdubing\nFrank Zappa – Joe's Garage – Engineer/Mixing/Record\nStephen Bishop – Bish – Assistant/Engineer\nThe Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Dirt Band – Engineer/Mixing/Record\nJourney – Infinity – Engineer/Record\nPoco – Legend – Engineer/Mixing\nAllen Toussaint – Motion – Assistant/Engineer\nBee Gees – Saturday Night Fever (original soundtrack) – Engineer\nJosé José – Un Tributo (a José José) (1998) – Mixing\nCongo Norvell – The Dope, The Lies, The Vaseline'' (1996) – Producer/Engineer/Mixing\nAmerican Music Club - \"Everclear\" - Mixing/Additional Production\nAmerican Music Club - \"San Francisco\" - Producer/Engineer\nSteve Wynn - \"Kerosene Man\" - Producer/Engineer\nSteve Wynn - \"Dazzling Display\" - Producer/Engineer\nRufus Wainwright - \"Poses\" - Engineer\nJulieta Venegas - \"Bueninvento\" - Producer/Engineer/Mixing\n\nGrammy Awards\n2003 Best Latin Rock/Alt Album Café Tacuba \"Cuatro Caminos\"\n2007 Alternative Album The White Stripes \"Icky Thump\"\n2009 Best Engineered Album Non-Classical – The Raconteurs \"Consolers of the Lonely\"\n\nLatin Grammy Awards\n2000 Best Rock Album Cafe Tacuba \"Reves\"\n2001 Best Rock Solo Vocal Album Juanes \"Fijate Bien\"\n2003 Best Rock Solo Album Juanes \"Un Dia Normal\"\n2003 Album of The Year Juanes \"Un Dia Normal\"\n2004 Best Alternative Album Café Tacuba \"Cuatro Caminos\"\n2010 Best Alternative Album Ely Guerra \"Hombres Invisible\"\n2013 Best Instrumental Album Bajofondo \"Presente\"\n\nGrammy nominations\nBest Alternative Album – The White Stripes \"Icky Thump\" (Grammy winner)\nBest Alternative Album – The Shins \"Wincing The Night Away\"\nBest Jazz Vocal Album – Kurt Elling \"Nightmoves\"\nBest Engineered Album Non-Classical – The Raconteurs \"Consolers of the Lonely\"\nBest Engineered Album Non-Classical – Cafe Tacuba \"Reves YoSoy\"\nBest Engineered Album Non-Classical – Jason Mraz \"Love is a Four Letter Word\"\nBest Rock Album – The Raconteurs \"Consolers of the Lonely\"\nBest Alternative Album – My Morning Jacket's \"Evil Urges\"\nProducer of The Year\" 2007- The Shins, Kurt Elling, Oxbow\n\nReferences\n\nRecord producers from Massachusetts\nAmerican audio engineers\nGrammy Award winners\nLatin Grammy Award winners\nLiving people\nBusinesspeople from Boston\nYear of birth missing (living people)",
"House of Lords is the fourth album by Lords of the Underground, their first album in eight years. The album was released on August 21, 2007 for Affluent Records and was produced by Marley Marl, K-Def and DJ Lord Jazz. Like the group's previous album Resurrection the album received very little promotion and was a commercial failure, and it did not make it to the Billboard charts nor did it produce any hit singles.\n\nTrack listing\n\"Intro\"- 0:44\n\"I Love Hip Hop\"- 3:14\n\"Fab 3\"- 3:22\n\"English Mami\"- 3:38\n\"Yes Were Fresh\"- 3:20\n\"Belly of the Beast\"- 3:53\n\"Hum It Out\"- 3:22\n\"Slick Talk\"- 3:25\n\"Say My Name\"- 3:54\n\"No Pass\"- 2:37\n\"To Love Me\"- 4:02\n\"The Clinic\"- 3:32\n\"Certified\"- 2:47\n\"What Yall Wanna Know\"- 3:26\n\"What Is an MC\"- 3:21\n\"Remember Me\"- 3:39\n\nLords of the Underground albums\n2007 albums"
] |
[
"Mark Ronson",
"2001-05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing",
"What was Here Comes the Fuzz?",
"Ronson's debut album,",
"When was it released?",
"2003.",
"Did he produce the album?",
"Mark made the leap from DJ to producer"
] | C_d5d7c57a056e48fbb1667f80ffeb5358_1 | Did the album sell well? | 4 | Did the album here comes the fuzz by Mark Ronson sell well? | Mark Ronson | Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement. Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales it was well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nikka Costa, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. It was featured that year in the movie Honey and its soundtrack. The song was later used in the movies Hitch and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him. Ronson has since produced multiple songs on the albums of singers Lamya, Macy Gray, Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Robbie Williams. In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks." CANNOTANSWER | Despite poor initial sales it was well received by critics. | Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is an English-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbie Williams, Miley Cyrus, Queens of the Stone Age, Kevin Parker and Bruno Mars. He has received seven Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Winehouse's album Back to Black and two for Record of the Year singles "Rehab" and "Uptown Funk". He received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award for co-writing the song "Shallow" (performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper) for the film A Star is Born (2018).
Ronson was born in London and raised in New York City. His stepfather is Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, which contributed to a childhood surrounded by music. While attending New York University, Ronson became a popular DJ in the hip-hop scene. His debut album Here Comes the Fuzz failed to have an effect on the charts. In 2006, he received acclaim for producing albums for Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera, and Amy Winehouse. In 2007, Ronson released his second album, Version. The album reached number two in the UK and included three top ten singles and earned him the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist. He subsequently released his third studio album, Record Collection, peaking at number two in the UK.
In 2014, Ronson released his single "Uptown Funk" featuring vocals from Bruno Mars. The single spent 14 consecutive weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and became one of the best-selling singles of all-time. His fourth studio album, Uptown Special, became his most successful album to date. In 2018, he founded his own label, Zelig Records (an imprint of Columbia Records), and formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo, they released their debut single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa for which he received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
In 2015, he became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which helps disadvantaged youth through music. He has also worked with the End the Silence campaign to raise money and awareness for the Hope and Homes for Children charity and served as an artist mentor at Turnaround Arts, a national program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which helped low-performing schools through arts education.
Early life
Mark Daniel Ronson was born in Notting Hill, London, England, to Laurence Ronson, a then music manager and publisher, now real estate developer, and Ann Dexter-Jones (née Dexter), a writer, jewelry designer, and socialite. His Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors emigrated from Austria, Lithuania, and Russia. He was brought up in a Conservative Jewish household and celebrated his Bar Mitzvah.
After his parents' divorce, his mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones. Of note, Jones wrote Foreigner's hit song "I Want to Know What Love Is" about his burgeoning relationship with Dexter-Jones.
Ronson, along with his mother, stepfather, and sisters, moved to New York City when he was eight years old. Living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, he counted Sean Lennon among his childhood friends. At twelve, being a self-described music nerd, he pestered Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner into an internship at the magazine. He attended high school at the private Collegiate School in Manhattan before attending Vassar College and then New York University. In 2008, he obtained American citizenship so that he could vote in that year's election.
Family
He was born into the Ronson family, formerly one of Britain's wealthiest families and founders of Heron International; following success in the 1980s, they lost $1 billion of their wealth in the property crash of the early 1990s. He is the nephew of businessman Gerald Ronson.
Through his mother, he is distantly related to British Conservative politicians Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan, and Odeon Cinemas founder Oscar Deutsch.
Ronson's has two younger sisters, twins Charlotte Ronson, a fashion designer, and Samantha Ronson, a singer and DJ. Through his mother's second marriage to Mick Jones he has two elder step-siblings and two half-siblings, including actress Annabelle Dexter-Jones. Through his father's second marriage, he has three other half-siblings.
Career
While attending New York University, Ronson became a regular in the downtown hip hop night life. He became known as a DJ on the New York club scene by 1993, charging $50 per job. He was known for his diverse, genre-spanning selection. He attracted a wide audience by fusing funk, hip hop, and rock and roll into his setlists, and playing songs that were popular in both the United States and the United Kingdom. He was soon popular and sought-after DJ in New York City, frequently booked for high-profile events and private parties. In 1999, Ronson was featured in an ad wearing Tommy Hilfiger denim in the recording studio for an ad campaign for the company.
2001–05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing
Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager, Dominique Trenier, heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement.
Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales, it was generally well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The lead single and best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features the rappers Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. The song charted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and was used in a number of films, including in Honey (2003) and on its soundtrack. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him.
In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks."
2006–09: Version
On 2 April 2007, Ronson released a cover of The Smiths' track "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" under the title "Stop Me", featuring singer Daniel Merriweather. It reached number 2 in the UK singles charts, giving Ronson his highest-peaking single until 2014's "Uptown Funk". Ronson remixed the Bob Dylan song "Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine" in promotion for the three-disc Bob Dylan set titled Dylan released October 2007. Ronson has also produced Candie Payne's "One More Chance (Ronson mix)" in 2007.
The album Version was well received by critics particularly in the UK and US. In May 2007 it was awarded the title Album of the Month by the British dance music magazine, Mixmag. On 23 June, Ronson made the cover of The Guardian newspaper's Guide magazine, alongside singer Lily Allen.
In June 2007, Ronson signed DC hip hop artist Wale to Allido Records. In late 2007, he focused on production, working with Daniel Merriweather on his debut album, and recording again with Amy Winehouse and Robbie Williams.
On 24 October 2007, Ronson performed a one-off set at The Roundhouse in Camden, London as part of the BBC Electric Proms 2007. The performance featured the BBC Concert Orchestra and included special guests Terry Hall, Sean Lennon, Tim Burgess, Alex Greenwald, Ricky Wilson, Charlie Waller, Adele and Kyle Falconer.
In December 2007, Ronson received his first Grammy Award nomination, for 'Producer of the Year, Non-Classical'. Ronson's work with Amy Winehouse also received substantial accolades, gaining 6 nominations. Winehouse's "Back to Black" album, mostly produced by Ronson, was nominated for 'Album of the Year' and 'Best Pop Vocal Album'. Her song "Rehab" received nods for 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance', 'Song of the Year' and 'Record of the Year'. Ronson would go on to win three Grammys: 'Producer of the Year' as well as 'Best Pop Vocal Album' and 'Record of the Year' (the latter two of which he shared with Amy Winehouse) in early February 2008.
Ronson is credited as producer on a mixtape album called Man in the Mirror, released in January 2008 by the rapper Rhymefest which is a tribute to the pop star Michael Jackson. The album features Rhymefest appearing to speak to Michael Jackson using archive audio from interviews with the pop star. The same month Ronson received three nominations for the Brit Awards, including 'Best Male Solo Artist,' 'Best Album' (Version) and 'Song of the Year' ("Valerie"). Ronson won his first Brit for 'Best Male Solo Artist' in mid-February 2008 over favourite Mika. He also performed a medley of Coldplay's "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" with Adele, "Stop Me" with Daniel Merriweather, and "Valerie" with Amy Winehouse.
The performance allowed for a large boost in sales in the iTunes UK Top 100. "Valerie" would jump almost 30 spots in the days after the event, while "Just", "Stop Me" and "Oh My God" all appeared in the chart as well. That same week, Ronson appeared twice in the UK Top 40, with "Valerie" rebounding to number 13 and "Just" at number 31, his fourth Top 40 entry from "Version". The Brits performance also allowed for "Version" to climb 18 spots to number 4.
Around this time, Ronson received his first number one on an international chart (Dutch Top 40) for "Valerie," which spent four consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. He collaborated with Kaiser Chiefs on their third album.
Ronson toured the album "Version" extensively through both the UK and Europe during 2008. Notable sold-out performances at The Hammersmith Apollo and Brixton Academy. Ronson is known to champion new upcoming artists on the road with him, such as Sam Sparro and Julian Perretta. Ronson's string backing was provided by the all-female string quartet Demon Strings.
On 2 July 2008, in Paris, Mark Ronson performed live with Duran Duran for an invited audience. They played new arrangements by Ronson of some Duran Duran songs, along with tracks from the band's new album, Red Carpet Massacre. Ronson & the Version Players also performed songs from his album Version. Simon LeBon sang. As of March 2009, Ronson was working with the group on their 13th album. The Album, titled All You Need Is Now, was released digitally exclusively via Apple's iTunes on 21 December 2010, while the physical CD was released in March 2011 with additional tracks. In 2013–14 Ronson was once again in the studio producing Duran Duran's 14th album, Paper Gods, making it the first time the band has worked with the same producer on consecutive albums since Colin Thurston produced their first two albums in the 1980s.
2010–12: Record Collection
In the Spring of 2010, Ronson confirmed the name of his new album Record Collection, and said that he hoped to have it out by September 2010. Additionally, Ronson announced the name of his new band, "The Business Intl.'", which is the alias adopted by Ronson on the third studio album. The first single "Bang Bang Bang". which featured rapper Q-Tip and singer MNDR was released on 12 July 2010, where it peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, giving Ronson his fourth Top 10 single. The single also entered the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 18. The second single from the album, "The Bike Song", was released on 19 September 2010, and features Kyle Falconer from The View and Spank Rock. The album was released on 27 September 2010. This is the first Ronson album on which he features as a singer.
Although Ronson had never met Michael Jackson he was given the vocal track to a song titled "Lovely Way", sung by Michael Jackson, in 2010 to produce for Jackson's posthumous album Michael. He submitted the track, but it did not make the tracklisting for Michael. Ronson said about the rumours surrounding the vocals on the track (due to the controversy surrounding the Cascio tracks on that same album), "It was definitely him singing. I was given a vocal track to work with but I never actually met Michael. [...] It's in the vein of Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and John Lennon's 'Imagine'."
He provided the score for the 2011 film Arthur. Ronson was one of the artists featured in the 2012 documentary Re:GENERATION Music Project. His song "A La Modeliste" features Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, members of The Dap-Kings, and Zigaboo Modeliste.
2013–2017: Uptown Special and Amy
On 30 October 2014, Ronson announced, via Twitter, a new single from his upcoming album, to be released on 10 November 2014. The single, "Uptown Funk," features Bruno Mars on vocals. On 22 November 2014, Ronson and Mars appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live performing "Uptown Funk" and "Feel Right" (featuring Mystikal). "Uptown Funk" reached number one in the UK and US singles charts, and also became the all-time most streamed track in a single week in the UK, having been streamed a record 2.49 million times in a week. "Uptown Funk" reached the top 10 in nearly every country it charted; it spent fifteen weeks at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, fourteen weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and seven weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart. In February 2015 the song won Ronson the Brit Award for British Single of the Year. As of November 2021, the song's music video on YouTube has amassed over 4.3 billion views.
In 2015, Ronson starred in the documentary film Amy about his late friend Amy Winehouse. His voice features in the film where he talks about his career and relationship with Winehouse and there is footage of Ronson from the recording session of the single "Back to Black" from March 2006 and also at Winehouse's funeral in London in July 2011. On 16 October 2015, Ronson became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation. In January 2016, Ronson was nominated for two Brit Awards; Best British Male Solo Artist, and British Producer of the Year, at the 2016 Brit Awards.
At the 2016 Grammy Awards Ronson won two awards for "Uptown Funk", including Record of the Year. Jason Iley, the head of Sony Music UK and Ronson's UK label Columbia Records, hailed Ronson as "a true gentleman" and "one of the most considerate, kind and humble artists in our industry." He added, "the monumental success of Uptown Funk is so thoroughly deserved and has established itself as, not only one of the Records of the Year but of our lifetime."
He went on to executive produce Lady Gaga's fifth album Joanne.
Ronson produced the Queens of the Stone Age's 2017 album Villains.
2018–present: Silk City, "Shallow" and Late Night Feelings
In 2018, Ronson founded his own label, Zelig Records, an imprint of Columbia Records and the first artist he signed was singer King Princess. He also formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo. Their first single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa was released on 6 September and peaked at the US Dance Club Songs and received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
In May 2018, it was revealed that Ronson was working with Miley Cyrus in the studio. Their first collaboration "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" was released in November 2018. Ronson also co-wrote the song "Shallow" for the film A Star Is Born with his frequent collaborators Lady Gaga, Andrew Wyatt, and Anthony Rossomando. The song earned Ronson an Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, as well as two Grammy nominations, winning the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
On 12 April 2019, it was announced that Mark Ronson would release his fifth album Late Night Feelings, on 26 June 2019. The album features Miley Cyrus, Angel Olsen, Lykke Li and Camila Cabello. Ronson has described the album as a collection of "sad bangers," with the title track laying down a warm mid-tempo dance groove under Li's melancholy vocals.
On 12 October 2019, BBC Two broadcast the documentary Mark Ronson: From the Heart, directed by Carl Hindmarch.
In June of 2021, Ronson, along with Foo Fighters shared a "re-verson" of the Foo Fighters then latest single Making a Fire.
Personal life
Ronson divides his time between London, Los Angeles, and New York. Since childhood, he has been a fan of English Premier League football club Chelsea F.C. and is also a fan of the New York Knicks basketball team.
In 2009, Ronson was voted the most stylish man in the UK by GQ magazine.
In 2011, a portrait of Ronson was painted by British artist Joe Simpson; the painting was exhibited around the UK, including a solo exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
In 2015 he was named one of the magazine's 50 best dressed British men. >
On 20 August 2019, Ronson, along with several other celebrities, invested in a funding round for Lowell Herb Co, a California cannabis brand. He is known to be "a dedicated cannabis consumer".
Relationships
In 2002, Ronson began dating the actress-singer Rashida Jones. They became engaged in March 2003, with Ronson proposing by creating a crossword puzzle with the message "Will you marry me." Their relationship ended approximately one year later.
On 3 September 2011, Ronson married French actress and singer Joséphine de La Baume, who had previously appeared in the music video for "The Bike Song". On 16 May 2017, it was reported that de La Baume had filed for divorce from Ronson, listing the separation date as 21 April 2017. The divorce was finalized in October 2018. On 4 September 2021, Ronson announced his marriage to actress Grace Gummer, after a year of dating.
Lawsuit
In 2017, Lastrada Entertainment claimed that "Uptown Funk" infringed the copyright of Zapp & Roger's 1980 hit song "More Bounce to the Ounce". A total of three lawsuits had been filed by different parties.
Discography
Here Comes the Fuzz (2003)
Version (2007)
Record Collection (with The Business Intl.) (2010)
Uptown Special (2015)
Late Night Feelings (2019)
Filmography
Zoolander (2001) – Himself
Amy (2015) – Himself
Gaga: Five Foot Two (2017) – Himself
Spies in Disguise (2019) – Agency Control Room Technician (cameo)
Videos
Ronson created a video, along with directors Gary Breslin and Jordan Galland, called Circuit Breaker, which was an homage to the video game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In 2001, Ronson appeared in the Aaliyah music video "More Than a Woman" as a DJ. On 30 July 2021, the documentary series Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson was released on Apple TV+.
Production discography
Adapted from AllMusic. Bold denotes a commercial single.
Other singles
1997: Posse-O – "It's Up to You..."*
1998: Powerule – "Heatin' Up"*
1998: Powerule – "Rhymes to Bust" / "It's Your Right"*
2002: J-Live – "School's In"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "City Rules"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "She's Got Me"*
2005: Rhymefest – "These Days"*
2005: Rhymefest – "Brand New"*
2007: Candie Payne – "One More Chance"*
2007: Bob Dylan – "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) (Mark Ronson Re-version)"*
2008: Leon Jean-Marie – "Bed of Nails"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Never Miss a Beat"*
2008: Wiley – "Cash in My Pocket"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Good Days Bad Days"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Change"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Red"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Impossible"
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Out of the Game"*
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Jericho"*
2013: Giggs – "(Is It Gangsta?) Yes Yes Yes"*
2015: Duran Duran featuring Janelle Monáe and Nile Rodgers – "Pressure Off"*
2016: Various Artists – "Hands"*
2018: Michael Jackson - "Diamonds Are Invincible"* (Mash-Up)
2018: Silk City - "Electricity"* featuring Dua Lipa, Diplo and Mark Ronson
2018: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – "Shallow"*
2020: Troye Sivan featuring Kacey Musgraves and Mark Ronson - "Easy"*
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Mark Ronson and Boy George
1975 births
20th-century English musicians
21st-century English musicians
Allido Records artists
APRA Award winners
British Ashkenazi Jews
Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters
Brit Award winners
British alternative rock musicians
British hip hop DJs
Collegiate School (New York) alumni
English DJs
DJs from London
English emigrants to the United States
English people of Austrian-Jewish descent
English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
English people of Russian-Jewish descent
English multi-instrumentalists
English record producers
English songwriters
Golden Globe Award-winning musicians
Grammy Award winners
Hip hop record producers
Jewish English musicians
Jewish hip hop record producers
Jewish singers
Living people
People from Notting Hill
People from the Upper West Side
M
Mark Ronson
Silk City (duo) members
Sony Music UK artists
The Flip Squad members
Tisch School of the Arts alumni | false | [
"Politics of the Business is the third album by American hip hop producer Prince Paul. This album is considered to be a concept album similar to A Prince Among Thieves. The concept for this album, however, is the concept of following-up a concept album that did not sell too well (that album being A Prince Among Thieves). The album features guest appearances from Ice-T, DJ Jazzy Jeff, MF Doom, Biz Markie, Chuck D, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, and more.\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel\n\nReferences\n\n2003 albums\nPrince Paul (producer) albums\nAlbums produced by Prince Paul (producer)\nConcept albums",
"Destination Universe is the second studio album by Material Issue, released on Mercury Records in 1992. The new album was not as well received by critics as the debut album, nor did it sell as well. The album included the single \"What Girls Want\" and was, like their debut album, produced by Jeff Murphy.\n\nTrack listing\nAll songs written by Jim Ellison \n\"What Girls Want\" - 3:55\n\"When I Get This Way (Over You)\" - 4:09\n\"Next Big Thing\" - 3:12\n\"Who Needs Love\" - 2:52\n\"Destination You\" - 2:49\n\"Everything\" - 3:48\n\"Ballad of a Lonely Man\" - 3:27\n\"Girl from Out of This World\" - 3:56\n\"So Easy to Love Somebody\" - 2:49\n\"Don't You Think I Know\" - 3:47\n\"The Loneliest Heart\" - 2:38\n\"Whole Lotta You\" - 2:52\n\"If Ever You Should Fall\" 2:41\n\nReferences\n\n1992 albums\nMercury Records albums\nMaterial Issue albums"
] |
[
"Mark Ronson",
"2001-05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing",
"What was Here Comes the Fuzz?",
"Ronson's debut album,",
"When was it released?",
"2003.",
"Did he produce the album?",
"Mark made the leap from DJ to producer",
"Did the album sell well?",
"Despite poor initial sales it was well received by critics."
] | C_d5d7c57a056e48fbb1667f80ffeb5358_1 | Were there any singles? | 5 | Were there any singles on Mark Ronson's Here Comes The Fuzz ? | Mark Ronson | Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement. Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales it was well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nikka Costa, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. It was featured that year in the movie Honey and its soundtrack. The song was later used in the movies Hitch and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him. Ronson has since produced multiple songs on the albums of singers Lamya, Macy Gray, Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Robbie Williams. In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks." CANNOTANSWER | "Like a Feather" | Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is an English-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbie Williams, Miley Cyrus, Queens of the Stone Age, Kevin Parker and Bruno Mars. He has received seven Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Winehouse's album Back to Black and two for Record of the Year singles "Rehab" and "Uptown Funk". He received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award for co-writing the song "Shallow" (performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper) for the film A Star is Born (2018).
Ronson was born in London and raised in New York City. His stepfather is Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, which contributed to a childhood surrounded by music. While attending New York University, Ronson became a popular DJ in the hip-hop scene. His debut album Here Comes the Fuzz failed to have an effect on the charts. In 2006, he received acclaim for producing albums for Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera, and Amy Winehouse. In 2007, Ronson released his second album, Version. The album reached number two in the UK and included three top ten singles and earned him the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist. He subsequently released his third studio album, Record Collection, peaking at number two in the UK.
In 2014, Ronson released his single "Uptown Funk" featuring vocals from Bruno Mars. The single spent 14 consecutive weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and became one of the best-selling singles of all-time. His fourth studio album, Uptown Special, became his most successful album to date. In 2018, he founded his own label, Zelig Records (an imprint of Columbia Records), and formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo, they released their debut single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa for which he received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
In 2015, he became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which helps disadvantaged youth through music. He has also worked with the End the Silence campaign to raise money and awareness for the Hope and Homes for Children charity and served as an artist mentor at Turnaround Arts, a national program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which helped low-performing schools through arts education.
Early life
Mark Daniel Ronson was born in Notting Hill, London, England, to Laurence Ronson, a then music manager and publisher, now real estate developer, and Ann Dexter-Jones (née Dexter), a writer, jewelry designer, and socialite. His Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors emigrated from Austria, Lithuania, and Russia. He was brought up in a Conservative Jewish household and celebrated his Bar Mitzvah.
After his parents' divorce, his mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones. Of note, Jones wrote Foreigner's hit song "I Want to Know What Love Is" about his burgeoning relationship with Dexter-Jones.
Ronson, along with his mother, stepfather, and sisters, moved to New York City when he was eight years old. Living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, he counted Sean Lennon among his childhood friends. At twelve, being a self-described music nerd, he pestered Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner into an internship at the magazine. He attended high school at the private Collegiate School in Manhattan before attending Vassar College and then New York University. In 2008, he obtained American citizenship so that he could vote in that year's election.
Family
He was born into the Ronson family, formerly one of Britain's wealthiest families and founders of Heron International; following success in the 1980s, they lost $1 billion of their wealth in the property crash of the early 1990s. He is the nephew of businessman Gerald Ronson.
Through his mother, he is distantly related to British Conservative politicians Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan, and Odeon Cinemas founder Oscar Deutsch.
Ronson's has two younger sisters, twins Charlotte Ronson, a fashion designer, and Samantha Ronson, a singer and DJ. Through his mother's second marriage to Mick Jones he has two elder step-siblings and two half-siblings, including actress Annabelle Dexter-Jones. Through his father's second marriage, he has three other half-siblings.
Career
While attending New York University, Ronson became a regular in the downtown hip hop night life. He became known as a DJ on the New York club scene by 1993, charging $50 per job. He was known for his diverse, genre-spanning selection. He attracted a wide audience by fusing funk, hip hop, and rock and roll into his setlists, and playing songs that were popular in both the United States and the United Kingdom. He was soon popular and sought-after DJ in New York City, frequently booked for high-profile events and private parties. In 1999, Ronson was featured in an ad wearing Tommy Hilfiger denim in the recording studio for an ad campaign for the company.
2001–05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing
Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager, Dominique Trenier, heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement.
Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales, it was generally well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The lead single and best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features the rappers Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. The song charted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and was used in a number of films, including in Honey (2003) and on its soundtrack. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him.
In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks."
2006–09: Version
On 2 April 2007, Ronson released a cover of The Smiths' track "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" under the title "Stop Me", featuring singer Daniel Merriweather. It reached number 2 in the UK singles charts, giving Ronson his highest-peaking single until 2014's "Uptown Funk". Ronson remixed the Bob Dylan song "Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine" in promotion for the three-disc Bob Dylan set titled Dylan released October 2007. Ronson has also produced Candie Payne's "One More Chance (Ronson mix)" in 2007.
The album Version was well received by critics particularly in the UK and US. In May 2007 it was awarded the title Album of the Month by the British dance music magazine, Mixmag. On 23 June, Ronson made the cover of The Guardian newspaper's Guide magazine, alongside singer Lily Allen.
In June 2007, Ronson signed DC hip hop artist Wale to Allido Records. In late 2007, he focused on production, working with Daniel Merriweather on his debut album, and recording again with Amy Winehouse and Robbie Williams.
On 24 October 2007, Ronson performed a one-off set at The Roundhouse in Camden, London as part of the BBC Electric Proms 2007. The performance featured the BBC Concert Orchestra and included special guests Terry Hall, Sean Lennon, Tim Burgess, Alex Greenwald, Ricky Wilson, Charlie Waller, Adele and Kyle Falconer.
In December 2007, Ronson received his first Grammy Award nomination, for 'Producer of the Year, Non-Classical'. Ronson's work with Amy Winehouse also received substantial accolades, gaining 6 nominations. Winehouse's "Back to Black" album, mostly produced by Ronson, was nominated for 'Album of the Year' and 'Best Pop Vocal Album'. Her song "Rehab" received nods for 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance', 'Song of the Year' and 'Record of the Year'. Ronson would go on to win three Grammys: 'Producer of the Year' as well as 'Best Pop Vocal Album' and 'Record of the Year' (the latter two of which he shared with Amy Winehouse) in early February 2008.
Ronson is credited as producer on a mixtape album called Man in the Mirror, released in January 2008 by the rapper Rhymefest which is a tribute to the pop star Michael Jackson. The album features Rhymefest appearing to speak to Michael Jackson using archive audio from interviews with the pop star. The same month Ronson received three nominations for the Brit Awards, including 'Best Male Solo Artist,' 'Best Album' (Version) and 'Song of the Year' ("Valerie"). Ronson won his first Brit for 'Best Male Solo Artist' in mid-February 2008 over favourite Mika. He also performed a medley of Coldplay's "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" with Adele, "Stop Me" with Daniel Merriweather, and "Valerie" with Amy Winehouse.
The performance allowed for a large boost in sales in the iTunes UK Top 100. "Valerie" would jump almost 30 spots in the days after the event, while "Just", "Stop Me" and "Oh My God" all appeared in the chart as well. That same week, Ronson appeared twice in the UK Top 40, with "Valerie" rebounding to number 13 and "Just" at number 31, his fourth Top 40 entry from "Version". The Brits performance also allowed for "Version" to climb 18 spots to number 4.
Around this time, Ronson received his first number one on an international chart (Dutch Top 40) for "Valerie," which spent four consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. He collaborated with Kaiser Chiefs on their third album.
Ronson toured the album "Version" extensively through both the UK and Europe during 2008. Notable sold-out performances at The Hammersmith Apollo and Brixton Academy. Ronson is known to champion new upcoming artists on the road with him, such as Sam Sparro and Julian Perretta. Ronson's string backing was provided by the all-female string quartet Demon Strings.
On 2 July 2008, in Paris, Mark Ronson performed live with Duran Duran for an invited audience. They played new arrangements by Ronson of some Duran Duran songs, along with tracks from the band's new album, Red Carpet Massacre. Ronson & the Version Players also performed songs from his album Version. Simon LeBon sang. As of March 2009, Ronson was working with the group on their 13th album. The Album, titled All You Need Is Now, was released digitally exclusively via Apple's iTunes on 21 December 2010, while the physical CD was released in March 2011 with additional tracks. In 2013–14 Ronson was once again in the studio producing Duran Duran's 14th album, Paper Gods, making it the first time the band has worked with the same producer on consecutive albums since Colin Thurston produced their first two albums in the 1980s.
2010–12: Record Collection
In the Spring of 2010, Ronson confirmed the name of his new album Record Collection, and said that he hoped to have it out by September 2010. Additionally, Ronson announced the name of his new band, "The Business Intl.'", which is the alias adopted by Ronson on the third studio album. The first single "Bang Bang Bang". which featured rapper Q-Tip and singer MNDR was released on 12 July 2010, where it peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, giving Ronson his fourth Top 10 single. The single also entered the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 18. The second single from the album, "The Bike Song", was released on 19 September 2010, and features Kyle Falconer from The View and Spank Rock. The album was released on 27 September 2010. This is the first Ronson album on which he features as a singer.
Although Ronson had never met Michael Jackson he was given the vocal track to a song titled "Lovely Way", sung by Michael Jackson, in 2010 to produce for Jackson's posthumous album Michael. He submitted the track, but it did not make the tracklisting for Michael. Ronson said about the rumours surrounding the vocals on the track (due to the controversy surrounding the Cascio tracks on that same album), "It was definitely him singing. I was given a vocal track to work with but I never actually met Michael. [...] It's in the vein of Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and John Lennon's 'Imagine'."
He provided the score for the 2011 film Arthur. Ronson was one of the artists featured in the 2012 documentary Re:GENERATION Music Project. His song "A La Modeliste" features Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, members of The Dap-Kings, and Zigaboo Modeliste.
2013–2017: Uptown Special and Amy
On 30 October 2014, Ronson announced, via Twitter, a new single from his upcoming album, to be released on 10 November 2014. The single, "Uptown Funk," features Bruno Mars on vocals. On 22 November 2014, Ronson and Mars appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live performing "Uptown Funk" and "Feel Right" (featuring Mystikal). "Uptown Funk" reached number one in the UK and US singles charts, and also became the all-time most streamed track in a single week in the UK, having been streamed a record 2.49 million times in a week. "Uptown Funk" reached the top 10 in nearly every country it charted; it spent fifteen weeks at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, fourteen weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and seven weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart. In February 2015 the song won Ronson the Brit Award for British Single of the Year. As of November 2021, the song's music video on YouTube has amassed over 4.3 billion views.
In 2015, Ronson starred in the documentary film Amy about his late friend Amy Winehouse. His voice features in the film where he talks about his career and relationship with Winehouse and there is footage of Ronson from the recording session of the single "Back to Black" from March 2006 and also at Winehouse's funeral in London in July 2011. On 16 October 2015, Ronson became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation. In January 2016, Ronson was nominated for two Brit Awards; Best British Male Solo Artist, and British Producer of the Year, at the 2016 Brit Awards.
At the 2016 Grammy Awards Ronson won two awards for "Uptown Funk", including Record of the Year. Jason Iley, the head of Sony Music UK and Ronson's UK label Columbia Records, hailed Ronson as "a true gentleman" and "one of the most considerate, kind and humble artists in our industry." He added, "the monumental success of Uptown Funk is so thoroughly deserved and has established itself as, not only one of the Records of the Year but of our lifetime."
He went on to executive produce Lady Gaga's fifth album Joanne.
Ronson produced the Queens of the Stone Age's 2017 album Villains.
2018–present: Silk City, "Shallow" and Late Night Feelings
In 2018, Ronson founded his own label, Zelig Records, an imprint of Columbia Records and the first artist he signed was singer King Princess. He also formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo. Their first single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa was released on 6 September and peaked at the US Dance Club Songs and received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
In May 2018, it was revealed that Ronson was working with Miley Cyrus in the studio. Their first collaboration "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" was released in November 2018. Ronson also co-wrote the song "Shallow" for the film A Star Is Born with his frequent collaborators Lady Gaga, Andrew Wyatt, and Anthony Rossomando. The song earned Ronson an Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, as well as two Grammy nominations, winning the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
On 12 April 2019, it was announced that Mark Ronson would release his fifth album Late Night Feelings, on 26 June 2019. The album features Miley Cyrus, Angel Olsen, Lykke Li and Camila Cabello. Ronson has described the album as a collection of "sad bangers," with the title track laying down a warm mid-tempo dance groove under Li's melancholy vocals.
On 12 October 2019, BBC Two broadcast the documentary Mark Ronson: From the Heart, directed by Carl Hindmarch.
In June of 2021, Ronson, along with Foo Fighters shared a "re-verson" of the Foo Fighters then latest single Making a Fire.
Personal life
Ronson divides his time between London, Los Angeles, and New York. Since childhood, he has been a fan of English Premier League football club Chelsea F.C. and is also a fan of the New York Knicks basketball team.
In 2009, Ronson was voted the most stylish man in the UK by GQ magazine.
In 2011, a portrait of Ronson was painted by British artist Joe Simpson; the painting was exhibited around the UK, including a solo exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
In 2015 he was named one of the magazine's 50 best dressed British men. >
On 20 August 2019, Ronson, along with several other celebrities, invested in a funding round for Lowell Herb Co, a California cannabis brand. He is known to be "a dedicated cannabis consumer".
Relationships
In 2002, Ronson began dating the actress-singer Rashida Jones. They became engaged in March 2003, with Ronson proposing by creating a crossword puzzle with the message "Will you marry me." Their relationship ended approximately one year later.
On 3 September 2011, Ronson married French actress and singer Joséphine de La Baume, who had previously appeared in the music video for "The Bike Song". On 16 May 2017, it was reported that de La Baume had filed for divorce from Ronson, listing the separation date as 21 April 2017. The divorce was finalized in October 2018. On 4 September 2021, Ronson announced his marriage to actress Grace Gummer, after a year of dating.
Lawsuit
In 2017, Lastrada Entertainment claimed that "Uptown Funk" infringed the copyright of Zapp & Roger's 1980 hit song "More Bounce to the Ounce". A total of three lawsuits had been filed by different parties.
Discography
Here Comes the Fuzz (2003)
Version (2007)
Record Collection (with The Business Intl.) (2010)
Uptown Special (2015)
Late Night Feelings (2019)
Filmography
Zoolander (2001) – Himself
Amy (2015) – Himself
Gaga: Five Foot Two (2017) – Himself
Spies in Disguise (2019) – Agency Control Room Technician (cameo)
Videos
Ronson created a video, along with directors Gary Breslin and Jordan Galland, called Circuit Breaker, which was an homage to the video game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In 2001, Ronson appeared in the Aaliyah music video "More Than a Woman" as a DJ. On 30 July 2021, the documentary series Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson was released on Apple TV+.
Production discography
Adapted from AllMusic. Bold denotes a commercial single.
Other singles
1997: Posse-O – "It's Up to You..."*
1998: Powerule – "Heatin' Up"*
1998: Powerule – "Rhymes to Bust" / "It's Your Right"*
2002: J-Live – "School's In"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "City Rules"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "She's Got Me"*
2005: Rhymefest – "These Days"*
2005: Rhymefest – "Brand New"*
2007: Candie Payne – "One More Chance"*
2007: Bob Dylan – "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) (Mark Ronson Re-version)"*
2008: Leon Jean-Marie – "Bed of Nails"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Never Miss a Beat"*
2008: Wiley – "Cash in My Pocket"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Good Days Bad Days"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Change"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Red"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Impossible"
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Out of the Game"*
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Jericho"*
2013: Giggs – "(Is It Gangsta?) Yes Yes Yes"*
2015: Duran Duran featuring Janelle Monáe and Nile Rodgers – "Pressure Off"*
2016: Various Artists – "Hands"*
2018: Michael Jackson - "Diamonds Are Invincible"* (Mash-Up)
2018: Silk City - "Electricity"* featuring Dua Lipa, Diplo and Mark Ronson
2018: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – "Shallow"*
2020: Troye Sivan featuring Kacey Musgraves and Mark Ronson - "Easy"*
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Mark Ronson and Boy George
1975 births
20th-century English musicians
21st-century English musicians
Allido Records artists
APRA Award winners
British Ashkenazi Jews
Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters
Brit Award winners
British alternative rock musicians
British hip hop DJs
Collegiate School (New York) alumni
English DJs
DJs from London
English emigrants to the United States
English people of Austrian-Jewish descent
English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
English people of Russian-Jewish descent
English multi-instrumentalists
English record producers
English songwriters
Golden Globe Award-winning musicians
Grammy Award winners
Hip hop record producers
Jewish English musicians
Jewish hip hop record producers
Jewish singers
Living people
People from Notting Hill
People from the Upper West Side
M
Mark Ronson
Silk City (duo) members
Sony Music UK artists
The Flip Squad members
Tisch School of the Arts alumni | true | [
"Lena Rice defeated May Jacks 6–4, 6–1 in the all comers' final to win the ladies' singles tennis title at the 1889 Wimbledon Championships. The reigning champion Blanche Hillyard did not defend her title. Despite previous draws there were only four competitors in the tournament, the smallest entry ever for any competition at Wimbledon.\n\nDraw\n\nAll Comers'\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nLadies' Singles\nWimbledon Championship by year – Women's singles\nWimbledon Championships - Singles\nWimbledon Championships - Singles",
"\"If There's Any Justice\" is the first single taken from British R&B singer Lemar's second album, Time to Grow (2004). Originally offered to Hear'Say, the song was rejected by the group after they decided it was \"too mature\" for them. It would eventually become a top-10 hit for Lemar, peaking at 3 on the UK Singles Chart, his fourth in a row to reach the top 10. Outside the UK, the song reached No. 1 in Hungary and entered the top 40 in France, Ireland, and New Zealand.\n\nLyrical content\nThe lyrics refer to Lemar being in love with a girl who already has a man. He claims that if he had met her first, he would be her man instead. He is making it clear in the song that he feels that there is no justice in the world because of this fact.\n\nCover versions\nDutch singer Floortje Smit covered the song—retitled \"Justice\"—for her debut album \"Fearless\". James Blunt performed an acoustic version of the song on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge (part of Jo Wiley's show), later released on the compilation album \"Radio 1's Live Lounge\".\n\nTrack listings\n UK CD1\n \"If There's Any Justice\" (radio edit) – 3:29\n \"If There's Any Justice\" (Ron G remix featuring Cassidy) – 3:55\n\n UK CD2\n \"If There's Any Justice\" (album version) – 3:49\n \"If There's Any Justice\" (5am remix featuring Cassidy) – 3:34\n \"All I Ever Do/My Boo (Part II)\" – 4:12\n \"If There's Any Justice\" (video) – 3:49\n\n UK 12-inch vinyl\nA1. \"If There's Any Justice\" (Kardinal Beats remix featuring Cassidy) – 3:34\nA2. \"If There's Any Justice\" (Ron G remix featuring Cassidy) – 3:53\nA3. \"If There's Any Justice\" (Cutfather & Joe remix featuring Cassidy) – 3:17\nB1. \"If There's Any Justice\" (5am remix featuring Cassidy) – 3:34\nB2. \"If There's Any Justice\" (First Man remix) – 3:30\nB3. \"If There's Any Justice\" (accapella) – 3:40\n\nCharts and certifications\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nReferences\n\n2004 singles\n2004 songs\nLemar songs\nNumber-one singles in Hungary\nSongs written by Mick Leeson\nSongs written by Peter Vale\nSony Music UK singles"
] |
[
"Mark Ronson",
"2001-05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing",
"What was Here Comes the Fuzz?",
"Ronson's debut album,",
"When was it released?",
"2003.",
"Did he produce the album?",
"Mark made the leap from DJ to producer",
"Did the album sell well?",
"Despite poor initial sales it was well received by critics.",
"Were there any singles?",
"\"Like a Feather\""
] | C_d5d7c57a056e48fbb1667f80ffeb5358_1 | Did Like a Feather do well on the charts? | 6 | Did the Mark Ronson song Like a Feather do well on the charts? | Mark Ronson | Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement. Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales it was well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nikka Costa, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. It was featured that year in the movie Honey and its soundtrack. The song was later used in the movies Hitch and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him. Ronson has since produced multiple songs on the albums of singers Lamya, Macy Gray, Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Robbie Williams. In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks." CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is an English-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbie Williams, Miley Cyrus, Queens of the Stone Age, Kevin Parker and Bruno Mars. He has received seven Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Winehouse's album Back to Black and two for Record of the Year singles "Rehab" and "Uptown Funk". He received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award for co-writing the song "Shallow" (performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper) for the film A Star is Born (2018).
Ronson was born in London and raised in New York City. His stepfather is Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, which contributed to a childhood surrounded by music. While attending New York University, Ronson became a popular DJ in the hip-hop scene. His debut album Here Comes the Fuzz failed to have an effect on the charts. In 2006, he received acclaim for producing albums for Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera, and Amy Winehouse. In 2007, Ronson released his second album, Version. The album reached number two in the UK and included three top ten singles and earned him the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist. He subsequently released his third studio album, Record Collection, peaking at number two in the UK.
In 2014, Ronson released his single "Uptown Funk" featuring vocals from Bruno Mars. The single spent 14 consecutive weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and became one of the best-selling singles of all-time. His fourth studio album, Uptown Special, became his most successful album to date. In 2018, he founded his own label, Zelig Records (an imprint of Columbia Records), and formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo, they released their debut single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa for which he received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
In 2015, he became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which helps disadvantaged youth through music. He has also worked with the End the Silence campaign to raise money and awareness for the Hope and Homes for Children charity and served as an artist mentor at Turnaround Arts, a national program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which helped low-performing schools through arts education.
Early life
Mark Daniel Ronson was born in Notting Hill, London, England, to Laurence Ronson, a then music manager and publisher, now real estate developer, and Ann Dexter-Jones (née Dexter), a writer, jewelry designer, and socialite. His Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors emigrated from Austria, Lithuania, and Russia. He was brought up in a Conservative Jewish household and celebrated his Bar Mitzvah.
After his parents' divorce, his mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones. Of note, Jones wrote Foreigner's hit song "I Want to Know What Love Is" about his burgeoning relationship with Dexter-Jones.
Ronson, along with his mother, stepfather, and sisters, moved to New York City when he was eight years old. Living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, he counted Sean Lennon among his childhood friends. At twelve, being a self-described music nerd, he pestered Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner into an internship at the magazine. He attended high school at the private Collegiate School in Manhattan before attending Vassar College and then New York University. In 2008, he obtained American citizenship so that he could vote in that year's election.
Family
He was born into the Ronson family, formerly one of Britain's wealthiest families and founders of Heron International; following success in the 1980s, they lost $1 billion of their wealth in the property crash of the early 1990s. He is the nephew of businessman Gerald Ronson.
Through his mother, he is distantly related to British Conservative politicians Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan, and Odeon Cinemas founder Oscar Deutsch.
Ronson's has two younger sisters, twins Charlotte Ronson, a fashion designer, and Samantha Ronson, a singer and DJ. Through his mother's second marriage to Mick Jones he has two elder step-siblings and two half-siblings, including actress Annabelle Dexter-Jones. Through his father's second marriage, he has three other half-siblings.
Career
While attending New York University, Ronson became a regular in the downtown hip hop night life. He became known as a DJ on the New York club scene by 1993, charging $50 per job. He was known for his diverse, genre-spanning selection. He attracted a wide audience by fusing funk, hip hop, and rock and roll into his setlists, and playing songs that were popular in both the United States and the United Kingdom. He was soon popular and sought-after DJ in New York City, frequently booked for high-profile events and private parties. In 1999, Ronson was featured in an ad wearing Tommy Hilfiger denim in the recording studio for an ad campaign for the company.
2001–05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing
Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager, Dominique Trenier, heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement.
Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales, it was generally well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The lead single and best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features the rappers Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. The song charted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and was used in a number of films, including in Honey (2003) and on its soundtrack. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him.
In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks."
2006–09: Version
On 2 April 2007, Ronson released a cover of The Smiths' track "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" under the title "Stop Me", featuring singer Daniel Merriweather. It reached number 2 in the UK singles charts, giving Ronson his highest-peaking single until 2014's "Uptown Funk". Ronson remixed the Bob Dylan song "Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine" in promotion for the three-disc Bob Dylan set titled Dylan released October 2007. Ronson has also produced Candie Payne's "One More Chance (Ronson mix)" in 2007.
The album Version was well received by critics particularly in the UK and US. In May 2007 it was awarded the title Album of the Month by the British dance music magazine, Mixmag. On 23 June, Ronson made the cover of The Guardian newspaper's Guide magazine, alongside singer Lily Allen.
In June 2007, Ronson signed DC hip hop artist Wale to Allido Records. In late 2007, he focused on production, working with Daniel Merriweather on his debut album, and recording again with Amy Winehouse and Robbie Williams.
On 24 October 2007, Ronson performed a one-off set at The Roundhouse in Camden, London as part of the BBC Electric Proms 2007. The performance featured the BBC Concert Orchestra and included special guests Terry Hall, Sean Lennon, Tim Burgess, Alex Greenwald, Ricky Wilson, Charlie Waller, Adele and Kyle Falconer.
In December 2007, Ronson received his first Grammy Award nomination, for 'Producer of the Year, Non-Classical'. Ronson's work with Amy Winehouse also received substantial accolades, gaining 6 nominations. Winehouse's "Back to Black" album, mostly produced by Ronson, was nominated for 'Album of the Year' and 'Best Pop Vocal Album'. Her song "Rehab" received nods for 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance', 'Song of the Year' and 'Record of the Year'. Ronson would go on to win three Grammys: 'Producer of the Year' as well as 'Best Pop Vocal Album' and 'Record of the Year' (the latter two of which he shared with Amy Winehouse) in early February 2008.
Ronson is credited as producer on a mixtape album called Man in the Mirror, released in January 2008 by the rapper Rhymefest which is a tribute to the pop star Michael Jackson. The album features Rhymefest appearing to speak to Michael Jackson using archive audio from interviews with the pop star. The same month Ronson received three nominations for the Brit Awards, including 'Best Male Solo Artist,' 'Best Album' (Version) and 'Song of the Year' ("Valerie"). Ronson won his first Brit for 'Best Male Solo Artist' in mid-February 2008 over favourite Mika. He also performed a medley of Coldplay's "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" with Adele, "Stop Me" with Daniel Merriweather, and "Valerie" with Amy Winehouse.
The performance allowed for a large boost in sales in the iTunes UK Top 100. "Valerie" would jump almost 30 spots in the days after the event, while "Just", "Stop Me" and "Oh My God" all appeared in the chart as well. That same week, Ronson appeared twice in the UK Top 40, with "Valerie" rebounding to number 13 and "Just" at number 31, his fourth Top 40 entry from "Version". The Brits performance also allowed for "Version" to climb 18 spots to number 4.
Around this time, Ronson received his first number one on an international chart (Dutch Top 40) for "Valerie," which spent four consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. He collaborated with Kaiser Chiefs on their third album.
Ronson toured the album "Version" extensively through both the UK and Europe during 2008. Notable sold-out performances at The Hammersmith Apollo and Brixton Academy. Ronson is known to champion new upcoming artists on the road with him, such as Sam Sparro and Julian Perretta. Ronson's string backing was provided by the all-female string quartet Demon Strings.
On 2 July 2008, in Paris, Mark Ronson performed live with Duran Duran for an invited audience. They played new arrangements by Ronson of some Duran Duran songs, along with tracks from the band's new album, Red Carpet Massacre. Ronson & the Version Players also performed songs from his album Version. Simon LeBon sang. As of March 2009, Ronson was working with the group on their 13th album. The Album, titled All You Need Is Now, was released digitally exclusively via Apple's iTunes on 21 December 2010, while the physical CD was released in March 2011 with additional tracks. In 2013–14 Ronson was once again in the studio producing Duran Duran's 14th album, Paper Gods, making it the first time the band has worked with the same producer on consecutive albums since Colin Thurston produced their first two albums in the 1980s.
2010–12: Record Collection
In the Spring of 2010, Ronson confirmed the name of his new album Record Collection, and said that he hoped to have it out by September 2010. Additionally, Ronson announced the name of his new band, "The Business Intl.'", which is the alias adopted by Ronson on the third studio album. The first single "Bang Bang Bang". which featured rapper Q-Tip and singer MNDR was released on 12 July 2010, where it peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, giving Ronson his fourth Top 10 single. The single also entered the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 18. The second single from the album, "The Bike Song", was released on 19 September 2010, and features Kyle Falconer from The View and Spank Rock. The album was released on 27 September 2010. This is the first Ronson album on which he features as a singer.
Although Ronson had never met Michael Jackson he was given the vocal track to a song titled "Lovely Way", sung by Michael Jackson, in 2010 to produce for Jackson's posthumous album Michael. He submitted the track, but it did not make the tracklisting for Michael. Ronson said about the rumours surrounding the vocals on the track (due to the controversy surrounding the Cascio tracks on that same album), "It was definitely him singing. I was given a vocal track to work with but I never actually met Michael. [...] It's in the vein of Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and John Lennon's 'Imagine'."
He provided the score for the 2011 film Arthur. Ronson was one of the artists featured in the 2012 documentary Re:GENERATION Music Project. His song "A La Modeliste" features Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, members of The Dap-Kings, and Zigaboo Modeliste.
2013–2017: Uptown Special and Amy
On 30 October 2014, Ronson announced, via Twitter, a new single from his upcoming album, to be released on 10 November 2014. The single, "Uptown Funk," features Bruno Mars on vocals. On 22 November 2014, Ronson and Mars appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live performing "Uptown Funk" and "Feel Right" (featuring Mystikal). "Uptown Funk" reached number one in the UK and US singles charts, and also became the all-time most streamed track in a single week in the UK, having been streamed a record 2.49 million times in a week. "Uptown Funk" reached the top 10 in nearly every country it charted; it spent fifteen weeks at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, fourteen weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and seven weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart. In February 2015 the song won Ronson the Brit Award for British Single of the Year. As of November 2021, the song's music video on YouTube has amassed over 4.3 billion views.
In 2015, Ronson starred in the documentary film Amy about his late friend Amy Winehouse. His voice features in the film where he talks about his career and relationship with Winehouse and there is footage of Ronson from the recording session of the single "Back to Black" from March 2006 and also at Winehouse's funeral in London in July 2011. On 16 October 2015, Ronson became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation. In January 2016, Ronson was nominated for two Brit Awards; Best British Male Solo Artist, and British Producer of the Year, at the 2016 Brit Awards.
At the 2016 Grammy Awards Ronson won two awards for "Uptown Funk", including Record of the Year. Jason Iley, the head of Sony Music UK and Ronson's UK label Columbia Records, hailed Ronson as "a true gentleman" and "one of the most considerate, kind and humble artists in our industry." He added, "the monumental success of Uptown Funk is so thoroughly deserved and has established itself as, not only one of the Records of the Year but of our lifetime."
He went on to executive produce Lady Gaga's fifth album Joanne.
Ronson produced the Queens of the Stone Age's 2017 album Villains.
2018–present: Silk City, "Shallow" and Late Night Feelings
In 2018, Ronson founded his own label, Zelig Records, an imprint of Columbia Records and the first artist he signed was singer King Princess. He also formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo. Their first single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa was released on 6 September and peaked at the US Dance Club Songs and received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
In May 2018, it was revealed that Ronson was working with Miley Cyrus in the studio. Their first collaboration "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" was released in November 2018. Ronson also co-wrote the song "Shallow" for the film A Star Is Born with his frequent collaborators Lady Gaga, Andrew Wyatt, and Anthony Rossomando. The song earned Ronson an Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, as well as two Grammy nominations, winning the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
On 12 April 2019, it was announced that Mark Ronson would release his fifth album Late Night Feelings, on 26 June 2019. The album features Miley Cyrus, Angel Olsen, Lykke Li and Camila Cabello. Ronson has described the album as a collection of "sad bangers," with the title track laying down a warm mid-tempo dance groove under Li's melancholy vocals.
On 12 October 2019, BBC Two broadcast the documentary Mark Ronson: From the Heart, directed by Carl Hindmarch.
In June of 2021, Ronson, along with Foo Fighters shared a "re-verson" of the Foo Fighters then latest single Making a Fire.
Personal life
Ronson divides his time between London, Los Angeles, and New York. Since childhood, he has been a fan of English Premier League football club Chelsea F.C. and is also a fan of the New York Knicks basketball team.
In 2009, Ronson was voted the most stylish man in the UK by GQ magazine.
In 2011, a portrait of Ronson was painted by British artist Joe Simpson; the painting was exhibited around the UK, including a solo exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
In 2015 he was named one of the magazine's 50 best dressed British men. >
On 20 August 2019, Ronson, along with several other celebrities, invested in a funding round for Lowell Herb Co, a California cannabis brand. He is known to be "a dedicated cannabis consumer".
Relationships
In 2002, Ronson began dating the actress-singer Rashida Jones. They became engaged in March 2003, with Ronson proposing by creating a crossword puzzle with the message "Will you marry me." Their relationship ended approximately one year later.
On 3 September 2011, Ronson married French actress and singer Joséphine de La Baume, who had previously appeared in the music video for "The Bike Song". On 16 May 2017, it was reported that de La Baume had filed for divorce from Ronson, listing the separation date as 21 April 2017. The divorce was finalized in October 2018. On 4 September 2021, Ronson announced his marriage to actress Grace Gummer, after a year of dating.
Lawsuit
In 2017, Lastrada Entertainment claimed that "Uptown Funk" infringed the copyright of Zapp & Roger's 1980 hit song "More Bounce to the Ounce". A total of three lawsuits had been filed by different parties.
Discography
Here Comes the Fuzz (2003)
Version (2007)
Record Collection (with The Business Intl.) (2010)
Uptown Special (2015)
Late Night Feelings (2019)
Filmography
Zoolander (2001) – Himself
Amy (2015) – Himself
Gaga: Five Foot Two (2017) – Himself
Spies in Disguise (2019) – Agency Control Room Technician (cameo)
Videos
Ronson created a video, along with directors Gary Breslin and Jordan Galland, called Circuit Breaker, which was an homage to the video game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In 2001, Ronson appeared in the Aaliyah music video "More Than a Woman" as a DJ. On 30 July 2021, the documentary series Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson was released on Apple TV+.
Production discography
Adapted from AllMusic. Bold denotes a commercial single.
Other singles
1997: Posse-O – "It's Up to You..."*
1998: Powerule – "Heatin' Up"*
1998: Powerule – "Rhymes to Bust" / "It's Your Right"*
2002: J-Live – "School's In"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "City Rules"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "She's Got Me"*
2005: Rhymefest – "These Days"*
2005: Rhymefest – "Brand New"*
2007: Candie Payne – "One More Chance"*
2007: Bob Dylan – "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) (Mark Ronson Re-version)"*
2008: Leon Jean-Marie – "Bed of Nails"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Never Miss a Beat"*
2008: Wiley – "Cash in My Pocket"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Good Days Bad Days"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Change"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Red"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Impossible"
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Out of the Game"*
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Jericho"*
2013: Giggs – "(Is It Gangsta?) Yes Yes Yes"*
2015: Duran Duran featuring Janelle Monáe and Nile Rodgers – "Pressure Off"*
2016: Various Artists – "Hands"*
2018: Michael Jackson - "Diamonds Are Invincible"* (Mash-Up)
2018: Silk City - "Electricity"* featuring Dua Lipa, Diplo and Mark Ronson
2018: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – "Shallow"*
2020: Troye Sivan featuring Kacey Musgraves and Mark Ronson - "Easy"*
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Mark Ronson and Boy George
1975 births
20th-century English musicians
21st-century English musicians
Allido Records artists
APRA Award winners
British Ashkenazi Jews
Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters
Brit Award winners
British alternative rock musicians
British hip hop DJs
Collegiate School (New York) alumni
English DJs
DJs from London
English emigrants to the United States
English people of Austrian-Jewish descent
English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
English people of Russian-Jewish descent
English multi-instrumentalists
English record producers
English songwriters
Golden Globe Award-winning musicians
Grammy Award winners
Hip hop record producers
Jewish English musicians
Jewish hip hop record producers
Jewish singers
Living people
People from Notting Hill
People from the Upper West Side
M
Mark Ronson
Silk City (duo) members
Sony Music UK artists
The Flip Squad members
Tisch School of the Arts alumni | false | [
"\"Love Like Blood\" is a song by English rock band Killing Joke. It was released in January 1985 as the second single from their fifth studio album, Night Time (1985). Produced by Chris Kimsey, the song is characterised as gothic rock and new wave. It was a top 10 hit in the Netherlands, Belgium and New Zealand and peaked at number 16 in the United Kingdom.\n\n\"Love Like Blood\" was originally released by E.G. Records in January 1985 as a 12\" in the UK, and a 12\" maxi single in Germany. The 7\" single on E.G. was released in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany. Polydor also released a 12\" single in the Netherlands and a 12\" maxi single in France.\n\n\"Love Like Blood\" remains very fondly remembered in the Netherlands, as it has appeared on the country's annual Top 2000 songs of all time countdown every year since 2011. Its highest position was No. 931 in 2017.\n\nTrack listings \nThe single release was a shorter edit of \"Love Like Blood\" than the full album track. The 12\" single featured an extended mix, titled \"Love Like Blood (Version)\" as its A-side. An alternative 12\" release, limited to 2000 copies, replaced this with a dub remix, known as the \"Gestalt Mix\". \"Blue Feather (Version)\" was featured as the B-side; an instrumental mix of a song that was otherwise unreleased, until the complete version was included on the re-issue of Night Time in 2008.\n\nIn 1998, \"Love Like Blood\" was reissued as a live remix 12\" single by Butterfly Records, alongside a remix of the song \"Intellect\" from Killing Joke’s 11th studio album, Democracy.\n\n7\" vinyl single \nSide A\n \"Love Like Blood\" – 04:14\n\nSide B\n \"Blue Feather (Version)\" – 04:09\n\n12\" vinyl single \nSide A\n \"Love Like Blood (Version)\" – 06:42\n\nSide B\n \"Love Like Blood\" – 04:14\n \"Blue Feather (Version)\" – 04:09\n\nLimited Gestalt Mix 12\" single \nSide A\n \"Love Like Blood (Gestalt Mix)\" – 05:05\n\nSide B\n \"Love Like Blood\" – 04:14\n \"Blue Feather (Version)\" – 04:09\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCovers \n\"Love Like Blood\" was covered by several bands, and the German gothic rock band Love Like Blood took their name from this song.\n\nDead by April version\n\nIn 2010, Swedish alternative metal band Dead by April released a cover version of \"Love Like Blood\" as a stand-alone single on 10 May 2010 on iTunes and as a double A-side single alongside previously released track \"Promise Me\" from their eponymous debut album. No music videos were made for either of the tracks. \"Love Like Blood\" was the first track recorded by the band with their new singer Zandro Santiago, and was later included on their compilation album Stronger, released on 24 January 2011.\n\nDigital single\n\nOther versions\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\nLove Like Blood TOTP\nLove Like Blood music video\n\nKilling Joke songs\n1985 singles\nSong recordings produced by Chris Kimsey\nDead by April songs\nSongs written by Jaz Coleman\nSongs written by Paul Ferguson\nSongs written by Paul Raven (musician)\nSongs written by Geordie Walker\nE.G. Records singles\nPolydor Records singles\n1984 songs",
"\"I Do\" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb. Released on October 14, 1997, as the lead single from her second album, Firecracker, \"I Do\" peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Loeb's most successful single after her number-one debut single \"Stay (I Missed You)\" in 1994. In Canada, \"I Do\" gave Loeb her second number-one hit, after \"Stay (I Missed You)\". This song was her last top-twenty single in both countries.\n\nLyrics and composition\nOn the surface, the song seems to be about \"the realization that a person isn't right for you, that the relationship has gone bad\". However, the real intention of the song is quite different according to the liner notes for The Very Best of Lisa Loeb: \"We were almost finished recording the album, Firecracker, and the record company told us that we still needed a single. I decided to write a song that sounded like a song about a relationship but was actually about the record company not 'hearing' a single on the record already. You can hear it in the lyrics, 'You can't hear it, but I do.' The song ended up being an expression of strength and power even when someone's not treating you right.\"\n\nReception\nThe song was warmly greeted by Larry Flick of Billboard magazine, who called the melody and chorus \"nothing short of pure pop bliss.\"\n\nMusic video\nIn the music video, directed by Phil Harder in Minneapolis, it shows scenes of Loeb in black and white singing on an upside-down microphone and also lying down on the feather floor (like in the album's cover) then singing and playing guitar in a psychedelic room with several dancers around her. It also features paintings of her as well as the lyrics in some scenes (during Pop-up Video, the words would pop up in the same font as the words in the drawings, and the \"I will\" parts have the percentages).\n\nTrack listings\n\nUS CD and cassette single\n \"I Do\"\n \"Jake\" (alternative version)\n\nGerman maxi-single\n \"I Do\" (LP version)\n \"Do You Sleep?\" (live)\n\nUK CD single and European maxi-single\n \"I Do\" (LP version) – 3:41\n \"Do You Sleep?\" (live) – 3:35\n \"Jake\" (alternative version) – 3:00\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\n1997 singles\n1997 songs\nGeffen Records singles\nLisa Loeb songs\nMusic videos directed by Phil Harder\nRPM Top Singles number-one singles\nSongs written by Lisa Loeb"
] |
[
"Mark Ronson",
"2001-05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing",
"What was Here Comes the Fuzz?",
"Ronson's debut album,",
"When was it released?",
"2003.",
"Did he produce the album?",
"Mark made the leap from DJ to producer",
"Did the album sell well?",
"Despite poor initial sales it was well received by critics.",
"Were there any singles?",
"\"Like a Feather\"",
"Did Like a Feather do well on the charts?",
"I don't know."
] | C_d5d7c57a056e48fbb1667f80ffeb5358_1 | What did he do after this album? | 7 | What did Mark Ronson do after the album Here Comes The Fuzz? | Mark Ronson | Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement. Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales it was well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nikka Costa, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. It was featured that year in the movie Honey and its soundtrack. The song was later used in the movies Hitch and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him. Ronson has since produced multiple songs on the albums of singers Lamya, Macy Gray, Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Robbie Williams. In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks." CANNOTANSWER | In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, | Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is an English-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbie Williams, Miley Cyrus, Queens of the Stone Age, Kevin Parker and Bruno Mars. He has received seven Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Winehouse's album Back to Black and two for Record of the Year singles "Rehab" and "Uptown Funk". He received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award for co-writing the song "Shallow" (performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper) for the film A Star is Born (2018).
Ronson was born in London and raised in New York City. His stepfather is Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, which contributed to a childhood surrounded by music. While attending New York University, Ronson became a popular DJ in the hip-hop scene. His debut album Here Comes the Fuzz failed to have an effect on the charts. In 2006, he received acclaim for producing albums for Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera, and Amy Winehouse. In 2007, Ronson released his second album, Version. The album reached number two in the UK and included three top ten singles and earned him the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist. He subsequently released his third studio album, Record Collection, peaking at number two in the UK.
In 2014, Ronson released his single "Uptown Funk" featuring vocals from Bruno Mars. The single spent 14 consecutive weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and became one of the best-selling singles of all-time. His fourth studio album, Uptown Special, became his most successful album to date. In 2018, he founded his own label, Zelig Records (an imprint of Columbia Records), and formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo, they released their debut single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa for which he received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
In 2015, he became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which helps disadvantaged youth through music. He has also worked with the End the Silence campaign to raise money and awareness for the Hope and Homes for Children charity and served as an artist mentor at Turnaround Arts, a national program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which helped low-performing schools through arts education.
Early life
Mark Daniel Ronson was born in Notting Hill, London, England, to Laurence Ronson, a then music manager and publisher, now real estate developer, and Ann Dexter-Jones (née Dexter), a writer, jewelry designer, and socialite. His Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors emigrated from Austria, Lithuania, and Russia. He was brought up in a Conservative Jewish household and celebrated his Bar Mitzvah.
After his parents' divorce, his mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones. Of note, Jones wrote Foreigner's hit song "I Want to Know What Love Is" about his burgeoning relationship with Dexter-Jones.
Ronson, along with his mother, stepfather, and sisters, moved to New York City when he was eight years old. Living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, he counted Sean Lennon among his childhood friends. At twelve, being a self-described music nerd, he pestered Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner into an internship at the magazine. He attended high school at the private Collegiate School in Manhattan before attending Vassar College and then New York University. In 2008, he obtained American citizenship so that he could vote in that year's election.
Family
He was born into the Ronson family, formerly one of Britain's wealthiest families and founders of Heron International; following success in the 1980s, they lost $1 billion of their wealth in the property crash of the early 1990s. He is the nephew of businessman Gerald Ronson.
Through his mother, he is distantly related to British Conservative politicians Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan, and Odeon Cinemas founder Oscar Deutsch.
Ronson's has two younger sisters, twins Charlotte Ronson, a fashion designer, and Samantha Ronson, a singer and DJ. Through his mother's second marriage to Mick Jones he has two elder step-siblings and two half-siblings, including actress Annabelle Dexter-Jones. Through his father's second marriage, he has three other half-siblings.
Career
While attending New York University, Ronson became a regular in the downtown hip hop night life. He became known as a DJ on the New York club scene by 1993, charging $50 per job. He was known for his diverse, genre-spanning selection. He attracted a wide audience by fusing funk, hip hop, and rock and roll into his setlists, and playing songs that were popular in both the United States and the United Kingdom. He was soon popular and sought-after DJ in New York City, frequently booked for high-profile events and private parties. In 1999, Ronson was featured in an ad wearing Tommy Hilfiger denim in the recording studio for an ad campaign for the company.
2001–05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing
Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager, Dominique Trenier, heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement.
Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales, it was generally well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The lead single and best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features the rappers Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. The song charted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and was used in a number of films, including in Honey (2003) and on its soundtrack. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him.
In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks."
2006–09: Version
On 2 April 2007, Ronson released a cover of The Smiths' track "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" under the title "Stop Me", featuring singer Daniel Merriweather. It reached number 2 in the UK singles charts, giving Ronson his highest-peaking single until 2014's "Uptown Funk". Ronson remixed the Bob Dylan song "Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine" in promotion for the three-disc Bob Dylan set titled Dylan released October 2007. Ronson has also produced Candie Payne's "One More Chance (Ronson mix)" in 2007.
The album Version was well received by critics particularly in the UK and US. In May 2007 it was awarded the title Album of the Month by the British dance music magazine, Mixmag. On 23 June, Ronson made the cover of The Guardian newspaper's Guide magazine, alongside singer Lily Allen.
In June 2007, Ronson signed DC hip hop artist Wale to Allido Records. In late 2007, he focused on production, working with Daniel Merriweather on his debut album, and recording again with Amy Winehouse and Robbie Williams.
On 24 October 2007, Ronson performed a one-off set at The Roundhouse in Camden, London as part of the BBC Electric Proms 2007. The performance featured the BBC Concert Orchestra and included special guests Terry Hall, Sean Lennon, Tim Burgess, Alex Greenwald, Ricky Wilson, Charlie Waller, Adele and Kyle Falconer.
In December 2007, Ronson received his first Grammy Award nomination, for 'Producer of the Year, Non-Classical'. Ronson's work with Amy Winehouse also received substantial accolades, gaining 6 nominations. Winehouse's "Back to Black" album, mostly produced by Ronson, was nominated for 'Album of the Year' and 'Best Pop Vocal Album'. Her song "Rehab" received nods for 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance', 'Song of the Year' and 'Record of the Year'. Ronson would go on to win three Grammys: 'Producer of the Year' as well as 'Best Pop Vocal Album' and 'Record of the Year' (the latter two of which he shared with Amy Winehouse) in early February 2008.
Ronson is credited as producer on a mixtape album called Man in the Mirror, released in January 2008 by the rapper Rhymefest which is a tribute to the pop star Michael Jackson. The album features Rhymefest appearing to speak to Michael Jackson using archive audio from interviews with the pop star. The same month Ronson received three nominations for the Brit Awards, including 'Best Male Solo Artist,' 'Best Album' (Version) and 'Song of the Year' ("Valerie"). Ronson won his first Brit for 'Best Male Solo Artist' in mid-February 2008 over favourite Mika. He also performed a medley of Coldplay's "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" with Adele, "Stop Me" with Daniel Merriweather, and "Valerie" with Amy Winehouse.
The performance allowed for a large boost in sales in the iTunes UK Top 100. "Valerie" would jump almost 30 spots in the days after the event, while "Just", "Stop Me" and "Oh My God" all appeared in the chart as well. That same week, Ronson appeared twice in the UK Top 40, with "Valerie" rebounding to number 13 and "Just" at number 31, his fourth Top 40 entry from "Version". The Brits performance also allowed for "Version" to climb 18 spots to number 4.
Around this time, Ronson received his first number one on an international chart (Dutch Top 40) for "Valerie," which spent four consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. He collaborated with Kaiser Chiefs on their third album.
Ronson toured the album "Version" extensively through both the UK and Europe during 2008. Notable sold-out performances at The Hammersmith Apollo and Brixton Academy. Ronson is known to champion new upcoming artists on the road with him, such as Sam Sparro and Julian Perretta. Ronson's string backing was provided by the all-female string quartet Demon Strings.
On 2 July 2008, in Paris, Mark Ronson performed live with Duran Duran for an invited audience. They played new arrangements by Ronson of some Duran Duran songs, along with tracks from the band's new album, Red Carpet Massacre. Ronson & the Version Players also performed songs from his album Version. Simon LeBon sang. As of March 2009, Ronson was working with the group on their 13th album. The Album, titled All You Need Is Now, was released digitally exclusively via Apple's iTunes on 21 December 2010, while the physical CD was released in March 2011 with additional tracks. In 2013–14 Ronson was once again in the studio producing Duran Duran's 14th album, Paper Gods, making it the first time the band has worked with the same producer on consecutive albums since Colin Thurston produced their first two albums in the 1980s.
2010–12: Record Collection
In the Spring of 2010, Ronson confirmed the name of his new album Record Collection, and said that he hoped to have it out by September 2010. Additionally, Ronson announced the name of his new band, "The Business Intl.'", which is the alias adopted by Ronson on the third studio album. The first single "Bang Bang Bang". which featured rapper Q-Tip and singer MNDR was released on 12 July 2010, where it peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, giving Ronson his fourth Top 10 single. The single also entered the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 18. The second single from the album, "The Bike Song", was released on 19 September 2010, and features Kyle Falconer from The View and Spank Rock. The album was released on 27 September 2010. This is the first Ronson album on which he features as a singer.
Although Ronson had never met Michael Jackson he was given the vocal track to a song titled "Lovely Way", sung by Michael Jackson, in 2010 to produce for Jackson's posthumous album Michael. He submitted the track, but it did not make the tracklisting for Michael. Ronson said about the rumours surrounding the vocals on the track (due to the controversy surrounding the Cascio tracks on that same album), "It was definitely him singing. I was given a vocal track to work with but I never actually met Michael. [...] It's in the vein of Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and John Lennon's 'Imagine'."
He provided the score for the 2011 film Arthur. Ronson was one of the artists featured in the 2012 documentary Re:GENERATION Music Project. His song "A La Modeliste" features Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, members of The Dap-Kings, and Zigaboo Modeliste.
2013–2017: Uptown Special and Amy
On 30 October 2014, Ronson announced, via Twitter, a new single from his upcoming album, to be released on 10 November 2014. The single, "Uptown Funk," features Bruno Mars on vocals. On 22 November 2014, Ronson and Mars appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live performing "Uptown Funk" and "Feel Right" (featuring Mystikal). "Uptown Funk" reached number one in the UK and US singles charts, and also became the all-time most streamed track in a single week in the UK, having been streamed a record 2.49 million times in a week. "Uptown Funk" reached the top 10 in nearly every country it charted; it spent fifteen weeks at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, fourteen weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and seven weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart. In February 2015 the song won Ronson the Brit Award for British Single of the Year. As of November 2021, the song's music video on YouTube has amassed over 4.3 billion views.
In 2015, Ronson starred in the documentary film Amy about his late friend Amy Winehouse. His voice features in the film where he talks about his career and relationship with Winehouse and there is footage of Ronson from the recording session of the single "Back to Black" from March 2006 and also at Winehouse's funeral in London in July 2011. On 16 October 2015, Ronson became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation. In January 2016, Ronson was nominated for two Brit Awards; Best British Male Solo Artist, and British Producer of the Year, at the 2016 Brit Awards.
At the 2016 Grammy Awards Ronson won two awards for "Uptown Funk", including Record of the Year. Jason Iley, the head of Sony Music UK and Ronson's UK label Columbia Records, hailed Ronson as "a true gentleman" and "one of the most considerate, kind and humble artists in our industry." He added, "the monumental success of Uptown Funk is so thoroughly deserved and has established itself as, not only one of the Records of the Year but of our lifetime."
He went on to executive produce Lady Gaga's fifth album Joanne.
Ronson produced the Queens of the Stone Age's 2017 album Villains.
2018–present: Silk City, "Shallow" and Late Night Feelings
In 2018, Ronson founded his own label, Zelig Records, an imprint of Columbia Records and the first artist he signed was singer King Princess. He also formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo. Their first single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa was released on 6 September and peaked at the US Dance Club Songs and received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
In May 2018, it was revealed that Ronson was working with Miley Cyrus in the studio. Their first collaboration "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" was released in November 2018. Ronson also co-wrote the song "Shallow" for the film A Star Is Born with his frequent collaborators Lady Gaga, Andrew Wyatt, and Anthony Rossomando. The song earned Ronson an Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, as well as two Grammy nominations, winning the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
On 12 April 2019, it was announced that Mark Ronson would release his fifth album Late Night Feelings, on 26 June 2019. The album features Miley Cyrus, Angel Olsen, Lykke Li and Camila Cabello. Ronson has described the album as a collection of "sad bangers," with the title track laying down a warm mid-tempo dance groove under Li's melancholy vocals.
On 12 October 2019, BBC Two broadcast the documentary Mark Ronson: From the Heart, directed by Carl Hindmarch.
In June of 2021, Ronson, along with Foo Fighters shared a "re-verson" of the Foo Fighters then latest single Making a Fire.
Personal life
Ronson divides his time between London, Los Angeles, and New York. Since childhood, he has been a fan of English Premier League football club Chelsea F.C. and is also a fan of the New York Knicks basketball team.
In 2009, Ronson was voted the most stylish man in the UK by GQ magazine.
In 2011, a portrait of Ronson was painted by British artist Joe Simpson; the painting was exhibited around the UK, including a solo exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
In 2015 he was named one of the magazine's 50 best dressed British men. >
On 20 August 2019, Ronson, along with several other celebrities, invested in a funding round for Lowell Herb Co, a California cannabis brand. He is known to be "a dedicated cannabis consumer".
Relationships
In 2002, Ronson began dating the actress-singer Rashida Jones. They became engaged in March 2003, with Ronson proposing by creating a crossword puzzle with the message "Will you marry me." Their relationship ended approximately one year later.
On 3 September 2011, Ronson married French actress and singer Joséphine de La Baume, who had previously appeared in the music video for "The Bike Song". On 16 May 2017, it was reported that de La Baume had filed for divorce from Ronson, listing the separation date as 21 April 2017. The divorce was finalized in October 2018. On 4 September 2021, Ronson announced his marriage to actress Grace Gummer, after a year of dating.
Lawsuit
In 2017, Lastrada Entertainment claimed that "Uptown Funk" infringed the copyright of Zapp & Roger's 1980 hit song "More Bounce to the Ounce". A total of three lawsuits had been filed by different parties.
Discography
Here Comes the Fuzz (2003)
Version (2007)
Record Collection (with The Business Intl.) (2010)
Uptown Special (2015)
Late Night Feelings (2019)
Filmography
Zoolander (2001) – Himself
Amy (2015) – Himself
Gaga: Five Foot Two (2017) – Himself
Spies in Disguise (2019) – Agency Control Room Technician (cameo)
Videos
Ronson created a video, along with directors Gary Breslin and Jordan Galland, called Circuit Breaker, which was an homage to the video game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In 2001, Ronson appeared in the Aaliyah music video "More Than a Woman" as a DJ. On 30 July 2021, the documentary series Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson was released on Apple TV+.
Production discography
Adapted from AllMusic. Bold denotes a commercial single.
Other singles
1997: Posse-O – "It's Up to You..."*
1998: Powerule – "Heatin' Up"*
1998: Powerule – "Rhymes to Bust" / "It's Your Right"*
2002: J-Live – "School's In"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "City Rules"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "She's Got Me"*
2005: Rhymefest – "These Days"*
2005: Rhymefest – "Brand New"*
2007: Candie Payne – "One More Chance"*
2007: Bob Dylan – "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) (Mark Ronson Re-version)"*
2008: Leon Jean-Marie – "Bed of Nails"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Never Miss a Beat"*
2008: Wiley – "Cash in My Pocket"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Good Days Bad Days"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Change"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Red"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Impossible"
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Out of the Game"*
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Jericho"*
2013: Giggs – "(Is It Gangsta?) Yes Yes Yes"*
2015: Duran Duran featuring Janelle Monáe and Nile Rodgers – "Pressure Off"*
2016: Various Artists – "Hands"*
2018: Michael Jackson - "Diamonds Are Invincible"* (Mash-Up)
2018: Silk City - "Electricity"* featuring Dua Lipa, Diplo and Mark Ronson
2018: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – "Shallow"*
2020: Troye Sivan featuring Kacey Musgraves and Mark Ronson - "Easy"*
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Mark Ronson and Boy George
1975 births
20th-century English musicians
21st-century English musicians
Allido Records artists
APRA Award winners
British Ashkenazi Jews
Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters
Brit Award winners
British alternative rock musicians
British hip hop DJs
Collegiate School (New York) alumni
English DJs
DJs from London
English emigrants to the United States
English people of Austrian-Jewish descent
English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
English people of Russian-Jewish descent
English multi-instrumentalists
English record producers
English songwriters
Golden Globe Award-winning musicians
Grammy Award winners
Hip hop record producers
Jewish English musicians
Jewish hip hop record producers
Jewish singers
Living people
People from Notting Hill
People from the Upper West Side
M
Mark Ronson
Silk City (duo) members
Sony Music UK artists
The Flip Squad members
Tisch School of the Arts alumni | true | [
"This Is What I Do may refer to:\n\n This Is What I Do (Sonny Rollins album), a 2000 album by Sonny Rollins\n This Is What I Do (Boy George album), a 2013 album by Boy George",
"What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid is the debut album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the UK four days after his nineteenth birthday on 14 May 1965, through Pye Records (catalog number NPL 18117). Terry Kennedy, Peter Eden, and Geoff Stephens produced the album. The album was released in the US as Catch the Wind on Hickory Records in June 1965. Hickory Records changed the title to match that of Donovan's debut single.\n\nHistory \nIn late 1964, Peter Eden and Geoff Stephens offered Donovan a recording contract with Pye Records in the UK. Donovan had performed around Britain and had become well known in British folk circles before his record contract. His 1964 demo tapes (released as Sixty Four in 2004) show a great resemblance to both Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, which probably prompted the \"British answer to Bob Dylan\" press line that was subsequently released. What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid is notable because it captures Donovan at a point where his style and vision were starting to diverge significantly from those of Guthrie and Dylan.\n\nThe music primarily consists of Donovan singing and playing mouth harp and acoustic guitar, much like his live performances of the time. He still had some vestiges of Woody Guthrie's style, and here covers Guthrie's \"Riding In My Car\" (titled here as \"Car Car\"). What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid also includes British folk (\"Tangerine Puppet\") and even some jazz (\"Cuttin' Out\").\n\nDonovan re-recorded \"Catch the Wind\" for the album, which was initially released as his debut single in the UK on 12 March 1965.\n\nOther musicians featured on the album are Brian Locking on bass, Skip Alan (who joined the Pretty Things later the same year) on drums, and Gypsy Dave on kazoo.\n\nReissues \n On 13 September 1968, What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid was reissued in an edited form (Marble Arch Records MAL 795) in the UK. \"Car Car\" and \"Donna Donna\" were both removed from the album, possibly because they were not written by Donovan.\n On 26 February 1996, Sequel Records reissued What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid in the US under its US title Catch the Wind on compact disc. Three bonus tracks were added to the track listing. The first bonus track, \"Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?\", was released as the B-side to Donovan's UK debut single. The second bonus track is the A-side of Donovan's UK debut single. The third bonus track, \"Every Man Has His Chain\", was originally released on Donovan's Catch the Wind EP in France.\n On 22 January 2002, Sanctuary Records reissued the complete What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid for the first time on compact disc. The US version of the CD titled Catch the Wind was released six years earlier. The CD features four bonus tracks. The first two tracks are Donovan's debut single \"Catch the Wind\" (a different take than the album track) and its b-side \"Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?\". The third bonus track \"Every Man Has His Chain\" was once a rare track in Donovan's discography, and was originally released on the French EP Catch the Wind in 1965. Donovan's second single \"Colours\" is also released here, in a version different from the one included on the Fairytale album.\n\nTrack listing\n\nOriginal album (UK)\nSide 1\n\"Josie\" (Donovan Leitch) – 3:28\n\"Catch the Wind\" (Donovan Leitch) – 2:56\n\"Remember the Alamo\" (Jane Bowers) – 3:04\n\"Cuttin' Out\" (Leitch) – 2:19\n\"Car Car\" (Woody Guthrie) – 1:31\n\"Keep on Truckin'\" (traditional; arranged by Leitch) – 1:50\n\nSide 2\n\"Goldwatch Blues\" (Mick Softley) – 2:33\n\"To Sing for You\" (Leitch) – 2:45\n\"You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond\" (traditional; arranged by Leitch) – 4:04\n\"Tangerine Puppet\" (Leitch) – 1:51\n\"Donna Donna\" (Aaron Zeitlin, Sholom Secunda, Arthur S Kevess, Teddi Schwartz) – 2:56\n\"Ramblin' Boy\" (Leitch) – 2:33\n\n1996 Sequel Records CD-reissue (Title: Catch the Wind)\nThe original album plus the following bonus tracks:\n\"Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?\" (Leitch) – 2:56\n\"Catch the Wind\" (Leitch) – 2:18\n\"Every Man Has His Chain\" (Leitch) – 2:09\n\n2002 Sanctuary Records CD-reissue\nThe original album plus the following bonus tracks:\n\"Catch the Wind\" (Single version with strings) (Leitch) – 2:18\n\"Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?\" (Single b-side) (Leitch) – 2:56\n\"Every Man Has His Chain\" (French EP track) (Leitch) – 2:12\n\"Colours\" (Single version) (Leitch) – 2:45\n\nPersonnel \n Donovan – vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica\n Brian Locking – bass\n Skip Alan (Alan Skipper) – drums\n Gypsy Dave (David Mills) – kazoo\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n What's Bin Did And What's Bin Hid – Donovan Unofficial Site\n Sanctuary Records\n\n1965 debut albums\nDonovan albums\nPye Records albums\nHickory Records albums\nSanctuary Records albums"
] |
[
"Mark Ronson",
"2001-05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing",
"What was Here Comes the Fuzz?",
"Ronson's debut album,",
"When was it released?",
"2003.",
"Did he produce the album?",
"Mark made the leap from DJ to producer",
"Did the album sell well?",
"Despite poor initial sales it was well received by critics.",
"Were there any singles?",
"\"Like a Feather\"",
"Did Like a Feather do well on the charts?",
"I don't know.",
"What did he do after this album?",
"In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label,"
] | C_d5d7c57a056e48fbb1667f80ffeb5358_1 | What was the name of his record label? | 8 | What was the name of Mark Ronson's record label? | Mark Ronson | Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement. Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales it was well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nikka Costa, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. It was featured that year in the movie Honey and its soundtrack. The song was later used in the movies Hitch and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him. Ronson has since produced multiple songs on the albums of singers Lamya, Macy Gray, Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Robbie Williams. In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks." CANNOTANSWER | Allido Records, | Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is an English-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbie Williams, Miley Cyrus, Queens of the Stone Age, Kevin Parker and Bruno Mars. He has received seven Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Winehouse's album Back to Black and two for Record of the Year singles "Rehab" and "Uptown Funk". He received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award for co-writing the song "Shallow" (performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper) for the film A Star is Born (2018).
Ronson was born in London and raised in New York City. His stepfather is Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, which contributed to a childhood surrounded by music. While attending New York University, Ronson became a popular DJ in the hip-hop scene. His debut album Here Comes the Fuzz failed to have an effect on the charts. In 2006, he received acclaim for producing albums for Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera, and Amy Winehouse. In 2007, Ronson released his second album, Version. The album reached number two in the UK and included three top ten singles and earned him the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist. He subsequently released his third studio album, Record Collection, peaking at number two in the UK.
In 2014, Ronson released his single "Uptown Funk" featuring vocals from Bruno Mars. The single spent 14 consecutive weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and became one of the best-selling singles of all-time. His fourth studio album, Uptown Special, became his most successful album to date. In 2018, he founded his own label, Zelig Records (an imprint of Columbia Records), and formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo, they released their debut single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa for which he received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
In 2015, he became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which helps disadvantaged youth through music. He has also worked with the End the Silence campaign to raise money and awareness for the Hope and Homes for Children charity and served as an artist mentor at Turnaround Arts, a national program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which helped low-performing schools through arts education.
Early life
Mark Daniel Ronson was born in Notting Hill, London, England, to Laurence Ronson, a then music manager and publisher, now real estate developer, and Ann Dexter-Jones (née Dexter), a writer, jewelry designer, and socialite. His Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors emigrated from Austria, Lithuania, and Russia. He was brought up in a Conservative Jewish household and celebrated his Bar Mitzvah.
After his parents' divorce, his mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones. Of note, Jones wrote Foreigner's hit song "I Want to Know What Love Is" about his burgeoning relationship with Dexter-Jones.
Ronson, along with his mother, stepfather, and sisters, moved to New York City when he was eight years old. Living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, he counted Sean Lennon among his childhood friends. At twelve, being a self-described music nerd, he pestered Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner into an internship at the magazine. He attended high school at the private Collegiate School in Manhattan before attending Vassar College and then New York University. In 2008, he obtained American citizenship so that he could vote in that year's election.
Family
He was born into the Ronson family, formerly one of Britain's wealthiest families and founders of Heron International; following success in the 1980s, they lost $1 billion of their wealth in the property crash of the early 1990s. He is the nephew of businessman Gerald Ronson.
Through his mother, he is distantly related to British Conservative politicians Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan, and Odeon Cinemas founder Oscar Deutsch.
Ronson's has two younger sisters, twins Charlotte Ronson, a fashion designer, and Samantha Ronson, a singer and DJ. Through his mother's second marriage to Mick Jones he has two elder step-siblings and two half-siblings, including actress Annabelle Dexter-Jones. Through his father's second marriage, he has three other half-siblings.
Career
While attending New York University, Ronson became a regular in the downtown hip hop night life. He became known as a DJ on the New York club scene by 1993, charging $50 per job. He was known for his diverse, genre-spanning selection. He attracted a wide audience by fusing funk, hip hop, and rock and roll into his setlists, and playing songs that were popular in both the United States and the United Kingdom. He was soon popular and sought-after DJ in New York City, frequently booked for high-profile events and private parties. In 1999, Ronson was featured in an ad wearing Tommy Hilfiger denim in the recording studio for an ad campaign for the company.
2001–05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing
Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager, Dominique Trenier, heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement.
Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales, it was generally well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The lead single and best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features the rappers Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. The song charted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and was used in a number of films, including in Honey (2003) and on its soundtrack. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him.
In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks."
2006–09: Version
On 2 April 2007, Ronson released a cover of The Smiths' track "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" under the title "Stop Me", featuring singer Daniel Merriweather. It reached number 2 in the UK singles charts, giving Ronson his highest-peaking single until 2014's "Uptown Funk". Ronson remixed the Bob Dylan song "Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine" in promotion for the three-disc Bob Dylan set titled Dylan released October 2007. Ronson has also produced Candie Payne's "One More Chance (Ronson mix)" in 2007.
The album Version was well received by critics particularly in the UK and US. In May 2007 it was awarded the title Album of the Month by the British dance music magazine, Mixmag. On 23 June, Ronson made the cover of The Guardian newspaper's Guide magazine, alongside singer Lily Allen.
In June 2007, Ronson signed DC hip hop artist Wale to Allido Records. In late 2007, he focused on production, working with Daniel Merriweather on his debut album, and recording again with Amy Winehouse and Robbie Williams.
On 24 October 2007, Ronson performed a one-off set at The Roundhouse in Camden, London as part of the BBC Electric Proms 2007. The performance featured the BBC Concert Orchestra and included special guests Terry Hall, Sean Lennon, Tim Burgess, Alex Greenwald, Ricky Wilson, Charlie Waller, Adele and Kyle Falconer.
In December 2007, Ronson received his first Grammy Award nomination, for 'Producer of the Year, Non-Classical'. Ronson's work with Amy Winehouse also received substantial accolades, gaining 6 nominations. Winehouse's "Back to Black" album, mostly produced by Ronson, was nominated for 'Album of the Year' and 'Best Pop Vocal Album'. Her song "Rehab" received nods for 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance', 'Song of the Year' and 'Record of the Year'. Ronson would go on to win three Grammys: 'Producer of the Year' as well as 'Best Pop Vocal Album' and 'Record of the Year' (the latter two of which he shared with Amy Winehouse) in early February 2008.
Ronson is credited as producer on a mixtape album called Man in the Mirror, released in January 2008 by the rapper Rhymefest which is a tribute to the pop star Michael Jackson. The album features Rhymefest appearing to speak to Michael Jackson using archive audio from interviews with the pop star. The same month Ronson received three nominations for the Brit Awards, including 'Best Male Solo Artist,' 'Best Album' (Version) and 'Song of the Year' ("Valerie"). Ronson won his first Brit for 'Best Male Solo Artist' in mid-February 2008 over favourite Mika. He also performed a medley of Coldplay's "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" with Adele, "Stop Me" with Daniel Merriweather, and "Valerie" with Amy Winehouse.
The performance allowed for a large boost in sales in the iTunes UK Top 100. "Valerie" would jump almost 30 spots in the days after the event, while "Just", "Stop Me" and "Oh My God" all appeared in the chart as well. That same week, Ronson appeared twice in the UK Top 40, with "Valerie" rebounding to number 13 and "Just" at number 31, his fourth Top 40 entry from "Version". The Brits performance also allowed for "Version" to climb 18 spots to number 4.
Around this time, Ronson received his first number one on an international chart (Dutch Top 40) for "Valerie," which spent four consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. He collaborated with Kaiser Chiefs on their third album.
Ronson toured the album "Version" extensively through both the UK and Europe during 2008. Notable sold-out performances at The Hammersmith Apollo and Brixton Academy. Ronson is known to champion new upcoming artists on the road with him, such as Sam Sparro and Julian Perretta. Ronson's string backing was provided by the all-female string quartet Demon Strings.
On 2 July 2008, in Paris, Mark Ronson performed live with Duran Duran for an invited audience. They played new arrangements by Ronson of some Duran Duran songs, along with tracks from the band's new album, Red Carpet Massacre. Ronson & the Version Players also performed songs from his album Version. Simon LeBon sang. As of March 2009, Ronson was working with the group on their 13th album. The Album, titled All You Need Is Now, was released digitally exclusively via Apple's iTunes on 21 December 2010, while the physical CD was released in March 2011 with additional tracks. In 2013–14 Ronson was once again in the studio producing Duran Duran's 14th album, Paper Gods, making it the first time the band has worked with the same producer on consecutive albums since Colin Thurston produced their first two albums in the 1980s.
2010–12: Record Collection
In the Spring of 2010, Ronson confirmed the name of his new album Record Collection, and said that he hoped to have it out by September 2010. Additionally, Ronson announced the name of his new band, "The Business Intl.'", which is the alias adopted by Ronson on the third studio album. The first single "Bang Bang Bang". which featured rapper Q-Tip and singer MNDR was released on 12 July 2010, where it peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, giving Ronson his fourth Top 10 single. The single also entered the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 18. The second single from the album, "The Bike Song", was released on 19 September 2010, and features Kyle Falconer from The View and Spank Rock. The album was released on 27 September 2010. This is the first Ronson album on which he features as a singer.
Although Ronson had never met Michael Jackson he was given the vocal track to a song titled "Lovely Way", sung by Michael Jackson, in 2010 to produce for Jackson's posthumous album Michael. He submitted the track, but it did not make the tracklisting for Michael. Ronson said about the rumours surrounding the vocals on the track (due to the controversy surrounding the Cascio tracks on that same album), "It was definitely him singing. I was given a vocal track to work with but I never actually met Michael. [...] It's in the vein of Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and John Lennon's 'Imagine'."
He provided the score for the 2011 film Arthur. Ronson was one of the artists featured in the 2012 documentary Re:GENERATION Music Project. His song "A La Modeliste" features Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, members of The Dap-Kings, and Zigaboo Modeliste.
2013–2017: Uptown Special and Amy
On 30 October 2014, Ronson announced, via Twitter, a new single from his upcoming album, to be released on 10 November 2014. The single, "Uptown Funk," features Bruno Mars on vocals. On 22 November 2014, Ronson and Mars appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live performing "Uptown Funk" and "Feel Right" (featuring Mystikal). "Uptown Funk" reached number one in the UK and US singles charts, and also became the all-time most streamed track in a single week in the UK, having been streamed a record 2.49 million times in a week. "Uptown Funk" reached the top 10 in nearly every country it charted; it spent fifteen weeks at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, fourteen weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and seven weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart. In February 2015 the song won Ronson the Brit Award for British Single of the Year. As of November 2021, the song's music video on YouTube has amassed over 4.3 billion views.
In 2015, Ronson starred in the documentary film Amy about his late friend Amy Winehouse. His voice features in the film where he talks about his career and relationship with Winehouse and there is footage of Ronson from the recording session of the single "Back to Black" from March 2006 and also at Winehouse's funeral in London in July 2011. On 16 October 2015, Ronson became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation. In January 2016, Ronson was nominated for two Brit Awards; Best British Male Solo Artist, and British Producer of the Year, at the 2016 Brit Awards.
At the 2016 Grammy Awards Ronson won two awards for "Uptown Funk", including Record of the Year. Jason Iley, the head of Sony Music UK and Ronson's UK label Columbia Records, hailed Ronson as "a true gentleman" and "one of the most considerate, kind and humble artists in our industry." He added, "the monumental success of Uptown Funk is so thoroughly deserved and has established itself as, not only one of the Records of the Year but of our lifetime."
He went on to executive produce Lady Gaga's fifth album Joanne.
Ronson produced the Queens of the Stone Age's 2017 album Villains.
2018–present: Silk City, "Shallow" and Late Night Feelings
In 2018, Ronson founded his own label, Zelig Records, an imprint of Columbia Records and the first artist he signed was singer King Princess. He also formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo. Their first single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa was released on 6 September and peaked at the US Dance Club Songs and received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
In May 2018, it was revealed that Ronson was working with Miley Cyrus in the studio. Their first collaboration "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" was released in November 2018. Ronson also co-wrote the song "Shallow" for the film A Star Is Born with his frequent collaborators Lady Gaga, Andrew Wyatt, and Anthony Rossomando. The song earned Ronson an Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, as well as two Grammy nominations, winning the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
On 12 April 2019, it was announced that Mark Ronson would release his fifth album Late Night Feelings, on 26 June 2019. The album features Miley Cyrus, Angel Olsen, Lykke Li and Camila Cabello. Ronson has described the album as a collection of "sad bangers," with the title track laying down a warm mid-tempo dance groove under Li's melancholy vocals.
On 12 October 2019, BBC Two broadcast the documentary Mark Ronson: From the Heart, directed by Carl Hindmarch.
In June of 2021, Ronson, along with Foo Fighters shared a "re-verson" of the Foo Fighters then latest single Making a Fire.
Personal life
Ronson divides his time between London, Los Angeles, and New York. Since childhood, he has been a fan of English Premier League football club Chelsea F.C. and is also a fan of the New York Knicks basketball team.
In 2009, Ronson was voted the most stylish man in the UK by GQ magazine.
In 2011, a portrait of Ronson was painted by British artist Joe Simpson; the painting was exhibited around the UK, including a solo exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
In 2015 he was named one of the magazine's 50 best dressed British men. >
On 20 August 2019, Ronson, along with several other celebrities, invested in a funding round for Lowell Herb Co, a California cannabis brand. He is known to be "a dedicated cannabis consumer".
Relationships
In 2002, Ronson began dating the actress-singer Rashida Jones. They became engaged in March 2003, with Ronson proposing by creating a crossword puzzle with the message "Will you marry me." Their relationship ended approximately one year later.
On 3 September 2011, Ronson married French actress and singer Joséphine de La Baume, who had previously appeared in the music video for "The Bike Song". On 16 May 2017, it was reported that de La Baume had filed for divorce from Ronson, listing the separation date as 21 April 2017. The divorce was finalized in October 2018. On 4 September 2021, Ronson announced his marriage to actress Grace Gummer, after a year of dating.
Lawsuit
In 2017, Lastrada Entertainment claimed that "Uptown Funk" infringed the copyright of Zapp & Roger's 1980 hit song "More Bounce to the Ounce". A total of three lawsuits had been filed by different parties.
Discography
Here Comes the Fuzz (2003)
Version (2007)
Record Collection (with The Business Intl.) (2010)
Uptown Special (2015)
Late Night Feelings (2019)
Filmography
Zoolander (2001) – Himself
Amy (2015) – Himself
Gaga: Five Foot Two (2017) – Himself
Spies in Disguise (2019) – Agency Control Room Technician (cameo)
Videos
Ronson created a video, along with directors Gary Breslin and Jordan Galland, called Circuit Breaker, which was an homage to the video game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In 2001, Ronson appeared in the Aaliyah music video "More Than a Woman" as a DJ. On 30 July 2021, the documentary series Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson was released on Apple TV+.
Production discography
Adapted from AllMusic. Bold denotes a commercial single.
Other singles
1997: Posse-O – "It's Up to You..."*
1998: Powerule – "Heatin' Up"*
1998: Powerule – "Rhymes to Bust" / "It's Your Right"*
2002: J-Live – "School's In"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "City Rules"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "She's Got Me"*
2005: Rhymefest – "These Days"*
2005: Rhymefest – "Brand New"*
2007: Candie Payne – "One More Chance"*
2007: Bob Dylan – "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) (Mark Ronson Re-version)"*
2008: Leon Jean-Marie – "Bed of Nails"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Never Miss a Beat"*
2008: Wiley – "Cash in My Pocket"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Good Days Bad Days"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Change"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Red"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Impossible"
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Out of the Game"*
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Jericho"*
2013: Giggs – "(Is It Gangsta?) Yes Yes Yes"*
2015: Duran Duran featuring Janelle Monáe and Nile Rodgers – "Pressure Off"*
2016: Various Artists – "Hands"*
2018: Michael Jackson - "Diamonds Are Invincible"* (Mash-Up)
2018: Silk City - "Electricity"* featuring Dua Lipa, Diplo and Mark Ronson
2018: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – "Shallow"*
2020: Troye Sivan featuring Kacey Musgraves and Mark Ronson - "Easy"*
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Mark Ronson and Boy George
1975 births
20th-century English musicians
21st-century English musicians
Allido Records artists
APRA Award winners
British Ashkenazi Jews
Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters
Brit Award winners
British alternative rock musicians
British hip hop DJs
Collegiate School (New York) alumni
English DJs
DJs from London
English emigrants to the United States
English people of Austrian-Jewish descent
English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
English people of Russian-Jewish descent
English multi-instrumentalists
English record producers
English songwriters
Golden Globe Award-winning musicians
Grammy Award winners
Hip hop record producers
Jewish English musicians
Jewish hip hop record producers
Jewish singers
Living people
People from Notting Hill
People from the Upper West Side
M
Mark Ronson
Silk City (duo) members
Sony Music UK artists
The Flip Squad members
Tisch School of the Arts alumni | true | [
"Coronet Records is the name of at least three different record companies. One was based in San Francisco in the 1940s and was responsible for the first recordings of Dave Brubeck. Brubeck's Coronet Records disbanded when it couldn't pay its bills and its recordings were taken over by what became Fantasy Records. The second, a division of Premier Albums, issued a wide range of inexpensive LP records in the 1950s and 1960s in the United States.\n\nThe third was a record label in Australia, based in Sydney. It operated from the early 1950s until around 1962 and was recognizable by its octagonal label.\n\nUntil early 1960 Coronet was the principal house label of the (ARC), releasing material licensed from international labels, primarily CBS Records in the U.S., as well as material recorded by Australian artists.\n\nIn 1960 ARC was taken over by CBS Records (although the company continued to trade as ARC until the late 1970s) and the Coronet label was phased out in favour of the new CBS Australia label, which used the CBS/Columbia \"walking eye\" logo.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nCoronet Records discography - Global Dog Productions\nMILESAGO: \"The Australian Record Company\"\n\nSee also\nList of record labels\n\nDefunct record labels of Australia\nRecord labels disestablished in 1960\nColumbia Records\nJazz record labels",
"Midland International Records (later Midsong International Records) was a US record label founded in 1974 by Eddie O'Loughlin and Bob Reno.\n\nThe label was best known for the hit records \"Doctor's Orders\" by Carol Douglas, \"Fly, Robin, Fly\" and \"Get Up and Boogie\" by Silver Convention, and \"Let Her In\" by John Travolta.\n\nHistory\n\nReleases on the label were manufactured and distributed in the United States by RCA Records from 1974 to 1978. In 1977, legal action by Midland Radio which markets electronics using the Midland International name forced the record label to change its name to Midsong International. Midsong was also the name of the label's music publishing unit. Distribution shifted briefly in 1978 to MCA Records before switching to independent distribution later that year.\n\nThe label went out of business in 1980, a casualty of the backlash against disco music. Co-founder O'Loughlin then founded what is now Next Plateau Entertainment. The catalog was later taken over by Hot Productions, run by music industry veteran Henry Stone. Essential Media Group, based in Hallandale, Florida, now manages the catalog.\n\nSee also\nList of record labels\n\nReferences\n\nAmerican country music record labels\nAmerican record labels\nRecord labels disestablished in 1980\nPop record labels"
] |
[
"Mark Ronson",
"2001-05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing",
"What was Here Comes the Fuzz?",
"Ronson's debut album,",
"When was it released?",
"2003.",
"Did he produce the album?",
"Mark made the leap from DJ to producer",
"Did the album sell well?",
"Despite poor initial sales it was well received by critics.",
"Were there any singles?",
"\"Like a Feather\"",
"Did Like a Feather do well on the charts?",
"I don't know.",
"What did he do after this album?",
"In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label,",
"What was the name of his record label?",
"Allido Records,"
] | C_d5d7c57a056e48fbb1667f80ffeb5358_1 | What else interesting happened during these years? | 9 | What else interesting happened during 2004 for Mark Ronson, besides forming his own record label? | Mark Ronson | Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement. Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales it was well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nikka Costa, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. It was featured that year in the movie Honey and its soundtrack. The song was later used in the movies Hitch and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him. Ronson has since produced multiple songs on the albums of singers Lamya, Macy Gray, Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Robbie Williams. In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks." CANNOTANSWER | The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, | Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is an English-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbie Williams, Miley Cyrus, Queens of the Stone Age, Kevin Parker and Bruno Mars. He has received seven Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Winehouse's album Back to Black and two for Record of the Year singles "Rehab" and "Uptown Funk". He received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award for co-writing the song "Shallow" (performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper) for the film A Star is Born (2018).
Ronson was born in London and raised in New York City. His stepfather is Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, which contributed to a childhood surrounded by music. While attending New York University, Ronson became a popular DJ in the hip-hop scene. His debut album Here Comes the Fuzz failed to have an effect on the charts. In 2006, he received acclaim for producing albums for Lily Allen, Christina Aguilera, and Amy Winehouse. In 2007, Ronson released his second album, Version. The album reached number two in the UK and included three top ten singles and earned him the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist. He subsequently released his third studio album, Record Collection, peaking at number two in the UK.
In 2014, Ronson released his single "Uptown Funk" featuring vocals from Bruno Mars. The single spent 14 consecutive weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and became one of the best-selling singles of all-time. His fourth studio album, Uptown Special, became his most successful album to date. In 2018, he founded his own label, Zelig Records (an imprint of Columbia Records), and formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo, they released their debut single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa for which he received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
In 2015, he became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which helps disadvantaged youth through music. He has also worked with the End the Silence campaign to raise money and awareness for the Hope and Homes for Children charity and served as an artist mentor at Turnaround Arts, a national program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which helped low-performing schools through arts education.
Early life
Mark Daniel Ronson was born in Notting Hill, London, England, to Laurence Ronson, a then music manager and publisher, now real estate developer, and Ann Dexter-Jones (née Dexter), a writer, jewelry designer, and socialite. His Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors emigrated from Austria, Lithuania, and Russia. He was brought up in a Conservative Jewish household and celebrated his Bar Mitzvah.
After his parents' divorce, his mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones. Of note, Jones wrote Foreigner's hit song "I Want to Know What Love Is" about his burgeoning relationship with Dexter-Jones.
Ronson, along with his mother, stepfather, and sisters, moved to New York City when he was eight years old. Living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, he counted Sean Lennon among his childhood friends. At twelve, being a self-described music nerd, he pestered Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner into an internship at the magazine. He attended high school at the private Collegiate School in Manhattan before attending Vassar College and then New York University. In 2008, he obtained American citizenship so that he could vote in that year's election.
Family
He was born into the Ronson family, formerly one of Britain's wealthiest families and founders of Heron International; following success in the 1980s, they lost $1 billion of their wealth in the property crash of the early 1990s. He is the nephew of businessman Gerald Ronson.
Through his mother, he is distantly related to British Conservative politicians Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan, and Odeon Cinemas founder Oscar Deutsch.
Ronson's has two younger sisters, twins Charlotte Ronson, a fashion designer, and Samantha Ronson, a singer and DJ. Through his mother's second marriage to Mick Jones he has two elder step-siblings and two half-siblings, including actress Annabelle Dexter-Jones. Through his father's second marriage, he has three other half-siblings.
Career
While attending New York University, Ronson became a regular in the downtown hip hop night life. He became known as a DJ on the New York club scene by 1993, charging $50 per job. He was known for his diverse, genre-spanning selection. He attracted a wide audience by fusing funk, hip hop, and rock and roll into his setlists, and playing songs that were popular in both the United States and the United Kingdom. He was soon popular and sought-after DJ in New York City, frequently booked for high-profile events and private parties. In 1999, Ronson was featured in an ad wearing Tommy Hilfiger denim in the recording studio for an ad campaign for the company.
2001–05: Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing
Mark made the leap from DJ to producer after Nikka Costa's manager, Dominique Trenier, heard one of his sets and introduced the musicians. Ronson produced Costa's song "Everybody Got Their Something," and Ronson soon signed a record contract with Elektra Records. He had already produced tracks for Hilfiger ads and, in 2001, used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an advertisement.
Ronson's debut album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003. Despite poor initial sales, it was generally well received by critics. As well as writing the songs on the album, Ronson created the beats, played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured performances from artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The lead single and best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee," samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features the rappers Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. The song charted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and was used in a number of films, including in Honey (2003) and on its soundtrack. Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him.
In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks."
2006–09: Version
On 2 April 2007, Ronson released a cover of The Smiths' track "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" under the title "Stop Me", featuring singer Daniel Merriweather. It reached number 2 in the UK singles charts, giving Ronson his highest-peaking single until 2014's "Uptown Funk". Ronson remixed the Bob Dylan song "Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine" in promotion for the three-disc Bob Dylan set titled Dylan released October 2007. Ronson has also produced Candie Payne's "One More Chance (Ronson mix)" in 2007.
The album Version was well received by critics particularly in the UK and US. In May 2007 it was awarded the title Album of the Month by the British dance music magazine, Mixmag. On 23 June, Ronson made the cover of The Guardian newspaper's Guide magazine, alongside singer Lily Allen.
In June 2007, Ronson signed DC hip hop artist Wale to Allido Records. In late 2007, he focused on production, working with Daniel Merriweather on his debut album, and recording again with Amy Winehouse and Robbie Williams.
On 24 October 2007, Ronson performed a one-off set at The Roundhouse in Camden, London as part of the BBC Electric Proms 2007. The performance featured the BBC Concert Orchestra and included special guests Terry Hall, Sean Lennon, Tim Burgess, Alex Greenwald, Ricky Wilson, Charlie Waller, Adele and Kyle Falconer.
In December 2007, Ronson received his first Grammy Award nomination, for 'Producer of the Year, Non-Classical'. Ronson's work with Amy Winehouse also received substantial accolades, gaining 6 nominations. Winehouse's "Back to Black" album, mostly produced by Ronson, was nominated for 'Album of the Year' and 'Best Pop Vocal Album'. Her song "Rehab" received nods for 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance', 'Song of the Year' and 'Record of the Year'. Ronson would go on to win three Grammys: 'Producer of the Year' as well as 'Best Pop Vocal Album' and 'Record of the Year' (the latter two of which he shared with Amy Winehouse) in early February 2008.
Ronson is credited as producer on a mixtape album called Man in the Mirror, released in January 2008 by the rapper Rhymefest which is a tribute to the pop star Michael Jackson. The album features Rhymefest appearing to speak to Michael Jackson using archive audio from interviews with the pop star. The same month Ronson received three nominations for the Brit Awards, including 'Best Male Solo Artist,' 'Best Album' (Version) and 'Song of the Year' ("Valerie"). Ronson won his first Brit for 'Best Male Solo Artist' in mid-February 2008 over favourite Mika. He also performed a medley of Coldplay's "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" with Adele, "Stop Me" with Daniel Merriweather, and "Valerie" with Amy Winehouse.
The performance allowed for a large boost in sales in the iTunes UK Top 100. "Valerie" would jump almost 30 spots in the days after the event, while "Just", "Stop Me" and "Oh My God" all appeared in the chart as well. That same week, Ronson appeared twice in the UK Top 40, with "Valerie" rebounding to number 13 and "Just" at number 31, his fourth Top 40 entry from "Version". The Brits performance also allowed for "Version" to climb 18 spots to number 4.
Around this time, Ronson received his first number one on an international chart (Dutch Top 40) for "Valerie," which spent four consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. He collaborated with Kaiser Chiefs on their third album.
Ronson toured the album "Version" extensively through both the UK and Europe during 2008. Notable sold-out performances at The Hammersmith Apollo and Brixton Academy. Ronson is known to champion new upcoming artists on the road with him, such as Sam Sparro and Julian Perretta. Ronson's string backing was provided by the all-female string quartet Demon Strings.
On 2 July 2008, in Paris, Mark Ronson performed live with Duran Duran for an invited audience. They played new arrangements by Ronson of some Duran Duran songs, along with tracks from the band's new album, Red Carpet Massacre. Ronson & the Version Players also performed songs from his album Version. Simon LeBon sang. As of March 2009, Ronson was working with the group on their 13th album. The Album, titled All You Need Is Now, was released digitally exclusively via Apple's iTunes on 21 December 2010, while the physical CD was released in March 2011 with additional tracks. In 2013–14 Ronson was once again in the studio producing Duran Duran's 14th album, Paper Gods, making it the first time the band has worked with the same producer on consecutive albums since Colin Thurston produced their first two albums in the 1980s.
2010–12: Record Collection
In the Spring of 2010, Ronson confirmed the name of his new album Record Collection, and said that he hoped to have it out by September 2010. Additionally, Ronson announced the name of his new band, "The Business Intl.'", which is the alias adopted by Ronson on the third studio album. The first single "Bang Bang Bang". which featured rapper Q-Tip and singer MNDR was released on 12 July 2010, where it peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, giving Ronson his fourth Top 10 single. The single also entered the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 18. The second single from the album, "The Bike Song", was released on 19 September 2010, and features Kyle Falconer from The View and Spank Rock. The album was released on 27 September 2010. This is the first Ronson album on which he features as a singer.
Although Ronson had never met Michael Jackson he was given the vocal track to a song titled "Lovely Way", sung by Michael Jackson, in 2010 to produce for Jackson's posthumous album Michael. He submitted the track, but it did not make the tracklisting for Michael. Ronson said about the rumours surrounding the vocals on the track (due to the controversy surrounding the Cascio tracks on that same album), "It was definitely him singing. I was given a vocal track to work with but I never actually met Michael. [...] It's in the vein of Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and John Lennon's 'Imagine'."
He provided the score for the 2011 film Arthur. Ronson was one of the artists featured in the 2012 documentary Re:GENERATION Music Project. His song "A La Modeliste" features Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, members of The Dap-Kings, and Zigaboo Modeliste.
2013–2017: Uptown Special and Amy
On 30 October 2014, Ronson announced, via Twitter, a new single from his upcoming album, to be released on 10 November 2014. The single, "Uptown Funk," features Bruno Mars on vocals. On 22 November 2014, Ronson and Mars appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live performing "Uptown Funk" and "Feel Right" (featuring Mystikal). "Uptown Funk" reached number one in the UK and US singles charts, and also became the all-time most streamed track in a single week in the UK, having been streamed a record 2.49 million times in a week. "Uptown Funk" reached the top 10 in nearly every country it charted; it spent fifteen weeks at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, fourteen weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and seven weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart. In February 2015 the song won Ronson the Brit Award for British Single of the Year. As of November 2021, the song's music video on YouTube has amassed over 4.3 billion views.
In 2015, Ronson starred in the documentary film Amy about his late friend Amy Winehouse. His voice features in the film where he talks about his career and relationship with Winehouse and there is footage of Ronson from the recording session of the single "Back to Black" from March 2006 and also at Winehouse's funeral in London in July 2011. On 16 October 2015, Ronson became a patron of the Amy Winehouse Foundation. In January 2016, Ronson was nominated for two Brit Awards; Best British Male Solo Artist, and British Producer of the Year, at the 2016 Brit Awards.
At the 2016 Grammy Awards Ronson won two awards for "Uptown Funk", including Record of the Year. Jason Iley, the head of Sony Music UK and Ronson's UK label Columbia Records, hailed Ronson as "a true gentleman" and "one of the most considerate, kind and humble artists in our industry." He added, "the monumental success of Uptown Funk is so thoroughly deserved and has established itself as, not only one of the Records of the Year but of our lifetime."
He went on to executive produce Lady Gaga's fifth album Joanne.
Ronson produced the Queens of the Stone Age's 2017 album Villains.
2018–present: Silk City, "Shallow" and Late Night Feelings
In 2018, Ronson founded his own label, Zelig Records, an imprint of Columbia Records and the first artist he signed was singer King Princess. He also formed the duo Silk City with fellow producer Diplo. Their first single "Electricity" featuring Dua Lipa was released on 6 September and peaked at the US Dance Club Songs and received the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
In May 2018, it was revealed that Ronson was working with Miley Cyrus in the studio. Their first collaboration "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" was released in November 2018. Ronson also co-wrote the song "Shallow" for the film A Star Is Born with his frequent collaborators Lady Gaga, Andrew Wyatt, and Anthony Rossomando. The song earned Ronson an Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, as well as two Grammy nominations, winning the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
On 12 April 2019, it was announced that Mark Ronson would release his fifth album Late Night Feelings, on 26 June 2019. The album features Miley Cyrus, Angel Olsen, Lykke Li and Camila Cabello. Ronson has described the album as a collection of "sad bangers," with the title track laying down a warm mid-tempo dance groove under Li's melancholy vocals.
On 12 October 2019, BBC Two broadcast the documentary Mark Ronson: From the Heart, directed by Carl Hindmarch.
In June of 2021, Ronson, along with Foo Fighters shared a "re-verson" of the Foo Fighters then latest single Making a Fire.
Personal life
Ronson divides his time between London, Los Angeles, and New York. Since childhood, he has been a fan of English Premier League football club Chelsea F.C. and is also a fan of the New York Knicks basketball team.
In 2009, Ronson was voted the most stylish man in the UK by GQ magazine.
In 2011, a portrait of Ronson was painted by British artist Joe Simpson; the painting was exhibited around the UK, including a solo exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
In 2015 he was named one of the magazine's 50 best dressed British men. >
On 20 August 2019, Ronson, along with several other celebrities, invested in a funding round for Lowell Herb Co, a California cannabis brand. He is known to be "a dedicated cannabis consumer".
Relationships
In 2002, Ronson began dating the actress-singer Rashida Jones. They became engaged in March 2003, with Ronson proposing by creating a crossword puzzle with the message "Will you marry me." Their relationship ended approximately one year later.
On 3 September 2011, Ronson married French actress and singer Joséphine de La Baume, who had previously appeared in the music video for "The Bike Song". On 16 May 2017, it was reported that de La Baume had filed for divorce from Ronson, listing the separation date as 21 April 2017. The divorce was finalized in October 2018. On 4 September 2021, Ronson announced his marriage to actress Grace Gummer, after a year of dating.
Lawsuit
In 2017, Lastrada Entertainment claimed that "Uptown Funk" infringed the copyright of Zapp & Roger's 1980 hit song "More Bounce to the Ounce". A total of three lawsuits had been filed by different parties.
Discography
Here Comes the Fuzz (2003)
Version (2007)
Record Collection (with The Business Intl.) (2010)
Uptown Special (2015)
Late Night Feelings (2019)
Filmography
Zoolander (2001) – Himself
Amy (2015) – Himself
Gaga: Five Foot Two (2017) – Himself
Spies in Disguise (2019) – Agency Control Room Technician (cameo)
Videos
Ronson created a video, along with directors Gary Breslin and Jordan Galland, called Circuit Breaker, which was an homage to the video game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In 2001, Ronson appeared in the Aaliyah music video "More Than a Woman" as a DJ. On 30 July 2021, the documentary series Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson was released on Apple TV+.
Production discography
Adapted from AllMusic. Bold denotes a commercial single.
Other singles
1997: Posse-O – "It's Up to You..."*
1998: Powerule – "Heatin' Up"*
1998: Powerule – "Rhymes to Bust" / "It's Your Right"*
2002: J-Live – "School's In"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "City Rules"*
2004: Daniel Merriweather – "She's Got Me"*
2005: Rhymefest – "These Days"*
2005: Rhymefest – "Brand New"*
2007: Candie Payne – "One More Chance"*
2007: Bob Dylan – "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) (Mark Ronson Re-version)"*
2008: Leon Jean-Marie – "Bed of Nails"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Never Miss a Beat"*
2008: Wiley – "Cash in My Pocket"*
2008: Kaiser Chiefs – "Good Days Bad Days"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Change"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Red"*
2009: Daniel Merriweather – "Impossible"
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Out of the Game"*
2012: Rufus Wainwright – "Jericho"*
2013: Giggs – "(Is It Gangsta?) Yes Yes Yes"*
2015: Duran Duran featuring Janelle Monáe and Nile Rodgers – "Pressure Off"*
2016: Various Artists – "Hands"*
2018: Michael Jackson - "Diamonds Are Invincible"* (Mash-Up)
2018: Silk City - "Electricity"* featuring Dua Lipa, Diplo and Mark Ronson
2018: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – "Shallow"*
2020: Troye Sivan featuring Kacey Musgraves and Mark Ronson - "Easy"*
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Mark Ronson and Boy George
1975 births
20th-century English musicians
21st-century English musicians
Allido Records artists
APRA Award winners
British Ashkenazi Jews
Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters
Brit Award winners
British alternative rock musicians
British hip hop DJs
Collegiate School (New York) alumni
English DJs
DJs from London
English emigrants to the United States
English people of Austrian-Jewish descent
English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
English people of Russian-Jewish descent
English multi-instrumentalists
English record producers
English songwriters
Golden Globe Award-winning musicians
Grammy Award winners
Hip hop record producers
Jewish English musicians
Jewish hip hop record producers
Jewish singers
Living people
People from Notting Hill
People from the Upper West Side
M
Mark Ronson
Silk City (duo) members
Sony Music UK artists
The Flip Squad members
Tisch School of the Arts alumni | true | [
"An Englishman in Auschwitz is a 2001 book written by Leon Greenman, a Holocaust survivor. The book details his experiences in the Auschwitz concentration camp.\n\nThe book is a result of the commitment of English-born Greenman to God \"that if he lived, he would let the world know what happened during the war\". In short, the book describes the reminiscences of his days of imprisonment in six concentration camps of the Nazis. Greenman describes the arrival of his family (consisting of himself, his wife, Esther, a Dutchwoman, and their three-year-old son, Barney) at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in these words: The women were separated from the men: Else and Barny were marched about 20 yards away to a queue of women...I tried to watch Else. I could see her clearly against the blue lights. She could see me too for she threw me a kiss and held up our child for me to see. What was going through her mind I will never know. Perhaps she was pleased that the journey had come to an end.\n\nReferences\n\n2001 non-fiction books\nPersonal accounts of the Holocaust",
"The Last Passenger is a 2013 novel written by Manel Loureiro. The plot is about a British journalist named Kate Kilroy who wants to finish her late husband's last story, which tells the story of the Valkyrie, a German 1930's ocean liner where mysterious disappearances have occurred since its maiden voyage. With the desire to finish the story and some curiosity, Kate decides to board the vessel on its new voyage, a voyage from which she might never return. Kate Kilroy boards the Valkyrie in Hamburg, Germany. 20 days after its publishing, The Last Passenger was listed on Amazon US's Best Sellers and is the first Spanish author to achieve this.\n\nPlot \nAugust 28, 1939. A coal-cargo ship named Pass of Ballaster is heading towards Bristol when it finds an abandoned-looking ocean liner named Valkyrie. A rescue team is assembled and sent to check the mysterious ship. When they board, they find a very interesting puzzle: a deserted ship, with recently cooked meals in the dining room; a few months-old baby dropped in the ballroom; and something else, something evil that no one can identify.\n\nPresent Day. Journalist Kate Kilroy is recovering from her husband's sudden death. In his memory, she decides to finish and publish the story he was working on before his death, the Valkyrie. She starts to research it and goes to an old naval base in northern England for some information. The local officers tell Kate the story of the Valkyrie and her ghostly legacy. She also learns that the ship's new owner is a multi-millionaire man named Isaac Feldman, who does anything to get what he wants. Kate meets an old man who was on board the Pass of Ballaster the night she found the Valkyrie. He tells her what happened on the ship when they first boarded, and what happened to the others from the crew. After trying to break into Isaac Feldman's house, Kate tells him what she knows about the ship and he reveals that he was the baby found in Valkyrie's ballroom. When she goes back to see the old man with Feldman, she finds him mutilated and deceased. Now being the only person who knows the whole story, Kate is invited by Feldman to join his team on the new voyage of the Valkyrie, to find out what really happened in 1939.\n\nReferences\n\n21st-century Spanish novels\n2013 novels"
] |
[
"Rufus Thomas",
"Later career"
] | C_dc811815d65a438da683bba38a03c8bd_0 | Is he still putting out albums | 1 | Is Rufus Thomas still putting out albums | Rufus Thomas | Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his songs] over on stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his fifties", and usually performed "while clothed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots and capes, all in wild colors." He continued as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and worked for a period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid 1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared regularly on television and recorded albums for various labels. Thomas performed regularly at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy; the outdoor amphitheater in which he performed was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park. He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker's documentary Only the Strong Survive. Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1990, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. In 1996, he and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, on Ecko Records. In 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows on Beale Street. In 1997, to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road off Beale Street, close to the old Palace Theater, as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP in 1997. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001. CANNOTANSWER | Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, | Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Records and Sun Records in the 1950s, before becoming established in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records. He is best known for his novelty dance records, including "Walking the Dog" (1963), "Do the Funky Chicken" (1969) and "(Do the) Push and Pull" (1970). According to the Mississippi Blues Commission, "Rufus Thomas embodied the spirit of Memphis music perhaps more than any other artist, and from the early 1940s until his death . . . occupied many important roles in the local scene."
He began his career as a tap dancer, vaudeville performer, and master of ceremonies in the 1930s. He later worked as a disc jockey on radio station WDIA in Memphis, both before and after his recordings became successful. He remained active into the 1990s and as a performer and recording artist was often billed as "The World's Oldest Teenager". He was the father of the singers Carla Thomas (with whom he recorded duets) and Vaneese Thomas and the keyboard player Marvell Thomas.
Early life
Thomas was born in the rural community of Cayce, Mississippi, the son of a sharecropper. He moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee, around 1920. His mother was a "church woman". Thomas made his debut as a performer at the age of six, playing a frog in a school theatrical production. By the age of 10, he was a tap dancer, performing on the streets and in amateur productions at Booker T. Washington High School, in Memphis. From the age of 13, he worked with Nat D. Williams, his high-school history teacher, who was also a pioneer black DJ at radio station WDIA and columnist for black newspapers, as a master of ceremonies at talent shows in the Palace Theater on Beale Street. After graduating from high school, Thomas attended Tennessee A&I University for one semester, but economic constraints led him to leave to pursue a career as a full-time entertainer.
Early career
Thomas began performing in traveling tent shows. In 1936 he joined the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, an all-black revue that toured the South, as a tap dancer and comedian, sometimes part of a duo, Rufus and Johnny. He married Cornelia Lorene Wilson in 1940, at a service officiated by Rev. C. L. Franklin, the father of Aretha Franklin, and the couple settled in Memphis. Thomas worked a day job in the American Finishing Company textile bleaching plant, which he continued to do for over 20 years. He also formed a comedy and dancing duo, Rufus and Bones, with Robert "Bones" Couch, and they took over as MCs at the Palace Theater, often presenting amateur hour shows. One early winner was B.B. King, and others discovered by Thomas later in the 1940s included Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace.
In the early 1940s, Thomas began writing and performing his own songs. He regarded Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Gatemouth Moore as musical influences. He made his professional singing debut at the Elks Club on Beale Street, filling in for another singer at the last minute, and during the 1940s became a regular performer in Memphis nightclubs, such as Currie's Club Tropicana. As an established performer in Memphis, aged 33 in 1950, Thomas recorded his first 78 rpm single, for Jesse Erickson's small Star Talent label in Dallas, Texas. Thomas said, "I just wanted to make a record. I never thought of getting rich. I just wanted to be known, be a recording artist. . . . [But] the record sold five copies and I bought four of them." The record, "I'll Be a Good Boy" backed with "I'm So Worried", gained a Billboard review, which stated that "Thomas shows first class style on a slow blues". He also recorded for the Bullet label in Nashville, Tennessee, when he recorded with Bobby Plater's Orchestra and was credited as "Mr. Swing"; the recordings were not recognised by researchers as being by Thomas until 1996. In 1951 he made his first recordings at Sam Phillips's Sun Studio, for the Chess label, but they were not commercially successful.
He began working as a DJ at radio station WDIA in 1951, and hosted an afternoon R&B show called Hoot and Holler. WDIA, featuring an African-American format, was known as "the mother station of the Negroes" and became an important source of blues and R&B music for a generation, its audience consisting of white as well as black listeners. Thomas used to introduce his shows saying, "I'm young, I'm loose, I'm full of juice, I got the goose so what's the use. We're feeling gay though we ain't got a dollar, Rufus is here, so hoot and holler." He also used to lead tours of white teenagers on "midnight rambles" around Beale Street. Thomas claimed to be the first black DJ to play Elvis Presley records, which he did until the police made him stop due to segregation. He performed on stage with Elvis to an all-black audience, and although the police tried to shut it down, the audience stormed through to get to him. After that, the police allowed Elvis songs on black radio stations
His celebrity in the South was such that in 1953, at Sam Phillips's suggestion, he recorded "Bear Cat" for Sun Records, an "answer record" to Big Mama Thornton's R&B hit "Hound Dog". The record became the label's first national chart hit, reaching number 3 on the Billboard R&B chart. However, a copyright-infringement suit brought by Don Robey, the original publisher of "Hound Dog", nearly bankrupted the record label. After only one recording there, Thomas was one of the African-American artists released by Phillips, as he oriented his label more toward white audiences and signed Elvis Presley, who later recorded Thomas's song "Tiger Man". Thomas did not record again until 1956, when he made a single, "I'm Steady Holdin' On", for the Bihari brothers' Meteor label; musicians on the record included Lewie Steinberg, later a founding member of Booker T and the MGs.
Stax Records
In 1960 he made his first recordings with his 17-year-old daughter Carla, for the Satellite label in Memphis, which changed its name to Stax the following year. The song, "Cause I Love You", featuring a rhythm borrowed from Jesse Hill's "Ooh Poo Pa Doo", was a regional hit; the musicians included Thomas' son Marvell on keyboards, Steinberg, and the 16-year-old Booker T. Jones. The record's success led to Stax gaining production and distribution deal with the much larger Atlantic Records.
Rufus Thomas continued to record for the label after Carla's record "Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)" reached the national R&B chart in 1961. He had his own hit with "The Dog", a song he had originally improvised in performance based on a Willie Mitchell bass line, complete with imitations of a barking dog. The 1963 follow-up, "Walking the Dog", engineered by Tom Dowd of Atlantic, became one of his most successful records, reaching #10 on the Billboard pop chart. He became the first, and still the only, father to debut in the Top 10 after his daughter had first appeared there. The song was recorded in early 1964 by the Rolling Stones on their debut album, and was a minor UK chart hit for Merseybeat group the Dennisons later that year.
As well as recording and appearing on radio and in clubs, Thomas continued to work as a boiler operator in the textile plant, where he claimed the noises sometimes suggested musical rhythms and lyrics to him, before he finally gave up the job in 1963, to focus on his role as a singer and entertainer. He recorded a series of novelty dance tracks, including "Can Your Monkey Do the Dog'" and '"Somebody Stole My Dog" for Stax, where he was often backed by Booker T. & the MGs or the Bar-Kays. He also became a mentor to younger Stax stars, giving advice on stage moves to performers like Otis Redding, who partnered daughter Carla on record.
After "Jump Back" in 1964, the hits dried up for several years, as Stax gave more attention to younger artists and musicians. However, in 1970 he had another big hit with "Do the Funky Chicken", which reached #5 on the R&B chart, #28 on the pop chart, and #18 in Britain where it was his only chart hit. Thomas improvised the song while performing with Willie Mitchell's band at a club in Covington, Tennessee, including a spoken word section that he regularly used as a shtick as a radio DJ: "Oh I feel so unnecessary - this is the kind of stuff that makes you feel like you wanna do something nasty, like waste some chicken gravy on your white shirt right down front." The recording was produced by Al Bell and Tom Nixon, and used the Bar-Kays, featuring guitarist Michael Toles. Thomas continued to work with Bell and Nixon as producers, and later in 1970 had his only number 1 R&B hit [and his second-highest pop charting record] with another dance song, "Do the Push and Pull". A further dance-oriented release in 1971, "The Breakdown", climbed to number 2 R&B and number 31 Pop. In 1972, he featured in the Wattstax concert, and he had several further, less successful, hits before Stax collapsed in 1976.
Later career
Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his songs] over on stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his fifties", and usually performed "while clothed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots and capes, all in wild colors."
He continued as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and worked for a period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid 1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared regularly on television and recorded albums for various labels. Thomas performed regularly at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy; the outdoor amphitheater in which he performed was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park.
He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker’s documentary Only the Strong Survive. Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman Is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1988, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. In 1996, he and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, on Ecko Records. In 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows on Beale Street.
In 1997, to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road off Beale Street, close to the old Palace Theater, as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP in 1997. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001.
Death and legacy
He died of heart failure in 2001, at the age of 84, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis. He is buried next to his wife Lorene, who pre-deceased him in 2000, at the New Park Cemetery in Memphis.
Writer Peter Guralnick said of him:His music... brought a great deal of joy to the world, but his personality brought even more, conveying a message of grit, determination, indomitability, above all a bottomless appreciation for the human comedy that left little room for the drab or the dreary in his presence.
Thomas was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Byhalia.
In popular culture
Bobby Brown portrays Thomas in the BET television series American Soul.
A character named Rufus in “Kill Bill: Volume 2” played with Rufus Thomas.
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! rowspan="2"| Catalogue ref
! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
|-
! style="width:50px;"| US200
! style="width:50px;"| USR&B
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1963
| Walking the Dog
| Stax 704
| align=center| 138
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1970
| Do the Funky Chicken
| Stax STS-2028
| align=center| —
| align=center| 32
|-
| Rufus Thomas Live: Doing the Push & Pull at P.J.'s
| Stax STS-2039
| align=center| 147
| align=center| 19
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1972
| Did You Heard Me?
| Stax STS-3004
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1973
| Crown Prince of Dance
| Stax STS-3008
| align=center| —
| align=center| 42
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1977
| If There Were No More Music
| AVI 6015
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1978
| I Ain't Gettin' Older, I'm Gettin' Better
| AVI 6046
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1988
| That Woman Is Poison!
| Alligator AL 4769
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1996
| Blues Thang!
| Sequel/Castle SEQ 1054
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| The Best of Rufus Thomas: Do the Funky Somethin' (compilation)
| Rhino R2 72410
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1997
| Rufus Live! [rec. 1996 at Southern Crossroads Festival in Atlanta, GA]
| Ecko ECD 1013
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2000
| Swing Out with Rufus Thomas
| High Stacks HS 9982
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2005
| Just Because I'm Leavin''' (posthumous)
| Segue Records SRRT05
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
|}
Source:
Singles
Source:
References
Further reading
Greenberg, Steve. Do the Funky Somethin': The Best of Rufus Thomas'' (liner notes), Rhino Records, 1996.
External links
Rufus Thomas Biography at Alligator Records
Soulwalking.co.uk
1917 births
2001 deaths
20th-century American singers
20th-century African-American male singers
American blues singers
American funk singers
American soul singers
Blues musicians from Mississippi
Chess Records artists
People from Marshall County, Mississippi
Stax Records artists
Sun Records artists
Meteor Records artists
Tennessee State University alumni
20th-century American male singers
Mississippi Blues Trail
Alligator Records artists | true | [
"Beyond Measure is the second studio album from Dynasty. Facedown Records released the album on January 22, 2013. Dynasty worked with Andrew P. Glover in the production of this album.\n\nCritical reception\n\nAwarding the album three and a half stars, Tony D. Bryant from HM Magazine stated, \"Beyond Measure is full of adrenaline-pumping lyrics and circle pits... with guitars, drums and vocals all blending to a hard, fast and full-of-emotion album. There is no sitting still while listening to this album.\" Mark Sherwood, rating the album a seven out of ten for Cross Rhythms, wrote, \"A tad repetitive and unadventurous but Beyond Measure definitely has its moments.\" Giving the album three and a half stars at Jesus Freak Hideout, Scott Fryberger wrote, \"it's an enjoyable album.\" Lee Brown, awarding the album three stars by Indie Vision Music, said, \"the album is filled with brutality that is skillfully executed and bleeds deeply... Putting its brevity aside, Beyond Measure has some solid musicianship and some fantastic guest appearances.\"\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences\n\n2013 albums\nDynasty (hardcore band) albums\nFacedown Records albums",
"St Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club, originally known as the St Andrews Ladies Golf Club when it was first established in 1867 for female golf players to use, now the club is also known as the Ladies’ Putting Club of St Andrews, or simply the Putting Club. The club is still a ladies only golf club based in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It is generally known to visitors as The Himalayas putting course, which is where the club's members and visitors play, and is thought to be the first minigolf course ever made. The Himalayas name comes about from the peaks and troughs on the course. It has both 9 and 18-hole courses, and is open to men, women and children (6 years of age and above) visitors alike for a nominal fee. The club is the world’s oldest ladies’ golf club.\n\nHistory\n\nBefore 1860, there were few recreational activities that young women could participate in, apart from croquet, battledore and shuttlecock, and archery. \nAt that time, the caddies of St Andrews laid out a small putting area on the Links behind Gibson Place, which is close to the present-day Rusacks Hotel. The club originated as a group of local St Andrews ladies that included Miss Ellen Boothby, her sister-in-law Mrs Robert Todd Boothby, Mrs Skipworth, Miss Deane and Miss Chambers, who met regularly on the putting green. Many of the ladies’ fathers or brothers were members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, and the ladies would play on the Old Course when it was quiet. There had been growing friction between the ladies and the caddies, who believed that the ladies were taking over their space on the links. Consequently, by 1866 the ladies felt that they should have their own links and club, and so in 1867 the St Andrews Ladies Golf Club was established with Mrs Robert Todd Boothby as President and Miss Ellen Boothby as Vice President. \n\nOld Tom Morris laid out a nine-hole “miniature links” golf course, called the Ladies’ Putting Green also commonly known as The Himalayas. The course is now known as Ladies’ Putting Green (The Himalayas). He was a supporter of the club and the green-keeper for the club until he retired in 1895. He was then made an honorary member of the club. At some point in time, more ground was acquired to the north for the 18-hole putting course. One of the main obstacles on the course is the old fishermen’s path which had been frequently flooded. This path still runs through the putting course but it now has a hard surface and is still referred to as “Jordan”. In 1898 a very basic corrugated iron Clubhouse was erected and by 1999, this was replaced by the current structure.\n\nThe Himalayas putting course is run by the St Andrews Ladies' Putting Club, unlike the other seven golf courses on the St Andrews Links, which are run by St Andrews Links Trust. The course was originally laid out by Old Tom Morris as a 9-hole course. Later more land was acquire and an 18-hole course was established.\n\nSee also\nList of golf courses designed by Old Tom Morris\n\nReferences\n\nFurther reading\n\nExternal links\n \n \n \n\nMiniature golf\n1867 establishments in Scotland\nGolf clubs and courses in Fife\nSt Andrews\nWomen's organisations based in Scotland"
] |
[
"Rufus Thomas",
"Later career",
"Is he still putting out albums",
"Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues,"
] | C_dc811815d65a438da683bba38a03c8bd_0 | When was it released? | 2 | When was Rufus Thomas' late career album released? | Rufus Thomas | Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his songs] over on stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his fifties", and usually performed "while clothed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots and capes, all in wild colors." He continued as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and worked for a period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid 1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared regularly on television and recorded albums for various labels. Thomas performed regularly at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy; the outdoor amphitheater in which he performed was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park. He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker's documentary Only the Strong Survive. Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1990, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. In 1996, he and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, on Ecko Records. In 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows on Beale Street. In 1997, to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road off Beale Street, close to the old Palace Theater, as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP in 1997. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001. CANNOTANSWER | in 1990, | Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Records and Sun Records in the 1950s, before becoming established in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records. He is best known for his novelty dance records, including "Walking the Dog" (1963), "Do the Funky Chicken" (1969) and "(Do the) Push and Pull" (1970). According to the Mississippi Blues Commission, "Rufus Thomas embodied the spirit of Memphis music perhaps more than any other artist, and from the early 1940s until his death . . . occupied many important roles in the local scene."
He began his career as a tap dancer, vaudeville performer, and master of ceremonies in the 1930s. He later worked as a disc jockey on radio station WDIA in Memphis, both before and after his recordings became successful. He remained active into the 1990s and as a performer and recording artist was often billed as "The World's Oldest Teenager". He was the father of the singers Carla Thomas (with whom he recorded duets) and Vaneese Thomas and the keyboard player Marvell Thomas.
Early life
Thomas was born in the rural community of Cayce, Mississippi, the son of a sharecropper. He moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee, around 1920. His mother was a "church woman". Thomas made his debut as a performer at the age of six, playing a frog in a school theatrical production. By the age of 10, he was a tap dancer, performing on the streets and in amateur productions at Booker T. Washington High School, in Memphis. From the age of 13, he worked with Nat D. Williams, his high-school history teacher, who was also a pioneer black DJ at radio station WDIA and columnist for black newspapers, as a master of ceremonies at talent shows in the Palace Theater on Beale Street. After graduating from high school, Thomas attended Tennessee A&I University for one semester, but economic constraints led him to leave to pursue a career as a full-time entertainer.
Early career
Thomas began performing in traveling tent shows. In 1936 he joined the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, an all-black revue that toured the South, as a tap dancer and comedian, sometimes part of a duo, Rufus and Johnny. He married Cornelia Lorene Wilson in 1940, at a service officiated by Rev. C. L. Franklin, the father of Aretha Franklin, and the couple settled in Memphis. Thomas worked a day job in the American Finishing Company textile bleaching plant, which he continued to do for over 20 years. He also formed a comedy and dancing duo, Rufus and Bones, with Robert "Bones" Couch, and they took over as MCs at the Palace Theater, often presenting amateur hour shows. One early winner was B.B. King, and others discovered by Thomas later in the 1940s included Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace.
In the early 1940s, Thomas began writing and performing his own songs. He regarded Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Gatemouth Moore as musical influences. He made his professional singing debut at the Elks Club on Beale Street, filling in for another singer at the last minute, and during the 1940s became a regular performer in Memphis nightclubs, such as Currie's Club Tropicana. As an established performer in Memphis, aged 33 in 1950, Thomas recorded his first 78 rpm single, for Jesse Erickson's small Star Talent label in Dallas, Texas. Thomas said, "I just wanted to make a record. I never thought of getting rich. I just wanted to be known, be a recording artist. . . . [But] the record sold five copies and I bought four of them." The record, "I'll Be a Good Boy" backed with "I'm So Worried", gained a Billboard review, which stated that "Thomas shows first class style on a slow blues". He also recorded for the Bullet label in Nashville, Tennessee, when he recorded with Bobby Plater's Orchestra and was credited as "Mr. Swing"; the recordings were not recognised by researchers as being by Thomas until 1996. In 1951 he made his first recordings at Sam Phillips's Sun Studio, for the Chess label, but they were not commercially successful.
He began working as a DJ at radio station WDIA in 1951, and hosted an afternoon R&B show called Hoot and Holler. WDIA, featuring an African-American format, was known as "the mother station of the Negroes" and became an important source of blues and R&B music for a generation, its audience consisting of white as well as black listeners. Thomas used to introduce his shows saying, "I'm young, I'm loose, I'm full of juice, I got the goose so what's the use. We're feeling gay though we ain't got a dollar, Rufus is here, so hoot and holler." He also used to lead tours of white teenagers on "midnight rambles" around Beale Street. Thomas claimed to be the first black DJ to play Elvis Presley records, which he did until the police made him stop due to segregation. He performed on stage with Elvis to an all-black audience, and although the police tried to shut it down, the audience stormed through to get to him. After that, the police allowed Elvis songs on black radio stations
His celebrity in the South was such that in 1953, at Sam Phillips's suggestion, he recorded "Bear Cat" for Sun Records, an "answer record" to Big Mama Thornton's R&B hit "Hound Dog". The record became the label's first national chart hit, reaching number 3 on the Billboard R&B chart. However, a copyright-infringement suit brought by Don Robey, the original publisher of "Hound Dog", nearly bankrupted the record label. After only one recording there, Thomas was one of the African-American artists released by Phillips, as he oriented his label more toward white audiences and signed Elvis Presley, who later recorded Thomas's song "Tiger Man". Thomas did not record again until 1956, when he made a single, "I'm Steady Holdin' On", for the Bihari brothers' Meteor label; musicians on the record included Lewie Steinberg, later a founding member of Booker T and the MGs.
Stax Records
In 1960 he made his first recordings with his 17-year-old daughter Carla, for the Satellite label in Memphis, which changed its name to Stax the following year. The song, "Cause I Love You", featuring a rhythm borrowed from Jesse Hill's "Ooh Poo Pa Doo", was a regional hit; the musicians included Thomas' son Marvell on keyboards, Steinberg, and the 16-year-old Booker T. Jones. The record's success led to Stax gaining production and distribution deal with the much larger Atlantic Records.
Rufus Thomas continued to record for the label after Carla's record "Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)" reached the national R&B chart in 1961. He had his own hit with "The Dog", a song he had originally improvised in performance based on a Willie Mitchell bass line, complete with imitations of a barking dog. The 1963 follow-up, "Walking the Dog", engineered by Tom Dowd of Atlantic, became one of his most successful records, reaching #10 on the Billboard pop chart. He became the first, and still the only, father to debut in the Top 10 after his daughter had first appeared there. The song was recorded in early 1964 by the Rolling Stones on their debut album, and was a minor UK chart hit for Merseybeat group the Dennisons later that year.
As well as recording and appearing on radio and in clubs, Thomas continued to work as a boiler operator in the textile plant, where he claimed the noises sometimes suggested musical rhythms and lyrics to him, before he finally gave up the job in 1963, to focus on his role as a singer and entertainer. He recorded a series of novelty dance tracks, including "Can Your Monkey Do the Dog'" and '"Somebody Stole My Dog" for Stax, where he was often backed by Booker T. & the MGs or the Bar-Kays. He also became a mentor to younger Stax stars, giving advice on stage moves to performers like Otis Redding, who partnered daughter Carla on record.
After "Jump Back" in 1964, the hits dried up for several years, as Stax gave more attention to younger artists and musicians. However, in 1970 he had another big hit with "Do the Funky Chicken", which reached #5 on the R&B chart, #28 on the pop chart, and #18 in Britain where it was his only chart hit. Thomas improvised the song while performing with Willie Mitchell's band at a club in Covington, Tennessee, including a spoken word section that he regularly used as a shtick as a radio DJ: "Oh I feel so unnecessary - this is the kind of stuff that makes you feel like you wanna do something nasty, like waste some chicken gravy on your white shirt right down front." The recording was produced by Al Bell and Tom Nixon, and used the Bar-Kays, featuring guitarist Michael Toles. Thomas continued to work with Bell and Nixon as producers, and later in 1970 had his only number 1 R&B hit [and his second-highest pop charting record] with another dance song, "Do the Push and Pull". A further dance-oriented release in 1971, "The Breakdown", climbed to number 2 R&B and number 31 Pop. In 1972, he featured in the Wattstax concert, and he had several further, less successful, hits before Stax collapsed in 1976.
Later career
Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his songs] over on stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his fifties", and usually performed "while clothed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots and capes, all in wild colors."
He continued as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and worked for a period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid 1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared regularly on television and recorded albums for various labels. Thomas performed regularly at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy; the outdoor amphitheater in which he performed was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park.
He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker’s documentary Only the Strong Survive. Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman Is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1988, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. In 1996, he and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, on Ecko Records. In 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows on Beale Street.
In 1997, to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road off Beale Street, close to the old Palace Theater, as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP in 1997. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001.
Death and legacy
He died of heart failure in 2001, at the age of 84, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis. He is buried next to his wife Lorene, who pre-deceased him in 2000, at the New Park Cemetery in Memphis.
Writer Peter Guralnick said of him:His music... brought a great deal of joy to the world, but his personality brought even more, conveying a message of grit, determination, indomitability, above all a bottomless appreciation for the human comedy that left little room for the drab or the dreary in his presence.
Thomas was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Byhalia.
In popular culture
Bobby Brown portrays Thomas in the BET television series American Soul.
A character named Rufus in “Kill Bill: Volume 2” played with Rufus Thomas.
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! rowspan="2"| Catalogue ref
! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
|-
! style="width:50px;"| US200
! style="width:50px;"| USR&B
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1963
| Walking the Dog
| Stax 704
| align=center| 138
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1970
| Do the Funky Chicken
| Stax STS-2028
| align=center| —
| align=center| 32
|-
| Rufus Thomas Live: Doing the Push & Pull at P.J.'s
| Stax STS-2039
| align=center| 147
| align=center| 19
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1972
| Did You Heard Me?
| Stax STS-3004
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1973
| Crown Prince of Dance
| Stax STS-3008
| align=center| —
| align=center| 42
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1977
| If There Were No More Music
| AVI 6015
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1978
| I Ain't Gettin' Older, I'm Gettin' Better
| AVI 6046
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1988
| That Woman Is Poison!
| Alligator AL 4769
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1996
| Blues Thang!
| Sequel/Castle SEQ 1054
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| The Best of Rufus Thomas: Do the Funky Somethin' (compilation)
| Rhino R2 72410
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1997
| Rufus Live! [rec. 1996 at Southern Crossroads Festival in Atlanta, GA]
| Ecko ECD 1013
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2000
| Swing Out with Rufus Thomas
| High Stacks HS 9982
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2005
| Just Because I'm Leavin''' (posthumous)
| Segue Records SRRT05
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
|}
Source:
Singles
Source:
References
Further reading
Greenberg, Steve. Do the Funky Somethin': The Best of Rufus Thomas'' (liner notes), Rhino Records, 1996.
External links
Rufus Thomas Biography at Alligator Records
Soulwalking.co.uk
1917 births
2001 deaths
20th-century American singers
20th-century African-American male singers
American blues singers
American funk singers
American soul singers
Blues musicians from Mississippi
Chess Records artists
People from Marshall County, Mississippi
Stax Records artists
Sun Records artists
Meteor Records artists
Tennessee State University alumni
20th-century American male singers
Mississippi Blues Trail
Alligator Records artists | false | [
"When the Bough Breaks is the second solo album from Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward. It was originally released on April 27, 1997, on Cleopatra Records.\n\nTrack listing\n\"Hate\" – 5:00\n\"Children Killing Children\" – 3:51\n\"Growth\" – 5:45\n\"When I was a Child\" – 4:54\n\"Please Help Mommy (She's a Junkie)\" – 6:40\n\"Shine\" – 5:06\n\"Step Lightly (On the Grass)\" – 5:59\n\"Love & Innocence\" – 1:00\n\"Animals\" – 6:32\n\"Nighthawks Stars & Pines\" – 6:45\n\"Try Life\" – 5:35\n\"When the Bough Breaks\" – 9:45\n\nCD Cleopatra CL9981 (US 1997)\n\nMusicians\n\nBill Ward - vocals, lyrics, musical arrangements\nKeith Lynch - guitars\nPaul Ill - bass, double bass, synthesizer, tape loops\nRonnie Ciago - drums\n\nCover art and reprint issues\n\nAs originally released, this album featured cover art that had two roses on it. After it was released, Bill Ward (as with Ward One, his first solo album) stated on his website that the released cover art was not the correct one that was intended to be released. Additionally, the liner notes for the original printing had lyrics that were so small, most people needed a magnifying glass to read them. This was eventually corrected in 2000 when the version of the album with Bill on the cover from the 70's was released. The album was later on released in a special digipak style of case, but this was later said to be released prematurely, and was withdrawn.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nWhen the Bough Breaks at Bill Ward's site\nWhen the Bough Breaks at Black Sabbath Online\n\nBill Ward (musician) albums\nBlack Sabbath\n1997 albums\nCleopatra Records albums",
"Joseph Jin Dechen (; June 19, 1919 – November 21, 2002) was a Chinese Catholic priest and Bishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nanyang.\n\nBiography\nHe was ordained a priest in 1944. In 1958, he was arrested for the first time and sentenced to life in prison. This sentence was settled and he was released in 1973. In December 1981, when he was Bishop Emeritus in Roman Catholic Diocese of Nanyang, he was again arrested, charged with resistance to abortion and birth control, and was sentenced to 15 years of prison and five years of subsequent loss of political rights on July 27, 1982. He was detained in the Third Province Prison in Yu County (now Yuzhou), near Zhengzhou in Henan, and was pardoned and released in May 1992 and ordered to stay in his village Jinjiajiang, near Nanyang. He was out of weakness when he was released from prison.\n\nReferences\n\n1919 births\n2002 deaths\n20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in China"
] |
[
"Rufus Thomas",
"Later career",
"Is he still putting out albums",
"Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues,",
"When was it released?",
"in 1990,"
] | C_dc811815d65a438da683bba38a03c8bd_0 | Did it have any hits on the charts | 3 | Did Rufus Thomas' late career album have any hits on the charts | Rufus Thomas | Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his songs] over on stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his fifties", and usually performed "while clothed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots and capes, all in wild colors." He continued as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and worked for a period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid 1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared regularly on television and recorded albums for various labels. Thomas performed regularly at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy; the outdoor amphitheater in which he performed was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park. He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker's documentary Only the Strong Survive. Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1990, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. In 1996, he and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, on Ecko Records. In 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows on Beale Street. In 1997, to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road off Beale Street, close to the old Palace Theater, as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP in 1997. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Records and Sun Records in the 1950s, before becoming established in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records. He is best known for his novelty dance records, including "Walking the Dog" (1963), "Do the Funky Chicken" (1969) and "(Do the) Push and Pull" (1970). According to the Mississippi Blues Commission, "Rufus Thomas embodied the spirit of Memphis music perhaps more than any other artist, and from the early 1940s until his death . . . occupied many important roles in the local scene."
He began his career as a tap dancer, vaudeville performer, and master of ceremonies in the 1930s. He later worked as a disc jockey on radio station WDIA in Memphis, both before and after his recordings became successful. He remained active into the 1990s and as a performer and recording artist was often billed as "The World's Oldest Teenager". He was the father of the singers Carla Thomas (with whom he recorded duets) and Vaneese Thomas and the keyboard player Marvell Thomas.
Early life
Thomas was born in the rural community of Cayce, Mississippi, the son of a sharecropper. He moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee, around 1920. His mother was a "church woman". Thomas made his debut as a performer at the age of six, playing a frog in a school theatrical production. By the age of 10, he was a tap dancer, performing on the streets and in amateur productions at Booker T. Washington High School, in Memphis. From the age of 13, he worked with Nat D. Williams, his high-school history teacher, who was also a pioneer black DJ at radio station WDIA and columnist for black newspapers, as a master of ceremonies at talent shows in the Palace Theater on Beale Street. After graduating from high school, Thomas attended Tennessee A&I University for one semester, but economic constraints led him to leave to pursue a career as a full-time entertainer.
Early career
Thomas began performing in traveling tent shows. In 1936 he joined the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, an all-black revue that toured the South, as a tap dancer and comedian, sometimes part of a duo, Rufus and Johnny. He married Cornelia Lorene Wilson in 1940, at a service officiated by Rev. C. L. Franklin, the father of Aretha Franklin, and the couple settled in Memphis. Thomas worked a day job in the American Finishing Company textile bleaching plant, which he continued to do for over 20 years. He also formed a comedy and dancing duo, Rufus and Bones, with Robert "Bones" Couch, and they took over as MCs at the Palace Theater, often presenting amateur hour shows. One early winner was B.B. King, and others discovered by Thomas later in the 1940s included Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace.
In the early 1940s, Thomas began writing and performing his own songs. He regarded Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Gatemouth Moore as musical influences. He made his professional singing debut at the Elks Club on Beale Street, filling in for another singer at the last minute, and during the 1940s became a regular performer in Memphis nightclubs, such as Currie's Club Tropicana. As an established performer in Memphis, aged 33 in 1950, Thomas recorded his first 78 rpm single, for Jesse Erickson's small Star Talent label in Dallas, Texas. Thomas said, "I just wanted to make a record. I never thought of getting rich. I just wanted to be known, be a recording artist. . . . [But] the record sold five copies and I bought four of them." The record, "I'll Be a Good Boy" backed with "I'm So Worried", gained a Billboard review, which stated that "Thomas shows first class style on a slow blues". He also recorded for the Bullet label in Nashville, Tennessee, when he recorded with Bobby Plater's Orchestra and was credited as "Mr. Swing"; the recordings were not recognised by researchers as being by Thomas until 1996. In 1951 he made his first recordings at Sam Phillips's Sun Studio, for the Chess label, but they were not commercially successful.
He began working as a DJ at radio station WDIA in 1951, and hosted an afternoon R&B show called Hoot and Holler. WDIA, featuring an African-American format, was known as "the mother station of the Negroes" and became an important source of blues and R&B music for a generation, its audience consisting of white as well as black listeners. Thomas used to introduce his shows saying, "I'm young, I'm loose, I'm full of juice, I got the goose so what's the use. We're feeling gay though we ain't got a dollar, Rufus is here, so hoot and holler." He also used to lead tours of white teenagers on "midnight rambles" around Beale Street. Thomas claimed to be the first black DJ to play Elvis Presley records, which he did until the police made him stop due to segregation. He performed on stage with Elvis to an all-black audience, and although the police tried to shut it down, the audience stormed through to get to him. After that, the police allowed Elvis songs on black radio stations
His celebrity in the South was such that in 1953, at Sam Phillips's suggestion, he recorded "Bear Cat" for Sun Records, an "answer record" to Big Mama Thornton's R&B hit "Hound Dog". The record became the label's first national chart hit, reaching number 3 on the Billboard R&B chart. However, a copyright-infringement suit brought by Don Robey, the original publisher of "Hound Dog", nearly bankrupted the record label. After only one recording there, Thomas was one of the African-American artists released by Phillips, as he oriented his label more toward white audiences and signed Elvis Presley, who later recorded Thomas's song "Tiger Man". Thomas did not record again until 1956, when he made a single, "I'm Steady Holdin' On", for the Bihari brothers' Meteor label; musicians on the record included Lewie Steinberg, later a founding member of Booker T and the MGs.
Stax Records
In 1960 he made his first recordings with his 17-year-old daughter Carla, for the Satellite label in Memphis, which changed its name to Stax the following year. The song, "Cause I Love You", featuring a rhythm borrowed from Jesse Hill's "Ooh Poo Pa Doo", was a regional hit; the musicians included Thomas' son Marvell on keyboards, Steinberg, and the 16-year-old Booker T. Jones. The record's success led to Stax gaining production and distribution deal with the much larger Atlantic Records.
Rufus Thomas continued to record for the label after Carla's record "Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)" reached the national R&B chart in 1961. He had his own hit with "The Dog", a song he had originally improvised in performance based on a Willie Mitchell bass line, complete with imitations of a barking dog. The 1963 follow-up, "Walking the Dog", engineered by Tom Dowd of Atlantic, became one of his most successful records, reaching #10 on the Billboard pop chart. He became the first, and still the only, father to debut in the Top 10 after his daughter had first appeared there. The song was recorded in early 1964 by the Rolling Stones on their debut album, and was a minor UK chart hit for Merseybeat group the Dennisons later that year.
As well as recording and appearing on radio and in clubs, Thomas continued to work as a boiler operator in the textile plant, where he claimed the noises sometimes suggested musical rhythms and lyrics to him, before he finally gave up the job in 1963, to focus on his role as a singer and entertainer. He recorded a series of novelty dance tracks, including "Can Your Monkey Do the Dog'" and '"Somebody Stole My Dog" for Stax, where he was often backed by Booker T. & the MGs or the Bar-Kays. He also became a mentor to younger Stax stars, giving advice on stage moves to performers like Otis Redding, who partnered daughter Carla on record.
After "Jump Back" in 1964, the hits dried up for several years, as Stax gave more attention to younger artists and musicians. However, in 1970 he had another big hit with "Do the Funky Chicken", which reached #5 on the R&B chart, #28 on the pop chart, and #18 in Britain where it was his only chart hit. Thomas improvised the song while performing with Willie Mitchell's band at a club in Covington, Tennessee, including a spoken word section that he regularly used as a shtick as a radio DJ: "Oh I feel so unnecessary - this is the kind of stuff that makes you feel like you wanna do something nasty, like waste some chicken gravy on your white shirt right down front." The recording was produced by Al Bell and Tom Nixon, and used the Bar-Kays, featuring guitarist Michael Toles. Thomas continued to work with Bell and Nixon as producers, and later in 1970 had his only number 1 R&B hit [and his second-highest pop charting record] with another dance song, "Do the Push and Pull". A further dance-oriented release in 1971, "The Breakdown", climbed to number 2 R&B and number 31 Pop. In 1972, he featured in the Wattstax concert, and he had several further, less successful, hits before Stax collapsed in 1976.
Later career
Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his songs] over on stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his fifties", and usually performed "while clothed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots and capes, all in wild colors."
He continued as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and worked for a period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid 1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared regularly on television and recorded albums for various labels. Thomas performed regularly at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy; the outdoor amphitheater in which he performed was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park.
He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker’s documentary Only the Strong Survive. Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman Is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1988, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. In 1996, he and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, on Ecko Records. In 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows on Beale Street.
In 1997, to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road off Beale Street, close to the old Palace Theater, as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP in 1997. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001.
Death and legacy
He died of heart failure in 2001, at the age of 84, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis. He is buried next to his wife Lorene, who pre-deceased him in 2000, at the New Park Cemetery in Memphis.
Writer Peter Guralnick said of him:His music... brought a great deal of joy to the world, but his personality brought even more, conveying a message of grit, determination, indomitability, above all a bottomless appreciation for the human comedy that left little room for the drab or the dreary in his presence.
Thomas was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Byhalia.
In popular culture
Bobby Brown portrays Thomas in the BET television series American Soul.
A character named Rufus in “Kill Bill: Volume 2” played with Rufus Thomas.
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! rowspan="2"| Catalogue ref
! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
|-
! style="width:50px;"| US200
! style="width:50px;"| USR&B
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1963
| Walking the Dog
| Stax 704
| align=center| 138
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1970
| Do the Funky Chicken
| Stax STS-2028
| align=center| —
| align=center| 32
|-
| Rufus Thomas Live: Doing the Push & Pull at P.J.'s
| Stax STS-2039
| align=center| 147
| align=center| 19
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1972
| Did You Heard Me?
| Stax STS-3004
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1973
| Crown Prince of Dance
| Stax STS-3008
| align=center| —
| align=center| 42
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1977
| If There Were No More Music
| AVI 6015
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1978
| I Ain't Gettin' Older, I'm Gettin' Better
| AVI 6046
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1988
| That Woman Is Poison!
| Alligator AL 4769
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1996
| Blues Thang!
| Sequel/Castle SEQ 1054
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| The Best of Rufus Thomas: Do the Funky Somethin' (compilation)
| Rhino R2 72410
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1997
| Rufus Live! [rec. 1996 at Southern Crossroads Festival in Atlanta, GA]
| Ecko ECD 1013
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2000
| Swing Out with Rufus Thomas
| High Stacks HS 9982
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2005
| Just Because I'm Leavin''' (posthumous)
| Segue Records SRRT05
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
|}
Source:
Singles
Source:
References
Further reading
Greenberg, Steve. Do the Funky Somethin': The Best of Rufus Thomas'' (liner notes), Rhino Records, 1996.
External links
Rufus Thomas Biography at Alligator Records
Soulwalking.co.uk
1917 births
2001 deaths
20th-century American singers
20th-century African-American male singers
American blues singers
American funk singers
American soul singers
Blues musicians from Mississippi
Chess Records artists
People from Marshall County, Mississippi
Stax Records artists
Sun Records artists
Meteor Records artists
Tennessee State University alumni
20th-century American male singers
Mississippi Blues Trail
Alligator Records artists | false | [
"Elegant Slumming is the second album by the British dance band M People. It was released on 4 October 1993 charting and peaking at number 2 on the UK Album Chart and spent 87 weeks in the Top 75. It re-entered the chart three times in October 1996 and March and September 1997. Its overall sales stand at 759,000 as of September 2020.\n\nThe four singles released from the album were all UK Top 10 hits: \"One Night in Heaven\" (#6) and \"Moving on Up\" (#2), as well as a cover version of the Dennis Edwards and Siedah Garrett song \"Don't Look Any Further\", which reached No. 9 in the UK. A fourth hit, \"Renaissance\", reached No. 5 in the same chart.\n\nThe US version was released in 1994 in a separate deal on the Epic label, and replaces 3 tracks with 3 hits from their debut album Northern Soul, which did not have a US release. The album was well received, and \"One Night in Heaven\" and \"Moving on Up\" were Billboard No. 1 hits on Hot Dance Club Play.\n\nThe original British album won the 1994 UK Mercury Music Prize.\n\nTrack listing\nAll songs written by Mike Pickering and Paul Heard except where noted.\n\nUS version\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nReferences\n\n1993 albums\nM People albums\nMercury Prize-winning albums",
"\"Forever In My Life\" is a single by The Jets, released on November 28, 1990. Written by Vassal Benford and Ron Spearman. It was released as the second and final single from their greatest hits album, The Best of The Jets on the MCA label. Success on the U.S. charts was diminishing for the group at this time in their career with the first single, \"Special Kinda Love\" peaking at number 83 on the R&B chart and failing to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. This song did not have any impact on the charts and was only released to radio stations for airplay.\n\nReferences\n\n1990 singles\n1990 songs\nThe Jets (band) songs\nMCA Records singles\nSongs written by Vassal Benford\nSongs written by Ronald Spearman"
] |
[
"Rufus Thomas",
"Later career",
"Is he still putting out albums",
"Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues,",
"When was it released?",
"in 1990,",
"Did it have any hits on the charts",
"I don't know."
] | C_dc811815d65a438da683bba38a03c8bd_0 | Did he release any other album | 4 | Aside from the known late career album, Did Rufus Thomas release any other album | Rufus Thomas | Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his songs] over on stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his fifties", and usually performed "while clothed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots and capes, all in wild colors." He continued as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and worked for a period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid 1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared regularly on television and recorded albums for various labels. Thomas performed regularly at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy; the outdoor amphitheater in which he performed was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park. He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker's documentary Only the Strong Survive. Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1990, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. In 1996, he and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, on Ecko Records. In 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows on Beale Street. In 1997, to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road off Beale Street, close to the old Palace Theater, as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP in 1997. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001. CANNOTANSWER | In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, | Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Records and Sun Records in the 1950s, before becoming established in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records. He is best known for his novelty dance records, including "Walking the Dog" (1963), "Do the Funky Chicken" (1969) and "(Do the) Push and Pull" (1970). According to the Mississippi Blues Commission, "Rufus Thomas embodied the spirit of Memphis music perhaps more than any other artist, and from the early 1940s until his death . . . occupied many important roles in the local scene."
He began his career as a tap dancer, vaudeville performer, and master of ceremonies in the 1930s. He later worked as a disc jockey on radio station WDIA in Memphis, both before and after his recordings became successful. He remained active into the 1990s and as a performer and recording artist was often billed as "The World's Oldest Teenager". He was the father of the singers Carla Thomas (with whom he recorded duets) and Vaneese Thomas and the keyboard player Marvell Thomas.
Early life
Thomas was born in the rural community of Cayce, Mississippi, the son of a sharecropper. He moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee, around 1920. His mother was a "church woman". Thomas made his debut as a performer at the age of six, playing a frog in a school theatrical production. By the age of 10, he was a tap dancer, performing on the streets and in amateur productions at Booker T. Washington High School, in Memphis. From the age of 13, he worked with Nat D. Williams, his high-school history teacher, who was also a pioneer black DJ at radio station WDIA and columnist for black newspapers, as a master of ceremonies at talent shows in the Palace Theater on Beale Street. After graduating from high school, Thomas attended Tennessee A&I University for one semester, but economic constraints led him to leave to pursue a career as a full-time entertainer.
Early career
Thomas began performing in traveling tent shows. In 1936 he joined the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, an all-black revue that toured the South, as a tap dancer and comedian, sometimes part of a duo, Rufus and Johnny. He married Cornelia Lorene Wilson in 1940, at a service officiated by Rev. C. L. Franklin, the father of Aretha Franklin, and the couple settled in Memphis. Thomas worked a day job in the American Finishing Company textile bleaching plant, which he continued to do for over 20 years. He also formed a comedy and dancing duo, Rufus and Bones, with Robert "Bones" Couch, and they took over as MCs at the Palace Theater, often presenting amateur hour shows. One early winner was B.B. King, and others discovered by Thomas later in the 1940s included Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace.
In the early 1940s, Thomas began writing and performing his own songs. He regarded Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Gatemouth Moore as musical influences. He made his professional singing debut at the Elks Club on Beale Street, filling in for another singer at the last minute, and during the 1940s became a regular performer in Memphis nightclubs, such as Currie's Club Tropicana. As an established performer in Memphis, aged 33 in 1950, Thomas recorded his first 78 rpm single, for Jesse Erickson's small Star Talent label in Dallas, Texas. Thomas said, "I just wanted to make a record. I never thought of getting rich. I just wanted to be known, be a recording artist. . . . [But] the record sold five copies and I bought four of them." The record, "I'll Be a Good Boy" backed with "I'm So Worried", gained a Billboard review, which stated that "Thomas shows first class style on a slow blues". He also recorded for the Bullet label in Nashville, Tennessee, when he recorded with Bobby Plater's Orchestra and was credited as "Mr. Swing"; the recordings were not recognised by researchers as being by Thomas until 1996. In 1951 he made his first recordings at Sam Phillips's Sun Studio, for the Chess label, but they were not commercially successful.
He began working as a DJ at radio station WDIA in 1951, and hosted an afternoon R&B show called Hoot and Holler. WDIA, featuring an African-American format, was known as "the mother station of the Negroes" and became an important source of blues and R&B music for a generation, its audience consisting of white as well as black listeners. Thomas used to introduce his shows saying, "I'm young, I'm loose, I'm full of juice, I got the goose so what's the use. We're feeling gay though we ain't got a dollar, Rufus is here, so hoot and holler." He also used to lead tours of white teenagers on "midnight rambles" around Beale Street. Thomas claimed to be the first black DJ to play Elvis Presley records, which he did until the police made him stop due to segregation. He performed on stage with Elvis to an all-black audience, and although the police tried to shut it down, the audience stormed through to get to him. After that, the police allowed Elvis songs on black radio stations
His celebrity in the South was such that in 1953, at Sam Phillips's suggestion, he recorded "Bear Cat" for Sun Records, an "answer record" to Big Mama Thornton's R&B hit "Hound Dog". The record became the label's first national chart hit, reaching number 3 on the Billboard R&B chart. However, a copyright-infringement suit brought by Don Robey, the original publisher of "Hound Dog", nearly bankrupted the record label. After only one recording there, Thomas was one of the African-American artists released by Phillips, as he oriented his label more toward white audiences and signed Elvis Presley, who later recorded Thomas's song "Tiger Man". Thomas did not record again until 1956, when he made a single, "I'm Steady Holdin' On", for the Bihari brothers' Meteor label; musicians on the record included Lewie Steinberg, later a founding member of Booker T and the MGs.
Stax Records
In 1960 he made his first recordings with his 17-year-old daughter Carla, for the Satellite label in Memphis, which changed its name to Stax the following year. The song, "Cause I Love You", featuring a rhythm borrowed from Jesse Hill's "Ooh Poo Pa Doo", was a regional hit; the musicians included Thomas' son Marvell on keyboards, Steinberg, and the 16-year-old Booker T. Jones. The record's success led to Stax gaining production and distribution deal with the much larger Atlantic Records.
Rufus Thomas continued to record for the label after Carla's record "Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)" reached the national R&B chart in 1961. He had his own hit with "The Dog", a song he had originally improvised in performance based on a Willie Mitchell bass line, complete with imitations of a barking dog. The 1963 follow-up, "Walking the Dog", engineered by Tom Dowd of Atlantic, became one of his most successful records, reaching #10 on the Billboard pop chart. He became the first, and still the only, father to debut in the Top 10 after his daughter had first appeared there. The song was recorded in early 1964 by the Rolling Stones on their debut album, and was a minor UK chart hit for Merseybeat group the Dennisons later that year.
As well as recording and appearing on radio and in clubs, Thomas continued to work as a boiler operator in the textile plant, where he claimed the noises sometimes suggested musical rhythms and lyrics to him, before he finally gave up the job in 1963, to focus on his role as a singer and entertainer. He recorded a series of novelty dance tracks, including "Can Your Monkey Do the Dog'" and '"Somebody Stole My Dog" for Stax, where he was often backed by Booker T. & the MGs or the Bar-Kays. He also became a mentor to younger Stax stars, giving advice on stage moves to performers like Otis Redding, who partnered daughter Carla on record.
After "Jump Back" in 1964, the hits dried up for several years, as Stax gave more attention to younger artists and musicians. However, in 1970 he had another big hit with "Do the Funky Chicken", which reached #5 on the R&B chart, #28 on the pop chart, and #18 in Britain where it was his only chart hit. Thomas improvised the song while performing with Willie Mitchell's band at a club in Covington, Tennessee, including a spoken word section that he regularly used as a shtick as a radio DJ: "Oh I feel so unnecessary - this is the kind of stuff that makes you feel like you wanna do something nasty, like waste some chicken gravy on your white shirt right down front." The recording was produced by Al Bell and Tom Nixon, and used the Bar-Kays, featuring guitarist Michael Toles. Thomas continued to work with Bell and Nixon as producers, and later in 1970 had his only number 1 R&B hit [and his second-highest pop charting record] with another dance song, "Do the Push and Pull". A further dance-oriented release in 1971, "The Breakdown", climbed to number 2 R&B and number 31 Pop. In 1972, he featured in the Wattstax concert, and he had several further, less successful, hits before Stax collapsed in 1976.
Later career
Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his songs] over on stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his fifties", and usually performed "while clothed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots and capes, all in wild colors."
He continued as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and worked for a period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid 1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared regularly on television and recorded albums for various labels. Thomas performed regularly at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy; the outdoor amphitheater in which he performed was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park.
He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker’s documentary Only the Strong Survive. Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman Is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1988, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. In 1996, he and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, on Ecko Records. In 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows on Beale Street.
In 1997, to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road off Beale Street, close to the old Palace Theater, as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP in 1997. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001.
Death and legacy
He died of heart failure in 2001, at the age of 84, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis. He is buried next to his wife Lorene, who pre-deceased him in 2000, at the New Park Cemetery in Memphis.
Writer Peter Guralnick said of him:His music... brought a great deal of joy to the world, but his personality brought even more, conveying a message of grit, determination, indomitability, above all a bottomless appreciation for the human comedy that left little room for the drab or the dreary in his presence.
Thomas was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Byhalia.
In popular culture
Bobby Brown portrays Thomas in the BET television series American Soul.
A character named Rufus in “Kill Bill: Volume 2” played with Rufus Thomas.
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! rowspan="2"| Catalogue ref
! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
|-
! style="width:50px;"| US200
! style="width:50px;"| USR&B
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1963
| Walking the Dog
| Stax 704
| align=center| 138
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1970
| Do the Funky Chicken
| Stax STS-2028
| align=center| —
| align=center| 32
|-
| Rufus Thomas Live: Doing the Push & Pull at P.J.'s
| Stax STS-2039
| align=center| 147
| align=center| 19
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1972
| Did You Heard Me?
| Stax STS-3004
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1973
| Crown Prince of Dance
| Stax STS-3008
| align=center| —
| align=center| 42
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1977
| If There Were No More Music
| AVI 6015
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1978
| I Ain't Gettin' Older, I'm Gettin' Better
| AVI 6046
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1988
| That Woman Is Poison!
| Alligator AL 4769
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1996
| Blues Thang!
| Sequel/Castle SEQ 1054
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| The Best of Rufus Thomas: Do the Funky Somethin' (compilation)
| Rhino R2 72410
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1997
| Rufus Live! [rec. 1996 at Southern Crossroads Festival in Atlanta, GA]
| Ecko ECD 1013
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2000
| Swing Out with Rufus Thomas
| High Stacks HS 9982
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2005
| Just Because I'm Leavin''' (posthumous)
| Segue Records SRRT05
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
|}
Source:
Singles
Source:
References
Further reading
Greenberg, Steve. Do the Funky Somethin': The Best of Rufus Thomas'' (liner notes), Rhino Records, 1996.
External links
Rufus Thomas Biography at Alligator Records
Soulwalking.co.uk
1917 births
2001 deaths
20th-century American singers
20th-century African-American male singers
American blues singers
American funk singers
American soul singers
Blues musicians from Mississippi
Chess Records artists
People from Marshall County, Mississippi
Stax Records artists
Sun Records artists
Meteor Records artists
Tennessee State University alumni
20th-century American male singers
Mississippi Blues Trail
Alligator Records artists | true | [
"Sir Rosevelt is an American electronic dance music group consisting of Zac Brown, Niko Moon, and Ben Simonetti. The group, formed in 2016, has released one album for Elektra Records.\n\nHistory\nZac Brown, lead singer of Zac Brown Band, first announced Sir Rosevelt in 2016. The group's other members are Niko Moon, a frequent co-writer of Brown's, and Ben Simonetti, who provided programming for several tracks on Zac Brown Band's Jekyll + Hyde album. Initially, Brown did not reveal the other members of the group, nor did he provide any press after the release of their first song \"Sunday Finest\". Later in 2016, he announced the other members and released three more tracks. An album came in December 2017, with the single \"Somethin' 'Bout You\". Also preceding the album's release was another teaser track titled \"The Bravest\" which was used by the German television channel ZDF for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.\n\nDiscography\n\nAlbums\n\nSingles\n\nMusic videos\n\nReferences\n\nAmerican electronic dance music groups\nElektra Records artists\nMusical groups established in 2016\nZac Brown Band\nMusical groups from Nashville, Tennessee\n2016 establishments in Tennessee",
"Songwriter is a studio album by American country singer-songwriter Bill Anderson. It was released via TWI Records in May 2010. The project was co-produced by Bill Anderson and Rex Schnelle. It was Anderson's 42nd studio album in his recording career and contained a total of 12 tracks.\n\nBackground and content\nSongwriter was originally going to be titled Good Time Gettin' Here, but Anderson changed the name for one reason. \"So then I began to think of some songs that I've had that had not been recorded that I was proud of, and the whole thing just evolved. One day I said, 'Why don't we just call it 'Songwriter?' Basically if I'm anything, I guess that's what I am,\" he recalled in 2010. Anderson co-produced the project with Rex Schnelle. The pair have recorded several studio albums in the past.\n\nThe album was a collection of 12 tracks, all of which were written by Anderson. Many of the album's tracks contained collaborations with other artists. The fourth track, \"If You Can't Make Money\", includes a guitar solo from Brad Paisley. Other collaborations on the project include Jon Randall and Billy Montana.\n\nRelease\nSongwriter was released in May 2010 on Anderson's own label called TWI Records. It was offered as a compact disc and a music download. The album did not chart on any publication at the time of its release, including Billboard. The final album track, \"Thanks to You\", was released as a single in 2010 but did not reach any charting positions.\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel\nAll credits are adapted from the liner notes of Songwriter.\n\n Bill Anderson – producer, lead vocals\n Brad Paisley – guitar\n Rex Schnelle – producer\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\n2010 albums\nAlbums produced by Bill Anderson (singer)\nBill Anderson (singer) albums"
] |
[
"Rufus Thomas",
"Later career",
"Is he still putting out albums",
"Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues,",
"When was it released?",
"in 1990,",
"Did it have any hits on the charts",
"I don't know.",
"Did he release any other album",
"In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!,"
] | C_dc811815d65a438da683bba38a03c8bd_0 | Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? | 5 | In addition to Rufus Thomas' late career, Are there any other interesting aspects about this article on Rufus Thomas? | Rufus Thomas | Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his songs] over on stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his fifties", and usually performed "while clothed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots and capes, all in wild colors." He continued as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and worked for a period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid 1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared regularly on television and recorded albums for various labels. Thomas performed regularly at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy; the outdoor amphitheater in which he performed was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park. He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker's documentary Only the Strong Survive. Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1990, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. In 1996, he and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, on Ecko Records. In 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows on Beale Street. In 1997, to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road off Beale Street, close to the old Palace Theater, as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP in 1997. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001. CANNOTANSWER | to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road | Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Records and Sun Records in the 1950s, before becoming established in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records. He is best known for his novelty dance records, including "Walking the Dog" (1963), "Do the Funky Chicken" (1969) and "(Do the) Push and Pull" (1970). According to the Mississippi Blues Commission, "Rufus Thomas embodied the spirit of Memphis music perhaps more than any other artist, and from the early 1940s until his death . . . occupied many important roles in the local scene."
He began his career as a tap dancer, vaudeville performer, and master of ceremonies in the 1930s. He later worked as a disc jockey on radio station WDIA in Memphis, both before and after his recordings became successful. He remained active into the 1990s and as a performer and recording artist was often billed as "The World's Oldest Teenager". He was the father of the singers Carla Thomas (with whom he recorded duets) and Vaneese Thomas and the keyboard player Marvell Thomas.
Early life
Thomas was born in the rural community of Cayce, Mississippi, the son of a sharecropper. He moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee, around 1920. His mother was a "church woman". Thomas made his debut as a performer at the age of six, playing a frog in a school theatrical production. By the age of 10, he was a tap dancer, performing on the streets and in amateur productions at Booker T. Washington High School, in Memphis. From the age of 13, he worked with Nat D. Williams, his high-school history teacher, who was also a pioneer black DJ at radio station WDIA and columnist for black newspapers, as a master of ceremonies at talent shows in the Palace Theater on Beale Street. After graduating from high school, Thomas attended Tennessee A&I University for one semester, but economic constraints led him to leave to pursue a career as a full-time entertainer.
Early career
Thomas began performing in traveling tent shows. In 1936 he joined the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, an all-black revue that toured the South, as a tap dancer and comedian, sometimes part of a duo, Rufus and Johnny. He married Cornelia Lorene Wilson in 1940, at a service officiated by Rev. C. L. Franklin, the father of Aretha Franklin, and the couple settled in Memphis. Thomas worked a day job in the American Finishing Company textile bleaching plant, which he continued to do for over 20 years. He also formed a comedy and dancing duo, Rufus and Bones, with Robert "Bones" Couch, and they took over as MCs at the Palace Theater, often presenting amateur hour shows. One early winner was B.B. King, and others discovered by Thomas later in the 1940s included Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace.
In the early 1940s, Thomas began writing and performing his own songs. He regarded Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Gatemouth Moore as musical influences. He made his professional singing debut at the Elks Club on Beale Street, filling in for another singer at the last minute, and during the 1940s became a regular performer in Memphis nightclubs, such as Currie's Club Tropicana. As an established performer in Memphis, aged 33 in 1950, Thomas recorded his first 78 rpm single, for Jesse Erickson's small Star Talent label in Dallas, Texas. Thomas said, "I just wanted to make a record. I never thought of getting rich. I just wanted to be known, be a recording artist. . . . [But] the record sold five copies and I bought four of them." The record, "I'll Be a Good Boy" backed with "I'm So Worried", gained a Billboard review, which stated that "Thomas shows first class style on a slow blues". He also recorded for the Bullet label in Nashville, Tennessee, when he recorded with Bobby Plater's Orchestra and was credited as "Mr. Swing"; the recordings were not recognised by researchers as being by Thomas until 1996. In 1951 he made his first recordings at Sam Phillips's Sun Studio, for the Chess label, but they were not commercially successful.
He began working as a DJ at radio station WDIA in 1951, and hosted an afternoon R&B show called Hoot and Holler. WDIA, featuring an African-American format, was known as "the mother station of the Negroes" and became an important source of blues and R&B music for a generation, its audience consisting of white as well as black listeners. Thomas used to introduce his shows saying, "I'm young, I'm loose, I'm full of juice, I got the goose so what's the use. We're feeling gay though we ain't got a dollar, Rufus is here, so hoot and holler." He also used to lead tours of white teenagers on "midnight rambles" around Beale Street. Thomas claimed to be the first black DJ to play Elvis Presley records, which he did until the police made him stop due to segregation. He performed on stage with Elvis to an all-black audience, and although the police tried to shut it down, the audience stormed through to get to him. After that, the police allowed Elvis songs on black radio stations
His celebrity in the South was such that in 1953, at Sam Phillips's suggestion, he recorded "Bear Cat" for Sun Records, an "answer record" to Big Mama Thornton's R&B hit "Hound Dog". The record became the label's first national chart hit, reaching number 3 on the Billboard R&B chart. However, a copyright-infringement suit brought by Don Robey, the original publisher of "Hound Dog", nearly bankrupted the record label. After only one recording there, Thomas was one of the African-American artists released by Phillips, as he oriented his label more toward white audiences and signed Elvis Presley, who later recorded Thomas's song "Tiger Man". Thomas did not record again until 1956, when he made a single, "I'm Steady Holdin' On", for the Bihari brothers' Meteor label; musicians on the record included Lewie Steinberg, later a founding member of Booker T and the MGs.
Stax Records
In 1960 he made his first recordings with his 17-year-old daughter Carla, for the Satellite label in Memphis, which changed its name to Stax the following year. The song, "Cause I Love You", featuring a rhythm borrowed from Jesse Hill's "Ooh Poo Pa Doo", was a regional hit; the musicians included Thomas' son Marvell on keyboards, Steinberg, and the 16-year-old Booker T. Jones. The record's success led to Stax gaining production and distribution deal with the much larger Atlantic Records.
Rufus Thomas continued to record for the label after Carla's record "Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)" reached the national R&B chart in 1961. He had his own hit with "The Dog", a song he had originally improvised in performance based on a Willie Mitchell bass line, complete with imitations of a barking dog. The 1963 follow-up, "Walking the Dog", engineered by Tom Dowd of Atlantic, became one of his most successful records, reaching #10 on the Billboard pop chart. He became the first, and still the only, father to debut in the Top 10 after his daughter had first appeared there. The song was recorded in early 1964 by the Rolling Stones on their debut album, and was a minor UK chart hit for Merseybeat group the Dennisons later that year.
As well as recording and appearing on radio and in clubs, Thomas continued to work as a boiler operator in the textile plant, where he claimed the noises sometimes suggested musical rhythms and lyrics to him, before he finally gave up the job in 1963, to focus on his role as a singer and entertainer. He recorded a series of novelty dance tracks, including "Can Your Monkey Do the Dog'" and '"Somebody Stole My Dog" for Stax, where he was often backed by Booker T. & the MGs or the Bar-Kays. He also became a mentor to younger Stax stars, giving advice on stage moves to performers like Otis Redding, who partnered daughter Carla on record.
After "Jump Back" in 1964, the hits dried up for several years, as Stax gave more attention to younger artists and musicians. However, in 1970 he had another big hit with "Do the Funky Chicken", which reached #5 on the R&B chart, #28 on the pop chart, and #18 in Britain where it was his only chart hit. Thomas improvised the song while performing with Willie Mitchell's band at a club in Covington, Tennessee, including a spoken word section that he regularly used as a shtick as a radio DJ: "Oh I feel so unnecessary - this is the kind of stuff that makes you feel like you wanna do something nasty, like waste some chicken gravy on your white shirt right down front." The recording was produced by Al Bell and Tom Nixon, and used the Bar-Kays, featuring guitarist Michael Toles. Thomas continued to work with Bell and Nixon as producers, and later in 1970 had his only number 1 R&B hit [and his second-highest pop charting record] with another dance song, "Do the Push and Pull". A further dance-oriented release in 1971, "The Breakdown", climbed to number 2 R&B and number 31 Pop. In 1972, he featured in the Wattstax concert, and he had several further, less successful, hits before Stax collapsed in 1976.
Later career
Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his songs] over on stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his fifties", and usually performed "while clothed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots and capes, all in wild colors."
He continued as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and worked for a period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid 1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared regularly on television and recorded albums for various labels. Thomas performed regularly at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy; the outdoor amphitheater in which he performed was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park.
He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker’s documentary Only the Strong Survive. Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman Is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1988, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. In 1996, he and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, on Ecko Records. In 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows on Beale Street.
In 1997, to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road off Beale Street, close to the old Palace Theater, as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP in 1997. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001.
Death and legacy
He died of heart failure in 2001, at the age of 84, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis. He is buried next to his wife Lorene, who pre-deceased him in 2000, at the New Park Cemetery in Memphis.
Writer Peter Guralnick said of him:His music... brought a great deal of joy to the world, but his personality brought even more, conveying a message of grit, determination, indomitability, above all a bottomless appreciation for the human comedy that left little room for the drab or the dreary in his presence.
Thomas was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Byhalia.
In popular culture
Bobby Brown portrays Thomas in the BET television series American Soul.
A character named Rufus in “Kill Bill: Volume 2” played with Rufus Thomas.
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! rowspan="2"| Catalogue ref
! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
|-
! style="width:50px;"| US200
! style="width:50px;"| USR&B
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1963
| Walking the Dog
| Stax 704
| align=center| 138
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1970
| Do the Funky Chicken
| Stax STS-2028
| align=center| —
| align=center| 32
|-
| Rufus Thomas Live: Doing the Push & Pull at P.J.'s
| Stax STS-2039
| align=center| 147
| align=center| 19
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1972
| Did You Heard Me?
| Stax STS-3004
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1973
| Crown Prince of Dance
| Stax STS-3008
| align=center| —
| align=center| 42
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1977
| If There Were No More Music
| AVI 6015
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1978
| I Ain't Gettin' Older, I'm Gettin' Better
| AVI 6046
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1988
| That Woman Is Poison!
| Alligator AL 4769
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1996
| Blues Thang!
| Sequel/Castle SEQ 1054
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| The Best of Rufus Thomas: Do the Funky Somethin' (compilation)
| Rhino R2 72410
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1997
| Rufus Live! [rec. 1996 at Southern Crossroads Festival in Atlanta, GA]
| Ecko ECD 1013
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2000
| Swing Out with Rufus Thomas
| High Stacks HS 9982
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2005
| Just Because I'm Leavin''' (posthumous)
| Segue Records SRRT05
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
|}
Source:
Singles
Source:
References
Further reading
Greenberg, Steve. Do the Funky Somethin': The Best of Rufus Thomas'' (liner notes), Rhino Records, 1996.
External links
Rufus Thomas Biography at Alligator Records
Soulwalking.co.uk
1917 births
2001 deaths
20th-century American singers
20th-century African-American male singers
American blues singers
American funk singers
American soul singers
Blues musicians from Mississippi
Chess Records artists
People from Marshall County, Mississippi
Stax Records artists
Sun Records artists
Meteor Records artists
Tennessee State University alumni
20th-century American male singers
Mississippi Blues Trail
Alligator Records artists | true | [
"Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region",
"Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts"
] |
[
"Rufus Thomas",
"Later career",
"Is he still putting out albums",
"Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues,",
"When was it released?",
"in 1990,",
"Did it have any hits on the charts",
"I don't know.",
"Did he release any other album",
"In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road"
] | C_dc811815d65a438da683bba38a03c8bd_0 | What did the name the road | 6 | What did Rufus Thomas name the road following his late career | Rufus Thomas | Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his songs] over on stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his fifties", and usually performed "while clothed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots and capes, all in wild colors." He continued as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and worked for a period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid 1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared regularly on television and recorded albums for various labels. Thomas performed regularly at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy; the outdoor amphitheater in which he performed was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park. He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker's documentary Only the Strong Survive. Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1990, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. In 1996, he and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, on Ecko Records. In 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows on Beale Street. In 1997, to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road off Beale Street, close to the old Palace Theater, as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP in 1997. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001. CANNOTANSWER | as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. | Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Records and Sun Records in the 1950s, before becoming established in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records. He is best known for his novelty dance records, including "Walking the Dog" (1963), "Do the Funky Chicken" (1969) and "(Do the) Push and Pull" (1970). According to the Mississippi Blues Commission, "Rufus Thomas embodied the spirit of Memphis music perhaps more than any other artist, and from the early 1940s until his death . . . occupied many important roles in the local scene."
He began his career as a tap dancer, vaudeville performer, and master of ceremonies in the 1930s. He later worked as a disc jockey on radio station WDIA in Memphis, both before and after his recordings became successful. He remained active into the 1990s and as a performer and recording artist was often billed as "The World's Oldest Teenager". He was the father of the singers Carla Thomas (with whom he recorded duets) and Vaneese Thomas and the keyboard player Marvell Thomas.
Early life
Thomas was born in the rural community of Cayce, Mississippi, the son of a sharecropper. He moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee, around 1920. His mother was a "church woman". Thomas made his debut as a performer at the age of six, playing a frog in a school theatrical production. By the age of 10, he was a tap dancer, performing on the streets and in amateur productions at Booker T. Washington High School, in Memphis. From the age of 13, he worked with Nat D. Williams, his high-school history teacher, who was also a pioneer black DJ at radio station WDIA and columnist for black newspapers, as a master of ceremonies at talent shows in the Palace Theater on Beale Street. After graduating from high school, Thomas attended Tennessee A&I University for one semester, but economic constraints led him to leave to pursue a career as a full-time entertainer.
Early career
Thomas began performing in traveling tent shows. In 1936 he joined the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, an all-black revue that toured the South, as a tap dancer and comedian, sometimes part of a duo, Rufus and Johnny. He married Cornelia Lorene Wilson in 1940, at a service officiated by Rev. C. L. Franklin, the father of Aretha Franklin, and the couple settled in Memphis. Thomas worked a day job in the American Finishing Company textile bleaching plant, which he continued to do for over 20 years. He also formed a comedy and dancing duo, Rufus and Bones, with Robert "Bones" Couch, and they took over as MCs at the Palace Theater, often presenting amateur hour shows. One early winner was B.B. King, and others discovered by Thomas later in the 1940s included Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace.
In the early 1940s, Thomas began writing and performing his own songs. He regarded Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Gatemouth Moore as musical influences. He made his professional singing debut at the Elks Club on Beale Street, filling in for another singer at the last minute, and during the 1940s became a regular performer in Memphis nightclubs, such as Currie's Club Tropicana. As an established performer in Memphis, aged 33 in 1950, Thomas recorded his first 78 rpm single, for Jesse Erickson's small Star Talent label in Dallas, Texas. Thomas said, "I just wanted to make a record. I never thought of getting rich. I just wanted to be known, be a recording artist. . . . [But] the record sold five copies and I bought four of them." The record, "I'll Be a Good Boy" backed with "I'm So Worried", gained a Billboard review, which stated that "Thomas shows first class style on a slow blues". He also recorded for the Bullet label in Nashville, Tennessee, when he recorded with Bobby Plater's Orchestra and was credited as "Mr. Swing"; the recordings were not recognised by researchers as being by Thomas until 1996. In 1951 he made his first recordings at Sam Phillips's Sun Studio, for the Chess label, but they were not commercially successful.
He began working as a DJ at radio station WDIA in 1951, and hosted an afternoon R&B show called Hoot and Holler. WDIA, featuring an African-American format, was known as "the mother station of the Negroes" and became an important source of blues and R&B music for a generation, its audience consisting of white as well as black listeners. Thomas used to introduce his shows saying, "I'm young, I'm loose, I'm full of juice, I got the goose so what's the use. We're feeling gay though we ain't got a dollar, Rufus is here, so hoot and holler." He also used to lead tours of white teenagers on "midnight rambles" around Beale Street. Thomas claimed to be the first black DJ to play Elvis Presley records, which he did until the police made him stop due to segregation. He performed on stage with Elvis to an all-black audience, and although the police tried to shut it down, the audience stormed through to get to him. After that, the police allowed Elvis songs on black radio stations
His celebrity in the South was such that in 1953, at Sam Phillips's suggestion, he recorded "Bear Cat" for Sun Records, an "answer record" to Big Mama Thornton's R&B hit "Hound Dog". The record became the label's first national chart hit, reaching number 3 on the Billboard R&B chart. However, a copyright-infringement suit brought by Don Robey, the original publisher of "Hound Dog", nearly bankrupted the record label. After only one recording there, Thomas was one of the African-American artists released by Phillips, as he oriented his label more toward white audiences and signed Elvis Presley, who later recorded Thomas's song "Tiger Man". Thomas did not record again until 1956, when he made a single, "I'm Steady Holdin' On", for the Bihari brothers' Meteor label; musicians on the record included Lewie Steinberg, later a founding member of Booker T and the MGs.
Stax Records
In 1960 he made his first recordings with his 17-year-old daughter Carla, for the Satellite label in Memphis, which changed its name to Stax the following year. The song, "Cause I Love You", featuring a rhythm borrowed from Jesse Hill's "Ooh Poo Pa Doo", was a regional hit; the musicians included Thomas' son Marvell on keyboards, Steinberg, and the 16-year-old Booker T. Jones. The record's success led to Stax gaining production and distribution deal with the much larger Atlantic Records.
Rufus Thomas continued to record for the label after Carla's record "Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)" reached the national R&B chart in 1961. He had his own hit with "The Dog", a song he had originally improvised in performance based on a Willie Mitchell bass line, complete with imitations of a barking dog. The 1963 follow-up, "Walking the Dog", engineered by Tom Dowd of Atlantic, became one of his most successful records, reaching #10 on the Billboard pop chart. He became the first, and still the only, father to debut in the Top 10 after his daughter had first appeared there. The song was recorded in early 1964 by the Rolling Stones on their debut album, and was a minor UK chart hit for Merseybeat group the Dennisons later that year.
As well as recording and appearing on radio and in clubs, Thomas continued to work as a boiler operator in the textile plant, where he claimed the noises sometimes suggested musical rhythms and lyrics to him, before he finally gave up the job in 1963, to focus on his role as a singer and entertainer. He recorded a series of novelty dance tracks, including "Can Your Monkey Do the Dog'" and '"Somebody Stole My Dog" for Stax, where he was often backed by Booker T. & the MGs or the Bar-Kays. He also became a mentor to younger Stax stars, giving advice on stage moves to performers like Otis Redding, who partnered daughter Carla on record.
After "Jump Back" in 1964, the hits dried up for several years, as Stax gave more attention to younger artists and musicians. However, in 1970 he had another big hit with "Do the Funky Chicken", which reached #5 on the R&B chart, #28 on the pop chart, and #18 in Britain where it was his only chart hit. Thomas improvised the song while performing with Willie Mitchell's band at a club in Covington, Tennessee, including a spoken word section that he regularly used as a shtick as a radio DJ: "Oh I feel so unnecessary - this is the kind of stuff that makes you feel like you wanna do something nasty, like waste some chicken gravy on your white shirt right down front." The recording was produced by Al Bell and Tom Nixon, and used the Bar-Kays, featuring guitarist Michael Toles. Thomas continued to work with Bell and Nixon as producers, and later in 1970 had his only number 1 R&B hit [and his second-highest pop charting record] with another dance song, "Do the Push and Pull". A further dance-oriented release in 1971, "The Breakdown", climbed to number 2 R&B and number 31 Pop. In 1972, he featured in the Wattstax concert, and he had several further, less successful, hits before Stax collapsed in 1976.
Later career
Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his songs] over on stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his fifties", and usually performed "while clothed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots and capes, all in wild colors."
He continued as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and worked for a period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid 1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared regularly on television and recorded albums for various labels. Thomas performed regularly at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy; the outdoor amphitheater in which he performed was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park.
He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker’s documentary Only the Strong Survive. Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman Is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1988, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. In 1996, he and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, on Ecko Records. In 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows on Beale Street.
In 1997, to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road off Beale Street, close to the old Palace Theater, as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP in 1997. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001.
Death and legacy
He died of heart failure in 2001, at the age of 84, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis. He is buried next to his wife Lorene, who pre-deceased him in 2000, at the New Park Cemetery in Memphis.
Writer Peter Guralnick said of him:His music... brought a great deal of joy to the world, but his personality brought even more, conveying a message of grit, determination, indomitability, above all a bottomless appreciation for the human comedy that left little room for the drab or the dreary in his presence.
Thomas was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Byhalia.
In popular culture
Bobby Brown portrays Thomas in the BET television series American Soul.
A character named Rufus in “Kill Bill: Volume 2” played with Rufus Thomas.
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! rowspan="2"| Catalogue ref
! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
|-
! style="width:50px;"| US200
! style="width:50px;"| USR&B
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1963
| Walking the Dog
| Stax 704
| align=center| 138
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1970
| Do the Funky Chicken
| Stax STS-2028
| align=center| —
| align=center| 32
|-
| Rufus Thomas Live: Doing the Push & Pull at P.J.'s
| Stax STS-2039
| align=center| 147
| align=center| 19
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1972
| Did You Heard Me?
| Stax STS-3004
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1973
| Crown Prince of Dance
| Stax STS-3008
| align=center| —
| align=center| 42
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1977
| If There Were No More Music
| AVI 6015
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1978
| I Ain't Gettin' Older, I'm Gettin' Better
| AVI 6046
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1988
| That Woman Is Poison!
| Alligator AL 4769
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1996
| Blues Thang!
| Sequel/Castle SEQ 1054
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| The Best of Rufus Thomas: Do the Funky Somethin' (compilation)
| Rhino R2 72410
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1997
| Rufus Live! [rec. 1996 at Southern Crossroads Festival in Atlanta, GA]
| Ecko ECD 1013
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2000
| Swing Out with Rufus Thomas
| High Stacks HS 9982
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2005
| Just Because I'm Leavin''' (posthumous)
| Segue Records SRRT05
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
|}
Source:
Singles
Source:
References
Further reading
Greenberg, Steve. Do the Funky Somethin': The Best of Rufus Thomas'' (liner notes), Rhino Records, 1996.
External links
Rufus Thomas Biography at Alligator Records
Soulwalking.co.uk
1917 births
2001 deaths
20th-century American singers
20th-century African-American male singers
American blues singers
American funk singers
American soul singers
Blues musicians from Mississippi
Chess Records artists
People from Marshall County, Mississippi
Stax Records artists
Sun Records artists
Meteor Records artists
Tennessee State University alumni
20th-century American male singers
Mississippi Blues Trail
Alligator Records artists | true | [
"The O.G. Hotel is one of Adelaide's oldest hotels, noted for its enigmatic name, the shortest in Australia.\n\nHistory\nThe O.G. Hotel gained its licence before 1846, according to one reference on 6 July 1843, the proprietor being James Black.\n\nSituated at Gilles Plains on what was then known as the road to Modbury (now designated as 246 North East Road, Klemzig), the name is generally recognised as a reference to Osmond Gilles, a major land holder in the area, though mention of this connection did not appear until the 20th century.\n\nO.G. Road which runs alongside the hotel, does not appear in print until 1869, so it appears to have been named after the hotel.\n\nLicensees\n1843–1850 James Black\n1850–1880 Edwin Bayfield \n1880–1890 William Gardener \n1890–1891 James W. Tunstall \n1891–1892 Alfred A. Hams \n1892–1914 James A. Musson \n1914–1920 Frank J. Heading \n1920 George J. Cook \n1920–1946 Edgar Stanley Rush \n1946–?? A. Gordon Miller and Phoebe M. Miller\n\nReferences \n\n1843 establishments in Australia\nHotels in South Australia",
"Portrush Road is a major bypass route in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, and is allocated route A17.\n\nRoute description\nIt runs north–south through the south-eastern and eastern suburbs of Adelaide, at the foot of the Adelaide Hills. The southern end is at the beginning of National Route M1, the South Eastern Freeway (the major route from Melbourne and the south-east of South Australia), which is also the intersection with the south-eastern ends of Cross Road (State Route A3) and Glen Osmond Road (State Route A1).\n\nPortrush Road extends north from there to Payneham Road (State Route A11), crossing the four major arterial routes from the south-eastern and eastern suburbs into the city: Greenhill Road, Kensington Road, The Parade and Magill Road. Portrush road carries approximately 36,000 vehicles per day, including heavy freight trucks. It is an authorised route for trucks up to B-double and vehicle carrier size.\n\nHad the Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study of the 1960s progressed, a Hills Freeway would have been constructed to link the South Eastern Freeway to the Port of Adelaide. This would have subsequently removed the freight that utilises Portrush Road (and the A17 Route altogether) today.\n\nA17 \nAt Payneham Road, the A17 turns north-west and changes name to Lower Portrush Road. As it crosses the River Torrens, it changes name to Ascot Avenue. At the intersection with North East Road (State Route A10), it changes name to Taunton Road. At the end of Taunton Road, it turns north again joining Hampstead Road, continuing north and terminating at the intersection with Grand Junction Road, (National Route A16).\n\nThe A17 (Portrush Road - Hampstead Road) and the A16 (Grand Junction Road) constitute the major heavy road transport route through suburban Adelaide from Port Adelaide and anywhere north of Adelaide to the South East of South Australia and the adjacent state of Victoria.\n\nHistory\nPortrush Road was named by Nathaniel A. Knox after Portrush in Northern Ireland. Knox owned land near the intersection with Greenhill Road, in the area now occupied by the suburbs of Glenunga and Glenside.\n\nIn a 1949 street directory, the southern end of Portrush Road had its current route to Kensington Road. North of Kensington Road, it took the name Kensington Terrace, then Wellington Road north of the Magill Road intersection to Payneham Road. What is now Lower Portrush Road (including the bridge over the River Torrens) did not exist at all. Ascot Avenue was a minor street running off of North East Road which did not exactly line up with Taunton Road on the other side of North East Road. The nearest bridge over the River Torrens was the Felixstow Bridge on Felixstow Road, which is now O.G. Road. Lower Portrush Road and the bridge across the Torrens was opened in November 1970.\n\nMajor intersections in National Route A17\n\nSee also\n\nReferences \n\nCity of Burnside\nRoads in Adelaide\nFreeways and highways in Adelaide"
] |
[
"Rufus Thomas",
"Later career",
"Is he still putting out albums",
"Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues,",
"When was it released?",
"in 1990,",
"Did it have any hits on the charts",
"I don't know.",
"Did he release any other album",
"In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road",
"What did the name the road",
"as Rufus Thomas Boulevard."
] | C_dc811815d65a438da683bba38a03c8bd_0 | Is he still alive | 7 | Is Rufus Thomas still alive | Rufus Thomas | Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his songs] over on stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his fifties", and usually performed "while clothed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots and capes, all in wild colors." He continued as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and worked for a period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid 1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared regularly on television and recorded albums for various labels. Thomas performed regularly at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy; the outdoor amphitheater in which he performed was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park. He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker's documentary Only the Strong Survive. Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1990, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. In 1996, he and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, on Ecko Records. In 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows on Beale Street. In 1997, to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road off Beale Street, close to the old Palace Theater, as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP in 1997. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Records and Sun Records in the 1950s, before becoming established in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records. He is best known for his novelty dance records, including "Walking the Dog" (1963), "Do the Funky Chicken" (1969) and "(Do the) Push and Pull" (1970). According to the Mississippi Blues Commission, "Rufus Thomas embodied the spirit of Memphis music perhaps more than any other artist, and from the early 1940s until his death . . . occupied many important roles in the local scene."
He began his career as a tap dancer, vaudeville performer, and master of ceremonies in the 1930s. He later worked as a disc jockey on radio station WDIA in Memphis, both before and after his recordings became successful. He remained active into the 1990s and as a performer and recording artist was often billed as "The World's Oldest Teenager". He was the father of the singers Carla Thomas (with whom he recorded duets) and Vaneese Thomas and the keyboard player Marvell Thomas.
Early life
Thomas was born in the rural community of Cayce, Mississippi, the son of a sharecropper. He moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee, around 1920. His mother was a "church woman". Thomas made his debut as a performer at the age of six, playing a frog in a school theatrical production. By the age of 10, he was a tap dancer, performing on the streets and in amateur productions at Booker T. Washington High School, in Memphis. From the age of 13, he worked with Nat D. Williams, his high-school history teacher, who was also a pioneer black DJ at radio station WDIA and columnist for black newspapers, as a master of ceremonies at talent shows in the Palace Theater on Beale Street. After graduating from high school, Thomas attended Tennessee A&I University for one semester, but economic constraints led him to leave to pursue a career as a full-time entertainer.
Early career
Thomas began performing in traveling tent shows. In 1936 he joined the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, an all-black revue that toured the South, as a tap dancer and comedian, sometimes part of a duo, Rufus and Johnny. He married Cornelia Lorene Wilson in 1940, at a service officiated by Rev. C. L. Franklin, the father of Aretha Franklin, and the couple settled in Memphis. Thomas worked a day job in the American Finishing Company textile bleaching plant, which he continued to do for over 20 years. He also formed a comedy and dancing duo, Rufus and Bones, with Robert "Bones" Couch, and they took over as MCs at the Palace Theater, often presenting amateur hour shows. One early winner was B.B. King, and others discovered by Thomas later in the 1940s included Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace.
In the early 1940s, Thomas began writing and performing his own songs. He regarded Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Gatemouth Moore as musical influences. He made his professional singing debut at the Elks Club on Beale Street, filling in for another singer at the last minute, and during the 1940s became a regular performer in Memphis nightclubs, such as Currie's Club Tropicana. As an established performer in Memphis, aged 33 in 1950, Thomas recorded his first 78 rpm single, for Jesse Erickson's small Star Talent label in Dallas, Texas. Thomas said, "I just wanted to make a record. I never thought of getting rich. I just wanted to be known, be a recording artist. . . . [But] the record sold five copies and I bought four of them." The record, "I'll Be a Good Boy" backed with "I'm So Worried", gained a Billboard review, which stated that "Thomas shows first class style on a slow blues". He also recorded for the Bullet label in Nashville, Tennessee, when he recorded with Bobby Plater's Orchestra and was credited as "Mr. Swing"; the recordings were not recognised by researchers as being by Thomas until 1996. In 1951 he made his first recordings at Sam Phillips's Sun Studio, for the Chess label, but they were not commercially successful.
He began working as a DJ at radio station WDIA in 1951, and hosted an afternoon R&B show called Hoot and Holler. WDIA, featuring an African-American format, was known as "the mother station of the Negroes" and became an important source of blues and R&B music for a generation, its audience consisting of white as well as black listeners. Thomas used to introduce his shows saying, "I'm young, I'm loose, I'm full of juice, I got the goose so what's the use. We're feeling gay though we ain't got a dollar, Rufus is here, so hoot and holler." He also used to lead tours of white teenagers on "midnight rambles" around Beale Street. Thomas claimed to be the first black DJ to play Elvis Presley records, which he did until the police made him stop due to segregation. He performed on stage with Elvis to an all-black audience, and although the police tried to shut it down, the audience stormed through to get to him. After that, the police allowed Elvis songs on black radio stations
His celebrity in the South was such that in 1953, at Sam Phillips's suggestion, he recorded "Bear Cat" for Sun Records, an "answer record" to Big Mama Thornton's R&B hit "Hound Dog". The record became the label's first national chart hit, reaching number 3 on the Billboard R&B chart. However, a copyright-infringement suit brought by Don Robey, the original publisher of "Hound Dog", nearly bankrupted the record label. After only one recording there, Thomas was one of the African-American artists released by Phillips, as he oriented his label more toward white audiences and signed Elvis Presley, who later recorded Thomas's song "Tiger Man". Thomas did not record again until 1956, when he made a single, "I'm Steady Holdin' On", for the Bihari brothers' Meteor label; musicians on the record included Lewie Steinberg, later a founding member of Booker T and the MGs.
Stax Records
In 1960 he made his first recordings with his 17-year-old daughter Carla, for the Satellite label in Memphis, which changed its name to Stax the following year. The song, "Cause I Love You", featuring a rhythm borrowed from Jesse Hill's "Ooh Poo Pa Doo", was a regional hit; the musicians included Thomas' son Marvell on keyboards, Steinberg, and the 16-year-old Booker T. Jones. The record's success led to Stax gaining production and distribution deal with the much larger Atlantic Records.
Rufus Thomas continued to record for the label after Carla's record "Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)" reached the national R&B chart in 1961. He had his own hit with "The Dog", a song he had originally improvised in performance based on a Willie Mitchell bass line, complete with imitations of a barking dog. The 1963 follow-up, "Walking the Dog", engineered by Tom Dowd of Atlantic, became one of his most successful records, reaching #10 on the Billboard pop chart. He became the first, and still the only, father to debut in the Top 10 after his daughter had first appeared there. The song was recorded in early 1964 by the Rolling Stones on their debut album, and was a minor UK chart hit for Merseybeat group the Dennisons later that year.
As well as recording and appearing on radio and in clubs, Thomas continued to work as a boiler operator in the textile plant, where he claimed the noises sometimes suggested musical rhythms and lyrics to him, before he finally gave up the job in 1963, to focus on his role as a singer and entertainer. He recorded a series of novelty dance tracks, including "Can Your Monkey Do the Dog'" and '"Somebody Stole My Dog" for Stax, where he was often backed by Booker T. & the MGs or the Bar-Kays. He also became a mentor to younger Stax stars, giving advice on stage moves to performers like Otis Redding, who partnered daughter Carla on record.
After "Jump Back" in 1964, the hits dried up for several years, as Stax gave more attention to younger artists and musicians. However, in 1970 he had another big hit with "Do the Funky Chicken", which reached #5 on the R&B chart, #28 on the pop chart, and #18 in Britain where it was his only chart hit. Thomas improvised the song while performing with Willie Mitchell's band at a club in Covington, Tennessee, including a spoken word section that he regularly used as a shtick as a radio DJ: "Oh I feel so unnecessary - this is the kind of stuff that makes you feel like you wanna do something nasty, like waste some chicken gravy on your white shirt right down front." The recording was produced by Al Bell and Tom Nixon, and used the Bar-Kays, featuring guitarist Michael Toles. Thomas continued to work with Bell and Nixon as producers, and later in 1970 had his only number 1 R&B hit [and his second-highest pop charting record] with another dance song, "Do the Push and Pull". A further dance-oriented release in 1971, "The Breakdown", climbed to number 2 R&B and number 31 Pop. In 1972, he featured in the Wattstax concert, and he had several further, less successful, hits before Stax collapsed in 1976.
Later career
Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his songs] over on stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his fifties", and usually performed "while clothed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots and capes, all in wild colors."
He continued as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and worked for a period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid 1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared regularly on television and recorded albums for various labels. Thomas performed regularly at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy; the outdoor amphitheater in which he performed was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park.
He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker’s documentary Only the Strong Survive. Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman Is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1988, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. In 1996, he and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, on Ecko Records. In 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows on Beale Street.
In 1997, to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road off Beale Street, close to the old Palace Theater, as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP in 1997. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001.
Death and legacy
He died of heart failure in 2001, at the age of 84, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis. He is buried next to his wife Lorene, who pre-deceased him in 2000, at the New Park Cemetery in Memphis.
Writer Peter Guralnick said of him:His music... brought a great deal of joy to the world, but his personality brought even more, conveying a message of grit, determination, indomitability, above all a bottomless appreciation for the human comedy that left little room for the drab or the dreary in his presence.
Thomas was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Byhalia.
In popular culture
Bobby Brown portrays Thomas in the BET television series American Soul.
A character named Rufus in “Kill Bill: Volume 2” played with Rufus Thomas.
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! rowspan="2"| Catalogue ref
! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
|-
! style="width:50px;"| US200
! style="width:50px;"| USR&B
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1963
| Walking the Dog
| Stax 704
| align=center| 138
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1970
| Do the Funky Chicken
| Stax STS-2028
| align=center| —
| align=center| 32
|-
| Rufus Thomas Live: Doing the Push & Pull at P.J.'s
| Stax STS-2039
| align=center| 147
| align=center| 19
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1972
| Did You Heard Me?
| Stax STS-3004
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1973
| Crown Prince of Dance
| Stax STS-3008
| align=center| —
| align=center| 42
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1977
| If There Were No More Music
| AVI 6015
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1978
| I Ain't Gettin' Older, I'm Gettin' Better
| AVI 6046
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1988
| That Woman Is Poison!
| Alligator AL 4769
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1996
| Blues Thang!
| Sequel/Castle SEQ 1054
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| The Best of Rufus Thomas: Do the Funky Somethin' (compilation)
| Rhino R2 72410
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1997
| Rufus Live! [rec. 1996 at Southern Crossroads Festival in Atlanta, GA]
| Ecko ECD 1013
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2000
| Swing Out with Rufus Thomas
| High Stacks HS 9982
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2005
| Just Because I'm Leavin''' (posthumous)
| Segue Records SRRT05
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
|}
Source:
Singles
Source:
References
Further reading
Greenberg, Steve. Do the Funky Somethin': The Best of Rufus Thomas'' (liner notes), Rhino Records, 1996.
External links
Rufus Thomas Biography at Alligator Records
Soulwalking.co.uk
1917 births
2001 deaths
20th-century American singers
20th-century African-American male singers
American blues singers
American funk singers
American soul singers
Blues musicians from Mississippi
Chess Records artists
People from Marshall County, Mississippi
Stax Records artists
Sun Records artists
Meteor Records artists
Tennessee State University alumni
20th-century American male singers
Mississippi Blues Trail
Alligator Records artists | false | [
"\"Still Alive\" is the closing credits song from the Portal video game.\n\nStill Alive may also refer to:\n \"Still Alive\", the theme song from the video game Mirror's Edge\n Still Alive – the Remixes, an extended soundtrack for the game\n Still Alive (album), the album by DJ Mayonnaise\n \"Still Alive\", a remix on and repackage of the EP Alive by Big Bang\n Still Alive (book), by Ruth Kluger\n \"Still Alive\", a song by 3 Doors Down from Us and the Night\n \"Seimei/Still Alive\", a single by Japanese rock band B'z",
"is the son of the current Aikido Dōshu, Moriteru Ueshiba. In keeping with the iemoto system, he is expected to succeed his father as Dōshu. He is the great-grandson of Morihei Ueshiba, the Aikido founder.\n\nFrom April 2012, Ueshiba is Dojocho of the Aikikai Hombu Dojo, and as such is referred to as Waka-sensei (若先生, \"young master\"). This term was applied to Moriteru Ueshiba when the second Dōshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba was still alive, and to Kisshomaru when the founder was still alive. More than simply a title of respect, it is intended to refer to the successor, who will take on leadership after his father.\n\nPersonal life\nOn March 2, 2008, Mitsuteru Ueshiba married Keiko Kusano.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nPhoto of father and son\nMitsuteru Ueshiba - 47th All Japan Aikido YouTube\nMitsuteru Ueshiba - Aikijinja Taisai 2010\n\nJapanese aikidoka\nLiving people\n1980 births"
] |
[
"Rufus Thomas",
"Later career",
"Is he still putting out albums",
"Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues,",
"When was it released?",
"in 1990,",
"Did it have any hits on the charts",
"I don't know.",
"Did he release any other album",
"In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!,",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road",
"What did the name the road",
"as Rufus Thomas Boulevard.",
"Is he still alive",
"I don't know."
] | C_dc811815d65a438da683bba38a03c8bd_0 | Did any of his hits make the charts | 8 | Did any of Rufus Thomas' late career hits make the charts | Rufus Thomas | Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his songs] over on stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his fifties", and usually performed "while clothed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots and capes, all in wild colors." He continued as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and worked for a period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid 1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared regularly on television and recorded albums for various labels. Thomas performed regularly at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy; the outdoor amphitheater in which he performed was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park. He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker's documentary Only the Strong Survive. Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1990, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. In 1996, he and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, on Ecko Records. In 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows on Beale Street. In 1997, to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road off Beale Street, close to the old Palace Theater, as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP in 1997. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001. CANNOTANSWER | CANNOTANSWER | Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Records and Sun Records in the 1950s, before becoming established in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records. He is best known for his novelty dance records, including "Walking the Dog" (1963), "Do the Funky Chicken" (1969) and "(Do the) Push and Pull" (1970). According to the Mississippi Blues Commission, "Rufus Thomas embodied the spirit of Memphis music perhaps more than any other artist, and from the early 1940s until his death . . . occupied many important roles in the local scene."
He began his career as a tap dancer, vaudeville performer, and master of ceremonies in the 1930s. He later worked as a disc jockey on radio station WDIA in Memphis, both before and after his recordings became successful. He remained active into the 1990s and as a performer and recording artist was often billed as "The World's Oldest Teenager". He was the father of the singers Carla Thomas (with whom he recorded duets) and Vaneese Thomas and the keyboard player Marvell Thomas.
Early life
Thomas was born in the rural community of Cayce, Mississippi, the son of a sharecropper. He moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee, around 1920. His mother was a "church woman". Thomas made his debut as a performer at the age of six, playing a frog in a school theatrical production. By the age of 10, he was a tap dancer, performing on the streets and in amateur productions at Booker T. Washington High School, in Memphis. From the age of 13, he worked with Nat D. Williams, his high-school history teacher, who was also a pioneer black DJ at radio station WDIA and columnist for black newspapers, as a master of ceremonies at talent shows in the Palace Theater on Beale Street. After graduating from high school, Thomas attended Tennessee A&I University for one semester, but economic constraints led him to leave to pursue a career as a full-time entertainer.
Early career
Thomas began performing in traveling tent shows. In 1936 he joined the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, an all-black revue that toured the South, as a tap dancer and comedian, sometimes part of a duo, Rufus and Johnny. He married Cornelia Lorene Wilson in 1940, at a service officiated by Rev. C. L. Franklin, the father of Aretha Franklin, and the couple settled in Memphis. Thomas worked a day job in the American Finishing Company textile bleaching plant, which he continued to do for over 20 years. He also formed a comedy and dancing duo, Rufus and Bones, with Robert "Bones" Couch, and they took over as MCs at the Palace Theater, often presenting amateur hour shows. One early winner was B.B. King, and others discovered by Thomas later in the 1940s included Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace.
In the early 1940s, Thomas began writing and performing his own songs. He regarded Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Gatemouth Moore as musical influences. He made his professional singing debut at the Elks Club on Beale Street, filling in for another singer at the last minute, and during the 1940s became a regular performer in Memphis nightclubs, such as Currie's Club Tropicana. As an established performer in Memphis, aged 33 in 1950, Thomas recorded his first 78 rpm single, for Jesse Erickson's small Star Talent label in Dallas, Texas. Thomas said, "I just wanted to make a record. I never thought of getting rich. I just wanted to be known, be a recording artist. . . . [But] the record sold five copies and I bought four of them." The record, "I'll Be a Good Boy" backed with "I'm So Worried", gained a Billboard review, which stated that "Thomas shows first class style on a slow blues". He also recorded for the Bullet label in Nashville, Tennessee, when he recorded with Bobby Plater's Orchestra and was credited as "Mr. Swing"; the recordings were not recognised by researchers as being by Thomas until 1996. In 1951 he made his first recordings at Sam Phillips's Sun Studio, for the Chess label, but they were not commercially successful.
He began working as a DJ at radio station WDIA in 1951, and hosted an afternoon R&B show called Hoot and Holler. WDIA, featuring an African-American format, was known as "the mother station of the Negroes" and became an important source of blues and R&B music for a generation, its audience consisting of white as well as black listeners. Thomas used to introduce his shows saying, "I'm young, I'm loose, I'm full of juice, I got the goose so what's the use. We're feeling gay though we ain't got a dollar, Rufus is here, so hoot and holler." He also used to lead tours of white teenagers on "midnight rambles" around Beale Street. Thomas claimed to be the first black DJ to play Elvis Presley records, which he did until the police made him stop due to segregation. He performed on stage with Elvis to an all-black audience, and although the police tried to shut it down, the audience stormed through to get to him. After that, the police allowed Elvis songs on black radio stations
His celebrity in the South was such that in 1953, at Sam Phillips's suggestion, he recorded "Bear Cat" for Sun Records, an "answer record" to Big Mama Thornton's R&B hit "Hound Dog". The record became the label's first national chart hit, reaching number 3 on the Billboard R&B chart. However, a copyright-infringement suit brought by Don Robey, the original publisher of "Hound Dog", nearly bankrupted the record label. After only one recording there, Thomas was one of the African-American artists released by Phillips, as he oriented his label more toward white audiences and signed Elvis Presley, who later recorded Thomas's song "Tiger Man". Thomas did not record again until 1956, when he made a single, "I'm Steady Holdin' On", for the Bihari brothers' Meteor label; musicians on the record included Lewie Steinberg, later a founding member of Booker T and the MGs.
Stax Records
In 1960 he made his first recordings with his 17-year-old daughter Carla, for the Satellite label in Memphis, which changed its name to Stax the following year. The song, "Cause I Love You", featuring a rhythm borrowed from Jesse Hill's "Ooh Poo Pa Doo", was a regional hit; the musicians included Thomas' son Marvell on keyboards, Steinberg, and the 16-year-old Booker T. Jones. The record's success led to Stax gaining production and distribution deal with the much larger Atlantic Records.
Rufus Thomas continued to record for the label after Carla's record "Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)" reached the national R&B chart in 1961. He had his own hit with "The Dog", a song he had originally improvised in performance based on a Willie Mitchell bass line, complete with imitations of a barking dog. The 1963 follow-up, "Walking the Dog", engineered by Tom Dowd of Atlantic, became one of his most successful records, reaching #10 on the Billboard pop chart. He became the first, and still the only, father to debut in the Top 10 after his daughter had first appeared there. The song was recorded in early 1964 by the Rolling Stones on their debut album, and was a minor UK chart hit for Merseybeat group the Dennisons later that year.
As well as recording and appearing on radio and in clubs, Thomas continued to work as a boiler operator in the textile plant, where he claimed the noises sometimes suggested musical rhythms and lyrics to him, before he finally gave up the job in 1963, to focus on his role as a singer and entertainer. He recorded a series of novelty dance tracks, including "Can Your Monkey Do the Dog'" and '"Somebody Stole My Dog" for Stax, where he was often backed by Booker T. & the MGs or the Bar-Kays. He also became a mentor to younger Stax stars, giving advice on stage moves to performers like Otis Redding, who partnered daughter Carla on record.
After "Jump Back" in 1964, the hits dried up for several years, as Stax gave more attention to younger artists and musicians. However, in 1970 he had another big hit with "Do the Funky Chicken", which reached #5 on the R&B chart, #28 on the pop chart, and #18 in Britain where it was his only chart hit. Thomas improvised the song while performing with Willie Mitchell's band at a club in Covington, Tennessee, including a spoken word section that he regularly used as a shtick as a radio DJ: "Oh I feel so unnecessary - this is the kind of stuff that makes you feel like you wanna do something nasty, like waste some chicken gravy on your white shirt right down front." The recording was produced by Al Bell and Tom Nixon, and used the Bar-Kays, featuring guitarist Michael Toles. Thomas continued to work with Bell and Nixon as producers, and later in 1970 had his only number 1 R&B hit [and his second-highest pop charting record] with another dance song, "Do the Push and Pull". A further dance-oriented release in 1971, "The Breakdown", climbed to number 2 R&B and number 31 Pop. In 1972, he featured in the Wattstax concert, and he had several further, less successful, hits before Stax collapsed in 1976.
Later career
Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his songs] over on stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his fifties", and usually performed "while clothed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots and capes, all in wild colors."
He continued as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and worked for a period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid 1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared regularly on television and recorded albums for various labels. Thomas performed regularly at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy; the outdoor amphitheater in which he performed was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park.
He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker’s documentary Only the Strong Survive. Thomas released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman Is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1988, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. In 1996, he and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997, he released an album, Rufus Live!, on Ecko Records. In 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows on Beale Street.
In 1997, to commemorate his 80th birthday, the City of Memphis renamed a road off Beale Street, close to the old Palace Theater, as Rufus Thomas Boulevard. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, and a lifetime achievement award from ASCAP in 1997. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001.
Death and legacy
He died of heart failure in 2001, at the age of 84, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis. He is buried next to his wife Lorene, who pre-deceased him in 2000, at the New Park Cemetery in Memphis.
Writer Peter Guralnick said of him:His music... brought a great deal of joy to the world, but his personality brought even more, conveying a message of grit, determination, indomitability, above all a bottomless appreciation for the human comedy that left little room for the drab or the dreary in his presence.
Thomas was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Byhalia.
In popular culture
Bobby Brown portrays Thomas in the BET television series American Soul.
A character named Rufus in “Kill Bill: Volume 2” played with Rufus Thomas.
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! rowspan="2"| Catalogue ref
! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
|-
! style="width:50px;"| US200
! style="width:50px;"| USR&B
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1963
| Walking the Dog
| Stax 704
| align=center| 138
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1970
| Do the Funky Chicken
| Stax STS-2028
| align=center| —
| align=center| 32
|-
| Rufus Thomas Live: Doing the Push & Pull at P.J.'s
| Stax STS-2039
| align=center| 147
| align=center| 19
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1972
| Did You Heard Me?
| Stax STS-3004
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1973
| Crown Prince of Dance
| Stax STS-3008
| align=center| —
| align=center| 42
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1977
| If There Were No More Music
| AVI 6015
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1978
| I Ain't Gettin' Older, I'm Gettin' Better
| AVI 6046
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1988
| That Woman Is Poison!
| Alligator AL 4769
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1996
| Blues Thang!
| Sequel/Castle SEQ 1054
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| The Best of Rufus Thomas: Do the Funky Somethin' (compilation)
| Rhino R2 72410
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1997
| Rufus Live! [rec. 1996 at Southern Crossroads Festival in Atlanta, GA]
| Ecko ECD 1013
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2000
| Swing Out with Rufus Thomas
| High Stacks HS 9982
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|2005
| Just Because I'm Leavin''' (posthumous)
| Segue Records SRRT05
| align=center| —
| align=center| —
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
|}
Source:
Singles
Source:
References
Further reading
Greenberg, Steve. Do the Funky Somethin': The Best of Rufus Thomas'' (liner notes), Rhino Records, 1996.
External links
Rufus Thomas Biography at Alligator Records
Soulwalking.co.uk
1917 births
2001 deaths
20th-century American singers
20th-century African-American male singers
American blues singers
American funk singers
American soul singers
Blues musicians from Mississippi
Chess Records artists
People from Marshall County, Mississippi
Stax Records artists
Sun Records artists
Meteor Records artists
Tennessee State University alumni
20th-century American male singers
Mississippi Blues Trail
Alligator Records artists | false | [
"The Best of Eric Carmen is a compilation album released by Arista Records in 1988, featuring solo recordings from Cleveland, Ohio singer-songwriter Eric Carmen. Unlike subsequent compilations such as The Definitive Collection, this record omits any hits Carmen had with his group the Raspberries. It also fails to include any songs from his 1984 self-titled album on Geffen Records. Instead, The Best Of Eric Carmen features a mix of successful singles and album tracks pulled from his four solo albums with Arista. Notable hits include \"All by Myself\" (No. 2, US), \"Never Gonna Fall in Love Again\" (No. 11, US) and \"She Did It\" (No. 23, US). Carmen's original recordings of \"That's Rock 'n' Roll\" and \"Hey Deanie\" are included since the compositions became major hits as covers by teen idol Shawn Cassidy. Additionally, it features his then-recent comeback hit \"Hungry Eyes\" (1987, No. 4, US), taken from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. \n\nAfter an initial release on LP (AL-8547) and cassette (AC-8547), the album was reissued with a new catalogue number (ending in 8548) later in the year to include \"Make Me Lose Control\", his follow-up single to \"Hungry Eyes\", after it reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. This expanded version of the album was also released on CD (ARCD-8548).\n\nTrack listing\nAll tracks written and produced by Eric Carmen except where noted.\n\nNote: \"Make Me Lose Control\" only appears on reissue copies of the compilation (those ending with the catalogue number 8548).\n\nCharts\n\nReferences \n\n1988 greatest hits albums\nEric Carmen albums\nArista Records compilation albums",
"\"Make You Sweat\" is the title of a number-one R&B single by Keith Sweat. As the leading single from the album, I'll Give All My Love to You, the hit song reached number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent one week at number-one on the US R&B chart. \"Make You Sweat\" also peaked at number five on the dance charts.\n\nThe title of the song became the title of Keith Sweat's greatest hits album 14 years later.\n\nTrack listing\nA1. Make You Sweat (Edit of LP Version) (3:47)\nA2. Make You Sweat (Extended Version) (6:02)\nB1. Make You Sweat (Sweat Beat) (1:18)\nB2. Make You Sweat (Club Beat) (5:07)\nB3. Make You Sweat (Instrumental) (5:46)\n\nCharts\n\nPeak positions\n\nEnd of year charts\n\nSee also\n R&B number-one hits of 1990 (USA)\n\nReferences\n\nKeith Sweat songs\n1990 singles\n1990 songs\nElektra Records singles\nSongs written by Keith Sweat\nSongs written by Timmy Gatling"
] |
[
"Jodie Foster",
"1965-1975: Early work"
] | C_67bd39d220a84618b8cdda8de3fe429e_1 | What was Foster's first role? | 1 | What was Foster's first role? | Jodie Foster | Foster's career began with an appearance as the Coppertone girl in a television advertisement in 1965, when she was only three years old. Her mother had originally intended only for her older brother Buddy to audition for the ad, but had taken Jodie with them to the casting call, where she was noticed by the casting agents. The television spot led to more advertisement work, and in 1968 to a minor appearance in the sitcom Mayberry R.F.D., in which her brother starred. In the following years Foster continued working in advertisements and appeared in over fifty television shows; she and her brother became the breadwinners of the family during this time. Although most of Foster's television appearances were minor, she had recurring roles in The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969-1971) and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1973), and starred opposite Christopher Connelly in the short-lived Paper Moon (1974), adapted from the hit film. Foster also appeared in films, mostly for Disney. After a role in the television film Menace on the Mountain (1970), she made her feature film debut in Napoleon and Samantha (1972), playing a girl who becomes friends with a boy, played by Johnny Whitaker, and his pet lion. She was accidentally grabbed by the lion on set, which left her with permanent scars on her back. Her other early film work includes the Raquel Welch vehicle Kansas City Bomber (1972), the Western One Little Indian (1973), the Mark Twain adaptation Tom Sawyer (1973), and Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), in which she appeared in a supporting role as a "Ripple-drinking street kid". Foster has said she loved acting as a child, and values her early work for the experience it gave her: "Some people get quick breaks and declare, 'I'll never do commercials! That's so lowbrow!' I want to tell them, 'Well, I'm real glad you've got a pretty face, because I worked for 20 years doing that stuff and I feel it's really invaluable; it really taught me a lot.'" CANNOTANSWER | Foster's career began with an appearance as the Coppertone girl | Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress, director, and producer. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award. For her work as a director, she has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. People magazine named her the most beautiful woman in the world in 1992, and in 2003, she was voted Number 23 in Channel 4's countdown of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time. Entertainment Weekly named her 57th on their list of 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in 1996. In 2016, she was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a motion pictures star located at 6927 Hollywood Boulevard.
Foster began her professional career as a child model when she was three years old, and made her acting debut in 1968 in the television sitcom Mayberry R.F.D. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she worked in several television series and made her film debut with Disney's Napoleon and Samantha (1972). Following appearances in the musical Tom Sawyer (1973) and Martin Scorsese's comedy-drama Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), her breakthrough came with Scorsese's psychological thriller Taxi Driver (1976), where she played a child prostitute, and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other roles as a teenager include the musical Bugsy Malone (1976) and the thriller The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976), and she became a popular teen idol by starring in Disney's Freaky Friday (1976) and Candleshoe (1977), as well as Carny (1980) and Foxes (1980).
After attending Yale University, Foster struggled to transition into adult roles until she gained critical acclaim for playing a rape survivor in the legal drama The Accused (1988), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She won her second Academy Award three years later for the psychological horror film The Silence of the Lambs (1991), where she portrayed FBI agent Clarice Starling. She made her debut as a film director the same year with Little Man Tate. She founded her own production company, Egg Pictures, in 1992. Its first production was Nell (1994), in which Foster also played the title role, garnering her fourth Academy Award nomination. Her other successful films in the 1990s were the romantic drama Sommersby, western comedy Maverick (1994), science fiction Contact (1997), and period drama Anna and the King (1999).
Foster experienced career setbacks in the early 2000s, including the cancellation of a film project and the closing down of her production company, but she then starred in four commercially successful thrillers: Panic Room (2002), Flightplan (2005), Inside Man (2006), and The Brave One (2007). She has concentrated on directing in the 2010s, with the films The Beaver (2011) and Money Monster (2016), and episodes for Netflix television series Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards, and Black Mirror. She received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for "Lesbian Request Denied", the third episode of the former. She also starred in the films Carnage (2011), Elysium (2013), Hotel Artemis (2018), and The Mauritanian (2021), the last of which won Foster her third Golden Globe.
Early life
Foster was born on November 19, 1962 in Los Angeles, the youngest child of Evelyn Ella "Brandy" (née Almond 1928-2019) and Lucius Fisher Foster III, a wealthy businessman. She is of English, German and Irish heritage. On her father's side she is descended from John Alden, who arrived in North America on the Mayflower in 1620.
Her parents' marriage had ended before she was born, and she never established a relationship with her father. She has three older full siblings: Lucinda (born 1954), Constance (born 1955), and Lucius, nicknamed "Buddy" (born 1957), as well as three half-brothers from her father's earlier marriage.
Following the divorce, Brandy raised the children with her partner in Los Angeles. She worked as a publicist for film producer Arthur P. Jacobs, until focusing on managing the acting careers of Buddy and Jodie. Although Foster was officially named Alicia, her siblings began calling her "Jodie", and the name stuck.
Foster was a gifted child who learned to read at age three. She attended the Lycée Français de Los Angeles, a French-language prep school. Her fluency in French has enabled her to act in French films, and she also dubs herself in French-language versions of most of her English-language films. At her graduation in 1980, she delivered the valedictorian address for the school's French division. She then attended Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut where she majored in African-American literature, wrote her thesis on Toni Morrison under the guidance of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and graduated magna cum laude in 1985. She returned to Yale in 1993 to address the graduating class, and received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree in 1997. In 2018, she was awarded the Yale Undergraduate Lifetime Achievement Award.
Career
Career beginnings
Foster's career began with an appearance in a Coppertone television advertisement in 1965, when she was three years old. Her mother had intended only for Jodie's older brother Buddy to audition, but had taken Jodie with them to the casting call, where she was noticed by the casting agents. The television spot led to more advertising work, and in 1968 to a minor appearance in the sitcom Mayberry R.F.D., in which her brother starred. In the following years Foster continued working in advertising and appeared in over 50 television shows; she and her brother became the breadwinners of the family during this time. She had recurring roles in The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969–1971) and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1973), and starred opposite Christopher Connelly in the short-lived Paper Moon (1974), adapted from the hit film.
Foster also appeared in films, mostly for Disney. After a role in the television film Menace on the Mountain (1970), she made her feature film debut in Napoleon and Samantha (1972), playing a girl who befriends a boy, played by Johnny Whitaker, and his pet lion. She was accidentally grabbed by the lion on set, which left her with scars on her back. Her other early film work includes the Raquel Welch vehicle Kansas City Bomber (1972), the Western One Little Indian (1973), the Mark Twain adaptation Tom Sawyer (1973), and Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), in which she appeared in a supporting role as a "Ripple-drinking street kid".
Foster said she loved acting as a child, and values her early work for the experience it gave her: "Some people get quick breaks and declare, 'I'll never do commercials! That's so lowbrow!' I want to tell them, 'Well, I'm real glad you've got a pretty face, because I worked for 20 years doing that stuff and I feel it's really invaluable; it really taught me a lot.'"
1970s: Taxi Driver and teenage stardom
Foster's mother was concerned that her daughter's career would end by the time she grew out of playing children, and decided that Foster should also begin acting in films for adult audiences. After the minor supporting role in Alice, Scorsese cast her in the role of a child prostitute in Taxi Driver (1976). To be able to do the film, Foster had to undergo psychiatric assessment and was accompanied by a social worker on set. Her older sister acted as her stand-in in sexually suggestive scenes. Foster later commented on the role, saying that she hated "the idea that everybody thinks if a kid's going to be an actress it means that she has to play Shirley Temple or someone's little sister." During the filming, Foster developed a bond with co-star Robert De Niro, who saw "serious potential" in her and dedicated time rehearsing scenes with her.
She described Taxi Driver as a life-changing experience and stated that it was "the first time anyone asked me to create a character that wasn't myself. It was the first time I realized that acting wasn't this hobby you just sort of did, but that there was actually some craft." Taxi Driver won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival; Foster also impressed journalists when she acted as French interpreter at the press conference. Taxi Driver was a critical and commercial success, and earned her a supporting actress Academy Award nomination, as well as two BAFTAs, a David di Donatello and a National Society of Film Critics award. The film is considered one of the best in history by the American Film Institute and Sight & Sound, and has been preserved in the National Film Registry.
Foster also acted in another film nominated for the Palme d'Or in 1976, Bugsy Malone. The British musical parodied films about Prohibition Era gangsters by having all roles played by children; Foster appeared in a major supporting role as a star of a speakeasy show. Director Alan Parker was impressed by her, saying that "she takes such an intelligent interest in the way the film is being made that if I had been run over by a bus I think she was probably the only person on the set able to take over as director." She gained several positive notices for her performance: Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times stated that "at thirteen she was already getting the roles that grown-up actresses complained weren't being written for women anymore", Variety described her as "outstanding", and Vincent Canby of The New York Times called her "the star of the show". Foster's two BAFTAs were awarded jointly for her performances in Taxi Driver and Bugsy Malone. Her third film release in 1976 was the independent drama Echoes of a Summer, which had been filmed two years previously. The New York Times named Foster's performance as a terminally ill girl the film's "main strength" and Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune stated that she "is not a good child actress; she's just a good actress", although both reviewers otherwise panned the film.
Foster's fourth film of 1976 was the Canadian-French thriller The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, in which she starred opposite Martin Sheen. The film combined aspects from thriller and horror genres, and showed Foster as a mysterious young girl living on her own in a small town. The performance earned her a Saturn Award. In November, Foster hosted Saturday Night Live, becoming the youngest person to do so until 1982. Her final film of the year was the Disney comedy Freaky Friday, "her first true star vehicle". She played a tomboy teen who accidentally changes bodies with her mother, and she later stated that the film marked a "transitional period" for her when she began to grow out of child roles. It received mainly positive reviews, and was a box office success, gaining Foster a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.
After her breakthrough year, Foster spent nine months living in France, where she starred in Moi, fleur bleue (1977) and recorded several songs for its soundtrack. Her other films released in 1977 were the Italian comedy Casotto (1977), and the Disney heist film Candleshoe (1977), which was filmed in England and co-starred veteran actors David Niven and Helen Hayes. After its release, Foster did not appear in any new releases until 1980, the year she turned eighteen.
1980s: Transition to adult roles
In 1980, Foster gained positive notices for her performances in the independent films Foxes and Carny (1980). The same year, she also became a full-time student at Yale. She later stated that going to college changed her thoughts about acting, which she had previously thought was an unintelligent profession, but now realised that "what I really wanted to do was to act and there was nothing stupid about it." Although Foster prioritized college during these years, she continued making films on her summer vacations. These were O'Hara's Wife (1982), television film Svengali (1983), John Irving adaptation The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), French film The Blood of Others (1984), and period drama Mesmerized (1986), which she also co-produced. None of them gained large audiences or critical appreciation, and after graduating from Yale in 1985, Foster struggled to find further acting work.
Foster's first film after college, the neo-noir Siesta (1987), was a failure. Her next project, the independent film Five Corners (1987), was better received. A moderate critical success, it earned Foster an Independent Spirit Award for her performance as a woman whose sexual assaulter returns to stalk her. The following year, Foster made her debut as a director with the episode "Do Not Open This Box" for the horror anthology series Tales from the Darkside, and starred in the romantic drama Stealing Home (1988) opposite Mark Harmon. The film was a critical and commercial failure, with critic Roger Ebert "wondering if any movie could possibly be that bad".
Foster's breakthrough into adult roles came with her performance as a rape survivor in The Accused (1988). Based on a real criminal case, the film focuses on the aftermath of a gang rape and its survivor's fight for justice in the face of victim blaming. Before making the film, Foster was having doubts about whether to continue her career and planned on starting graduate studies, but decided to give acting "one last try" in The Accused. She had to audition twice for the role and was cast only after several more established actors had turned it down, as the film's producers were wary of her due to her previous failures and because she was still remembered as a "chubby teenager". Due to the heavy subject matter, the filming was a difficult experience for all cast and crew involved, especially the shooting of the rape scene, which took five days to complete. Foster was unhappy with her performance, and feared that it would end her career. Instead, The Accused received positive reviews, with Foster's performance receiving widespread acclaim and earning her Academy, Golden Globe and National Board of Review awards, as well as a nomination for a BAFTA Award.
1990s: Box office success, debut as director and Egg Pictures
Foster's first film release after the success of The Accused was the thriller The Silence of the Lambs (1991). She portrayed FBI trainee Clarice Starling, who is sent to interview incarcerated serial killer Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in order to hunt another serial killer, Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb (Ted Levine). Foster later named the role one of her favorites. She had read the novel it was based on after its publication in 1988 and had attempted to purchase its film rights, as it featured "a real female heroine" and its plot was not "about steroids and brawn, [but] about using your mind and using your insufficiencies to combat the villain." Despite her enthusiasm, director Jonathan Demme did not initially want to cast her, but the producers overruled him. Demme's view of Foster changed during the production, and he later credited her for helping him define the character.
Released in February 1991, The Silence of the Lambs became one of the biggest hits of the year, grossing close to $273 million, with a positive critical reception. Foster received largely positive reviews and won Academy, Golden Globe, and BAFTA awards for her portrayal of Starling; Silence won five Academy Awards overall, becoming one of the few films to win in all main categories. In contrast, some reviewers criticized the film as misogynist for its focus on brutal murders of women, and homo-/transphobic due to its portrayal of "Buffalo Bill" as bisexual and transgender. Much of the criticism was directed towards Foster, who the critics alleged was herself a lesbian. Despite the controversy, the film is considered a modern classic: Starling and Lecter are included on the American Film Institute's top ten of the greatest film heroes and villains, and the film is preserved in the National Film Registry. Later in 1991, Foster also starred in the unsuccessful low-budget thriller Catchfire, which had been filmed before Silence, but was released after it in an attempt to profit from its success.
In October 1991, Foster released her first feature film as a director, Little Man Tate, a drama about a child prodigy who struggles to come to terms with being different. The main role was played by previously unknown actor Adam Hann-Byrd, and Foster co-starred as his working-class single mother. She had found the script in the "slush pile" at Orion Pictures, and explained that for her debut film she "wanted a piece that was not autobiographical, but that had to do with the 10 philosophies I've accumulated in the past 25 years. Every single one of them, if they weren't in the script from the beginning, they're there now." Many reviewers felt that the film did not live up to the high expectations, and regarded it as "less adventurous than many films in which [she] had starred". Regardless, it was a moderate box office success. Foster's final film appearance of the year came in a small role as a sex worker in Shadows and Fog (1991), directed by Woody Allen, with whom she had wanted to collaborate since the 1970s.
Foster next starred in the period film Sommersby (1993), portraying a woman who begins to suspect that her husband (Richard Gere) who returns home from the Civil War is an impostor. She then replaced Meg Ryan in the Western comedy, Maverick (1994), playing a con artist opposite Mel Gibson and James Garner. According to film scholar Karen Hollinger, both films featured her in more "conventionally feminine" roles. Both Sommersby and Maverick were commercially successful.
Foster had founded her own production company, Egg Pictures, a subsidiary of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment in 1992, and released its first production, Nell, in December 1994. It was directed by Michael Apted and starred Foster in the titular role as a woman who grew up isolated in the Appalachian Mountains and speaks her own invented language. The film was based on Mark Handley's play Idioglossia, which interested Foster for its theme of "otherness", and because she "loved this idea of a woman who defies categorization, a creature who is labeled and categorized by people based on their own problems and their own prejudices and what they bring to the table." Despite mixed reviews, it was a commercial success, and earned Foster a Screen Actors Guild Award and nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her acting performance.
The second film that Foster directed and produced for Egg Pictures was Home for the Holidays, released in late 1995. A black comedy "set around a nightmarish Thanksgiving", it starred Holly Hunter and Robert Downey Jr. The film received a mixed critical response and was a commercial failure. In 1996, Foster received two honorary awards: the Crystal Award, awarded annually for women in the entertainment industry, and the Berlinale Camera at the 46th Berlin International Film Festival. She voiced a character in an episode of Frasier in 1996 and in an episode of The X-Files in early 1997.
After Nell (1994), Foster appeared in no new film releases until Contact (1997), a science fiction film based on a novel by Carl Sagan and directed by Robert Zemeckis. She starred as a scientist searching for extraterrestrial life in the SETI project. The film was a commercial success and earned Foster a Saturn Award and a nomination for a Golden Globe. Foster next produced Jane Anderson's television film The Baby Dance (1998) for Showtime. Its story deals with a wealthy California couple who struggle with infertility and decide to adopt from a poor family in Louisiana. On her decision to produce for television, Foster stated that it was easier to take financial risks in that medium than in feature films. In 1998, she also moved her production company from PolyGram to Paramount Pictures. Also in 1998, asteroid 17744 Jodiefoster was named in her honor.
Foster's last film of the 1990s was the period drama Anna and the King (1999), in which she starred opposite Chow Yun-Fat. It was based on a fictionalized biography of British teacher Anna Leonowens, who taught the children of King Mongkut of Siam, and whose story became well known as the musical The King and I. Foster was paid $15 million to portray Leonowens, making her one of the highest-paid female actors in Hollywood. The film was subject to controversy when the Thai government deemed it historically inaccurate and insulting to the royal family and banned its distribution in the country. It was a moderate commercial success, but received mixed to negative reviews. Roger Ebert panned the film, stating that the role required Foster "to play beneath [her] intelligence" and The New York Times called it a "misstep" for her and accused her of only being "interested ... in sanctifying herself as an old-fashioned heroine than in taking on dramatically risky roles".
2000s: Career setbacks and resurgence in thrillers
Foster's first project of the new decade was Keith Gordon's film Waking the Dead (2000), which she produced. She declined to reprise her role as Clarice Starling in Hannibal (2001), with the part going instead to Julianne Moore, and concentrated on a new directorial project, Flora Plum. It was to focus on a 1930s circus and star Claire Danes and Russell Crowe, but had to be shelved after Crowe was injured on set and could not complete filming on schedule; Foster unsuccessfully attempted to revive the project several times in the following years. Controversially, she also expressed interest in directing and starring in a biographical film of Nazi film director Leni Riefenstahl, who did not like the idea. In addition to these setbacks, Foster shut down Egg Pictures in 2001, stating that producing was "just a really thankless, bad job". The company's last production, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2002. It received good reviews, and had a limited theatrical release in the summer.
After the cancellation of Flora Plum, Foster took on the main role in David Fincher's thriller Panic Room after its intended star, Nicole Kidman, had to drop out due to an injury on set. Before filming resumed, Foster was given only a week to prepare for the role of a woman who hides in a panic room with her daughter when burglars invade their home. It grossed over $30 million on its North American opening weekend in March 2002, thus becoming the most successful film opening of Foster's career . In addition to being a box office success, the film also received largely positive reviews.
After a minor appearance in the French period drama A Very Long Engagement (2004), Foster starred in three more thrillers. The first was Flightplan (2005), in which she played a woman whose daughter vanishes during an overnight flight. It became a global box office success, but received mixed reviews. It was followed by Spike Lee's critically and commercially successful Inside Man (2006), about a bank heist on Wall Street, which co-starred Denzel Washington and Clive Owen. The third thriller, The Brave One (2007), prompted some comparisons to Taxi Driver, as Foster played a New Yorker who becomes a vigilante after her fiancé is murdered. It was not a success, but earned Foster her sixth Golden Globe nomination. Her last film role of the decade was in the children's adventure film Nim's Island (2008), in which she portrayed an agoraphobic writer opposite Gerard Butler and Abigail Breslin. It was the first comedy in which she had starred since Maverick (1994), and was a commercial success but a critical failure. In 2009, she provided the voice for Maggie in a tetralogy episode of The Simpsons titled "Four Great Women and a Manicure".
2010s: Focus on directing
In the 2010s, Foster focused on directing and took fewer acting roles. In February 2011, she hosted the 36th César Awards in France, and the following month released her third feature film direction, The Beaver (2011), about a depressed man who develops an alternative personality based on a beaver hand puppet. It starred Maverick co-star Mel Gibson and featured herself, Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence in supporting roles as his family. Foster called its production "probably the biggest struggle of my professional career", partly due to the film's heavy subject matter but also due to the controversy that Gibson generated when he was accused of domestic violence and making anti-semitic, racist, and sexist statements. The film received mixed reviews, and failed the box office, largely due to this controversy. In 2011, Foster also appeared as part of an ensemble cast with John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz in Roman Polanski's comedy Carnage, in which the attempts of middle-class parents to settle an incident between their sons descends into chaos. It premiered to mainly positive reviews and earned Foster a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress.
In 2013, Foster received the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 70th Golden Globe Awards. Her next film role was playing Secretary of Defense Delacourt opposite Matt Damon in the dystopian film Elysium (2013), which was a box office success. She also returned to television directing for the first time since the 1980s, directing the episodes "Lesbian Request Denied" (2013) and "Thirsty Bird" (2014) for Orange Is the New Black, and the episode "Chapter 22" (2014) for House of Cards. "Lesbian Request Denied" brought her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and the two 2014 episodes earned her two nominations for a Directors Guild of America Award. She also narrated the episode "Women in Space" (2014) for Makers: Women Who Make America, a PBS documentary series about women's struggle for equal rights in the United States. In 2015, Foster received the Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award at the Athena Film Festival.
The fourth film directed by Foster, hostage drama Money Monster, premiered out-of-competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2016. It starred George Clooney and Julia Roberts, and despite mixed reviews, was a moderate commercial success. The following year, Foster continued her work in television by directing an episode, "Arkangel", for the British sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror (2011–).
As the decade drew to a close, Foster continued to mix acting with directing. She starred together with Sterling Brown in the dystopian film Hotel Artemis (2018). Although the film was a commercial and critical disappointment, Foster's performance as Nurse, who runs a hospital for criminals, received positive notices. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle's stated that "not enough can be said about the performance of Foster in this film. She brings to the role a quality of having seen the absolute worst in people, but also the suggestion that, as a result, she accepts them on their own terms and knows how to handle any situation." Rick Bentley from Tampa Bay Times declared Foster's performance one of her "best and most memorable performances." The same year, Foster co-produced and narrated Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018), a documentary on one of the first female film directors.
2020s: Current work
Foster directed the finale of the 2020 science fiction drama Tales from the Loop. Her next project was the legal drama The Mauritanian (2021), in which she starred as the lawyer of a prisoner (Tahar Rahim) at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Foster won a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe for her performance. At the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, Foster received the Honorary Palme d'Or for lifetime achievement.
Personal life
Foster met producer (then production coordinator) Cydney Bernard on the set of Sommersby (1993). They were in a relationship from 1993 until 2008 and had two sons (born in 1998 and 2001) together. In April 2014, Foster married actress and photographer Alexandra Hedison after a year of dating.
Foster's sexual orientation became the subject of public discussion in 1991 when publications such as OutWeek and The Village Voice, protesting against the alleged homophobia and transphobia in The Silence of the Lambs, claimed that she was a closeted lesbian. While she had been in a relationship with Bernard for 14 years, Foster first publicly acknowledged it in a speech at The Hollywood Reporter'''s "Women in Entertainment" breakfast honoring her in 2007. In 2013, she addressed her coming out in a speech after receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 70th Golden Globe Awards, which led many news outlets to describe her as gay, although some sources noted that she did not use the words "gay" or "lesbian" in her speech.
John Hinckley incident
During her freshman year at Yale in 1980–1981, Foster was stalked by John W. Hinckley, Jr., who had developed an obsession with her after watching Taxi Driver. He moved to New Haven and tried to contact her by letter and telephone. On March 30, 1981, Hinckley attempted to assassinate U.S. president Ronald Reagan, wounding him and three other people, claiming that his motive was to impress Foster. The incident attracted intense media attention, and Foster was accompanied by bodyguards while on campus. Although Judge Barrington D. Parker confirmed that Foster was innocent in the case and had been "unwittingly ensnared in a third party's alleged attempt to assassinate an American President", her videotaped testimony was played at Hinckley's trial. While at Yale, Foster also had other stalkers, including a man who planned to kill her but changed his mind after watching her perform in a college play.
Foster has rarely commented publicly about Hinckley. She wrote an essay, "Why Me?", which was published in 1982 by Esquire on the condition that "there be no cover lines, no publicity and no photos". In 1991, she canceled an interview with NBC's Today Show when she discovered Hinckley would be mentioned in the introduction and that the producers would not change it. She discussed Hinckley with Charlie Rose of 60 Minutes II'' in 1999, explaining that she does not "like to dwell on it too much ... I never wanted to be the actress who was remembered for that event. Because it didn't have anything to do with me. I was kind of a hapless bystander. But ... what a scarring, strange moment in history for me, to be 17 years old, 18 years old, and to be caught up in a drama like that." She stated that the incident had a major impact on her career choices, and acknowledged that her experience was minimal compared to the suffering of Reagan's press secretary James Brady, who was permanently disabled in the shooting, and died as a result of his injuries 33 years later, and his loved ones: "Whatever bad moments that I had certainly could never compare to that family."
Filmography and accolades
See also
List of American film actresses
List of American television actresses
List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees – Youngest nominees for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
List of LGBTQ Academy Award winners and nominees – Best Actress in a Leading Role winners and nominees
List of actors with Academy Award nominations
List of actors with two or more Academy Award nominations in acting categories
List of actors with two or more Academy Awards in acting categories
References
Footnotes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
Jodie Foster in the online catalogue of the Cinémathèque Française
1962 births
Living people
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from Los Angeles
American child actresses
American film actresses
American film producers
American television actresses
American television directors
American voice actresses
American women film directors
American women film producers
American women television producers
Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan
BAFTA Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles winners
Best Actress Academy Award winners
Best Actress BAFTA Award winners
Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award winners
Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
Cecil B. DeMille Award Golden Globe winners
David di Donatello winners
European Film Awards winners (people)
Film directors from Los Angeles
Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead winners
LGBT actresses
LGBT film directors
LGBT television directors
LGBT actors from the United States
LGBT people from California
LGBT producers
Lycée Français de Los Angeles alumni
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Television producers from California
American women television directors
Yale College alumni | false | [
"Margaret Foster is an American film and television actress. Some of her many roles were in the 1979 TV miniseries version of The Scarlet Letter, and the films Ticket to Heaven, The Osterman Weekend, and They Live.\n\nEarly years\nFoster was born in Reading, Pennsylvania to David and Nancy (née Adamson) Foster, and grew up in Rowayton, Connecticut with four siblings: sisters Gray, Jan, and Nina, and brother Ian. She studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York.\n\nCareer \nIn 1968, Foster acted in a Cornell Summer Theater production of John Brown's Body. Later in 1968, she was in the off-Broadway production of The Empire Builders.\n\nWhen Loretta Swit was unable to reprise her television-film role of Detective Christine Cagney when the film was adapted into the Cagney & Lacey TV series, Foster took on the role for the short (six episodes) first season, before she was replaced by Sharon Gless. Entertainment columnist Dick Kleiner wrote in August 1982 about Foster's being dropped from the show: \"It isn't a pretty story, no matter who you talk to. Meg was so hurt and distraught that she still isn't talking. But she told friends that she felt as though she had been hit by a truck.\" Kleiner's story implied that Foster's dismissal from the show had cost her other opportunities. \"Until that news spread,\" he wrote, \"she was an in-demand actress.\"\n\nFoster worked throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. She guest-starred in numerous TV shows including two episodes of Hawaii Five-O (1973 and 1976), The Six Million Dollar Man season two episode \"Straight on 'til Morning\" (1974), Three for the Road (1975), and the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season four episode \"The Muse\" (1996).\n\nOther TV shows include Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, The F.B.I., Here Come the Brides, Storefront Lawyers, Barnaby Jones, Murder, She Wrote, Miami Vice, Mannix, The Cosby Show, Quantum Leap, ER, the young riders and Xena: Warrior Princess. She was Hera in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys\n\nShe also appeared in films throughout the 1980s, beginning with a role as a woman who worked in the games in a traveling carnival in Carny, starring Jodie Foster, Gary Busey and Robbie Robertson; the villainous Evil-Lyn in the big-screen version of Masters of the Universe; and Holly in the John Carpenter film They Live, with \"Rowdy\" Roddy Piper.\n\nShe was nominated for a 1982 Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actress for the film Ticket to Heaven. Since the 1990s, Foster has acted mainly in stage productions, including King Lear and Barabbas.\n\nFoster's striking pale-blue eyes were dubbed \"the eyes of 1979\" by Mademoiselle magazine. In a newspaper interview that year, she said in her opinion, her eyes were not \"so distinctive\". However, some film and television producers had Foster wear contact lenses to lessen what they considered her eyes' \"distractive\" effect.\n\nPersonal life\nFoster is divorced from Canadian actor Stephen McHattie. She has a son, Christopher.\n\nFilmography\n\nFilms\n\nTelevision films\n\nTelevision series\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nLiving people\n20th-century American actresses\n21st-century American actresses\nActors from Reading, Pennsylvania\nActresses from Pennsylvania\nAmerican film actresses\nAmerican stage actresses\nAmerican television actresses\nNeighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre alumni\nYear of birth missing (living people)",
"Alfred Leon Foster (known as Alfred Foster) was an American mathematician. He was a professor at the University of California, Berkeley from 1934 until 1971. In 1932 he was an Invited Speaker at the ICM in Zürich.\n\nIn 1934 he accepted a regular position at Berkeley. At that time Griffith Evans was Head of the Mathematics Department and was charged by President Sproul with building a first-class mathematics center, which he did. Alfred Foster and Charles Morrey (who became the first department chairman after Evans' retirement) were Evans' first two appointments. Except for subsequent sabbatical leaves, spent most notably in Freiburg and Tübingen, Foster served continuously at Berkeley until his retirement at the then-mandatory age of 67 in 1971.\n\nFoster's Ph.D. dissertation and his first few papers were in the area of mathematical logic. Starting from this point, he soon focused his interest on the related theory of Boolean algebras and Boolean rings, and was thus led from logic to algebra. He extensively studied the role of duality in Boolean theory and subsequently developed a theory of n-ality for certain rings which played for n-valued logics the role of Boolean rings vis-a-vis Boolean algebras. The late Benjamin Bernstein of the Berkeley mathematics faculty was his collaborator in some of this research. This work culminated in his seminal paper “The theory of Boolean-like rings” appearing in 1946.\n\nFoster was married to Else Wagner; their marriage produced four children and eight grandchildren.\n\nSelected publications\n\nReferences\n\n20th-century American mathematicians\nUniversity of California, Berkeley College of Letters and Science faculty\nPrinceton University alumni\n1904 births\n1994 deaths\nCalifornia Institute of Technology alumni"
] |
[
"Jodie Foster",
"1965-1975: Early work",
"What was Foster's first role?",
"Foster's career began with an appearance as the Coppertone girl"
] | C_67bd39d220a84618b8cdda8de3fe429e_1 | What year was she the Coppertone Girl? | 2 | What year was Jodie Foster the Coppertone Girl? | Jodie Foster | Foster's career began with an appearance as the Coppertone girl in a television advertisement in 1965, when she was only three years old. Her mother had originally intended only for her older brother Buddy to audition for the ad, but had taken Jodie with them to the casting call, where she was noticed by the casting agents. The television spot led to more advertisement work, and in 1968 to a minor appearance in the sitcom Mayberry R.F.D., in which her brother starred. In the following years Foster continued working in advertisements and appeared in over fifty television shows; she and her brother became the breadwinners of the family during this time. Although most of Foster's television appearances were minor, she had recurring roles in The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969-1971) and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1973), and starred opposite Christopher Connelly in the short-lived Paper Moon (1974), adapted from the hit film. Foster also appeared in films, mostly for Disney. After a role in the television film Menace on the Mountain (1970), she made her feature film debut in Napoleon and Samantha (1972), playing a girl who becomes friends with a boy, played by Johnny Whitaker, and his pet lion. She was accidentally grabbed by the lion on set, which left her with permanent scars on her back. Her other early film work includes the Raquel Welch vehicle Kansas City Bomber (1972), the Western One Little Indian (1973), the Mark Twain adaptation Tom Sawyer (1973), and Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), in which she appeared in a supporting role as a "Ripple-drinking street kid". Foster has said she loved acting as a child, and values her early work for the experience it gave her: "Some people get quick breaks and declare, 'I'll never do commercials! That's so lowbrow!' I want to tell them, 'Well, I'm real glad you've got a pretty face, because I worked for 20 years doing that stuff and I feel it's really invaluable; it really taught me a lot.'" CANNOTANSWER | in a television advertisement in 1965, | Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress, director, and producer. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award. For her work as a director, she has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. People magazine named her the most beautiful woman in the world in 1992, and in 2003, she was voted Number 23 in Channel 4's countdown of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time. Entertainment Weekly named her 57th on their list of 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in 1996. In 2016, she was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a motion pictures star located at 6927 Hollywood Boulevard.
Foster began her professional career as a child model when she was three years old, and made her acting debut in 1968 in the television sitcom Mayberry R.F.D. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she worked in several television series and made her film debut with Disney's Napoleon and Samantha (1972). Following appearances in the musical Tom Sawyer (1973) and Martin Scorsese's comedy-drama Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), her breakthrough came with Scorsese's psychological thriller Taxi Driver (1976), where she played a child prostitute, and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other roles as a teenager include the musical Bugsy Malone (1976) and the thriller The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976), and she became a popular teen idol by starring in Disney's Freaky Friday (1976) and Candleshoe (1977), as well as Carny (1980) and Foxes (1980).
After attending Yale University, Foster struggled to transition into adult roles until she gained critical acclaim for playing a rape survivor in the legal drama The Accused (1988), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She won her second Academy Award three years later for the psychological horror film The Silence of the Lambs (1991), where she portrayed FBI agent Clarice Starling. She made her debut as a film director the same year with Little Man Tate. She founded her own production company, Egg Pictures, in 1992. Its first production was Nell (1994), in which Foster also played the title role, garnering her fourth Academy Award nomination. Her other successful films in the 1990s were the romantic drama Sommersby, western comedy Maverick (1994), science fiction Contact (1997), and period drama Anna and the King (1999).
Foster experienced career setbacks in the early 2000s, including the cancellation of a film project and the closing down of her production company, but she then starred in four commercially successful thrillers: Panic Room (2002), Flightplan (2005), Inside Man (2006), and The Brave One (2007). She has concentrated on directing in the 2010s, with the films The Beaver (2011) and Money Monster (2016), and episodes for Netflix television series Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards, and Black Mirror. She received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for "Lesbian Request Denied", the third episode of the former. She also starred in the films Carnage (2011), Elysium (2013), Hotel Artemis (2018), and The Mauritanian (2021), the last of which won Foster her third Golden Globe.
Early life
Foster was born on November 19, 1962 in Los Angeles, the youngest child of Evelyn Ella "Brandy" (née Almond 1928-2019) and Lucius Fisher Foster III, a wealthy businessman. She is of English, German and Irish heritage. On her father's side she is descended from John Alden, who arrived in North America on the Mayflower in 1620.
Her parents' marriage had ended before she was born, and she never established a relationship with her father. She has three older full siblings: Lucinda (born 1954), Constance (born 1955), and Lucius, nicknamed "Buddy" (born 1957), as well as three half-brothers from her father's earlier marriage.
Following the divorce, Brandy raised the children with her partner in Los Angeles. She worked as a publicist for film producer Arthur P. Jacobs, until focusing on managing the acting careers of Buddy and Jodie. Although Foster was officially named Alicia, her siblings began calling her "Jodie", and the name stuck.
Foster was a gifted child who learned to read at age three. She attended the Lycée Français de Los Angeles, a French-language prep school. Her fluency in French has enabled her to act in French films, and she also dubs herself in French-language versions of most of her English-language films. At her graduation in 1980, she delivered the valedictorian address for the school's French division. She then attended Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut where she majored in African-American literature, wrote her thesis on Toni Morrison under the guidance of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and graduated magna cum laude in 1985. She returned to Yale in 1993 to address the graduating class, and received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree in 1997. In 2018, she was awarded the Yale Undergraduate Lifetime Achievement Award.
Career
Career beginnings
Foster's career began with an appearance in a Coppertone television advertisement in 1965, when she was three years old. Her mother had intended only for Jodie's older brother Buddy to audition, but had taken Jodie with them to the casting call, where she was noticed by the casting agents. The television spot led to more advertising work, and in 1968 to a minor appearance in the sitcom Mayberry R.F.D., in which her brother starred. In the following years Foster continued working in advertising and appeared in over 50 television shows; she and her brother became the breadwinners of the family during this time. She had recurring roles in The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969–1971) and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1973), and starred opposite Christopher Connelly in the short-lived Paper Moon (1974), adapted from the hit film.
Foster also appeared in films, mostly for Disney. After a role in the television film Menace on the Mountain (1970), she made her feature film debut in Napoleon and Samantha (1972), playing a girl who befriends a boy, played by Johnny Whitaker, and his pet lion. She was accidentally grabbed by the lion on set, which left her with scars on her back. Her other early film work includes the Raquel Welch vehicle Kansas City Bomber (1972), the Western One Little Indian (1973), the Mark Twain adaptation Tom Sawyer (1973), and Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), in which she appeared in a supporting role as a "Ripple-drinking street kid".
Foster said she loved acting as a child, and values her early work for the experience it gave her: "Some people get quick breaks and declare, 'I'll never do commercials! That's so lowbrow!' I want to tell them, 'Well, I'm real glad you've got a pretty face, because I worked for 20 years doing that stuff and I feel it's really invaluable; it really taught me a lot.'"
1970s: Taxi Driver and teenage stardom
Foster's mother was concerned that her daughter's career would end by the time she grew out of playing children, and decided that Foster should also begin acting in films for adult audiences. After the minor supporting role in Alice, Scorsese cast her in the role of a child prostitute in Taxi Driver (1976). To be able to do the film, Foster had to undergo psychiatric assessment and was accompanied by a social worker on set. Her older sister acted as her stand-in in sexually suggestive scenes. Foster later commented on the role, saying that she hated "the idea that everybody thinks if a kid's going to be an actress it means that she has to play Shirley Temple or someone's little sister." During the filming, Foster developed a bond with co-star Robert De Niro, who saw "serious potential" in her and dedicated time rehearsing scenes with her.
She described Taxi Driver as a life-changing experience and stated that it was "the first time anyone asked me to create a character that wasn't myself. It was the first time I realized that acting wasn't this hobby you just sort of did, but that there was actually some craft." Taxi Driver won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival; Foster also impressed journalists when she acted as French interpreter at the press conference. Taxi Driver was a critical and commercial success, and earned her a supporting actress Academy Award nomination, as well as two BAFTAs, a David di Donatello and a National Society of Film Critics award. The film is considered one of the best in history by the American Film Institute and Sight & Sound, and has been preserved in the National Film Registry.
Foster also acted in another film nominated for the Palme d'Or in 1976, Bugsy Malone. The British musical parodied films about Prohibition Era gangsters by having all roles played by children; Foster appeared in a major supporting role as a star of a speakeasy show. Director Alan Parker was impressed by her, saying that "she takes such an intelligent interest in the way the film is being made that if I had been run over by a bus I think she was probably the only person on the set able to take over as director." She gained several positive notices for her performance: Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times stated that "at thirteen she was already getting the roles that grown-up actresses complained weren't being written for women anymore", Variety described her as "outstanding", and Vincent Canby of The New York Times called her "the star of the show". Foster's two BAFTAs were awarded jointly for her performances in Taxi Driver and Bugsy Malone. Her third film release in 1976 was the independent drama Echoes of a Summer, which had been filmed two years previously. The New York Times named Foster's performance as a terminally ill girl the film's "main strength" and Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune stated that she "is not a good child actress; she's just a good actress", although both reviewers otherwise panned the film.
Foster's fourth film of 1976 was the Canadian-French thriller The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, in which she starred opposite Martin Sheen. The film combined aspects from thriller and horror genres, and showed Foster as a mysterious young girl living on her own in a small town. The performance earned her a Saturn Award. In November, Foster hosted Saturday Night Live, becoming the youngest person to do so until 1982. Her final film of the year was the Disney comedy Freaky Friday, "her first true star vehicle". She played a tomboy teen who accidentally changes bodies with her mother, and she later stated that the film marked a "transitional period" for her when she began to grow out of child roles. It received mainly positive reviews, and was a box office success, gaining Foster a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.
After her breakthrough year, Foster spent nine months living in France, where she starred in Moi, fleur bleue (1977) and recorded several songs for its soundtrack. Her other films released in 1977 were the Italian comedy Casotto (1977), and the Disney heist film Candleshoe (1977), which was filmed in England and co-starred veteran actors David Niven and Helen Hayes. After its release, Foster did not appear in any new releases until 1980, the year she turned eighteen.
1980s: Transition to adult roles
In 1980, Foster gained positive notices for her performances in the independent films Foxes and Carny (1980). The same year, she also became a full-time student at Yale. She later stated that going to college changed her thoughts about acting, which she had previously thought was an unintelligent profession, but now realised that "what I really wanted to do was to act and there was nothing stupid about it." Although Foster prioritized college during these years, she continued making films on her summer vacations. These were O'Hara's Wife (1982), television film Svengali (1983), John Irving adaptation The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), French film The Blood of Others (1984), and period drama Mesmerized (1986), which she also co-produced. None of them gained large audiences or critical appreciation, and after graduating from Yale in 1985, Foster struggled to find further acting work.
Foster's first film after college, the neo-noir Siesta (1987), was a failure. Her next project, the independent film Five Corners (1987), was better received. A moderate critical success, it earned Foster an Independent Spirit Award for her performance as a woman whose sexual assaulter returns to stalk her. The following year, Foster made her debut as a director with the episode "Do Not Open This Box" for the horror anthology series Tales from the Darkside, and starred in the romantic drama Stealing Home (1988) opposite Mark Harmon. The film was a critical and commercial failure, with critic Roger Ebert "wondering if any movie could possibly be that bad".
Foster's breakthrough into adult roles came with her performance as a rape survivor in The Accused (1988). Based on a real criminal case, the film focuses on the aftermath of a gang rape and its survivor's fight for justice in the face of victim blaming. Before making the film, Foster was having doubts about whether to continue her career and planned on starting graduate studies, but decided to give acting "one last try" in The Accused. She had to audition twice for the role and was cast only after several more established actors had turned it down, as the film's producers were wary of her due to her previous failures and because she was still remembered as a "chubby teenager". Due to the heavy subject matter, the filming was a difficult experience for all cast and crew involved, especially the shooting of the rape scene, which took five days to complete. Foster was unhappy with her performance, and feared that it would end her career. Instead, The Accused received positive reviews, with Foster's performance receiving widespread acclaim and earning her Academy, Golden Globe and National Board of Review awards, as well as a nomination for a BAFTA Award.
1990s: Box office success, debut as director and Egg Pictures
Foster's first film release after the success of The Accused was the thriller The Silence of the Lambs (1991). She portrayed FBI trainee Clarice Starling, who is sent to interview incarcerated serial killer Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in order to hunt another serial killer, Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb (Ted Levine). Foster later named the role one of her favorites. She had read the novel it was based on after its publication in 1988 and had attempted to purchase its film rights, as it featured "a real female heroine" and its plot was not "about steroids and brawn, [but] about using your mind and using your insufficiencies to combat the villain." Despite her enthusiasm, director Jonathan Demme did not initially want to cast her, but the producers overruled him. Demme's view of Foster changed during the production, and he later credited her for helping him define the character.
Released in February 1991, The Silence of the Lambs became one of the biggest hits of the year, grossing close to $273 million, with a positive critical reception. Foster received largely positive reviews and won Academy, Golden Globe, and BAFTA awards for her portrayal of Starling; Silence won five Academy Awards overall, becoming one of the few films to win in all main categories. In contrast, some reviewers criticized the film as misogynist for its focus on brutal murders of women, and homo-/transphobic due to its portrayal of "Buffalo Bill" as bisexual and transgender. Much of the criticism was directed towards Foster, who the critics alleged was herself a lesbian. Despite the controversy, the film is considered a modern classic: Starling and Lecter are included on the American Film Institute's top ten of the greatest film heroes and villains, and the film is preserved in the National Film Registry. Later in 1991, Foster also starred in the unsuccessful low-budget thriller Catchfire, which had been filmed before Silence, but was released after it in an attempt to profit from its success.
In October 1991, Foster released her first feature film as a director, Little Man Tate, a drama about a child prodigy who struggles to come to terms with being different. The main role was played by previously unknown actor Adam Hann-Byrd, and Foster co-starred as his working-class single mother. She had found the script in the "slush pile" at Orion Pictures, and explained that for her debut film she "wanted a piece that was not autobiographical, but that had to do with the 10 philosophies I've accumulated in the past 25 years. Every single one of them, if they weren't in the script from the beginning, they're there now." Many reviewers felt that the film did not live up to the high expectations, and regarded it as "less adventurous than many films in which [she] had starred". Regardless, it was a moderate box office success. Foster's final film appearance of the year came in a small role as a sex worker in Shadows and Fog (1991), directed by Woody Allen, with whom she had wanted to collaborate since the 1970s.
Foster next starred in the period film Sommersby (1993), portraying a woman who begins to suspect that her husband (Richard Gere) who returns home from the Civil War is an impostor. She then replaced Meg Ryan in the Western comedy, Maverick (1994), playing a con artist opposite Mel Gibson and James Garner. According to film scholar Karen Hollinger, both films featured her in more "conventionally feminine" roles. Both Sommersby and Maverick were commercially successful.
Foster had founded her own production company, Egg Pictures, a subsidiary of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment in 1992, and released its first production, Nell, in December 1994. It was directed by Michael Apted and starred Foster in the titular role as a woman who grew up isolated in the Appalachian Mountains and speaks her own invented language. The film was based on Mark Handley's play Idioglossia, which interested Foster for its theme of "otherness", and because she "loved this idea of a woman who defies categorization, a creature who is labeled and categorized by people based on their own problems and their own prejudices and what they bring to the table." Despite mixed reviews, it was a commercial success, and earned Foster a Screen Actors Guild Award and nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her acting performance.
The second film that Foster directed and produced for Egg Pictures was Home for the Holidays, released in late 1995. A black comedy "set around a nightmarish Thanksgiving", it starred Holly Hunter and Robert Downey Jr. The film received a mixed critical response and was a commercial failure. In 1996, Foster received two honorary awards: the Crystal Award, awarded annually for women in the entertainment industry, and the Berlinale Camera at the 46th Berlin International Film Festival. She voiced a character in an episode of Frasier in 1996 and in an episode of The X-Files in early 1997.
After Nell (1994), Foster appeared in no new film releases until Contact (1997), a science fiction film based on a novel by Carl Sagan and directed by Robert Zemeckis. She starred as a scientist searching for extraterrestrial life in the SETI project. The film was a commercial success and earned Foster a Saturn Award and a nomination for a Golden Globe. Foster next produced Jane Anderson's television film The Baby Dance (1998) for Showtime. Its story deals with a wealthy California couple who struggle with infertility and decide to adopt from a poor family in Louisiana. On her decision to produce for television, Foster stated that it was easier to take financial risks in that medium than in feature films. In 1998, she also moved her production company from PolyGram to Paramount Pictures. Also in 1998, asteroid 17744 Jodiefoster was named in her honor.
Foster's last film of the 1990s was the period drama Anna and the King (1999), in which she starred opposite Chow Yun-Fat. It was based on a fictionalized biography of British teacher Anna Leonowens, who taught the children of King Mongkut of Siam, and whose story became well known as the musical The King and I. Foster was paid $15 million to portray Leonowens, making her one of the highest-paid female actors in Hollywood. The film was subject to controversy when the Thai government deemed it historically inaccurate and insulting to the royal family and banned its distribution in the country. It was a moderate commercial success, but received mixed to negative reviews. Roger Ebert panned the film, stating that the role required Foster "to play beneath [her] intelligence" and The New York Times called it a "misstep" for her and accused her of only being "interested ... in sanctifying herself as an old-fashioned heroine than in taking on dramatically risky roles".
2000s: Career setbacks and resurgence in thrillers
Foster's first project of the new decade was Keith Gordon's film Waking the Dead (2000), which she produced. She declined to reprise her role as Clarice Starling in Hannibal (2001), with the part going instead to Julianne Moore, and concentrated on a new directorial project, Flora Plum. It was to focus on a 1930s circus and star Claire Danes and Russell Crowe, but had to be shelved after Crowe was injured on set and could not complete filming on schedule; Foster unsuccessfully attempted to revive the project several times in the following years. Controversially, she also expressed interest in directing and starring in a biographical film of Nazi film director Leni Riefenstahl, who did not like the idea. In addition to these setbacks, Foster shut down Egg Pictures in 2001, stating that producing was "just a really thankless, bad job". The company's last production, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2002. It received good reviews, and had a limited theatrical release in the summer.
After the cancellation of Flora Plum, Foster took on the main role in David Fincher's thriller Panic Room after its intended star, Nicole Kidman, had to drop out due to an injury on set. Before filming resumed, Foster was given only a week to prepare for the role of a woman who hides in a panic room with her daughter when burglars invade their home. It grossed over $30 million on its North American opening weekend in March 2002, thus becoming the most successful film opening of Foster's career . In addition to being a box office success, the film also received largely positive reviews.
After a minor appearance in the French period drama A Very Long Engagement (2004), Foster starred in three more thrillers. The first was Flightplan (2005), in which she played a woman whose daughter vanishes during an overnight flight. It became a global box office success, but received mixed reviews. It was followed by Spike Lee's critically and commercially successful Inside Man (2006), about a bank heist on Wall Street, which co-starred Denzel Washington and Clive Owen. The third thriller, The Brave One (2007), prompted some comparisons to Taxi Driver, as Foster played a New Yorker who becomes a vigilante after her fiancé is murdered. It was not a success, but earned Foster her sixth Golden Globe nomination. Her last film role of the decade was in the children's adventure film Nim's Island (2008), in which she portrayed an agoraphobic writer opposite Gerard Butler and Abigail Breslin. It was the first comedy in which she had starred since Maverick (1994), and was a commercial success but a critical failure. In 2009, she provided the voice for Maggie in a tetralogy episode of The Simpsons titled "Four Great Women and a Manicure".
2010s: Focus on directing
In the 2010s, Foster focused on directing and took fewer acting roles. In February 2011, she hosted the 36th César Awards in France, and the following month released her third feature film direction, The Beaver (2011), about a depressed man who develops an alternative personality based on a beaver hand puppet. It starred Maverick co-star Mel Gibson and featured herself, Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence in supporting roles as his family. Foster called its production "probably the biggest struggle of my professional career", partly due to the film's heavy subject matter but also due to the controversy that Gibson generated when he was accused of domestic violence and making anti-semitic, racist, and sexist statements. The film received mixed reviews, and failed the box office, largely due to this controversy. In 2011, Foster also appeared as part of an ensemble cast with John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz in Roman Polanski's comedy Carnage, in which the attempts of middle-class parents to settle an incident between their sons descends into chaos. It premiered to mainly positive reviews and earned Foster a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress.
In 2013, Foster received the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 70th Golden Globe Awards. Her next film role was playing Secretary of Defense Delacourt opposite Matt Damon in the dystopian film Elysium (2013), which was a box office success. She also returned to television directing for the first time since the 1980s, directing the episodes "Lesbian Request Denied" (2013) and "Thirsty Bird" (2014) for Orange Is the New Black, and the episode "Chapter 22" (2014) for House of Cards. "Lesbian Request Denied" brought her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and the two 2014 episodes earned her two nominations for a Directors Guild of America Award. She also narrated the episode "Women in Space" (2014) for Makers: Women Who Make America, a PBS documentary series about women's struggle for equal rights in the United States. In 2015, Foster received the Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award at the Athena Film Festival.
The fourth film directed by Foster, hostage drama Money Monster, premiered out-of-competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2016. It starred George Clooney and Julia Roberts, and despite mixed reviews, was a moderate commercial success. The following year, Foster continued her work in television by directing an episode, "Arkangel", for the British sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror (2011–).
As the decade drew to a close, Foster continued to mix acting with directing. She starred together with Sterling Brown in the dystopian film Hotel Artemis (2018). Although the film was a commercial and critical disappointment, Foster's performance as Nurse, who runs a hospital for criminals, received positive notices. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle's stated that "not enough can be said about the performance of Foster in this film. She brings to the role a quality of having seen the absolute worst in people, but also the suggestion that, as a result, she accepts them on their own terms and knows how to handle any situation." Rick Bentley from Tampa Bay Times declared Foster's performance one of her "best and most memorable performances." The same year, Foster co-produced and narrated Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018), a documentary on one of the first female film directors.
2020s: Current work
Foster directed the finale of the 2020 science fiction drama Tales from the Loop. Her next project was the legal drama The Mauritanian (2021), in which she starred as the lawyer of a prisoner (Tahar Rahim) at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Foster won a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe for her performance. At the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, Foster received the Honorary Palme d'Or for lifetime achievement.
Personal life
Foster met producer (then production coordinator) Cydney Bernard on the set of Sommersby (1993). They were in a relationship from 1993 until 2008 and had two sons (born in 1998 and 2001) together. In April 2014, Foster married actress and photographer Alexandra Hedison after a year of dating.
Foster's sexual orientation became the subject of public discussion in 1991 when publications such as OutWeek and The Village Voice, protesting against the alleged homophobia and transphobia in The Silence of the Lambs, claimed that she was a closeted lesbian. While she had been in a relationship with Bernard for 14 years, Foster first publicly acknowledged it in a speech at The Hollywood Reporter'''s "Women in Entertainment" breakfast honoring her in 2007. In 2013, she addressed her coming out in a speech after receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 70th Golden Globe Awards, which led many news outlets to describe her as gay, although some sources noted that she did not use the words "gay" or "lesbian" in her speech.
John Hinckley incident
During her freshman year at Yale in 1980–1981, Foster was stalked by John W. Hinckley, Jr., who had developed an obsession with her after watching Taxi Driver. He moved to New Haven and tried to contact her by letter and telephone. On March 30, 1981, Hinckley attempted to assassinate U.S. president Ronald Reagan, wounding him and three other people, claiming that his motive was to impress Foster. The incident attracted intense media attention, and Foster was accompanied by bodyguards while on campus. Although Judge Barrington D. Parker confirmed that Foster was innocent in the case and had been "unwittingly ensnared in a third party's alleged attempt to assassinate an American President", her videotaped testimony was played at Hinckley's trial. While at Yale, Foster also had other stalkers, including a man who planned to kill her but changed his mind after watching her perform in a college play.
Foster has rarely commented publicly about Hinckley. She wrote an essay, "Why Me?", which was published in 1982 by Esquire on the condition that "there be no cover lines, no publicity and no photos". In 1991, she canceled an interview with NBC's Today Show when she discovered Hinckley would be mentioned in the introduction and that the producers would not change it. She discussed Hinckley with Charlie Rose of 60 Minutes II'' in 1999, explaining that she does not "like to dwell on it too much ... I never wanted to be the actress who was remembered for that event. Because it didn't have anything to do with me. I was kind of a hapless bystander. But ... what a scarring, strange moment in history for me, to be 17 years old, 18 years old, and to be caught up in a drama like that." She stated that the incident had a major impact on her career choices, and acknowledged that her experience was minimal compared to the suffering of Reagan's press secretary James Brady, who was permanently disabled in the shooting, and died as a result of his injuries 33 years later, and his loved ones: "Whatever bad moments that I had certainly could never compare to that family."
Filmography and accolades
See also
List of American film actresses
List of American television actresses
List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees – Youngest nominees for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
List of LGBTQ Academy Award winners and nominees – Best Actress in a Leading Role winners and nominees
List of actors with Academy Award nominations
List of actors with two or more Academy Award nominations in acting categories
List of actors with two or more Academy Awards in acting categories
References
Footnotes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
Jodie Foster in the online catalogue of the Cinémathèque Française
1962 births
Living people
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from Los Angeles
American child actresses
American film actresses
American film producers
American television actresses
American television directors
American voice actresses
American women film directors
American women film producers
American women television producers
Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan
BAFTA Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles winners
Best Actress Academy Award winners
Best Actress BAFTA Award winners
Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award winners
Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
Cecil B. DeMille Award Golden Globe winners
David di Donatello winners
European Film Awards winners (people)
Film directors from Los Angeles
Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead winners
LGBT actresses
LGBT film directors
LGBT television directors
LGBT actors from the United States
LGBT people from California
LGBT producers
Lycée Français de Los Angeles alumni
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Television producers from California
American women television directors
Yale College alumni | false | [
"Coppertone is the brand name for an American sunscreen. Coppertone is headquartered in Whippany, New Jersey. Coppertone uses a variety of branding, including the Coppertone girl logo and a distinctive fragrance.\n\nProduct line\nThe original product dates to 1944, when pharmacist Benjamin Green invented a lotion to darken tans. The product line has been expanded to include many skin care products, predominantly sunscreens. Coppertone has become the leading sun care brand in the United States, with annual $9 billion in global sales.\n\nBranding \nA variety of kinds of branding are used to identify various Coppertone products\n\nCoppertone name \nThe name Coppertone originated from its marketing of suntan lotion.\n\nCoppertone girl \nThe company became famous in 1953 when it introduced the Coppertone girl, an advertisement showing a young blonde girl in pigtails staring in surprise as a Cocker Spaniel puppy sneaks up behind her and pulls down her blue swimsuit bottom, revealing her bottom to have a lighter tone than the rest of her body.\n\nThe logo has been redrawn many times to meet varying branding objectives. Early versions show the girl wearing only petite swimsuit bottoms and flowers in her pigtails. At the turn of the 21st century, Coppertone revised drawings of the Coppertone Girl so that they would be less revealing and show no tan lines. Some recent versions show only the girl's lower back, as opposed to her bottom, or wearing a T-shirt, a hat, and holding a bottle of Coppertone while the puppy is shown pulling on her shorts.\n\nLogo history \nThe original Coppertone logo was the profile of an aboriginal chief. In 1953 Tally Embry Advertising in Florida was hired, and their ad men created the concept of the little girl and the pup. An artist named Joyce Ballantyne Brand re-drew the little girl in 1959 when the original artwork was destroyed in a fire. She was then working for Grant Advertising in New York.\n\nCoppertone sign \n\nA series of mechanical billboards were constructed across the United States, whereon the motorized dog and swimsuit bottoms rocked up and down perpetually. Though most of them are long since gone or have stopped moving, one such billboard of the then Coppertone Girl still stands in Miami Beach — dog, pigtails, swimsuit, bottom, and all.\n\nLive models\nWhen Joyce Ballantyne Brand redrew the logo in 1959, she purportedly used her daughter, Cheri, as her model, and her drawing closely resembled the original artwork.\n\nIn 1993, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Coppertone girl, a contest was held at Disney's Polynesian Hotel in Orlando Florida to find \"The Coppertone Girl\", since Cheri Brand had grown up by then. The contest was hosted by Regis Philbin along with Cheri as one of the judges. The winner was picked based on the contestant's maturity, congeniality, eloquence, confidence, and how well she resembled the cartoon. The winner was four-year-old Alexis Durgee. She was chosen out of over 100,000 models and twenty remaining finalists. Afterwards she appeared on Sally Jessy Raphael Show with Cheri Brand and Dalton Orband, the winning Coppertone Boy. Alexis went on to model for Coppertone and Water Babies advertisements through the following year and was shot in several Coppertone commercials.\n\nFragrances\nMany Coppertone products share a distinctive fragrance. Chandler Burr described it as \"arguably the single greatest work of scent branding ever.\" A researcher on human memory used it as an example of an odor that evokes autobiographical memories. Besides for the classic fragrance, the Coppertone product line has expanded to include other scents.\n\nSlogans \nAccompanying early Coppertone girl ads was the slogan, \"Don't be a paleface!\"\n\nAnother tagline was \"Tan, don't burn\". This slogan was adapted to the French market in the 1973 advertising campaign \"Bronzez vite et sans danger\" featuring a close-up of the top of a bathing suit worn, this time, by a grown-up woman (Moors & Warot advertising agency).\n\nOwnership \n\n 1944 Benjamin Green develops a suntan lotion\n 1957 Plough acquires Coppertone\n 1971 Schering Corporation merges with Plough to form Schering-Plough\n 2009 Merck & Co. acquires Schering-Plough\n 2014 Bayer acquires Merck & Co.'s consumer business, including Coppertone\n 2019 Beiersdorf AG announces agreement to acquire Coppertone from Bayer. According to Beiersdorf's president, the purchase will strengthen the company's presence in the USA market. Beiersdorf already owns Nivea, whose Nivea Sun is a leading sunscreen in Europe.\n\nCompetitors \nCirca 2018, competing brands included Neutrogena and Banana Boat.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nAdvertising characters\nFemale characters in advertising\nSchering-Plough brands\nMerck & Co. brands\nFormer Bayer brands\nBeiersdorf brands\nSunscreen brands\nCosmetics brands\nProducts introduced in 1944\n2014 mergers and acquisitions\n2019 mergers and acquisitions",
"The original plastic, metal and neon Coppertone girl sign was designed and made in 1958 by Tropicalites, a sign company owned by Morris \"Moe\" Bengis. Tropicalites was located on North West 54th Street in Miami, three blocks from Biscayne Boulevard, near where the sign has been reinstalled.\n\nBefore producing the original Coppertone Girl sign, Moe Bengis met with Benjamin Green, who invented the Coppertone product in his kitchen in 1944 and Abe Plough, the founder of Schering-Plough which bought Coppertone in 1957. Tropicalites' sketch artist Larry Moore drew most of the original sign layouts from a design of the little girl and dog created in 1953 by the advertising agency Tally Embry.\n\nThe original Coppertone logo was the profile of an Indian chief, and the slogan was \"Don't Be A Paleface.\" American Indians took offense, so the Taly Embry agency was hired to come up with a new ad campaign and logo.\n\nSupposedly, the inspiration for the Coppertone girl was Deborah Martin, who was the granddaughter of early Coppertone owner Charles E. Clowe. Clowe's wife Sophia noticed that Martin's training pants had slipped and exposed her bottom while poolside. She then remarked to her husband that such an image on a billboard would be more appealing to her than sexy girls.\n\nAfter Schering-Plough had bought Coppertone, the original designs were lost in a fire.\nIn 1959 Joyce Ballantyne Brand recreated the now iconic Coppertone Girl artwork with very minor changes using her daughter Cheri as the model.\n\nMarvin Goodman, Morris Bengis' son-in-law came to work in 1958 for Tropicalites and was involved in the 1959 installation of the sign at its original location on the north wall of Parkleigh House at 530 Biscayne Boulevard. The 3-story-high sign overlooked the New Year's Eve Orange Bowl Parade route.\n\nTropicalites produced many signs in their Miami workshop including Rayco (the original Tropicalites label may still be on the sign), the Vagabond Motel in MiMO, Burger King (Tropicalites made the first 700 signs for them) and all original Royal Castles. Morris' son Jerome Bengis knew Bill Singer, the founder of Royal Castle). Other prominent signs near the Parkleigh House were also made by Tropicalites: Delta Air Lines, Hertz Rent-A-Car and the Sinclair dinosaur.\n\nMoe Bengis merged Tropicalites with Claude Southern Corp., creating one of the largest sign companies in the United States in the early 1960s. Unhappy with the new company, Moe left with his original sketch artist Larry Moore, Marvin Goodman and his two main accounts; Burger King and Coppertone. After graduating from college in 1968, Moe's son Jerome came into the company, now called Bengis Associates. Jerry handled both accounts as Morris was ill. The Coppertone account became huge grew, with roughly 500 signs all over the east coast, with the most prominent being the original on the Parkleigh House which will now adorn the streets of MiMO.\n\nIn 1991 the sign was removed from Parkleigh House to make room for the expansion of Miami-Dade Community College. Schering-Plough donated the sign to the people of Miami and placed it in the care of Dade Heritage Trust. Miami's Coppertone girl sat in a warehouse until 1995 when the repaired girl, her dog and letters were mounted on the east wall of the Concord Building at 66 West Flagler Street across from the courthouse.\n\nIn 2008 another forced relocation brought Miami's girl back to Tropical Signs of Florida, now known as American Tropical Signs & Service where it was refurbished by Norberto De La Rosa, one of Florida's best sign manufacturers. The sign was donated by Dade Heritage Trust to MiMO Biscayne Association, which oversaw the restoration of the Coppertone girl. She was returned to her old neighborhood along with the dog on the side of a building at 7300 Biscayne Boulevard.\n\nThe sign is high by wide, the little girl stands high and with her dog is wide. Her head rises above the roof line of the building.\n\nAs of late 2011 the sign has been in need of repair and funding. The owner, MiMo Association said they could not continue paying for insurance and maintenance. Merck, the parent company of Coppertone sunscreen makers Schering-Plough agreed to help and promised to pay US$1800 yearly for insurance and upkeep for the next five years.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Tomb, Jeffrey. 6 February 1995. ”COPPERTONE GIRL ON NEW TURF.\" Miami Herald\n Klinkenberg, Jeff. 5 September 2004. \"Real Florida: Red-faced with the Coppertone Girl\", St. Petersburg Times (2004-09-05). Interview with Joyce Ballantyne Brand\n Griffis, Margaret. Mar 2008. “Get That Girl in the Picture.” Biscayne Times\n Viglucci, Andres. 17 May 2008. ”DOWNTOWN MIAMI: Iconic Coppertone Girl sign may move to MiMo.” Miami Herald\n Griffis, Margaret. Uploaded 14 December 2008. . Flickr.com\n Bengis, Jerome. May 2008. “Get the story on the fate of Miami’s 1959 vintage Coppertone sign.” Bengis Fine Art & Appraisal.\n TV News Segments. 2008. Coppertone Sign Removal. YouTube.com.\n City of Miami Historic and Environmental Preservation Board. 7 October 2008. Agenda\n Viglucci, Andres. 8 October 2008. ”Two Miami icons designated historic landmarks.” Miami Herald\n Tropical Signs. 2008. Bengis Fine Art & Appraisal\n Griffis, Margaret. July 2007. \"New Life for the Coppertone Girl.\" Biscayne Times \n Griffis, Margaret. December 2008. \"Home At Last!.\" Biscayne Times \n American Tropical Signs & Service. 2009. Removal, restoration and installation\n \nMiami Modern architecture\nSchering-Plough\nMerck & Co.\nBayer\nBeiersdorf brands\nIndividual signs in the United States\n1958 establishments in Florida"
] |
[
"Jodie Foster",
"1965-1975: Early work",
"What was Foster's first role?",
"Foster's career began with an appearance as the Coppertone girl",
"What year was she the Coppertone Girl?",
"in a television advertisement in 1965,"
] | C_67bd39d220a84618b8cdda8de3fe429e_1 | What was her next appearance after that? | 3 | What was Jodie Foster next appearance after Coppertone Girl? | Jodie Foster | Foster's career began with an appearance as the Coppertone girl in a television advertisement in 1965, when she was only three years old. Her mother had originally intended only for her older brother Buddy to audition for the ad, but had taken Jodie with them to the casting call, where she was noticed by the casting agents. The television spot led to more advertisement work, and in 1968 to a minor appearance in the sitcom Mayberry R.F.D., in which her brother starred. In the following years Foster continued working in advertisements and appeared in over fifty television shows; she and her brother became the breadwinners of the family during this time. Although most of Foster's television appearances were minor, she had recurring roles in The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969-1971) and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1973), and starred opposite Christopher Connelly in the short-lived Paper Moon (1974), adapted from the hit film. Foster also appeared in films, mostly for Disney. After a role in the television film Menace on the Mountain (1970), she made her feature film debut in Napoleon and Samantha (1972), playing a girl who becomes friends with a boy, played by Johnny Whitaker, and his pet lion. She was accidentally grabbed by the lion on set, which left her with permanent scars on her back. Her other early film work includes the Raquel Welch vehicle Kansas City Bomber (1972), the Western One Little Indian (1973), the Mark Twain adaptation Tom Sawyer (1973), and Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), in which she appeared in a supporting role as a "Ripple-drinking street kid". Foster has said she loved acting as a child, and values her early work for the experience it gave her: "Some people get quick breaks and declare, 'I'll never do commercials! That's so lowbrow!' I want to tell them, 'Well, I'm real glad you've got a pretty face, because I worked for 20 years doing that stuff and I feel it's really invaluable; it really taught me a lot.'" CANNOTANSWER | a minor appearance in the sitcom Mayberry R.F.D., | Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress, director, and producer. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award. For her work as a director, she has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. People magazine named her the most beautiful woman in the world in 1992, and in 2003, she was voted Number 23 in Channel 4's countdown of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time. Entertainment Weekly named her 57th on their list of 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in 1996. In 2016, she was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a motion pictures star located at 6927 Hollywood Boulevard.
Foster began her professional career as a child model when she was three years old, and made her acting debut in 1968 in the television sitcom Mayberry R.F.D. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she worked in several television series and made her film debut with Disney's Napoleon and Samantha (1972). Following appearances in the musical Tom Sawyer (1973) and Martin Scorsese's comedy-drama Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), her breakthrough came with Scorsese's psychological thriller Taxi Driver (1976), where she played a child prostitute, and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other roles as a teenager include the musical Bugsy Malone (1976) and the thriller The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976), and she became a popular teen idol by starring in Disney's Freaky Friday (1976) and Candleshoe (1977), as well as Carny (1980) and Foxes (1980).
After attending Yale University, Foster struggled to transition into adult roles until she gained critical acclaim for playing a rape survivor in the legal drama The Accused (1988), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She won her second Academy Award three years later for the psychological horror film The Silence of the Lambs (1991), where she portrayed FBI agent Clarice Starling. She made her debut as a film director the same year with Little Man Tate. She founded her own production company, Egg Pictures, in 1992. Its first production was Nell (1994), in which Foster also played the title role, garnering her fourth Academy Award nomination. Her other successful films in the 1990s were the romantic drama Sommersby, western comedy Maverick (1994), science fiction Contact (1997), and period drama Anna and the King (1999).
Foster experienced career setbacks in the early 2000s, including the cancellation of a film project and the closing down of her production company, but she then starred in four commercially successful thrillers: Panic Room (2002), Flightplan (2005), Inside Man (2006), and The Brave One (2007). She has concentrated on directing in the 2010s, with the films The Beaver (2011) and Money Monster (2016), and episodes for Netflix television series Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards, and Black Mirror. She received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for "Lesbian Request Denied", the third episode of the former. She also starred in the films Carnage (2011), Elysium (2013), Hotel Artemis (2018), and The Mauritanian (2021), the last of which won Foster her third Golden Globe.
Early life
Foster was born on November 19, 1962 in Los Angeles, the youngest child of Evelyn Ella "Brandy" (née Almond 1928-2019) and Lucius Fisher Foster III, a wealthy businessman. She is of English, German and Irish heritage. On her father's side she is descended from John Alden, who arrived in North America on the Mayflower in 1620.
Her parents' marriage had ended before she was born, and she never established a relationship with her father. She has three older full siblings: Lucinda (born 1954), Constance (born 1955), and Lucius, nicknamed "Buddy" (born 1957), as well as three half-brothers from her father's earlier marriage.
Following the divorce, Brandy raised the children with her partner in Los Angeles. She worked as a publicist for film producer Arthur P. Jacobs, until focusing on managing the acting careers of Buddy and Jodie. Although Foster was officially named Alicia, her siblings began calling her "Jodie", and the name stuck.
Foster was a gifted child who learned to read at age three. She attended the Lycée Français de Los Angeles, a French-language prep school. Her fluency in French has enabled her to act in French films, and she also dubs herself in French-language versions of most of her English-language films. At her graduation in 1980, she delivered the valedictorian address for the school's French division. She then attended Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut where she majored in African-American literature, wrote her thesis on Toni Morrison under the guidance of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and graduated magna cum laude in 1985. She returned to Yale in 1993 to address the graduating class, and received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree in 1997. In 2018, she was awarded the Yale Undergraduate Lifetime Achievement Award.
Career
Career beginnings
Foster's career began with an appearance in a Coppertone television advertisement in 1965, when she was three years old. Her mother had intended only for Jodie's older brother Buddy to audition, but had taken Jodie with them to the casting call, where she was noticed by the casting agents. The television spot led to more advertising work, and in 1968 to a minor appearance in the sitcom Mayberry R.F.D., in which her brother starred. In the following years Foster continued working in advertising and appeared in over 50 television shows; she and her brother became the breadwinners of the family during this time. She had recurring roles in The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969–1971) and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1973), and starred opposite Christopher Connelly in the short-lived Paper Moon (1974), adapted from the hit film.
Foster also appeared in films, mostly for Disney. After a role in the television film Menace on the Mountain (1970), she made her feature film debut in Napoleon and Samantha (1972), playing a girl who befriends a boy, played by Johnny Whitaker, and his pet lion. She was accidentally grabbed by the lion on set, which left her with scars on her back. Her other early film work includes the Raquel Welch vehicle Kansas City Bomber (1972), the Western One Little Indian (1973), the Mark Twain adaptation Tom Sawyer (1973), and Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), in which she appeared in a supporting role as a "Ripple-drinking street kid".
Foster said she loved acting as a child, and values her early work for the experience it gave her: "Some people get quick breaks and declare, 'I'll never do commercials! That's so lowbrow!' I want to tell them, 'Well, I'm real glad you've got a pretty face, because I worked for 20 years doing that stuff and I feel it's really invaluable; it really taught me a lot.'"
1970s: Taxi Driver and teenage stardom
Foster's mother was concerned that her daughter's career would end by the time she grew out of playing children, and decided that Foster should also begin acting in films for adult audiences. After the minor supporting role in Alice, Scorsese cast her in the role of a child prostitute in Taxi Driver (1976). To be able to do the film, Foster had to undergo psychiatric assessment and was accompanied by a social worker on set. Her older sister acted as her stand-in in sexually suggestive scenes. Foster later commented on the role, saying that she hated "the idea that everybody thinks if a kid's going to be an actress it means that she has to play Shirley Temple or someone's little sister." During the filming, Foster developed a bond with co-star Robert De Niro, who saw "serious potential" in her and dedicated time rehearsing scenes with her.
She described Taxi Driver as a life-changing experience and stated that it was "the first time anyone asked me to create a character that wasn't myself. It was the first time I realized that acting wasn't this hobby you just sort of did, but that there was actually some craft." Taxi Driver won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival; Foster also impressed journalists when she acted as French interpreter at the press conference. Taxi Driver was a critical and commercial success, and earned her a supporting actress Academy Award nomination, as well as two BAFTAs, a David di Donatello and a National Society of Film Critics award. The film is considered one of the best in history by the American Film Institute and Sight & Sound, and has been preserved in the National Film Registry.
Foster also acted in another film nominated for the Palme d'Or in 1976, Bugsy Malone. The British musical parodied films about Prohibition Era gangsters by having all roles played by children; Foster appeared in a major supporting role as a star of a speakeasy show. Director Alan Parker was impressed by her, saying that "she takes such an intelligent interest in the way the film is being made that if I had been run over by a bus I think she was probably the only person on the set able to take over as director." She gained several positive notices for her performance: Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times stated that "at thirteen she was already getting the roles that grown-up actresses complained weren't being written for women anymore", Variety described her as "outstanding", and Vincent Canby of The New York Times called her "the star of the show". Foster's two BAFTAs were awarded jointly for her performances in Taxi Driver and Bugsy Malone. Her third film release in 1976 was the independent drama Echoes of a Summer, which had been filmed two years previously. The New York Times named Foster's performance as a terminally ill girl the film's "main strength" and Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune stated that she "is not a good child actress; she's just a good actress", although both reviewers otherwise panned the film.
Foster's fourth film of 1976 was the Canadian-French thriller The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, in which she starred opposite Martin Sheen. The film combined aspects from thriller and horror genres, and showed Foster as a mysterious young girl living on her own in a small town. The performance earned her a Saturn Award. In November, Foster hosted Saturday Night Live, becoming the youngest person to do so until 1982. Her final film of the year was the Disney comedy Freaky Friday, "her first true star vehicle". She played a tomboy teen who accidentally changes bodies with her mother, and she later stated that the film marked a "transitional period" for her when she began to grow out of child roles. It received mainly positive reviews, and was a box office success, gaining Foster a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.
After her breakthrough year, Foster spent nine months living in France, where she starred in Moi, fleur bleue (1977) and recorded several songs for its soundtrack. Her other films released in 1977 were the Italian comedy Casotto (1977), and the Disney heist film Candleshoe (1977), which was filmed in England and co-starred veteran actors David Niven and Helen Hayes. After its release, Foster did not appear in any new releases until 1980, the year she turned eighteen.
1980s: Transition to adult roles
In 1980, Foster gained positive notices for her performances in the independent films Foxes and Carny (1980). The same year, she also became a full-time student at Yale. She later stated that going to college changed her thoughts about acting, which she had previously thought was an unintelligent profession, but now realised that "what I really wanted to do was to act and there was nothing stupid about it." Although Foster prioritized college during these years, she continued making films on her summer vacations. These were O'Hara's Wife (1982), television film Svengali (1983), John Irving adaptation The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), French film The Blood of Others (1984), and period drama Mesmerized (1986), which she also co-produced. None of them gained large audiences or critical appreciation, and after graduating from Yale in 1985, Foster struggled to find further acting work.
Foster's first film after college, the neo-noir Siesta (1987), was a failure. Her next project, the independent film Five Corners (1987), was better received. A moderate critical success, it earned Foster an Independent Spirit Award for her performance as a woman whose sexual assaulter returns to stalk her. The following year, Foster made her debut as a director with the episode "Do Not Open This Box" for the horror anthology series Tales from the Darkside, and starred in the romantic drama Stealing Home (1988) opposite Mark Harmon. The film was a critical and commercial failure, with critic Roger Ebert "wondering if any movie could possibly be that bad".
Foster's breakthrough into adult roles came with her performance as a rape survivor in The Accused (1988). Based on a real criminal case, the film focuses on the aftermath of a gang rape and its survivor's fight for justice in the face of victim blaming. Before making the film, Foster was having doubts about whether to continue her career and planned on starting graduate studies, but decided to give acting "one last try" in The Accused. She had to audition twice for the role and was cast only after several more established actors had turned it down, as the film's producers were wary of her due to her previous failures and because she was still remembered as a "chubby teenager". Due to the heavy subject matter, the filming was a difficult experience for all cast and crew involved, especially the shooting of the rape scene, which took five days to complete. Foster was unhappy with her performance, and feared that it would end her career. Instead, The Accused received positive reviews, with Foster's performance receiving widespread acclaim and earning her Academy, Golden Globe and National Board of Review awards, as well as a nomination for a BAFTA Award.
1990s: Box office success, debut as director and Egg Pictures
Foster's first film release after the success of The Accused was the thriller The Silence of the Lambs (1991). She portrayed FBI trainee Clarice Starling, who is sent to interview incarcerated serial killer Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in order to hunt another serial killer, Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb (Ted Levine). Foster later named the role one of her favorites. She had read the novel it was based on after its publication in 1988 and had attempted to purchase its film rights, as it featured "a real female heroine" and its plot was not "about steroids and brawn, [but] about using your mind and using your insufficiencies to combat the villain." Despite her enthusiasm, director Jonathan Demme did not initially want to cast her, but the producers overruled him. Demme's view of Foster changed during the production, and he later credited her for helping him define the character.
Released in February 1991, The Silence of the Lambs became one of the biggest hits of the year, grossing close to $273 million, with a positive critical reception. Foster received largely positive reviews and won Academy, Golden Globe, and BAFTA awards for her portrayal of Starling; Silence won five Academy Awards overall, becoming one of the few films to win in all main categories. In contrast, some reviewers criticized the film as misogynist for its focus on brutal murders of women, and homo-/transphobic due to its portrayal of "Buffalo Bill" as bisexual and transgender. Much of the criticism was directed towards Foster, who the critics alleged was herself a lesbian. Despite the controversy, the film is considered a modern classic: Starling and Lecter are included on the American Film Institute's top ten of the greatest film heroes and villains, and the film is preserved in the National Film Registry. Later in 1991, Foster also starred in the unsuccessful low-budget thriller Catchfire, which had been filmed before Silence, but was released after it in an attempt to profit from its success.
In October 1991, Foster released her first feature film as a director, Little Man Tate, a drama about a child prodigy who struggles to come to terms with being different. The main role was played by previously unknown actor Adam Hann-Byrd, and Foster co-starred as his working-class single mother. She had found the script in the "slush pile" at Orion Pictures, and explained that for her debut film she "wanted a piece that was not autobiographical, but that had to do with the 10 philosophies I've accumulated in the past 25 years. Every single one of them, if they weren't in the script from the beginning, they're there now." Many reviewers felt that the film did not live up to the high expectations, and regarded it as "less adventurous than many films in which [she] had starred". Regardless, it was a moderate box office success. Foster's final film appearance of the year came in a small role as a sex worker in Shadows and Fog (1991), directed by Woody Allen, with whom she had wanted to collaborate since the 1970s.
Foster next starred in the period film Sommersby (1993), portraying a woman who begins to suspect that her husband (Richard Gere) who returns home from the Civil War is an impostor. She then replaced Meg Ryan in the Western comedy, Maverick (1994), playing a con artist opposite Mel Gibson and James Garner. According to film scholar Karen Hollinger, both films featured her in more "conventionally feminine" roles. Both Sommersby and Maverick were commercially successful.
Foster had founded her own production company, Egg Pictures, a subsidiary of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment in 1992, and released its first production, Nell, in December 1994. It was directed by Michael Apted and starred Foster in the titular role as a woman who grew up isolated in the Appalachian Mountains and speaks her own invented language. The film was based on Mark Handley's play Idioglossia, which interested Foster for its theme of "otherness", and because she "loved this idea of a woman who defies categorization, a creature who is labeled and categorized by people based on their own problems and their own prejudices and what they bring to the table." Despite mixed reviews, it was a commercial success, and earned Foster a Screen Actors Guild Award and nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her acting performance.
The second film that Foster directed and produced for Egg Pictures was Home for the Holidays, released in late 1995. A black comedy "set around a nightmarish Thanksgiving", it starred Holly Hunter and Robert Downey Jr. The film received a mixed critical response and was a commercial failure. In 1996, Foster received two honorary awards: the Crystal Award, awarded annually for women in the entertainment industry, and the Berlinale Camera at the 46th Berlin International Film Festival. She voiced a character in an episode of Frasier in 1996 and in an episode of The X-Files in early 1997.
After Nell (1994), Foster appeared in no new film releases until Contact (1997), a science fiction film based on a novel by Carl Sagan and directed by Robert Zemeckis. She starred as a scientist searching for extraterrestrial life in the SETI project. The film was a commercial success and earned Foster a Saturn Award and a nomination for a Golden Globe. Foster next produced Jane Anderson's television film The Baby Dance (1998) for Showtime. Its story deals with a wealthy California couple who struggle with infertility and decide to adopt from a poor family in Louisiana. On her decision to produce for television, Foster stated that it was easier to take financial risks in that medium than in feature films. In 1998, she also moved her production company from PolyGram to Paramount Pictures. Also in 1998, asteroid 17744 Jodiefoster was named in her honor.
Foster's last film of the 1990s was the period drama Anna and the King (1999), in which she starred opposite Chow Yun-Fat. It was based on a fictionalized biography of British teacher Anna Leonowens, who taught the children of King Mongkut of Siam, and whose story became well known as the musical The King and I. Foster was paid $15 million to portray Leonowens, making her one of the highest-paid female actors in Hollywood. The film was subject to controversy when the Thai government deemed it historically inaccurate and insulting to the royal family and banned its distribution in the country. It was a moderate commercial success, but received mixed to negative reviews. Roger Ebert panned the film, stating that the role required Foster "to play beneath [her] intelligence" and The New York Times called it a "misstep" for her and accused her of only being "interested ... in sanctifying herself as an old-fashioned heroine than in taking on dramatically risky roles".
2000s: Career setbacks and resurgence in thrillers
Foster's first project of the new decade was Keith Gordon's film Waking the Dead (2000), which she produced. She declined to reprise her role as Clarice Starling in Hannibal (2001), with the part going instead to Julianne Moore, and concentrated on a new directorial project, Flora Plum. It was to focus on a 1930s circus and star Claire Danes and Russell Crowe, but had to be shelved after Crowe was injured on set and could not complete filming on schedule; Foster unsuccessfully attempted to revive the project several times in the following years. Controversially, she also expressed interest in directing and starring in a biographical film of Nazi film director Leni Riefenstahl, who did not like the idea. In addition to these setbacks, Foster shut down Egg Pictures in 2001, stating that producing was "just a really thankless, bad job". The company's last production, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2002. It received good reviews, and had a limited theatrical release in the summer.
After the cancellation of Flora Plum, Foster took on the main role in David Fincher's thriller Panic Room after its intended star, Nicole Kidman, had to drop out due to an injury on set. Before filming resumed, Foster was given only a week to prepare for the role of a woman who hides in a panic room with her daughter when burglars invade their home. It grossed over $30 million on its North American opening weekend in March 2002, thus becoming the most successful film opening of Foster's career . In addition to being a box office success, the film also received largely positive reviews.
After a minor appearance in the French period drama A Very Long Engagement (2004), Foster starred in three more thrillers. The first was Flightplan (2005), in which she played a woman whose daughter vanishes during an overnight flight. It became a global box office success, but received mixed reviews. It was followed by Spike Lee's critically and commercially successful Inside Man (2006), about a bank heist on Wall Street, which co-starred Denzel Washington and Clive Owen. The third thriller, The Brave One (2007), prompted some comparisons to Taxi Driver, as Foster played a New Yorker who becomes a vigilante after her fiancé is murdered. It was not a success, but earned Foster her sixth Golden Globe nomination. Her last film role of the decade was in the children's adventure film Nim's Island (2008), in which she portrayed an agoraphobic writer opposite Gerard Butler and Abigail Breslin. It was the first comedy in which she had starred since Maverick (1994), and was a commercial success but a critical failure. In 2009, she provided the voice for Maggie in a tetralogy episode of The Simpsons titled "Four Great Women and a Manicure".
2010s: Focus on directing
In the 2010s, Foster focused on directing and took fewer acting roles. In February 2011, she hosted the 36th César Awards in France, and the following month released her third feature film direction, The Beaver (2011), about a depressed man who develops an alternative personality based on a beaver hand puppet. It starred Maverick co-star Mel Gibson and featured herself, Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence in supporting roles as his family. Foster called its production "probably the biggest struggle of my professional career", partly due to the film's heavy subject matter but also due to the controversy that Gibson generated when he was accused of domestic violence and making anti-semitic, racist, and sexist statements. The film received mixed reviews, and failed the box office, largely due to this controversy. In 2011, Foster also appeared as part of an ensemble cast with John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz in Roman Polanski's comedy Carnage, in which the attempts of middle-class parents to settle an incident between their sons descends into chaos. It premiered to mainly positive reviews and earned Foster a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress.
In 2013, Foster received the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 70th Golden Globe Awards. Her next film role was playing Secretary of Defense Delacourt opposite Matt Damon in the dystopian film Elysium (2013), which was a box office success. She also returned to television directing for the first time since the 1980s, directing the episodes "Lesbian Request Denied" (2013) and "Thirsty Bird" (2014) for Orange Is the New Black, and the episode "Chapter 22" (2014) for House of Cards. "Lesbian Request Denied" brought her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and the two 2014 episodes earned her two nominations for a Directors Guild of America Award. She also narrated the episode "Women in Space" (2014) for Makers: Women Who Make America, a PBS documentary series about women's struggle for equal rights in the United States. In 2015, Foster received the Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award at the Athena Film Festival.
The fourth film directed by Foster, hostage drama Money Monster, premiered out-of-competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2016. It starred George Clooney and Julia Roberts, and despite mixed reviews, was a moderate commercial success. The following year, Foster continued her work in television by directing an episode, "Arkangel", for the British sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror (2011–).
As the decade drew to a close, Foster continued to mix acting with directing. She starred together with Sterling Brown in the dystopian film Hotel Artemis (2018). Although the film was a commercial and critical disappointment, Foster's performance as Nurse, who runs a hospital for criminals, received positive notices. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle's stated that "not enough can be said about the performance of Foster in this film. She brings to the role a quality of having seen the absolute worst in people, but also the suggestion that, as a result, she accepts them on their own terms and knows how to handle any situation." Rick Bentley from Tampa Bay Times declared Foster's performance one of her "best and most memorable performances." The same year, Foster co-produced and narrated Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018), a documentary on one of the first female film directors.
2020s: Current work
Foster directed the finale of the 2020 science fiction drama Tales from the Loop. Her next project was the legal drama The Mauritanian (2021), in which she starred as the lawyer of a prisoner (Tahar Rahim) at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Foster won a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe for her performance. At the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, Foster received the Honorary Palme d'Or for lifetime achievement.
Personal life
Foster met producer (then production coordinator) Cydney Bernard on the set of Sommersby (1993). They were in a relationship from 1993 until 2008 and had two sons (born in 1998 and 2001) together. In April 2014, Foster married actress and photographer Alexandra Hedison after a year of dating.
Foster's sexual orientation became the subject of public discussion in 1991 when publications such as OutWeek and The Village Voice, protesting against the alleged homophobia and transphobia in The Silence of the Lambs, claimed that she was a closeted lesbian. While she had been in a relationship with Bernard for 14 years, Foster first publicly acknowledged it in a speech at The Hollywood Reporter'''s "Women in Entertainment" breakfast honoring her in 2007. In 2013, she addressed her coming out in a speech after receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 70th Golden Globe Awards, which led many news outlets to describe her as gay, although some sources noted that she did not use the words "gay" or "lesbian" in her speech.
John Hinckley incident
During her freshman year at Yale in 1980–1981, Foster was stalked by John W. Hinckley, Jr., who had developed an obsession with her after watching Taxi Driver. He moved to New Haven and tried to contact her by letter and telephone. On March 30, 1981, Hinckley attempted to assassinate U.S. president Ronald Reagan, wounding him and three other people, claiming that his motive was to impress Foster. The incident attracted intense media attention, and Foster was accompanied by bodyguards while on campus. Although Judge Barrington D. Parker confirmed that Foster was innocent in the case and had been "unwittingly ensnared in a third party's alleged attempt to assassinate an American President", her videotaped testimony was played at Hinckley's trial. While at Yale, Foster also had other stalkers, including a man who planned to kill her but changed his mind after watching her perform in a college play.
Foster has rarely commented publicly about Hinckley. She wrote an essay, "Why Me?", which was published in 1982 by Esquire on the condition that "there be no cover lines, no publicity and no photos". In 1991, she canceled an interview with NBC's Today Show when she discovered Hinckley would be mentioned in the introduction and that the producers would not change it. She discussed Hinckley with Charlie Rose of 60 Minutes II'' in 1999, explaining that she does not "like to dwell on it too much ... I never wanted to be the actress who was remembered for that event. Because it didn't have anything to do with me. I was kind of a hapless bystander. But ... what a scarring, strange moment in history for me, to be 17 years old, 18 years old, and to be caught up in a drama like that." She stated that the incident had a major impact on her career choices, and acknowledged that her experience was minimal compared to the suffering of Reagan's press secretary James Brady, who was permanently disabled in the shooting, and died as a result of his injuries 33 years later, and his loved ones: "Whatever bad moments that I had certainly could never compare to that family."
Filmography and accolades
See also
List of American film actresses
List of American television actresses
List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees – Youngest nominees for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
List of LGBTQ Academy Award winners and nominees – Best Actress in a Leading Role winners and nominees
List of actors with Academy Award nominations
List of actors with two or more Academy Award nominations in acting categories
List of actors with two or more Academy Awards in acting categories
References
Footnotes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
Jodie Foster in the online catalogue of the Cinémathèque Française
1962 births
Living people
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from Los Angeles
American child actresses
American film actresses
American film producers
American television actresses
American television directors
American voice actresses
American women film directors
American women film producers
American women television producers
Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan
BAFTA Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles winners
Best Actress Academy Award winners
Best Actress BAFTA Award winners
Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award winners
Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
Cecil B. DeMille Award Golden Globe winners
David di Donatello winners
European Film Awards winners (people)
Film directors from Los Angeles
Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead winners
LGBT actresses
LGBT film directors
LGBT television directors
LGBT actors from the United States
LGBT people from California
LGBT producers
Lycée Français de Los Angeles alumni
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Television producers from California
American women television directors
Yale College alumni | true | [
"Dominique Reinhard (born May 20, 1984) is an American fashion model and singer, best known for her appearance as a competitor on America's Next Top Model Cycles 10 and 17: All-Stars and for being the face of Carol's Daughter.\n\nPrintwork \nBefore appearing on America's Next Top Model, Reighard walked in Columbus Fashion Week in March 2007.\n\nHer printwork can be seen in J'Adore, Fashion Q&A,\nEbony, C Magazine and Seventeen. Reighard had also been featured on the websites of Essence and Sovereign Soles and ads for Carol's Daughter and Grove City Dental.\n\nAmerica's Next Top Model\n\nAmerica's Next Top Model Cycle 10 \n\nReighard was the last (fourteenth) girl selected to be part of the tenth cycle of America's Next Top Model, on her fifth try when Tyra Banks decided to open an extra slot for her after initially only wanting the best thirteen (Anya Kop was selected thirteenth). Reighard was an underdog during the competition and even had a botched makeover that had to be redone. Reighard landed in the bottom two with Allison Kuehn in the second week. The judges noted that she was good at softening her looks on pictures. She won one team challenge and tied with Claire Unabia as the best posers. The judges eliminated Reighard tenth (finishing fourth in overall rank since fellow contestant Kimberly Rydzewski quit the competition in episode two making Atalya Slater the first girl to be eliminated) in Rome during her second bottom two appearance which Fatima Siad had survived for the third time. Nigel Barker noted that her face \"couldn't take make-up\".\n\nAmerica's Next Top Model Cycle 17: All-Stars \n\nTwo months after giving birth to her second child, Reighard was selected as a finalist for the first All-Star edition of America's Next Top Model along with thirteen returning models. This time Reighard returned as a fan favorite, front runner, and refined. Tyra Banks noted, \"Dominique, I seriously think that you're a professional.\" Reighard placed fifth overall in the competition after she was eliminated in her only bottom two appearance on the All-Star cycle which former Cycle 12 semifinalist and Cycle 14 contestant Angelea Preston had survived for the fourth time. Like all the other contestants on cycle 17, Reighard was given a branding word: \"survivor\". During her time on the show she developed her own perfume called \"Survivor\" and performed in a music video for her song \"Tooch Ya Booty.\"\n\nModelville and Carol's Daughter \nReighard was then cast in Modelville in 2008. She has said she took part in the competition because she wanted to explore opportunities in New York City and move there to pursue modeling if she won. Even though she didn't win any of the challenges, her researching work, commercial, presence, and her personality allowed her to win over Renee Alway. She won a $50,000 contract and became the newest face of Carol's Daughter, being featured on their website and in ads.\n\nReferences\n\nAmerican female models\nLiving people\nAmerica's Next Top Model contestants\n1984 births\n21st-century American women",
"Paydin LoPachin (January 18, 1988) is an American actress born in Abilene, Texas.\n\nCareer \nPaydin's first film appearance was in The Stars Fell on Henrietta playing a farm girl. Her next appearances in film and television began in 2004 with an episode of the television series The O.C.. In 2006 she was in All the King's Men, House at the End of the Drive and an episode of Heroes, followed in 2007 by an appearance in Cold Case.\n\nIn 2008 Paydin had a small role in the Robert De Niro film What Just Happened and roles in the horror films Shark Swarm and Triloquist. It was for her starring role in critically panned Triloquist that film reviewers made note of her performance as the character Angelina. This was followed in 2009 by Spring Breakdown where she played the role of Young Senator Hartman.\n\nReception \nIn their review, Dread Central approved of her performance as Angelique in Triloquist, writing \"Paydin LoPachin plays bitchy psycho blonde Angelique like Kelly Bundy and Juliette Lewis from Natural Born Killers... ...She carries herself with much aplomb.. ...mechanizations seem almost stream of consciousness...\" Horror Society wrote \"Paydin LoPachin was also a standout as the psycho sister, driven to succeed in show business. She’s one of the more intriguing female horror leads I’ve seen in sometime\". Conversely, her work was panned by John Shelton of Bloody Good Horror who wrote \"The acting is mostly awful, particularly from Payden LoPachin, who as Angelina manages to get out-acted by a foam puppet\". In their complaint that the film was full of \"teases\", Peter Brown if iFMagazine wrote \"it is a film filled with teases. The main character, Angelina (Paydin LoPachin), talks a good game... ...but we never see the goods\", \"... I suppose that having a foul mouthed, hot chick talking about her body and asking over and over again for people to f**k her may seem like a comical exchange... ...but after 10 minutes of it what’s the point\" \"...the hot chick that never shows the goods is actually damn annoying after 10 minutes.\n\nFilmography \n Spring Breakdown (2009)\n Triloquist (2008)\n Shark Swarm (2008) (TV)\n What Just Happened (2008)\n Cold Case (2007) (TV)\n Heroes (2006) (TV)\n House at the End of the Drive (2006)\n The O.C. (2004) (TV)\n The Stars Fell on Henrietta (1995)\n\nAwards and acknowledgments \nPaydin composes piano music—her composition \"Caught in a Dream\" won first place in a state competition and third place in a national competition.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\nAmerican film actresses\nAmerican television actresses\nActresses from Texas\nPeople from Abilene, Texas\n1988 births\nLiving people\n21st-century American women"
] |
[
"Jodie Foster",
"1965-1975: Early work",
"What was Foster's first role?",
"Foster's career began with an appearance as the Coppertone girl",
"What year was she the Coppertone Girl?",
"in a television advertisement in 1965,",
"What was her next appearance after that?",
"a minor appearance in the sitcom Mayberry R.F.D.,"
] | C_67bd39d220a84618b8cdda8de3fe429e_1 | What year was her appearance on Mayberry? | 4 | What year was Jodie Foster's appearance on Mayberry? | Jodie Foster | Foster's career began with an appearance as the Coppertone girl in a television advertisement in 1965, when she was only three years old. Her mother had originally intended only for her older brother Buddy to audition for the ad, but had taken Jodie with them to the casting call, where she was noticed by the casting agents. The television spot led to more advertisement work, and in 1968 to a minor appearance in the sitcom Mayberry R.F.D., in which her brother starred. In the following years Foster continued working in advertisements and appeared in over fifty television shows; she and her brother became the breadwinners of the family during this time. Although most of Foster's television appearances were minor, she had recurring roles in The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969-1971) and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1973), and starred opposite Christopher Connelly in the short-lived Paper Moon (1974), adapted from the hit film. Foster also appeared in films, mostly for Disney. After a role in the television film Menace on the Mountain (1970), she made her feature film debut in Napoleon and Samantha (1972), playing a girl who becomes friends with a boy, played by Johnny Whitaker, and his pet lion. She was accidentally grabbed by the lion on set, which left her with permanent scars on her back. Her other early film work includes the Raquel Welch vehicle Kansas City Bomber (1972), the Western One Little Indian (1973), the Mark Twain adaptation Tom Sawyer (1973), and Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), in which she appeared in a supporting role as a "Ripple-drinking street kid". Foster has said she loved acting as a child, and values her early work for the experience it gave her: "Some people get quick breaks and declare, 'I'll never do commercials! That's so lowbrow!' I want to tell them, 'Well, I'm real glad you've got a pretty face, because I worked for 20 years doing that stuff and I feel it's really invaluable; it really taught me a lot.'" CANNOTANSWER | in 1968 | Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress, director, and producer. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award. For her work as a director, she has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. People magazine named her the most beautiful woman in the world in 1992, and in 2003, she was voted Number 23 in Channel 4's countdown of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time. Entertainment Weekly named her 57th on their list of 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in 1996. In 2016, she was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a motion pictures star located at 6927 Hollywood Boulevard.
Foster began her professional career as a child model when she was three years old, and made her acting debut in 1968 in the television sitcom Mayberry R.F.D. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she worked in several television series and made her film debut with Disney's Napoleon and Samantha (1972). Following appearances in the musical Tom Sawyer (1973) and Martin Scorsese's comedy-drama Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), her breakthrough came with Scorsese's psychological thriller Taxi Driver (1976), where she played a child prostitute, and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other roles as a teenager include the musical Bugsy Malone (1976) and the thriller The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976), and she became a popular teen idol by starring in Disney's Freaky Friday (1976) and Candleshoe (1977), as well as Carny (1980) and Foxes (1980).
After attending Yale University, Foster struggled to transition into adult roles until she gained critical acclaim for playing a rape survivor in the legal drama The Accused (1988), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She won her second Academy Award three years later for the psychological horror film The Silence of the Lambs (1991), where she portrayed FBI agent Clarice Starling. She made her debut as a film director the same year with Little Man Tate. She founded her own production company, Egg Pictures, in 1992. Its first production was Nell (1994), in which Foster also played the title role, garnering her fourth Academy Award nomination. Her other successful films in the 1990s were the romantic drama Sommersby, western comedy Maverick (1994), science fiction Contact (1997), and period drama Anna and the King (1999).
Foster experienced career setbacks in the early 2000s, including the cancellation of a film project and the closing down of her production company, but she then starred in four commercially successful thrillers: Panic Room (2002), Flightplan (2005), Inside Man (2006), and The Brave One (2007). She has concentrated on directing in the 2010s, with the films The Beaver (2011) and Money Monster (2016), and episodes for Netflix television series Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards, and Black Mirror. She received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for "Lesbian Request Denied", the third episode of the former. She also starred in the films Carnage (2011), Elysium (2013), Hotel Artemis (2018), and The Mauritanian (2021), the last of which won Foster her third Golden Globe.
Early life
Foster was born on November 19, 1962 in Los Angeles, the youngest child of Evelyn Ella "Brandy" (née Almond 1928-2019) and Lucius Fisher Foster III, a wealthy businessman. She is of English, German and Irish heritage. On her father's side she is descended from John Alden, who arrived in North America on the Mayflower in 1620.
Her parents' marriage had ended before she was born, and she never established a relationship with her father. She has three older full siblings: Lucinda (born 1954), Constance (born 1955), and Lucius, nicknamed "Buddy" (born 1957), as well as three half-brothers from her father's earlier marriage.
Following the divorce, Brandy raised the children with her partner in Los Angeles. She worked as a publicist for film producer Arthur P. Jacobs, until focusing on managing the acting careers of Buddy and Jodie. Although Foster was officially named Alicia, her siblings began calling her "Jodie", and the name stuck.
Foster was a gifted child who learned to read at age three. She attended the Lycée Français de Los Angeles, a French-language prep school. Her fluency in French has enabled her to act in French films, and she also dubs herself in French-language versions of most of her English-language films. At her graduation in 1980, she delivered the valedictorian address for the school's French division. She then attended Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut where she majored in African-American literature, wrote her thesis on Toni Morrison under the guidance of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and graduated magna cum laude in 1985. She returned to Yale in 1993 to address the graduating class, and received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree in 1997. In 2018, she was awarded the Yale Undergraduate Lifetime Achievement Award.
Career
Career beginnings
Foster's career began with an appearance in a Coppertone television advertisement in 1965, when she was three years old. Her mother had intended only for Jodie's older brother Buddy to audition, but had taken Jodie with them to the casting call, where she was noticed by the casting agents. The television spot led to more advertising work, and in 1968 to a minor appearance in the sitcom Mayberry R.F.D., in which her brother starred. In the following years Foster continued working in advertising and appeared in over 50 television shows; she and her brother became the breadwinners of the family during this time. She had recurring roles in The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969–1971) and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1973), and starred opposite Christopher Connelly in the short-lived Paper Moon (1974), adapted from the hit film.
Foster also appeared in films, mostly for Disney. After a role in the television film Menace on the Mountain (1970), she made her feature film debut in Napoleon and Samantha (1972), playing a girl who befriends a boy, played by Johnny Whitaker, and his pet lion. She was accidentally grabbed by the lion on set, which left her with scars on her back. Her other early film work includes the Raquel Welch vehicle Kansas City Bomber (1972), the Western One Little Indian (1973), the Mark Twain adaptation Tom Sawyer (1973), and Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), in which she appeared in a supporting role as a "Ripple-drinking street kid".
Foster said she loved acting as a child, and values her early work for the experience it gave her: "Some people get quick breaks and declare, 'I'll never do commercials! That's so lowbrow!' I want to tell them, 'Well, I'm real glad you've got a pretty face, because I worked for 20 years doing that stuff and I feel it's really invaluable; it really taught me a lot.'"
1970s: Taxi Driver and teenage stardom
Foster's mother was concerned that her daughter's career would end by the time she grew out of playing children, and decided that Foster should also begin acting in films for adult audiences. After the minor supporting role in Alice, Scorsese cast her in the role of a child prostitute in Taxi Driver (1976). To be able to do the film, Foster had to undergo psychiatric assessment and was accompanied by a social worker on set. Her older sister acted as her stand-in in sexually suggestive scenes. Foster later commented on the role, saying that she hated "the idea that everybody thinks if a kid's going to be an actress it means that she has to play Shirley Temple or someone's little sister." During the filming, Foster developed a bond with co-star Robert De Niro, who saw "serious potential" in her and dedicated time rehearsing scenes with her.
She described Taxi Driver as a life-changing experience and stated that it was "the first time anyone asked me to create a character that wasn't myself. It was the first time I realized that acting wasn't this hobby you just sort of did, but that there was actually some craft." Taxi Driver won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival; Foster also impressed journalists when she acted as French interpreter at the press conference. Taxi Driver was a critical and commercial success, and earned her a supporting actress Academy Award nomination, as well as two BAFTAs, a David di Donatello and a National Society of Film Critics award. The film is considered one of the best in history by the American Film Institute and Sight & Sound, and has been preserved in the National Film Registry.
Foster also acted in another film nominated for the Palme d'Or in 1976, Bugsy Malone. The British musical parodied films about Prohibition Era gangsters by having all roles played by children; Foster appeared in a major supporting role as a star of a speakeasy show. Director Alan Parker was impressed by her, saying that "she takes such an intelligent interest in the way the film is being made that if I had been run over by a bus I think she was probably the only person on the set able to take over as director." She gained several positive notices for her performance: Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times stated that "at thirteen she was already getting the roles that grown-up actresses complained weren't being written for women anymore", Variety described her as "outstanding", and Vincent Canby of The New York Times called her "the star of the show". Foster's two BAFTAs were awarded jointly for her performances in Taxi Driver and Bugsy Malone. Her third film release in 1976 was the independent drama Echoes of a Summer, which had been filmed two years previously. The New York Times named Foster's performance as a terminally ill girl the film's "main strength" and Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune stated that she "is not a good child actress; she's just a good actress", although both reviewers otherwise panned the film.
Foster's fourth film of 1976 was the Canadian-French thriller The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, in which she starred opposite Martin Sheen. The film combined aspects from thriller and horror genres, and showed Foster as a mysterious young girl living on her own in a small town. The performance earned her a Saturn Award. In November, Foster hosted Saturday Night Live, becoming the youngest person to do so until 1982. Her final film of the year was the Disney comedy Freaky Friday, "her first true star vehicle". She played a tomboy teen who accidentally changes bodies with her mother, and she later stated that the film marked a "transitional period" for her when she began to grow out of child roles. It received mainly positive reviews, and was a box office success, gaining Foster a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.
After her breakthrough year, Foster spent nine months living in France, where she starred in Moi, fleur bleue (1977) and recorded several songs for its soundtrack. Her other films released in 1977 were the Italian comedy Casotto (1977), and the Disney heist film Candleshoe (1977), which was filmed in England and co-starred veteran actors David Niven and Helen Hayes. After its release, Foster did not appear in any new releases until 1980, the year she turned eighteen.
1980s: Transition to adult roles
In 1980, Foster gained positive notices for her performances in the independent films Foxes and Carny (1980). The same year, she also became a full-time student at Yale. She later stated that going to college changed her thoughts about acting, which she had previously thought was an unintelligent profession, but now realised that "what I really wanted to do was to act and there was nothing stupid about it." Although Foster prioritized college during these years, she continued making films on her summer vacations. These were O'Hara's Wife (1982), television film Svengali (1983), John Irving adaptation The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), French film The Blood of Others (1984), and period drama Mesmerized (1986), which she also co-produced. None of them gained large audiences or critical appreciation, and after graduating from Yale in 1985, Foster struggled to find further acting work.
Foster's first film after college, the neo-noir Siesta (1987), was a failure. Her next project, the independent film Five Corners (1987), was better received. A moderate critical success, it earned Foster an Independent Spirit Award for her performance as a woman whose sexual assaulter returns to stalk her. The following year, Foster made her debut as a director with the episode "Do Not Open This Box" for the horror anthology series Tales from the Darkside, and starred in the romantic drama Stealing Home (1988) opposite Mark Harmon. The film was a critical and commercial failure, with critic Roger Ebert "wondering if any movie could possibly be that bad".
Foster's breakthrough into adult roles came with her performance as a rape survivor in The Accused (1988). Based on a real criminal case, the film focuses on the aftermath of a gang rape and its survivor's fight for justice in the face of victim blaming. Before making the film, Foster was having doubts about whether to continue her career and planned on starting graduate studies, but decided to give acting "one last try" in The Accused. She had to audition twice for the role and was cast only after several more established actors had turned it down, as the film's producers were wary of her due to her previous failures and because she was still remembered as a "chubby teenager". Due to the heavy subject matter, the filming was a difficult experience for all cast and crew involved, especially the shooting of the rape scene, which took five days to complete. Foster was unhappy with her performance, and feared that it would end her career. Instead, The Accused received positive reviews, with Foster's performance receiving widespread acclaim and earning her Academy, Golden Globe and National Board of Review awards, as well as a nomination for a BAFTA Award.
1990s: Box office success, debut as director and Egg Pictures
Foster's first film release after the success of The Accused was the thriller The Silence of the Lambs (1991). She portrayed FBI trainee Clarice Starling, who is sent to interview incarcerated serial killer Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in order to hunt another serial killer, Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb (Ted Levine). Foster later named the role one of her favorites. She had read the novel it was based on after its publication in 1988 and had attempted to purchase its film rights, as it featured "a real female heroine" and its plot was not "about steroids and brawn, [but] about using your mind and using your insufficiencies to combat the villain." Despite her enthusiasm, director Jonathan Demme did not initially want to cast her, but the producers overruled him. Demme's view of Foster changed during the production, and he later credited her for helping him define the character.
Released in February 1991, The Silence of the Lambs became one of the biggest hits of the year, grossing close to $273 million, with a positive critical reception. Foster received largely positive reviews and won Academy, Golden Globe, and BAFTA awards for her portrayal of Starling; Silence won five Academy Awards overall, becoming one of the few films to win in all main categories. In contrast, some reviewers criticized the film as misogynist for its focus on brutal murders of women, and homo-/transphobic due to its portrayal of "Buffalo Bill" as bisexual and transgender. Much of the criticism was directed towards Foster, who the critics alleged was herself a lesbian. Despite the controversy, the film is considered a modern classic: Starling and Lecter are included on the American Film Institute's top ten of the greatest film heroes and villains, and the film is preserved in the National Film Registry. Later in 1991, Foster also starred in the unsuccessful low-budget thriller Catchfire, which had been filmed before Silence, but was released after it in an attempt to profit from its success.
In October 1991, Foster released her first feature film as a director, Little Man Tate, a drama about a child prodigy who struggles to come to terms with being different. The main role was played by previously unknown actor Adam Hann-Byrd, and Foster co-starred as his working-class single mother. She had found the script in the "slush pile" at Orion Pictures, and explained that for her debut film she "wanted a piece that was not autobiographical, but that had to do with the 10 philosophies I've accumulated in the past 25 years. Every single one of them, if they weren't in the script from the beginning, they're there now." Many reviewers felt that the film did not live up to the high expectations, and regarded it as "less adventurous than many films in which [she] had starred". Regardless, it was a moderate box office success. Foster's final film appearance of the year came in a small role as a sex worker in Shadows and Fog (1991), directed by Woody Allen, with whom she had wanted to collaborate since the 1970s.
Foster next starred in the period film Sommersby (1993), portraying a woman who begins to suspect that her husband (Richard Gere) who returns home from the Civil War is an impostor. She then replaced Meg Ryan in the Western comedy, Maverick (1994), playing a con artist opposite Mel Gibson and James Garner. According to film scholar Karen Hollinger, both films featured her in more "conventionally feminine" roles. Both Sommersby and Maverick were commercially successful.
Foster had founded her own production company, Egg Pictures, a subsidiary of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment in 1992, and released its first production, Nell, in December 1994. It was directed by Michael Apted and starred Foster in the titular role as a woman who grew up isolated in the Appalachian Mountains and speaks her own invented language. The film was based on Mark Handley's play Idioglossia, which interested Foster for its theme of "otherness", and because she "loved this idea of a woman who defies categorization, a creature who is labeled and categorized by people based on their own problems and their own prejudices and what they bring to the table." Despite mixed reviews, it was a commercial success, and earned Foster a Screen Actors Guild Award and nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her acting performance.
The second film that Foster directed and produced for Egg Pictures was Home for the Holidays, released in late 1995. A black comedy "set around a nightmarish Thanksgiving", it starred Holly Hunter and Robert Downey Jr. The film received a mixed critical response and was a commercial failure. In 1996, Foster received two honorary awards: the Crystal Award, awarded annually for women in the entertainment industry, and the Berlinale Camera at the 46th Berlin International Film Festival. She voiced a character in an episode of Frasier in 1996 and in an episode of The X-Files in early 1997.
After Nell (1994), Foster appeared in no new film releases until Contact (1997), a science fiction film based on a novel by Carl Sagan and directed by Robert Zemeckis. She starred as a scientist searching for extraterrestrial life in the SETI project. The film was a commercial success and earned Foster a Saturn Award and a nomination for a Golden Globe. Foster next produced Jane Anderson's television film The Baby Dance (1998) for Showtime. Its story deals with a wealthy California couple who struggle with infertility and decide to adopt from a poor family in Louisiana. On her decision to produce for television, Foster stated that it was easier to take financial risks in that medium than in feature films. In 1998, she also moved her production company from PolyGram to Paramount Pictures. Also in 1998, asteroid 17744 Jodiefoster was named in her honor.
Foster's last film of the 1990s was the period drama Anna and the King (1999), in which she starred opposite Chow Yun-Fat. It was based on a fictionalized biography of British teacher Anna Leonowens, who taught the children of King Mongkut of Siam, and whose story became well known as the musical The King and I. Foster was paid $15 million to portray Leonowens, making her one of the highest-paid female actors in Hollywood. The film was subject to controversy when the Thai government deemed it historically inaccurate and insulting to the royal family and banned its distribution in the country. It was a moderate commercial success, but received mixed to negative reviews. Roger Ebert panned the film, stating that the role required Foster "to play beneath [her] intelligence" and The New York Times called it a "misstep" for her and accused her of only being "interested ... in sanctifying herself as an old-fashioned heroine than in taking on dramatically risky roles".
2000s: Career setbacks and resurgence in thrillers
Foster's first project of the new decade was Keith Gordon's film Waking the Dead (2000), which she produced. She declined to reprise her role as Clarice Starling in Hannibal (2001), with the part going instead to Julianne Moore, and concentrated on a new directorial project, Flora Plum. It was to focus on a 1930s circus and star Claire Danes and Russell Crowe, but had to be shelved after Crowe was injured on set and could not complete filming on schedule; Foster unsuccessfully attempted to revive the project several times in the following years. Controversially, she also expressed interest in directing and starring in a biographical film of Nazi film director Leni Riefenstahl, who did not like the idea. In addition to these setbacks, Foster shut down Egg Pictures in 2001, stating that producing was "just a really thankless, bad job". The company's last production, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2002. It received good reviews, and had a limited theatrical release in the summer.
After the cancellation of Flora Plum, Foster took on the main role in David Fincher's thriller Panic Room after its intended star, Nicole Kidman, had to drop out due to an injury on set. Before filming resumed, Foster was given only a week to prepare for the role of a woman who hides in a panic room with her daughter when burglars invade their home. It grossed over $30 million on its North American opening weekend in March 2002, thus becoming the most successful film opening of Foster's career . In addition to being a box office success, the film also received largely positive reviews.
After a minor appearance in the French period drama A Very Long Engagement (2004), Foster starred in three more thrillers. The first was Flightplan (2005), in which she played a woman whose daughter vanishes during an overnight flight. It became a global box office success, but received mixed reviews. It was followed by Spike Lee's critically and commercially successful Inside Man (2006), about a bank heist on Wall Street, which co-starred Denzel Washington and Clive Owen. The third thriller, The Brave One (2007), prompted some comparisons to Taxi Driver, as Foster played a New Yorker who becomes a vigilante after her fiancé is murdered. It was not a success, but earned Foster her sixth Golden Globe nomination. Her last film role of the decade was in the children's adventure film Nim's Island (2008), in which she portrayed an agoraphobic writer opposite Gerard Butler and Abigail Breslin. It was the first comedy in which she had starred since Maverick (1994), and was a commercial success but a critical failure. In 2009, she provided the voice for Maggie in a tetralogy episode of The Simpsons titled "Four Great Women and a Manicure".
2010s: Focus on directing
In the 2010s, Foster focused on directing and took fewer acting roles. In February 2011, she hosted the 36th César Awards in France, and the following month released her third feature film direction, The Beaver (2011), about a depressed man who develops an alternative personality based on a beaver hand puppet. It starred Maverick co-star Mel Gibson and featured herself, Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence in supporting roles as his family. Foster called its production "probably the biggest struggle of my professional career", partly due to the film's heavy subject matter but also due to the controversy that Gibson generated when he was accused of domestic violence and making anti-semitic, racist, and sexist statements. The film received mixed reviews, and failed the box office, largely due to this controversy. In 2011, Foster also appeared as part of an ensemble cast with John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz in Roman Polanski's comedy Carnage, in which the attempts of middle-class parents to settle an incident between their sons descends into chaos. It premiered to mainly positive reviews and earned Foster a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress.
In 2013, Foster received the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 70th Golden Globe Awards. Her next film role was playing Secretary of Defense Delacourt opposite Matt Damon in the dystopian film Elysium (2013), which was a box office success. She also returned to television directing for the first time since the 1980s, directing the episodes "Lesbian Request Denied" (2013) and "Thirsty Bird" (2014) for Orange Is the New Black, and the episode "Chapter 22" (2014) for House of Cards. "Lesbian Request Denied" brought her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and the two 2014 episodes earned her two nominations for a Directors Guild of America Award. She also narrated the episode "Women in Space" (2014) for Makers: Women Who Make America, a PBS documentary series about women's struggle for equal rights in the United States. In 2015, Foster received the Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award at the Athena Film Festival.
The fourth film directed by Foster, hostage drama Money Monster, premiered out-of-competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2016. It starred George Clooney and Julia Roberts, and despite mixed reviews, was a moderate commercial success. The following year, Foster continued her work in television by directing an episode, "Arkangel", for the British sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror (2011–).
As the decade drew to a close, Foster continued to mix acting with directing. She starred together with Sterling Brown in the dystopian film Hotel Artemis (2018). Although the film was a commercial and critical disappointment, Foster's performance as Nurse, who runs a hospital for criminals, received positive notices. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle's stated that "not enough can be said about the performance of Foster in this film. She brings to the role a quality of having seen the absolute worst in people, but also the suggestion that, as a result, she accepts them on their own terms and knows how to handle any situation." Rick Bentley from Tampa Bay Times declared Foster's performance one of her "best and most memorable performances." The same year, Foster co-produced and narrated Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018), a documentary on one of the first female film directors.
2020s: Current work
Foster directed the finale of the 2020 science fiction drama Tales from the Loop. Her next project was the legal drama The Mauritanian (2021), in which she starred as the lawyer of a prisoner (Tahar Rahim) at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Foster won a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe for her performance. At the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, Foster received the Honorary Palme d'Or for lifetime achievement.
Personal life
Foster met producer (then production coordinator) Cydney Bernard on the set of Sommersby (1993). They were in a relationship from 1993 until 2008 and had two sons (born in 1998 and 2001) together. In April 2014, Foster married actress and photographer Alexandra Hedison after a year of dating.
Foster's sexual orientation became the subject of public discussion in 1991 when publications such as OutWeek and The Village Voice, protesting against the alleged homophobia and transphobia in The Silence of the Lambs, claimed that she was a closeted lesbian. While she had been in a relationship with Bernard for 14 years, Foster first publicly acknowledged it in a speech at The Hollywood Reporter'''s "Women in Entertainment" breakfast honoring her in 2007. In 2013, she addressed her coming out in a speech after receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 70th Golden Globe Awards, which led many news outlets to describe her as gay, although some sources noted that she did not use the words "gay" or "lesbian" in her speech.
John Hinckley incident
During her freshman year at Yale in 1980–1981, Foster was stalked by John W. Hinckley, Jr., who had developed an obsession with her after watching Taxi Driver. He moved to New Haven and tried to contact her by letter and telephone. On March 30, 1981, Hinckley attempted to assassinate U.S. president Ronald Reagan, wounding him and three other people, claiming that his motive was to impress Foster. The incident attracted intense media attention, and Foster was accompanied by bodyguards while on campus. Although Judge Barrington D. Parker confirmed that Foster was innocent in the case and had been "unwittingly ensnared in a third party's alleged attempt to assassinate an American President", her videotaped testimony was played at Hinckley's trial. While at Yale, Foster also had other stalkers, including a man who planned to kill her but changed his mind after watching her perform in a college play.
Foster has rarely commented publicly about Hinckley. She wrote an essay, "Why Me?", which was published in 1982 by Esquire on the condition that "there be no cover lines, no publicity and no photos". In 1991, she canceled an interview with NBC's Today Show when she discovered Hinckley would be mentioned in the introduction and that the producers would not change it. She discussed Hinckley with Charlie Rose of 60 Minutes II'' in 1999, explaining that she does not "like to dwell on it too much ... I never wanted to be the actress who was remembered for that event. Because it didn't have anything to do with me. I was kind of a hapless bystander. But ... what a scarring, strange moment in history for me, to be 17 years old, 18 years old, and to be caught up in a drama like that." She stated that the incident had a major impact on her career choices, and acknowledged that her experience was minimal compared to the suffering of Reagan's press secretary James Brady, who was permanently disabled in the shooting, and died as a result of his injuries 33 years later, and his loved ones: "Whatever bad moments that I had certainly could never compare to that family."
Filmography and accolades
See also
List of American film actresses
List of American television actresses
List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees – Youngest nominees for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
List of LGBTQ Academy Award winners and nominees – Best Actress in a Leading Role winners and nominees
List of actors with Academy Award nominations
List of actors with two or more Academy Award nominations in acting categories
List of actors with two or more Academy Awards in acting categories
References
Footnotes
Citations
Bibliography
External links
Jodie Foster in the online catalogue of the Cinémathèque Française
1962 births
Living people
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from Los Angeles
American child actresses
American film actresses
American film producers
American television actresses
American television directors
American voice actresses
American women film directors
American women film producers
American women television producers
Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan
BAFTA Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles winners
Best Actress Academy Award winners
Best Actress BAFTA Award winners
Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award winners
Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
Cecil B. DeMille Award Golden Globe winners
David di Donatello winners
European Film Awards winners (people)
Film directors from Los Angeles
Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead winners
LGBT actresses
LGBT film directors
LGBT television directors
LGBT actors from the United States
LGBT people from California
LGBT producers
Lycée Français de Los Angeles alumni
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Television producers from California
American women television directors
Yale College alumni | true | [
"\"Leave a Trace\" is a song by Scottish synth-pop band Chvrches from their second studio album Every Open Eye. It was released as the band's first official single on 17 July 2015 via Virgin and Goodbye Records.\n\nBackground\nDuring an interview with Pitchfork, Lauren Mayberry said of the song:\n\nRelease history\n\"Leave a Trace\" was streamed on the band's official SoundCloud page.\n\nCritical reception\nThe song received generally positive reviews. Luke Winstanley of Clash called the song \"another highlight, outrageously infectious and immediate, all centred around a gentle but persistent bass pulse.\" Sam Shepherd of musicOMH felt it \"finds Mayberry certain of her feelings and finding closure, and delivering a sweet vocal that drills deep into the pleasure centres.\" Abby Johnston of The Austin Chronicle called Mayberry's performance in the song \"at the level of a modern-day Cyndi Lauper.\"\n\nRolling Stone placed \"Leave a Trace\" at number 24 on its list of the 50 Best Songs of 2015. Billboard ranked \"Leave a Trace\" at number fourteen on its year-end list: \"On 'Leave a Trace', Iain Cook and Martin Doherty’s fine-tuned swirls of synthesizer are just begging for a killer hook, and Mayberry -- singing with more swagger than ever before -- hammers it home.\"\n\nMusic video\n\nBackground\nA music video for the song was released on 17 August 2015.\n\nConsequence of Sound said of the music video:\n\n4chan Harassment\nOn 17 August 2015, a user on internet forum 4chan posted a link to the music video to /mu/, 4chan's music board. Hundreds of comments followed, many of which were sexually explicit remarks and such sexist slurs as \"slut\", \"whore\", and \"bitch\" directed toward Mayberry. Other comments called Mayberry a hypocrite for her solo appearance in the video while concurrently being an outspoken feminist and expressing her disdain for the objectification of women.\n\nOne participant in the thread tweeted at Mayberry, requesting her input. Mayberry blocked the user and responded to the thread in her own tweet, writing \"Dear anyone who thinks misogyny isn't real. It is and this is what is looks like,\" with a link to the 4chan thread. Mayberry's bandmates defended her in a tweet from the band's account, writing \"PSA: apparently wet hair makes you a 'slut'. Nice work, 4chan / humanity.\"\n\nFrench scholar Albin Wagener studied this specific case in a scientific paper, showing how online discrimination was organized in online forums, when related to sexism.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nReferences\n\n2015 singles\n2015 songs\nChvrches songs\nSongs written by Iain Cook\nSongs written by Lauren Mayberry\nSongs written by Martin Doherty\nVirgin Records singles",
"Thelma Lou, or Thel by boyfriend Barney Fife, is a character on the American television sitcom The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968). The character appeared in 26 episodes, starting with the first-season episode, \"Cyrano Andy\". Thelma Lou was portrayed by Betty Lynn.\n\nThelma Lou lives in the community of Mayberry, North Carolina. She is Mayberry Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife's love interest. Thelma Lou appeared as a semiregular character in The Andy Griffith Show from 1961 until 1966, when the character was dropped from the show following the departure of Don Knotts and his Barney Fife character. She appeared in the 1986 reunion made-for-television movie, Return to Mayberry.\n\nFictional character biography \nLittle is known about Thelma Lou. Barney met Thelma Lou at Wilton Blair's funeral in 1960. In another episode, she is mentioned to have attended Mayberry Union High, graduating in the same class with Barney and Andy Taylor. Aside from her romance with Barney, she was given very little character development during the series' run. She is generally portrayed as a sweet-natured, somewhat touchy, caring person who genuinely has an understanding of Barney, despite his unbecoming antics and personality problems. She sings in the choir. She is apparently self-sufficient; her occupation is never revealed despite references to a never-seen \"office\", yet she lives in a roomy and well-decorated house of her own. Like most Mayberry ladies, she is an accomplished cook, being especially celebrated for her \"cashew fudge\" (a favorite of Barney's).\n\nThelma Lou's last name is never given on the show, though in her last appearance on the series (\"The Return of Barney Fife\") she is married to a man named Gerald Whitfield. Actress Betty Lynn explained that \"I didn't really need one, until about the fourth year, when Andy had to introduce me to a couple. And he turned to me during rehearsals, and Bob Sweeney was directing, and he said, 'Well, what's your last name? Thelma Lou what?' [laughs] And I said, 'No. I've been \"Thelma Lou\" all this time; I don't want a last name. ... All you have to do is say, \"This is Thelma Lou.\" You don't need a last name.' So, he said, 'Okay.' And that was it.\" Prior to the arrival of Helen Crump in Mayberry, Lydia Crosswaithe is introduced as one of Thelma Lou's friends. Lydia's extremely odd personality doomed an effort by Barney and \"Thel\" to arrange a date and possible romantic match with Andy.\n\nBarney and Thelma Lou\nThe stability of Barney and Thelma Lou's relationship is questionable. Barney dates other women besides Thelma Lou (mainly, diner waitress Juanita, who is mentioned, but never seen or heard).\n\nThe two call it Splitsville in one episode when Barney pays a bit too much attention to an attractive newcomer to Mayberry. Despite their ups and downs, Thelma Lou stated that Barney was the man she wanted to marry and be the father of her children, and Barney once told Thelma Lou, \"You're the only one I ever gave a hoot for.\" He also tells her \"You're the cat's\" (as in \"cat's meow\"). A running gag on the show involved Barney and Thelma Lou spending a \"quiet evening together\" and somebody (usually Andy) walking in on them to find Barney's hair mussed and lipstick prints all over his face.\n\nBarney and Thelma Lou went their separate ways when Barney left Mayberry to join the Raleigh police force (coinciding with Don Knotts's departure from the series in 1965). In the sixth-season episode, \"The Return of Barney Fife\", Barney returns to Mayberry for a high-school reunion. Intent on getting back with Thelma Lou, Barney discovers she has been married six weeks to a man named Gerald Whitfield. Betty Lynn recounted that she so strongly objected to her character being married to anyone other than Barney that while performing in the episode, she pretended that Whitfield was actually a co-worker who she paid to pretend to be her husband so that she wouldn't \"be left in a lurch\" with Barney. This episode is Thelma Lou's final appearance on the series.\n\nThelma Lou appears in the 1986 television reunion movie Return to Mayberry. Her marriage in 1965 is revealed to have lasted only a year before ending in divorce. Barney finally marries Thelma Lou.\n\nAndy Griffith Show appearances\nThe following is a list of Andy Griffith Show episodes featuring Thelma Lou.\nSeason one\nEpisode 22: \"Cyrano Andy\"\nEpisode 30: \"Barney Gets His Man\"\nSeason two\nEpisode 2: \"Barney's Replacement\"\nEpisode 5: \"Barney on the Rebound\"\nEpisode 8: \"The Perfect Female\"\nEpisode 13: \"The Farmer Takes a Wife\"\nEpisode 20: \"Barney and the Choir\"\nEpisode 27: \"Three's a Crowd\"\nSeason three\nEpisode 2: \"Andy's Rich Girlfriend\"\nEpisode 6: \"Barney Mends a Broken Heart\"\nEpisode 27: \"Barney's First Car\"\nEpisode 28: \"The Rivals\"\nEpisode 29: \"A Wife for Andy\"\nSeason four\nEpisode 9: \"A Date for Gomer\"\nEpisode 10: \"Up in Barney's Room\"\nEpisode 13: \"Barney and the Cave Rescue\"\nEpisode 27: \"Fun Girls\"\nEpisode 29: \"The Rumor\"\nEpisode 30: \"Barney and Thelma Lou, Phfftt\"\nSeason five\nEpisode 2: \"Barney's Physical\"\nEpisode 7: \"Man in the Middle\"\nEpisode 19: \"The Lucky Letter\"\nEpisode 20: \"Goober and the Art of Love\"\nEpisode 21: \"Barney Runs for Sheriff\"\nEpisode 28: \"The Arrest of the Fun Girls\"\nSeason six\nEpisode 17: \"The Return of Barney Fife\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nFictional characters from North Carolina\nThe Andy Griffith Show characters\nTelevision characters introduced in 1961"
] |
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