:"Live TV" redirects here. For the British TV station formerly known by this name, see L!VE TV. Live television refers to television broadcast in real time. Today it is used mostly for programs such as Today, CBS This Morning, and local television news. However, from the early days of television until about 1958, it was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Videotape did not exist until 1957.

In general live television was more common for broadcasting content produced specifically for television in the early years of the medium, before technologies such as videotape recording appeared. As video recording became more prevalent, many entertainment programs were recorded and edited before broadcasting rather than being shown live. Entertainment events such as professional sports games and awards programs continue to be generally broadcast live.

Uses of live television

Live television is today most common in television news, where news programs are generally broadcast live, presenting recorded and edited news stories. Events that networks and stations decide most viewers will want to or should know about as soon as possible are broadcast live, often interrupting regularly scheduled programming, as news bulletins, and if they are quickly changing and developing, with coverage as they unfold as "breaking news" stories. There is usually a 75-90 second delay between what is actually being filmed and what is being broadcast; this is to allow time for editing and censoring. However, some events can be delayed by up to 20 minutes such as Barack Obama's inauguration speech, and live coverage from the Big Brother house in the UK.

Live television inherently has an extemporaneous, spontaneous, and urgent quality that often appears more suspenseful and exciting than recorded programming even if the content itself is not. It has this quality for many reasons: the fact that what is shown is happening in real-time, as it unfolds; the limited amount of control that is possible over live programming compared with recorded programming; and the resulting potential for mishap, that is, the idea that "anything can happen". Thus, it even extends itself to the live presentation of scripted material.

Live television is often used as a device, even when it is not necessary, in various types of programming to take advantage of these qualities, often to great success in terms of attracting viewers. The NBC live comedy/variety program Saturday Night Live, for example, has been on that network continuously since 1975.

On September 25, 1997, NBC broadcast a special live episode of its hospital drama ER, which at the time ranked as the third most-watched episode of any drama program ever. Many television news programs, particularly local ones in North America, have also used live television as a device to gain viewers by making their programs appear more exciting. With technologies such as satellite uplinks, a reporter can report live "on location" from anywhere where a story is happening in the city. This technique has attracted criticism for its overuse (like minor car accidents which often have no injuries) and resulting tendency to make stories appear more urgent than they actually are.

The unedited nature of live television can pose problems for networks because of the potential for mishaps. To enforce the Federal Communications Commission regulations, networks often broadcast live programs on a slight delay to give them the ability to censor words and images while keeping the broadcast as "live" as possible.

Memorable events on live television

Many events have happened on live television broadcasts that are well-remembered, sometimes because they were part of a major news story already, and always because they happened unexpectedly and before audiences of thousands or millions of viewers.

News

June 2, 1953 - the coronation of Her Majesty Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom was the first to be televised live on British television.

November 24, 1963 - Lee Harvey Oswald (the alleged assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy) was shot in Dallas by nightclub owner Jack Ruby while being transferred to a county jail. Oswald was taken to Parkland Hospital, the same hospital in which President Kennedy and Governor Connally had been treated two days before, but died within approximately two hours after being shot.

November 25, 1963 - President John F. Kennedy's funeral was broadcast on live TV . It was seen by perhaps what was the largest viewing audience up to then. It was the first live TV coverage of a Presidential funeral. Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas, Texas three days before, on November 22, 1963. The assassination initiated four days of non-stop live television news coverage seen by millions.

December 7, 1963 - Instant replay is used for the first time during the live transmission of the Army–Navy Game by its inventor, director Tony Verna.

November 13, 1965 - Critic and author Kenneth Tynan became the first person to say the word "fuck" on British television on the live satirical programme BBC-3 while commenting on censorship during a TV debate.

December 24, 1968 - Apollo 8 Genesis reading during the 9th orbit of the moon.

July 20, 1969 - Apollo 11 the first moon landing by humans.

July 15, 1974 - Christine Chubbuck, a television news reporter for station WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida, committed suicide on live television by firing a revolver shot into her head.

January 28, 1986 - The Challenger explosion was seen on live TV by millions in the U.S.

January 22, 1987 - Budd Dwyer committed suicide by shooting himself in the mouth with a revolver during a televised press conference.

November 9, 1989 - Live coverage of the abolishment of travel restrictions and the opening of the border to West Berlin after mass panic and jubilation from East Germans.

June 17, 1994 - The slow-speed chase of a vehicle containing American football star and murder suspect O. J. Simpson was broadcast live throughout the U.S., with NBC interrupting its coverage of the 1994 NBA Finals to do so.

April 30, 1998 - Daniel V. Jones, a cancer and HIV-positive patient apparently frustrated with his HMO coverage, ended a live televised stand-off with police on a Los Angeles freeway by committing suicide, shooting himself in the chin with a shotgun. The event, which took place on a Thursday afternoon, was witnessed by many children whose after-school cartoons had been interrupted in order to broadcast the incident, which originally began as a high-speed pursuit, and led many to criticize Los Angeles television stations' practice of airing police pursuits live.

September 11, 2001 - At 09:03am Eastern Daylight Time, United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center, in front of millions of viewers who were already watching live coverage of the unfolding terrorist attacks of that day. Major networks had broken into regular programming just minutes earlier with live shots of the twin towers after American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north tower at 08:46am. Millions of viewers around the world watching live coverage of the attacks saw both buildings collapse.

March 23, 2003 - Sky News broadcast live coverage of US forces attacking an Iraqi position. Sky reporter David Bowden, embedded with the US Marines, gave a live running commentary on the battle, something viewers had not seen before.

July 7, 2005 - A live television report on the unfolding situation on the 7 July 2005 London bombings captured the sound of the Tavistock Square bus explosion at 09:46 British Summer Time.

September 21, 2005 - JetBlue Airways Flight 292 made an emergency landing in Los Angeles. The passengers were able to watch the incident unfold on live television.

August 16, 2008 - Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili chewed a tie during the news headlines on the BBC.

April 30, 2009 - During live coverage of a parade on the Dutch holiday Koninginnedag in the city of Apeldoorn, Netherlands an attack took place on the Dutch Royal Family after Karst R. Tates drove a car into a crowd of people before crashing into a monument. Although the royal family themselves were unharmed, the incident resulted in a total of 8 fatalities leaving many others injured.

Entertainment

November 30, 1958 - Midway through transmission of the Armchair Theatre play Underground on the British ITV network, actor Gareth Jones died off-camera, forcing the production to improvise for the remainder of the broadcast.

September 17, 1967 - While The Doors performed "Light My Fire" on The Ed Sullivan Show, frontman Jim Morrison used the word "higher" instead of the previously agreed-upon change "better".

March 5, 1975 - Graham Kennedy mimicked a crow call ("faaaaaaark") remniscient of the word fuck during a hairspray ad on The Graham Kennedy Show on the Nine Network in Australia. He was banned from live TV indefinitely for the stunt. He quits the network on April 17 after the network took advantage of the pre-taping to delete a speech critical of Senator Doug McClelland (the then Minister for the Media).

December 1, 1976 - Appearing in a live interview on the Thames Television pre-watershed programme Today as last-minute replacements for fellow EMI artists Queen, the Sex Pistols were interviewed by Bill Grundy to promote their recently released Anarchy in the UK single. During the interview, Steve Jones said the band had "fucking spent" its label advance and Johnny Rotten used the word "shit." Pistols guitarist Steve Jones called Grundy a "dirty sod" and a "dirty old man", leading Grundy to goad the band into swearing on live TV, and Jones ended the interview with "you dirty bastard," "you dirty fucker," and "what a fucking rotter". Grundy was fired by ITV and Today was cancelled.

February 20, 1981 - Appearing on the live ABC comedy show Fridays as guest host, comedian Andy Kaufman refused to read his lines during the last sketch, to the annoyance of the cast and crew. The situation escalated into a minor brawl, and the network cut off the broadcast. Kaufman later admitted that the fight was planned by him and some of the cast and crew.

April 15, 1984 - Comedian Tommy Cooper collapsed and subsequently died of a heart attack in front of millions of viewers on Live From Her Majesty's. The audience carried on laughing thinking it was part of his act, before the programme took a commercial break.

January 4, 1987 - A massive bench-clearing brawl occurred in the World Junior Hockey Championships between Canada and the Soviet Union. After Pavel Kostichkin took a two handed slash at Theoren Fleury, the Soviet Union's Evgeny Davydov came off the bench, eventually leading to both benches clearing. The officials walked off the ice and tried shutting off the arena lights, but the brawl lasted for 20 minutes until the IIHF declared the game null and void. Both teams were ejected from the tournament, and the Soviet team were barred from attending the end-of-tournament dinner.

October 17, 1989 - Right before Game 3 of The 1989 World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred.

February 1, 2004 - During a performance by singers Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl XXXVIII half time show, Timberlake pulled off a part of Jackson's leather corset, revealing her right breast covered by a piece of jewelry attached to her nipple. He later described the incident as a "wardrobe malfunction". The incident caused outrage among religious groups and demands for the FCC to crack down on indecency on television and radio.

April 21, 2004 - After commenting on a UEFA Champions League match on ITV1, Ron Atkinson thought that the broadcast had finished. However, although transmission in the UK had finished, he was still on air to various countries in the Middle East and proceeded to say that "...he is what is known in some schools as a fucking lazy thick nigger" towards Marcel Desailly. He resigned with immediate effect.

August 20, 2006 - During a live dance performance of "Crazy Love Song" by the female pop trio Seeya on the Korean television program SBS Inkigayo, a backup dancer who suffered from epilepsy had a seizure in the middle of the song. The performers ignored the interruption and completed the performance normally after the dancer was carried off the stage.

April 14, 2007 - At the conclusion of an AFL match between Fremantle and West Coast on Network Ten, Eagles player Michael Braun concluded his Ross Glenndenning Medal acceptance speech with "Let's have a fucking good year" in front of a TV audience of 550,000 and a crowd of 42,051. Braun was fined $5,500 by the AFL for the incident.

Live television episodes

Although all programs were once live, the use of videotape means that very few television programs in the modern era have ever attempted such a feat. In the U.S., soap operas including As the World Turns and The Edge of Night were broadcast live until 1975. The most recent scripted series to do so on a regular basis was the Charles S. Dutton series Roc in the 1992-93 season.

However, on occasion, scripted series will do an episode live to attract ratings. In the U.S. and Canada, the episode is occasionally performed twice: once for the east coast (Eastern and Central time zones) and again three hours later for the west coast (Mountain and Pacific time zones). Notable examples of shows that have had a live episode include:

Gimme a Break! (1985)

Roc (The entire second season, 1993)

ER (1997)

Coronation Street (for its in 2000 & its in 2010)

The Drew Carey Show (1999, 2000, & 2001)

The Bill (2003 & 2005)

The Daily Show (2004, 2008, 2009)

Blue Heelers (2004)

Will & Grace (2005 & 2006)

Air Farce Live (All episodes from October 2007 - December 2008)

The West Wing (2005) - An episode ("The Debate") was presented as a live debate between presidential candidates

Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (2008)

EastEnders (for its 25th anniversary in 2010)

30 Rock (2010)

)

In recent years there have been a number of special films broadcast live as well. These include the remakes of Fail Safe (2000) and The Quatermass Experiment (2005).

A live television advertisement was shown for the first time in 40 years to celebrate the arrival of the new Honda Accord in the United Kingdom. It was broadcast on Channel Four on 29 May 2008 at 20:10 during a special episode of 'Come Dine With Me'.

Live television specials

Many live television specials were telecast during the pre-videotape era. Among the most successful were the 1955 and 1956 telecasts of Peter Pan, a 1954 musical adaptation of J.M. Barrie's 1904 play, starring Mary Martin, and Cyril Ritchard. This was such a hit that the show was restaged and rebroadcast (this time on videotape) with the same two stars and most of the rest of the cast in 1960, and rerun several times after that. The Peter Pan telecasts marked the first-ever telecasts of a complete Broadway musical with most of its original cast.

Further reading

No Retakes, by Sandra Grabman and Wright King. BearManor Media, 2008.

Caesar's Hours: My Life in Comedy, with Love and Laughter, by Sid Caesar with Eddy Friedfeld. Public Affairs, 2003.

The Box: An Oral History of Television 1920-1961, by Jeff Kisseloff. Penguin Books, 1995.

The Live Television Generation of Hollywood Film Directors, by Gorham Kindem. McFarland, 1994.

Live Television: The Golden Age of 1946-1958 in New York, by Frank Sturcken. McFarland, 1990.

Golden Age of Television: Notes from the Survivors, by Max Wilk. Moyer Bell Limited, 1989.

Where Have I Been? An Autobiography, by Sid Caesar with Bill Davidson, Crown Publishers, Inc., 1982.

References

Category:Television terminology Category:Television news Category:Television production concepts

Caption	Galifianakis in Austin, Texas, March 19, 2009
Birth name	Zacharius Knight Galifianakis
Birth date	October 01, 1969
Birth place	Wilkesboro, North Carolina, United States
Death date
Medium	Stand-up, film, television, music
Nationality	American
Active	1996–present
Genre	Observational comedy, musical comedy
Notable work	Tru CallingThe HangoverG-ForceDue Date

Zacharius Knight "Zach" Galifianakis ( ; born October 1, 1969) is a Greek-American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his numerous film and television appearances including his own Comedy Central Presents special. While initially more of an "underground" comedian, he has garnered mainstream attention for his role in the Todd Phillips-directed comedy film The Hangover.

Personal life

Galifianakis was born in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Galifianakis was raised in his father's Greek Orthodox faith. He has two siblings, a younger sister, Merritt, and an older brother, Greg. His uncle, Nick Galifianakis, was a congressman from North Carolina between 1967 and 1973.

Galifianakis attended Wilkes Central High School, and subsequently North Carolina State University, where he majored in communication.

He is currently in a relationship with Quinn Lundberg, co-founder of the charity Growing Voices.

He is a fan of Eckhart Tolle.

Career

Early work

Galifianakis' career began on television in 1996, when he played the recurring role of a stoner named Billy in the short-lived sitcom Boston Common. Then he joined Saturday Night Live as a writer but only lasted two weeks. Galifianakis co-starred in the film Out Cold and had small roles in Corky Romano, Below, Bubble Boy, Heartbreakers, Into the Wild, Super High Me, Little Fish Strange Pond, and Largo

Galifianakis hosted his own late night variety show on VH1 in 2002 called Late World with Zack Galifianakis. It featured many of his friends and regular performers from the LA comedy and music venue Largo where he appeared frequently during this time period. One episode featured Largo regulars Jon Brion and Rhett Miller as musical guests. He had his own episode of Comedy Central Presents, which first aired in September 2001. It included a stand-up routine, a segment with a piano, and concluding with an a cappella group (The Night Owls, introduced as his "12 ex-girlfriends") singing "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles while he made jokes. In 2002, he was the host of his own talk show called Late World with Zach. His next television role was as a coroner named Davis in the Fox drama Tru Calling, which lasted from 2003 to 2005. He also completed the pilot Speed Freaks for Comedy Central.

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis

Galifianakis has a series of videos on the Funny or Die website titled "Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis" where he conducts interviews with popular celebrities between two potted ferns. He has interviewed Jimmy Kimmel, Michael Cera, Jon Hamm, Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron, Bradley Cooper, Conan O'Brien (with a brief appearance by Andy Richter), Ben Stiller, Steve Carell, Sean Penn and Bruce Willis. His interview style consists of typical interview questions, bizarre non sequiturs and inappropriate and sometimes sexual questions and comments, at one point attempting to tickle Michael Cera and forcing Cera to tickle him.

Mainstream performances: 2009–present

Galifianakis co-starred in the comedy The Hangover and earned the MTV Movie Award for the Best Comedic Performance. Following The Hangover's release, Galifianakis was prominently advertised in subsequent films that featured him in supporting roles. These included G-Force, Youth in Revolt, and the Oscar nominated film Up in the Air.

Galifianakis is currently a member of the regular cast playing a supporting role in the HBO series Bored to Death. He hosted Saturday Night Live on March 6, 2010, during the show's 35th season, during which he shaved his beard mid-show for a sketch, and then closed the show wearing a fake beard.

In 2010, he starred in several films, including Dinner for Schmucks, It's Kind of a Funny Story, and Due Date.

Galifianakis will appear in the sequel to The Hangover. In October 2010, it was reported that Galifianakis may have prevented Mel Gibson from making a cameo appearance in The Hangover Part II.

On October 29, 2010, while debating marijuana legalization on the show HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Galifianakis appeared to have smoked a marijuana joint on live television which host Bill Maher denied in an interview with Wolf Blitzer during an episode of "The Situation Room".

Filmography

{|class="wikitable sortable" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Year ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Film ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Role ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Notes |- | rowspan="2"| 1999 | The King and Me | Pizza boy | |- | Flushed | Pathetic guy | |- | rowspan="4"| 2001 | Heartbreakers | Bill | |- | Bubble Boy | Bus stop man | |- | Corky Romano | Dexter | |- | Out Cold | Luke | |- | 2002 | Below | Weird Wally | |- | 2003–2005 | Tru Calling | Davis | Television |- | 2004 | Zach & Avery of Fergus | Homeless man | |- | rowspan="2"| 2006 | The Pity Card | Zach | |- | Dog Bites Man | Alan Finger | Television |- | 2007 | Into the Wild | Kevin | |- | rowspan="2"| 2008 | What Happens in Vegas | Dave the Bear | |- | Visioneers | George | |- | rowspan="7"| 2009 | Gigantic | Homeless guy | |- | The Hangover | Alan Garner | MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic PerformanceNominated – Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance |- | American Dad | Heavyset Man and Norman | Voice only |- | G-Force | Ben | |- | Bored to Death | Ray | Television |- | Up in the Air | Steve | |- | | Hermit | Straight to DVD |- | rowspan="4"| 2010 | Youth in Revolt | Jerry | Frenemy

|- |Dinner for Schmucks | Therman Murch | |- | It's Kind of a Funny Story | Bobby | |- | Due Date | Ethan Tremblay/Ethan Chase | |- | 2011 | | Alan Garner | Filming |}

References

External links

Official web site, with biography and photos

in 2010

Interview from Brian M. Palmer

Interview with Zach at VerbicideMagazine.com

Category:1969 births Category:Actors from North Carolina Category:American actors Category:American comedians Category:American comedy musicians Category:American film actors Category:American people of Greek descent Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American television writers

Category:North Carolina State University alumni Category:People from Wilkes County, North Carolina Category:Living people Category:Comedians

Name	Tracy Morgan
Caption	Morgan discussing his book I Am the New Black, New York City 2009
Birth name	Tracy Jamal Morgan
Birth date	November 10, 1968
Birth place	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, Televison, Film, Books
Nationality	American
Years active	1990–present
Genre	Black comedy, Musical comedy, Observational comedy, Character comedy
Subject	African-American culture, race relations, racism, marriage, parenting, self-deprecation, recreational drug use, sex, relationships, current events
Spouse	Sabrina Morgan (1985-2009; 3 children)
Notable work	Saturday Night LiveTracy Mitchell in The Tracy Morgan ShowTracy Jordan in 30 RockHost of Scare Tactics

Tracy Jamal Morgan (born November 10, 1968) is an American actor, comedian and author who is best known for his eight seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and currently known for playing the role of Tracy Jordan on the NBC series 30 Rock.

Early life

Morgan was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, the second of five children of Alicia (née Warden), a homemaker, and Jimmy Morgan, Sr., a musician who left the family when Morgan was six. Morgan grew up in the Marcy Projects in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, along with rapper Jay-Z. After attending De Witt Clinton High School in the Bronx, he was discovered in 1984 while doing stand-up at The Apollo. Before Morgan began his career, he worked in New York City as a painter, for L&L; Painting and Rose Company.

Career

Morgan began his career on Martin, where he played Hustle Man. The character sold random items he had from the 'hood', always greeting people with his trademark "What's happ'n, chief?" and had a pet dog that he dressed as a rapper. In the 2003 Chris Rock film Head of State, Morgan appeared as a man watching television, often questioning why they are not watching Martin.

Morgan was also a regular cast member on "Uptown Comedy Club", a sketch comedy show filmed in Harlem which aired for two seasons between 1992 to 1994. He was also on the HBO show Snaps.

Saturday Night Live

Morgan joined the cast of comedy show Saturday Night Live in 1996, where he performed as a regular until 2003. He performed a variety of characters on the program, including Brian Fellow, Uncle Jemima (Uncle Jemima's Pure Mash Liquor), Dominican Lou, Bishop Don "Mack" Donald (from Pimp Chat), Astronaut Jones, African Andy, Benny the Bengal, and Woodrow (a mentally ill homeless man who lives in the sewer and is nice to the female celebrities [Britney Spears and Kate Hudson] he invites to his "home"). Morgan is also credited with impressions of Aretha Franklin, Harry Belafonte, Maya Angelou, Samuel L. Jackson, Louis Armstrong, Mike Tyson, Judge Greg Mathis, Lou Bega, Mr. T, Tito Jackson, Petri Hawkins-Byrd, Star Jones, John Boehner, Plaxico Burress, and Al Sharpton. On March 14, 2009, Morgan returned to SNL as host and reprised his roles of Brian Fellow and Astronaut Jones.

30 Rock

Morgan is currently a cast member of the NBC television show 30 Rock, playing the character Tracy Jordan, a caricature of himself. His work on 30 Rock has been well-received, being nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 2009 Emmy Awards.

Other work

Morgan had his own show, The Tracy Morgan Show, in 2003, which was canceled after one season.

Morgan also had a stand-up special entitled "One Mic" that was shown on Comedy Central. He also was the host of the first Spike Guys' Choice Awards, which aired on June 13, 2007. In 2003, he was on an episode of Punk'd in which his car was towed from the valet parking. He can be heard as "Spoonie Luv" on the Comedy Central program Crank Yankers and as Woof in the MTV2 Animated Series Where My Dogs At?.

Morgan acted in commercials for ESPN NFL 2K, ESPN NBA 2K, and ESPN NHL 2K, where he co-starred with Warren Sapp, Ben Wallace and Jeremy Roenick. He appeared in the movie The Longest Yard, starring Adam Sandler, as a transvestite inmate.

Morgan has hosted the VH1 Hip Hop Honors for 2 consecutive years and hosted the third season of Scare Tactics, the Sci Fi Channel's hidden camera show that pranks people by using their worst fears against them.

Morgan voiced Agent Blaster in Disney's G-Force. Morgan will voice a Bulldog in the upcoming Blue Sky Animation Studios film Rio.

Personal life

Morgan claims to have a number of tattoos, including: a peace sign; a happy and sad face; a cross bearing the names of his wife and three sons; the name of a friend he played football with in high school who was murdered; the words ME, MYSELF, & I on his back; and the phrase Stove Top.

Morgan married his high school sweetheart Sabina in 1985. They have three sons together. Morgan filed for divorce at Bronx Supreme Court on August 7, 2009 after 23 years of marriage, although he and his wife had been already separated for eight years. A friend told the New York Daily News, "Basically they were divorced without the paperwork."

In 1996, he was diagnosed with diabetes, but says he never took it seriously, refusing to take medication or change his diet. After running a 104-degree fever on the set of 30 Rock, Morgan decided to finally comply with his doctor's orders. He is now very cautious when it comes to the condition. With his consent, many of Morgan's own troubles have been incorporated within episodes of 30 Rock.

Around December 10, 2010, Tracy Morgan received a kidney transplant. It was announced on December 22, 2010 that he was resting and will miss "at least two episodes" of "30 Rock" in 2011.

Autobiography

On October 20, 2009, Morgan's autobiography I Am the New Black was released. The book includes stories from his life living in Tompkins Projects in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, to becoming a star as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Tracy appeared on National Public Radio's Fresh Air hosted by Terry Gross, at times tearing up about his former life in a New York ghetto.

Awards/nominations

Emmy Awards

* 2009, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: 30 Rock, nominated

* 2008, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: 30 Rock, nominated

* 2007, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: 30 Rock, nominated

Filmography

Half Baked (1998)

How High (2001)

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

30 Years to Life (2001)

Head of State (2003)

The Longest Yard (2005)

Are We There Yet? (2005)

Little Man (2006)

VH1's Totally Awesome (2006)

Farce of the Penguins (2006)

First Sunday (2008)

Superhero Movie (2008)

Beer for My Horses (2008)

Scare Tactics (2008)

G-Force (2009)

Deep in the Valley (2009)

Nailed (2010)

Cop Out (2010)

Death at a Funeral (2010)

The Other Guys (2010) (non speaking cameo)

Rio (2011)

Son of No One (2011)

References

External links

Category:1968 births Category:Actors from New York City Category:African American comedians Category:African American film actors Category:African American television actors Category:American comedians Category:Living people Category:Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People convicted of alcohol-related driving offenses Category:People from the Bronx

Name	Lenny Kravitz
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Leonard Albert Kravitz
Alias	Lenny Kravitz, Lenny, Romeo Blue (former)
Born	May 26, 1964New York City, New York, United States
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, drums, harmonica, keyboards, percussion, sitar, piano, synthesizer
Genre	Rock, hard rock, funk rock, neo-psychedelia, rhythm and blues
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, lyricist, record producer, arranger, actor, interior designer, clothing designer
Years active	1988–present
Label	Virgin Records America
Associated acts	Karl Denson, Dan Dyer, Vanessa Paradis, Madonna, Slash, Aerosmith, Mick Jagger, Guns N' Roses, Baha Men, Michael Kamen, Angie Stone, Cree Summer, Lionel Richie, Zoro, Velvet Revolver, Craig Ross, Jay-Z, Jazzanova, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Draco Rosa
Url	www.lennykravitz.com
Notable instruments	Guitars:Gibson Flying VGibson Les PaulWhite Gibson SG

Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads.

In addition to singing lead and backing vocals, Kravitz often plays all the guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and percussion himself when recording. He is known for his elaborate stage performances and music videos. Kravitz has had multiple number 1 hits on the US Top Singles Charts, though none by himself on the Hot 100, and many more worldwide. He won the Grammy Award for "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" four years in a row from 1999 to 2002, breaking the record for most wins in that category and most consecutive wins in one category. He has been nominated and won other awards, namely American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, Radio Music Awards, BRIT Awards and Blockbuster Entertainment Awards.

Early life

Kravitz was born in New York City, New York on May 26, 1964, the son of Roxie Roker, an actress known for her character Helen Willis in the 1970s hit television sitcom The Jeffersons, and Sy Kravitz, an NBC television news producer. Kravitz's father was of Russian Jewish descent and his mother was of Bahamian descent. Kravitz was named after his uncle, PFC Leonard Kravitz, who was killed in action on March 6, 1951 near Yangpyeong, Korea at the age of 20.

Kravitz grew up spending weekdays on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with his parents, attending P.S.6 for elementary school and weekends at his grandmother Bessie Roker's house in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Kravitz began banging on pots and pans in the kitchen, playing them as drums at the age of three. At the age of five, he wanted to be a musician. He began playing the drums and soon added guitar. Kravitz grew up listening to the music his parents listened to: R&B;, jazz, classical, opera, gospel, and blues. "My parents were very supportive of the fact that I loved music early on, and they took me to a lot of shows," Kravitz said. Around the age of 7, he saw The Jackson 5 perform at Madison Square Garden, which became his favorite group. His father, who was also a jazz promoter, was friends with Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Short, Miles Davis and other jazz greats. Ellington even played "Happy Birthday" for him one year when he was about 5. Kravitz wanted to be a session musician. He also appeared as an actor in television commercials during this time.

Kravitz went to school enough to pass, but was spending more and more time jamming with friends. His parents became concerned, wanting him to have something to fall back on. At the age of 15, determined to have a music career, Kravitz moved out of his house. He stayed with friends, slept in friends' cars, and at one point was even sleeping in his Ford Pinto and R &B;'s "Ivory Queen of Soul" Teena Marie took him in when he was homeless. In a YouTube message he recorded, Lenny Kravitz says, “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Teena.” The singer said Marie took him in when he was 16 years old and living on the street. “She gave me a bedroom,” he says. “She fed me, she cooked for me, she took care of me. She gave me instruments to play; she took me to all her recording sessions. She took me to concerts, she nurtured me and helped me to become who I am.” He adds: “She changed my life, not only as an artist, but as a person who truly loved me for who I was.” Inspired by David Bowie, Kravitz adopted the nom de guerre, "Romeo Blue," a new persona complete with straightened hair and blue contact lenses, and began performing. Kravitz's music at this time was heavily influenced by the synth-laden funk pop of Prince. In 1982, Kravitz graduated from Beverly Hills High School and convinced his father to give him money to record instead of spending money on college. With his first demo, Kravitz received offers from several record labels, including I.R.S. Records, but Kravitz was told he needed to change his music to make it "black enough" to fit in with current radio-friendly R & B styles. "I refused," Kravitz told the Los Angeles Times in 1989. amid rumors of an affair between him and Madonna. Kravitz has denied any infidelity. Kravitz's biggest single yet, "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over", went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single "Always on the Run", a tribute to his mother, One song, "Eleutheria", was influenced by the island Eleuthera in The Bahamas where Kravitz built a house and recording studio at that time.

Kravitz released a Greatest Hits album in 2000. It proved to be his most successful album, reaching #2 on the Billboard 200 and selling nearly 11 million copies worldwide and ultimately becoming one of the most commercially successful albums of the decade. The single "Again" earned him his third consecutive Grammy for the Best Male Rock Vocal in the Grammy Awards of 2001. Kravitz also co-wrote the song "God Gave Me Everything" with Mick Jagger in this period, appearing on Jagger's 2001 solo album Goddess in the Doorway and in the film Being Mick.

2001-05: Lenny and Baptism

Kravitz released his sixth album Lenny in October 2001. The album was recorded in Miami. Kravitz wrote the song "Bank Robber Man" after the Miami Police Department detained and cuffed him while walking to the gym with his trainer because police stated that he matched the description of a bank robber. Lenny did not have any identification with him at the time and the police on the scene did not believe that he was indeed Lenny Kravitz. The bank teller who was robbed was then brought to the scene and said Lenny was not the bank robber. Miami Police later sent officers to Lenny's home to apologize for the detention. When asked if he thought the incident was a case of racial profiling, Kravitz said he wasn’t sure although some of the lyrics in the song suggest otherwise. The first single from the album, "Dig In", went to number 1 in Argentina and the top 10 in Italy and Portugal. The video for "Dig In" was originally supposed to be shot at the top of the Empire State Building on September 12, 2001 but the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 caused the location to be moved. The video was later shot off the coast Miami. He won his fourth Grammy in 2002. "Stillness of Heart", "Believe in Me", and "If I Could Fall In Love" were subsequent singles from the album.

Kravitz was the subject of a photo book by former chief photographer for Rolling Stone, Mark Seliger. Published in November 2001, Seliger captures Kravitz on tour, with family, with friends and in posed portraits.

Jay-Z invited Kravitz to appear on the track "Guns and Roses" on his 2002 . Kravitz would also join P. Diddy, Pharrell and Loon on the track "Show Me Your Soul" from the Bad Boys II Soundtrack.

In September 2002, Kravitz appeared alongside other rock stars in the episode "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" of The Simpsons. In early 2003, Kravitz released the track "We Want Peace" as a download-only track as a protest against the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he performed this alongside famous Iraqi singer Kazem Al Saher at Rock The Vote. The track reached #1 on the world internet download charts and MP3.com download chart. Kravitz also appeared on Unity, the official album of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

In late 2004, Kravitz dated superstar actress Nicole Kidman and reportedly dedicated his hit song "Lady" to her. They split in 2005.

Kravitz's seventh album Baptism was released in May 2004. The first single was "Where Are We Runnin'?". The single "California" failed to be commercially successful, but "Storm", featuring Jay-Z, reached the charts. "Calling All Angels" was successful in various countries and a huge hit in Brazil, however it was "Lady" that became the album's surprise hit, making the US Top 30 and propelling "Baptism" to gold status. Also in 2004, he appeared on N.E.R.D's album Fly or Die. From March 2005, Kravitz toured all over the world with the tour Electric Church, which ended at the Brixton Academy, London in July 2005. Kravitz served as the opening act for Aerosmith who are long term friends of Kravitz on their fall 2005 tour. The tour began on October 30 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The night before that tour started, October 29, 2005, Lenny's father TV Producer Sy Kravitz died. During that first show, Lenny broke the news to the stunned crowd and stated it was not a time to be sad but rather a time to celebrate because he is now in Heaven. Lenny then dedicated Let Love Rule to his father. That tour was so successful that it was extended through February 25, 2006 and ended in Anaheim, California.

2006-present: Live Earth, charity work and It Is Time For A Love Revolution

In January 2006, Kravitz contributed "Breathe" to absoluttracks, a project sponsored by Absolut Vodka. This song was re-mixed by ten musical producers and distributed via the internet.

Kravitz appeared in the audience of Madonna's Confessions Tour (2006) during numerous shows. He would later join Madonna live on stage to play guitar on the song, "I Love New York," at the last of four Paris shows.

Lately, Kravitz has founded a design firm named Kravitz Design, stating if he hadn't been a musician he would have been a designer. Kravitz Design, focused on interior and furniture design, has designed residential spaces, as well as a chandelier for the crystal company Swarovski, named "Casino Royale."

On July 7, 2007, Kravitz performed at the Brazilian leg of Live Earth in Rio de Janeiro, making him one of major international rock star to perform two huge free concerts at the world-famous Copacabana Beach along with Macy Gray and the Rolling Stones. Kravitz had already played there on March 21, 2005, drawing 300,000 people on a concert of his own. The Live Earth concert, with eight other acts on the bill, including Pharrell and Macy Gray, took 400,000 to the beach.

Also in 2007, Kravitz released a version of "Cold Turkey" by John Lennon on the charity CD . Kravitz also spent time recording his latest album, It Is Time for a Love Revolution, released February 5, 2008.

On September 25, 2007, the Fats Domino tribute album "Goin' Home ; A Tribute To Fats Domino" was released. Kravitz was on the song "Whole Lotta Lovin'" along with Rebirth Brass Band, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and Maceo Parker.

Kravitz performed at the Grey Cup halftime show in Toronto at the Rogers Centre on November 25, 2007, where the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-19.

The original video for "I'll Be Waiting" was shot in Central Park in New York City with Marc Webb directing but that video was later shelved and a new version, which Kravitz co-directed with Philip Andelman, was filmed in Lenny's New York City recording studio. The video premiered on VH1's Top 20 Countdown at number 3.

On January 17, 2008, Kravitz embarked on a 9 city mini-tour to promote his new album It Is Time for a Love Revolution. The tour started in Santa Monica, California and ended in New York City on February 1. The tour was done in association with Myspace and called the "Get on the Bus" tour. At each stop on the tour, they would pick up one contest winner and their guest and they rode on the "Love Revolution" bus until the end of the tour. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, a close friend of Lenny's would appear at The Orpheum Theater in Boston. The New York City winner, Tyrone Good was presented a train ticket from Penn Station to travel to Philadelphia and rode with the tour the rest of the way starting in Philadelphia (The Electric Factory), Boston (The Orpheum Theater), and finally New York City (The Hammerstein Ballroom). The winners were featured in the YRB February Edition alongside Lenny Kravitz in a magazine pull-out. The photo shoot took place at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia on stage. The winner's pull out was featured in another issue of YRB which had Lil' Wayne on the cover.

On February 11, 2008, Kravitz was admitted to Miami Hospital suffering from severe bronchitis. He had been suffering from a series of severe respiratory tract infections since mid-January, and the illness developed into bronchitis.

Kravitz's illness had forced him to postpone Canadian dates & his trip to Europe to promote his album It Is Time for a Love Revolution. On March 19, 2008 he canceled the South American part of his tour due to the same illness. The decision affected planned concerts in Colombia, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. In Argentina Kravitz had a performance in the biggest rock festival there, Quilmes Rock Fest.

On July 15, Lenny was honored in Milan, Italy with the key to the city in a special toast ceremony for his work with the United Nations Millennium Campaign to end world poverty.

Kravitz made his feature film acting debut in Precious which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2009.

on May 2, 2009.]] During the Italian leg of his 53 date Let Love Rule (20)09 European tour, Kravitz had been instructed to cancel some shows due to a bad bout of bronchitis. Under strict orders from his doctor, the singer was told to rest so that he could make a quick recovery and return to the stage for the rest of his tour. Shows scheduled for Rome on June 5 and Brescia on June 6 were postponed to late July.

Kravitz's next album, tentatively titled Funk, was tentatively re-titled Negrophilia and was due out sometime in 2010. This is believed to be a project that Kravitz has been working on since 1997. Some of the original tracks for Funk were recorded while he was in New Orleans at Allen Toussaint's studio while taking a break for several months from recording in New York City. A video on Kravitz's Twitter page shows him working on one of the songs for the album, called Super Love, in his GTS studios in the Bahamas . Another video shows him working on another track titled Life Ain't Never Been Better Than It Is Now in his GTS Studios. On his Twitter page, Kravitz said that the album title "felt like something else." Eventually the album was later named Black and White America.

It was announced that Kravitz would be supporting U2 on their highly successful 360 Tour on the second North American leg in 2010. Kravitz agreed to support them for 4 shows. Though the shows were postponed until 2011, Kravitz remains committed for 4 of the shows.

In June 2010 it was announced that Kravitz would guest star on an episode of the upcoming season of Entourage.

Personal life

In 1985, Kravitz's parents divorced, which had a profound impact on him. His relationship with his father became extremely strained. Kravitz focused on his music to help him get through this period. That year, Kravitz met actress Lisa Bonet backstage at a New Edition concert. Bonet worked on The Cosby Show, the number one rated show on television. They were close friends for two years before falling in love. Kravitz moved back to New York City where The Cosby Show was produced in 1987, moving in with then girlfriend Bonet. Kravitz and Bonet eloped on November 16, 1987, her 20th birthday, in a Las Vegas ceremony. Kravitz, still known as Romeo Blue at the time, suddenly found himself in the headlines of tabloid newspapers. They had a daughter, Zoë Isabella Kravitz, born on December 1, 1988. Kravitz and Bonet divorced in 1993.

Kravitz identifies himself as a Christian, "through choice but I'm also a Jew, it's all the same to me". He also notes that spirituality "has been an important issue in my growth", given his upbringing by parents of different faiths. Such spirituality is prominently featured on many of his songs, such as the lyrics on his album Baptism, and having his back inscribed with a tattoo stating, "My Heart Belongs to Jesus Christ." During another, "I'm half black, I look in-between."

In 2002, Kravitz was rumored to be engaged to Adriana Lima, although he denied the rumors. In 2003, Lenny Kravitz started to date Nicole Kidman. Later in 2004, the couple broke up. In the September 2007 issue of Vanity Fair, Kidman revealed that she had been secretly engaged to someone after her divorce with Tom Cruise and before her marriage to Keith Urban. Some sources have reported that the "mystery man" is Lenny Kravitz.

Discography

Let Love Rule (1989)

Mama Said (1991)

Are You Gonna Go My Way (1993)

Circus (1995)

5 (1998)

Lenny (2001)

Baptism (2004)

It Is Time for a Love Revolution (2008)

Black and White America (2011)

Filmography

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;" |- bgcolor="#B0C4DE" align="center" ! Year ! Film ! Role ! Notes and Awards |- | 1998 | The Rugrats Movie | Newborn baby | Voice role, minor |- | 2001 | Zoolander | Himself | Cameo role |- | 2001 | Being Mick | Himself | Supporting role |- | 2004 | Rebelde | Himself | Guest Star |- | 2007 | The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (film) | Himself | Cameo role |- | 2009 | Precious | Nurse John | Supporting roleNominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture |- | 2011 | Selma | Himself | Cameo role |}

Tours

H.O.R.D.E. (1995)

Universal Love Tour

Circus Tour

The Freedom Tour

Lenny Tour

The Baptism Tour

Celebration Tour

Electric Church Tour: One Night Only

Get On The Bus Mini-Tour

Love Revolution Tour

LLR 20(09) Tour

2011 U2 360 Tour

Lenny Kravitz will be the opening act for the 2011 U2 360 tour in Seattle (June 4, 2011), Oakland (June 7, 2011) and Anaheim (June 17 & 18,2011).

Awards

MTV Video Music Awards

*1993 - Best Male Video ("Are You Gonna Go My Way?")

Brit Awards

*1994 - International male

VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards

*1998 - Most Fashionable Artist, Male Award

Grammy Awards

*1993 - Best Rock Vocal Solo Performance ("Are You Gonna Go My Way" - Nominee only.)

*1995 - Best Male Rock Vocal Performance ("Rock and Roll Is Dead" - Nominee only.)

*1999 - Best Male Rock Vocal Performance ("Fly Away")

*2000 - Best Male Rock Vocal Performance ("American Woman")

*2001 - Best Male Rock Vocal Performance ("Again")

*2002 - Best Male Rock Vocal Performance ("Dig In")

*2003 - Best Male Rock Vocal Performance ("If I Could Fall In Love" - Nominee only.)

Radio Music Awards

*2001 - Artist of the Year/Pop Alternative Radio

My VH1 Awards

*2001 - Favorite Male Artist

Blockbuster Entertainment Awards

*2001 - Favorite Male Artist - Rock

American Music Awards

*2002 - Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist

Microsoft Windows Media Innovation Awards

2002 - Microsoft Windows Media Innovation Award

See also

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Modern Rock chart

List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart

List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart

List of blues musicians

List of Gibson players

List of Number 1 albums from the 1990s (UK)

List of Number 1 singles from the 1990s (UK)

List of performers on Top of the Pops

List of Saturday Night Live hosts and musical guests

Notes

References

Anderson, Ashely (November 9, 2000). "Brown eyes blue". The Silhouette. Volume 71, Number 12. Retrieved on March 11, 2007.

Cooper, Carol (1990). "Let love rule - Lisa Bonet and husband Lenny Kravitz". Essence Magazine. Retrieved on March 11, 2007.

Halbersberg, Elianne (November 1, 2004). "Flying (Almost) Solo". Mix. Retrieved on March 13, 2007.

"Behind The Music: Lenny Kravitz". Harper, William & Williams, Paulina (Directors). Behind The Music. VH1. June 27, 1999. No. 35, season 2.

Henderson, Ashyia N. (2002). Contemporary Black Biography: Profiles from the International Black Community. Gale Group. ISBN 9780787660499

Pepper, Tracey (July, 1998). "Deep joy - musical artist Lenny Kravitz - Interview". Retrieved on March 12, 2007.

"Artist Profile - Lenny Kravitz". EMI Music Publishing. Retrieved on March 11, 2007.

"HELLO! Profiles - Lenny Kravitz". Hello!. Retrieved on March 11, 2007.

"Lenny Kravitz". Allmusic. Retrieved on September 19, 2007.

"Romeo Blue Discography, Biography and Links". Mr. Bill's I.R.S. Records Corner. Retrieved on March 11, 2007.

Scarlett MacDougal's book series: "Have A Nice Life", refers to the main girl's "intergalactic angel/fairy godmother" as a Lenny Kravitz look-a-like, though his actual name is Clarence Terence. ISBN 0141310200

Sources

Blanc, Michael la (Ed.). Contemporary musicians, Vol. 5, Gale Research, 1991.

Gregory, Hugh. 1000 Great Guitarists. Rock, Jazz, Country, Funk ..., Balafon Books, 1994.

Larkin, Colin. The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Guinness Publishing, 1992.

Martino, Dave di. Singer-songwriters, pop music's performer-composers, from A to Zevon, Billboard Books, 1994.

Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard book of top 40 hits, 5th edition, Watson-Guptill Publications, 1992.

External links

Lenny Kravitz official site

Lenny Kravitz official blog

Lenny Kravitz's French Board

Lenny Kravitz - The Artists Organization - Management

Lenny Kravitz interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' July 2009

Photos of the final concert of the latest tour

|- ! colspan="3" style="background: #DAA520;" | Grammy Award |- |- ! colspan="3" style="background: #DAA520;" | MTV Video Music Awards |-

Category:1964 births Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:African American rock musicians Category:African American guitarists Category:African American singers Category:American child actors Category:American Christians Category:American composers Category:American furniture designers Category:American film actors Category:American male singers Category:American multi-instrumentalists Category:American music video directors Category:American pop musicians Category:American pop singers Category:American record producers Category:American rock guitarists Category:American rock singer-songwriters Category:American voice actors Category:American people of Bahamian descent Category:American musicians of Russian descent Category:American people of Russian descent Category:People of Jewish descent Category:BRIT Award winners Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Lenny Kravitz Category:Living people Category:Musicians from New York City Category:People from Brooklyn Category:Virgin Records artists

Name	Lady Gaga
Img alt	Portrait of a young, pale-skinned Caucasian female with blond hair
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
Born	March 28, 1986New York City, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, piano, synthesizer, keytar
Genre	Pop, dance
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, performance artist, record producer, dancer, businesswoman
Years active	2005–present
Label	Def Jam, Cherrytree, Streamline, Kon Live, Interscope
Url

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American pop singer-songwriter. She began performing in the rock music scene of New York City's Lower East Side in 2003 and enrolled at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She soon signed with Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. During her early time at Interscope, she worked as a songwriter for fellow label artists and captured the attention of Akon, who recognized her vocal abilities, and signed her to his own label, Kon Live Distribution.

Gaga came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album The Fame (2008), which was a commercial success and achieved international popularity with the singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". The album reached number one on the record charts of six countries, accomplished positions within the top-ten worldwide, and topped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart while simultaneously peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. Achieving similar worldwide success, the follow-up EP The Fame Monster (2009), produced a further two global chart-topping singles "Bad Romance" and "Telephone" and allowed her to embark on a second global headlining concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just months after having finished her first, The Fame Ball Tour. Her second studio album, Born This Way, is scheduled for release in 2011.

Inspired by glam rock artists like David Bowie and Queen, as well as pop singers such as Madonna and Michael Jackson, Gaga is well-recognized for her outré sense of style as a recording artist, in fashion, in performance and in her music videos. Her contributions to the music industry have garnered her numerous achievements including two Grammy Awards, amongst twelve nominations; two Guinness World Records; and the estimated sale of fifteen million albums and fifty-one million singles worldwide. Billboard named her as the Artist of the Year in 2010 and ranked her as the 73rd Artist of the 2000s decade. Gaga has been included in Time magazine's annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as Forbes' list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential celebrities in the world. Forbes also placed her at number seven on their annual list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women.

Life and career

1986–2004: Early life

Lady Gaga was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta in New York City on March 28, 1986, the eldest child of Joseph Germanotta, an internet entrepreneur, and Cynthia (née Bissett). She learned to play piano from the age of four, went on to write her first piano ballad at 13 and began performing at open mike nights by age 14. Gaga was raised a Roman Catholic. At the age of 11, Gaga attended Convent of the Sacred Heart, a private all-girls Roman Catholic school on Manhattan's Upper East Side, but has stressed that she does not come from a wealthy background, saying that her parents "both came from lower-class families, so we've worked for everything – my mother worked eight to eight out of the house, in telecommunications, and so did my father."

An avid thespian in high school musicals, Gaga portrayed lead roles as Adelaide in Guys and Dolls and Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. She described her academic life in high school as "very dedicated, very studious, very disciplined" but also "a bit insecure" as she told in an interview, "I used to get made fun of for being either too provocative or too eccentric, so I started to tone it down. I didn’t fit in, and I felt like a freak." Acquaintances dispute that she did not fit in school. "She had a core group of friends; she was a good student. She liked boys a lot, but singing was No. 1," recalled a former high school classmate. Referring to her "expressive, free spirit", Gaga told Elle magazine "I'm left-handed!"

At age 17, Gaga gained early admission to the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and lived in a NYU dorm on 11th Street. There she studied music and improved her songwriting skills by composing essays and analytical papers focusing on topics such as art, religion, social issues and politics. Gaga felt that she was more creative than some of her classmates. "Once you learn how to think about art, you can teach yourself," she said. By the second semester of her sophomore year, she withdrew from the school to focus on her musical career. Her father agreed to pay her rent for a year, on the condition that she re-enroll for Tisch if she was unsuccessful. "I left my entire family, got the cheapest apartment I could find, and ate shit until somebody would listen," she said. Shortly after, her former management company introduced her to songwriter and producer RedOne, whom they also managed. The first song she produced with RedOne was "Boys Boys Boys", She also started the Stefani Germanotta Band with some friends from NYU. They recorded an extended play of their ballads at a studio underneath a liquor store in New Jersey, becoming a local fixture at the downtown Lower East Side club scene. Music producer Rob Fusari, who helped her write some of her earlier songs, compared some of her vocal harmonies to that of Freddie Mercury. He explained,

She was known thereafter as Lady Gaga. The pair began playing gigs at downtown club venues like the Mercury Lounge, The Bitter End, and the Rockwood Music Hall, with their live performance art piece known as "Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue." Billed as "The Ultimate Pop Burlesque Rockshow", their act was a low-fi tribute to 1970s variety acts. In August 2007, Gaga and Starlight were invited to play at the American Lollapalooza music festival. The show was critically acclaimed, and their performance received positive reviews.

Fusari sent the songs he produced with Gaga to his friend, producer and record executive Vincent Herbert. Herbert was quick to sign her to his label Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records, upon its establishment in 2007. She credited Herbert as the man who discovered her, adding "I really feel like we made pop history, and we're gonna keep going." While Gaga was writing at Interscope, singer-songwriter Akon recognized her vocal abilities when she sang a reference vocal for one of his tracks in studio. He then convinced Interscope-Geffen-A&M; Chairman and CEO Jimmy Iovine to form a joint deal by having her also sign with his own label Kon Live Distribution Gaga continued her collaboration with RedOne in the recording studio for a week on her debut album The album peaked at number one in United Kingdom, Canada, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Ireland, and the top-five in Australia, the United States and fifteen other countries. Worldwide, The Fame has sold over fourteen million copies. Its lead single "Just Dance" topped the charts in six countries – Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States – and later received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording. The following single "Poker Face" was an even greater success, reaching number-one in almost all major music markets in the world, including the United Kingdom and the United States. It won the award for Best Dance Recording at the 52nd Grammy Awards, over nominations for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. The Fame was nominated for Album of the Year; it won the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Although her first concert tour happened as an opening act for fellow Interscope pop group, the reformed New Kids on the Block, she ultimately headlined her own worldwide concert tour, The Fame Ball Tour, which was critically appreciated and began in March 2009; culminating in September of that year. The cover of the annual "Hot 100" issue of Rolling Stone in May 2009 featured a semi-nude Gaga wearing only strategically placed plastic bubbles. She was nominated for a total of nine awards at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, winning the award for Best New Artist, while her single "Paparazzi" won two awards for Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects. In October, Gaga received Billboard magazine's Rising Star of 2009 award. She attended the Human Rights Campaign's "National Dinner" the same month, before marching in the National Equality March for the equal protection of LGBT people in all matters governed by US civil law in Washington, D.C.

|alt= Profile of a young blond woman. Her hair falls in waves up to her shoulders. She wears a purple leotard with visible sequins attached. Ample bosom, arm and leg are visible.]] Written over the course of 2008–09, The Fame Monster, a collection of eight songs, was released in November 2009. Each song, dealing with the darker side of fame from personal experience while she travelled the world, is expressed through a monster metaphor. Its first single "Bad Romance" topped the charts in eighteen countries, while reaching the top-two in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. In the US, Gaga became the first artist in digital history to have three singles (along with "Just Dance" and "Poker Face") to pass the four million mark in digital sales. The song received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance while its accompanying music video was nominated for Best Short Form Music Video. The album's second single "Telephone", which features singer Beyoncé, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and became Gaga's fourth UK number-one single while its accompanying music video, although controversial, was met mostly positive reception from contemporary critics: praising her for "the musicality and showmanship of Michael Jackson and the powerful sexuality and provocative instincts of Madonna." Her following single "Alejandro" paired Gaga with fashion photographer Steven Klein for a music video similarly as controversial – critics complimented its idea and dark nature, but the Catholic League attacked Gaga for her use of blasphemy. Despite the controversy surrounding her music videos, they have made Gaga one of the first artists to gain over one billion viral views on video-sharing website YouTube. Musically, The Fame Monster has also received abundant success. Equating to the amount of Grammy nominations her debut received, The Fame Monster garnered a total of six – among them Best Pop Vocal Album and her second-consecutive nomination for Album of the Year. The success of the album allowed Gaga to embark on her second headlining worldwide concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just weeks after the release of The Fame Monster and months after having finished her first. Upon finishing in May 2011, the critically acclaimed and commercially accomplished concert tour will have ran for over one and a half years. Additionally, Gaga has performed other songs from the album at international events like the 2009 Royal Variety Performance where she sang "Speechless", a power ballad, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II; the 52nd Grammy Awards where her opening performance consisted of the song "Poker Face" and a piano duet of "Speechless" in a medley of "Your Song" with Elton John; and the 2010 BRIT Awards where a performance of an acoustic rendition of "Telephone" followed by "Dance in the Dark" dedicated to the late fashion designer and close friend, Alexander McQueen, supplemented her hat-trick win at the awards ceremony.

Barbara Walters chose Gaga as one the "10 Most Fascinating People of 2009" for her annual ABC News special. When interviewed by the journalist, Gaga dismissed the claim that she is intersex as an urban legend. Responding to a question on this issue, she stated, "At first it was very strange and everyone sorta said, 'That's really quite a story!' But in a sense, I portray myself in a very androgynous way, and I love androgyny." Excited about bringing back Polaroid and "combining it with the digital era", Gaga was named Chief Creative Officer for a line of imaging products for the international optic company in January 2010 with the intent of creating fashion, technology and photography products. Her production team, Mermaid Music LLC, was sued in March by Rob Fusari; claiming that he was entitled to a 20% share of its earnings. Gaga's lawyer, Charles Ortner, described the agreement with Fusari as "unlawful" and declined to comment, however, five months later, the New York Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit. In April, Gaga was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of the year. While giving an interview to The Times, Gaga hinted at having Systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly referred to as lupus, which is a connective tissue disease. She later confirmed with Larry King that she does not have lupus but "the results were borderline positive".

2010–present: Born This Way

Gaga's second studio album and third major release Born This Way, whose title was announced during her acceptance speech for Video of the Year at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, will be released on May 23, 2011. Its arrival will follow the release of its lead single on February 13, 2011. These dates were tweeted by Gaga at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day, 2011. Described as "a marriage of electronic music with major [...] metal or rock 'n' roll, pop, anthemic style melodies with really sledge-hammering dance beats", Born This Way will be Gaga's third release in three years. She stated, "It came so quickly. I've been working on [the album] for months, and I feel very strongly that it's finished right now. Some artists take years. I don't. I write music every day." With two tracks already confirmed by Gaga – one she has been performing during The Monster Ball Tour, she has referred to the album as "the greatest" of the decade about "what keeps us up at night and what makes us afraid." Likening Born This Way to "bad kids going to church" that are "having fun on a high level", Gaga characterized her new music as "something so much deeper than a wig or lipstick or a fucking meat dress" and upon hearing it, Akon remarked that she will take music to the "next level."

Lending her vocal talent elsewhere, Gaga also paired with Elton John to record an original duet for the soundtrack to the forthcoming animated Disney feature film Gnomeo and Juliet. The song, titled "Hello, Hello", is scheduled for release in February 2011.

Musical style and influences

Gaga has been influenced by glam rock artists such as David Bowie and Queen, as well as pop music artists such as Madonna, Britney Spears and Michael Jackson. The Queen song "Radio Ga Ga" inspired her stage name, "Lady Gaga". She commented: "I adored Freddie Mercury and Queen had a hit called 'Radio Gaga'. That's why I love the name [...] Freddie was unique – one of the biggest personalities in the whole of pop music."

Gaga's vocals have drawn frequent comparison to those of Madonna and Gwen Stefani, while the structure of her music is said to echo classic 1980s pop and 1990s Europop. While reviewing her debut album The Fame, The Sunday Times asserted "in combining music, fashion, art and technology, Lady GaGa evokes Madonna, Gwen Stefani circa 'Hollaback Girl', Kylie Minogue 2001 or Grace Jones right now." Similarly, The Boston Globe critic Sarah Rodman commented that she draws "obvious inspirations from Madonna to Gwen Stefani... in [her] girlish but sturdy pipes and bubbly beats." Though her lyrics are said to lack intellectual stimulation, "[she] does manage to get you moving and grooving at an almost effortless pace." Music critic Simon Reynolds wrote that "Everything about Gaga came from electroclash, except the music, which wasn't particularly 1980s, just ruthlessly catchy naughties pop glazed with Auto-Tune and undergirded with R&B;-ish beats.

Gaga has identified fashion as a major influence. Her love of fashion came from her mother, who she stated was "always very well kept and beautiful." Entertainment Weekly put her outfits on its end of the decade "best-of" list, saying, "Whether it's a dress made of Muppets or strategically placed bubbles, Gaga's outré ensembles brought performance art into the mainstream."

Critical reception of Gaga's music, fashion sense and persona are mixed. Her status as a role model, trailblazer and fashion icon is by turns affirmed and denied. Gaga's albums have received mostly positive reviews, Her role as a self-esteem booster for her fans is also lauded, as is her role in breathing life into the fashion industry. Her performances are described as "highly entertaining and innovative"; in particular, the blood-spurting performance of "Paparazzi" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was described as "eye-popping" by MTV. She continued the "blood soaked" theme in The Monster Ball Tour, in which she wore a revealing leather corset and is "attacked" by a performer dressed in black who gnaws on her throat, causing "blood" to spurt down her chest, after which she lies "dying" in a pool of blood. Her performances of that scene in Manchester, England triggered protests from family groups and fans in the aftermath of a local tragedy, in which a taxi driver had murdered 12 people. "What happened in Bradford is very fresh in people's minds and given all the violence which happened in Cumbria just hours earlier, it was insensitive," said Lynn Costello of Mothers Against Violence. Chris Rock later defended her flamboyant, provocative behavior. "Well, she's Lady Gaga," he said. "She's not 'Lady Behave Yourself.' Do you want great behavior from a person named Gaga? Is this what you were expecting?" She later returned to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards wearing a dress which was supplemented by boots, a purse and a hat—each fabricated from the flesh of a dead animal. The dress, named Time magazine's Fashion Statement of 2010 and more widely known as the "meat dress", was made by Argentinian designer Franc Fernandez and received divided opinions—evoking the attention of worldwide media but invoking the fury of animal rights organization PETA. Gaga, however, later denied any intention of causing disrespect to any person or organization and wished for the dress to be interpreted as a statement of human rights with focus upon those in the LGBT community.

Gaga's treatment of her fans as "Little Monsters" has inspired criticism, due to the highly commercial nature of her music and image. Camille Paglia wrote a cover story "Lady Gaga and the death of sex" on September 12, 2010, in The Sunday Times in which she asserts that Gaga "is more an identity thief than an erotic taboo breaker, a mainstream manufactured product who claims to be singing for the freaks, the rebellious and the dispossessed when she is none of those."

Public image

Contrary to her outré style, the New York Post described her early look as like "a refugee from Jersey Shore" with "big black hair, heavy eye makeup and tight, revealing clothes." She has another six known tattoos, among them a peace symbol, which was inspired by John Lennon whom she stated was her hero, Towards the end of 2008, comparisons were made between the fashions of Gaga and fellow recording artist Christina Aguilera that noted similarities in their styling, hair, and make-up. Comparisons continued into 2010 when Aguilera released the music video of her single "Not Myself Tonight". Critics noted similarities between the song and its accompanying music video with Gaga's video for "Bad Romance". There have also been similar comparisons made between Gaga's style and that of fashion icon Dale Bozzio from the band Missing Persons. Some have considered their respective images to be strikingly parallel although fans of Missing Persons note that Bozzio had pioneered the look more than thirty years earlier.

Gaga's influence on modern culture and society has provoked the University of South Carolina into offering a full-time course titled "Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame" in the objective of unravelling "the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga with respect to her music, videos, fashion, and other artistic endeavors".

Philanthropy

Besides her career in music, Gaga has enhanced her repertoire as a philanthropist who has contributed to various charities and humanitarianism works.

Although declining an invitation to record a benefit song, Gaga held a concert of The Monster Ball Tour following the 2010 Haiti earthquake and dedicated it to the country’s reconstruction relief fund. This concert, held at the Radio City Music Hall, New York, on January 24, 2010, donated any received revenue to the relief fund while, in addition, all profits from sales of products on Gaga’s official online store on that same day were donated. Gaga announced that an estimated total of $500,000 was collected for the fund.

Gaga also contributes in the fight against HIV and AIDS with the focus upon educating young women about the risks of the disease. In collaboration with Cyndi Lauper, Gaga joined forces with MAC Cosmetics to launch a line of lipstick under their supplementary cosmetic line, Viva Glam. Titled Viva Glam Gaga and Viva Glam Cyndi for each contributor respectively, all net proceeds of the lipstick line were donated to the cosmetic company’s campaign to prevent HIV and AIDS worldwide. In a press release, Gaga declared, "I don't want Viva Glam to be just a lipstick you buy to help a cause. I want it to be a reminder when you go out at night to put a condom in your purse right next to your lipstick."

, October 11, 2009|alt=A blond woman speaking on a kiosk. She wears a white shirt and black glasses. Behind her, the balcony of a building is visible.]] Gaga attributes much of her early success as a mainstream artist to her gay fans and is considered to be a rising gay icon. Early in her career she had difficulty getting radio airplay, and stated, "The turning point for me was the gay community. I've got so many gay fans and they're so loyal to me and they really lifted me up. They'll always stand by me and I'll always stand by them. It's not an easy thing to create a fanbase." She thanked FlyLife, a Manhattan-based LGBT marketing company with whom her label Interscope works, in the liner notes of The Fame, saying, "I love you so much. You were the first heartbeat in this project, and your support and brilliance means the world to me. I will always fight for the gay community hand in hand with this incredible team." One of her first televised performances was in May 2008 at the NewNowNext Awards, an awards show aired by the LGBT television network Logo, where she sang her song "Just Dance". In June of the same year, she performed the song again at the San Francisco Pride event.

After The Fame was released, she revealed that the song "Poker Face" was about her bisexuality. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she spoke about how her boyfriends tended to react to her bisexuality, saying "The fact that I'm into women, they're all intimidated by it. It makes them uncomfortable. They're like, 'I don't need to have a threesome. I'm happy with just you'." She proclaimed that the October 11, 2009, National Equality March rally on the national mall was "the single most important event of her career." As she exited, she left with an exultant "Bless God and bless the gays," At the rally, she performed a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" declaring that "I'm not going to [play] one of my songs tonight because tonight is not about me, it's about you." She changed the original lyrics of the song to reflect the death of Matthew Shepard, a college student murdered because of his sexuality. In September 2010, she spoke at a rally in favor of repealing the US military's Don't ask, don't tell policy, which prohibits lesbian, gay and bisexual people from serving openly, and released an online video urging her fans to contact their Senators in an effort to get the policy overturned. Editors of The Advocate commented that she had become the "fierce advocate" for gays and lesbians that future president Barack Obama had promised to be during his campaign.

Discography

The Fame (2008)

The Fame Monster (2009)

Born This Way (2011)

Tours

The Fame Ball Tour (2009)

The Monster Ball Tour (2009–11)

Awards and nominations

See also

Honorific nicknames in popular music

List of best-selling music artists

References

Further reading

External links

Year in Gaga: A Provocative 2010 — slideshow by Life magazine

Category:1986 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American dance musicians Category:American electronic musicians Category:American female pop singers Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Bisexual musicians Category:BRIT Award winners Category:English-language singers Category:Feminist artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Interscope Records artists Category:Keytarists Category:LGBT musicians from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Living people Category:New York University alumni Category:Singers from New York Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:Wonky Pop acts

Name	Justin Bieber
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Justin Drew Bieber
Born	March 01, 1994
Origin	Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, percussion,
Genre	Pop, R&B; ( , born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian pop-R&B; singer. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who happened to come across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with Usher in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher, and then to a recording contract with Island Records offered by L.A. Reid. His first full studio release, My World 2.0, was released on March 23, 2010 and has since received similar success; it debuted at number one and within the top ten of several countries and was certified platinum in the United States. It was preceded by the worldwide top-ten single, "Baby," in January 2010.
Name	Bieber, Justin
Short description	Canadian singer
Date of birth	March 1, 1994
Place of birth	Stratford, Ontario, Canada

Category:1994 births Category:Living people Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Canadian child singers Category:Canadian dance musicians Category:Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Category:Canadian Internet personalities Category:Canadian male singers Category:Canadian pop singers Category:Canadian rhythm and blues singers Category:Hip hop singers Category:Island Records artists Category:Musicians from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Musicians from Ontario Category:People from Stratford, Ontario Category:Canadian people of German descent

Name	Julian Assange
Caption	Assange in 2010
Birth date	July 03, 1971
Birth place	Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Alma mater	University of Melbourne
Occupation	Editor-in-chief and spokesperson for WikiLeaks
Awards	Economist Freedom of Expression Award (2008)Amnesty International UK Media Award (2009)Sam Adams Award (2010)
Death date
Nationality	Australian

Julian Paul Assange ( ; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian publisher, software developer and Internet activist. He is the founder, spokesperson, and editor in chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and conduit for worldwide news leaks, with the stated purpose of creating open governments. Assange has worked as a computer programmer and was a hacker during his youth. In 2010, he published classified details about American involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. On 28 November 2010, WikiLeaks and its five media partners began publishing secret US diplomatic cables. The White House has called Assange's release of the diplomatic cables "reckless and dangerous" while sources in the Kremlin linked to President Dmitry Medvedev suggested that he "could be awarded a Nobel prize."

For his work with WikiLeaks Assange has received glowing praise and accolades, along with public condemnation and calls for his execution. He received a number of awards and nominations, including the 2009 Amnesty International Media Award for publishing material about extrajudicial killings in Kenya and Readers' Choice for Time magazine's 2010 Person of the Year. He is currently on bail and under house arrest in England pending an extradition hearing. Assange has denied the allegations and claimed that they are politically motivated.

Early life

Assange was born in Townsville, Queensland, and spent much of his youth living on Magnetic Island.

When he was one year old, his mother Christine married theatre director Brett Assange, who gave him his surname. Brett and Christine Assange ran a touring theatre company. His stepfather, Julian's first "real dad", described Julian as "a very sharp kid" with "a keen sense of right and wrong". "He always stood up for the underdog... he was always very angry about people ganging up on other people." and other organisations, via modem. After they split up, they engaged in a lengthy custody struggle, and did not agree on a custody arrangement until 1999. The entire process prompted Assange and his mother to form Parent Inquiry Into Child Protection, an activist group centered on creating a "central databank" for otherwise inaccessible legal records related to child custody issues in Australia. Starting in 1994, he lived in Melbourne as a programmer and a developer of free software. He helped to write the book (1997), which credits him as a researcher and reports his history with International Subversives. On his personal web page, he described having represented his university at the Australian National Physics Competition around 2005. In his blog he wrote, "the more secretive or unjust an organisation is, the more leaks induce fear and paranoia in its leadership and planning coterie.... Since unjust systems, by their nature induce opponents, and in many places barely have the upper hand, mass leaking leaves them exquisitely vulnerable to those who seek to replace them with more open forms of governance."

Assange sits on Wikileaks's nine-member advisory board, and has stated that he has the final decision in the process of vetting documents submitted to the site. In 2006, CounterPunch called him "Australia's most infamous former computer hacker." The Age has called him "one of the most intriguing people in the world" and "internet's freedom fighter."

WikiLeaks has been involved in the publication of material documenting extrajudicial killings in Kenya, a report of toxic waste dumping on the coast of Côte d'Ivoire, Church of Scientology manuals, Guantanamo Bay procedures, the 12 July 2007 Baghdad airstrike video, and material involving large banks such as Kaupthing and Julius Baer among other documents.

Public appearances

, 2009]] In addition to exercising great authority and editorial control within WikiLeaks, Assange acts as its public face. He has appeared at media conferences such as New Media Days '09 in Copenhagen, He announced that the WikiLeaks submission system was again up and running, after it had been temporarily suspended. Assange was a surprise speaker at a TED conference on 19 July 2010 in Oxford, and confirmed that WikiLeaks was now accepting submissions again. He said that "from Australia's point of view, we think there are potentially a number of criminal laws that could have been breached by the release of this information. The Australian Federal Police are looking at that". McClelland would not rule out the possibility that Australian authorities will cancel Assange's passport, and warned him that he might face charges should he return to Australia. As of 11 December 2010 only 1295 cables have been released, or 0.5 percent of the total. In relation to its ongoing investigations of WikiLeaks, on the 14 December 2010 the US DoJ issued a subpoena ordering Twitter to release information relating to Assange's account, amongst others.

Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg said that Assange "is serving our [American] democracy and serving our rule of law precisely by challenging the secrecy regulations, which are not laws in most cases, in this country." On the issue of national security considerations for the US, Ellsberg added that "He's obviously a very competent guy in many ways. I think his instincts are that most of this material deserves to be out. We are arguing over a very small fragment that doesn’t. He has not yet put out anything that hurt anybody's national security". Assange told London reporters that the leaked cables showed US ambassadors around the world were ordered "to engage in espionage behavior" which he said seemed to be "representative of a gradual shift to a lack of rule of law in US institutions that needs to be exposed and that we have been exposing."

Role as a publisher

Assange received the 2009 Media award from Amnesty International, and he has been recognized as a journalist by the Centre for Investigative Journalism. In December 2010, US State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley objected to the description of Assange as a journalist, and also stated that the US State Department does not regard WikiLeaks as a media organization. In response to a question from the press, Crowley said; "I think he’s an anarchist, but he’s not a journalist." Alex Massie wrote an article in The Spectator called "Yes, Julian Assange is a journalist", but acknowledged that "newsman" might be a better description of Assange.

Financial sanctions

On 6 December, the Swiss bank, PostFinance, announced that it had frozen assets of Assange's totalling 31,000 euros, because he had "provided false information regarding his place of residence" when opening the account. MasterCard, Visa Inc., and Bank of America also halted dealings with Wikileaks. Assange described these actions as "business McCarthyism". The English-language Swedish newspaper web-site "Local" quoted Assange on 27 Dec 2010 as saying that legal costs for the whistleblowing website and his own defence had reached £500,000. The decisions to halt donations to WikiLeaks by Visa, MasterCard and PayPal had cost it £425,000, the same amount it costs the website to publish for six months. Assange claimed WikiLeaks had been receiving as much as £85,000 a day at its peak.

Autobiography

In December 2010 Assange sold the publishing rights to his autobiography for over £1million. He told the Sunday Times that he was forced to enter the deals for an autobiography due to the financial difficulties he and the site encountered, he told them "I don't want to write this book, but I have to. I have already spent £200,000 for legal costs and I need to defend myself and to keep WikiLeaks afloat".

Criticism

In July 2010, after WikiLeaks released classified documents related to the war in Afghanistan, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen, said in an interview with Democracy now, "Disagree with the war all you want, take issue with the policy, challenge me or our ground commanders on the decisions we make to accomplish the mission we’ve been given, but don’t put those who willingly go into harm’s way even further in harm’s way just to satisfy your need to make a point. Mr. Assange can say whatever he likes about the greater good he thinks he and his source are doing, but the truth is, they might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldier or that of an Afghan family." Assange responded, "There is, as far as we can tell, no incident of that. So it is a speculative charge. Of course, we are treating any possible revelation of the names of innocents seriously. That is why we held back 15,000 of these documents, to review that. ...it’s really quite fantastic that Robert Gates and Mullen...being the former head of the CIA during Iran-Contra and the overseer of Iraq and Afghanistan, and Mullen being the military commander for Iraq and Afghanistan—I’m not sure what his further background is, who have ordered assassinations every day, are trying to bring people on board to look at a speculative understanding of whether we might have blood on our hands. These two men arguably are wading in the blood from those wars."

On 29 November 2010, in the aftermath of WikiLeaks release of more classified American documents Sarah Palin wrote of Assange on her Facebook page, "He is an anti-American operative with blood on his hands. His past posting of classified documents revealed the identity of more than 100 Afghan sources to the Taliban. Why was he not pursued with the same urgency we pursue al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders?" she added, "Assange is not a 'journalist', any more than the 'editor' of al-Qaeda's new English-language magazine Inspire is a 'journalist'."

A number of political and media commentators, as well as current and former US government officials, have accused Assange of terrorism. US Vice President Joe Biden argued that Assange was "closer to being a high-tech terrorist than the Pentagon papers." In May 2010 Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had used the phrase, calling Assange "a high-tech terrorist", and saying "he has done enormous damage to our country. I think he needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law".

Also in May 2010, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said: "Information terrorism, which leads to people getting killed, is terrorism, and Julian Assange is engaged in terrorism. He should be treated as an enemy combatant." In December 2010 former Nixon aide and talk radio host G. Gordon Liddy told WorldNetDaily, "Julian Assange is a severe national security threat to the U.S., and that then leads to what to do about it. This fellow Anwar al-Awlaki – a joint U.S. citizen hiding out in Yemen – is on a 'kill list' [for inciting terrorism against the U.S.]. Mr. Assange should be put on the same list."

Support

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, former president of Brazil, expressed his "solidarity" with Assange following his 2010 arrest in the United Kingdom. He further criticised the arrest of Assange as "an attack on freedom of expression".

Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin condemned Assange’s detention as "undemocratic". A source within the office of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggested that Assange be nominated for a Nobel Prize, and said that "Public and non-governmental organisations should think of how to help him."

In December 2010, the United Nations' Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Frank LaRue, said Assange or other WikiLeaks staff should not face legal accountability for any information they disseminated, noting that "if there is a responsibility by leaking information it is of, exclusively of the person that made the leak and not of the media that publish it. And this is the way that transparency works and that corruption has been confronted in many cases."

Daniel Ellsberg, who was working in the U.S. Department of Defense when he leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, was a signatory to a statement by an international group of former intelligence officers and ex-government officials in support of Assange’s work, which was released in late December 2010. Other signatories included David MacMichael, Ray McGovern, and five recipients of annual Sam Adams Award: Frank Grevil, Katharine Gun, Craig Murray, Coleen Rowley and Larry Wilkerson. Ellsberg has said, "If I released the Pentagon Papers today, the same rhetoric and the same calls would be made about me ... I would be called not only a traitor — which I was [called] then, which was false and slanderous — but I would be called a terrorist... Assange and Bradley Manning are no more terrorists than I am."

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has come under widespread condemnation and a backlash within her own party for failing to support Assange after calling the leaks "an illegal act" and suggesting that his Australian passport should be cancelled. Hundreds of lawyers, academics and journalists came forward in his support with Attorney-General Robert McClelland, unable to explain how Assange had broken Australian law. Opposition Legal Affairs spokesman, Senator George Brandis, a Queen's Counsel, accused Gillard of being "clumsy" with her language, stating, "As far as I can see, he (Assange) hasn't broken any Australian law, nor does it appear he has broken any American laws." Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, who supports Assange, stated that any decision to cancel the passport would be his, not Gillard's. Queen's Counsel Peter Faris, who acted for Assange in a hacking case 15 years ago, said that the motives of Swedish authorities in seeking Assange's extradition for alleged sex offences are suspect: "You have to say: why are they [Sweden] pursuing it? It's pretty obvious that if it was Bill Bloggs, they wouldn't be going to the trouble." Following the Swedish Embassy issuing of a "prepared and unconvincing reply" in response to letters of protest, Gillard was called on to send a message to Sweden "querying the way charges were laid, investigated and dropped, only to be picked up again by a different prosecutor."

On 10 December 2010 over five hundred people rallied outside Sydney Town Hall and about three hundred and fifty people gathered in Brisbane where Assange's lawyer, Rob Stary, criticised Julia Gillard's position, telling the rally that the Australian government was a "sycophant" of the US. A petition circulated by GetUp!, who have placed full page ads in support of Assange in The New York Times and The Washington Times, received more than signatures. Accepting the award, Assange said, "It is a reflection of the courage and strength of Kenyan civil society that this injustice was documented." Readers' Choice in Time magazine's Person of the Year poll, and runner-up for Person of the Year., and an informal poll of editors at Postmedia Network named him the top newsmaker for the year after six out of 10 felt Assange had "affected profoundly how information is seen and delivered".

Le Monde named him person of the year with fifty six percent of the votes in their online poll. Le Monde is one of the five publications to cooperate with Wikileaks' publication of the recent document leaking.

Allegations of sexual assault

On 20 August 2010, Swedish police opened an investigation against Assange in connection with sexual encounters with two women, aged 26 and 31, one in Enköping and the other in Stockholm. Within hours, Stockholm's chief prosecutor Eva Finne reviewed the case and dropped the rape investigation, saying there was insufficient evidence to suggest rape but kept open the molestation investigation, and on 30 August Stockholm police questioned Assange. He denied the allegations, saying he had consensual sexual encounters with the two women.

Claes Borgström, who represents the two women, appealed against the decision to drop the rape investigation. The Swedish Director of Public Prosecution then reopened and expanded the investigation on 1 September. Swedish investigators reinterviewed the two women, wanting to clarify their allegations before talking to Assange but he left Sweden on 27 September, according to statements in UK court, and refused to return to Stockholm for questioning in October, according to Borgström. According to Assange's lawyer, Mark Stephens, Assange made repeated attempts to contact the prosecution, spending over a month in Stockholm before obtaining permission to leave the country, with the Swedish prosecution stating an interview would not be required.

On 18 November 2010 the Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny asked the local district court for a warrant for Assange in order for him to be heard by the prosecutor. The court ordered detention as a suspect with probable cause for rape, sexual assault, and coercion. An appeal from the legal representatives of Assange was turned down by the Svea Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Sweden declined to hear the case. On 6 December 2010, Scotland Yard notified Assange that a valid European arrest warrant had been received. He presented himself to the Metropolitan Police the next morning and was remanded to London's Wandsworth Prison. On 16 December he was granted bail and placed under house arrest at Ellingham Hall, Norfolk, the High Court Judge rejected the prosecution's argument that he was a flight risk. Bail was set at £240,000 surety with £200,000 ($312,700) required to be actually deposited in the courts account.

On release Assange said "I hope to continue my work and continue to protest my innocence in this matter," Assange claimed that the extradition proceedings to Sweden were "actually an attempt to get me into a jurisdiction which will then make it easier to extradite me to the US." Swedish prosecutors have denied the case has anything to do with WikiLeaks. His defence team outlined seven strands of their argument, including a challenge for abuse of process as well as the potential risks to Assange's person were he "rendered" to the US.

Residency

Though an Australian citizen, Assange has not had a permanent address for several years. Assange has described himself as constantly on the move. He has lived for periods in Australia, Kenya and Tanzania, and began renting a house in Iceland on 30 March 2010, from which he and other activists, including Birgitta Jónsdóttir, worked on the 'Collateral Murder' video. In December 2010 it was reported that US Ambassador to Switzerland Donald S Beyer had warned the Swiss government against offering asylum to Assange.

In late November 2010, Deputy Foreign Minister Kintto Lucas of Ecuador spoke about giving Assange residency with "no conditions... so he can freely present the information he possesses and all the documentation, not just over the Internet but in a variety of public forums". Lucas believed that Ecuador may benefit from initiating a dialogue with Assange. Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino stated on 30 November that the residency application would "have to be studied from the legal and diplomatic perspective". A few hours later, President Rafael Correa stated that WikiLeaks "committed an error by breaking the laws of the United States and leaking this type of information... no official offer was [ever] made." Correa noted that Lucas was speaking "on his own behalf"; additionally, he will launch an investigation into possible ramifications Ecuador would suffer from the release of the cables. He was ultimately released, in part because journalist Vaughan Smith offered to provide Assange with an address for bail during the extradition proceedings, Smith's Norfolk mansion, Ellingham Hall.

References

External links

Full coverage at Aljazeera

Profile: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange at BBC News

Julian Assange: Hero or Villain? – slideshow by Life magazine

Archived versions of the home page on Julian Assange's web site iq.org (at the Internet Archive)

Russia Today via You tube">WikiLeaks editor on Apache combat video: No excuse for US killing civilians - April 2010. Russia Today via You tube

Interview with Julian Assange on release of Afghan war files - 1 August 2010 Russia Today via YouTube

Julian Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks - July 2010 video at ted.com

Frost Over the World - Julian Assange - December 2010. Al Jazeera English via You tube

Category:1971 births Category:Australian Internet personalities Category:Australian activists Category:Australian computer programmers Category:Australian journalists Category:Australian whistleblowers Category:Internet activists Category:Living people Category:People from Townsville, Queensland Category:University of Melbourne alumni Category:WikiLeaks

Honorific-prefix	The Honourable
Name	Julia Gillard
Honorific-suffix	MP
Office	27th Prime Minister of AustraliaElections: 2010
Deputy	Wayne Swan
Term start	24 June 2010
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Predecessor	Kevin Rudd
Office2	Leader of the Labor Party
Deputy2	Wayne Swan
Term start2	24 June 2010
Predecessor2	Kevin Rudd
Office3	13th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
Primeminister3	Kevin Rudd
Term start3	3 December 2007
Term end3	24 June 2010
Predecessor3	Mark Vaile
Successor3	Wayne Swan
Office4	19th Minister for Education
Primeminister4	Kevin Rudd
Term start4	3 December 2007
Term end4	28 June 2010
Predecessor4	Julie Bishop (Education, Science and Training)
Successor4	Simon Crean
Office5	Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Primeminister5	Kevin Rudd
Term start5	3 December 2007
Term end5	28 June 2010
Predecessor5	Joe Hockey
Successor5	Simon Crean
Office6	1st Minister for Social Inclusion
Primeminister6	Kevin Rudd
Term start6	3 December 2007
Term end6	28 June 2010
Predecessor6	Position established
Successor6	Simon Crean
Constituency mp7	Lalor
Parliament7	Australian
Term start7	3 October 1998
Predecessor7	Barry Jones
Birth date	September 29, 1961
Birth place	Barry, United Kingdom
Party	Australian Labor Party
Residence	The Lodge
Religion
Partner	Tim Mathieson (2006-present)
Signature	Julia Gillard Signature.svg
Website	Prime Minister's websiteParliamentary websiteALP website

Julia Eileen Gillard (, born 29 September 1961) is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia since June 2010.

Gillard was elected at the 1998 federal election to the House of Representatives seat of Lalor, Victoria for the Australian Labor Party. Following the 2001 federal election, Gillard was elected to the shadow cabinet with the portfolios of Population and Immigration. The Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs and the Health portfolios were added in 2003. In December 2006, Kevin Rudd was elected Labor leader and Leader of the Opposition, with Gillard as deputy leader.

Gillard became the Deputy Prime Minister upon Labor's victory in the 2007 federal election, also serving as Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. On , after Rudd lost the support of his party and stood aside, Gillard became federal leader of the Australian Labor Party and thus the Prime Minister, the first female holder of the office.

The 2010 federal election saw the incumbent Gillard Labor government elected to a second term over the Tony Abbott-led Coalition opposition, forming a minority government with support of an Australian Greens MP and three independent MPs.

Early life

Gillard was born in 1961 in Barry, Wales, United Kingdom. Her parents, John and Moira, live in Pasadena, South Australia. She has a sister, Alison, who is three years older.

Gillard's father worked as a psychiatric nurse, while her mother worked at the local Salvation Army nursing home. She then studied at the University of Adelaide but cut short her courses in 1982 and moved to Melbourne to work with the Australian Union of Students. She graduated from the University of Melbourne with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees in 1986.

In 1987, Gillard joined the law firm Slater & Gordon at Werribee, Melbourne, working in industrial law. In 1990, at the age of 29, she was admitted as a partner.

From 1996 to 1998, Gillard served as Chief of Staff to John Brumby, at that time the Victorian opposition leader. She also played a role in the foundation of EMILY's List, the pro-choice fund-raising and support network for Labor women.

The Welsh Labour politician Aneurin "Nye" Bevan remains one of her political heroes.

Opposition member

Gillard was elected as Member for Lalor, a safe Labor seat near Melbourne, in the House of Representatives at the 1998 election, replacing Barry Jones, who had retired. She made her first speech to the house on 11 November 1998.

Shadow Minister for Population and Immigration: 2001–2003

After Labor's defeat at the 2001 election, Gillard was elected to the shadow cabinet, with the portfolio of population and immigration. In February 2003, she was given the additional portfolios of reconciliation and Indigenous affairs.

In the wake of the Tampa and Children Overboard affairs, which were partly credited with Labor's 2001 election loss, Gillard developed a new immigration policy for the Labor Party. Shortly after this, the government moved Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott to the health portfolio. The rivalry between Abbott and Gillard often attracted attention from the media. She gained additional responsibility for managing opposition business in the House of Representatives.

In the aftermath of the Labor loss at the October 2004 election, it was speculated that Gillard might challenge Jenny Macklin for the deputy leadership, but she did not do so.

Gillard had been spoken of as a potential future leader of the party for some years but, until 2005, she stayed out of leadership contests. After Mark Latham resigned as leader in January 2005, however, she emerged as a possible successor along with Kim Beazley and Kevin Rudd.

After appearing on the ABC's Australian Story program in March 2006, an Ipsos Mackay poll in April 2006, conducted for Network Ten's Meet the Press program, found that respondents would prefer Gillard to be Labor leader. She polled 32% compared with Beazley's 25% and Kevin Rudd's 18%. Although she had significant cross-factional support, she announced on 25 January 2005 that she would not contest the leadership, allowing Beazley to be elected unopposed.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition

On 1 December 2006, in a cross-factional political partnership with Kevin Rudd, Gillard launched a challenge for the deputy leadership of the ALP. Once Rudd was elected as leader, the incumbent deputy leader and Kim Beazley's deputy, Jenny Macklin, chose not to contest the position and on 4 December 2006 she was elected unopposed. In the frontbench reshuffle following the leadership change, Gillard was allocated the Employment, Workplace Relations and Social Inclusion portfolios.

Deputy Prime Minister: 2007–2010

Jeff Bleich in November 2009]] The Labor Party won the 2007 federal election and, on 3 December 2007, Gillard was sworn in as the first female Deputy Prime Minister of Australia.

In addition to the deputy prime ministership, Gillard was given responsibility for a so-called "super ministry", the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. She had three distinct portfolios: Minister for Education; Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations; and Minister for Social Inclusion. In her role as Minister for Education, Gillard travelled to Washington, DC, where she signed a deal with the US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, to enourage improved policy collaboration in education reform between both countries.

On 11 December 2007 she became the first woman in Australia's history to be in the prime ministerial role, by assuming the role of acting prime minister while Kevin Rudd attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali. In the first year of government, she served as acting prime minister for 69 days during Rudd's overseas travel engagements.

Gillard is a highly regarded debater, and her performances during parliamentary question time have prompted Peter van Onselen to call her "the best parliamentary performer on the Labor side".

Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Gillard removed the WorkChoices industrial relations regime introduced by the Howard government, and replaced it with the Fair Work Bill. This established a single industrial relations bureaucracy called Fair Work Australia.

In 2009 Gillard oversaw the government's "Building the Education Revolution" program, which allocated $16 billion to build new school accommodation including classrooms, libraries and assembly halls.

Prime Minister

On 23 June 2010, after meetings throughout the evening between Gillard and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, as well as factional leaders, Rudd addressed the waiting media at 10:30 pm AEST and announced that Gillard had asked him to hold a leadership ballot in the 115-member caucus the following day to determine the leadership of the Labor Party and hence the prime ministership of Australia.

Rudd initially said he would challenge Gillard at the caucus. However, it soon became apparent that he didn't have enough support to fend off Gillard's challenge. Hours before the vote, he stood aside as leader and ended his candidacy, leaving Gillard to take the leadership unopposed. At the same caucus meeting, Treasurer Wayne Swan was elected unopposed to succeed Gillard as Labor's deputy leader, and hence Deputy Prime Minister. She also said that she wouldn't move into The Lodge unless she was elected Prime Minister in her own right, preferring to divide her time between a flat in Canberra and her home in Altona, a western suburb of Melbourne. She eventually moved into The Lodge on 26 September 2010.

In the aftermath of the leadership challenge, Bill Shorten, former trade union leader, and key Parliamentary member of the ALP Right Faction, nominated the government's handling of the insulation program; the sudden announcement of change of policy on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme; and the way in which they had "introduced the debate" about the Resource Super Profits Tax as the key considerations which had led to a shift in support from Kevin Rudd to Julia Gillard as leader of the party.

War in Afghanistan

, the commander of the International Security Assistance Force, during a visit to Afghanistan on 2 October 2010]] During her first day as Prime Minister, Gillard reassured U.S. President Barack Obama of Australia's continuing support for the military campaign in Afghanistan. She visited Afghanistan on 2 October 2010 and met with Australian forces in Tarin Kowt and President Hamid Karzai in Kabul. The visit formed part of her first overseas trip as prime minister.

A parliamentary debate was conducted for four sitting weeks of parliament, with the agreement between Gillard and Abbott that it is necessary to stay in Afghanistan and prevent it from becoming a safe haven for terrorists.

Election 2010

On 17 July 2010 (23 days after becoming prime minister) Gillard announced a federal election would be held on 21 August 2010.

Labor and the Coalition each won 72 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, four short of the requirement for majority government, resulting in the first hung parliament since the 1940 election. Both major party leaders sought to form a minority government.

Six crossbench MPs held the balance of power. Four crossbench MPs, Greens Adam Bandt and independents Andrew Wilkie, Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor declared their support for Labor on confidence and supply, allowing Gillard and Labor to remain in power with a 76-74 minority government. Governor-General Bryce swore in the Second Gillard Ministry on 14 September 2010.

Domestic policies

Health

Like her predecessor Rudd, Gillard maintained health as a priority in her agenda. She announced during the 2010 election, that there would be an increase of 270 placements for emergency doctors and nurses and 3,000 extra nursing scholarships over the following 10 years. She also said mental health would be a priority in her second term, with a $277 million suicide-prevention package which would target high-risk groups. As the election delivered a hung parliament, a $1.8 billion package was given to rural hospitals, which was agreed to by the independents to support her re-election.

In October, her government introduced legislation to reform the health system. The changes will give the Commonwealth responsibility for providing the majority of funding to public hospitals and 100 per cent of funding for primary care and GP services. Western Australia will not be apart of the deal as it has not signed up to the agreement in April's COAG meeting, which would see the Commonwealth direct one third of the state's GST revenue towards health and hospital services.

Immigration

Gillard has taken a tougher stance on asylum seekers, with plans of establishing a process centre to be possibly located in East Timor. Although East Timor's parliament has voted down the plan, East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta, has said that he is open to the idea for a process centre. In October, her government announced that it will open two detention centres for 2000 immigrants, due to the pressures in allowing women and children to be released into the community. One will be opened in South Australia's Adelaide Hill and one in Northam in Western Australia. She has said it will be a short-term solution to the problem and that temporary detention centres will be closed.

Education

When she became Prime Minister, she gave her Education portfolio to Simon Crean. She has promised to "make education central to my economic agenda." After her re-election, she extended tax-cuts to parents to help pay for school uniforms for people struggling to cover the costs of education under the Education Tax Refund scheme. Gillard continued to put the My School website centre of her education agenda, which was controversial when she implemented when she was the Minister for Education. Although it was popular amongst parents, the website helped parents view statistics of the school their children attended. She has unveiled the revamped version, My School 2.0, promising better information to parents.

Universities also placed highly on her education agenda. Legislation due to be voted on in November 2010 that would see the introduction of a national universities regulator was delayed till 2011 following criticisms from the higher education sector. It was also announced by her government that legislation to establish the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency would also be introduced early 2011.

Climate change

During the 2010 election, Gillard unveiled her climate change plans in Brisbane. It included a 150-person citizens assembly to work on a consensus for climate change and a crackdown on dirty power plants, a $1 billion investment into greening the electricity grid and also further investment into green technology. The idea was scrapped on 7 October 2010, as Gillard announced that her pre-election promise to create a citizens' assembly to investigate climate change would not proceed, but the government would instead seek guidance from a parliamentary committee advised by experts on climate change. A $2000 subsidy for cashing in old cars was also announced to reduce pollution. Reaction to this by Australian businesses has been positive.

Gillard announced plans to put a price on carbon and has ordered a Productivity Commission inquiry to expedite her push to put a price on carbon.

Political positions

Factional position

Although nominally a member of the Victorian Left faction of the Labor Party, her election to Prime Minister occurred because of support from the Right factions of the party, with the hard Left planning to support Rudd in the Caucus vote had there actually been one. Analyses of Jacqueline Kent's 2009 biography of Gillard suggest that her membership in the Left faction is "more organisational than ideological".

Population growth

On population policy, Gillard is against a "big Australia", as opposed to predecessor Kevin Rudd who was in favour of population growth. She emphasises the need for sustainability, saying "Australia should not hurtle down the track towards a big population".

Republic

Gillard supports Australia becoming a republic and has suggested that the end of Queen Elizabeth II's reign would be "probably the appropriate point for a transition".

Abortion

Gillard has expressed a pro-choice position on abortion saying that "Women without money would be left without that choice or in the hands of backyard abortion providers" and that she understood "the various moral positions" regarding abortions.

Gay marriage

Gillard has made clear she does not support the legalisation of gay marriage, saying that she believes "the Marriage Act is appropriate in its current form, that is recognising that marriage is between a man and a woman".

Internet censorship

Soon after Gillard first took over from Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister, she put herself on record as being in favour of a mandatory internet filter for Australia and justified her stance by saying images of child abuse and child pornography should not be legally available on the internet.

WikiLeaks

Following the November 2010 release of secret United States diplomatic cables, high-profile people in various countries condemned the whistleblower website, WikiLeaks, with some calling for the founder Julian Assange, an Australian citizen, to be killed. Julia Gillard stated, “I absolutely condemn the placement of this information on the WikiLeaks website. It's a grossly irresponsible thing to do and an illegal thing to do". After an Australian Federal Police investigation failed to find WikiLeaks had broken any Australian laws by publishing the US diplomatic documents, Gillard maintained her stance that the release of the documents was "grossly irresponsible". Open letters signed by many news editors, lawyers and other prominent individuals including Noam Chomsky have asked Gillard to condemn the calls for physical harm to Assange and to ensure his legal rights are protected.

Personal life and views

Gillard's partner since 2006 is Tim Mathieson. She had previous relationships with union officials Michael O'Connor and Bruce Wilson and fellow Federal Labor MP Craig Emerson. She has never married and has no children.

Gillard was brought up in the Baptist tradition, but is not religious. In a 2010 interview when asked if she believed in God, Gillard stated: "No I don't ... I'm not a religious person ... [I'm] a great respecter of religious beliefs but they're not my beliefs."

She owns a home in the south western Melbourne suburb of Altona and is a public supporter of the Western Bulldogs Australian football club.

See also

Next Australian federal election

Australian federal election, 2010

Rudd Ministry

First Gillard Ministry

Second Gillard Ministry

Notes

References

External links

Official Federal HOR webpages for Julia Gillard

Official Federal Ministrial webpages for Julia Gillard

Official ALP webpage for Julia Gillard

The Hon Julia Gillard MP – Deputy Prime Minister

Official Facebook page of Julia Gillard

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Category:1961 births Category:Australian Labor Party politicians Category:Australian people of Welsh descent Category:Australian republicans Category:Current national leaders Category:Female heads of government Category:Former Baptists Category:Government ministers of Australia Category:Living people Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Lalor Category:Members of the Cabinet of Australia Category:People from Adelaide Category:People from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan Category:Prime Ministers of Australia Category:University of Adelaide alumni Category:University of Melbourne alumni Category:Welsh immigrants to Australia Category:Women members of the Australian House of Representatives

Name	Iron & Wine
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Samuel Beam
Born	July 26, 1974South Carolina, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, Guitar, Banjo
Genre	FolkFolk rock
Label	Sub PopWarner Bros./4AD
Associated acts	Calexico
Url	www.ironandwine.com

Samuel Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage and recording name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released four studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live album (a recording of his 2005 Bonnaroo performance). He occasionally tours with a full band.

Beam was raised in South Carolina before moving to Florida to attend school and now resides outside of Austin, Texas. The name Iron & Wine is taken from a dietary supplement named "Beef Iron & Wine" that he found in a general store while shooting a film.

Early life

Beam was raised in Chapin, South Carolina, where his father worked in land management and his mother was a schoolteacher. When he was a child, his family took regular trips to the country where his grandfather ran a farm. He attended Seven Oaks Elementary School, Irmo Middle School, and Chapin High School. While home from college, he was a waiter at California Dreaming restaurant in Columbia.

Beam earned a bachelor's degree in art from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. He had been writing songs for over seven years before a friend loaned him a four-track recorder. He began making demos and gave one to his friend Michael Bridwell, brother of Band of Horses lead singer, Ben Bridwell. Michael handed it to Mike McGonigal, editor of Yeti magazine, who chose "Dead Man's Will," later released on In the Reins, for inclusion on one of his magazine's compilation CDs. Beam later came to the attention of Sub Pop Records co-owner, Jonathan Poneman, who contacted Beam to propose a deal.

Musical career

Beam released his first Iron & Wine album, The Creek Drank the Cradle, on the Sub Pop label in 2002. Beam wrote, performed, recorded and produced the album in his home studio. Featuring acoustic guitars, banjo, and slide guitar, the album's music has been compared to that of Nick Drake, Simon and Garfunkel, Elliott Smith, Neil Young and John Fahey.

Also in 2002, Beam recorded a cover of The Postal Service's then-unreleased song "Such Great Heights". Rather than being included on an Iron & Wine release, the track was initially included as a b-side of the original version by The Postal Service. It was later included on the B-sides and rarities album, Around the Well. He then followed up on his debut album in 2003 with The Sea & The Rhythm, an EP containing other home-recorded tracks with a similar style to the songs on the debut.

Beam's second full-length album, Our Endless Numbered Days (2004), was recorded in a professional studio with a significant increase in fidelity. Produced in Chicago by Brian Deck, the focus was still on acoustic material, but the inclusion of other band members gave rise to a slightly different sound. That same year, he recorded the song "The Trapeze Swinger" for the film In Good Company, and had his version of "Such Great Heights" featured in an advertisement for M&M;'s and in the film and soundtrack for Garden State. This version was later used in a 2006 Ask.com advertisement, and eventually released as a single in 2006 backed with recordings of "The Trapeze Swinger" and "Naked as We Came" made for Radio Vienna.

In February 2005, he released an EP entitled Woman King, which expanded on the sounds of his previous LP, and added electric guitars. Each track featured a spiritual female figure, and had subtle Biblical undertones.

The EP In the Reins, a collaboration with the Arizona-based rock band Calexico, was released in September 2005. Beam wrote all of the EP's songs years earlier, but Calexico added their trademark fusion of southwestern rock, traditional Mexican music and jazz to the songs' arrangements. Several tracks feature brass instruments, a first for Beam's music.

The third full-length Iron & Wine album, entitled The Shepherd's Dog, was released September 25, 2007. This album was voted one of the ten best of 2007 by Paste magazine. Contributors included Joey Burns and Paul Niehaus of Calexico, as well as jazz musicians Matt Lux and Rob Burger. When asked to describe the album to The Independent, Beam remarked that "it's not a political propaganda record, but it's definitely inspired by political confusion, because I was really taken aback when Bush got reelected."

Beam has released most of his music on iTunes, including several exclusive EPs. The Iron & Wine iTunes Exclusive EP features unreleased studio recordings, including a Stereolab cover and two tracks which had previously only appeared on vinyl. The Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) features Beam and his sister, Sarah Beam, performing a number of tracks from his albums, as well as a cover of New Order's "Love Vigilantes". Sarah Beam has contributed backing vocals on many of Beam's studio recordings.

Beam's music has appeared in television series such as Grey's Anatomy, The L Word and House, M.D.. "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" was used in the film Twilight. The song was specifically chosen for the film's prom scene by Kristen Stewart, the female lead, and appears on the film's soundtrack.

The B-sides and rarities album Around the Well was released in 2009. Iron & Wine also contributed the song "Stolen Houses (Die)" to the AIDS benefit album Dark Was the Night produced by the Red Hot Organization.

On November 26, 2010 Iron & Wine released a special edition Record Store Day Black Friday 12" vinyl and CD single called, Walking Far From Home for independent record stores.

Iron & Wine's next album, Kiss Each Other Clean, will be released on January 25. 2011 on Warner Bros. Records in North America and 4AD for the rest of the world.

Personal life

Beam is married and a father of five daughters. He lives outside of Austin, TX with his wife Kim and family. || 158 || - || - |- | 2007 || The Shepherd's Dog || 25 || - || B-sides and rarities compilation |- ! Year !! Live Albums !! US !! UK !! Notes |- | 2005 || Iron & Wine Live Bonnaroo || - || - || - |- | 2009 || Norfolk || - || - || Live Album |- ! Year !! EPs !! US !! UK !! Notes |- | 2002 ||Iron & Wine Tour EP || - || - || - |- | 2003 || The Sea & The Rhythm || - || - || - |- | 2004 || Iron & Wine iTunes Exclusive EP || - || - || iTunes only |- | 2005 || Woman King || 135 || - || with Calexico |- | 2006 || Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) || - || - || iTunes only |- | 2006 || || - || - || iTunes only |- | 2011 || Kiss Each Other Clean || - || - || |}

Singles

"Call Your Boys" b/w "Dearest Forsaken" via Sub Pop Singles Club (CD + Clear 7" Vinyl) (2002)

"No Moon" b/w "Sinning Hands" (Limited 7" Vinyl Bonus with first Pressing of Our Endless Numbered Days) (2004)

"Passing Afternoon" (CD only) (2004)

"The Trapeze Swinger" (iTunes only) (2005)

"Such Great Heights" (UK only CD) (2006)

"Boy with a Coin" (CD + UK only 10" Vinyl) (2007)

"Dark Eyes" (Bob Dylan cover w/ Calexico) (2007)

"Lovesong of the Buzzard" (CD + UK only 10" Vinyl) (2008)

"Flightless Bird, American Mouth" (iTunes only) (2008)

"Walking Far from Home" (2010)

Other contributions

The O.C. Soundtrack (2004) – "Sea and the Rhythm"

Garden State Soundtrack (2004) – "Such Great Heights"

(2004) – "Ab's Song" (The Marshall Tucker Band cover)

L Word: Season Two soundtrack (2004) – "Naked as We Came"

Grey's Anatomy: Season Two soundtrack (2004) – "Naked as We Came"

In Good Company (2004) – "Naked as We Came," "Sunset Soon Forgotten," "The Trapeze Swinger"

Fighting in a Sack (2004) – "New Slang (Featuring Iron & Wine)[Live]"

KCRW Sounds Eclectic Volume 3 (2005) – "Waitin' for a Superman" (Flaming Lips cover)

I Am a Cold Rock. I Am Dull Grass. (2006) – "We All, Us Three, Will Ride"

I'm Not There soundtrack (2007) – "Dark Eyes" (with Calexico)

The Road Mix Volume 3, music from One Tree Hill (2007) – "He Lays in the Reins" (with Calexico)

Acoustic 07 (2007) – "Naked as We Came"

Numb3rs Season 3, Episode 19, "Pandora's Box" (2007) – "Naked as We Came"

Friday Night Lights Season 1, Episode 12 (2007) – "Upward Over the Mountain"

Friday Night Lights: Original Television Soundtrack (2007) – "Dead Man's Will" (with Calexico)

Twilight soundtrack (2008) – "Flightless Bird, American Mouth"

90210 Season 1, Episode 18, "Off the Rails" (2008) – "Cinder & Smoke"

House, M.D.

* Season 4, Episode 16 (Season Finale, Part 2) Wilson's Heart (2008) – "Passing Afternoon"

* Season 6, Episode 1 (Season Premiere, Part 1) Broken (2009) – "Love Vigilantes" (New Order cover)

Dark Was the Night (2009) – "Stolen Houses (Die)"

Ugly Betty Season 3, Episode 16 (2009) – "Naked as We Came"

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (2009) – "Naked as We Came"

Misfits Season 1, Episode 6 (2009) – "Such Great Heights" (The Postal Service cover)

The Last Song soundtrack (2010) – "Each Coming Night"

References

External links

Official site

Category:American folk guitarists Category:American folk singers Category:American rock guitarists Category:American rock singer-songwriters Category:American male singers Category:Florida State University alumni Category:Musicians from South Carolina Category:Sub Pop artists Category:Living people Category:1974 births Category:People from Lexington County, South Carolina

Caption	Ford in 2009
Birth date	July 13, 1942
Birth place	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Actor/Producer
Years active	1966–present
Spouse	Mary Marquardt (1964–1979; divorced) Melissa Mathison (1983–2004; divorced) Calista Flockhart (2010–present)

Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American film actor and producer. He is best known for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. His four-decade career also includes roles in several other Hollywood blockbusters, including Presumed Innocent, The Fugitive, Air Force One, and What Lies Beneath. At one point, three of the top five box-office hits of all time included one of his roles. Five of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry.

In 1997, Ford was ranked # 1 in Empire's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. As of July 2008, the United States domestic box office grosses of Ford's films total almost $3.4 billion, with worldwide grosses surpassing $6 billion, making Ford the third highest grossing U.S. domestic box-office star. Ford is the husband of actress Calista Flockhart.

Early life

Ford was born July 13, 1942 at Chicago, Illinois's Swedish Covenant Hospital, to Dorothy (née Dora Nidelman), a homemaker and former radio actress, and Christopher Ford (born John William Ford), an advertising executive and a former actor. A younger brother, Terence, was born in 1945. Ford's paternal grandparents, John Fitzgerald Ford and Florence Veronica Niehaus, were of Irish Catholic and German descent, respectively. He has also said that he feels "Irish as a person, but I feel Jewish as an actor".

Ford was active in the Boy Scouts of America, and achieved its second-highest rank, Life Scout. He worked at a scout camp, Napowan Adventure Base, as a counselor for the Reptile Study merit badge. Because of this, he and Eagle Scout director Steven Spielberg later decided that the character of young Indiana Jones would be depicted as a Life Scout in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. They also jokingly reversed Ford's knowledge of reptiles into Jones's fear of snakes.

In 1960, Ford graduated from Maine East High School in Park Ridge, Illinois. His was the first student voice broadcast on his high school's new radio station, WMTH, and he was its first sportscaster during his senior year (1959–1960). He attended Ripon College in Wisconsin, where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. He took a drama class in his junior year, chiefly as a way to meet women. Ford, a self-described "late bloomer", became fascinated with acting.

Early career

In 1964, Ford travelled to Los Angeles, California to apply for a job in radio voice-overs. He did not get it, but stayed in California and eventually signed a $150 a week contract with Columbia Pictures's New Talent program, playing bit roles in films. His first known part was an uncredited role as a bellhop in Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966). There is little record of his non-speaking roles (or "extra" work) in film.

His speaking roles continued next with Luv (1967), though he was still uncredited. He was finally credited as "Harrison J. Ford" in the 1967 Western film, A Time for Killing, but the "J" did not stand for anything since he has no middle name. It was added to avoid confusion with a silent film actor named Harrison Ford, who appeared in more than 80 films between 1915 and 1932, and died in 1957. Ford later said that he was unaware of the existence of the earlier Harrison Ford until he came upon a star with his own name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Ford soon dropped the "J" and worked for Universal Studios, playing minor roles in many television series throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, including Gunsmoke, Ironside, The Virginian, The F.B.I., Love, American Style, and Kung Fu. He appeared in the western Journey to Shiloh (1968) and had an uncredited, non-speaking role in Michelangelo Antonioni's 1970 film Zabriskie Point as an arrested student protester. Not happy with the roles being offered to him, Ford became a self-taught professional carpenter to support his then-wife and two small sons. While working as a carpenter, he became a stagehand for the popular rock band The Doors. He also built a sun deck for Sally Kellerman and a recording studio for Sérgio Mendes.

He returned to acting when George Lucas, who had hired him to build cabinets in his home, cast him in a pivotal supporting role for his film American Graffiti (1973). His relationship with Lucas was to have a profound effect on Ford's career. After director Francis Ford Coppola's film The Godfather was a success, he hired Ford to do expansions of his office and Harrison was given a small role in his next two films, The Conversation (1974) and Apocalypse Now (1979).

Milestone franchises

Star Wars

Ford's work as a carpenter would land him his biggest role to date. In 1975, George Lucas hired him to read lines for actors being cast for parts in his upcoming space opera, (1977). However, Lucas was eventually won over by Ford's portrayal and decided to cast him as Han Solo. Star Wars became one of the most successful movies of all time worldwide and established Harrison Ford as a superstar. He went on to star in the similarly-successful Star Wars sequels, (1980) and (1983), as well as The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978). Ford wanted Lucas to write in the death of the iconic Han Solo at the end of either sequel, saying "that would have given the whole film a bottom", but Lucas refused.

Indiana Jones

worn by Ford in the Indiana Jones films.]] Ford's status as a leading actor was solidified when he starred as Indiana Jones in the George Lucas/Steven Spielberg collaboration Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Though Spielberg was interested in casting Ford in the lead role from the start, Lucas was not, due to having already worked with the actor in American Graffiti and Star Wars, but he eventually relented after Tom Selleck was unable to accept. Ford reprised the role for the prequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), and the sequel Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), which turned him into a blockbuster phenomenon. He later returned to his role as Indiana Jones again for a 1993 episode of the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and for the fourth film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). A sequel, Indiana Jones 5, is currently in development. The story was originally rumored to center around the Bermuda Triangle. Frank Marshall later revealed on his Twitter page, however, that the story was false. Shia LaBeouf is set to return as Indy's son, Mutt Williams. A release date has not yet been set.

Other film work

Ford has been in numerous other films including Heroes (1977), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), and Hanover Street (1979). Ford also co-starred alongside Gene Wilder in the buddy-Western The Frisco Kid (1979), playing a bank robber with a heart of gold. He then starred as Rick Deckard in Ridley Scott's cult sci-fi classic Blade Runner (1982), and in a number of dramatic-action films: Peter Weir's Witness (1985) and The Mosquito Coast (1986), and Roman Polanski's Frantic (1988).

The 1990s brought Ford the role of Jack Ryan in Tom Clancy's Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994), as well as leading roles in Alan Pakula's Presumed Innocent (1990) and The Devil's Own (1997), Andrew Davis's The Fugitive (1993), Sydney Pollack's remake of Sabrina (1995), and Wolfgang Petersen's Air Force One (1997). Ford has also played straight dramatic roles, including an adulterous husband with a terrible secret in both Presumed Innocent (1990) and What Lies Beneath (2000), and a recovering amnesiac in Mike Nichols' Regarding Henry (1991).

Many of Ford's major film roles came to him by default through unusual circumstances: he won the role of Han Solo while reading lines for other actors, was cast as Indiana Jones because Tom Selleck was not available, and took the role of Jack Ryan due to Alec Baldwin's fee demands (Baldwin had previously played the role in The Hunt for Red October).

Recent roles

Ford's star power has waned in recent years, the result of appearing in numerous critically derided and commercially disappointing movies, including Six Days Seven Nights (1998), Random Hearts (1999), (2002), Hollywood Homicide (2003), Firewall (2006), and Extraordinary Measures (2009). One exception was 2000's What Lies Beneath, which ended up grossing over $155 million in the United States and $300 million worldwide.

In 2004, Ford declined a chance to star in the thriller Syriana, later commenting that "I didn't feel strongly enough about the truth of the material and I think I made a mistake." The role eventually went to George Clooney, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his work. Prior to that, he had passed on a role in another Stephen Gaghan-written role, Robert Wakefield in Traffic. That role went to Michael Douglas.

In 2008, Ford enjoyed success with the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, another collaboration between George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. The film received generally mixed reviews but was the second highest-grossing film worldwide in 2008. He later said he would like to star in another sequel "if it didn't take another 20 years to digest".

Other 2008 work included Crossing Over, directed by Wayne Kramer. In the film, he plays an immigrations officer, working alongside Ashley Judd and Ray Liotta. He also narrated a feature documentary film about the Dalai Lama entitled Dalai Lama Renaissance.

Ford filmed the medical drama Extraordinary Measures in 2009 in Portland, Oregon. Released January 22, 2010, the film also starred Brendan Fraser and Alan Ruck. Also in 2010, he co-starred in the film Morning Glory, along with Patrick Wilson, Rachel McAdams, and Diane Keaton.

Recently, he has expressed interest in returning to the Jack Ryan franchise.

Awards

Ford received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for Witness, for which he also received "Best Actor" BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. He received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2002 Golden Globe Awards and on June 2, 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has received three additional "Best Actor" Golden Globe nominations for The Mosquito Coast, The Fugitive and Sabrina.

In 2006, Ford was awarded the Jules Verne Spirit of Nature Award for his work in nature and wildlife preservation. The ceremony took place at the historic Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.

He received the first ever Hero Award for his many iconic roles, including Han Solo and Indiana Jones, at the 2007 Scream Awards, and in 2008, the Spike TV's Guy's Choice Award for Brass Balls.

Harrison Ford received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2000.

Personal life

Ford is one of Hollywood's most notoriously private actors, guarding his personal life. He has two sons (Benjamin and Willard) with his first wife, Mary Marquardt, as well as two children (Malcolm and Georgia) with his second wife, screenwriter Melissa Mathison. He began dating Calista Flockhart after meeting at the 2002 Golden Globes, and together they are parents to her adopted son, Liam. Ford proposed to Flockhart over Valentine's Day weekend in 2009. They were married on June 15, 2010 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Ford is filming Cowboys and Aliens.

Ford has three grandchildren: Eliel (b. 1993), Giuliana (b. 1997), and Ethan (b. 2000). Son Benjamin owns Ford's Filling Station, a gastro pub in Culver City, California. Son Willard is co-owner of Ford&Ching; showroom as well as Ludwig clothing company.

Ford injured his chin at the age of 20 when his car, a Volvo 544, hit a telephone pole in Northern California; the scar is visible in his films. An explanation for it on film is offered in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, when a young Indiana Jones cuts his chin while attempting to crack a whip to ward off a lion. In Working Girl, Ford's character explains that it happened when he passed out and hit his chin on the toilet when a college girlfriend was piercing his ear. In June 1983, at age 40, during the filming of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in London, he herniated a disc in his back, forcing him to fly back to Los Angeles for an operation. He returned six weeks later.

Environmental causes

Ford sits on the board of directors of Conservation International. He was awarded the Jules Verne Spirit of Nature Award for his ongoing work in preservation of the planet.

Since 1992, Ford has lent his voice to a series of public service messages promoting environmental involvement for EarthShare, an American federation of environmental and conservation charities.

Political views

Like his parents, Ford is a lifelong Democrat, and a close friend of former President Bill Clinton.

On September 7, 1995, Ford testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in support of the Dalai Lama and an independent Tibet, and was banned thereafter by the Chinese government from entering Tibet and China. In 2008, he narrated the documentary Dalai Lama Renaissance.

In 2003, he publicly condemned the Iraq War and called for "regime change" in the United States. He also criticized Hollywood for making violent movies, and called for more gun control in the United States. He opposed the recall of Californian Governor Gray Davis, and stated in an interview that replacing Davis with Arnold Schwarzenegger would be a mistake.

Archaeology

Following on his success portraying the archaeologist Indiana Jones, Ford also plays a part in supporting the work of professional archaeologists. He serves as a General Trustee on the Governing Board of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), North America's oldest and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. Ford assists them in their mission of increasing public awareness of archaeology and preventing looting and the illegal antiquities trade.

Community work

Ford volunteered as a food server near Ground Zero in 2001. On November 21, 2007, Ford and other celebrities, including Kirk Douglas, Nia Long and Calista Flockhart, helped serve hot meals to the homeless at the annual Thanksgiving feast at the Los Angeles Mission.

Aviation

Ford is a private pilot of both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and owns an 800-acre (3.2 km²) ranch in Jackson, Wyoming, approximately half of which he has donated as a nature reserve. On several occasions, Ford has personally provided emergency helicopter services at the behest of local authorities, in one instance rescuing a hiker overcome by dehydration.

Ford began flight training in the 1960s at Wild Rose Airport in Wild Rose, Wisconsin, flying in a Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer, but at $15 an hour he was unable to continue the training. His interest returned in the mid-1990s when he bought a used Gulfstream II and asked one of his pilots, Terry Bender, to give him flying lessons. They started flying a Cessna 182 out of Jackson, Wyoming. He later switched to Teterboro, New Jersey, flying a Cessna 206, the aircraft he soloed in.

On October 23, 1999, Harrison Ford was involved in the crash of a Bell 206L4 LongRanger helicopter (N36R). The NTSB accident report states that Ford was piloting the aircraft over the Lake Piru riverbed near Santa Clarita, California, on a routine training flight. While making his second attempt at an autorotation with powered recovery Ford allowed the aircraft's altitude to drop to 150–200 feet before beginning power up. As a result the aircraft was unable to recover power before hitting the ground. The aircraft landed hard and began skidding forward in the loose gravel before one of its skids struck a partially embedded log and flipped onto its side. Neither Ford nor the instructor pilot suffered any injuries though the helicopter was seriously damaged. When asked about the incident by fellow pilot James Lipton in an interview on the TV show Inside the Actor's Studio Ford replied "I broke it."

Ford keeps his aircraft at Santa Monica Airport, though the Bell 407 is often kept and flown in Jackson, Wyoming, and has been used by the actor in two mountain rescues during the actor's assigned duty time assisting the Teton County Search and Rescue. On one of the rescues Ford recovered a hiker who had become lost and disoriented. She boarded Ford's Bell 407 and promptly vomited into one of the rescuers' caps (she says it was not Ford's cap), unaware of who the pilot was until much later, saying, "I can't believe I barfed in Harrison Ford's helicopter!"

Ford flies his de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (N28S) more than any of his other aircraft, and although he dislikes showing favoritism, he has repeatedly stated that he likes this aircraft and the sound of its Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engine. Ford first encountered the Beaver while filming Six Days Seven Nights, and soon purchased one. Kenmore Air in Kenmore, Washington, restored Ford's yellow and green Beaver — a junked former U.S. military aircraft — with updated avionics and an upgraded engine. According to Ford, it had been flown in the CIA's Air America operations, and was riddled with bullet holes, which had to be patched up. He uses it regularly for impromptu fly-ins at remote airports and bush strips, as well as gatherings with other Beaver owners and pilots.

In March 2004, Ford officially became chairman of the Young Eagles program of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). Ford was asked to take the position by Greg Anderson, Senior Vice President of the EAA at the time, to replace General Charles "Chuck" Yeager who was vacating the post that he had held for many years. Ford at first was hesitant, but later accepted the offer and has made appearances with the Young Eagles at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh gathering at Oshkosh, Wisconsin for two years. In July 2005 at the gathering in Oshkosh Ford agreed to accept the position for another two years. Ford has flown over 280 children as part of the Young Eagles program, usually in his DHC-2 Beaver, which can seat the actor and five children. Ford is involved with the EAA chapter in Driggs, Idaho, just over the mountains from Jackson, Wyoming.

As of 2009, Ford appears in Web advertisements for General Aviation Serves America, a campaign by advocacy group AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association).

Ford is an Honorary Board Member of the humanitarian aviation organization Wings of Hope.

He has also flown as an invited VIP with the Blue Angels.

Aircraft owned

Current aircraft

de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (N28S)

Aviat A-1B Husky (N6HY)

Cessna Citation Sovereign (N5GU)

Beechcraft B36TC Bonanza

Cessna 208B Grand Caravan

1929-vintage Waco Taperwing

Bell 407

Previous aircraft

Cessna 525B CitationJet 3

Gulfstream II

Gulfstream IV-SP

Pilatus PC-12

Filmography

See also

Sigma Nu LEADership learning program

References

External links

;Interviews

Category:Actors from California Category:Actors from Chicago, Illinois Category:American aviators Category:American conservationists Category:American actors of Russian descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:California Democrats Category:Jewish actors Category:Living people Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:Personae non gratae Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Category:1942 births

Name	Connie Talbot
Background	solo_singer
Born	November 20, 2000
Origin	Streetly, Walsall, West Midlands, England, UK
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	2007–present
Genre	Pop
Occupation	Singer
Label	Rainbow Recording Company
Url	http://www.connietalbot.com

Connie Talbot (born 20 November 2000) is an English child singer from Streetly, Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands. She rose to fame in 2007 when she reached the final of the television talent show Britain's Got Talent, where she lost to Paul Potts. Talbot was supposed to sign with Sony BMG but the label pulled out of the deal due to her age.

Talbot signed with Rainbow Recording Company and released her debut album Over the Rainbow in the UK on 26 November 2007. The album was re-released 18 June 2008 with a new track listing, and the first single from the album, a cover of Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds", was released on 10 June. Songs from Over the Rainbow are to be featured in an upcoming video game about Talbot.

Despite its negative critical reception, Over the Rainbow has sold over 250,000 copies worldwide and reached number one in three countries. Since the initial album release, Talbot has performed publicly and on television in Europe, the U.S. and across Asia, where her music had gained recognition through YouTube. Her second album, Connie Talbot's Christmas Album, was released on 24 November 2008; her third, Holiday Magic, was released in late 2009. On top of her musical career, Talbot continues to attend primary school and lives in Streetly with her family.

History

Britain's Got Talent and Sony BMG

Talbot initially auditioned for the first series of television reality show Britain's Got Talent for fun, but her confidence increased when Simon Cowell, whom she is said to have idolised, The judges expected a "joke" performance and she had never taken singing lessons, but Talbot's initial performance received international press coverage. She reached the final round after winning her semi-final with a live performance of "Ben" by Michael Jackson. On the night of the final, she sang The Wizard of Oz's "Over the Rainbow", but lost to Paul Potts as a result of the call-in vote. Talbot and Potts had been joint favourites to win the series. According to journalist and Britain's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan, Talbot's performances resulted in many children, including Faryl Smith, auditioning for the second series of the show. After his victory, Series 2 winner George Sampson spoke of his participation in the first series, where he was knocked out before the live shows, saying "I don't think I had any shot of winning last year ... When you look at the standard of Paul Potts and Connie Talbot. Paul Potts is out of this league, and Connie is out of this league - I wasn't good enough." Talbot voted for Sampson, saying "I liked his dancing - he was good on the lamppost". Talbot's mother, Sharon, said she was told that her daughter "...was too young to be their sort of artist", adding "We have been told to look for a company which looks after children." In a statement, the label said "there was some deliberation over the possibility of recording with Connie ... However, the decision not to proceed was made with the best intentions for Connie, taking into consideration her age and that it would not be right to do so at this time." Before the album was released, there was much speculation about Talbot and the album, with music experts describing her as potentially being "the next Charlotte Church". on 12 October 2007]] The team behind the album consisted of John Arnison, who also managed Gabrielle and Billy Ocean, and Marc Marot, former managing director of Island Records. Arnison revealed that he and his team "are not going to give [Talbot] singing lessons – we don't need to", and said that when he met Talbot, he was "blown away". A schedule was worked out allowing Talbot to continue with her normal school activities while recording the album in her aunt Vicky's spare bedroom, which her mother described as "a better solution [than Sony BMG offered] which has not robbed her of her childhood". The album was certified gold in early December, with Talbot being presented a gold disc by Phillip Schofield on This Morning.

In late 2007, public appearances by Talbot included headlining the Great Bridge Christmas and Winter Festival, which local police threatened to cancel unless crowds clamouring to reach the tent in which Talbot was performing could be brought under control. TV appearances included GMTV and Channel 5 news, both on 26 November 2007. Nick Levine, of Digital Spy, said in a review of the album that Talbot had a "sweet, pure voice", but that there is "no nuance or depth to her performance". However, he said that "There's something inherently wrong about awarding a star rating to a seven-year-old", and that "the decidedly adult concept of musical merit should have nothing to do with [her music]", awarding the album 2/5. The first single from the album, "Three Little Birds", was released in June 2008, and a video for the song was shot in Jamaica. Asian press attributed her success to her videos on YouTube, with the Sun.Star mentioning that her most viewed video had been watched over 14 million times, Following the tour, it was reported that the album had reached number one on the charts in Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong, Talbot has rerecorded the album for the game, but there are other elements that need to be completed. The game was scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2009, The U.S. version was eventually released on 14 October, with Talbot appearing on American television shows including The Ellen DeGeneres Show to publicise the release.

Christmas Album and Holiday Magic

In November 2008, it was announced that Talbot had produced a series of new songs for an album. It is a Christmas themed album, News was also released of a one-off Christmas special to be shown on ITV1 in the days leading up to Christmas, featuring footage of Talbot's journey to America and a "secret concert" at her primary school. The documentary, Christmas with Connie, was shown on ITV Central on 18 December. Talbot appeared at Walsall's HMV branch shortly after the release of her Christmas Album to sign copies and meet fans. She then embarked on a promotional tour making stops around the world, which included a performance at Ewha Womans University in Korea, and a performance on the A Heart for Children television charity gala in Berlin, Germany. She returned home in mid December, to have "a quiet family Christmas". There are plans for a promotional trip to the U.S. in 2009. Reviewing the album for FemaleFirst magazine, Ruth Harrison gave it 4/5, saying that Talbot has "a great voice when it comes to swing, but lets us down in parts".

In April 2009, Talbot again travelled to the U.S. in order to publicise her new single, a cover of "I Will Always Love You". The single was released in the U.S. on 7 April, along with a newly recorded "You Raise Me Up". Talbot then travelled to the U.S. on 30 April, and returned on the 2 May. Appearances included a performance on Good Day New York on Fox Broadcasting Company's WNYW. The single peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales. She lives with her mother, Sharon, her father Gavin, a self-employed property maintenance engineer, her brother Josh, and her sister, Mollie. Talbot drew confidence in Britain's Got Talent from the belief that her grandmother was watching, and vowed to win the show in her memory. | 1 | 3 | 8 Worldwide: 250,000+ | align=left|

UK: Gold

Taiwan: Platinum Hong Kong: Platinum | 1 | rowspan=2| Over The Rainbow |- | 2009 |align=left| "I Will Always Love You" | - | 4 |}

References

External links

Official website

Official channel on YouTube (Former)

[ Connie Talbot] at Allmusic

Connie Talbot on MySpace

Category:2000 births Category:Living people Category:English child singers Category:English female singers Category:Britain's Got Talent contestants Category:People from Walsall (district) Category:English pop singers