This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
name | Rudolph Valentino |
---|---|
birth name | Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Piero Filiberto Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla |
birth date | May 06, 1895 |
birth place | Castellaneta, Italy |
death date | August 23, 1926 |
death place | New York City, New York, U.S. |
years active | 1914–1926 |
occupation | Actor |
spouse | }} |
Rudolph Valentino (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926) was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik.
His sudden death at age 31 caused mass hysteria among his female fans, propelling him into icon status. Though his films are not as well known today, his name is still widely known.
As a child, Valentino was reportedly spoiled and troublesome. His mother coddled him while his father disapproved of his behavior. He did poorly in school, and was eventually enrolled in agricultural school where he received a degree.
After living in Paris in 1912, he soon returned to Italy. Unable to secure employment, he departed for the United States in 1913. He was processed at Ellis Island at age 18 on December 23, 1913.
Valentino eventually befriended Chilean heiress Blanca de Saulles who was unhappily married to prominent businessman John de Saulles, with whom she had a son. Whether Blanca and Valentino actually had a romantic relationship is unknown, but when the de Saulles couple divorced, Valentino took the stand to support Blanca de Saulles' claims of infidelity on her husband's part. Following the divorce, John de Saulles reportedly used his political connections to have Valentino arrested, along with a Mrs. Thyme, a known madam, on some unspecified vice charges. The evidence was flimsy at best and after a few days in jail, Valentino's bail was lowered from $10,000 to $1,500.
The trial and subsequent scandal was well publicized, following which Valentino could not find employment. Shortly after the trial, Blanca de Saulles fatally shot her ex-husband during a custody dispute over their son. Fearful of being called in as a witness in another sensational trial, Valentino left town, joining a traveling musical that led him to the West Coast.
Valentino, with Kerry as a roommate, moved back to Los Angeles and took up residence at the Alexandria Hotel. He continued dancing, teaching dance and building up a following which included older female clientele who would let him borrow their luxury cars.
With his dancing success, Valentino found a room of his own on Sunset Boulevard and began actively seeking screen roles. His first part was as an extra in the film Alimony, moving on to small parts in several films. Despite his best efforts he was typically cast as a "heavy" (villain) or gangster. At the time, the major male star was Wallace Reid, with a fair complexion, light eyes, and an All American look, with Valentino the opposite, eventually supplanting Sessue Hayakawa as Hollywood's most popular "exotic" male lead.
By 1919, he had carved out a career in bit parts. It was a bit part as a "cabaret parasite" in the drama Eyes of Youth that caught the attention of screenwriter June Mathis, who thought he would be perfect for her next movie. He also appeared as second lead in The Delicious Little Devil (1919) with star Mae Murray.
While traveling to Palm Springs, Florida to film Stolen Moments, Valentino read the novel The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez. Seeking out a trade paper, he discovered that Metro had bought the film rights to the story. In New York, he sought out Metro's Office, only to find June Mathis had been trying to find him. She cast him in the role of Julio Desnoyers. For director, Mathis had chosen Rex Ingram, with whom Valentino did not get along, leading Mathis to play the role of peacekeeper between the two.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse was released in 1921, becoming a commercial and critical success. It was one of the first films to make $1,000,000 at the box office, as well as the sixth highest grossing silent film ever.
Metro Pictures seemed unwilling to acknowledge it had made a star. Most likely due to Rex Ingram's lack of faith in him, the studio refused to give him a raise beyond the $350 a week he had made for Four Horsemen. For his follow up film, they forced him into a bit part in a B film called Uncharted Seas. It was on this film that Valentino met his second wife, Natacha Rambova.
Rambova, Mathis, Ivano, and Valentino began work on the Alla Nazimova film Camille. Valentino was cast in the role of Armand, Nazimova's love interest. The film, mostly under the control of Rambova and Nazimova, was considered too avant garde by critics and the public.
Valentino's final film for Metro was the Mathis-penned The Conquering Power. The film received critical acclaim and did well at the box office. After the film's release, Valentino made a trip to New York where he met with several French producers. Yearning for Europe, better pay, and more respect, Valentino returned and promptly quit Metro.
Jesse Lasky intended to capitalize on the star power of Valentino, and cast him in a role that would solidify his reputation as the "Latin Lover". In The Sheik, Valentino played the starring role as Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan. The film was a major success and would go on to define not only his career but his image and legacy. Valentino tried to distance the character from a stereotypical portrayal of an Arab man. Asked if Lady Diana (his love interest) would have fallen for a 'savage' in real life Valentino replied, "People are not savages because they have dark skins. The Arabian civilization is one of the oldest in the world...the Arabs are dignified and keen brained."
Famous Players produced four more feature length films over the next 15 months. His leading role in Moran of the Lady Letty was of a typical Douglas Fairbanks nature, however to capitalize on Valentino's bankability, his character was given a Spanish name and ancestry. The film received mixed reviews but was still a hit with audiences.
In November 1921, Valentino starred alongside Gloria Swanson in Beyond the Rocks. The film contained lavish sets and extravagant costumes, though Photoplay magazine said the film was "a little unreal and hectic". Released in 1922, the film was a critical disappointment. Years after its release, Beyond the Rocks was thought to be lost, save for a one minute portion. In 2002, the film was discovered by the Netherlands Film Museum. The restored version was released on DVD in 2006.
In 1922, Valentino began work on another Mathis-penned film, Blood and Sand. Co-starring Lila Lee and Nita Naldi, Valentino played the lead, bullfighter Juan Gallardo. Initially believing the film would be shot in Spain, Valentino was upset to learn that the studio planned on shooting on a Hollywood back lot. He was further irritated by changes in production, including a director of whom he did not approve.
After finishing the film, Valentino married Rambova, which led to a bigamy trial. The trial was a sensation and the pair was forced to have their marriage annulled and separated for a year. Despite the trial, the film was still a success, with critics calling it a masterpiece on par with Broken Blossoms and Four Horsemen. Blood and Sand went on to become one of the top four grossing movies of 1922, breaking attendance records, and grossing $37,400 at the Rivoli Theatre alone. Valentino would consider this one of his best films.
During his forced break from Rambova, the pair began working (separately) on the Mathis-penned The Young Rajah. Only fragments of this film, recovered in 2005, still remain. The film did not live up to expectations and underperformed at the box office. Valentino felt he had underperformed in the film, being upset over his separation with Rambova. Missing Rambova, Valentino returned to New York after the release of The Young Rajah. They were spotted and followed by reporters constantly. During this time Valentino began to contemplate not returning to Famous Players, although Jesse Lasky already had his next picture, The Spanish Cavalier, in preparation. After speaking with Rambova and his lawyer Arthur Butler Graham, Valentino declared a 'One man Strike' against Famous Players.
In September 1922, he refused to accept paychecks from Famous Players until the dispute was solved, although he owed them money he had spent to pay off Jean Acker. Angered, Famous Players in turn filed suit against him.
Valentino did not back down, and Famous Players realized how much they stood to lose. In trouble after shelving Fatty Arbuckle pictures, the studio tried to settle by upping his salary from $1,250 to $7,000 a week. Variety, erroneously, announced the salary increase as a 'new contract' before news of the lawsuit was released. Valentino refused the offer.
Valentino went on to claim that artistic control was more of an issue than the money. He wrote an open letter to Photoplay magazine, entitled "Open Letter to the American Public", where he argued his case, although the average American had trouble sympathizing, as most made $2,000 a year. Famous Players made their own public statements deeming him more trouble than he was worth (the divorce, bigamy trials, debts) and that he was temperamental, almost diva-like. They claimed to have done all they could and that they had made him a real star.
Other studios began courting him. Joseph Schenck was interested in casting his wife, Norma Talmadge, opposite Valentino in a version of Romeo and Juliet. June Mathis had moved to Goldwyn Pictures where she was in charge of the Ben-Hur project, and interested in casting Valentino in the film. However, Famous Players exercised their option to extend his contract, preventing him from accepting any employment other than with the studio. By this point Valentino was around $80,000 in debt. Valentino filed an appeal, a portion of which was granted. Although he was still not allowed to work as an actor, he could accept other types of employment.
The tour was a tremendous success with Valentino and Rambova performing in 88 cities in the United States and Canada. In addition to the tour, Valentino also sponsored Mineralava beauty products and judged Mineralava sponsored beauty contests. One beauty contest was filmed by a young David O. Selznick entitled Rudolph Valentino and His 88 Beauties.
The first film under the new contract was Monsieur Beaucaire, wherein Valentino played the lead, Duke of Chartres. The film did poorly and American audiences found it 'effeminate'. The failure of the film, under Rambova's control, is often seen as proof of her controlling nature and would later cause her to be barred from Valentino sets. Valentino made one final movie for Famous Players. In 1924 he starred in The Sainted Devil, now one of his lost films. It had lavish costumes but apparently a weak story. It opened to strong sales but soon dropped off in attendance and ended up as another disappointment.
With his contract fulfilled, Valentino was released from Famous Players but still obligated to Ritz-Carlton for four films. Valentino's next film was a pet project entitled The Hooded Falcon. The production was beset with problems from the start, beginning with the script written by June Mathis. The Valentinos were dissatisfied with Mathis' version and requested that it be rewritten. Mathis took it as a great insult and did not speak to Valentino for almost two years. While Rambova worked designing costumes and rewriting the script for Falcon, Valentino was persuaded to film Cobra with Nita Naldi. Valentino agreed only on condition that it not be released until after The Hooded Falcon debuted.
After filming Cobra, the cast of The Hooded Falcon sailed for France to be fitted for costumes. After three months, they headed back to the United States, where Valentino's new beard, which he had grown for the film, caused a sensation. The crew and cast headed for Hollywood to begin preparations for the film, but much of the budget was taken up during pre-production. Due to the Valentinos' lavish spending on costumes and sets, Ritz-Carlton terminated the deal with the couple, effectively ending Valentino's contract with Ritz-Carlton.
Valentino chose his first UA project, The Eagle. With the marriage under strain, Valentino began shooting and Rambova announced that she needed a "marital vacation". During the filming of The Eagle, rumors of an affair with co-star Vilma Bánky were reported and ultimately denied by both Bánky and Valentino. The film opened to positive reviews, but a moderate box office.
For the film's release, Valentino travelled to London, staying there and in France, spending money with abandon while his divorce took place. It would be some time before he made another film, The Son of the Sheik, despite his hatred of the sheik image. The film began shooting in February 1926, with Valentino given his choice of director, and pairing him again with Vilma Banky. The film used the authentic costumes he bought abroad and allowed him to play a dual role. Valentino was ill during production, but needed the money to pay his many debts. The film opened on July 8, 1926 to great fanfare. During the premiere, Valentino was reconciled with Mathis; the two had not spoken in almost two years.
Some journalists were still calling his masculinity into question, going on at length about his pomaded hair, his dandyish clothing, his treatment of women, his views on women, and whether he was effeminate or not. Valentino hated these stories and was known to carry the clippings of the newspaper articles around with him and criticize them.
In July 1926, The Chicago Tribune reported that a vending machine dispensing pink talcum powder had appeared in an upscale hotel washroom. An editorial that followed used the story to protest the feminization of American men, and blamed the talcum powder on Valentino and his films. The piece infuriated Valentino and he challenged the writer to a duel and then a boxing match. Neither challenge was answered. Shortly afterward, Valentino met with journalist H.L. Mencken for advice on how best to deal with the incident. Mencken advised Valentino to "let the dreadful farce roll along to exhaustion", but Valentino insisted the editorial was "infamous." Mencken found Valentino to be likable and gentlemanly and wrote sympathetically of him in an article published in the Baltimore Sun a week after Valentino's death:
After Valentino challenged the Tribune's anonymous writer to a boxing match, the New York Evening Journal boxing writer, Frank O'Neill, volunteered to fight in his place. Valentino won the bout which took place on the roof of New York's Ambassador Hotel.
Boxing heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, who trained Valentino and other Hollywood notables of the era in the art of boxing, said of him "He was the most virile and masculine of men. The women were like flies to a honeypot. He could never shake them off, anywhere he went. What a lovely, lucky guy."
Valentino was fascinated with every part of movie-making. During production on a Mae Murray film he spent time studying the director's plans. He craved authenticity and wished to shoot on location, finally forming his own production company, Rudolph Valentino Productions, in 1925. Valentino, George Ullman, and Beatrice Ullman were the incorporators.
On May 14, 1923, while in New York City, Valentino made his only two vocal recordings for Brunswick Records; "Kashmiri Song" (The Sheik) and "El Relicario" (Blood and Sand). The recordings were not released until after Valentino's death by the Celebrity Recording Company; Brunswick did not release them because Valentino's English/Spanish pronunciation was subpar.
Valentino was one of the first in Hollywood to offer an award for artist accomplishments in films. The Academy Awards would later follow suit. In 1925, he gave out his one and only medal, to John Barrymore, for his performance in Beau Brummel. The award, named The Rudolph Valentino Medal, required the agreement of Valentino, two judges and the votes of 75 critics. Everyone other than Valentino himself was eligible.
Valentino first met Natacha Rambova, a costume designer and art director and protégée of Nazimova, on the set of Uncharted Seas in 1921. The two worked together on the Nazimova production of Camille, by which time they were romantically involved. They married on May 13, 1922, in Mexicali, Mexico, which resulted in Valentino's arrest for bigamy since he had not been divorced for a full year, as required by California law at the time. Days passed and his studio at the time, Famous Players-Lasky, refused to post bail. Eventually, a few friends were able to post the cash bail.
Having to wait the year or face the possibility of being arrested again, Rambova and Valentino lived in separate apartments in New York City, each with their own roommates. On March 14, 1923, they legally remarried.
Many of Valentino's friends disliked Rambova and found her controlling. During his relationship with her, he lost many friends and business associates, including June Mathis. Toward the end of their marriage, Rambova was banned from his sets by contract. Valentino and Rambova divorced in 1925. The end of the marriage was bitter, with Valentino bequeathing Rambova one dollar in his will.
From the time he died until the 1960s, Valentino's sexuality was not generally questioned. At least four books, particularly Hollywood Babylon, began to perpetuate that he may have been homosexual despite his marriage with Rambova. In fact, the marriages to Acker and Rambova, as well as the relationship with Pola Negri only serves to add to the suspicion that Valentino was homosexual and that these were "lavender marriages", as all have documented lesbian relationships. Such books gave rise to claims that Valentino had a relationship with Ramón Novarro, despite even Novarro stating they barely knew each other. Hollywood Babylon in particular spread the rumor that Valentino had given Novarro an art deco dildo as a gift, which was found stuffed in his throat at the time of his murder. No such gift ever existed. These books also gave rise to claims that he may have had relationships with both roommates Paul Ivano and Douglas Gerrad, as well as Norman Kerry, openly gay French actor Jacques Herbertot and André Daven. However, Ivano maintained that it was completely untrue and both he and Valentino were heterosexual. Biographers Emily Leider and Allan Ellenberger generally agree that he was most likely straight.
Further evidence that Valentino was gay are documents in the estate of the late author Samuel Steward indicating that Valentino was a sexual partner of his. However, evidence found in Steward's claim was subsequently refuted. In 1924, Valentino recorded an explicit account of a one night stand with another man in his journal.
Shortly before his death, Valentino was dating actress Pola Negri. Upon his death, Negri made a scene at his funeral, claiming they had been engaged. Valentino had never confirmed the engagement claim.
An estimated 100,000 people lined the streets of New York City to pay their respects at his funeral, handled by the Frank Campbell Funeral Home. The event was a drama itself: Suicides of despondent fans were reported. Windows were smashed as fans tried to get in and an all day riot erupted on August 24. Over 100 Mounted officers and NYPD's Police Reserve was deployed to restore order. A phalanx of officers would line the streets for the remainder of the viewing. The drama inside would not be outdone. Polish Actress Pola Negri, claiming to be Valentino's fiancee, collapsed in hysterics while standing over the coffin, and Campbell's hired four actors to impersonate a Fascist Blackshirt honor guard, which claimed to have been sent by Benito Mussolini. It was later revealed as a planned publicity stunt. Media reports that the body on display in the main salon was not Valentino but a decoy were continually denied by Campbell.
Valentino's funeral mass in New York was held at Saint Malachy's Roman Catholic Church, often called "The Actor's Chapel", as it is located on West 49th Street in the Broadway theater district, and has a long association with show business figures.
After the body was taken by train across the country, a second funeral was held on the West Coast, at the Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. Valentino had no final burial arrangements and his friend June Mathis offered her crypt for him in what she thought would be a temporary solution. However, she died the following year and Valentino was placed in the adjoining crypt. The two are still interred side by side in adjoining crypts at the Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery (now the Hollywood Forever Cemetery) in Hollywood, California.
Also in 2010, Rudolph Valentino's historic Bayside, Queens, house was restored. John Joseph Fasano, a New York artist, restored all the original mahagony in the famous "Valentino Room". Fasano also painted two traditional murals in oil paint at the estate, and created decorative wall finishes inside the "Valentino Room".
Over the years, a "woman in black" carrying a red rose has come to mourn at Valentino's grave, usually on the anniversary of his death. Several myths surround the woman, though it seems the first woman in black was actually a publicity stunt cooked up by press agent Russel Birdwell in 1928. Several copycats have followed over the years.
Valentino has been depicted frequently in literature, most notably in Mitzi Szereto's Wicked: Sexy Tales of Legendary Lovers and Jacob Appel's After Valentino.
Valentino's hometown of Castellaneta, Italy has created several services in his honor. A Museo Rodolfo Valentino was opened in his childhood home. A Fondazione Rodolfo Valentino was created to promote his life and his work. In 2009 a film school was also opened in his hometown, "Centro Studi Cine Club Rodolfo Valentino Castellaneta." At the centennial of his birth several events were held in his honor. From 1972 to 2006 an Italian acting award, "The Rudolph Valentino Award", was handed out every year. Several actors from all over the world received this award including Leonardo DiCaprio and Elizabeth Taylor.
In 2006, the Italians planned a one-off film festival to celebrate the opening of the Museo Rodolfo Valentino. In May 2010, the American Society held The Rudolph Valentino Film Festival in Los Angeles, California.
An earlier feature film about Valentino's life, also called Valentino, was released in 1951, starring Anthony Dexter as Valentino.
In 2003, Edoardo Ballerini premiered the short film Good Night Valentino at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim. It is based on the transcripts of the conversation between Rudolph Valentino and H.L. Mencken.
In 2010, Italian film director Giuseppe Sansonna shot the documentary film, The Sheik from Castellaneta, on the cult of Valentino in Castellaneta, where he is still considered a demigod. The film shows the curious, sometimes even grotesque, forms that Valentino's myth has taken in local popular culture.
In 2011 American full length silent film "Death of the Sheik" (Silent Life), directed by Vlad Kozlov, is produced and will be premiered in late 2011 in Hollywood.
The original Royal Hawaiian resort was fashioned in a Spanish-Moorish style which was popular during the time period and influenced by screen star Rudolph Valentino.
! Year | ! Title | ! Role | Notes |
1914 | My Official Wife | Extra | Uncredited |
1914 | Dance Extra | Uncredited | |
1916 | The Quest of Life | Uncredited | |
1916 | The Foolish Virgin | Uncredited | |
1916 | Seventeen | Extra | Uncredited |
1917 | Alimony | Dancer | Uncredited |
1917 | Patria | ||
1918 | A Society Sensation | Dick Bradley | as Rudolpho De Valentina |
1918 | All Night | Richard Thayer | as Rudolpho di Valentina |
1918 | The Married Virgin | Count Roberto di San Fraccini | as Rodolfo di Valentini |
1919 | The Delicious Little Devil | Jimmy Calhoun | as Rudolpho De Valintine |
1919 | The Big Little Person | Arthur Endicott | as M. Rodolpho De Valentina |
1919 | A Rogue's Romance | Apache Dancer | as Rudolph Volantino |
1919 | The Homebreaker | Dance Extra | Uncredited |
1919 | Out of Luck | ||
1919 | Virtuous Sinners | Bit Part | |
1919 | The Fog | ||
1919 | Nobody Home | Maurice Rennard | as Rodolph Valentine |
1919 | Eyes of Youth | Clarence Morgan | as Rudolfo Valentino |
1920 | Jose Dalmarez | as Rudolph Valentine | |
1920 | Jacques Rudanyi | as Rodolph Valentino | |
1920 | The Cheater | Extra | Uncredited |
1920 | Passion's Playground | Prince Angelo Della Robbia | as Rudolph Valentine |
1920 | The Wonderful Chance | Joe Klingsby | |
1921 | Julio Desnoyers | ||
1921 | Uncharted Seas | Frank Underwood | |
1921 | The Conquering Power | Charles Grandet | |
1921 | Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan | ||
1921 | Armand Duval / Manon's Lover in Daydream | ||
1922 | Moran of the Lady Letty | Ramon Laredo | |
1922 | Lord Hector Bracondale | ||
1922 | Juan Gallardo | as Rodolph Valentino | |
1922 | The Young Rajah | Amos Judd, also known as the Maharajah Sirdir Singh | as Rodolph Valentino |
1924 | Duke de Chartres/Beaucaire | ||
1924 | A Sainted Devil | Don Alonzo Castro | |
1925 | Count Rodrigo Torriani | ||
1925 | Lt. Vladimir Dubrovsky, aka The Black Eagle and Marcel Le Blanc | ||
1926 | The Son of the Sheik | Ahmed, the Sheik's Son / Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan | Final film |
Category:American actors Category:Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Category:Deaths from surgical complications Category:Deaths from peritonitis Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Italian expatriates in the United States Category:Italian actors Category:Italian film actors Category:American film actors Category:Italian emigrants to the United States Category:Italian silent film actors Category:People from the Province of Taranto Category:20th-century actors Category:1895 births Category:1926 deaths
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birth name | Leslie William Nielsen |
---|---|
birth date | February 11, 1926 |
birth place | Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada |
death date | November 28, 2010 |
death place | Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States |
death cause | Pneumonia |
occupation | Actor |
nationality | Canadian-American |
education | Victoria Composite High School |
alma mater | Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts, Toronto |
years active | 1948–2010 |
relatives | Erik Nielsen (brother)Jean Hersholt (half-uncle) |
spouse | Monica Boyer (1950–1956)Alisande Ullman (1958–1973)Brooks Oliver (1981–1983)Barbaree Earl (2001–2010) |
signature | LeslieNielsen.png }} |
Although Nielsen's acting career crossed a variety of genres in both television and films, his deadpan delivery in Airplane! (1980) marked a turning point in his career, one that would make him, in the words of film critic Roger Ebert, "the Olivier of spoofs." Nielsen enjoyed further success with The Naked Gun film series (1988 1994), based on a short-lived television series Police Squad! in which he starred earlier. His portrayal of serious characters seemingly oblivious to (and complicit in) their absurd surroundings gave him a reputation as a comedian. In the final years of his career, Nielsen appeared in multiple spoof and parody films, many of which were met poorly by critics, but performed well in box office and home media releases. Nielsen married four times and had two daughters from his second marriage. He was recognized with a variety of awards throughout his career, and was inducted into the Canada and Hollywood Walks of Fame.
Nielsen had two brothers; his older brother, Erik Nielsen (1924–2008), was Deputy Prime Minister of Canada during the 1980s. Ingvard was a troubled man who beat his wife and sons, and Leslie longed to escape. As soon as he graduated from high school at 17, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, even though he was legally deaf (he wore hearing aids most of his life).
His half-uncle, Jean Hersholt, was an actor best known for his portrayal of Dr. Christian in the long-running radio series of the same name and the subsequent television series and films. In a 1994 Boston Globe article, Nielsen explained, "I did learn very early that when I would mention my uncle, people would look at me as if I were the biggest liar in the world. Then I would take them home and show them 8-by-10 glossies, and things changed quite drastically. So I began to think that maybe this acting business was not a bad idea, much as I was very shy about it and certainly without courage regarding it. My uncle died not too long after I was in a position to know him. I regret that I had not a chance to know him better."
Nielsen spent several years living in Fort Norman (now Tulita), Northwest Territories where his father was stationed with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. At the age of 17, following his graduation from Victoria Composite High School in Edmonton, Nielsen enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and was trained as an aerial gunner during the latter part of World War II (but was too young to be fully trained or sent overseas). He worked briefly as a disc jockey at a Calgary, Alberta radio station, before enrolling at the Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts, Toronto. While studying in Toronto, Nielsen received a scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse. He noted, "I couldn't refuse, but I must say when you come from the land of the snow goose, the moose and wool to New York, you're bringing every ton of hayseed and country bumpkin that you packed. As long as I didn't open my mouth, I felt a certain security. But I always thought I was going to be unmasked: 'OK, pack your stuff.' 'Well, what's the matter?' 'We've discovered you have no talent; we're shipping you back to Canada.'" He moved to New York City for his scholarship, studying theater and music at the Neighborhood Playhouse, while performing in summer stock theatre. Afterward, he attended the Actors Studio, until making his first television appearance in 1948 on an episode of Studio One, alongside Charlton Heston, for which he was paid US$75.
Forbidden Planet became an instant success, and roles in other MGM films such as Ransom! (1956), The Opposite Sex (1956) and Hot Summer Night (1957) followed. In 1957 he won the lead role opposite Debbie Reynolds in the romantic comedy Tammy and the Bachelor, which, as a Chicago Tribune critic wrote in 1998, made people consider Nielsen as both a dramatic actor and a handsome romantic lead. However, dissatisfied with the quality of the films he was offered, calling the studios " a Tiffany, which had forgotten how to make silver", Nielsen left MGM, but not before auditioning for the role of Messala in the 1959 historical piece Ben-Hur. Stephen Boyd was eventually given the role. After leaving the studios, Nielsen landed the lead role in the Disney miniseries The Swamp Fox, as American Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion. In a 1988 interview he reflected on the series, stating, "That was a great experience, because the Disney people didn't do their shows like everyone else, knocking out an episode a week. We only had to do an episode a month, and the budgets were extremely high for TV at that time. We had location shooting rather than cheap studio backdrops, and very authentic costumes." Eight episodes were produced and aired between 1959 and 1961.
His television appearances include parts in Justice, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Virginian, and The Wild Wild West. In 1961, he was the lead in a taut Los Angeles police drama called The New Breed. In 1968, he had a major role in the pilot film for the popular police series Hawaii Five-O, and later appeared in one of the seventh season episodes. In 1969, he had the leading role as a police officer in The Bold Ones: The Protectors.
In 1972, Nielsen appeared as the ship's captain in the all-star disaster epic The Poseidon Adventure. He also starred in the William Girdler-directed 1977 action film Project: Kill. His last role before portraying mainly comedy roles was the Canadian disaster film City on Fire in which he played a corrupt mayor. In 1980, he guest starred as Sinclair on the CBS miniseries The Chisholms.
Critics praised the film, which also proved to be a success with audiences. The film's directors, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, chose Nielsen for the role based on his ability to play "a fish in water", stating that "You could have cast funny people and done it with everybody winking, goofing off, and silly...we wanted people to be oblivious to the comedy." For Nielsen, Airplane! marked a shift from dramatic roles to a new focus on deadpan comedy. When it was suggested that his role in Airplane! was against type, Nielsen protested that he had "always been cast against type before," and that comedy was what he always really wanted to do.
The directors, interested in the success of the new comedy, decided to bring a similar style of comedy to television, casting Nielsen in the lead role in their new series, Police Squad!. The series introduced Nielsen as Frank Drebin, the stereotypical police officer modeled after serious characters in earlier police TV series.
Police Squad's opening sequence was based on the 1950s cop show M Squad, (which starred Lee Marvin), which opened with footage of a police car roving through an after-dark urban setting with a big band playing a jazz theme song in the background. The voice-over and the show's organization into "acts" with an epilogue was homage to Quinn Martin police dramas including The Fugitive, The Streets of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones, The F.B.I., and Cannon. Much like in Airplane!, Nielsen portrayed a serious character whose one-liners appeared accidental next to the pratfalls and sight gags around him. Although the show was quickly canceled, lasting only six episodes after being juggled between time slots, Nielsen received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
Non-comedic roles included Prom Night (1980) and Creepshow (1982), both horror films. His last dramatic role was as Allen Green, a violent john killed in self-defense by Barbra Streisand's prostitute character, Claudia Draper, in Martin Ritt's courtroom drama Nuts (1987).
Six years after the cancellation of Police Squad!, its directors decided to make a feature length version for theaters. Titled The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!. The film returned Nielsen to his role as Frank Drebin. It involved a comical scheme of a ruthless drug kingpin using hypnosis in an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II. Drebin, like the doctor in Airplane!, seemed unaware of the absurdity around him even when unintentionally contributing toward it. Nielsen later said in an interview that he had done many of his own stunts, "You have an idea of how you're going to do something, and it's your vision... unless you do it, it really doesn't stand a chance." This movie grossed over $78 million at the box office and was well-received by critics. Ebert's 3½–star review (out of four) noted, "You laugh, and then you laugh at yourself for laughing."
The Naked Gun spawned two sequels: The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) and Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994). Naked Gun 2½ grossed more than the original, with $86,930,400, while Naked Gun 33⅓ grossed $51,132,600 in receipts. Nielsen remained open to the prospects of acting in a fourth Naked Gun film, although he doubted that it would ever be produced—"I don't think so," he said in 2005. "If there hasn't been one by now, I doubt it. I think it would be wonderful."
Nielsen briefly appeared on the World Wrestling Federation program in the summer of 1994 on Monday Night RAW; capitalizing on his Frank Drebin character, Nielsen (and George Kennedy) were hired as "super-sleuths" to unravel the mystery of The Undertaker who had disappeared at January's Royal Rumble event. At SummerSlam 1994, in a Naked Gun parody, they were hot on the case (in fact, they were literally standing on a case). Although they did not actually find The Undertaker, the case had been closed (the literal case had been shut) and thus, they solved the mystery.
Although The Naked Gun series parodied police dramas in general, Nielsen's later parody films focused on specific targets. Critics panned Repossessed (1990) and 2001: A Space Travesty (2001), parodies of The Exorcist and 2001: A Space Odyssey, respectively. Both films attempted the absurdist comedy Nielsen is recognized for, but were poorly received. Even a leading role in a Mel Brooks comic horror parody, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, failed to generate much box office excitement, although it did gain somewhat of a following on its later release to video. Both 1996's Spy Hard and 1998's Wrongfully Accused, a parody of James Bond films and The Fugitive, respectively, received more popularity on home video but were not well-received by critics.
His attempt at children's comedies met with additional criticism. Surf Ninjas (1993) and Mr. Magoo (1997) faced scathing reviews. Several critics were disappointed that Nielsen's role in Surf Ninjas was only "an extended cameo" and film critic Chris Hicks recommended that viewers "...avoid any comedy that features Leslie Nielsen outside of the Naked Gun series." Jeff Miller of the Houston Chronicle panned Mr. Magoo, a live action remake of the 1950s cartoon, by saying, "I'm supposed to suggest how the film might be better but I can't think of anything to say other than to make the film again."
Nielsen's first major slapstick success since The Naked Gun came in a supporting role in Scary Movie 3 (2003). His appearance as President Harris proved popular enough for a second appearance in its sequel, Scary Movie 4 (2006). This became the first time Nielsen reprised a character since his appearances as Frank Drebin. In one scene, Nielsen appeared almost fully nude, and one critic referred to the scene as putting "the 'scary' in Scary Movie 4."
Nielsen also hosted a series of instructional golf videos beginning with 1993's Bad Golf Made Easier. The videos were not serious, instead combining absurdist comedy with golf techniques. The series were popular enough to spawn two additional sequels, Bad Golf My Way (1994) and Stupid Little Golf Video (1997). Nielsen also co-wrote a fictional autobiography titled The Naked Truth. The book portrayed Nielsen as a popular actor with a long history of prestigious films.
Beginning in February 2007, Nielsen began playing a small role as a doctor in the humorous yet educational television show Doctor*Ology. The show chronicles real-life medical techniques and technology, and airs on the Discovery Channel. In an interview, Nielsen admitted his admiration for the doctors on the show: "There are any number of things that you think about when you ponder if you hadn't been an actor, what would you be, and I've always said I'd like to be an astronaut or a doctor. I have such admiration for doctors. I just don't know how you go around to thank them enough for coming up with the world's most remarkable new discoveries."
In 2007, Nielsen starred in the drama Music Within. In 2008, he portrayed a version of Uncle Ben for Superhero Movie, a spoof of superhero films. He then appeared in the 2008 parody film An American Carol, which David Zucker directed, produced, and co-wrote. He appeared in the 2009 parody Stan Helsing. Nielsen portrayed the Doctor in the Spanish horror comedy Spanish Movie, a spoof comedy like Scary Movie, but making fun of popular Spanish films.
Nielsen appeared in over 100 films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying over 220 characters.
Nielsen married four times: Monica Boyer (1950–1956), Alisande Ullman (1958–1973), Brooks Oliver (1981–1983) and Barbaree Earl (2001–2010; his death). Nielsen had two daughters from his second marriage, Maura and Thea Nielsen.
Nielsen was a fan of golf, and he often played it in his free time. Nielsen joked about his view on golf, "I have no goals or ambition. I do, however, wish to work enough to maintain whatever celebrity status I have so that they will continue to invite me to golf tournaments." Nielsen's interest in the sport led him to star in several comedic instructional films.
Nielsen stated in several interviews that he had a few medical problems such as hearing impairment. He was legally deaf and wore hearing aids for most of his life. Because of this impairment, he publicly supported the Better Hearing Institute.
On 20 February 2002, Nielsen was named an honorary citizen of West Virginia and an "Ambassador of Mountain State Goodwill". Nielsen visited the state many times to speak and visit friends. In 2003, in honor of Nielsen, Grant MacEwan College named its school of communications after him. Also in 2003, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists awarded him the ACTRA Award of Excellence.
Year | ! Role | ! Other notes | ||
rowspan="4" | 1956 | Ransom! | Charlie Telfer | |
Forbidden Planet | Commander John J. Adams | |||
The Vagabond King (1956 film)The Vagabond King | |
Thibault | ||
The Opposite Sex | Steve Hilliard | |||
rowspan="2" | 1957 | Hot Summer Night (1957 film)Hot Summer Night || | William Joel Partain | |
Tammy and the Bachelor | Peter Brent | |||
1958 | The Sheepman| | Col. Stephen Bedford / Johnny Bledsoe | ||
rowspan="2" | 1964 | See How They Run (1964 film)See How They Run || | Elliot Green | First television movie. |
Night Train to Paris | Alan Holiday | |||
rowspan="2" | 1965 | Dark Intruder| | Brett Kingsford | |
Harlow (Paramount film)Harlow | |
Richard Manley | ||
rowspan="2" | 1966 | The Plainsman (1966 film)The Plainsman || | Col. George Armstrong Custer | |
Beau Geste (1966 film)Beau Geste | |
Lieutenant De Ruse | ||
rowspan="4" | 1967 | Code Name: Heraclitus| | Fryer | |
The Reluctant Astronaut | Major Fred Gifford | |||
Gunfight in Abilene | Grant Evers | |||
Rosie! | Cabot Shaw | |||
rowspan="4" | 1968 | How to Steal the World| | General Maximilian Harmon | The Man From U.N.C.L.E. film. |
Counterpoint (1968 film)Counterpoint | |
Victor Rice | ||
Dayton's Devils | Frank Dayton | |||
Companions in Nightmare | Dr. Neesden | |||
rowspan="4" | 1969 | Trial Run| | Jason Harkness | |
Deadlock (1969 film)Deadlock | |
Lieutenant Sam Danforth | ||
How to Commit Marriage | Phil Fletcher | |||
Change of Mind | Sherrif Webb | |||
rowspan="3" | 1970 | Night Slaves| | Sherrif Henshaw | |
The Aquarians | Official | |||
Hauser's Memory | Joseph Slaughter | |||
rowspan="3" | 1971 | Incident In San Francisco| | Lieutenant Brubaker | |
Four Rode Out | Mr. Brown | |||
They Call It Murder | Frank Antrim | |||
1972 | The Poseidon Adventure (1972 film)The Poseidon Adventure || | Captain Harrison | ||
rowspan="4" | 1973 | ...And Millions Die!| | Jack Gallagher | |
Snatched | Bill Sutting | |||
Amanda Fallon | Mr. Cummings | |||
The Return Of Charlie Chan | Alexander Hadrachi | |||
rowspan="2" | 1975 | Can Ellen Be Saved| | Arnold Lindsey | |
Threshold: The Blue Angels Experience | Narrator | |||
rowspan="3" | 1976 | Grand Jury (1976 film)Grand Jury || | John Williams | |
Project Kill | Jonathan Trevor | |||
Brinks: The Great Robbery | Agent Norman Houston | |||
rowspan="5" | 1977 | Sixth and Main| | John Doe | |
Day of the Animals | Paul Jenson | |||
Viva Knievel! | Stanley Millard | |||
The Kentucky Fried Movie | Man in Feel-O-Rama Movie | |||
The Amsterdam Kill | Riley Knight | |||
1978 | ''Little Mo (1978 film)Little Mo || | Nelson Fisher | ||
rowspan="4" | 1979 | Institute for Revenge| | Counselor Hollis Barnes | |
The Albertans | Don MacIntosh | |||
Riel (1979 film)Riel | |
Major Crozier | ||
City on Fire (1979 film)City on Fire | |
Mayor William Dudley | ||
rowspan="3" | 1980 | OHMS (1980 film)OHMS || | Governor | |
Airplane! | Dr. Rumack | |||
Prom Night (1980 film)Prom Night | |
Mr. Raymond Hammond | ||
rowspan="1" | 1981 | A Choice of Two| | Unknown | |
rowspan="4" | 1982 | Twilight Theater (film)Twilight Theater || | Various Characters | |
Foxfire Light | Reece Morgan | |||
Wrong Is Right | Mallory | |||
Creepshow | Richard Vickers | |||
rowspan="4" | 1983 | Prime Time| | Unknown | |
The Night the Bridge Fell Down | Paul Warren | |||
Cave-In! | Joseph 'Joe' Johnson | |||
The Creature Wasn't Nice (Spaceship) | Capt. Jamieson | |||
rowspan="4" | 1985 | Murder Among Friends| | Unknown | |
Reckless Disregard | Bob Franklin | |||
Blade in Hong Kong | Harry Ingersoll | |||
Striker's Mountain | Jim McKay | |||
rowspan="2" | 1986 | The Patriot (1986 film)The Patriot || | Admiral Frazer | |
Soul Man (film)Soul Man | |
Mr. Dunbar | ||
rowspan="3" | 1987 | Nightstick (film)Nightstick || | Thad Evans | |
Nuts (film)Nuts | |
Allen Green | ||
Home Is Where The Hart Is | Sherrif Nashville Schwartz | |||
rowspan="3" | 1988 | >Dangerous Curves (1988 film)Dangerous Curves || | Greg Krevske | |
The Railway Dragon | Narrator | |||
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad |
Lieutenant Frank Drebin>Frank Drebin |
| ||
1990 | Repossessed (film)Repossessed || | Father Jebedaiah Mayii | ||
rowspan="3">1991 | All I Want for Christmas (film)All I Want for Christmas|| | Santa Claus | Family holiday film. | |
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear | Lt. Frank Drebin | |||
Chance of a Lifetime (1991 film)Chance of a Lifetime | |
Lloyd Dixon | ||
rowspan="2" | 1993 | Digger (1993 film)Digger || | Arthur Evrensel | |
Surf Ninjas | Colonel Chi | |||
rowspan="2" | 1994 | S.P.Q.R. 2000 e 1/2 anni fa| | Lucio Cinico | |
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult | Lt. Frank Drebin | |||
rowspan="3" | 1995 | Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree| | Willowby's butler | |
Rent-a-Kid | Harry Haber | |||
Dracula: Dead and Loving It | Count Dracula | |||
1996 | Spy Hard| | Dick Steele, Agent WD-40 | ||
1997 | Mr. Magoo (film)Mr. Magoo || | Mr. Magoo | ||
rowspan="4" | 1998 | Safety Patrol (film)Safety Patrol || | Mr. Penn | |
Family Plan (1997 film)Family Plan | |
Harry Haber | ||
Harvey (1998 film)Harvey | |
Dr. Chumley | ||
Wrongfully Accused | Ryan Harrison | |||
1999 | Pirates 4D| | Captain Lucky | 4D Cinema Show presented at various Busch Gardens amusement parks. | |
rowspan="2" | 2000 | Santa Who?| | Santa Claus | |
2001: A Space Travesty | Marshal Richard 'Dick' Dix | |||
rowspan="2" | 2001 | Camouflage (film)Camouflage || | Jack Potter | |
Kevin of the North (Chilly Dogs) | Clive Thornton | |||
2002 | Men with Brooms| | Gordon Cutter | ||
rowspan="2" | 2003 | Scary Movie 3| | President Harris | |
Noël Noël | English Narrator | |||
2006 | Scary Movie 4| | President Harris | ||
2007 | Music Within| | Bill Austin | ||
rowspan="3" | 2008 | Superhero Movie| | Uncle Albert | |
An American Carol | Grampa / Himself | |||
''Slap Shot 3: The Junior League | Mayor of Charlestown | |||
rowspan="2" | 2009 | Spanish Movie| | Doctor | |
Stan Helsing | Kay | |||
rowspan="1" | 2011 | ''Stonerville| | Producer | |
rowspan="1" | 2012 | Waterman (series)#The Waterman MovieThe Waterman Movie || | Ready Espanosa | Voice acting is complete; will be released posthumously. |
Year | ! Title | ! Role | ! Other Notes |
1953 | Jukebox Jury | Himself | |
1958–1961 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents| | Lloyd Ashley & DA Rudolph Cox | Two episodes |
1959 | The Swamp Fox (TV series)The Swamp Fox || | Colonel Francis Marion | |
1960 | Thriller (U.S. TV series)Thriller || | Alan Patterson (lead role) | Episode "The Twisted Image" |
1960, 1964 | Wagon Train| | Jeremy Dow, Brian Conlin | Two episodes |
1960 | The Untouchables (1959 TV series)The Untouchables || | Tom Sebring | Episode "Three Thousand Suspects" |
1961 | The New Breed (TV series)The New Breed || | Lt. Price Adams | Regular |
1963 | Channing (TV series)Channing || | Professor Paul Stafford | Single episode |
1963–1964 | The Fugitive (TV series)| | Martin C. Rowland & Harold Cheyney | Two episodes |
1964 | Your First Impression| | As himself | Single episode |
1964 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour| | Steven Grainger | Single episode |
1964–1969 | The Virginian (TV series)The Virginian || | Ben Stratton | Five episodes |
1965 | Peyton Place (TV series)Peyton Place || | Vincent and Kenneth Marham (twins) | 19 episodes |
1967 | Bonanza| | Sheriff Paul Rowan | One episode |
1969 | The Bold Ones: The Protectors| | Deputy Police Chief Sam Danforth | Seven episodes |
1969–1974 | Hawaii Five-O| | Brent & Colonel Faraday | Two episodes |
1971–1975 | Columbo (TV series)Columbo || | Peter Hamilton & Geronimo | Two episodes |
1971 | Bearcats!| | Col. Ted Donovan | Single episode |
1971 | Night Gallery| | Col. Dennis Malloy | Single episode "A Question of Fear" |
1973 | M*A*S*H (TV series)M*A*S*H || | The Ringbanger>Buzz Brighton | Episode "The Ringbanger" |
1973–1974 | The Streets of San Francisco| | Ofc. Joe Landers, Insp. John T. Connor, & Big Jake Wilson | Three episodes |
1974 | Cannon (TV series)Cannon || | Eric Strauss | Single episode |
1974 | Kojak| | Michael Hagar | Single episode "Loser Takes All" |
1975 | Kung Fu (TV series)Kung Fu || | Vincent Corbino | Four episodes |
1975–1976 | S.W.A.T. (TV series)S.W.A.T. || | Larry Neal/Vince Richie | Three episodes |
1979 | Backstairs at the White House (miniseries)Backstairs at the White House || | Ike Hoover | Three episodes |
1980 | The Littlest Hobo| | Mayor Chester Montgomery | Episode "Romiet and Julio" |
1982 | Police Squad!| | Det. Frank Drebin | Nominated for an Emmy Award |
1984 | Shaping Up| | Buddy Fox | |
1985–1986 | Murder, She Wrote| | Captain Daniels & David Everett | Two episodes |
1988 | Who's The Boss| | Max | |
1988 | Day by Day (TV series)Day By Day || | Jack Harper | One episode, nominated for an Emmy Award |
1989 | Saturday Night Live| | Himself | Single episode |
1992 | The Golden Girls| | Lucas Hollingsworth | Series finale |
1994–1999 | Due South| | Sgt. Buck Frobisher | Four episodes |
1994–1996, 2001–2002 | Katie and Orbie| | Narrator | |
1995 | Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree| | Mr. Willowby's Butler, Baxter | Television Christmas special |
2000 | Santa Who?| | Santa Claus | Television film |
2001 | Liocracy| | Terrence Brynne McKennie | |
2003 | Chilly Beach| | Santa Claus | Single episode |
2004 | Zeroman| | Les Mutton / Zeroman | |
rowspan="3" | 2007 | Doctorology| | Presenter>Host |
Lipshitz Saves the World | Lipshitz's mentor | ||
Robson Arms | Cado Vasco |
Category:1926 births Category:2010 deaths Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Alberta Category:Actors from the Northwest Territories Category:Actors from Saskatchewan Category:American people of Welsh descent Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American film producers Category:American people of Danish descent Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Canadian comedians Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States Category:Canadian military personnel of World War II Category:Canadian people of Danish descent Category:Canadian people of Welsh descent Category:Canadian television actors Category:Canadian voice actors Category:Deaths from pneumonia Category:Infectious disease deaths in Florida Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre alumni Category:Officers of the Order of Canada Category:People from Edmonton Category:People from Regina, Saskatchewan Category:Royal Canadian Air Force personnel
ar:ليسلي نيلسن an:Leslie Nielsen az:Lesli Nilsen zh-min-nan:Leslie Nielsen be:Леслі Нільсен be-x-old:Лэсьлі Нільсан bs:Leslie Nielsen bg:Лесли Нилсен ca:Leslie Nielsen cs:Leslie Nielsen cy:Leslie Nielsen da:Leslie Nielsen de:Leslie Nielsen et:Leslie Nielsen es:Leslie Nielsen eo:Leslie Nielsen eu:Leslie Nielsen fa:لسلی نیلسن fr:Leslie Nielsen fy:Leslie Nielsen ga:Leslie Nielsen gd:Leslie Nielsen gl:Leslie Nielsen ko:레슬리 닐슨 hr:Leslie Nielsen io:Leslie Nielsen id:Leslie Nielsen it:Leslie Nielsen he:לסלי נילסן ka:ლესლი ნილსენი la:Leslius Nielsen lv:Leslijs Nīlsens lb:Leslie Nielsen lt:Leslie Nielsen hu:Leslie Nielsen mk:Лесли Нилсен nl:Leslie Nielsen ja:レスリー・ニールセン no:Leslie Nielsen nds:Leslie Nielsen pl:Leslie Nielsen pt:Leslie Nielsen ro:Leslie Nielsen ru:Нильсен, Лесли sk:Leslie Nielsen szl:Leslie Nielsen sr:Лесли Нилсен sh:Leslie Nielsen fi:Leslie Nielsen sv:Leslie Nielsen th:เลสลี นีลเซน tr:Leslie Nielsen uk:Леслі Нільсен zh:萊斯里·尼爾森This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
name | Thalia Zedek |
---|---|
born | 1961, Washington, D.C., United States |
background | solo_singer |
genre | Indie rock |
years active | 1980–present |
label | Kimchee Records, Matador Records, Thrill Jockey |
associated acts | Dangerous Birds, Uzi, Live Skull, Come |
website | }} |
Thalia Zedek (born 1961) is an American singer and guitarist. Active since the early 1980s, she has been a member of several notable alternative rock groups, including Live Skull and Come. Critic Heather Phares writes that Zedek's music can be defined by "the permanent, aching rasp in her voice, her guitar's bluesy bite, the startlingly clear-eyed lyrics about life and loss."
Zedek moved to Boston in 1979, attending Boston University for one semester before deciding to pursue a musical career instead. Her first band, the all-female White Women, broke up after a couple of years, and she formed the Dangerous Birds. This group had somewhat more success, including a single, "Smile on Your Face/Alpha Romeo", which achieved airplay on college and alternative-commercial radio; but Zedek wanted a more "violent" sound in contrast to the somewhat "girlie pop" tendencies of her Dangerous Birds bandmates. Her next project, Uzi, worked towards this aim, producing an EP, "Sleep Asylum". The EP was characterized by elusive yet subtly menacing lyrics superimposed upon lugubrious but driving instrumental tracks, featuring layers of dense, murky yet muscular guitar arrangements, blended with heady synthesizer and tape effects. However, despite the promise of "Sleep Asylum", Uzi dissolved, owing to tension between Zedek and the band's drummer, Danny Lee.
She next took the role of primary vocalist for New York City's Live Skull, a band already well established. While the album "Dusted," the first product of this collaboration, reflected an intense synergy between Zedek's vocal style and the complexly histrionic instrumental work of Live Skull, the follow-up "Positraction" floundered, and Live Skull also disbanded, due to conflicts, in 1990. By that time, Zedek had also run into problems regarding heroin addiction. Motivated to quit, she returned to Boston and the support of her friends. She soon co-founded Come, with former Codeine drummer Chris Brokaw. It was with them that she had her biggest successes, releasing four albums before the group disbanded in 2001. In that same year, she also released Been Here And Gone, her first solo project. Since then she has released two other full-length albums and several EPs.
Zedek was also a participant in the 1998 Suffragette Sessions tour, organized by the Indigo Girls. In 2006, she performed at North East Sticks Together.
In spite of limited commercial success, Zedek has been highly acclaimed by music critics throughout her career, and has arguably been deeply influential within the indie-rock realm, particularly through her influence within the prolific Boston indie scene, which has spawned many noteworthy artists. She is an "out-and-proud lesbian".
Category:1961 births Category:American rock guitarists Category:American female singers Category:American female guitarists Category:Lesbian musicians Category:People from Boston, Massachusetts Category:Living people Category:Jewish entertainers Category:LGBT musicians from the United States
it:Thalia Zedek pt:Thalia ZedekThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
name | Marcel Duchamp |
---|---|
birth name | Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp |
birth date | July 28, 1887 |
birth place | Blainville-Crevon, France |
death date | October 02, 1968 |
death place | Neuilly-sur-Seine, France |
nationality | French, became a U.S. citizen in 1955 |
field | Painting, sculpture, film |
movement | Dada, Surrealism |
works | Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 (1912)Fountain (1917)The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even (1915–23)Etant donnés (1946–66) |
awards | }} |
Duchamp challenged conventional thought about artistic processes and art marketing, not so much by writing, but through subversive actions such as dubbing a urinal art and naming it Fountain. He produced relatively few artworks, while moving quickly through the avant-garde circles of his time.
The creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative act.
Of Eugene and Lucie Duchamp's seven children, one died as an infant and four became successful artists. Marcel Duchamp was the brother of:
As a child, with his two older brothers already away from home at school in Rouen, Duchamp was close to his sister Suzanne, who was a willing accomplice in games and activities conjured by his fertile imagination. At 10 years old, Duchamp followed in his brothers' footsteps when he left home and began schooling at the Lycée Corneille in Rouen. For the next 7 years, he was locked into an educational regime which focused on intellectual development. Though he was not an outstanding student, his best subject was mathematics and he won two mathematics prizes at the school. He also won a prize for drawing in 1903, and at his commencement in 1904 he won a coveted first prize, validating his recent decision to become an artist.
He learned academic drawing from a teacher who unsuccessfully attempted to protect his students from Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and other avant-garde influences. However, Duchamp's true artistic mentor at the time was his brother Jacques Villon, whose fluid and incisive style he sought to imitate. At 14, his first serious art attempts were drawings and watercolors depicting his sister Suzanne in various poses and activities. That summer he also painted landscapes in an Impressionist style using oils.
He studied art at the Académie Julian from 1904 to 1905, but preferred playing billiards to attending classes. During this time Duchamp drew and sold cartoons which reflected his ribald humor. Many of the drawings use visual and/or verbal puns. Such play with words and symbols engaged his imagination for the rest of his life.
In 1905, he began his compulsory military service, working for a printer in Rouen. There he learned typography and printing processes – skills he would use in his later work.
Due to his eldest brother Jacques' membership in the prestigious Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture Duchamp's work was exhibited in the 1908 Salon d'Automne. The following year his work was featured in the Salon des Indépendants. Of Duchamp's pieces in the show, critic Guillaume Apollinaire--who was to become a friend—criticized what he called "Duchamp's very ugly nudes." Duchamp also became lifelong friends with exuberant artist Francis Picabia after meeting him at the 1911 Salon d' Automne, and Picabia proceeded to introduce him to a lifestyle of fast cars and 'high' living.
In 1911, at Jacques' home in Puteaux, the brothers hosted a regular discussion group with other artists and writers including Picabia, Robert Delaunay, Fernand Léger, Roger de la Fresnaye, Albert Gleizes, Jean Metzinger, Juan Gris, and Alexander Archipenko. The group came to be known as the Puteaux Group, and the artists' work was dubbed Orphic cubism. Uninterested in the Cubists' seriousness or in their focus on visual matters, Duchamp did not join in discussions of Cubist theory, and gained a reputation of being shy. However, that same year he painted in a Cubist style, and added an impression of motion by using repetitive imagery.
During this period Duchamp's fascination with transition, change, movement and distance became manifest, and like many artists of the time, he was intrigued with the concept of depicting a "Fourth dimension" in art.
Works from this period included his first "machine" painting, Coffee Mill (Moulin à café) (1911), which he gave to his brother Raymond Duchamp-Villon. The Coffee Mill shows similarity to the "grinder" mechanism of the Large Glass he was to paint years later.
In his 1911,Portrait of Chess Players (Portrait de joueurs d'echecs) there is the Cubist overlapping frames and multiple perspectives of his two brothers playing chess, but to that Duchamp added elements conveying the unseen mental activity of the players. (Notably, "échec" is French for "failure".)
He first submitted the piece to appear at the Cubist Salon des Indépendants, but jurist Albert Gleizes asked Duchamp's brothers to have him voluntarily withdraw the painting, or to paint over the title that he had painted on the work and rename it something else. Duchamp's brothers did approach him with Gleizes' request, but Duchamp quietly refused. Of the incident Duchamp later recalled, "I said nothing to my brothers. But I went immediately to the show and took my painting home in a taxi. It was really a turning point in my life, I can assure you. I saw that I would not be very much interested in groups after that."
He later submitted the painting to the 1913 "Armory Show" in New York City. The exhibition was officially named the International Exhibition of Modern Art, displayed works of American artists, and was also the first major exhibition of modern trends coming out of Paris. American show-goers, accustomed to realistic art, were scandalized, and the Nude was at the center of much of the controversy.
While in Germany in 1912, he painted the last of his Cubist-like paintings and he started "Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors" image, and began making plans for The Large Glass – scribbling short notes to himself, sometimes with hurried sketches. It would be over 10 years before this piece was completed. Little else is known about the two-month stay in Germany except that the friend he visited was intent on showing him the sights and the nightlife.
The same year, Duchamp also attended a performance of a stage adaptation of Raymond Roussel's 1910 novel, Impressions d'Afrique which featured plots that turned in on themselves, word play, surrealistic sets and humanoid machines. He credited the drama with having radically changed his approach to art, and having inspired him to begin the creation of his The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even, also known as The Large Glass. Work on The Large Glass continued into 1913, with his invention of inventing a repertoire of forms. He made notes, sketches and painted studies, and even drew some of his ideas on the wall of his apartment.
Towards the end of 1912, he traveled with Picabia, Apollinaire and Gabrielle Buffet-Picabia through the Jura mountains, an adventure that Buffet-Picabia described as one of their "forays of demoralization, which were also forays of witticism and clownery ... the disintegration of the concept of art.". Duchamp's notes from the trip avoid logic and sense, and have a surrealistic, mythical connotation.
Duchamp painted few canvases after 1912, and in those he did, he attempted to remove "painterly" effects, and instead to use a technical drawing approach.
His broad interests led him to an exhibition of aviation technology during this period, after which Duchamp said to his friend Constantin Brâncuşi, "Painting is washed up. Who will ever do anything better than that propeller? Tell me, can you do that?". Reflecting the influence of Poincaré's writings, Duchamp tolerated any interpretation of his art by regarding it as the creation of the person who formulated it, not as truth.
Duchamp's own art-science experiments began during his tenure at the library. To make one of his favorite pieces, 3 Standard Stoppages (3 stoppages étalon), he dropped three 1-meter lengths of thread onto prepared canvases, one at a time, from a height of 1 meter. The threads landed in three random undulating positions. He varnished them into place on the blue-black canvas strips and attached them to glass. He then cut three wood slats into the shapes of the curved strings, and put all the pieces into a croquet box. Three small leather signs with the title printed in gold were glued to each of the "stoppage" backgrounds. The piece appears to literally follow Poincaré's School of the Thread, part of a book on classical mechanics.
In his studio he mounted a bicycle wheel upside down onto a stool, spinning it occasionally just to watch it. It is often assumed that the Bicycle Wheel represents Duchamp's first of his "Readymades", this particular installation was never submitted for any art exhibition, and was eventually lost. However, initially, the wheel was simply placed in the studio to create atmosphere: "I enjoyed looking at it just as I enjoy looking at the flames dancing in a fireplace."
After World War I was declared in 1914, with his brothers and many friends in military service and himself exempted, Duchamp felt uncomfortable in Paris. Meanwhile, Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2 had scandalized Americans at the Armory Show, and helped secure the sale of all four of his paintings in the show. Thus, being able to finance the trip, Duchamp decided to emigrate to the United States in 1915.To his surprise, he found he was a celebrity when he arrived in New York in 1915, where he quickly befriended art patron Katherine Dreier and artist Man Ray. Duchamp's circle included art patrons Louise and Walter Conrad Arensberg, actress and artist Beatrice Wood and Francis Picabia, as well as other avant-garde figures. Though he spoke little English, in the course of supporting himself by giving French lessons and through some library work, he quickly learned the language.
For two years the Arensbergs, who would remain his friends and patrons for 42 years, were the landlords of his studio. In lieu of rent, they agreed that his payment would be The Large Glass. An art gallery offered Duchamp $10,000 per year in exchange for all of his yearly production, but Duchamp declined the offer, preferring to continue his work on The Large Glass.
By this time Walter Pach, one of the coordinators of the 1913 Armory Show, sought Duchamp's advice on modern art. Beginning with Société Anonyme, Dreier also depended on Duchamp's counsel in gathering her collection, as did Arensberg. Later Peggy Guggenheim, Museum of Modern Art directors Alfred Barr and James Johnson Sweeney consulted with Duchamp on their modern art collections and shows.
The most prominent example of Duchamp's association with Dada was his submission of Fountain, a urinal, to the Society of Independent Artists exhibit in 1917. Artworks in the Independent Artists shows were not selected by jury, and all pieces submitted were displayed. However, the show committee insisted that Fountain was not art, and rejected it from the show. This caused an uproar amongst the Dadaists, and led Duchamp to resign from the board of the Independent Artists.
Along with Henri-Pierre Roché and Beatrice Wood, Duchamp published a Dada magazine in New York, titled The Blind Man, which included art, literature, humor and commentary.
When he returned to Paris after World War I, Duchamp did not participate in the Dada group.
Bottle Rack (1914), a bottle drying rack signed by Duchamp, is considered to be the first "pure" readymade. Prelude to a Broken Arm (1915), a snow shovel, also called In Advance of the Broken Arm, followed soon after. His Fountain, a urinal signed with the pseudonym "R. Mutt", shocked the art world in 1917. Fountain was selected in 2004 as "the most influential artwork of the 20th century" by 500 renowned artists and historians.
In 1919, Duchamp made a parody of the Mona Lisa by adorning a cheap reproduction of the painting with a mustache and goatee. To this he added the inscription L.H.O.O.Q., a phonetic game which, when read out loud in French quickly sounds like "Elle a chaud au cul". This can be translated as "She has a hot ass", implying that the woman in the painting is in a state of sexual excitement and availability. It may also have been intended as a Freudian joke, referring to Leonardo da Vinci's alleged homosexuality. Duchamp gave a "loose" translation of L.H.O.O.Q. as "there is fire down below" in a late interview with Arturo Schwarz.
According to Rhonda Roland Shearer, the apparent Mona Lisa reproduction is in fact a copy modeled partly on Duchamp's own face. Research published by Shearer also speculates that Duchamp himself may have created some of the objects which he claimed to have been "found."
The piece was inspired by a performance of the stage adaptation of Roussel's novel Impressions d'Afrique which Duchamp attended in 1912. Notes, sketches and plans for the work were drawn on Duchamp's studio walls as early as 1913. In order to concentrate on the work free from material obligations, Duchamp found work as a librarian while living in France. After emigrating to the United States in 1915, he commenced his work on the piece financed by the support of the Arensbergs.
The piece is partially constructed as a retrospective of Duchamp's works, including a three dimensional reproduction of his earlier paintings Bride (1912), Chocolate Grinder (1914) and Glider containing a water mill in neighboring metals (1913–1915), which has opened for numerous interpretations. The work was formally declared "Unfinished" in 1923. Going home from its first public exhibition, the glass broke in its shipping crate and received a large crack in the glass. Duchamp repaired it, but left the cracks in the glass intact, accepting the chance element as a part of the piece.
Until 1969 when the Philadelphia Museum of Art revealed Duchamp's Etant donnés tableau, The Large Glass was thought to have been his last major work.
In 1920, with help from Man Ray, Duchamp built a motorized sculpture, Rotative plaques verre, optique de précision ("Rotary Glass Plates, Precision Optics"). The piece, which he did not consider to be art, involved a motor to spin pieces of rectangular glass on which were painted segments of a circle. When the apparatus spins, an optical illusion occurs, in which the segments appear to be closed concentric circles.
Man Ray set up equipment to photograph the initial experiment, but when they turned the machine on for the second time, a belt broke, and caught a piece of the glass, which after glancing off Man Ray's head, shattered into bits.
After moving back to Paris in 1923, at André Breton's urging and through the financing of Jacques Doucet, Duchamp built another optical device based on the first one, Rotative Demisphère, optique de précision (Rotary Demisphere, Precision Optics). This time the optical element was a globe cut in half, with black concentric circles painted on it. When it spins, the circles appear to move backwards and forwards in space. Duchamp asked that Doucet not exhibit the apparatus as art.
Rotoreliefs were the next phase of Duchamp's spinning works. To make the optical "play toys", he painted designs on flat cardboard circles and spun them on a phonographic turntable. When spinning, the flat disks appeared three-dimensional. He had a printer produce 500 sets of six of the designs, and set up a booth at a 1935 Paris inventors' show to sell them. The venture was a financial disaster, but some optical scientists thought they might be of use in restoring three-dimensional stereoscopic sight to people who have lost vision one eye.
In collaboration with Man Ray and Marc Allégret, Duchamp filmed early versions of the Rotoreliefs and they named the film Anémic Cinéma (1926).
Later, in Alexander Calder's studio in 1931, while looking at the sculptor's kinetic works, Duchamp suggested that these should be called "mobiles". Calder agreed to use this novel term in his upcoming show. To this day, sculptures of this type are called "mobiles."
In 1968, Duchamp and John Cage appeared together at a concert entitled "Reunion", playing a game of chess and composing Aleatoric music by triggering a series of photoelectric cells underneath the chessboard.
Sélavy emerged in 1921 in a series of photographs by Man Ray showing Duchamp dressed as a woman. Through the 1920s Man Ray and Duchamp collaborated on more photos of Sélavy. Duchamp later used the name as the byline on written material and signed several creations with it. These included at least one sculpture, Why Not Sneeze Rrose Sélavy?. The sculpture, a type of readymade called an assemblage, consists of an oral thermometer, and several dozen small cubes of marble resembling sugar cubes inside a birdcage.
The inspiration for the name "Rrose Sélavy" may have been Belle da Costa Greene, J.P. Morgan's librarian of the Pierpont Morgan Library. Following the death of J.P. Morgan, Sr., Greene became the Library's director, working there for a total of forty-three years. Empowered by the Morgans, she built the library collection, buying and selling rare manuscripts, books and art.
Duchamp can be seen, very briefly, playing chess with Man Ray in the short film Entr'acte (1924) by René Clair. He designed the 1925 Poster for the Third French Chess Championship, and as a competitor in the event, finished at fifty percent (3–3, with two draws). Thus he earned the title of chess master. During this period his fascination with chess so distressed his first wife that she glued his pieces to the board. Duchamp continued to play in the French Championships and also in the Chess Olympiads from 1928–1933, favoring hypermodern openings such as the Nimzo-Indian.
Sometime in the early 1930s, Duchamp reached the height of his ability, but realized that he had little chance of winning recognition in top-level chess. In following years, his participation in chess tournaments declined, but he discovered correspondence chess and became a chess journalist, writing weekly newspaper columns. While his contemporaries were achieving spectacular success in the art world by selling their works to high-society collectors, Duchamp observed, "I am still a victim of chess. It has all the beauty of art—and much more. It cannot be commercialized. Chess is much purer than art in its social position." On another occasion, Duchamp elaborated, "The chess pieces are the block alphabet which shapes thoughts; and these thoughts, although making a visual design on the chess-board, express their beauty abstractly, like a poem. ... I have come to the personal conclusion that while all artists are not chess players, all chess players are artists."
In 1932, Duchamp teamed with chess theorist Vitaly Halberstadt to publish L'opposition et cases conjuguées sont réconciliées (Opposition and Sister Squares are Reconciled), known as corresponding squares. This treatise describes the Lasker-Reichhelm position, an extremely rare type of position that can arise in the endgame. Using enneagram-like charts that fold upon themselves, the authors demonstrated that in this position, the most Black can hope for is a draw.
The theme of the "endgame" is important to an understanding of Duchamp's complex attitude towards his artistic career. Irish playwright Samuel Beckett was an associate of Duchamp, and used the theme as the narrative device for the 1957 play of the same name, Endgame In 1968, Duchamp played an artistically important chess match with avant-garde composer John Cage, at a concert entitled "Reunion." Music was produced by a series of photoelectric cells underneath the chessboard, triggered sporadically by normal game play.
On choosing a career in chess, Duchamp said, "If Bobby Fischer came to me for advice, I certainly would not discourage him—as if anyone could—but I would try to make it positively clear that he will never have any money from chess, live a monk-like existence and know more rejection than any artist ever has, struggling to be known and accepted." Duchamp left a legacy to chess in the form of an enigmatic endgame problem he composed in 1943. The problem was included in the announcement for Julian Lev's gallery exhibition "Through the Big End of the Opera Glass", printed on translucent paper with the faint inscription: "White to play and win." Grandmasters and endgame specialists have since grappled with the problem, with most concluding that there is no solution.
In June 1927, Duchamp married Lydie Sarazin-Lavassor; however, they divorced six months later. It was rumored that Duchamp had chosen a marriage of convenience, because Sarazin-Lavassor was the daughter of a wealthy automobile manufacturer. Early in January 1928, Duchamp said that he could no longer bear the responsibility and confinement of marriage, and soon thereafter they were divorced.
From the mid-1930s onwards, he collaborated with the Surrealists, however, he did not join the movement despite the coaxing of André Breton. From then until 1944, together with Max Ernst, Eugenio Granell and Breton, Duchamp edited the Surrealist periodical VVV, and also served as an advisory editor for the magazine View, which featured him in its March 1945 edition, thus introducing him to a broader American audience.
In 1954, he and Alexina "Teeny" Sattler married, and they remained together until his death. Duchamp became a United States citizen in 1955.
His influence on the art world remained behind the scenes until the late 1950s, when he was "discovered" by young artists such as Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, who were eager to escape the dominance of Abstract Expressionism. He was a co-founder of the international literary group Oulipo in 1960.
Interest in Duchamp was reignited in the 1960s, and he gained international public recognition. 1963 saw his first retrospective exhibition at the Pasadena Art Museum, and in 1966 the Tate Gallery hosted a large exhibit of his work. Other major institutions, including the Philadelphia Art Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, followed, with large showings of Duchamp's work. He was invited to lecture on art and to participate in formal discussions, as well as sitting for interviews with major publications.
As the last surviving member of the Duchamp family of artists, in 1967 Duchamp helped to organize an exhibition in Rouen, France, called "Les Duchamp: Jacques Villon, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Marcel Duchamp, Suzanne Duchamp." Parts of this family exhibition were later shown again at the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris.
The surrealists wanted to create an exhibition which in itself would be a creative act, and called on Duchamp to do so. At the exhibition's entrance he placed Salvador Dalí's Rainy Taxi This work consisted of a taxicab rigged to produce a drizzle of water down the inside of the windows, a shark-headed creature in the driver's seat, and a blond mannequin crawling with live snails in the back. In this way Duchamp greeted entering patrons, who were in full evening dress.
Surrealist Street filled one side of the lobby with mannequins dressed by various surrealists. The main hall was a simulation of a dark subterranean cave with 1,200 coal bags suspended from the ceiling. Illumination was provided only by a single light bulb, so patrons were given flashlights with which to view the art.
An installation by Wolfgang Paalen was composed of oak leaves and a water-filled pond with water lilies and reeds, while the aroma of roasting coffee filled the air. Around midnight, the visitors witnessed the dancing shimmer of a sparsely dressed girl who suddenly arose from the reeds, jumped on a bed, shrieked hysterically, then disappeared just as quickly. Much to the surrealists' satisfaction the exhibition scandalized the viewers.
In 1942, for the First Papers of Surrealism show in New York, surrealists again called on Duchamp to design the exhibition. This time he wove a three-dimensional web of string throughout the rooms of the space, in some cases making it almost impossible to see the works. Duchamp made a secret arrangement with an associate's son to bring young friends to the opening of the show. When the finely dressed patrons arrived, they found a dozen children in athletic clothes kicking and passing balls, and skipping rope. When questioned, the children were told to say "Mr. Duchamp told us we could play here." Duchamp's design of the catalog for the show included "found", rather than posed, photographs of the artists.
However, this was actually written in 1961 by fellow Dadaist Hans Richter, in the second person, i.e. "You threw the bottle-rack...". Although a marginal note in the letter suggests that Duchamp generally approved of the statement, Richter did not make the distinction clear until many years later.
Duchamp's attitude was actually more favorable, as evidenced by another statement made in 1964:
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The Prix Marcel Duchamp (Marcel Duchamp Prize), established in 2000, is an annual award given to a young artist by the Centre Georges Pompidou. In 2004, as a testimony to the legacy of Duchamp's work to the art world, his Fountain was voted "most influential artwork of the 20th century" by a panel of prominent artists and art historians.
;Essays by Duchamp
;General resources
;Essays about Duchamp
;Audio and video
Category:1887 births Category:1968 deaths Category:People from Seine-Maritime Category:20th-century French writers Category:Artists from New York Category:Chess Olympiad competitors Category:Conceptual artists Category:Dada Category:OuLiPo members Category:French chess players Category:French chess writers Category:French experimental filmmakers Category:French emigrants to the United States Category:French mixed-media artists Category:French painters Category:French sculptors Category:Surrealist artists Category:Modern artists Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:'Pataphysicians Category:People from Greenwich Village, New York Category:Archives of American Art related
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