name	Academy Award
alt	An Academy Award statuette, depicting a knight, rendered in Art Deco style, holding a crusader's sword
description	Excellence in cinematic achievements
presenter	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
country	United States
year	May 16, 1929
website	www.Oscars.org }}

An Academy Award, also known as the Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is one of the most prominent award ceremonies in the world, and is televised live in more than 200 countries annually. It is also the oldest award ceremony in the media; its equivalents, the Grammy Awards (for music), Emmy Awards (for television), and Tony Awards (for theatre) are modeled after the Academy.

The AMPAS was originally conceived by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio boss Louis B. Mayer as a professional honorary organization to help improve the film industry’s image and help mediate labor disputes. The Oscar itself was later initiated by the Academy as an award "of merit for distinctive achievement" in the industry.

The first Academy Awards ceremony was held on May 16, 1929, at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood to honor outstanding film achievements of the 1927/1928 film season. The most recent ceremony, honoring films in 2010, was held at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on February 27, 2011.

History

The first awards were presented on May 16, 1929, at a private brunch at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with an audience of about 270 people. The post Academy Awards party was held at the Mayfair Hotel. The cost of guest tickets for that night's ceremony was $5. Fifteen statuettes were awarded, honoring artists, directors and other personalities of the filmmaking industry of the time for their works during the 1927–1928 period.

Winners had been announced three months earlier of their triumphs; however that was changed in the second ceremony of the Academy Awards in 1930. Since then and during the first decade, the results were given to newspapers for publication at 11 pm on the night of the awards. This method was used until the ''Los Angeles Times'' announced the winners before the ceremony began; as a result, the Academy has used a sealed envelope to reveal the name of the winners since 1941.

For the first six ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned two calendar years. For example, the 2nd Academy Awards presented on April 3, 1930, recognized films that were released between August 1, 1928 and July 31, 1929. Starting with the 7th Academy Awards, held in 1935, the period of eligibility became the full previous calendar year from January 1 to December 31.

The first Best Actor awarded was Emil Jannings, for his performances in ''The Last Command'' and ''The Way of All Flesh''. He had to return to Europe before the ceremony, so the Academy agreed to give him the prize earlier; this made him the first Academy Award winner in history. The honored professionals were awarded for all the work done in a certain category for the qualifying period; for example, Emil Jannings received the award for two movies in which he starred during that period. Since the fourth ceremony, the system changed, and the professionals were honored for a specific performance in a single film. As of the 82nd Academy Awards ceremony held in 2010, a total of 2,789 Oscars have been given for 1,825 awards. A total of 302 actors have won Oscars in competitive acting categories or been awarded Honorary or Juvenile Awards.

The 1939 film ''Beau Geste'' is the only movie that features as many as four Academy Award winners for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Susan Hayward, Broderick Crawford) prior to any of the actors receiving the Best Actor Award.

At the 29th ceremony, held on March 27, 1957, the Best Foreign Language Film category was introduced. Until then, foreign language films were honored with the Special Achievement Award.

Oscar statuette

Design

Although there are seven other types of awards presented by the Academy (the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the Gordon E. Sawyer Award, the Scientific and Engineering Award, the Technical Achievement Award, the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation, and the Student Academy Award), the best known one is the ''Academy Award of Merit'' more popularly known as the Oscar statuette. Made of gold-plated britannium on a black metal base, it is 13.5 in (34 cm) tall, weighs 8.5 lb (3.85 kg) and depicts a knight rendered in Art Deco style holding a crusader's sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes. The five spokes each represent the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, and Technicians.

MGM's art director Cedric Gibbons, one of the original Academy members, supervised the design of the award trophy by printing the design on a scroll. In need of a model for his statuette Gibbons was introduced by his then wife Dolores del Río to Mexican film director and actor Emilio "El Indio" Fernández. Reluctant at first, Fernández was finally convinced to pose nude to create what today is known as the "Oscar". Then, sculptor George Stanley (who also did the Muse Fountain at the Hollywood Bowl) sculpted Gibbons's design in clay and Sachin Smith cast the statuette in 92.5 percent tin and 7.5 percent copper and then gold-plated it. The only addition to the Oscar since it was created is a minor streamlining of the base. The original Oscar mold was cast in 1928 at the C.W. Shumway & Sons Foundry in Batavia, Illinois, which also contributed to casting the molds for the Vince Lombardi Trophy and Emmy Awards statuettes. Since 1983, approximately 50 Oscars are made each year in Chicago by Illinois manufacturer R.S. Owens & Company.

In support of the American effort in World War II, the statuettes were made of plaster and were traded in for gold ones after the war had ended.

Naming

The root of the name ''Oscar'' is contested. One biography of Bette Davis claims that she named the Oscar after her first husband, band leader Harmon Oscar Nelson; one of the earliest mentions in print of the term ''Oscar'' dates back to a ''Time'' magazine article about the 1934 6th Academy Awards. Walt Disney is also quoted as thanking the Academy for his Oscar as early as 1932. Another claimed origin is that the Academy's Executive Secretary, Margaret Herrick, first saw the award in 1931 and made reference to the statuette's reminding her of her "Uncle Oscar" (a nickname for her cousin Oscar Pierce). Columnist Sidney Skolsky was present during Herrick's naming and seized the name in his byline, "Employees have affectionately dubbed their famous statuette 'Oscar'". The trophy was officially dubbed the "Oscar" in 1939 by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Another legend reports that the Norwegian-American Eleanor Lilleberg, executive secretary to Louis B. Mayer, saw the first statuette and exclaimed, "It looks like King Oscar II!". At the end of the day she asked, "What should we do with Oscar, put him in the vault?" and the name stuck.

Ownership of Oscar statuettes

Since 1950, the statuettes have been legally encumbered by the requirement that neither winners nor their heirs may sell the statuettes without first offering to sell them back to the Academy for US$1. If a winner refuses to agree to this stipulation, then the Academy keeps the statuette. Academy Awards not protected by this agreement have been sold in public auctions and private deals for six-figure sums.

While the Oscar is under the ownership of the recipient, it is essentially not on the open market. The case of Michael Todd's grandson trying to sell Todd's Oscar statuette illustrates that there are some who do not agree with this idea. When Todd's grandson attempted to sell Todd's Oscar statuette to a movie prop collector, the Academy won the legal battle by getting a permanent injunction. Although Oscar sales transactions have been successful, some buyers have subsequently returned the statuettes to the Academy, which keeps them in its treasury.

Nomination

Since 2004, Academy Award nomination results have been announced to the public in late January. Prior to 2004, nomination results were announced publicly in early February.

Voters

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), a professional honorary organization, maintains a voting membership of 5,835 as of 2007.

Academy membership is divided into different branches, with each representing a different discipline in film production. Actors constitute the largest voting bloc, numbering 1,311 members (22 percent) of the Academy's composition. Votes have been certified by the auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (and its predecessor Price Waterhouse) for the past 73 annual awards ceremonies.

All AMPAS members must be invited to join by the Board of Governors, on behalf of Academy Branch Executive Committees. Membership eligibility may be achieved by a competitive nomination or a member may submit a name based on other significant contribution to the field of motion pictures.

New membership proposals are considered annually. The Academy does not publicly disclose its membership, although as recently as 2007 press releases have announced the names of those who have been invited to join. The 2007 release also stated that it has just under 6,000 voting members. While the membership had been growing, stricter policies have kept its size steady since then.

Rules

Currently, according to Rules 2 and 3 of the official Academy Awards Rules, a film must open in the previous calendar year, from midnight at the start of January 1 to midnight at the end of December 31, in Los Angeles County, California, to qualify (except for the Best Foreign Language Film). For example, the 2010 Best Picture winner, ''The Hurt Locker'', was actually first released in 2008, but did not qualify for the 2009 awards as it did not play its Oscar-qualifying run in Los Angeles until mid-2009, thus qualifying for the 2010 awards.

Rule 2 states that a film must be feature-length, defined as a minimum of 40 minutes, except for short subject awards, and it must exist either on a 35 mm or 70 mm film print or in 24 frame/s or 48 frame/s progressive scan digital cinema format with native resolution not less than 1280x720.

Producers must submit an Official Screen Credits online form before the deadline; in case it is not submitted by the defined deadline, the film will be ineligible for Academy Awards in any year. The form includes the production credits for all related categories. Then, each form is checked and put in a Reminder List of Eligible Releases.

In late December ballots and copies of the Reminder List of Eligible Releases are mailed to around 6000 active members. For most categories, members from each of the branches vote to determine the nominees only in their respective categories (i.e. only directors vote for directors, writers for writers, actors for actors, etc.); there are some exceptions though in the case of certain categories, like Foreign Film, Documentary and Animated Feature Film in which movies are selected by special screening committees made up of members from all branches. In the special case of Best Picture, all voting members are eligible to select the nominees for that category. Foreign films must include English subtitles, and each country can only submit one film per year.

The members of the various branches nominate those in their respective fields while all members may submit nominees for Best Picture. The winners are then determined by a second round of voting in which all members are then allowed to vote in most categories, including Best Picture.

Ceremony

Telecast

The major awards are presented at a live televised ceremony, most commonly in February or March following the relevant calendar year, and six weeks after the announcement of the nominees. It is the culmination of the film awards season, which usually begins during November or December of the previous year. This is an elaborate extravaganza, with the invited guests walking up the red carpet in the creations of the most prominent fashion designers of the day. Black tie dress is the most common outfit for men, although fashion may dictate not wearing a bow-tie, and musical performers sometimes do not adhere to this. (The artists who recorded the nominees for Best Original Song quite often perform those songs live at the awards ceremony, and the fact that they are performing is often used to promote the television broadcast).

The Academy Awards is televised live across the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii), Canada, the United Kingdom, and gathers millions of viewers elsewhere throughout the world. The 2007 ceremony was watched by more than 40 million Americans. Other awards ceremonies (such as the Emmys, Golden Globes, and Grammys) are broadcast live in the East Coast but are on tape delay in the West Coast and might not air on the same day outside North America (if the awards are even televised). The Academy has for several years claimed that the award show has up to a billion viewers internationally, but this has so far not been confirmed by any independent sources. The Awards show was first televised on NBC in 1953. NBC continued to broadcast the event until 1960 when the ABC Network took over, televising the festivities through 1970, after which NBC resumed the broadcasts. ABC once again took over broadcast duties in 1976; it is under contract to do so through the year 2020.

After more than sixty years of being held in late March or early April, the ceremonies were moved up to late February or early March starting in 2004 to help disrupt and shorten the intense lobbying and ad campaigns associated with Oscar season in the film industry. Another reason was because of the growing TV ratings success of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, which would cut into the Academy Awards audience. The earlier date is also to the advantage of ABC, as it now usually occurs during the highly profitable and important February sweeps period. (Some years, the ceremony is moved into early March in deference to the Winter Olympics.) Advertising is somewhat restricted, however, as traditionally no movie studios or competitors of official Academy Award sponsors may advertise during the telecast. The Awards show holds the distinction of having won the most Emmys in history, with 47 wins and 195 nominations.

After many years of being held on Mondays at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/6:00 p.m Pacific, in 1999 the ceremonies were moved to Sundays at 8:30 p.m. Eastern/5:30 p.m. Pacific. The reasons given for the move were that more viewers would tune in on Sundays, that Los Angeles rush-hour traffic jams could be avoided, and that an earlier start time would allow viewers on the East Coast to go to bed earlier. For many years the film industry had opposed a Sunday broadcast because it would cut into the weekend box office.

On March 30, 1981, the awards ceremony was postponed for one day after the shooting of President Ronald Reagan and others in Washington, D.C.

In 1993, an ''In Memoriam'' segment was introduced, honoring those who had made a significant contribution to cinema who had died in the preceding 12 months, a selection compiled by a small committee of Academy members. This segment has drawn criticism over the years for the omission of some names.

In 2010, the organizers of the Academy Awards announced that winners' acceptance speeches must not run past 45 seconds. This, according to organizer Bill Mechanic, was to ensure the elimination of what he termed "the single most hated thing on the show" – overly long and embarrassing displays of emotion.

The Academy has also had recent discussions about moving the ceremony even further back into January, citing TV viewers' fatigue with the film industry's long awards season. But such an accelerated schedule would dramatically decrease the voting period for its members, to the point where some voters would only have time to view the contending films streamed on their computers. Also, a January ceremony may have to compete with National Football League playoff games.

Past ceremonies and ratings

The following is a listing of all Academy Awards ceremonies and ratings since 1929.

Historically, the "Oscarcast" has pulled in a bigger haul when box-office hits are favored to win the Best Picture trophy. More than 57.25 million viewers tuned to the telecast for the 70th Academy Awards in 1998, the year of ''Titanic'', which generated close to US$600 million at the North American box office pre-Oscars. The 76th Academy Awards ceremony in which ''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (pre-telecast box office earnings of US$368 million) received 11 Awards including Best Picture drew 43.56 million viewers. The most watched ceremony based on Nielsen ratings to date, however, was the 42nd Academy Awards (Best Picture ''Midnight Cowboy'') which drew a 43.4% household rating on April 7, 1970.

By contrast, ceremonies honoring films that have not performed well at the box office tend to show weaker ratings. The 78th Academy Awards which awarded low-budgeted, independent film ''Crash'' (with a pre-Oscar gross of US$53.4 million) generated an audience of 38.64 million with a household rating of 22.91%. In 2008, the 80th Academy Awards telecast was watched by 31.76 million viewers on average with an 18.66% household rating, the lowest rated and least watched ceremony to date, in spite of celebrating 80 years of the Academy Awards. The Best Picture winner of that particular ceremony was another low-budget, independently financed film (''No Country for Old Men'').

Venues

In 1929, the first Academy Awards were presented at a banquet dinner at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. From 1930–1943, the awards were presented first at the Ambassador Hotel in Hollywood. Then the Oscar ceremonies were held at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles from 1930 to 1943.

Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood then hosted the awards from 1944 to 1946, followed by the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles from 1947 to 1948. The 21st Academy Awards in 1949 were held at the Academy Award Theater at what was the Academy's headquarters on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood.

From 1950 to 1960, the awards were presented at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre. With the advent of television, the 1953–1957 awards took place simultaneously in Hollywood and New York first at the NBC International Theatre (1953) and then at the NBC Century Theatre (1954–1957), after which the ceremony took place solely in Los Angeles. The Oscars moved to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California in 1961. By 1969, the Academy decided to move the ceremonies back to Los Angeles, this time to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Los Angeles County Music Center.

In 2002, Hollywood's Kodak Theatre became the permanent home of the award ceremonies.

Academy Awards of merit

Current awards

Best Actor in a Leading Role: 1928 to present

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: 1936 to present

Best Actress in a Leading Role: 1928 to present

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: 1936 to present

Best Animated Film: 2001 to present

Best Animated Short Film: 1931 to present

Best Art Direction: 1928 to present

Best Cinematography: 1928 to present

Best Costume Design: 1948 to present

Best Director: 1928 to present

Best Documentary Feature: 1943 to present

Best Documentary Short Subject: 1941 to present

Best Film Editing: 1935 to present

Best Foreign Language Film: 1947 to present

Best Live Action Short Film: 1931 to present

Best Makeup: 1981 to present

Best Original Score: 1934 to present

Best Original Song: 1934 to present

Best Picture: 1928 to present

Best Sound Editing: 1963 to present

Best Sound Mixing: 1930 to present

Best Visual Effects: 1939 to present

Best Adapted Screenplay: 1928 to present

Best Original Screenplay: 1940 to present

In the first year of the awards, the Best Director award was split into two separate categories (Drama and Comedy). At times, the Best Original Score award has also been split into separate categories (Drama and Comedy/Musical). From the 1930s through the 1960s, the Art Direction, Cinematography, and Costume Design awards were likewise split into two separate categories (black-and-white films and color films).

Another award, entitled the Academy Award for Best Original Musical, is still in the Academy rulebooks and has yet to be retired. However, due to continuous insufficient eligibility each year, it has not been awarded since 1984 (when ''Purple Rain'' won).

Retired awards

Best Assistant Director: 1933 to 1937

Best Dance Direction: 1935 to 1937

Best Engineering Effects: 1928 only

Best Original Musical or Comedy Score: 1995 to 1999

Best Original Story: 1928 to 1956

Best Score – Adaptation or Treatment: 1962 to 1969; 1973

Best Short Film – Color: 1936 and 1937

Best Short Film – Live Action – 2 Reels: 1936 to 1956

Best Short Film – Novelty: 1932 to 1935

Best Title Writing: 1928 only

Best Unique and Artistic Quality of Production: 1928 only

Proposed awards

The Board of Governors meets each year and considers new awards. To date, the following proposed awards have not been approved:

Best Casting: rejected in 1999 Best Stunt Coordination: rejected in 1999; rejected in 2005 Best Title Design: rejected in 1999

Special Academy Awards

These awards are voted on by special committees, rather than by the Academy membership as a whole, but the individual selected to receive the special award may decline the offer. They are not always presented on a consistent annual basis.

Current special awards

Academy Honorary Award: 1929 to present

Academy Scientific and Technical Award: 1931 to present

Gordon E. Sawyer Award: 1981 to present

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: 1956 to present

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award: 1938 to present

Retired special awards

Academy Juvenile Award: 1934 to 1960

Academy Special Achievement Award: 1972 to 1995

Criticism

Due to the positive exposure and prestige of the Academy Awards, studios spend millions of dollars and hire publicists specifically to promote their films during what is typically called the "Oscar season." This has generated accusations of the Academy Awards being influenced more by marketing than quality. William Friedkin, an Academy Award-winning film director and former producer of the ceremony, expressed this sentiment at a conference in New York in 2009, describing it as "the greatest promotion scheme that any industry ever devised for itself."

In addition, some winners critical of the Academy Awards have boycotted the ceremonies and refused to accept their Oscars. The first to do so was Dudley Nichols (Best Writing in 1935 for ''The Informer''). Nichols boycotted the 8th Academy Awards ceremony because of conflicts between the Academy and the Writer's Guild. George C. Scott became the second person to refuse his award (Best Actor in 1970 for ''Patton'') at the 43rd Academy Awards ceremony. Scott described it as a 'meat parade', saying 'I don't want any part of it." The third winner, Marlon Brando, refused his award (Best Actor in 1972 for ''The Godfather''), citing the film industry's discrimination and mistreatment of Native Americans. At the 45th Academy Awards ceremony, Brando sent Sacheen Littlefeather to read a 15-page speech detailing his criticisms.

It has been observed that several of the Academy Award winners – particularly Best Picture – have not stood the test of time or defeated worthier efforts. Tim Dirks, editor of AMC's filmsite.org, has written of the Academy Awards,

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Best Picture is not the only category to come under criticism. In his review of ''The Lives of Others'', Nick Davis argued,

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Acting prizes in certain years have been criticized for not recognizing superior performances so much as being awarded for sentimental reasons, personal popularity, atonement for past mistakes, or presented as a "career honor" to recognize a distinguished nominee's entire body of work.

Associated events

The following events are closely associated with the annual Academy Awards ceremony:

Governors Awards

The 25th Independent Spirit Awards (in 2010), usually held in Santa Monica the Saturday before the Oscars, marked the first time it was moved to a Friday and a change of venue to L.A. Live, the newly built entertainment complex developed in Downtown Los Angeles.

The 8th annual "Night Before", traditionally held at the Beverly Hills Hotel (eight years running in 2010) and generally known as ''THE'' party of the season, benefits the Motion Picture and Television Fund, which operates a retirement home for SAG actors in the San Fernando Valley.

Elton John's AIDS fundraiser viewing party airs the awards live at the nearby Pacific Design Center.

The Governors' Ball is the Academy's official after-party, including dinner, and is held adjacent to the awards-presentation venue.

The Vanity Fair after-party, historically held at the former Morton's restaurant, is now for the 2nd year at the Sunset Towers.

See also

Academy Awards pre-show

Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Award Party

Golden Raspberry Award

List of Academy Award records

List of Academy Award-winning films

List of Academy Awards ceremonies

List of Academy Award trophies on public display

List of actors who have appeared in multiple Best Picture Academy Award winners

List of Asian Academy Award winners and nominees

List of Australian Academy Award winners and nominees

List of Big Five Academy Award winners and nominees

List of Black Academy Award winners and nominees

List of British and Commonwealth Academy Award winners and nominees

List of English Academy Award nominees and winners

List of fictitious Academy Award nominees

List of foreign language films nominated for Academy Awards

List of French Academy Award winners and nominees

Lists of Hispanic Academy Award winners and nominees by country

List of Italian Academy Award winners and nominees

List of Latin American Academy Award winners and nominees

List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees

List of people who have won multiple Academy Awards in a single year

List of Polish Academy Award winners and nominees

List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees

List of presenters of Best Picture Academy Award

List of Scandinavian Academy Award winners and nominees

List of superlative Academy Award winners and nominees

List of years in film

Oscar season

Notes

References

Brokaw, Lauren (2010). "Wanna see an Academy Awards invite? We got it along with all the major annual events surrounding the Oscars". Los Angeles: The Daily Truffle.

Gail, K., and Piazza, J. (2002). ''The Academy Awards: The Complete History of Oscar.'' Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc. ISBN 1-57912-240-X.

Levy, Emanuel (2003). ''All About Oscar: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards.'' New York: Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-1452-4.

Wright, Jon (2007). ''The Lunacy of Oscar: The Problems with Hollywood's Biggest Night''. Thomas Publishing, Inc.

External links

Oscars.org—official Academy site

Oscar.com—official Academy Award ceremony site

"Oscar Greats" at ''Time'' magazine

Category:Academy Awards Category:American film awards Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:Awards established in 1929

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Name	Billy Crystal
Birth date	March 14, 1948
Birth name	William Edward Crystal
Birth place	New York City, United States
Spouse	Janice Goldfinger (1970–present)
Nationality	American
Active	1975–present

}} William Edward "Billy" Crystal (born March 14, 1948) is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom ''Soap'' and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes ''When Harry Met Sally...'' and ''City Slickers''. He has hosted the Academy Awards eight times.

Early life

Crystal was born in the Doctor's Hospital in Manhattan and grew up in Long Beach, New York, the son of Helen (née Gabler), a housewife, and Jack Crystal, a record company executive and producer of jazz records, who owned and operated the Commodore Record store. His uncle was musician and songwriter Milt Gabler, and his brother, Richard "Rip" Crystal, is a television producer. Crystal grew up in a Jewish family that he has described as "large" and "loving". Billie Holiday was one of Crystal's babysitters during his childhood.

After graduation from Long Beach High School, Crystal attended Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, on a baseball scholarship, having learned the game from his father, who pitched for St. John's University. Crystal never played a game at Marshall because the program was suspended during his freshman year. He did not return as a sophomore, staying back in New York with his future wife. He then went on to Nassau Community College, and later attended New York University, where he graduated with a B.F.A. from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 1970. He was also the Editor-in-Chief of the BG News from 1969–70.

Career

Television

Crystal returned to New York and performed regularly at ''The Improv'' and ''Catch a Rising Star''. He studied film and television direction under Martin Scorsese at New York University. In 1976, Crystal appeared on an episode of ''All in the Family''. He was on the dais for the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast of Muhammad Ali on February 19, 1976, where he did impressions of both Ali and sportscaster Howard Cosell. He was scheduled to appear on the first episode of ''NBC Saturday Night'' (later renamed ''Saturday Night Live'') (October 11, 1975), but his sketch was cut. He did do a stand-up bit later in that first season as "Bill Crystal", on the April 17, 1976, episode; the "Can you dig it? I knew that you could," portion of which was repeatedly quoted by characters in the 1977 film, ''Saturday Night Fever''.

Crystal's earliest prominent role was as Jodie Dallas on ''Soap'', one of the first unambiguously gay characters in the cast of an American television series. He continued in the role the series' entire 1977–1981 run.

After hosting ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1984, he joined the regular cast. His most famous recurring sketch was his parody of Fernando Lamas Fernando, a smarmy talk show host whose catchphrase, "You look... mahvelous!," became a media sensation. Crystal subsequently released an album of his stand-up material titled ''Mahvelous!'' in 1985, as well as the single "You Look Marvelous", which peaked at #58 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the same year. Also in the 1980s, Crystal starred in an episode of Shelley Duvall's ''Faerie Tale Theater'' as the smartest of the three little pigs.

In 1996, Crystal was the guest star of the third episode of ''Muppets Tonight''.

Acting in film and hosting the Oscars

Crystal's first film role was in Joan Rivers's 1978 film ''Rabbit Test''. Crystal also made game show appearances such as ''The Hollywood Squares'', ''All Star Secrets'' and ''The $20,000 Pyramid''. He holds the record for getting his contestant partner to the top of the pyramid in winner's circle in the fastest time, 26 seconds.

Crystal appeared briefly in Rob Reiner's 1984 "rockumentary" ''This Is Spinal Tap'' as Morty The Mime, a waiter dressed as a mime at one of Spinal Tap's parties. He shared the scene with a then-unknown, non-speaking Dana Carvey. Crystal's line in the film was "Mime is money." Reiner directed Crystal again in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987).

Reiner directed Crystal for a third time in the classic romantic comedy ''When Harry Met Sally...'' (1989), for which Crystal was nominated for a Golden Globe. Crystal then starred in the buddy comedy ''City Slickers'' (1991), which proved very successful both commercially and critically and for which Crystal was nominated for his second Golden Globe.

Following the success of these films, Crystal wrote, directed, and starred in ''Mr. Saturday Night'' (1992) and ''Forget Paris'' (1995). In the former, Crystal played a serious role in aging makeup, as an egotistical comedian who reflects back on his career. He directed the made-for-television movie ''61*'' (2001) based on Roger Maris's and Mickey Mantle's race to break Babe Ruth's single-season home run record in 1961. This earned Crystal an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special.

Crystal has continued working in film, including ''Analyze This'' (1999) and ''Analyze That'' (2002) with Robert De Niro, and in the English version of ''Howl's Moving Castle'' as the voice of Calcifer. Pixar originally approached him to provide the voice of Buzz Lightyear in ''Toy Story'' (1995). He turned down that offer, but regretted it after the film became one of the most popular releases of the year. Crystal later went on to provide the voice of Mike Wazowski in the Pixar film, ''Monsters, Inc.'' (2001), which was nominated for the inaugural Best Animated Feature Oscar.

Crystal hosted the Academy Awards broadcast in 1990–1993, 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2004; and he reportedly turned down hosting the 2006 ceremony to concentrate on his one-man show, ''700 Sundays''. His eight times as the M.C. is second only to Bob Hope's 18 in most ceremonies hosted. At the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony in 2011, he appeared as a presenter for a digitally inserted Bob Hope and before doing so was given a standing ovation. Film critic Roger Ebert said when Crystal came onstage about two hours into the show, he got the first laughs of the broadcast.

Broadway

Crystal won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event for ''700 Sundays'', a two-act, one-man play, which he conceived and wrote about his parents and his childhood growing up on Long Island. He toured the U.S. with the show in 2006 and Australia in 2007.

Following the initial success of the play, Crystal wrote the book ''700 Sundays'' for Warner Books, which was published on October 31, 2005. In conjunction with the book and the play that also paid tribute to his uncle, Milt Gabler, Crystal produced two CD compilations: ''Billy Crystal Presents: The Milt Gabler Story'', which featured his uncle's most influential recordings from Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" to "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets; and ''Billy Remembers Billie'' featuring Crystal's favorite Holiday recordings.

Philanthropy

In 1986, Crystal started hosting ''Comic Relief'' on HBO with Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg. Founded by Bob Zmuda, Comic Relief raises money for homeless people in the United States.

On September 6, 2005, on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', Crystal and Jay Leno were the first celebrities to sign a Harley-Davidson motorcycle to be auctioned off for Gulf Coast relief.

Crystal has participated in the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. Portraying himself in a video, Crystal introduces museum guests to the genealogy wing of the museum.

New York baseball

On March 12, 2008, Crystal signed a minor league contract, for a single day, to play with the New York Yankees, and was invited to the team's major league spring training. He wore uniform number 60, in honor of his upcoming 60th birthday. On March 13, in a spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Crystal led off as the designated hitter. He managed to make contact, fouling a fastball up the first base line, but was eventually struck out by Pirates pitcher Paul Maholm on 6 pitches and was later replaced in the batting order by Johnny Damon. He was released on March 14, his 60th birthday. Although a life-long Yankee fan, he is a part-owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, even earning a World Series ring in 2001 when the Diamondbacks beat his beloved Yankees.

In the movie ''City Slickers'', Crystal wears a New York Mets baseball cap.

Personal life

Billy Crystal and his wife Janice have two daughters, actress Jennifer and producer Lindsay, and are now grandparents. They reside in Pacific Palisades, California.

Awards

In addition to his Golden Globe Award-nominations, Emmy Awards, and Tony Award, Crystal won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show for ''700 Sundays'' and received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2007.

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	! Notes
1977–1981		Jodie Dallas	TV series
1977	''SST: Death Flight''	David
		Lionel Carpenter
''Human Feelings	Angel	Made for TV
1980	''Animalympics''	Lodge Turkell	Voice
1984	''This Is Spinal Tap''	Morty the Mime
1986		Danny Constanzo
		Miracle Max
''Throw Momma from the Train''	Larry Donner
1988	''Memories of Me''	Abbie	Writer/Producer
1989	''When Harry Met Sally...''	Harry Burns
1991	''City Slickers''	Mitch Robbins
	''Horton Hatches the Egg''	Narrator	Voice
''Mr. Saturday Night''	Buddy Young, Jr.	Writer/Director/ProducerNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1994	''City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold''	Mitch Robbins	Writer/Producer
	''Forget Paris''	Mickey Gordon	Writer/Director/Producer
1996	''Muppets Tonight''	Himself	Guest star on third episode
	''Deconstructing Harry''	Larry
	Jack Lawrence
''Friends''	The Gynecologist (with Robin Williams)	TV Series
1998	''My Giant''	Sam 'Sammy' Kamin	Writer/Producer
1999	''Analyze This''	Dr. Ben Sobel	Executive Producer
2000	''The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle''	Mattress salesman	Uncredited
	''61*''		Director
''America's Sweethearts''	Lee Phillips	Writer/Producer
''Monsters, Inc.''	Michael "Mike" Wazowski	Voice
	''Mike's New Car''	Mike Wazowski	Short Film SubjectVoice
''Analyze That''	Dr. Ben Sobel	Executive Producer
2004		Calcifer	Voice
2005	''Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone''	Karl Scott	Voice
2006		Mike Car	Voice
		Jerry	Uncredited
''Planet Sheen''	Soldier Joagth	Voice Episode: ''What's Up Chock?''
2011			Cameo
2013	''Monsters University''	Mike Wazowski	Voice

''Saturday Night Live''

Characters

Al Minkman, a shady businessman

Fernando, host of ''Fernando's Hideaway'', a celebrity interview show; based on actor Fernando Lamas

Buddy Young, Jr. (an insult comic who appears on Weekend Update)

Lew Goldman

Ricky, a bowler

Tony Minetti, a butcher

Willie, a man who, along with his friend, Frankie (played by Christopher Guest), discuss their masochistic tendencies

Impersonations

Fernando Lamas

Howard Cosell

Muhammad Ali

John F. Kennedy

Joe Franklin

Hervé Villechaize

Joe Garagiola

Adam Ant

Prince

Sammy Davis, Jr.

Bibliography

A children's book. A children's book. Crystal's memoirs with his father.

References

External links

Billy Crystal appears on Michael Eisner's talkshow on CNBC

Category:1948 births Category:Living people Category:American film actors Category:American impressionists (entertainers) Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish American writers Category:Jewish comedians Category:Mark Twain Prize recipients Category:Marshall Thundering Herd baseball players Category:New York University alumni Category:People from Long Beach, New York Category:American Jews Category:GLAAD Media Awards winners

ar:بيلي كريستال an:Billy Crystal bg:Били Кристъл ca:Billy Cristal cy:Billy Crystal da:Billy Crystal de:Billy Crystal el:Μπίλυ Κρίσταλ es:Billy Crystal fr:Billy Crystal ga:Billy Crystal gl:Billy Crystal ko:빌리 크리스털 hr:Billy Crystal id:Billy Crystal it:Billy Crystal he:בילי קריסטל la:Gulielmus Crystal nl:Billy Crystal ja:ビリー・クリスタル no:Billy Crystal nn:Billy Crystal pl:Billy Crystal pt:Billy Crystal ru:Кристал, Билли simple:Billy Crystal sh:Billy Crystal fi:Billy Crystal sv:Billy Crystal tr:Billy Crystal zh:比利·克里斯托

: ''For other uses of the title The Grid, see Grid (disambiguation).''

name	The Grid
background	group_or_band
origin	England
genre	HouseTechnoAmbient house
years active	1988–19962003–present
label	East West, Virgin, Deconstruction, Some Bizzare
associated acts	Soft Cell, Chris Braide
current members	Richard NorrisDavid Ball
notable instruments	}}

The Grid are an English electronic dance group, consisting of Richard Norris and David Ball (formerly of Soft Cell), The lead single from this album, "Swamp Thing", featuring elaborate banjo lines played by Roger Dinsdale. "Swamp Thing" proved to be a commercial success in the UK, Europe and Australia, reaching #3 in the UK || align="center"| 14 || Deconstruction Records |- | 1995 || ''Music for Dancing'' || align="center"| 67 || Deconstruction Records |- | 2008 || ''Doppelgänger'' || align="center"| - || Some Bizzare Records |}

Singles

"Floatation (song) "Swamp Thing (The Grid song)

Year !! Single !! UK Singles Chart
1989	"On the Grid" (promo only)	-
1989	Intergalactica" (promo only) >
1990	Floatation" |	60
1990	A Beat Called Love" >
1990
1991
1992
1992
1993
1993
1993	Swamp Thing" |	3
1994
1994
1995
2006
2007

References

External links

Grid Central - An Unofficial Page for The Grid

Death of Roger Dinsdale.

[ The Grid on allmusic.com]

The Grid MySpace page

Category:English dance music groups Category:English electronic music groups Category:English house music groups Category:British techno music groups Category:Remixers Category:Electronic music duos

de:The Grid pl:The Grid ru:The Grid sv:The Grid

name	David Letterman
pseudonym	Earl Hofert
birth date	April 12, 1947
birth place	Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
medium	Stand-up, talk show
nationality	American
genre	Observational comedy, surreal humor, deadpan
subject	Self-deprecation, everyday life
influences	Steve Allen, Johnny Carson, Jack Paar, Paul Dixon
influenced
website	CBS.com/latenight/lateshow
active	1974–present
domesticpartner	Regina Lasko (1986-2009)
spouse	Michelle Cook (1969–1977)Regina Lasko (2009–present)
Religion	Lutheran
notable work	Host of ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (NBC)Host of ''Late Show with David Letterman'' (CBS)
signature	David Letterman Autograph.svg

}} David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, ''Late Show with David Letterman'', broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman'' on NBC. Only Letterman's friend and mentor Johnny Carson had a longer late-night hosting career in the United States.

Letterman is also a television and film producer. His company Worldwide Pants produces his show as well as its network follow-up ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''. Worldwide Pants has also produced several prime-time comedies, the most successful of which was ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', currently in syndication.

In 1996, David Letterman was ranked #45 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.

Early life and career

Letterman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, Harry Joseph Letterman (April 1915 – February 1973), was a florist of British descent; his mother Dorothy Letterman (''née'' Hofert, now Dorothy Mengering), a Presbyterian church secretary of German descent, is an occasional figure on the show, usually at holidays and birthdays.

Letterman lived on the north side of Indianapolis (Broad Ripple area), not far from Speedway, IN, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and he enjoyed collecting model cars, including racers. In 2000, he told an interviewer for ''Esquire'' that, while growing up, he admired his father's ability to tell jokes and be the life of the party. Harry Joseph Letterman survived a heart attack at age 36, when David was a young boy. The fear of losing his father was constantly with Letterman as he grew up. The elder Letterman died of a second heart attack at age 57.

Letterman attended his hometown's Broad Ripple High School at the same time as Marilyn Tucker Quayle (wife of the former Vice President) and worked as a stock boy at the local Atlas supermarket. According to the ''Ball State Daily News'', he originally had wanted to attend Indiana University, but his grades weren't good enough, so he decided to attend Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana. He is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, and he graduated from what was then the Department of Radio and Television, in 1969. A self-described average student, Letterman endowed a scholarship for what he called "C students" at Ball State.

Though he registered for the draft and passed his physical after graduating from college, he was not drafted for service in Vietnam due to receiving a draft lottery number of 352 (out of 365).

Letterman began his broadcasting career as an announcer and newscaster at the college's student-run radio station—WBST—a 10-watt campus station which now is part of Indiana Public Radio. He was fired for treating classical music with irreverence.

Letterman then became involved with the founding of another campus station—WAGO-AM 570 (now WWHI, 91.3).

Letterman credits Paul Dixon—host of the ''Paul Dixon Show'', a Cincinnati-based talk show also shown in Indianapolis while Letterman was growing up—for inspiring his choice of career: :"I was just out of college [in 1969], and I really didn't know what I wanted to do. And then all of a sudden I saw him doing it [on TV]. And I thought: That's really what I want to do!"

Weatherman

Letterman began his career as a radio talk show host on WNTS (AM), and on Indianapolis television station WLWI (now called WTHR) as a local anchor and weatherman. He received some attention for his unpredictable on-air behavior, which included congratulating a tropical storm for being upgraded to a hurricane and predicting hail stones "the size of canned hams." He would also occasionally report the weather and the day's very high and low temps for fictitious cities ("Eight inches of snow in Bingree and surrounding areas.") while on another occasion saying that a state border had been erased. ("From space you can see the border between Indiana and Ohio has been erased. I'm not in favor of this.") He also starred in a local kiddie show, made wisecracks as host of a late night TV show called "Freeze-Dried Movies" (he once acted out a scene from "Godzilla" using plastic dinosaurs), and hosted a talk show that aired early on Saturday mornings called "Clover Power," in which he interviewed 4-H members about their projects.

In 1971, Letterman appeared as a pit road reporter for ABC Sports' tape-delayed coverage of the Indianapolis 500. David is initially introduced as Chris Economaki in his job as a corner reporter. He interviews Mario Andretti who has just crashed out of the race and asks him a question about traffic on the course.

Move to Los Angeles

In 1975, encouraged by his then-wife Michelle and several of his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers, Letterman moved to Los Angeles, California, with hope of becoming a comedy writer. He started off by writing material for comedian Jimmie Walker. He also began performing stand-up comedy at The Comedy Store, a proving ground for unknown comics.

Letterman appeared in the summer of 1977 on the short-lived ''Starland Vocal Band Show''. He has since joked about how fortunate he was that nobody would ever see his performance on the program (due to its low ratings).

Letterman had a stint as a cast member on Mary Tyler Moore's variety show, ''Mary''; a guest appearance on ''Mork & Mindy'' (as a parody of EST leader Werner Erhard); and appearances on game shows such as ''The $20,000 Pyramid'', ''The Gong Show'', ''Password Plus'' and ''Liar's Club''. He also hosted a 1977 pilot for a game show entitled ''The Riddlers'' that was never picked up. He was also screen tested for the lead role in ''Airplane!'', a role that eventually went to Robert Hays.

His dry, sarcastic humor caught the attention of scouts for ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', and Letterman was soon a regular guest on the show. Letterman became a favorite of Carson's and was a regular guest host for the show beginning in 1978. Letterman credits Carson as the person who influenced his career the most.

NBC

Morning show

On June 23, 1980, Letterman was given his own morning comedy show on NBC, ''The David Letterman Show''. It was originally 90 minutes long, but was shortened to 60 minutes in August 1980. The show was a critical success, winning two Emmy Awards, but was a ratings disappointment and was canceled in October 1980.

''Late Night with David Letterman''

NBC kept Letterman under contract to try him in a different time slot. ''Late Night with David Letterman'' debuted February 1, 1982; the first guest on the first show was Bill Murray. Murray also guested on January 31, 2012 - 30 years later. The show ran Monday through Thursday at 12:30 a.m. Eastern Time, immediately following ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (a Friday night broadcast was added in June 1987. It was seen as being edgy and unpredictable, and soon developed a cult following (particularly among college students). Letterman's reputation as an acerbic interviewer was borne out in verbal sparring matches with Cher (who even called him an asshole on the show), Shirley MacLaine, Charles Grodin, and Madonna. The show also featured comedy segments and running characters, in a style heavily influenced by the 1950s and '60s programs of Steve Allen. Although Ernie Kovacs is often cited as an influence on the show, Letterman has denied this.

The show often featured quirky, genre-mocking regular features, including "Stupid Pet Tricks", dropping various objects off the roof of a five-story building, demonstrations of unorthodox clothing (such as suits made of Alka-Seltzer, Velcro and suet), a recurring Top 10 list, the Monkey-Cam (and the Audience Cam), and a facetious letter-answering segment. The Top 10 list, several "Film[s] by My Dog Bob" in which a camera was mounted on Letterman's own dog (often with comic results), Stupid Human Tricks, Small Town News, and Stupid Pet Tricks (which had its origins on Letterman's morning show) all eventually moved with Letterman to CBS.

Other memorable moments included Letterman using a bullhorn to interrupt a live interview on ''The Today Show'', announcing that he was the NBC president while not wearing any pants; interrupting Al Roker on WNBC-TV's broadcast of ''Live at Five'' by walking into their studio (which occupied the same floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza as Letterman's studio); and staging "elevator races", complete with commentary by NBC Sports' Bob Costas. In one infamous appearance, in 1982, Andy Kaufman (who was already wearing a neck brace) appeared to be slapped and knocked to the ground by professional wrestler Jerry Lawler (though Lawler and Kaufman's friend Bob Zmuda later revealed that the event was staged.) In another memorable exchange, sex expert Dr. Ruth Westheimer included cucumbers in a list of handy sex objects that women could find at home. The following night, guest Ted Koppel asked Letterman "May I insert something here?" and Dave responded "OK, as long as it's not a cucumber."

''Late Show with David Letterman''

In 1992, Johnny Carson retired, and many fans believed that Letterman would become host of ''The Tonight Show''. When NBC instead gave the job to Jay Leno, Letterman departed NBC to host his own late-night show on CBS, opposite ''The Tonight Show'' at 11:30 p.m., called the ''Late Show with David Letterman''. The new show debuted on August 30, 1993 and was taped at the historic Ed Sullivan Theater, where Ed Sullivan taped his eponymous variety series from 1948 to 1971. For Letterman's arrival, CBS spent $8 million in renovations. In addition to that cost, CBS also signed Letterman to a lucrative three-year, $14 million/year contract, doubling his ''Late Night'' salary. The total cost for everything (renovations, negotiation right paid to NBC, signing Letterman, announcer Bill Wendell, Shaffer, the writers and the band) was over $140 million.

But while the expectation was that Letterman would retain his unique style and sense of humor with the move, ''Late Show'' was not an exact replica of his old NBC program. Recognizing the more formal mood (and wider audience) of his new time slot and studio, Letterman eschewed his trademark blazer with khaki pants and white sneakers wardrobe combination in favor of expensive shoes, tailored suits and light-colored socks. The monologue was lengthened and Paul Shaffer and the "World's Most Dangerous Band" followed Letterman to CBS, but they added a brass section and were rebranded the "CBS Orchestra" as a short monologue and a small band were mandated by Carson while Letterman occupied the 12:30 slot. Additionally, because of intellectual property disagreements, Letterman was unable to import many of his ''Late Night'' segments verbatim, but he sidestepped this problem by simply renaming them (the "Top Ten List" became the "Late Show Top Ten", "Viewer Mail" became the "CBS Mailbag", etc.)

Popularity

The main competitor of ''The Late Show'' is NBC's ''The Tonight Show'', which was hosted by Jay Leno for nearly 16 years, but from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, was hosted by Conan O'Brien. In 1993 and 1994, ''The Late Show'' consistently gained higher ratings than ''Tonight''. But in 1995, ratings dipped and Leno's show consistently beat Letterman's in the ratings; Leno typically attracted about 5 million nightly viewers between 1999 and 2009. ''The Late Show'' lost nearly half its audience during its competition with Leno, attracting 7.1 million viewers nightly in its 1993–94 season and about 3.8 million per night as of Leno's departure in 2009. In the final months of his first stint as host of ''The Tonight Show'', Leno beat Letterman in the ratings by a 1.3 million viewer margin (5.2 million to 3.9 million), and ''Nightline'' and ''The Late Show'' were virtually tied. Once O'Brien took over ''Tonight'', however, Letterman closed the gap in the ratings. O'Brien initially drove the median age of ''Tonight Show'' viewers from 55 to 45, with most older viewers opting to watch ''The Late Show'' instead.

Following Leno's return to ''The Tonight Show'', however, Leno has regained his lead.

Letterman's shows have garnered both critical and industry praise, receiving 67 Emmy Award nominations, winning 12 times in his first 20 years in late night television. From 1993–2009, Letterman ranked higher than Leno in the annual Harris Poll of ''Nation's Favorite TV Personality'' 12 times. For example, in 2003 and 2004 Letterman ranked second in that poll, behind only Oprah Winfrey, a year that Leno was ranked fifth. Leno was higher than Letterman on that poll three times during the same period, in 1998, 2007, and 2008.

Hosting the Academy Awards

On March 27, 1995, Letterman acted as the host for the 67th Academy Awards ceremony. Critics blasted Letterman for what they deemed a poor hosting of the Oscars, noting that his irreverent style undermined the traditional importance and glamor of the event. In a joke about their unusual names (inspired by a similar joke by Woody Allen), he started off by introducing Uma Thurman to Oprah Winfrey, and then the both of them to Keanu Reeves: "Oprah...Uma. Uma...Oprah," "Have you kids met Keanu?" This and many of his other jokes fell flat. Although Letterman attracted the highest ratings to the annual telecast since 1983, many felt that the bad publicity garnered by Letterman's hosting caused a decline in the ''Late Show'''s ratings.

Letterman recycled the apparent debacle into a long-running gag. On his first show after the Oscars, he joked, "Looking back, I had no idea that thing was being televised." He lampooned his stint two years later, during Billy Crystal's opening Oscar skit, which also parodied the plane-crashing scenes from that year's chief nominated film, ''The English Patient''.

For years afterward, Letterman recounted his hosting the Oscars, although the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences continued to hold Letterman in high regard and they had invited him to host the Oscars again. On September 7, 2010, he made an appearance on the premiere of the 14th season of ''The View'', and confirmed that he had been considered for hosting again.

Heart surgery hiatus

On January 14, 2000, a routine check-up revealed that an artery in Letterman's heart was severely obstructed. He was rushed to emergency surgery for a quintuple bypass.

During the initial weeks of his recovery, reruns of the ''Late Show'' were shown and introduced by friends of Letterman including Drew Barrymore, including Dr. O. Wayne Isom and physician Louis Aronne, who frequently appears on the show. In a show of emotion, Letterman was nearly in tears as he thanked the health care team with the words "These are the people who saved my life!" The episode earned an Emmy nomination. For a number of episodes, Letterman continued to crack jokes about his bypass, including saying, "Bypass surgery: it's when doctors surgically create new blood flow to your heart. A bypass is what happened to me when I didn't get ''The Tonight Show!'' It's a whole different thing." In a later running gag he lobbied his home state of Indiana to rename the freeway circling Indianapolis (I-465) "The David Letterman Bypass." He also featured a montage of faux news coverage of his bypass surgery, which included a clip of Dave's heart for sale on the Home Shopping Network. Letterman became friends with his doctors and nurses. In 2008, a ''Rolling Stone'' interview stated "he hosted a doctor and nurse who'd helped perform the emergency quintuple-bypass heart surgery that saved his life in 2000. 'These are people who were complete strangers when they opened my chest,' he says. 'And now, eight years later, they're among my best friends.' "

Additionally, Letterman invited the band Foo Fighters to play "Everlong", introducing them as "my favorite band, playing my favorite song." During a later Foo Fighters appearance, Letterman said that Foo Fighters had been in the middle of a South American tour which they canceled to come play on his comeback episode.

Letterman again handed over the reins of the show to several guest hosts (including Bill Cosby, Brad Garrett, Elvis Costello, John McEnroe, Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, Bonnie Hunt, Luke Wilson and bandleader Paul Shaffer) in February 2003, when he was diagnosed with a severe case of shingles. Later that year, Letterman made regular use of guest hosts—including Tom Arnold and Kelsey Grammer—for new shows broadcast on Fridays. In March 2007, Adam Sandler—who had been scheduled to be the lead guest—served as a guest host while Letterman was ill with a stomach virus.

Re-signing with CBS

In March 2002, as Letterman's contract with CBS neared expiration, ABC offered him the time slot for long-running news program ''Nightline'' with Ted Koppel. Letterman was interested as he believed he could never match Leno's ratings at CBS due to Letterman's complaint of weaker lead-ins from the network's late local news programs, but was reluctant to replace Koppel. Letterman addressed his decision to re-sign on the air, stating that he was content at CBS and that he had great respect for Koppel.

On December 4, 2006, CBS revealed that Letterman signed a new contract to host ''The Late Show with David Letterman'' through the fall of 2010. "I'm thrilled to be continuing on at CBS," said Letterman. "At my age you really don't want to have to learn a new commute." Letterman further joked about the subject by pulling up his right pants leg, revealing a tattoo, presumably temporary, of the ABC logo.

"Thirteen years ago, David Letterman put CBS late night on the map and in the process became one of the defining icons of our network," said Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Corporation. "His presence on our air is an ongoing source of pride, and the creativity and imagination that the ''Late Show'' puts forth every night is an ongoing display of the highest quality entertainment. We are truly honored that one of the most revered and talented entertainers of our time will continue to call CBS 'home.'"

According to a 2007 article in ''Forbes'' magazine, Letterman earned $40 million a year. A 2009 article in ''The New York Times'', however, said his salary was estimated at $32 million per year. In June 2009, Letterman's Worldwide Pants and CBS reached agreement to continue the ''Late Show'' until at least August 2012. The previous contract had been set to expire in 2010, and the two-year extension is shorter than the typical three-year contract period negotiated in the past. Worldwide Pants agreed to lower its fee for the show, though it had remained a "solid moneymaker for CBS" under the previous contract.

On the February 3, 2011, edition of the ''Late Show'', during an interview with Howard Stern, Letterman said he would continue to do his talk show for "maybe two years, I think."

2007–2008 writers' strike

The Late Show went off air for eight weeks during the months of November and December because of the Writers Guild of America strike. Letterman's production company—Worldwide Pants—was the first company to make an individual agreement with the WGA, thus allowing his show to come back on air on January 2, 2008. On his first episode since being off air, he surprised the viewing audience with his newly grown beard, which signified solidarity with the strike. His beard was shaved off during the show on January 7, 2008.

Letterman and Carson

NBC's decision to select Jay Leno and not Letterman to succeed Johnny Carson as host of ''The Tonight Show'' was an embarrassment to Carson, who had all but promised the succession to Letterman. Letterman maintained a close relationship with Carson through his break with NBC. Three years after he left for CBS, HBO produced a made-for-television movie called ''The Late Shift'', based on a book by ''New York Times'' reporter Bill Carter, chronicling the battle between Letterman and Leno for the coveted ''Tonight Show'' hosting spot. Letterman would mock the film for months afterward, specifically on how the actor playing him, John Michael Higgins, did not resemble him in the least. ("They took a guy who looked nothing like me and with make-up and special camera angles, turned him into a guy who looked nothing like me, with red hair.")

Carson later made a few cameo appearances as a guest on Letterman's show. Carson's final television appearance came May 13, 1994, on a ''Late Show'' episode taped in Los Angeles, when he made a surprise appearance during a 'Top 10 list' segment. The audience went wild as Letterman stood up and proudly invited Carson to sit at his desk. The applause was so protracted that Carson was unable to say anything, and he finally returned backstage as the applause continued (it was later explained that Carson had laryngitis, though Carson can be heard talking to Letterman during his appearance).

In early 2005, it was revealed that Carson still kept up with current events and late-night TV right up to his death that year, and that he occasionally sent jokes to Letterman, who used these jokes in his monologue; according to CBS senior vice president Peter Lassally (a onetime producer for both men), Carson got "a big kick out of it." Letterman would do a characteristic Johnny Carson golf swing after delivering one of Carson's jokes. In a tribute to Carson, all of the opening monologue jokes during the first show following Carson's death were written by Carson.

Lassally also claimed that Carson had always believed Letterman, not Leno, to be his "rightful successor." Letterman also frequently employs some of Carson's trademark bits on his show, including "Carnac the Magnificent" (with Paul Shaffer as Carnac), "Stump the Band" and the "Week in Review."

Letterman and Oprah Winfrey

On September 10, 2007, Letterman made his first appearance on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He shared pictures of his son and live-in girlfriend. The so-called feud between Letterman and Winfrey apparently ended in 2005 when Winfrey appeared on CBS's ''Late Show with David Letterman'' on December 2, in an event Letterman jokingly referred to as "the Super Bowl of Love". Winfrey had previously appeared on Letterman's show when he was hosting NBC's ''Late Night'' on May 2, 1989.

Winfrey and Letterman also appeared together in a Late Show promo that aired during CBS's coverage of Super Bowl XLI in February 2007, with the two sitting next to each other on the couch watching the game. Since the game was played between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, the Indianapolis-born Letterman wears a Peyton Manning jersey, while Winfrey—who tapes her show in Chicago—is in a Brian Urlacher jersey. Three years later, during CBS's coverage of Super Bowl XLIV, the two appeared again, this time with Winfrey sitting on a couch between Letterman and Jay Leno. The appearance was Letterman's idea: Leno flew to New York City in an NBC corporate jet, sneaking into the Ed Sullivan Theater during the ''Late Show'''s February 4 taping wearing a disguise, meeting Winfrey and Letterman at a living room set created in the theater's balcony where they taped their promo.

Response to Internet death threat

On August 17, 2011, it was reported that a Muslim militant had posted a death threat against Letterman on a website frequented by Al-Qaeda supporters, calling on American Muslims to kill Letterman for making a joke about the death of an Al-Qaeda leader killed in a drone strike in Pakistan in June 2011. In his show on August 22, Letterman joked about the threat, saying "State Department authorities are looking into this. They're not taking this lightly. They’re looking into it. They're questioning, they're interrogating, there's an electronic trail — but everybody knows it's Leno."

Appearances in other media

Letterman appeared in issue 239 of the Marvel comic book ''The Avengers'', in which the title characters are guests on ''Late Night''. A parody of Letterman, named "David Endochrine," is gassed to death along with his bandleader named "Paul" and their audience in Frank Miller's ''The Dark Knight Returns''.

Letterman appeared in the pilot episode of the short-lived 1986 series "Coach Toast", and he appears with a bag over his head as a guest on Bonnie Hunt's ca. 1993 sitcom ''The Building''. He also appears in The Simpsons, as himself in a couch gag when The Simpsons find themselves (and the couch) in "Late Night with David Letterman." He had a cameo in the feature film ''Cabin Boy'', with Chris Elliott, who worked as a writer on Letterman's show. In this and other appearances, Letterman is listed in the credits as "Earl Hofert", the name of Letterman's maternal grandfather. He also appeared as himself in the Howard Stern biopic Private Parts as well as the 1999 Andy Kaufman biopic ''Man on the Moon'', in a few episodes of Garry Shandling's 1990s TV series ''The Larry Sanders Show'' and in "The Abstinence", a 1996 episode of the sitcom ''Seinfeld''. Letterman also made an uncredited appearance in the first episode of the third season of the sitcom The Nanny.

Letterman provided vocals for the Warren Zevon song "Hit Somebody" from ''My Ride's Here'', and provided the voice for Butt-head's father in the 1996 animated film ''Beavis and Butt-head Do America''.

In 2010, a documentary ''Dying to Do Letterman'' was released directed by Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina featuring Steve Mazan, a stand up comic, who has cancer and wants to appear on the Letterman Show. The film won Best Documentary and Jury Awards at the Cinequest Film Festival. Steve Mazan published a same-titled book (full title, ''Dying to Do Letterman: Turning Someday into Today'' about his own saga.

Other projects

Worldwide Pants

Letterman started his own production company—Worldwide Pants Incorporated—which produced his show and several others, including ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', ''The Late Late Show'', and several critically acclaimed, but short-lived television series for Bonnie Hunt. Worldwide Pants also produced the dramedy program ''Ed'', which aired on NBC from 2000–2004. It was Letterman's first association with NBC since he left the network in 1993. During ''Ed's'' run, the star, Tom Cavanagh, appeared as a guest on ''The Late Show'' several times.

In 2005, Worldwide Pants produced its first feature film, ''Strangers with Candy'', which was a prequel to the Comedy Central TV series of the same title. In 2007, Worldwide Pants produced the ABC comedy series, ''Knights of Prosperity''.

Worldwide Pants made significant news in December 2007 when it was announced that Letterman's company had independently negotiated its own contract with the Writers Guild of America, East, thus allowing Letterman, Craig Ferguson, and their writers to return to work, while the union continued its strike against production companies, networks and studios who had not reached an agreement.

Record company

In late April 2010, several music industry websites reported that Letterman started a record label named Clear Entertainment/C.E. Music and signed his first artist, Runner Runner. Lucy Walsh announced on her MySpace page that she has been signed by Letterman and Clear Entertainment/C.E. Music and is working on her album.

Rahal Letterman Racing

Rahal Letterman Racing (RLR) is an auto racing team that currently races in the American Le Mans Series, and part-time in the Indy Racing League. It is co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal and Letterman himself, and is based in Hilliard, Ohio. The team won the 2004 Indianapolis 500 with driver Buddy Rice. Letterman was a pit reporter for ABC in the 1971 Indianapolis 500.

American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming

American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming is Letterman's private foundation. Through it, Letterman has donated millions of dollars to charities and other non-profits in Indiana and Montana, celebrity-affiliated organizations such as Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, universities such as Ball State, and other organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Salvation Army, and Doctors Without Borders.

Personal life

Marriages and long-term relationships

In 1969, Letterman married Michelle Cook; the marriage ended by divorce in 1977. He also had a long-term relationship with former head writer and producer on ''Late Night'', Merrill Markoe. In fact, Markoe was the mind behind several ''Late Night'' staples, such as "Stupid Pet/Human Tricks".

Letterman has a son, Harry Joseph Letterman (born on November 3, 2003), with Regina Lasko. Harry is named after Letterman's father. In 2005, police discovered a plot to kidnap Harry Letterman and ransom him for $5 million. Kelly Frank, a house painter who had worked for Letterman, was charged in the conspiracy.

Letterman and Lasko, who had been together since 1986, wed on March 19, 2009, during a quiet courthouse civil ceremony in Choteau, Montana, where he purchased a ranch in 1999. Letterman announced the marriage during the taping of his March 23 show, shortly after congratulating Bruce Willis for getting married the previous week. Letterman told the audience he nearly missed the ceremony because his truck became stuck in mud two miles from their house. The family resides in North Salem, New York, on a estate.

Stalking incidents

Beginning in May 1988, Letterman was stalked by Margaret Mary Ray, a woman suffering from schizophrenia. She once stole his Porsche, repeatedly broke into his house, and camped out on his tennis court. Her exploits drew national attention, and Letterman occasionally joked about her behavior in his show, although never mentioning her name. After she committed suicide in 1998, Letterman told the ''New York Times'' that he had had great compassion for her, and publicly expressed sympathy.

Extortion attempt and revelation of affairs

On his October 1, 2009, show, Letterman announced that he had been the victim of an extortion attempt by someone threatening to reveal that he had had sex with several of his female employees, confirming the relationships. He stated that three weeks earlier (on September 9, 2009) someone had left a package in his car with material he said he would write into a screenplay and a book if Letterman did not pay him $2 million. Letterman said that he contacted the Manhattan District Attorney's office, ultimately cooperating with them to conduct a sting operation involving giving the man a phony check. Subsequently, Robert J. "Joe" Halderman, a producer of the CBS true crime journalism series ''48 Hours'', was arrested after trying to deposit the check. He was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury and pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted grand larceny on October 2, 2009. Eventually, on March 9, 2010, he pleaded guilty to this same felony and served a 6-month jail sentence, followed by probation and community service.

A central figure in the case and one of the women Letterman had had a sexual relationship with was his longtime personal assistant Stephanie Birkitt who often appeared with him in his show. She had also worked for ''48 Hours''. Until a month prior to the revelations she had shared a residence with Halderman, who allegedly had copied her personal diary and used it, along with private emails, in the blackmail package.

On October 3, 2009, a former CBS employee, Holly Hester, announced that she and Letterman had engaged in a year-long "secret" affair in the early 1990s while she was his intern and a student at New York University.

In the days following the initial announcement of the affairs and the arrest, several prominent women, including Kathie Lee Gifford, co-host of NBC's ''Today Show'', and NBC news anchor Ann Curry questioned whether Letterman's affairs with subordinates created an unfair working environment. A spokesman for Worldwide Pants said that the company's sexual harassment policy did not prohibit sexual relationships between managers and employees. According to business news reporter Eve Tahmincioglu, "CBS suppliers are supposed to follow the company's business conduct policies" and the CBS 2008 Business Conduct Statement states that "If a consenting romantic or sexual relationship between a supervisor and a direct or indirect subordinate should develop, CBS requires the supervisor to disclose this information to his or her Company's Human Resources Department..."

On October 5, 2009, Letterman devoted a segment of his show to a public apology to his wife and staff. Three days later, Worldwide Pants announced that Birkitt had been placed on a "paid leave of absence" from the ''Late Show''. On October 15, CBS News announced that the company's Chief Investigative Correspondent, Armen Keteyian, had been assigned to conduct an "in-depth investigation" into Halderman's blackmail of Letterman.

Awards and honors

Awards

In his capacities as either a writer, producer, performer, or as part of a writing team, Letterman is among the most nominated people in Emmy Award history with 52 nominations, winning two Daytime Emmys and five Primetime Emmys since 1981. His nomination record is second only to producer Jac Venza, who holds the record for the most Emmy nominations for an individual (57). Letterman has been nominated every year since 1984, when he first appeared on late night television as the host of ''Late Night with David Letterman.'' Additionally, he has won four American Comedy Awards. Letterman was the first recipient of the Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence at The Comedy Awards in 2011.

David Letterman Communication and Media Building

On September 7, 2007, Letterman visited his alma mater, Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, for the dedication of a communications facility named in his honor for his dedication to the university throughout his career as a comedian. The $21 million, David Letterman Communication and Media Building opened for the 2007 fall semester. It features state-of-the-art recording equipment and facilities. Thousands of Ball State students, faculty, and local residents welcomed Letterman back to Indiana. Letterman's emotional speech touched on his struggles as a college student and his late father, and also included the "top ten good things about having your name on a building", finishing with, "if reasonable people can put my name on a $21 million building, anything is possible."

At the same time, Letterman also received a Sagamore of the Wabash award given by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, which recognizes distinguished service to the state of Indiana.

References

External links

David Letterman's Feb. 24, 1978 appearance on ''90 Minutes Live''

Official ''Late Show'' biography

1999 article on Letterman from Salon.com

Tape of Letterman announcing affairs/extortion attempt on Late Show

Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:American entertainment industry businesspeople Category:American people of German descent Category:American television talk show hosts Category:Ball State University alumni Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Indianapolis, Indiana television anchors Category:Indy Racing League owners Category:People from Indianapolis, Indiana Category:Weather presenters Category:American people of British descent

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name	Robin Williams
birth name	Robin McLaurin Williams
birth date	July 21, 1951
birth place	Chicago, Illinois, United States
medium	Stand-up, film, television
nationality	American
active	1972–present
genre	Character comedy, physical comedy, improvisational comedy, satire/political satire, observational comedy, blue comedy
influences	Richard Pryor, Jonathan Winters, George Carlin, Chuck Jones
influenced	Conan O'Brien, Frank Caliendo, Dat Phan, Jo Koy
spouse	Valerie Velardi (1978–88; 1 child) Marsha Garces Williams (1989–2011; 2 children)
website	RobinWilliams.com

Robin McLaurin Williams (born July 21, 1951) is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series ''Mork and Mindy'', and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1997 film ''Good Will Hunting''. He has also won two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and five Grammy Awards.

Early life

Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Laura McLaurin (née Smith, 1922–2001), was a former model from New Orleans, Louisiana. His father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams (September 10, 1906 – October 18, 1987), was a senior executive at Ford Motorship in charge of the Midwest area. His maternal great-great-grandfather was senator and Mississippi governor Anselm J. McLaurin. Williams is of English, Welsh, Irish, and French ancestry. He was raised in the Episcopal Church (his mother practiced Christian Science). He grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he was a student at the Detroit Country Day School, and later moved to Woodacre, Marin County, California, where he attended the public Redwood High School. Williams studied at Claremont McKenna College (then called Claremont Men's College) for four years. He has two half-brothers: Todd (who died August 14, 2007) and McLaurin.

Williams has described himself as a quiet child whose first imitation was of his grandmother to his mother. He did not overcome his shyness until he became involved with his high-school drama department.

In 1973, Williams was one of only 20 students accepted into the freshman class at the Juilliard School, and one of only two students to be accepted by John Houseman into the Advanced Program at the school that year, the other being Christopher Reeve. In his dialects class, Williams had no trouble mastering all dialects quickly. Williams left Juilliard in 1976.

Television career

After appearing in the cast of the short-lived ''The Richard Pryor Show'' on NBC, Williams was cast by Garry Marshall as the alien Mork in the hit TV series ''Happy Days''. As Mork, Williams improvised much of his dialogue and physical comedy, speaking in a high, nasal voice. Mork's appearance was so popular with viewers that it led to a spin-off hit television sitcom, ''Mork and Mindy'', which ran from 1978 to 1982; the show was written to accommodate Williams' improvisations. Although playing the same character as in his appearance in ''Happy Days'', the show was set in the present day, in Boulder, Colorado, instead of the late '50s in Milwaukee. Mork was an extremely popular character, featured on posters, coloring books, lunchboxes, and other merchandise.

Starting in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Williams began to reach a wider audience with his standup comedy, including three HBO comedy specials, ''Off The Wall'' (1978), ''An Evening with Robin Williams'' (1982), and ''Robin Williams: Live at the Met'' (1986). Also in 1986, Williams reached an ever wider audience to exhibit his style at the 58th Academy Awards show.

His stand-up work has been a consistent thread through his career, as is seen by the success of his one-man show (and subsequent DVD) ''Robin Williams: Live on Broadway'' (2002). He was voted 13th on Comedy Central's list "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time" in 2004.

After some encouragement from his friend Whoopi Goldberg, he was set to make a guest appearance in the 1991 ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode, "A Matter of Time", but he had to cancel due to a scheduling conflict; Matt Frewer took his place as a time-traveling con man, Professor Berlingoff Rasmussen. Williams, along with Billy Crystal, appeared in a cameo together at the beginning of an episode of the third season of ''Friends''. Both Williams and Crystal's parts weren't originally in the script. They were apparently in the building where the show was shooting and were asked to improvise their lines.

Williams appeared on an episode of the American version of ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' (Season 3, Episode 9: November 16, 2000). During a game of "Scenes from a Hat", the scene "What Robin Williams is thinking right now" was drawn, and Williams stated "I have a career. What the hell am I doing here?" On December 4, 2010, he appeared with Robert De Niro on SNL in the sketch ''What Up with That''.

Movie roles

Most of Williams' acting career has been in film, although he has given some performances on stage as well (notably as Estragon in a production of ''Waiting for Godot'' with Steve Martin). His performance in ''Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987) resulted in Williams being nominated for an Academy Award. Many of his roles have been comedies tinged with pathos.

His role as the Genie in the animated film ''Aladdin'' (1992) was instrumental in establishing the importance of star power in voice actor casting. Williams also used his voice talents in ''Fern Gully'', as the holographic Dr. Know in the 2001 film ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'', in the 2005 animated film ''Robots'', the 2006 Academy Award-winning ''Happy Feet'', and an uncredited vocal performance in the film ''Everyone's Hero''. Furthermore, he was the voice of The Timekeeper, a former attraction at the Walt Disney World Resort about a time-traveling robot who encounters Jules Verne and brings him to the future.

In 1998, he won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for his role as a psychologist in ''Good Will Hunting''. Williams has also starred in dramatic films, which earned him two subsequent Academy Award nominations: First for playing an English teacher in ''Dead Poets Society'' (1989), and later for playing a troubled homeless man in ''The Fisher King'' (1991); that same year, he played an adult Peter Pan in the movie ''Hook''. Other acclaimed dramatic films include ''Awakenings'' (1990) and ''What Dreams May Come'' (1998). In the 2002 film ''Insomnia'', Williams portrays a writer/killer on the run from a sleep-deprived Los Angeles policeman (played by Al Pacino) in rural Alaska. And also in 2002, in the psychological thriller ''One Hour Photo'', Williams played an emotionally disturbed photo development technician who becomes obsessed with a family for whom he has developed pictures for a long time. In 2006 Williams starred in ''The Night Listener'', a thriller about a radio show host who realizes he has developed a friendship with a child who may or may not exist.

He is known for his improvisational skills and impersonations. His performances frequently involve impromptu humor designed and delivered in rapid-fire succession while on stage. According to the ''Aladdin'' DVD commentary, most of his dialogue as the Genie was improvised.

In 2006, he starred in five movies including ''Man of the Year'' and was the Surprise Guest at the 2006 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. He appeared on an episode of ''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'' that aired on January 30, 2006.

At one point, he was in the running to play the Riddler in ''Batman Forever'' until director Tim Burton dropped the project. Earlier, Williams had been a strong contender to play the Joker in ''Batman''. He had expressed interest in assuming the role in ''The Dark Knight'', the sequel to 2005's ''Batman Begins'', although the part of the Joker was played by Heath Ledger, who went on to win, posthumously, the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

He was portrayed by Chris Diamantopoulos in the made-for-TV biopic ''Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Mork & Mindy'' (2005), documenting the actor's arrival in Hollywood as a struggling comedian.

Disputes with Disney

In gratitude for his success with the Disney/Touchstone film ''Good Morning, Vietnam'', Robin Williams voiced the Genie in the Disney animated film ''Aladdin'' for SAG scale pay ($75,000), on condition that his name or image not be used for marketing, and his (supporting) character not take more than 25% of space on advertising artwork, since ''Toys'' was scheduled for release one month after ''Aladdin'''s debut. The studio went back on the deal on both counts, especially in poster art by having the Genie in 25% of the image, but having other major and supporting characters portrayed considerably smaller. Disney's Hyperion book, ''Aladdin: The Making Of An Animated Film'', listed both of Williams' characters "The Peddler" and "The Genie" ahead of main characters, but was forced to refer to him only as "the actor signed to play the Genie".

Williams and Disney had a bitter falling-out, and as a result Dan Castellaneta voiced the Genie in ''The Return of Jafar'', the ''Aladdin'' animated television series, and had recorded his voice for ''Aladdin and the King of Thieves.'' When Jeffrey Katzenberg was fired from Disney and replaced by former 20th Century Fox production head Joe Roth (whose last act for Fox was greenlighting Williams' film ''Mrs. Doubtfire''), Roth arranged for a public apology to Williams by Disney. Williams agreed to perform in Hollywood Pictures' ''Jack'', directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and even agreed to voice the Genie again for the ''King Of Thieves'' sequel (for considerably more than scale), replacing all of Castellaneta's dialogue.

When Williams re-teamed with ''Doubtfire'' director Chris Columbus for 1999's ''Bicentennial Man'', Disney asked that the budget be cut by approximately $20 million, and when the film was released on Christmas Day, it flopped at the box office. Williams blamed Disney's marketing and the loss of content the film had suffered due to the budget cuts. As a result, Williams was again on bad terms with Disney, and Castellaneta was once again recruited to replace him as Genie in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' video game series and the ''House of Mouse'' TV series. The DVD release for ''Aladdin'' has no involvement whatsoever from Williams in the bonus materials, although some of his original recording sessions can be seen.

Robin Williams has recently made peace with the Walt Disney Company and in 2009 agreed to be inducted into the Disney Hall of Fame, designated as a Disney Legend.

Stand-up career

Williams has done a number of stand-up comedy tours since the early 1970s. Some of his most notable tours include ''An Evening With Robin Williams'' (1982), ''Robin Williams: At The Met'' (1986) and ''Robin Williams LIVE on Broadway'' (2002). The latter broke many long-held records for a comedy show. In some cases, tickets were sold out within thirty minutes of going on sale.

After a six year break, in August 2008 Williams announced a brand new 26-city tour titled "Weapons of Self Destruction". He was quoted as saying that this was his last chance to make cracks at the expense of the current Bush Administration, but by the time the show was staged only a few minutes covered that subject. The tour started at the end of September 2009, finishing in New York on December 3, and was the subject of an HBO special on December 8, 2009.

Accusations of plagiarism

Williams was accused of stealing material from other comics to the extent that David Brenner claims that he confronted Williams personally and threatened him with bodily harm if he heard Williams utter another one of his jokes.

Theater career

In theatre, Williams has headed his own one-man show, ''Robin Williams: Live on Broadway'', that played at The Broadway Theatre in July 2002. He made his Broadway acting debut in Rajiv Joseph's ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'', which opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on March 31, 2011. He previously appeared opposite Steve Martin at Lincoln Center in an Off-Broadway production of ''Waiting for Godot''.

Personal life

Robin Williams' first marriage was to Valerie Velardi on June 4, 1978, with whom he has one child, Zachary Pym (Zak) (born April 11, 1983). During Williams' first marriage, he was involved in an extramarital relationship with Michelle Tish Carter, a cocktail waitress whom he met in 1984. She sued him in 1986, claiming that he did not tell her he was infected with the herpes simplex virus before he embarked on a sexual relationship with her in the mid-1980s, during which, she said, he transmitted the virus to her. The case was settled out of court. Williams and Velardi divorced in 1988.

On April 30, 1989, he married Marsha Garces, his son's nanny who was already several months pregnant with his child. They have two children, Zelda Rae (born July 31, 1989) and Cody Alan (born November 25, 1991). However, in March 2008, Garces filed for divorce from Williams, citing irreconcilable differences.

On August 20, 2007, Williams' elder brother, Robert Todd Williams, died of complications from heart surgery performed a month earlier.

Williams is a member of the Episcopal Church. He has described his denomination in a comedy routine as "Catholic Lite – same rituals, half the guilt."

While studying at Juilliard, Williams befriended Christopher Reeve. They had several classes together in which they were the only students, and they remained good friends for the rest of Reeve's life. Williams visited Reeve after the horse riding accident that rendered him a quadriplegic, and cheered him up by pretending to be an eccentric Russian doctor (similar to his role in ''Nine Months''). Williams claimed that he was there to perform a colonoscopy. Reeve stated that he laughed for the first time since the accident and knew that life was going to be okay.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Williams had an addiction to cocaine; he has stated that he has since quit. Williams was a close friend of and frequent partier alongside John Belushi. He says the death of his friend and the birth of his son prompted him to quit drugs: "Was it a wake-up call? Oh yeah, on a huge level. The grand jury helped too."

On August 9, 2006, Williams checked himself in to a substance-abuse rehabilitation center (located in Newberg, Oregon), later admitting that he was an alcoholic. His publicist delivered the announcement:

After 20 years of sobriety, Robin Williams found himself drinking again and has decided to take proactive measures to deal with this for his own well-being and the well-being of his family. He asks that you respect him and his family's privacy during this time. He looks forward to returning to work this fall to support his upcoming film releases.

Williams was hospitalized in March 2009 due to heart problems. He postponed his one-man tour in order to undergo surgery to replace his aortic valve. The surgery was successfully completed on March 13, 2009, at the Cleveland Clinic.

Other interests

Williams is an avid enthusiast of games, even naming both his children after game characters. He named his daughter after Princess Zelda from ''The Legend of Zelda'' action-adventure game series. They both have even been featured in an advert for the Nintendo 3DS remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111044-New-Zelda-Ad-Stars-Robin-Williams-and-his-Daughter-Zelda On this note, his son may have been named after Cody from the beat 'em up game ''Final Fight''. He also enjoys pen-and-paper role-playing games and online video games, recently playing ''Warcraft 3'', ''Day of Defeat'', ''Half-Life'', and the first-person shooter ''Battlefield 2'' as a sniper. He was also previously a fan of the ''Wizardry'' series of role-playing video games.

On January 6, 2006, he performed live at Consumer Electronics Show during Google's keynote. In the 2006 E3, on the invitation of Will Wright, he demonstrated the creature editor of ''Spore'' while simultaneously commenting on the creature's look: "This will actually make a platypus look good." He also complimented the game's versatility, comparing it to ''Populous'' and ''Black & White''. Later that year, he was one of several celebrities to participate in the Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day.

A fan of professional road cycling, he was a regular on the US Postal and Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team bus and hotels during the years Lance Armstrong dominated the Tour de France. He owns over 50 bicycles.

He also enjoys rugby union and is a big fan of former All Black, Jonah Lomu.

Williams is a supporter of eco-friendly vehicles. He currently drives a Toyota Prius, and is on the waiting list for an Aptera 2 Series electric vehicle.

Williams has recently announced that he would love to play The Riddler in the next installment to the ''Batman'' films by director Christopher Nolan, though Nolan has stated that The Riddler will not be featured in the film.

Charity work

Williams and his former wife, Marsha, founded the Windfall Foundation, a philanthropic organization to raise money for many different charities. Williams devotes much of his energy to charity work, including the ''Comic Relief'' fundraising efforts (the program is hosted by himself, Billy Crystal, and Whoopi Goldberg). In December 1999, he sang in French on the BBC-inspired music video of international celebrities doing a cover of the Rolling Stones' "It's Only Rock & Roll" for the charity Children's Promise.

In response to the 2010 Canterbury Earthquake, Williams donated all proceeds of his "Weapons of Self Destruction" Christchurch performance to helping rebuild the New Zealand city. Half the proceeds were donated to the Red Cross and half to the mayoral building fund with the words "I hope this donation will go some way to helping the extensive rebuilding effort in the city." Williams has performed with the USO for U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Filmography

+ Film credits
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1977	''Can I Do It 'Till I Need Glasses?''	Himself
1980		Popeye
1982	''''
1983		Donald Quinelle
1984	''Moscow on the Hudson''	Vladimir Ivanov	Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1986		Tommy Wilhelm
1986	''Club Paradise''	Jack Moniker
1986	''''	Jack Dundee
1987	''Good Morning, Vietnam''	Adrian Cronauer
1988	''''	King of the Moon
1988	''Portrait of a White Marriage''	Air Conditioning Salesman	Uncredited
1988	''Rabbit Ears: Pecos Bill''	Narrator	Voice
1989	''Dead Poets Society''	John Keating
1989	''I'm from Hollywood''	Himself
1990	''Cadillac Man''	Joey O'Brien
1990	''Awakenings''	Dr. Malcolm Sayer
1990	''Back to Neverland''	Himself
1991	''Dead Again''	Doctor Cozy Carlisle
1991	''''	Parry
1991		Peter Banning/Peter Pan
1991	''Rabbit Ears: The Fool and the Flying Ship''	Narrator	Voice
1992		Leslie Zevo	Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
1992		Genie, merchant
1992	''''	The Timekeeper
1992	''FernGully: The Last Rainforest''	Batty Koda	Voice
1992	''Shakes the Clown''	Mime Class Instructor
1993	''Mrs. Doubtfire''	Daniel Hillard/Mrs. Doubtfire
1993		Hector
1994	''In Search of Dr. Seuss''	Father
1995		Alan Parrish
1995	''To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar''	John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
1995	''Nine Months''	Dr. Kosevich
1996	''Aladdin and the King of Thieves''	Genie	Voice
1996		Osric
1996		The Professor
1996		Jack Powell
1996	''''	Armand Goldman
1997	''Good Will Hunting''	Sean Maguire
1997		Professor Philip Brainard
1997	''Deconstructing Harry''	Mel/Harry's Character
1997		Dale Putley
1998
1998	''Junket Whore''	Himself
1998		Chris Nielsen
1999		Andrew Martin
1999	''Jakob the Liar''	Jakob Heym/Narrator
1999	''Get Bruce''	Himself
2000	''Model Behavior''	Faremain
2001	''A.I. Artificial Intelligence''	Dr. Know	Voice
2002	''''	Hans Hänkie
2002		Walter Finch	Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
2002	''Death to Smoochy''	'Rainbow' Randolph Smiley
2002	''One Hour Photo''	Seymour 'Sy' Parrish
2004		Charlie Boyd/The Priest
2004	''House of D''	Pappass
2004	''''	Alan W. Hakman
2005	''''	Paul Barnell
2005		Fender
2005	''''	Himself
2006		Tom Dobbs
2006	''Night at the Museum''	Theodore Roosevelt
2006	''Happy Feet''	Ramon/Lovelace	Voice
2006	''Everyone's Hero''	Napoleon Cross	Voice
2006		Bob Munro
2006	''''	Gabriel Noone
2007	''License to Wed''	Reverend Frank
2007	''August Rush''	Maxwell "Wizard" Wallace
2009		Holden
2009	''World's Greatest Dad''	Lance Clayton
2009	''Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian''	Theodore Roosevelt
2009		Dan Rayburn
2011	''Happy Feet 2''	Ramon, Lovelace	Voice; filming

+ Television credits
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1977	''''	Himself
1977
1977	''Eight is Enough''		Episode: "The Return of Auntie V"
1978	''Happy Days''		Episode: "My Favorite Orkan" (There are two versions of this episode. One with the original ending where events were all a dream of Richie Cunningham's and another that sets up the Mork and Mindy spin-off series. Williams appears in both versions.)
1978	''America 2-Night''	Jason Shine	Episodes: "Jason Shine" and "Olfactory Distosis Telethon"
1978–1982	''Mork & Mindy''
1979	''Happy Days''		Episode: "Mork Returns"
1979			Episode: "Random's Arrival"
1981	''Saturday Night Live''	Himself	Host/Various
1982	''''	Himself	Episode: #1.1
1982	''Faerie Tale Theatre''	Frog/Prince Robin	Episode: "Tale of the Frog Prince"
1982		Various	Episode: "Jane Eyrehead"
1984	''Saturday Night Live''	Himself	Host/Various
1984	''Pryor's Place	Gaby	Episode: "Sax Education"
1986	''Saturday Night Live''	Himself	Host/Various
1986	''The Max Headroom Show''	Himself	Episode: "Max Headroom's Giant Christmas Turkey"
1988	''Saturday Night Live''	Himself	Host/Various
1988	''Wogan''	Himself
1991	''Wogan''	Himself
1991	''''	The Kiwi	Voice (Credited as Sudy Nim)
1992	''''	Himself	Episode: "Hank's Contract"
1994	''Homicide: Life on the Streets''	Robert Ellison
1994	''Live & Kicking''	Himself
1994	''''	Himself	Episode: "Montana"
1994	''Nyhetsmorgon''	Himself	Episode: "Filmen 'Mrs. Doubtfire' svensk premiär"
1994	''In the Wild''	Himself	Episode: "In the Wild: Dolphins with Robin Williams"
1995	''Primer Plano''	Himself
1996	''American Masters''	Himself	Episode: "Take Two: Mike Nichols and Elaine May"
1996	''Primer Plano''
1996	''HBO First Look	Himself	Episode: "Fathers Day"
1997	''Friends''	Tomas	Uncredited
1998	''Nyhetsmorgon''	Himself/Sean Maguire	Episode: "Filmen 'Good Will Hunting
1998	''Hollywood Squares''	Himself	Guest appearance
1998	''Noel's House Party''	Himself	Episode: #8.10
1999	''L.A. Doctors''	Hugo Kinsley	Episode: "Just Duet"
2000		Himself	Episode: #3.9
2002	''Comedy Central Canned Ham''	Himself	Episode: "Death to Smoochy"
2002	''Leute heute''	Himself
2002	''Supermarket Sweep''	Himself
2003	''Player$''	Himself	Episodes: "E3 03, Playa", "Players Halloweenie Televizzie"
2003	''Freedoom: A History of Us''	Josiah Quincy/Ulysses S. Grant/Missouri Farmer/Wilbur Wright/Orville Wright	Episodes: "Wake Up America", "A War to End Slavery", "Liberty for All", and "Safe for Democracy"
2003	''Life With Bonnie''	Kevin Powalski	Episode: "Psychic"
2004	''This Hour Has 22 Minutes''	Himself
2005	''Just For Laughs''	Himself
2006	''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition''	Himself
2006	''Mind of Mencia''	Himself	Episode: "That's F**king Historical"
2006	''Getaway''	Himself	Episode: #15.15
2008		Ivan "Bob" Poppanoff the "Russian Idol"/Himself	Episodes: "Idol Gives Back" and "Live Results Show: One Contestant Eliminated"
2008	''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''	Merrit Rook
2009	''SpongeBob SquarePants''	Himself	Episode: "Truth or Square"
2009	''TV Land Moguls''	Himself	Episode: "The 80s"
2010	''Alan Carr Chatty Man''	Himself
2010	''Pentagon Channel''	Himself	"Promotional Advertisement for the Pentagon Channel"
2011		Himself	Episode: "What Drugs Do To Our Bodies?"

Discography

''Reality...What a Concept'' (1979)

''Throbbing Python of Love'' (1983)

''A Night at The Met'' (1986)

''Pecos Bill'' (1988)

''Live 2002'' (2002)

''Weapons of Self Destruction'' (2010)

Williams appeared in the music video of Bobby McFerrin's hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy".

He made a cameo in Cobra Starship's Video "You Make Me Feel..." along with his daughter, Zelda Williams.

References

"Road Trip with Robin"

"Robin Williams mimic ends 'fraud'" (BBC News)

"Robin Williams' impersonator stopped" (AskMen.com)

"Robin Williams Enters Rehab", August 9, 2006 (Access Hollywood)

Lovece, Frank, ''New York Newsday'' (April 27, 2006)

Bibliography

External links

Robin Williams – official website

Category:1951 births Category:Actors from California Category:Actors from Chicago, Illinois Category:American comedians of Irish descent Category:American Episcopalians Category:American film actors Category:American impressionists (entertainers) Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of French descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Welsh descent Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Audio book narrators Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Category:Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Juilliard School alumni Category:Living people Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Marin County, California Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:Saturn Award winners

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