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Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (, Aliaksandr Ryhoravič Lukašenka; , Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko; born 30 or 31 August 1954) has served as the President of Belarus since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko served as a military officer and worked as a director for manufacturing plants and farms. During his first two terms as President, Lukashenko restructured the Belarusian economy by introducing economic integration with the Russian Federation and building strong ties with countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
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Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler (born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is currently the lead star of an NBC show titled Parks and Recreation and is currently doing voice-acting for the upcoming film Megamind. She has been nominated twice for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance on Saturday Night Live, and once for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in Parks & Recreation.
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Andrew Lloyd Webber
Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer of musical theatre. He started composing at the age of six, and published his first piece at the age of nine.
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Andrew Niccol
Andrew M. Niccol (born 10 June 1964) is a New Zealand-born screenwriter, producer, and director. He wrote and directed Gattaca, S1m0ne, and Lord of War. He also wrote and co-produced The Truman Show, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for best original screenplay in 1999 and won him a BAFTA award for Best Screenplay. Many of his films, such as Gattaca, S1m0ne and The Truman Show view societal or political issues through a fantasy-sci-fi lens. Lord of War, however, was a contemporary, matter-of-fact exploration of gunrunning.
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Anthony Minghella
Anthony Minghella, CBE (6 January 1954 — 18 March 2008) was an English film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was Chairman of the Board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007.
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Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include award-winning plays such as All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and The Crucible.
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Ashlee Simpson
Ashlee Nicole Wentz (née Simpson; October 3, 1984) is an American pop singer-songwriter, dancer and actress. She is commonly known by Ashlee Simpson-Wentz. Simpson-Wentz, who is the younger sister of pop singer Jessica Simpson, rose to prominence in mid-2004 through the success of her number-one debut album Autobiography and the accompanying reality series The Ashlee Simpson Show. Simpson received widespread notoriety when she attempted to lip-sync with a pre-recorded vocal track on Saturday Night Live in October 2004.
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Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter (28 July 1866 – 22 December 1943) was an English author, illustrator, mycologist and conservationist best known for children's books featuring anthropomorphic characters such as in The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
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Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht (; born ; 10 February 1898–14 August 1956) was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director. An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the Berliner Ensemble—the post-war theatre company operated by Brecht and his wife and long-time collaborator, the actress Helene Weigel—with its internationally acclaimed productions.
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Bill Naughton
William John Francis Naughton, or Bill Naughton (Ballyhaunis, 12 June 1910 - Ballasalla, 9 January 1992) was an Irish-born British playwright and author, best known for his play Alfie.
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Cameron Diaz
Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She gained fame in the 1990s with roles in the blockbuster films The Mask, ''My Best Friend's Wedding, and There's Something About Mary. Other notable film credits include Charlie's Angels, Vanilla Sky, Gangs of New York, and voicing Princess Fiona in the Shrek film series. Diaz received Golden Globe nominations for her performances in There's Something About Mary, Being John Malkovich, Vanilla Sky, and Gangs of New York''.
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Charlie Rose
Charles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991, he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed nationally by PBS since 1993. He was concurrently a correspondent for 60 Minutes II from its inception in January 1999 until its cancellation in September 2005, and was later named a correspondent on 60 Minutes.
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China Daily
The China Daily () is an English-language daily newspaper published in the People's Republic of China.
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Chrissie Hynde
Christine Ellen "Chrissie" Hynde (born 7 September 1951, Akron, Ohio) is an American rock musician, best known as the leader of the rock/new wave band The Pretenders. She is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, and has been the only constant member of the band throughout its history.
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Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe (baptised 26 February 1564–30 May 1593) was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.
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Clint Eastwood
Clinton Elias Eastwood Jr., (born May 31, 1930) commonly known as Clint Eastwood is a renowned American film actor, director, producer and composer. He has received five Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, two Cannes Film Festival awards, and five People's Choice Awards — including one for Favorite All-Time Motion Picture Star.
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Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell (born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor, who has appeared in Hollywood films including Tigerland, Daredevil, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander, S.W.A.T., and In Bruges.
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David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the psychological is typically intertwined with the physical. In the first half of his career, he explored these themes mostly through horror and science fiction, although his work has since expanded beyond these genres. He has been called "the most audacious and challenging narrative director in the English-speaking world."
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David Essex
David Essex OBE (born David Albert Cook, 23 July 1947) is an English actor and singer. Since the 1970s, Essex has attained nineteen Top 40 singles in the UK (including two numbers ones), and sixteen Top 40 albums. He has also had an extensive career as an actor performing on stage and screen.
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David Lan
David Lan is an English playwright, filmmaker and theatre director.
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Doctor Watson
John H. Watson, M.D., known as Dr. Watson, is a character in the Sherlock Holmes stories, written by Arthur Conan Doyle. He is Sherlock Holmes' assistant and flatmate, and is the first person narrator of all but four stories in the Sherlock Holmes canon.
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Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-born American actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films and his flamboyant lifestyle.
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Euripides
Euripides (Ancient Greek: ) (ca. 480 BC – 406 BC) was the last
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George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950) was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60 plays. Nearly all his writings deal sternly with prevailing social problems, but have a vein of comedy to make their stark themes more palatable. Shaw examined education, marriage, religion, government, health care, and class privilege.
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George Michael
George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (); June 25, 1963) is an English singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! along with his school friend Andrew Ridgeley. His first solo single, "Careless Whisper" was released when he was still in the duo and sold about six million copies worldwide.
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Guy Barker
Guy Barker (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a year had joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. After lessons from Clark Terry in 1975, Barker went on in the 1980s to play with John Dankworth, Gil Evans (with whose orchestra he toured and recorded in 1983), Lena Horne and Bobby Watson.
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Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English screenwriter, film maker, pub landlord and businessman.
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Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (; born September 27, 1972) is an American actress.
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Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG (Ḥāmid Karzay; born 24 December 1957) is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban government in late 2001. During the International Conference on Afghanistan in Bonn, Germany, on 5 December 2001, Karzai was selected by prominent Afghan political figures to serve a six month term as Chairman of the Transitional Administration.
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Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE (10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008), was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor, theatre director, left wing political activist and poet. He was among the most influential British playwrights of modern times. In 2005, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Pinter's writing career spanned over 50 years and produced 29 original stage plays, 27 screenplays, many dramatic sketches, radio and TV plays, poetry, one novel, short fiction, essays, speeches, and letters. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party (1957), The Caretaker (1959), The Homecoming (1964), and Betrayal (1978), each of which he adapted to film. His screenplay adaptations of others' works include The Servant (1963), The Go-Between (1970), ''The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), The Trial (1993), and Sleuth'' (2007). He directed almost 50 stage, television, and film productions and acted extensively in radio, stage, television, and film productions of his own and others' works.
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Heath Ledger
Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career. His work encompassed nineteen films, including 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), The Patriot (2000), ''Monster's Ball (2001), A Knight's Tale (2001), Brokeback Mountain (2005), and The Dark Knight'' (2008). In addition to his acting, he produced and directed music videos and aspired to be a film director.
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Helena Christensen
Helena Christensen (born December 25, 1968 in Copenhagen) is a Danish fashion model, former Victoria's Secret Angel, beauty queen, and photographer. She has also served as creative director for a fashion magazine, designed clothing, and supported funding for breast cancer organizations and other charities.
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Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager, playwright, artist and filmmaker. Along with other avant-garde artists of his generation (Jean Anouilh and René Char for example) Cocteau grappled with the algebra of verbal codes old and new, mise en scène language and technologies of modernism to create a paradox: a classical avant-garde. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María Félix, Édith Piaf (whom he cast in one of his one-act plays entitled Le Bel Indifferent in 1940), and Raymond Radiguet.
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Jeremy Gilley
Jeremy Gilley is an English actor, filmmaker and founder of the charity Peace One Day.
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John Arden
John Arden (born 26 October 1930) is an award-winning English playwright from Barnsley (which at the time was in the West Riding of Yorkshire). His works tend to expose social issues of personal concern. He is a member of the Royal Society of Literature.
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Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician known for his portrayals of offbeat, eccentric characters such as Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, Raoul Duke in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow.
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Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA (born 9 December 1934) is an English film, stage and television actress.
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Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television. He gained critical acclaim in the early 1990s, culminating in his first Academy Award for The Usual Suspects (Best Supporting Actor), followed by a Best Actor Academy Award win for American Beauty (1999). His other starring roles in Hollywood include Seven, L.A. Confidential, Pay It Forward, and Superman Returns in a career which has eventually earned him Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Since 2003, he has been artistic director of the Old Vic theatre in London.
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Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered British actors of the 20th century. He married Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh and Joan Plowright.
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Lemony Snicket
Lemony Snicket is the legal pen name of American novelist Daniel Handler (born February 28, 1970). Snicket is the author of several children's books, serving as the narrator of A Series of Unfortunate Events (his best known work) and appearing as a character within the series. Because of this, Lemony Snicket is both a fictional character and a real person. This article deals primarily with the character.
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Lord Alfred Douglas
Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas (22 October 1870 – 20 March 1945), nicknamed "Bosie", was a British author, poet and translator, better known as the intimate friend and lover of the writer Oscar Wilde. Much of his early poetry was Uranian in theme, though he tended, later in life, to distance himself from both Wilde's influence and his own role as a Uranian poet.
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Maya Rudolph
Maya Khabira Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress and singer best known for her comedic roles as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2000-2007. She most recently appeared in the 2010 films Grown Ups and MacGruber.
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Mel C
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Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English film actor. Caine has appeared in over one hundred films.
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Michael Grandage
Michael Grandage (born 2 May 1962) is a British theatre director and producer, and current Artistic Director at the Donmar Warehouse, London. Grandage won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Director of a Play for Red (play).
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Moby
Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), better known by his stage name Moby, is an American DJ, singer-songwriter, and musician.
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Natasha Law
Andrea Natasha Law (born in 1970) is an English painter and graphic designer. Currently residing in London, she was educated at the Camberwell College of Arts in South London. Law is the daughter of Peter and Maggie Law and the older sister to actor Jude Law.
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Nicola Salerno
Nicola Salerno, also known as Nisa (11 March 1910 - 22 May 1969) was an Italian lyricist. He formed a famous songwriting duo with Renato Carosone.
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Oscar Wilde
'''Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde''' (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish writer, poet, and prominent aesthete; who, after writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. Today he is remembered for his epigrams, plays and the tragedy of his imprisonment and early death.
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Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles (1960–1970) and Wings (1971–1981), McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music, according to Guinness World Records.
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Paweł Althamer
Paweł Althamer (1967-) is a contemporary Polish sculptor, performance artist, action artist, and creator of installations and video art. In 2000 he participated in Manifesta 3 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He won the Vincent Award in 2004. In 2007 he presented the exhibition One of many with the Nicola Trussardi Foundation.
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People (magazine)
People (originally called People Weekly) is a weekly American magazine of celebrity and human-interest stories, published by Time Inc. As of 2006, it has a circulation of 3.75 million and revenue expected to top $1.5 billion. It was named "Magazine of the Year" by Advertising Age in October 2005, for excellence in editorial, circulation and advertising. People ranked #6 on Advertising Age's annual "A-list" and #3 on ''Adweek's'' "Brand Blazers" list in October 2006.
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Philip Ridley
Philip Ridley (born 1967 in East London) is a British artist working with various media.
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Prince Hamlet
Prince Hamlet is a fictional character, the protagonist in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. He is the Prince of Denmark, nephew to the usurping Claudius and son of the previous King of Denmark, Old Hamlet. Throughout the play he struggles with whether, and how, to avenge the murder of his father, and struggles with his own sanity along the way. By the end of the tragedy, Hamlet has caused the deaths of Polonius, Laertes, Claudius and his two childhood friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He is also indirectly involved in the deaths of his love Ophelia (drowning) and of his mother Gertrude (poisoned by mistake). Hamlet himself is the final character to die in the play.
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Rachel Dratch
Rachel Susan Dratch (born February 22, 1966) is an American comic actress best known for her roles as a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006.
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Rachel McAdams
Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. Her breakout role was for portraying the "Queen Bee" Regina George in the 2004 hit film Mean Girls. She then starred in the film adaptation of The Notebook and the hit comedy Wedding Crashers. Her other film credits include The Family Stone, Red Eye and ''The Time Traveler's Wife''. More recently she starred in Guy Ritchie's 2009 adaptation of Sherlock Holmes as Irene Adler.
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Renato Carosone
Renato Carosone (3 January 1920 – 20 May 2001) was among the greatest figures of Italian music scene in the second half of the 20th century. He was also a modern performer of the so-called canzone napoletana, Naples' song tradition.
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Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans (; born Rhys Owain Evans; 22 July 1967) is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans will also appear as Xenophilius Lovegood in the forthcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows films. He is an avid supporter of Glasgow Celtic Football Club.
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Richard Stilgoe
Richard Henry Simpson Stilgoe OBE (born 28 March 1943) is a British songwriter, lyricist and musician. He is noted for clever wordplay as much as for his music.
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Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams left the group in 1995 to launch his solo career. On 15 July 2010, it was announced he had rejoined Take That and that the group intended to release a new album in November 2010.
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Roger Rees
Roger Rees (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor. He is best known to American audiences for playing the characters Robin Colcord on the American television sitcom show Cheers and Lord John Marbury on the American television drama The West Wing. He won a Tony Award for his performance as the lead in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.
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Rosario Fiorello
Rosario Tindaro Fiorello (born 16 May 1960), also known just as Fiorello, is an Italian comedian, singer, radio and television presenter.
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Sadie Frost
Sadie Frost (born 19 June 1965) is an English actress, who currently runs fashion label Frost French.
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Sam Mendes
Samuel Alexander "Sam" Mendes, CBE (born 1 August 1965) is an English stage and film director. He has won two Laurence Olivier Awards for his London stage productions The Glass Menagerie and Company in 1996, and Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya in 2003. He also received a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical for the Broadway revival of Cabaret in 1998. His debut film American Beauty (1999) earned him an Academy Award for Best Director.
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Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish avant-garde writer, dramatist and poet, writing in English and French. Beckett's work offers a bleak outlook on human culture and both formally and philosophically became increasingly minimalist in his later career.
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Sean Mathias
Sean Gerard Mathias (born 14 March 1956) is a British theatre director, film director, writer and actor.
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Sienna Miller
Sienna Rose Miller (born 28 December 1981) is an English actress, model, and fashion designer, best known for her roles in Layer Cake, Alfie, Factory Girl, The Edge of Love and .
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Stella McCartney
Stella Nina McCartney (born 13 September 1971) is an English fashion designer. She is the daughter of former Beatles member Sir Paul McCartney and the late photographer and animal rights activist, Linda McCartney.
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Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, writer, journalist, comedian, television presenter, film director and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also included Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson and Tony Slattery. With Hugh Laurie, as the comedy double act Fry and Laurie, he co-wrote and co-starred in A Bit of Fry and Laurie, and the duo also played the title roles in Jeeves and Wooster.
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Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is a screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), The Fisher King (1991), and 12 Monkeys (1995). He is the only "Python" not born in Britain, and took British citizenship in 1968.
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The Times
The Times is a daily national newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785, when it was known as The Daily Universal Register.
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Tina Fey
Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer. She has received seven Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Writers Guild of America Awards. She was singled out as the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment in 2008 by the Associated Press, who gave her their AP Entertainer of the Year award.
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Tony Christie
Tony Christie (born Anthony Fitzgerald on 25 April 1943) is an English musician, singer and actor.
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Vasily Zaytsev
Vasily Grigorevich Zaytsev (, ; March 23, 1915 – December 15, 1991) was a Soviet sniper during World War II, notable particularly for his activities between November 10 and December 17, 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad. He killed 225 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and other Axis armies, including 6 enemy snipers.
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Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – September 15, 2000) was an American film critic.
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William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564; died 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.
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Afghanistan
{{Infobox country
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Alleyn's School
'''Alleyn's School''' is an independent, fee-paying co-educational day school situated in Dulwich, south London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of the historic Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundation, which also included James Allen's Girls' School (JAGS), Dulwich College and their daughter schools (JAPS and Alleyn's Junior School). The official religion is Church of England. The school is also listed in the Good Schools Guide.
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Blackheath, London
Blackheath is an inner suburban area of southeast London, England. It is named from the large open public grassland which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west. The area is predominantly in the London Borough of Lewisham with sections to the north and east in the London Borough of Greenwich.
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Borough Market
Borough Market is a wholesale and retail food market in Southwark, South East London, England. It is one of the largest food markets in the world, and sells a large variety of foods from all over the world.
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Broadhurst Theatre
The Broadhurst Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 235 West 44th Street in midtown Manhattan.
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Denmark
Denmark (; , , archaic: ), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: ) together with Greenland and the Faroe Islands, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea. The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland (Jylland) and many islands, most notably Zealand (Sjælland), Funen (Fyn), Vendsyssel-Thy (commonly considered a part of Jutland), Lolland, Falster and Bornholm, as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago. Denmark has long controlled the approach to the Baltic Sea; before the digging of the Kiel Canal, water passage to the Baltic Sea was possible only through the three channels known as the "Danish straits".
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Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 250.
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Durban
Durban (, from itheku meaning 'bay') is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in the country, forming part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous as the busiest port in South Africa and is also a major centre of tourism because of the city's warm subtropical climate and extensive beaches. The city has a population of almost 3.5 million, making Durban the biggest city on the east coast of the African continent. Its land area of is comparatively larger than other South African cities, resulting in a somewhat lower population density of .
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Elsinore Castle
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Exeter
Exeter () is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of the county council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the County Council. The city is on the River Exe, about northeast of Plymouth, and southwest of Bristol. According to the 2001 Census, its population in that year was 111,076.
http://wn.com/Exeter -
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, located north-west of Charing Cross. It is located in Inner London. It is part of the London Borough of Camden. It is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for the large and hilly parkland Hampstead Heath. It is also home to some of the most expensive housing in the London area, or indeed anywhere in the world, with large houses selling for up to £50m (2008). The village of Hampstead has more millionaires within its boundaries than any other area of the United Kingdom.
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Kabul ( Kābol ; Kābul ; archaic Caubul), is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan, located in the Kabul Province. According to the 2008 official estimates, the population of Kabul metropolitan area is 2.8 million people.
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New Orleans ( or , locally or ; ) is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area, (New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner) has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population of 1,360,436 as of 2000.
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Reading ( ) is the largest town in England, located at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London. For ceremonial purposes it is in the Royal County of Berkshire and has served as the county town since 1867.
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Law, Jude Filmography
- Hugo Cabret (2011)
- Untitled Sherlock Holmes Sequel (2011)
- Contagion (2011)
- The 64th Annual Tony Awards (2010)
- Almost Famous III (2010)
- Repo Men (2010)
- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
- Sherlock Holmes (2009)
- Dexterity (2009)
- Rage (2009)
- The Day After Peace (2008)
- Sleuth (2007)
- El orfanato llega a Hollywood (2007)
- Variety Club Showbiz Awards 2007 (2007)
- Peace One Day (2007)
- Sleuth (2007)
- My Blueberry Nights (2007)
- Breaking and Entering (2006)
- The Orange British Academy Film Awards (2006)
- All the King's Men (2006)
- The Holiday (2006)
- Celebrity Debut (2006)
- The Curse of Superman (2006)
- Greatest Before They Were Stars TV Moments (2005)
- Brave New World (2005)
- Brave New World (2005)
- 101 Sexiest Celebrity Bodies (2005)
- I Heart Huckabees: Production Surveillance (2005)
- 101 Biggest Celebrity Oops (2004)
- Alfie (2004)
- Climbing 'Cold Mountain' (2004)
- Closer (2004)
- I Heart Huckabees (2004)
- Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
- Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
- The 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards (2004)
- The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004)
- The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004)
- The Aviator (2004)
- Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
- Cold Mountain (2003)
- Comic Relief 2003: The Big Hair Do (2003)
- In the Shadow of 'Cold Mountain' (2003)
- A Journey to 'Cold Mountain' (2003)
- AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Robert De Niro (2003)
- The Words and Music of 'Cold Mountain' (2003)
- The Robots of 'AI' (2002)
- Dressing 'A.I.' (2002)
- Acting A.I.: A Portrait of David (2002)
- Acting A.I.: A Portrait of Gigolo Joe (2002)
- Road to Perdition (2002)
- The Making of 'Road to Perdition' (2002)
- AI/FX (2002)
- Enemy at the Gates (2001)
- Enemy at the Gates: Through the Crosshairs (2001)
- Inside 'Enemy at the Gates' (2001)
- Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
- The 72nd Annual Academy Awards (2000)
- Love, Honour and Obey (2000)
- Reflections on 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' (2000)
- The Orange British Academy Film Awards (2000)
- The Talented Mr. Ripley: Making the Soundtrack (1999)
- Presence of Mind (1999)
- eXistenZ (1999)
- Tube Tales (1999)
- The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
- Inside 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' (1999)
- Music from Another Room (1998)
- The Wisdom of Crocodiles (1998)
- Final Cut (1998)
- Bent (1997)
- Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)
- Wilde (1997)
- Venice Report (1997)
- Gattaca (1997)
- I Love You, I Love You Not (1996)
- Shopping (1994)
- The Crane (1994)
- The Marshal (1993)
- The Tailor of Gloucester (1989)
- The Ragged Child (1989)
Jude Law was born December 29, 1972, in south east London. He started acting with the National Youth Music Theatre at the age of 12, and, at 17, he dropped out of school completely, to star in a Granada daytime TV Soap called _"Families" (1990)_ (qv). In 1992, Jude began his stage career. He starred in many plays throughout London, and was nominated for the 'Laurence Olivier' (qv) Award of "Outstanding Newcomer." After doing the play "Indiscretions" in London, he moved and did it again on Broadway. This time, he was alongside 'Kathleen Turner (I)' (qv). He then received a Tony Nomination for "Outstanding Supporting Actor." He was then rewarded the Theatre World Award. After Broadway, Jude started on the big screen, in many independent films. His first big-named movie was _Gattaca (1997)_ (qv), with 'Uma Thurman' (qv) and 'Ethan Hawke' (qv). He also had a good role in _Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)_ (qv). Jude's latest rise to fame has been because of _The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)_ (qv), in which he plays 'Matt Damon' (qv)'s obsession. The film did very well at the box office, and critics loved Jude's acting. He is also a partner in the production company "Natural Nylon." His partners include 'Jonny Lee Miller' (qv), 'Ewan McGregor' (qv) and his ex-wife 'Sadie Frost' (qv). With his production company producing and Jude acting, his career seems to be on the rise.
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Jude Law - Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows *Interview (Dec.16/11)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:49
- Published: 17 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 04 Feb 2012
- Author: indigenous4logic
Late Show with David Letterman sherlock-holmes-movie.warnerbros.com
http://wn.com/Jude_Law__Sherlock_Holmes_A_Game_of_Shadows_*Interview_Dec16/11
Jude Law On 'Holiday' (CBS News)
Jude Law has been called the sexiest man alive and Hollywood's busiest actor. He puts both of those titles to work in "The Holiday." Law speaks with Hannah Storm about his new romantic comedy.
http://wn.com/Jude_Law_On_'Holiday'_CBS_News
Jude Law - Poker Face
Jude Law reciting Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face'.
http://wn.com/Jude_Law__Poker_Face
Jude Law 'Contagion' Interview
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:04
- Published: 06 Sep 2011
- Uploaded: 04 Feb 2012
- Author: ClevverMovies
Watch Contagion Trailer youtu.be bit.ly - Click to Subscribe! Facebook.com - Become a Fan! Twitter.com - Follow Us! Jude Law talks about his new movie 'Contagion', how his character "Alan Krumwiede" fits into the story, working with director Steven Soderbergh and how audiences will react to the film. Contagion hits theaters on September 9th, 2011. Cast: Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet "Contagion" follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart. Contagion footage courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.
http://wn.com/Jude_Law_'Contagion'_Interview
Jude Law...
a video with Jude Law pictures..if u like him u'll love this .. I'm very proud of my first vid :p by the way; you know i had the song called 'You're beautiful' by James Blunt but Youtube has just warned me not to use it because of the copyright stuff you know..so i had to change my song, here's the same video with the new song.. ( didn't like it much but anyway..)
http://wn.com/Jude_Law
Inside The Actors Studio - Jude Law
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 47:58
- Published: 13 Jul 2011
- Uploaded: 03 Feb 2012
- Author: SirPsychoFlea
Jude Law on Inside the Actors Studio hosted by James Lipton season 10, episode 5 original airdate 2003-12-21 i had to cut out all the movie bits because otherwise youtube would have blocked the video This video does not belong to me and no copyright infringement is intended. This video has been uploaded for educational end entertaining purposes only. The video is owned by Bravo.
http://wn.com/Inside_The_Actors_Studio__Jude_Law
ROBERT DOWNEY, JR & JUDE LAW: Stepping on the Extras... Literally! (The Graham Norton Show)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:31
- Published: 16 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 05 Feb 2012
- Author: BBCAmericaTV
Watch an exclusive SNEAK PEEK from an all new episode of THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW before the US Premiere *** Saturday, Dec 17 at 10/9c *** immediately followed by an all new episode of BBC America's new original comedy panel show WOULD YOU RATHER...? WITH GRAHAM NORTON at 11/10c. The UK's biggest, most outrageous talk show is back for a new season with must-see guests. This week: Robert Downey, Jr, Jude Law, Eddie Izzard, Strictly Come Dancing judge Alesha Dixon and singer-songwriter Rebecca Ferguson. Plus: Norton's trademark comedy monologues and eccentric stories. Here, Robert Downey, Jr & Jude Law share a hysterical story from their practical joker misadventures on the set of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows... Sounds like Sherlock & Watson needs to work on their observational skills, eh? Don't miss all new episodes of The Graham Norton Show, every Saturday at 10/9c. For more on The Graham Norton Show: visit www.bbcamerica.com The Graham Norton Show presented by the Ministry of Laughs, BBC America's Saturday night comedy block. Coming soon to the Ministry of Laughs: That Mitchell and Webb Look, Katy Brand's Big Ass Show, Peep Show, The Thick of It, and more. And keep up with all of the best shows on BBC America by following us on Facebook and Twitter! twitter.com www.facebook.com
http://wn.com/ROBERT_DOWNEY,_JR_JUDE_LAW_Stepping_on_the_Extras_Literally!_The_Graham_Norton_Show
Jude Law talks romance at the London Film Festival
Jude Law chats about what romance means to him at London's Film Festival Opening Night Gala. Report by Poppy Jamie. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com
http://wn.com/Jude_Law_talks_romance_at_the_London_Film_Festival
Filming The Sherlock Holmes Sequel - The Graham Norton Show - Series 10 Episode 8 - BBC One
More about this programme: www.bbc.co.uk Graham chats with Robert Downey Jr & Jude Law about making the new Sherlock Holmes film.
http://wn.com/Filming_The_Sherlock_Holmes_Sequel__The_Graham_Norton_Show__Series_10_Episode_8__BBC_One
Funny/Cute Moments with RDJ and Jude Law Pt.1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:35
- Published: 30 May 2011
- Uploaded: 05 Feb 2012
- Author: RDJrAdmirer
Re-uploaded 'cause the old account got deleted.
http://wn.com/Funny/Cute_Moments_with_RDJ_and_Jude_Law_Pt1
David Letterman - Jude Law's Whiskey Surprise
Jude Law recalls the last night of a stage production when fake booze was replaced with the real deal.
http://wn.com/David_Letterman__Jude_Law's_Whiskey_Surprise
REPO MEN Best Scene
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:53
- Published: 10 May 2011
- Uploaded: 06 Feb 2012
- Author: CoolGuyMcGruff
Best scene out of the film "REPO MEN"....Jude Law kills alot of people.
http://wn.com/REPO_MEN_Best_Scene
Robert Downey JR & Jude Law on the relationship between SHERLOCK HOLMES & WATSON (Game of shadows)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:20
- Published: 19 Dec 2009
- Uploaded: 06 Feb 2012
- Author: moviesireland
Sherlock Holmes interviews with Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. Aka Sherlock and Watson. The duo talk to Paul Byrne for www.Movies.ie The sequel A Game of shadows from director Guy Ritchie is out now In the interview, the two actors talk about working together as the famous detectives, they talk about the homoerotic relationship and their visit to Irish shores. Robert Downey Jr will be seen soon in Iron Man 3, the avengers and Sherlock Holmes - Game of shadows
http://wn.com/Robert_Downey_JR_Jude_Law_on_the_relationship_between_SHERLOCK_HOLMES_WATSON_Game_of_shadows
Robert Downey Jnr & Jude Law talk about the new Sherlock Holmes film.
Our resident Film Reporter Rhianna Dhillon speaks to Robert Downey Jnr and Jude Law ahead of their new film Sherlock Holmes.
http://wn.com/Robert_Downey_Jnr_Jude_Law_talk_about_the_new_Sherlock_Holmes_film
David Letterman - Jude Law interview
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:08
- Published: 02 May 2011
- Uploaded: 27 Jan 2012
- Author: Blastsfromthepast
David Letterman - Jude Law interview
http://wn.com/David_Letterman__Jude_Law_interview
Jude Law: From Gattaca to Sherlock Holmes
This British heartthrob has regularly been cast as the perfect man. Join www.WatchMojo.com as we take a look back at the career of Jude Law.
http://wn.com/Jude_Law_From_Gattaca_to_Sherlock_Holmes
Jude Law - Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows *Interview (Dec.14/11)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:20
- Published: 14 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 06 Feb 2012
- Author: indigenous4logic
Live! with Kelly sherlock-holmes-movie.warnerbros.com twitter.com www.livewithkelly.tv
http://wn.com/Jude_Law__Sherlock_Holmes_A_Game_of_Shadows_*Interview_Dec14/11
Jude Law In Paris France
Jude LAw Interview In Paris France And He Speaks French.And Jude Looks Gorgeous.
http://wn.com/Jude_Law_In_Paris_France
Jude Law - "Johnny B Goode"
Hollywood star Law wows with karaoke session. Jude Law is having a fine time in Carlsbad, winning awards and singing his heart out. He arrived in the Czech Republic at the weekend, and last night he received the President's Prize at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. During his downtime Jude got up on stage and performed Chuck Berry's "Johnny B Goode"
http://wn.com/Jude_Law__Johnny_B_Goode
The Graham Norton Show - 2011 - S10x08 Jude Law, Robert Downey Jr, Eddie Izzard. Alesha Dixon part 3
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 14:02
- Published: 31 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 06 Feb 2012
- Author: GrahamNortonFan
The Graham Norton Show 2011 - S10x08 Hollywood superstars Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr join Graham Norton this week, along with comic Eddie Izzard. Alesha Dixon & Rebecca Ferguson Part 3
http://wn.com/The_Graham_Norton_Show__2011__S10x08_Jude_Law,_Robert_Downey_Jr,_Eddie_Izzard_Alesha_Dixon_part_3
Jude Law Sherlock Holmes..
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:39
- Published: 08 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 21 Jan 2012
- Author: granmanelly
Red carpet Premiere of Sherlock Holmes with Jude Law and Robert Downey Jnr. in Leicester Square London.Thursday 8th December 2011.
http://wn.com/Jude_Law_Sherlock_Holmes
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Video: Jude Law professes love for Tottenham
07 Feb 2012
The Daily Mail
Jude Law tried his best to stay camouflaged and off the radar last night after stepping out with a mystery blonde in Soho, London. Unfortunately for the British actor, even dressed in all black like a cat burglar, he couldn't hide his trademark smirk. The 39-year-old had been out in the capital with...
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Jude Law, ex Sienna Miller show up at 'inspirational' girl's funeral - Realbollywood.com News
27 Jan 2012
IMDb
London, Jan 27: Jude Law and his ex girlfriend Sienna Miller stunned friends and family, when they both...
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Newstrack India
London, Jan 27 (ANI): Jude Law and his ex girlfriend Sienna Miller stunned friends and family, when they both showed up at the funeral of an 'inspirational' girl who died after suffering...
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Jude Law and Sienna Miller reunite at funeral of 'inspirational' girl who suffered from premature ...
26 Jan 2012
The Daily Mail
Tributes have been paid at the funeral of an 'inspirational' woman who died after suffering an extremely rare genetic condition that caused premature ageing. Adrienne Greenway, 25, from Dover, passed away earlier this month from pneumonia, with her funeral taking place earlier this week. Mourners in...
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IMDb
Before tonight, we knew a few things about the "psychopharmacology thriller" that Steven Soderbergh and his Contagion writer Scott Z. Burns are developing:...
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Jude Law vs. Guy Ritchie: Who'd You Rather?
22 Jan 2012
Digital Spy
Today's celebrity pictures see Chelsea stars clash with Essex dwellers as Caggie Dunlop and Millie Mackintosh attend the Walkers 'What's That Flavour' launch party with the latter's Chloe Sims and Joey Essex in London last night (January 19), as fellow TOWIE star Lydia Bright celebrates her 21st...
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Tulsa World
Rupert Murdoch's media empire apologized and agreed to cash payouts Thursday to 37 people who were harassed and phone-hacked by his tabloid press. Lawyers for the claimants said the settlements vindicated their accusation that senior Murdoch executives had long known about the scale of illegal phone...
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| name | Jude Law |
|---|---|
| birth name | David Jude Heyworth Law |
| birth date | December 29, 1972 |
| birth place | Lewisham, London, UK |
| occupation | Actor, producer, director |
| years active | 1987–present |
| spouse | Sadie Frost (1997–2003; 3 children) }} |
David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972), known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.
He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989. After starring in films directed by Andrew Niccol, Clint Eastwood and David Cronenberg, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1999 for his performance in Anthony Minghella's ''The Talented Mr. Ripley''. In 2000 he won a Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award for his work in the film. In 2003, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in another Minghella film, ''Cold Mountain''.
In 2006, he was one of the top ten most bankable movie stars in Hollywood. In 2007, he received an Honorary César and he was named a Chevalier of the ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' by the French government. In April 2011, it was announced that he would be a member of the main competition jury at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
Early life
Law was born in Lewisham, South London, the second child of comprehensive school teachers Peter Law and Margaret Heyworth; his father later became, according to Law, "the youngest headmaster in London". He has a sister, Natasha. Law was named after a "bit of both" the book ''Jude the Obscure'' and the song ''Hey Jude''. He grew up in Blackheath, an area in the Borough of Lewisham, and was educated at John Ball Primary School in Blackheath and Kidbrooke School, before attending the Alleyn's School.
Career
1980s–1990s
In 1987, Law began acting with National Youth Music Theatre. He played various roles in the Edinburgh Fringe-awarded play ''The Ragged Child''. One of his first major stage roles was Foxtrot Darling in Philip Ridley's ''The Fastest Clock In The Universe''. Law went on to appear as Michael in the West End production of Jean Cocteau's tragicomedy ''Les Parents terribles'', directed by Sean Mathias. For this play, he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Newcomer, and he received the Ian Charleson Award for Outstanding Newcomer.Following a title change to ''Indiscretions'', the play was reworked and transferred to Broadway in 1995, where Law acted opposite Kathleen Turner, Roger Rees, and Cynthia Nixon. This role earned him a Tony Award nomination and the Theatre World Award. In 1989, Law got his first television role, in a movie based on the Beatrix Potter children's book, ''The Tailor of Gloucester''. After minor roles in British television, including a two-year stint in the Granada TV soap opera ''Families'' and the leading role in the BFI /Channel 4 short ''The Crane'', Law had his breakthrough with the British crime drama ''Shopping'', which also featured his future wife, Sadie Frost.
In 1997, he became more widely known with his role in the Oscar Wilde bio-pic ''Wilde''. Law won the "Most Promising Newcomer" award from the Evening Standard British Film Awards for his role as Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, the glamorous lover of Stephen Fry's Oscar Wilde. In Andrew Niccol's science fiction film ''Gattaca'', Law played the role of a disabled former swimming star living in a eugenics-obsessed dystopia. In Clint Eastwood's ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'', he played the role of the ill-fated hustler murdered by an art dealer, played by Kevin Spacey.
For ''The Talented Mr. Ripley'' in 1999, he learned to play saxophone and earned a MTV Movie Award nomination with Matt Damon and Fiorello for performing the song "''Tu vuò fà l'americano''" by Renato Carosone and Nicola Salerno.
2000s
In 2001, Law starred as Russian sniper Vasily Zaytsev in the film ''Enemy At The Gates'', and learned ballet dancing for the film ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' (2001). In 2002, he played a mob hitman in Sam Mendes's 1930s period drama ''Road to Perdition''. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ''The Talented Mr. Ripley'' in 1999, and then again for the Academy Award for Best Actor for ''Cold Mountain'' in 2003. Both films were directed by Anthony Minghella.Law, an admirer of Laurence Olivier, used the actor's image in the 2004 film ''Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow''. Using computer graphics, footage of the young Olivier was merged into the film, playing Dr. Totenkopf, a mysterious scientific genius and supervillain. Also in 2004, he portrayed the title character in ''Alfie'', the remake of Bill Naughton's 1966 film, playing the role originated by Michael Caine. Law was one of the Top Ten 2006 A-list of the most bankable movie stars in Hollywood, following the criteria of James Ulmer in the Ulmer Scale. On 1 March 2007, he was honoured with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres conferred by the French government, in recognition of his contribution to World Cinema Arts. He was named a ''Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres''.
He took on another of Caine's earlier roles in the 2007 film ''Sleuth'', adapted by Nobel Laureate in Literature Harold Pinter, while Caine played the role originated by Sir Laurence Olivier.
Law is one of three actors who took over the role of actor Heath Ledger in Terry Gilliam's film ''The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus''. Along with Law, actors Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell portray "three separate dimensions in the film." He appeared opposite Forest Whitaker in the dark science fiction comedy ''Repo Men'' and as Dr. Watson in Guy Ritchie's adaption of ''Sherlock Holmes'', alongside Robert Downey, Jr. and Rachel McAdams. Law stars as a celebrity supermodel in the film ''Rage''.
''Hamlet''
In May 2009, Law returned to the London stage to portray the title role in Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'' at the Donmar Warehouse West End season at Wyndham's Theatre. The BBC reported "a fine and solid performance" but included other reviews of Law's interpretation that were mixed. There was a further run of the production at Elsinore Castle in Denmark from 25–30 August 2009. In September 2009 the production transferred to the Broadhurst Theatre in New York. Again, the critics failed to agree on the merit of Law's interpretation: London's ''Daily Mail'' found only positive reviews, but ''The Washington Post'' felt that the much-anticipated performance was "highly disappointing". Nonetheless, he was nominated for the 2010 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play. In January 2010 at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards ceremony he was presented with the John and Wendy Trewin Award for Best Shakespearean Performance for his 2009 Hamlet.
Other projects
Advertising
Law is the face of the male perfume of Dior, ''Dior Homme Sport''. Since 2005, he has represented Dunhill as an "apparel ambassador" in Asia. In 2008, he became the international face of Dunhill and appears in the worldwide advertising campaigns.In 2002, he directed a Respect for Animals anti-fur cinema commercial. The commercial, titled "Fur and Against", used music composed by Gary Kemp, and included appearances by Law, Chrissie Hynde, Moby, George Michael, Danny Goffey, Rhys Ifans, Sadie Frost, Helena Christensen, Sir Paul McCartney, Mel C, and Stella McCartney.
''Realtime Movie''
In spring 2007 Jude Law shot the Jason Martin-directed short film "Realtime Movie Trailer" at Borough Market, South London. Instead of promoting a film, this "trailer", which appeared among regular trailers in selected cinemas across London starting 19 November 2007, advertised a live event, Realtime Movie, by Polish artist Paweł Althamer. Hundreds turned up for this–unfilmed–re-enactment in real time of the sequence of events shown in "Realtime Movie Trailer" by the same actors, including Althamer as a Polish laborer, held at Borough Market on 30 November 2007. The performance was commissioned by Tate Modern as part of its "The World as a Stage" exhibition which explored the boundaries between arts and reality.
Charity activities
In 2004, Law launched a campaign to raise £2.5 million towards the Young Vic Theatre's £12.5 million redevelopment project. He is currently Chair of the Young Vic committee and has said that he is proud to help make the Young Vic "a nurturing bed" for young directors. In 2006, he joined Robbie Williams in the "Soccer Aid" celebrity football match to benefit UNICEF.In 2006, he starred in an anthology of Samuel Beckett readings and performances directed by director Anthony Minghella. With the Beckett Gala Evening at the Reading Town Hall, more than £22,000 was donated for the Macmillan Cancer Support. Also in 2006, Frost and Law directed a Shakespeare play in a South African orphanage. He travelled to Durban with Frost and their children in order to help children who have lost their parents to AIDS. In July 2007, as patron of the charity, he helped kick off the month-long tour of the AIDS-themed musical ''Thula Sizwe'' by The Young Zulu Warriors. Also in 2007, he encouraged the Friends of the Earth/The Big Ask campaign, asking British Government to take action against climate change.
Law does charity work for organizations such as Make Poverty History, the Rhys Daniels Trust, and the WAVE Trauma Centre. He supports the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Pride of Britain Awards.
He is the chair of the Music For Tomorrow Foundation to help rebuild Katrina-devastated New Orleans.
Jude Law is an ambassador of HRH The Prince of Wales' Children and the Arts Foundation. He supports Breast Cancer Care, and in December 2008 he supported the Willow Foundation with a small canvas for their campaign Stars on Canvas. In April 2009 he supported the charity Education Africa with the gift of a mask he had painted and signed himself. The campaign was launched on eBay by Education Africa.
Stars including Dame Judi Dench and Jude Law have helped save St Stephen's Church in Hampstead. The celebrities supported the campaign, which raised £4.5 million to refurbish the Victorian church in north London. The building reopened in March 2009 as an arts and community centre.
Peace activities
In July 2007, Jude Law and Jeremy Gilley were in Afghanistan over a period of 10 days to document peace commitments and activities there for an upcoming film and for marking the UN International Day of Peace. Accompanied by UNICEF Representative Catherine Mbengue, they travelled and filmed in treacherous areas of eastern Afghanistan with a film crew, interviewing children, government ministers, community leaders and UN officials. They also filmed at schools and visited various UNICEF-supported programmes inside and outside the capital Kabul. The efforts of Peace One Day are coordinated in celebration of the annual International Day of Peace, on 21 September. The film, named ''The Day After Peace'', premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. On 21 September 2008, the film was shown at a gala screening at the Royal Albert Hall.On 30 August 2008, Law and Gilley returned to Afghanistan to help keep a momentum around Peace Day. They met President Hamid Karzai, top NATO and UN officials, and members of the aid community. They also screened the new documentary about the efforts in support of peace. The documentary features activities that took place throughout Afghanistan in 2007. It also highlights support from UNICEF and the WHO for the peaceful immunization of 1.4 million children against polio in insecure areas.
Belarus
In 2011 Law joined street protests against Alexander Lukashenko and Lukashenko's brutal crackdown on the Belarusian democracy movement.
Personal life
Law's parents live in France, where they run their own drama school and theatre. His sister Natasha is an illustrator and artist, living in London.Law met actress Sadie Frost while working on the film ''Shopping''. They married on 2 September 1997 and divorced on 29 October 2003. He is the father of a stepson, Finlay Munro (born 20 September 1990), and three biological children with Frost: son Rafferty (born 6 October 1996), daughter Iris (born 25 October 2000), and son Rudy (born 10 September 2002).
While making the film ''Alfie'' in late 2003, Law and co-star Sienna Miller began a relationship, becoming engaged on Christmas Day 2004. Miller and Law separated in November 2006.
On 29 July 2009, it was announced that Law would become a father for the fourth time following a brief relationship with American model Samantha Burke in 2008. Burke gave birth to a daughter, Sophia, on 22 September 2009 in New York.
In December 2009, it was reported that Law and Miller had rekindled their relationship after starring in separate shows on Broadway in fall 2009. They spent Christmas 2009 in Barbados, along with three of Law's children. They announced they had split again in February 2011.
Filmography
Soundtrack
Theatre
| + Theatre | |||||
| ! Year | ! Title | ! Role | ! Director | ! Playwright | ! Venue |
| 1987 | ''Bodywork'' | Adrenalin | Richard Stilgoe | NYMT/The Northcott Theatre, Exeter/(The Exeter Festival), The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. | |
| 1988–1989 | ''The Little Rats'' | NYMT/The George Square Theatre/The Edinburgh International Festival, The National Theatre Thesalonika, The Opera House Piraeus, Sadler's Wells Theatre, The Northcott Theatre, Exeter. | |||
| 1988 | ''The Ragged Child'' | various roles | Jeremy James Taylor, Frank Whately | ||
| 1989 | ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' | Joseph | Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice | National Youth Music Theatre | |
| 1989–1990 | ''Captain Stirrick'' | Ned Stirrick | Eileen Chivers | Jeremy James Taylor, David Scott | [[National Youth Music Theatre |
| 1989–1990 | ''[[The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' | Bertolt Brecht | National Youth Music Theatre | ||
| 1992 | ''The Fastest Clock In The Universe'' | Foxtrot Darling | Jo Bonney | [[Philip Ridley | Hampstead Theatre |
| 1992 | Freddie | George Bernard Shaw | Toured Italy | ||
| 1993 | ''The Snow Orchid'' | Blaise | Joe Pintauro | ||
| 1993 | ''Live Like Pigs'' | Col | Kate Mitchell | John Arden | Royal Court Theatre |
| 1993 | ''Death of a Salesman'' | Happy | Matthew Warchus | Arthur Miller | West Yorkshire Playhouse |
| 1994 | ''Les Parents terribles'' | Michael | Sean Mathias | Jean Cocteau | Royal National Theatre (Lyttelton) |
| 1995 | Michael | Sean Mathias | Jean Cocteau | Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1995 | Ion | Nicholas Wright | Euripides | Barbican Arts Centre (The Pit)/Royal Shakespeare Company | |
| 1999 | '''Tis Pity She's a Whore'' | Giovanni | David Lan | ||
| 2001–2002 | ''The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus'' | Doctor Faustus | David Lan | Christopher Marlowe | |
| 2006 | Anthony Minghella | Samuel Beckett | |||
| 2009 | ''Hamlet'' | Michael Grandage | William Shakespeare | Donmar Warehouse at Wyndham's Theatre |
Theatre awards and nominations
[[Laurence Olivier Award 1994 Nominated Laurence Olivier Award as Best Newcomer in a Play for: ''Les Parents terribles'' (1994) 2010 Nominated Laurence Olivier Award as Best Leading Actor in a Play for: ''Hamlet'' (2010)Ian Charleson Award 1994 Won Ian Charleson Award for Outstanding Newcomer for: ''Les Parents terribles'' (1994)
Tony Award 1995 Nominated Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Play for: ''Indiscretions'' (1995) 2010 Nominated Tony Award as Best Leading Actor in a Play for: ''Hamlet'' (2010)
Theatre World Award 1995 Won Theatre World Award for: ''Indiscretions'' (1995)
Critics' Circle Theatre Award 2010 Won The John and Wendy Trewin Award for Best Shakespearean Performance for: ''Hamlet'' (2010)
South Bank Show Award 2010 Won South Bank Show Award as Best Leading Actor for: ''Hamlet'' (2010)
Whatsonstage.com Award 2010 Won Whatsonstage.com Award as Best Leading Actor for: ''Hamlet'' (2010)
Falstaff Award 2010 Won Falstaff Award as Best Leading Actor for: ''Hamlet'' (2010)
Outer Critics Circle Award 2010 Nominated Outer Critics Circle Award as Best Leading Actor for: ''Hamlet'' (2010)
Drama League Award 2010 Nominated Drama League Award for Best Performance for: ''Hamlet'' (2010)
Drama Desk Award 2010 Nominated Drama Desk Award for Best Performance for: ''Hamlet'' (2010)
Personal awards and nominations
MTV Movie Award 2003 Nominated MTV Movie Award as Best Trans-Atlantic Breakthrough PerformerShoWest Award 2004 Won ShoWest Award as Male Star of the Year
People's Choice Award 2005 Nominated People's Choice Award as Favorite Leading Man
César Awards 2007 Won César Awards as Honorary César
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2010 Won President’s Prize
References
External links
Category:1972 births Category:Actors from London Category:BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:British film actors Category:British film directors Category:British film producers Category:British stage actors Category:British television actors Category:British voice actors Category:César Award winners Category:Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Category:English film actors Category:English film directors Category:English film producers Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:Living people Category:People educated at Alleyn's School Category:People from Lewisham Category:People from London
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| colour | #DEDEE9 |
|---|---|
| name | Sherlock Holmes |
| series | Sherlock Holmes |
| first | ''A Study in Scarlet'' |
| creator | Arthur Conan Doyle |
| gender | Male |
| occupation | Consulting detective |
| family | Mycroft Holmes (brother) |
| nationality | British }} |
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve difficult cases.
Holmes, who first appeared in publication in 1887, was featured in four novels and 56 short stories. The first story, A Study in Scarlet, appeared in ''Beeton's Christmas Annual'' in 1887 and the second, ''The Sign of the Four'', in ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine'' in 1890. The character grew tremendously in popularity with the beginning of the first series of short stories in ''Strand Magazine'' in 1891; further series of short stories and two novels published in serial form appeared between then and 1927. The stories cover a period from around 1880 up to 1914.
All but four stories are narrated by Holmes's friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson; two are narrated by Holmes himself ("The Blanched Soldier" and "The Lion's Mane") and two others are written in the third person ("The Mazarin Stone" and "His Last Bow"). In two stories ("The Musgrave Ritual" and "The ''Gloria Scott''"), Holmes tells Watson the main story from his memories, while Watson becomes the narrator of the frame story. The first and fourth novels, ''A Study in Scarlet'' and ''The Valley of Fear'', each include a long interval of omniscient narration recounting events unknown both to Holmes and to Watson.
Inspiration for the character of Holmes
Doyle said that the character of Sherlock Holmes was inspired by Dr. Joseph Bell, for whom Doyle had worked as a clerk at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Like Holmes, Bell was noted for drawing large conclusions from the smallest observations. Sir Henry Littlejohn, Lecturer on Forensic Medicine and Public Health at the Royal College of Surgeons, is also cited as a source for Holmes. Littlejohn served as Police Surgeon and Medical Officer of Health of Edinburgh, providing for Doyle a link between medical investigation and the detection of crime.
Life
Early life
Explicit details about Sherlock Holmes's life outside of the adventures recorded by Dr. Watson are few and far between in Conan Doyle's original stories; nevertheless, incidental details about his early life and extended families portray a loose biographical picture of the detective.An estimate of Holmes' age in the story "His Last Bow" places his birth in 1854; the story is set in August 1914 and he is described as being 60 years of age. Commonly, the date is cited as 6 January. However, an argument for a later birthdate is posited by author Laurie R. King, based on two of Conan Doyle's stories: ''A Study in Scarlet'' and ''"The Gloria Scott" Adventure''. Certain details in ''"The Gloria Scott" Adventure'' indicate Holmes finished his second and final year at university in either 1880 or 1885. Watson's own account of his wounding in the Second Afghan War and subsequent return to England in ''A Study in Scarlet'' place his moving in with Holmes in either early 1881 or 1882. Together, these suggest Holmes left university in 1880; if he began university at the age of 17, his birth year would likely be 1861.
Holmes states that he first developed his methods of deduction while an undergraduate. The author Dorothy L. Sayers suggested that, given details in two of the Adventures, Holmes must have been at Cambridge rather than Oxford and that "of all the Cambridge colleges, Sidney Sussex (College) perhaps offered the greatest number of advantages to a man in Holmes’ position and, in default of more exact information, we may tentatively place him there".
His earliest cases, which he pursued as an amateur, came from fellow university students. According to Holmes, it was an encounter with the father of one of his classmates that led him to take up detection as a profession, and he spent the six years following university working as a consulting detective, before financial difficulties led him to take Watson as a roommate, at which point the narrative of the stories begins.
From 1881, Holmes was described as having lodgings at 221B, Baker Street, London, from where he runs his consulting detective service. 221B is an apartment up 17 steps, stated in an early manuscript to be at the "upper end" of the road. Until the arrival of Dr. Watson, Holmes worked alone, only occasionally employing agents from the city's underclass, including a host of informants and a group of street children he calls "the Baker Street Irregulars". The Irregulars appear in three stories: "A Study in Scarlet," "The Sign of the Four," and "The Adventure of the Crooked Man".
Little is said of Holmes's family. His parents were unmentioned in the stories and he merely states that his ancestors were "country squires". In "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter", Holmes claims that his great-uncle was Vernet, the French artist. His brother, Mycroft, seven years his senior, is a government official who appears in three stories and is mentioned in one other story. Mycroft has a unique civil service position as a kind of memory-man or walking database for all aspects of government policy. Mycroft is described as even more gifted than Sherlock in matters of observation and deduction, but he lacks Sherlock's drive and energy, preferring to spend his time at ease in the Diogenes Club, described as "a club for the most un-clubbable men in London".
Life with Dr. Watson
Holmes shares the majority of his professional years with his good friend and chronicler Dr. John H. Watson, who lives with Holmes for some time before his marriage in 1887, and again after his wife's death; his residence is maintained by his landlady, Mrs. Hudson.Watson has two roles in Holmes's life. First, he gives practical assistance in the conduct of his cases; he is the detective's right-hand man, acting variously as look-out, decoy, accomplice and messenger. Second, he is Holmes's chronicler (his "Boswell" as Holmes refers to him). Most of the Holmes stories are frame narratives, written from Watson's point of view as summaries of the detective's most interesting cases. Holmes is often described as criticising Watson's writings as sensational and populist, suggesting that they neglect to accurately and objectively report the pure calculating "science" of his craft.
Nevertheless, Holmes's friendship with Watson is his most significant relationship. In several stories, Holmes's fondness for Watson—often hidden beneath his cold, intellectual exterior—is revealed. For instance, in "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs", Watson is wounded in a confrontation with a villain; although the bullet wound proves to be "quite superficial", Watson is moved by Holmes's reaction:
In all, Holmes is described as being in active practice for 23 years, with Watson documenting his cases for 17 of them.
Retirement
In "His Last Bow", Holmes has retired to a small farm on the Sussex Downs in 1903–1904. Sussex Downs is another name for South Downs, the name of a range of chalk hills in Sussex, overlooking the English Channel. They are opposite to the North Downs, a parallel range stretching from Farnham in Surrey across the entire width of Kent. "Down" is from the Old English "dun," meaning a hill. Holmes specifically retired to a farm in the downs, 8 km (5 miles) from the town of Eastbourne as is chronicled by Watson in his preface to the series of stories entitled "His Last Bow." It is here where he takes up the hobby of beekeeping as his primary occupation, eventually producing a "Practical Handbook of Bee Culture, with some Observations upon the Segregation of the Queen". The story features Holmes and Watson coming out of retirement one last time to aid the war effort. Only one adventure, "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane", which is narrated by Holmes as he pursues the case as an amateur, takes place during the detective's retirement. The details of his death are not known, but he lives on to this day through the records of his thrilling cases, and will always be remembered and regarded as the "World's Greatest Detective".
Habits and personality
Watson describes Holmes as "bohemian" in habits and lifestyle. According to Watson, Holmes is an eccentric, with no regard for contemporary standards of tidiness or good order. In ''The Musgrave Ritual'', Watson describes Holmes thus:}}
What appears to others as chaos, however, is to Holmes a wealth of useful information. Throughout the stories, Holmes would dive into his apparent mess of random papers and artefacts, only to retrieve precisely the specific document or eclectic item he was looking for.
Watson frequently makes note of Holmes's erratic eating habits. The detective is often described as starving himself at times of intense intellectual activity, such as during "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder", wherein, according to Watson:
His chronicler does not consider Holmes's habitual use of a pipe, or his less frequent use of cigarettes and cigars, a vice. Nor does Watson condemn Holmes's willingness to bend the truth or break the law on behalf of a client (e.g., lying to the police, concealing evidence or breaking into houses) when he feels it morally justifiable. Even so, it is obvious that Watson has stricter limits than Holmes, and occasionally berated Holmes for creating a "poisonous atmosphere" of tobacco smoke. Holmes himself references Watson's moderation in "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot", saying, "I think, Watson, that I shall resume that course of tobacco-poisoning which you have so often and so justly condemned". Watson also did not condone Holmes's plans when they manipulated innocent people, such as when he toyed with a young woman's heart in The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton although it was done with noble intentions to save many other young women from the clutches of the villainous Milverton.
Holmes is portrayed as a patriot acting on behalf of the government in matters of national security in a number of stories. He also carries out counter-intelligence work in ''His Last Bow'', set at the beginning of the First World War. As shooting practice, the detective adorned the wall of his Baker Street lodgings with "VR" (''Victoria Regina'') in bullet pocks made by his pistol.
Holmes has an ego that at times borders on arrogant, albeit with justification; he draws pleasure from baffling police inspectors with his superior deductions. He does not seek fame, however, and is usually content to allow the police to take public credit for his work. It's often only when Watson publishes his stories that Holmes's role in the case becomes apparent.
Holmes is pleased when he is recognised for having superior skills and responds to flattery, as Watson remarks, as a girl does to comments upon her beauty.
Holmes's demeanour is presented as dispassionate and cold. Yet when in the midst of an adventure, Holmes can sparkle with remarkable passion. He has a flair for showmanship and will prepare elaborate traps to capture and expose a culprit, often to impress Watson or one of the Scotland Yard inspectors.
Holmes is a loner and does not strive to make friends, although he values those that he has, and none higher than Watson. He attributes his solitary ways to his particular interests and his mopey disposition. In ''The Adventure of the'' Gloria Scott, he tells Watson that during two years at college, he made only one friend, Victor Trevor. Holmes says, "I was never a very sociable fellow, Watson, always rather fond of moping in my rooms and working out my own little methods of thought, so that I never mixed much with the men of my year;... my line of study was quite distinct from that of the other fellows, so that we had no points of contact at all". He is similarly described in ''A Study in Scarlet'' as difficult to draw out by young Stamford.
Holmes' emotional state/mental health has been a topic of analysis for decades. At their first meeting in ''A Study in Scarlet'', the detective warns Watson that he gets "in the dumps at times" and doesn't open his "mouth for days on end". Many readers and literary experts have suggested Holmes showed signs of manic depressive psychosis, with moments of intense enthusiasm coupled with instances of indolent self absorption. Other modern readers have speculated that Holmes may have Asperger's syndrome based on his intense attention to details, lack of interest in interpersonal relationships and tendency to speak in long monologues. The detective's isolation and near-gynophobic distrust of women is said to suggest the desire to escape; Holmes "biographer" William Baring-Gould and others, including Nicholas Meyer, author of ''the Seven Percent Solution'', have implied a severe family trauma (i.e., the murder of Holmes' mother) may be the root cause.
Personal hygiene
Holmes is described in ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' as having a "cat-like" love of personal cleanliness. This in no way appears to hinder his intensely practical pursuit of his profession, however, and appears in contrast with statements that, in the first Holmes story, ''A Study in Scarlet'', his hands are discoloured with acid stains and Holmes uses drops of his own blood to conduct experiments in chemistry and forensics.
Use of drugs
Holmes occasionally uses addictive drugs, especially when lacking stimulating cases. He believes the use of cocaine stimulates his brain when it is not in use. He is a habitual user of cocaine, which he injects in a seven-per-cent solution using a special syringe that he keeps in a leather case. Holmes is also an occasional user of morphine but expressed strong disapproval on visiting an opium den. The 2002 movie ''Sherlock: Case of Evil'' depicts him using heroin, though that never appears in the original stories. All these drugs were legal in late 19th-century England. Both Watson and Holmes are serial tobacco users, including cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. Holmes is expert at identifying tobacco-ash residues, having penned a monograph on the subject.Dr. Watson strongly disapproves of his friend's cocaine habit, describing it as the detective's "only vice" and expressing concern over its possible effect on Holmes's mental health and superior intellect. In later stories, Watson claims to have "weaned" Holmes off drugs. Even so, according to his doctor friend, Holmes remains an addict whose habit is "not dead, but merely sleeping".
Financial affairs
Although he initially needed Watson to share the rent of his comfortable residence at 221B Baker Street, Watson reveals in "The Adventure of the Dying Detective", when Holmes was living alone, that "I have no doubt that the house might have been purchased at the price which Holmes paid for his rooms," suggesting he had developed a good income from his practice, although it is seldom revealed exactly how much he charges for his services. In "A Scandal in Bohemia", he is paid the staggering sum of one thousand pounds (300 in gold and 700 in notes) as advance payment for "present expenses". In "The Problem of Thor Bridge" he avers: "My professional charges are upon a fixed scale. I do not vary them, save when I remit them altogether".This is said in a context where a client is offering to double his fees; however, it is likely that rich clients provided Holmes a remuneration greatly in excess of his standard fee. For example, in "The Adventure of the Final Problem", Holmes states that his services to the government of France and the royal house of Scandinavia had left him with enough money to retire comfortably, while in "The Adventure of Black Peter", Watson notes that Holmes would refuse to help the wealthy and powerful if their cases did not interest him, while he could devote weeks at a time to the cases of the most humble clients. Holmes also tells Watson, in "A Case of Identity", of a golden snuff box received from the King of Bohemia after "A Scandal in Bohemia" and a fabulous ring from the Dutch royal family; in "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans", Holmes receives an emerald tie-pin from Queen Victoria. Other mementos of Holmes's cases are a gold sovereign from Irene Adler ("A Scandal in Bohemia") and an autographed letter of thanks from the French President and a Legion of Honour for tracking down an assassin named Huret ("The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez"). In "The Adventure of the Priory School", Holmes "rubs his hands with glee" when the Duke of Holdernesse notes the 5000 pound sterling sum, which surprises even Watson, and then pats the cheque, saying, "I am a poor man", an incident that could be dismissed as representative of Holmes's tendency toward sarcastic humour. Certainly, in the course of his career Holmes had worked for both the most powerful monarchs and governments of Europe (including his own) and various wealthy aristocrats and industrialists and had also been consulted by impoverished pawnbrokers and humble governesses on the lower rungs of society.
Holmes has been known to charge clients for his expenses, and to claim any reward that might be offered for the problem's solution: he says in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" that Miss Stoner may pay any expenses he may be put to, and requests that the bank in "The Red-Headed League" remunerate him for the money he spent solving the case. Holmes has his wealthy banker client in "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" pay him for the costs of recovering the stolen gems and also claims the reward the banker had put for their recovery.
Relationships with women
The only woman to impress Holmes was Irene Adler, who according to Watson was always referred to by Holmes as "''the'' woman". Holmes himself is never directly quoted as using this term and even mentions her name in other cases. Adler is one of the few women who are mentioned in multiple Holmes stories, appearing in person in only one, "A Scandal in Bohemia".In one story, "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton," Holmes is engaged to be married, but only to gain information for his case. Although Holmes appears to show initial interest in some of his female clients (in particular, Violet Hunter in "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches"), Watson says he inevitably "manifested no further interest in the client when once she had ceased to be the centre of one of his problems". Holmes finds their youth, beauty, and energy (and the cases they bring to him) invigorating, distinct from any romantic interest. These episodes show Holmes possesses a degree of charm; yet apart from the case of Adler, there is no indication of a serious or long-term interest. Watson states that Holmes has an "aversion to women" but "a peculiarly ingratiating way with [them]". Holmes states, "I am not a whole-souled admirer of womankind"; in fact, he finds "the motives of women... so inscrutable.... How can you build on such quicksand? Their most trivial actions may mean volumes;... their most extraordinary conduct may depend upon a hairpin".
As Doyle remarked to muse Joseph Bell, "Holmes is as inhuman as a Babbage's calculating machine and just about as likely to fall in love". The only joy Holmes derives from the company of women is the problems they bring to him to solve. In ''The Sign of the Four'', Watson quotes Holmes as being "an automaton, a calculating machine", and Holmes is quoted as saying, "It is of the first importance not to allow your judgement to be biased by personal qualities. A client is to me a mere unit—a factor in a problem. The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning. I assure you that the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance-money". This points to Holmes's lack of interest in relationships with women in general, and clients in particular, leading Watson to remark that "there is something positively inhuman in you at times". At the end of "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot", Holmes states: "I have never loved, Watson, but if I did and if the woman I loved had met such an end, I might act as our lawless lion-hunter had done". In the story, the explorer Dr Sterndale had killed the man who murdered his beloved, Brenda Tregennis, to exact a revenge which the law could not provide. Watson writes in "The Adventure of the Dying Detective" that Mrs. Hudson is fond of Holmes in her own way, despite his bothersome eccentricities as a lodger, owing to his "remarkable gentleness and courtesy in his dealings with women". Again in ''The Sign of the Four'', Watson quotes Holmes as saying, "I would not tell them too much. Women are never to be entirely trusted—not the best of them". Watson notes that while he dislikes and distrusts them, he is nonetheless a "chivalrous opponent".
Methods of detection
Holmesian deduction
Holmes's primary intellectual detection method is induction, which Holmes rather inaccurately calls deduction. "From a drop of water", he writes, "a logician could infer the possibility of an Atlantic or a Niagara without having seen or heard of one or the other". Holmes stories often begin with a bravura display of his talent for "deduction". It is of some interest to logicians and those interested in logic to try to analyse just what Holmes is doing when he performs his induction. "Holmesian deduction" appears to consist primarily of drawing inferences based on either straightforward practical principles—which are the result of careful inductive study, such as Holmes's study of different kinds of cigar ashes or inference to the best explanation. One quote often heard from Holmes is "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth".Sherlock Holmes's straightforward practical principles are generally of the form, "If 'p', then 'q'," where 'p' is observed evidence and 'q' is what the evidence indicates. But there are also, as may be observed in the following example, intermediate principles. In "A Scandal in Bohemia" Holmes deduces that Watson had got very wet lately and that he had "a most clumsy and careless servant girl". When Watson, in amazement, asks how Holmes knows this, Holmes answers:
In this case, Holmes employed several connected principles:
"Watson's servant girl is clumsy and careless" and "Watson has been very wet lately and has been out in vile weather".
Deductive reasoning allows Holmes to impressively reveal a stranger's occupation, such as a Retired Sergeant of Marines in ''A Study in Scarlet''; a former ship's carpenter turned pawnbroker in "The Red-Headed League"; and a billiard-marker and a retired artillery NCO in "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter". Similarly, by studying inanimate objects, Holmes is able to make astonishingly detailed deductions about their owners, including Watson's pocket-watch in "The Sign of the Four" as well as a hat, a pipe, and a walking stick in other stories.
Yet Doyle is careful not to present Holmes as infallible—a central theme in "The Adventure of the Yellow Face". At the end of the tale a sobered Holmes tells Watson, “If it should ever strike you that I am getting a little over-confident in my powers, or giving less pains to a case than it deserves, kindly whisper ‘Norbury’ in my ear, and I shall be infinitely obliged to you”.
Disguise
Holmes displays a strong aptitude for acting and disguise. In several stories, he adopts disguises to gather evidence while 'under cover' so convincing that even Watson fails to penetrate them, such as in "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton", "The Man with the Twisted Lip", "The Adventure of the Empty House" and "A Scandal in Bohemia". In other adventures, Holmes feigns being wounded or ill to give effect to his case, or to incriminate those involved, as in "The Adventure of the Dying Detective".
Weapons and martial arts
;Pistols :Holmes and Watson carry pistols with them; in the case of Watson often his old service revolver. Watson describes these weapons as being used on seven occasions.;Cane :Holmes, as a gentleman, often carries a stick or cane. He is described by Watson as an expert at singlestick and twice uses his cane as a weapon.
;Sword :In "A Study in Scarlet" Watson describes Holmes as an expert with a sword—although none of the stories have Holmes using a sword. It is mentioned in "Gloria Scott" that Holmes practised fencing.
;Riding crop :In several stories, Holmes appears equipped with a riding crop and in "A Case of Identity" comes close to thrashing a swindler with it. Using a "hunting crop", Holmes knocks a pistol from John Clay's hand in "The Red-Headed League". In "The Six Napoleons" it is described as his favourite weapon—he uses it to break open one of the plaster busts.
;Fist-fighting :Holmes is described as a formidable bare-knuckle fighter. In ''The Sign of the Four'', Holmes introduces himself to a prize-fighter as:
:Holmes engages in hand-to-hand combat with his adversaries on occasions throughout the stories, inevitably emerging the victor. It is mentioned also in "Gloria Scott" that Holmes trained as a boxer.
;Martial arts :In "The Adventure of the Empty House", Holmes recounts to Watson how he used martial arts to overcome Professor Moriarty and fling his adversary to his death down the Reichenbach Falls. He states, "I have some knowledge, however, of ''baritsu,'' or the Japanese system of wrestling, which has more than once been very useful to me". The name "baritsu" appears to be a reference to the real-life martial art of Bartitsu, which combined jujitsu with Holmes' canonical skills of boxing and cane fencing.
Knowledge and skills
In the first story, ''A Study in Scarlet'', something of Holmes's background is given. In early 1881, he is presented as an independent student of chemistry with a variety of very curious side interests, almost all of which turn out to be single-mindedly bent towards making him superior at solving crimes. (When he appears for the first time, he is crowing with delight at having invented a new method for detecting bloodstains; in other stories he indulges in recreational home-chemistry experiments, sometimes filling the rooms with foul-smelling vapours.) An early story, "The Adventure of the ''Gloria Scott''", presents more background on what influenced Holmes to become a detective: a college friend's father richly complimented his deductive skills. Holmes maintains strict adherence to scientific methods and focuses on logic and the powers of observation and deduction.
Holmes also makes use of phrenology, which was widely popular in Victorian times but now regarded as pseudo-scientific: In "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle", he infers from the large size of a man's hat that the owner is intelligent and intellectually inclined, on the grounds that “a man with so large a brain must have something in it”.
In ''A Study in Scarlet'', Holmes claims he does not know that the Earth revolves around the Sun, as such information is irrelevant to his work. Directly after having heard that fact from Watson, he says he will immediately try to forget it. He says he believes that the mind has a finite capacity for information storage, and so learning useless things would merely reduce his ability to learn useful things. Dr. Watson subsequently assesses Holmes's abilities thus:
#Knowledge of Literature – nil.
#Knowledge of Philosophy – nil.
#Knowledge of Astronomy – nil.
#Knowledge of Politics – Feeble.
#Knowledge of Botany – Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening.
#Knowledge of Geology – Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks, has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them.
#Knowledge of Chemistry – Profound.
#Knowledge of Anatomy – Accurate, but unsystematic.
#Knowledge of Sensational Literature – Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century.
#Plays the violin well.
#Is an expert singlestick player, boxer and swordsman.
#Has a good practical knowledge of British law.
At the very end of ''A Study in Scarlet'' itself, it is shown that Holmes knows Latin and needs no translation of Roman epigrams in the original—though knowledge of the language would be of dubious direct utility for detective work; all university students were required to learn Latin at that time.
Later stories also contradict the list. Despite Holmes's supposed ignorance of politics, in "A Scandal in Bohemia" he immediately recognises the true identity of the supposed "Count von Kramm". Regarding nonsensational literature, his speech is replete with references to the Bible, Shakespeare, even Goethe. He is able to quote from a letter of Flaubert to George Sand and in the original French.
Moreover, in "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans" Watson reports that in November 1895 "Holmes lost himself in a monograph which he had undertaken upon the Polyphonic Motets of Lassus"—a most esoteric field, for which Holmes would have had to "clutter his memory" with an enormous amount of information which had absolutely nothing to do with crime-fighting—knowledge so extensive that his monograph was regarded as "the last word" on the subject. The later stories abandon the notion that Holmes did not want to know anything unless it had immediate relevance for his profession; in the second chapter of ''The Valley of Fear'', Holmes instead declares that "all knowledge comes useful to the detective", and near the end of "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane" he describes himself as "an omnivorous reader with a strangely retentive memory for trifles".
Holmes is also a competent cryptanalyst. He relates to Watson, "I am fairly familiar with all forms of secret writing, and am myself the author of a trifling monograph upon the subject, in which I analyse one hundred and sixty separate ciphers". One such scheme is solved using frequency analysis in "The Adventure of the Dancing Men".
Holmes's analysis of physical evidence is both scientific and precise. His methods include the use of latent prints such as footprints, hoof prints and bicycle tracks to identify actions at a crime scene (''A Study in Scarlet'', "The Adventure of Silver Blaze", "The Adventure of the Priory School", ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'', "The Boscombe Valley Mystery"), the use of tobacco ashes and cigarette butts to identify criminals ("The Adventure of the Resident Patient", ''The Hound of the Baskervilles''), the comparison of typewritten letters to expose a fraud ("A Case of Identity"), the use of gunpowder residue to expose two murderers ("The Adventure of the Reigate Squire"), bullet comparison from two crime scenes ("The Adventure of the Empty House"), analysis of small pieces of human remains to expose two murders (''The Adventure of the Cardboard Box'') and even an early use of fingerprints ("The Norwood Builder"). Holmes also demonstrates knowledge of psychology in "A Scandal in Bohemia", luring Irene Adler into betraying where she had hidden a photograph based on the "premise" that an unmarried woman will seek her most valuable possession in case of fire, whereas a married woman will grab her baby instead.
Despite the excitement of his life (or perhaps seeking to leave it behind), Holmes retired to the Sussex Downs to take up beekeeping ("The Second Stain") and wrote a book on the subject entitled "Practical Handbook of Bee Culture, with Some Observations upon the Segregation of the Queen". His search for relaxation can also be seen in his love for music, notably in "The Red-Headed League", wherein Holmes takes an evening off from a case to listen to Pablo de Sarasate play violin.
He also enjoys vocal music, particularly Wagner ("The Adventure of the Red Circle").
The film ''Young Sherlock Holmes'' (1985), which speculates about Holmes's youthful adventures, shows Holmes as a brilliant secondary school student, being mentored simultaneously by an eccentric professor/inventor and his dedicated fencing instructor.
Influence
Forensic science
Sherlock Holmes remains a great inspiration for forensic science, especially for the way his acute study of a crime scene yields small clues as to the precise sequence of events. He makes great use of trace evidence such as shoe and tire impressions, as well as fingerprints, ballistics and handwriting analysis, now known as questioned document examination. Such evidence is used to test theories conceived by the police, for example, or by the investigator himself. All of the techniques advocated by Holmes later became reality, but were generally in their infancy at the time Conan Doyle was writing. In many of his reported cases, Holmes frequently complains of the way the crime scene has been contaminated by others, especially by the police, emphasising the critical importance of maintaining its integrity, a now well-known feature of crime scene examination.
Owing to the small scale of the trace evidence (such as tobacco ash, hair or fingerprints), he often uses a magnifying glass at the scene, and an optical microscope back at his lodgings in Baker Street. He uses analytical chemistry for blood residue analysis as well as toxicology examination and determination for poisons. Holmes seems to have maintained a small chemistry laboratory in his lodgings, presumably using simple wet chemical methods for detection of specific toxins, for example. Ballistics is used when spent bullets can be recovered, and their calibre measured and matched with a suspect murder weapon.
Holmes was also very perceptive of the dress and attitude of his clients and suspects, noting style and state of wear of their clothes, any contamination (such as clay on boots), their state of mind and physical condition in order to infer their origin and recent history. Skin marks such as tattoos could reveal much about their past history. He applied the same method to personal items such as walking sticks (famously in ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'') or hats (in the case of The Blue Carbuncle), with small details such as medallions, wear and contamination yielding vital indicators of their absent owners.
An omission from the stories is the use of forensic photography. Even before Holmes' time, high quality photography was used to record accident scenes, as in the Tay Bridge disaster of 1879, murders in 1888.
In 2002, the Royal Society of Chemistry bestowed an honorary fellowship of their organisation upon Sherlock Holmes, for his use of forensic science and analytical chemistry in popular literature, making him the only (as of 2010) fictional character to be thus honoured.
Role in the history of the detective story
Although Sherlock Holmes is not the original fiction detective (he was influenced by Edgar Allan Poe's C. Auguste Dupin and Émile Gaboriau's Monsieur Lecoq), his name has become a byword for the part. His stories also include several detective story characters such as the loyal but less intelligent assistant, a role for which Dr Watson has become the archetype. The investigating detective became a popular genre with many authors such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers after the demise of Holmes, with characters such as Hercule Poirot and Lord Peter Wimsey. Forensic methods became less important than the psychology of the criminal, despite the strong growth in forensics in use by the police in the early 20th century.
Scientific literature
Sherlock Holmes has occasionally been used in the scientific literature. John Radford (1999) speculates on his intelligence. Using Conan Doyle’s stories as data, Radford applies three different methods to estimate Sherlock Holmes’s IQ, and concludes that his intelligence was very high indeed, estimated at approximately 190 points. Snyder (2004) examines Holmes’ methods in the light of the science and the criminology of the mid to late 19th century. Kempster (2006) compares neurologists’ skills with those displayed by Holmes. Finally, Didierjean and Gobet (2008) review the literature on the psychology of expertise by taking as model a fictional expert: Sherlock Holmes. They highlight aspects of Doyle’s books that are in line with what is currently known about expertise, aspects that are implausible, and aspects that suggest further research.
Legacy
Fan speculation
The fifty-six short stories and four novels written by Conan Doyle are termed the "canon" by Sherlock Holmes fans. Early scholars of the canon included Ronald Knox in Britain and Christopher Morley in New York, the latter having founded the Baker Street Irregulars, the first society devoted exclusively to the canon of Holmes, in 1934.
Writers have produced many pop culture references to Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle, or characters from the stories in homage, to a greater or lesser degree. Such allusions can form a plot development, raise the intellectual level of the piece, or act as Easter eggs for an observant audience.
Some have been overt, introducing Holmes as a character in a new setting, or a more subtle allusion, such as making a logical character live in an apartment at number 221B. One well-known example of this is the character Gregory House on the show ''House M.D'', whose name and apartment number are both references to Holmes. Often the simplest reference is to dress anybody who does some kind of detective work in a deerstalker and cape.
However, throughout the entire novel series, Holmes is never explicitly described as wearing a "deerstalker hat". Holmes dons "his ear-flapped travelling cap" in "The Adventure of Silver Blaze". Sidney Paget first drew Holmes wearing the deerstalker cap and Inverness cape in "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" and subsequently in several other stories.
"Elementary, my dear Watson"
A third major reference is the oft-quoted but non-canonical catchphrase: "Elementary, my dear Watson". This phrase is never actually uttered by Holmes in any of the sixty Holmes stories written by Conan Doyle. In the stories, Holmes often remarks that his logical conclusions are "elementary", in that he considers them to be simple and obvious. He also, on occasion, refers to Dr. Watson as "my dear Watson". The two fragments, however, never appear together. One of the closest examples to this phrase appears in "The Adventure of the Crooked Man", when Holmes explains a deduction:
The first known use of this phrase was in the 1915 novel, ''Psmith Journalist'', by P. G. Wodehouse. It also appears at the very end of the 1929 film, ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes'', the first Sherlock Holmes sound film. William Gillette, who played Holmes on stage and radio, had previously used the similar phrase, ''Oh, this is elementary, my dear fellow''. The phrase might owe its household familiarity to its use in Edith Meiser's scripts for ''The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' radio series, broadcast from 1939 to 1947.
The Great Hiatus
Holmes aficionados refer to the period from 1891 to 1894—the time between Holmes's disappearance and presumed death in "The Adventure of the Final Problem" and his reappearance in "The Adventure of the Empty House"—as "the Great Hiatus". It is notable, though, that one later story ("The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge") is described as taking place in 1892.Conan Doyle wrote the first set of stories over the course of a decade. Wanting to devote more time to his historical novels, he killed off Holmes in "The Final Problem," which appeared in print in 1893. After resisting public pressure for eight years, the author wrote ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'', which appeared in 1901, implicitly setting it before Holmes's "death" (some theorise that it actually took place after "The Return" but with Watson planting clues to an earlier date). The public, while pleased with the story, was not satisfied with a posthumous Holmes, and so Conan Doyle revived Holmes two years later. Many have speculated on his motives for bringing Holmes back to life, notably writer-director Nicholas Meyer, who wrote an essay on the subject in the 1970s entitled "The Great Man Takes a Walk". The actual reasons are not known, other than the obvious: publishers offered to pay generously. For whatever reason, Conan Doyle continued to write Holmes stories for a quarter-century longer.
Some writers have come up with other explanations for the hiatus. In Meyer's novel ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution'', the hiatus is depicted as a secret sabbatical following Holmes's treatment for cocaine addiction at the hands of Sigmund Freud, and presents Holmes making the light-hearted suggestion that Watson write a fictitious account claiming he had been killed by Moriarty, saying of the public: "They'll never believe you in any case".
In his memoirs, Conan Doyle quotes a reader, who judged the later stories inferior to the earlier ones, to the effect that when Holmes went over the Reichenbach Falls, he may not have been killed, but was never quite the same man. The differences in the pre- and post-Hiatus Holmes have in fact created speculation among those who play "The Great Game" (making believe Sherlock Holmes was a historical person). Among the more fanciful theories, the story "The Case of the Detective's Smile" by Mark Bourne, published in the anthology ''Sherlock Holmes in Orbit'', posits that one of the places Holmes visited during his hiatus was Alice's Wonderland. While there, he solved the case of the stolen tarts, and his experiences there contributed to his kicking the cocaine addiction.
Societies
In 1934, the Sherlock Holmes Society, in London, and the Baker Street Irregulars, in New York were founded. Both are still active (though the Sherlock Holmes Society was dissolved in 1937 to be resuscitated only in 1951). The London-based society is one of many worldwide who arrange visits to the scenes of the Sherlock Holmes adventures, such as the Reichenbach Falls in the Swiss Alps.The two initial societies founded in 1934 were followed by many more Holmesians circles, first of all in America (where they are called "scion societies"—offshoots—of the Baker Street Irregulars), then in England and Denmark. Nowadays, there are Sherlockian societies in many countries, such as India and Japan.
Museums
During the 1951 Festival of Britain, Sherlock Holmes's sitting-room was reconstructed as the masterpiece of a Sherlock Holmes Exhibition, displaying a unique collection of original material. After the 1951 exhibition closed, items were transferred to the Sherlock Holmes Pub, in London, and to the Conan Doyle Collection in Lucens (Switzerland). Both exhibitions, each including its own Baker Street Sitting-Room reconstruction, are still open to the public. In 1990, the Sherlock Holmes Museum opened in Baker Street London and the following year in Meiringen, Switzerland another museum opened; naturally, they include less historical material about Conan Doyle than about Sherlock Holmes himself. The Sherlock Holmes Museum in Baker Street, London was the first Museum in the world to be dedicated to a fictional character. A private collection of Conan Doyle is also housed in the Portsmouth City Museum which has a permanent exhibit, due to his importance in the city where he lived and worked for many years.
Adaptations and derived works
The enduring popularity of Sherlock Holmes has led to hundreds of works based on the character – both adaptations into other media and original stories. The copyright in all of Conan Doyle's works expired in the United Kingdom in 2000 (1980 in Canada and Australasia) and they are therefore in the public domain throughout most of the world (where the expiry term is 50 or 70 years following the year of death). All works published in the United States prior to 1923 are in the public domain; this includes all Sherlock Holmes stories with the exception of some of the stories contained within The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes. For works published after 1923 but before 1963, if the copyright was registered, its term lasts for 95 years. The Conan Doyle heirs registered the copyright to ''The Case Book'' (published in the USA after 1923) in 1981.
Stage and screen adaptations
The ''Guinness World Records'' has consistently listed Sherlock Holmes as the "most portrayed movie character" with 75 actors playing the part in over 211 films. Holmes' first screen appearance was in the Mutoscope film ''Sherlock Holmes Baffled'' in 1900, albeit in a barely-recognisable form.
William Gillette’s 1899 play ''Sherlock Holmes, or The Strange Case of Miss Faulkner'' was a synthesis of several stories by Doyle, mostly based on ''A Scandal in Bohemia'' adding love interest, with the Holmes-Moriarty exchange from ''The Final Problem'', as well as elements from ''The Copper Beeches'' and ''A Study in Scarlet''. By 1916, Harry Arthur Saintsbury had played Holmes on stage more than a thousand times. This play formed the basis for Gillette's 1916 motion picture, ''Sherlock Holmes''.
In a 1924 comedy film "Sherlock Jr." Buster Keaton's character longs to be a detective.
Basil Rathbone starred as Sherlock Holmes, alongside Nigel Bruce as Dr Watson, in fourteen US films (two for 20th Century Fox and a dozen for Universal Pictures) from 1939 to 1946, as well as a number of radio plays. It is these films that produced the iconic though noncanonical line, "Elementary, my dear Watson".
Ronald Howard starred in 39 episodes of the ''Sherlock Holmes'' 1954 American TV series with Howard Marion Crawford as Watson. The storylines deviated from the books of Conan Doyle, changing characters and other details.
Fritz Weaver appeared as Sherlock Holmes in the musical ''Baker Street'', which ran on Broadway between 16 February and 14 November 1965. Peter Sallis portrayed Dr. Watson, Inga Swenson appeared as The Woman, Irene Adler, and Martin Gabel played Moriarty. Virginia Vestoff, Tommy Tune, and Christopher Walken were also members of the original cast.
In ''The Return Of Sherlock Holmes'', a TV-Movie aired in 1987, Margaret Colin stars as Dr. Watson's great-granddaughter Jane Watson, a Boston private eye, who stumbles upon Sherlock Holmes' (played by Michael Pennington) body in frozen suspension and restores the Victorian sleuth to life in the 1980s. The film was intended as a pilot for a TV series which never materialised. A similar plot line was used in ''Sherlock Holmes Returns: 1994 Baker Street'' where Dr Amy Winslow (played by Debrah Farentino) discovers Sherlock Holmes frozen in the cellar of house in San Francisco owned by a descendant of Mrs Hudson. Holmes (played by Anthony Higgins) froze himself in the hopes that crimes in the future would be less dull. He discovers that consulting detectives have been replaced by the police department's forensic science lab and that the Moriarty family are still the Napoleon's of crime.
Two episodes of ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' feature Sherlock Holmes. In episode No. 29 ("Elementary, Dear Data") the character of Data, played by Brent Spiner, pretends he is Sherlock to Geordi's Dr. Watson in a holodeck experience. In episode No. 138 ("Ship in a Bottle") archvillain Dr. Moriarty seems to escape from the holodeck into the Enterprise proper.
Jeremy Brett is generally considered the definitive Holmes, having played the role in four series of ''Sherlock Holmes'', created by John Hawkesworth for Britain's Granada Television, from 1984 through to 1994, as well as depicting Holmes on stage. Brett's Dr Watson was played by David Burke (pre-hiatus) and Edward Hardwicke (post-hiatus) in the series. Jeremy Brett wished to be the best Sherlock Holmes the world had ever seen and conducted extensive research into the character and the author that created him. He strove to bring passion and life to the role and in his obituary it was said, "Mr. Brett was regarded as the quintessential Holmes: breathtakingly analytical, given to outrageous disguises and the blackest moods and relentless in his enthusiasm for solving the most intricate crimes."
Nicol Williamson portrayed Holmes in ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution'' with Robert Duvall playing Watson and featuring Alan Arkin as Sigmund Freud. The 1976 adaption was written by Nicholas Meyer from his 1974 book of the same name, and directed by Herbert Ross.
Between 1979 and 1986, Soviet television broadcast a series of five made-for-TV films in a total of eleven parts, ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson'', starring Vasily Livanov as Holmes and Vitaly Solomin as Watson. Livanov's portrayal of Holmes is widely considered canonical. Holmes museum in London, Baker St., 221B, has the portrait of Livanov depicting Holmes himself.
In 2002 made-for-television movie ''Sherlock: Case of Evil'', James D'Arcy starred as Holmes in his 20s. The story noticeably departs from the style and backstory of the canon and D'Arcy's portrayal of Holmes is slightly different from prior incarnations of the character, psychologically disturbed, an absinthe addicted, a heavy drinker and a ladies' man.
The Fox television series ''House'' contains numerous similarities and references to Holmes. Show creator David Shore has acknowledged this "subtle homage".
In the 2009 film ''Sherlock Holmes'', based on a story by Lionel Wigram and images by John Watkiss, directed by Guy Ritchie, the role of Holmes is performed by Robert Downey, Jr. with Jude Law portraying Watson. It is a reinterpretation which heavily focuses on Holmes's more anti-social personality traits as an unkempt eccentric with a brilliant analytical mind and formidable martial abilities, making this the most cynical incarnation of Holmes. However, with the exception of missing Holmes's 'catlike love of personal cleanliness', many critics have lauded the film as one of the most faithful to Doyle's canon. Robert Downey Jr. won the Golden Globe Award for his portrayal. Downey Jr. will return in the 2011 sequel ''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows''.
Independent film company The Asylum released the direct-to-DVD film ''Sherlock Holmes'' in January 2010. In the film, Holmes and Watson battle a criminal mastermind dubbed "Spring-Heeled Jack", who controls several mechanical creatures to commit crimes across London. Holmes (Ben Syder) is portrayed as considerably younger than most actors who have played him, and his disapproval of Scotland Yard is undertoned, though things like his drug additction remain mostly unchanged. The film features a brother of Holmes's called Thorpe, who was invented by the producers of the film out of creative liberty. His companion Watson is played by ''Torchwood'' actor Gareth David-Lloyd.
In March 2010 Youtuber "Ross K" (Ross K Foad) created No Place Like Holmes, a web drama comedy show based on Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. It is considered to be the only ongoing Sherlock Holmes web show. It focuses on the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson following an encounter with a malicious demonic Sir Hugo Baskerville, who freezes them in a time spell only for them to eventually re-emerge in the present day. Unlike the BBC Sherlock, this Holmes does not embrace technology or modern-day devices and remains the Victorian gentleman he has always been, dressing the same and holding the same values he did over 100 years ago. There is also a spin-off which takes place in 1891–1894 covering the Great Hiatus years where Sherlock is still on the run from Moriarty's right-hand men following the events of the Final Problem.
Benedict Cumberbatch plays a modern-day version of the detective in the BBC One TV series ''Sherlock'', which premiered on 25 July 2010. The series changes the books' original Victorian setting to the shady and violent present-day London. The show was created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, best-known as writers for the BBC television series ''Doctor Who''. Says Moffat, "Conan Doyle's stories were never about frock coats and gas light; they're about brilliant detection, dreadful villains and blood-curdling crimes – and frankly, to hell with the crinoline. Other detectives have cases, Sherlock Holmes has adventures, and that's what matters."
Cumberbatch's Holmes was described by the BBC as
brilliant, aloof and almost entirely lacking in social graces. Sherlock is a unique young man with a mind like a 'racing engine'. Without problems to solve, it will tear itself to pieces. And the more bizarre and baffling the problems the better. He has set himself up as the world's only consulting detective, whom the police grudgingly accept as their superior.He also uses modern technology, such as texting and internet blogging, to solve the crimes, and in a nod towards changing social attitudes and broadcasting regulations, he has replaced his pipe with multiple nicotine patches.
Related and derivative works
In addition to the Sherlock Holmes corpus, Conan Doyle's "The Lost Special" (1898) features an unnamed "amateur reasoner" clearly intended to be identified as Holmes by his readers. His explanation for a baffling disappearance, argued in Holmes's characteristic style, turns out to be quite wrong—evidently Conan Doyle was not above poking fun at his own hero. A short story by Conan Doyle using the same idea is "The Man with the Watches". Another example of Conan Doyle's humour is "How Watson Learned the Trick" (1924), a parody of the frequent Watson-Holmes breakfast table scenes. A further (and earlier) parody by Conan Doyle is "The Field Bazaar". He also wrote other material, especially plays, featuring Holmes. Many of these are collected in ''Sherlock Holmes: The Published Apocrypha'' edited by Jack Tracy, ''The Final Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' edited by Peter Haining and ''The Uncollected Sherlock Holmes'' compiled by Richard Lancelyn Green.
In 1907, Sherlock Holmes began featuring in a series of German booklets. Among the writers was Theo van Blankensee. Watson had been replaced by a 19 year old assistant from the street, among his ''Baker Street Irregulars'', with the name Harry Taxon, and Mrs. Hudson had been replaced by one Mrs. Bonnet. From number 10 the series changed its name to "Aus den Geheimakten des Welt-Detektivs". The French edition changed its name from "Les Dossiers Secrets de Sherlock Holmes" to "Les Dossiers du Roi des Detectives".
Sherlock Holmes's abilities as both a good fighter and as an excellent logician have been a boon to other authors who have lifted his name, or details of his exploits, for their plots. These range from Holmes as a cocaine addict, whose drug-fuelled fantasies lead him to cast an innocent Professor Moriarty as a super villain (''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution''), to science-fiction plots involving him being re-animated after death to fight crime in the future (''Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century'').
Some authors have supplied stories to fit the tantalising references in the canon to unpublished cases (e.g. "The giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared" in "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire"), notably ''The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes'' by Conan Doyle's son Adrian Conan Doyle with John Dickson Carr, and ''The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' by Ken Greenwald, based rather closely on episodes of the 1945 Sherlock Holmes radio show that starred Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce and for which scripts were written by Dennis Green and Anthony Boucher. Others have used different characters from the stories as their own detective, e.g. Mycroft Holmes in ''Enter the Lion'' by Michael P. Hodel and Sean M. Wright (1979) or Dr James Mortimer (from ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'') in books by Gerard Williams.
Laurie R. King recreates Sherlock Holmes in her Mary Russell series (starting with ''The Beekeeper's Apprentice''), set during the First World War and the 1920s. Her Holmes is (semi)retired in Sussex, where he is literally stumbled over by a teenage American girl. Recognising a kindred spirit, he gradually trains her as his apprentice. As of 2009 the series includes nine novels and a novella tie-in with a book from King's present-time Kate Martinelli series, ''The Art of Detection''.
Carole Nelson Douglas' series, the Irene Adler Adventures, is based on the character from Doyle's "A Scandal in Bohemia". The first book, ''Good Night, Mr. Holmes'', retells that tale from Irene's point of view. The series is narrated by Adler's companion, Penelope Huxleigh, in a role similar to that of Dr. Watson.
The film ''They Might Be Giants'' is a 1971 romantic comedy based on the 1961 play of the same name (both written by James Goldman) in which the character Justin Playfair, played by George C. Scott, is convinced he is Sherlock Holmes, and manages to convince many others of same, including the psychiatrist Dr. Watson, played by Joanne Woodward, who is assigned to evaluate him so he can be committed to a mental institution.
The film ''Young Sherlock Holmes'' (1985) explores adventures of Holmes and Watson as boarding school pupils.
The Japanese anime series "Detective Conan", also called "Case Closed" in English, is an homage to Doyle's work. The 2002 film ''The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire'' is loosely based on Doyle's story "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire".
In the 1980s Ben Kingsley played Dr. Watson in ''Without a Clue''. Dr. Watson hired an actor to be Sherlock Holmes (Michael Caine) because the cases he has been writing about are his own. Moriarty is said to know that Sherlock Holmes is an idiot.
The novel ''A Dog About Town'' by J. F. Englert makes reference to Sherlock Holmes, comparing the black Labrador retriever narrator, Randolph, to Doyle's detective as well as naming a fictitious spirit guide after him.
''The Final Solution'' is a 2004 novel by Michael Chabon. The story, set in 1944, revolves around an 89-year-old long-retired detective who may or may not be Sherlock Holmes but is always called just "the old man", now interested mostly in beekeeping, and his quest to find a missing parrot, the only friend of a mute Jewish boy. The title references both Doyle's story "The Final Problem" and the Final Solution, the Nazis' plan for the genocide of the Jewish people.
In 2006, a southern California "vaudeville-nouveau" group known as Sound & Fury began performing a theatre in the round parody show entitled "Sherlock Holmes & The Saline Solution" which depicts Holmes as a bumbling figure guided by a slightly less clueless Watson. The show ran in Los Angeles as well as the Edinburgh and Adelaide Fringe Festivals through 2009.
In a novella "The Prisoner of the Tower, or A Short But Beautiful Journey of Three Wise Men" by Boris Akunin published in 2008 in Russia as the conclusion of "Jade Rosary Beads" book, Sherlock Holmes and Erast Fandorin oppose Arsène Lupin on 31 December 1899.
In June 2010 it was announced that Franklin Watts books, a part of Hachette Children's Books are to release a series of four children's graphic novels by writer Tony Lee and artist Dan Boultwood in spring 2011 based around the Baker Street Irregulars during the three years that Sherlock Holmes was believed dead, between The Adventure of the Final Problem and The Adventure of the Empty House. Although not specifying whether Sherlock Holmes actually appears in the books, the early reports include appearances by Doctor Watson, Inspector Lestrade and Irene Adler.
On 17 January 2011, it was announced that the Conan Doyle estate had commissioned Anthony Horowitz, author of the Alex Rider novels, The Power of Five and TV's ''Foyle's War'', to write a brand new, authorised Sherlock Holmes novel to be published by Orion Books in September 2011. "The content of the new tale – and indeed the title – remain a closely guarded secret."
The original stories
The original Sherlock Holmes stories consist of fifty-six short stories and four novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Novels
Short stories
''For more detail see List of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes short stories''.The short stories, originally published in periodicals, were later gathered into five anthologies:
See also
References
Further reading
External links
Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1887 Category:1930s American radio programs Category:Fictional amateur detectives Category:Fictional boxers Category:Fictional criminologists Category:Fictional English people Category:Fictional martial artists Category:Fictional people from London Category:Fictional private investigators Category:Fictional sword fighters Category:Fictional violinists Category:Victorian era Category:Edwardian era
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| {{infobox television | show name | Extras | image | format Situation comedy | camera Single camera | runtime approx. 30 min. (regular episodes)90 min. (series finale) | creator Ricky GervaisStephen Merchant | writer Ricky GervaisStephen Merchant | director Ricky GervaisStephen Merchant | starring Ricky GervaisAshley JensenStephen MerchantShaun WilliamsonShaun Pye | endtheme "Tea for the Tillerman"by Cat Stevens and (special) Chris Martin | state of origin United Kingdom | network BBC Two (UK)HBO (US) | first_aired | last_aired | num_series 2 | num_episodes 13 }} |
|---|
''Extras'' has two series of six episodes each as well as a Christmas Special. The first episode aired in the UK on 21 July 2005 on BBC Two and on 25 September 2005 on HBO in the US. The second series premiered in the UK on BBC Two on 14 September 2006 and began airing in the US on HBO and in Australia on ABC on 14 February 2007. The Christmas Special aired on 27 December 2007 on BBC Two and on 16 December 2007 on HBO. Both series are available on DVD in the UK and the US.
The series is filmed in a more traditional sitcom style than the mockumentary style used by Gervais and Merchant in their previous series ''The Office''. Each episode has at least one guest star; a television or film celebrity, who play what Gervais and Merchant have referred to as "twisted" versions of themselves; an exaggerated or inverted parody of their famous public personas.
Cast and characters
Episodes
Series 1: 2005-2006
| # !! style="width:120px;"|Episode !! style="width:100px;"|Celebrity guest star(s) !! style="width:120px;"|Original airdate |
First series episode order
When the first series was first broadcast in the UK, the episode featuring Ben Stiller was broadcast first, followed by the Ross Kemp and Vinnie Jones episode the following week. When the series was repeated over the Christmas holiday 2005, the episodes were returned to their intended order, with Ross Kemp first, followed by Stiller. The first series DVD, released in the UK on 31 October 2005, also preserves this same order, along with the ''Extras'' script book.When the first series is shown in North America another order is used:
# Kate Winslet # Ben Stiller # Ross Kemp/Vinnie Jones # Samuel L. Jackson # Les Dennis # Patrick Stewart
This episode order was maintained for the North American DVD release, issued on 9 January 2007.
Series 2: 2006-2007
| # !! style="width:120px;"|Episode !! style="width:100px;"|Celebrity guest star(s) !! style="width:120px;"|Original airdate |
Christmas special (series finale)
| # !! style="width:100px;"|Episode !! style="width:100px;"|celebrity guest star(s) !! style="width:100px;"|Original airdate |
Gervais stated that he could not see himself doing a third series, as he and Merchant believed that more episodes would dilute the quality. They have often cited that ''Fawlty Towers'' only ran for two series, and this was also the reason given for ending ''The Office'' after two series. However, after the second series had finished, Gervais was quoted in the ''Mirror'' as saying that there was "some mileage in it" and suggested there could be a third series,. In December 2006, Gervais announced that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was on his wishlist to appear in "another series", but then denied it a month later. Gervais had also mentioned Bruce Willis, Mickey Rooney, and Dick Van Dyke as possibilities for the third series. At the Live 8 concert it was reported that Madonna had asked to appear in the series, and in a separate interview Will Ferrell revealed his desire to join the show if Gervais asked him. Gervais had also reportedly been keen for Robert De Niro to appear again, after having only a small role in the last episode of the second series.
On 15 September, before his stand-up performance of Fame at the Hammersmith Apollo, a trailer for the special was shown. It showed clips of Clive Owen, David Tennant (in costume as the Tenth Doctor, whom he plays in ''Doctor Who''), Lionel Blair, Lisa Scott-Lee, Hale and Pace, Gordon Ramsay, George Michael and Barry from ''EastEnders''. The trailer shows a selection of scenes from the special, including Andy helping George Michael avoid paparazzi on Hampstead Heath, scenes from a Christmas special of Andy's television series ''When the Whistle Blows'', and Andy with his head in his hands in the ''Big Brother'' house while other celebrities perform a dance routine. There is also a cameo appearance by Karl Pilkington as an autograph hunter who shuns Millman when he is at a low point in his career.
It aired in the United States on 16 December 2007 and on the UK 27 December 2007. It aired on Australia's cable channel UKTV on Christmas Day 2008. It finally aired on free-to-air in Australia on ABC2 in December 2010. The episode's soundtrack features the songs "This Woman's Work" by Kate Bush, "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" by The Smiths and "Angels We Have Heard On High" arranged by Sufjan Stevens.
No chance of another one-off special
On 23 October 2008, Ricky Gervais stated the following on his blog:
"Steve must have seen the thing in the press about me thinking about doing another Extras Special. He's in LA at the moment but the story that went out across America was that, although I would consider it, I thought Steve would take some convincing. Well I got an email today from him saying he's up for it. I started work on it immediately. Does anyone know Al Pacino?"
On 3 January 2009, Ricky Gervais stated:
"People have been talking about a special - as much as we would like for there to be one, it's most likely there's no chance whatsoever."
Gervais further confirmed that there will not be any more episodes of Extras, saying "It's simply that Extras is no more."
US and UK version differences
There were some subtle changes between the UK and US versions, with references to the names of British celebrities often being changed to American celebrities for the US edition. A scene featuring UK TV presenter Moira Stuart in episode 2.4 was completely excised from the US version, replaced instead with a song by Chris Martin - a scene that was featured as a deleted scene on the DVD releases.Changes in the Christmas special saw the talking 'Jade Goody' doll replaced by a talking 'Kramer' doll. (Both dolls parodied incidents where each celebrity said things publicly that were generally seen as racist.) Furthermore, the t-shirt in the studio audience depicting Victoria Wood and Asda is replaced in the US version by a t-shirt depicting Sigourney Weaver and DirectTV. A scene with George Michael was also truncated to remove references to UK celebrities Richard and Judy and Catherine Tate. A scene set in the Carphone Warehouse was also edited to remove jokes referring to the long running BBC soap opera EastEnders.
In Season 2, Episode 1, Keith Chegwin's anti-gay tirade includes the sentence "Men have knobs, women have fannies. Pop knob in fanny. Not up the arse." In British English "fanny" is a euphemism for vagina. In American English, however, "fanny" is a term for buttocks. A scene was shot, and aired in the U.S., in which Chegwin says "Men have dicks. Women have vaginas. Pop dick in vagina. Not up the bum."
''When the Whistle Blows''
''When the Whistle Blows'' is the show-within-a-show sitcom in ''Extras'' created, co-written by and starring Andy Millman. It was first mentioned in episode "1.3", as a script that Millman had written and given to his agent who neglected to read it. The script was turned into a sitcom on BBC1 in the first series finale, after Millman gave the script to Patrick Stewart. Excerpts from the sitcom are featured in the second series, and many of the ''Extras'' plotlines have revolved around Millman's experiences with the show.''When the Whistle Blows'' is set in a Wigan factory canteen. The humour is broad and lowbrow in the manner of many catchphrase-based sitcoms. The main catchphrase of the show "Are you 'avin' a laugh?" is spoken by Millman. The show is unpopular with reviewers but popular with the public. It does receive a BAFTA nomination, though Millman suspects it is there simply to make up the numbers, and in the end it loses heavily to an unspecified programme by Stephen Fry.
Millman is deeply unhappy with the show, feeling that too many people have interfered with his original ideas in the hunt for ratings. It appears that Millman originally set out to do a comedy similar to ''The Office'', with true-to-life characters in a realistic work environment, without a studio audience or laughter track. The show has turned out to be the opposite of what he originally intended. The show is further debased by the unexplained guest appearance by Chris Martin of Coldplay, in episode 2.4, which bears no relation to the plot.
The presence of studio audiences/canned laughter, and the reliance on funny wigs, costumes and catchphrases for humour is a comment on recent comedy hits such as ''Little Britain''. Many people that Millman sees at the recording of the pilot wear T-shirts displaying recent comedy catchphrases, such as "Wassup", "It's Chico Time", "I'm a lady!", "Am I bovvered?" and "Garlic bread?." (These shirts are not shown in the US version of ''Extras''.) Some of the reviews that the show gets refer to it as a "time warp comedy", and Millman's character talks about 1970s catchphrases such as Mr Humphreys' "I'm Free" (from ''Are You Being Served?'') and Frank Spencer's "Ooh Betty" (from ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em''), suggest that it is also partly sending up 1970s British comedy. In Episode 2.5 at the beginning, Germaine Greer (playing herself) suggests that ''When the Whistle Blows'' is "sub ''Carry On''".
Music
The closing title track is called "Tea for the Tillerman", which is written and performed by Cat Stevens and is the title track of his album ''Tea for the Tillerman''. The fourth episode of the second series of the show features a cover of the song performed by Chris Martin of Coldplay.The song in the Christmas Special highlighting Maggie's depression after she hits bottom and quits acting is "This Woman's Work" by Kate Bush. When Andy is having a bad time at the Ivy restaurant and leaves Maggie on her own, the Smiths song "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" can be heard.
Awards
| ! Award !! Category | ||||
| Rose d'Or | * 2006 Best Sitcom | * 2006 Best Sitcom Actress, Ashley Jensen for ''Extras'' | ||
| Emmy Awards | * 2007 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Ricky Gervais for ''Extras'' | |||
| Golden Globe | *65th Golden Globe Awards | |||
| * 2007 Best Comedy Performance, Ricky Gervais for ''Extras'' | ||||
| [[British Comedy Award | * 2005 Best Television Comedy Actress, Ashley Jensen for ''Extras'' | * 2005 Best Television Comedy Newcomer, Ashley Jensen for ''Extras'' | * 2006 Best Comedy Actor, Stephen Merchant for ''Extras'' | |
| BANFF World Television Awards | * 2006 Best Comedy Actress, Ashley Jensen for ''Extras'' |
Overall, ''Extras'' has been received very well by critics in the UK. The show received 3 BAFTA Award nominations in 2006 including Best Comedy Performance for Ashley Jensen, Best Writer for Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and Best Situation Comedy. In 2007, both Gervais and Merchant were nominated, separately, for Best Comedy Performance. Gervais ended up winning the award.
The show has also received high accolades in the US. In 2006, the show received four nominations for the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Ben Stiller and Patrick Stewart received nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series and both lost to Leslie Jordan on ''Will & Grace''. Kate Winslet received a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series and lost to Cloris Leachman for ''Malcolm in the Middle''. Gervais and Merchant were also nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the episode with Kate Winslet. They lost to Greg Garcia for writing the pilot episode of ''My Name Is Earl''. In 2007, the show received four nominations for the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards. Gervais was nominated for and won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and Ian McKellen was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. Gervais and Merchant were also nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for "Daniel Radcliffe" and Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for "Orlando Bloom". Extras made the Top 10 list of Outstanding Comedy Series, but was not nominated in the Top 5.
Cancellations and replacements
According to a segment in the extras section of the Series 1 DVD, Jude Law was scheduled to appear in one of the episodes, after meeting Gervais backstage on the ''Late Show with David Letterman'', but had to pull out due to film commitments. This resulted in Gervais and Merchant having to scramble to find a replacement actor at the last minute, with Leonardo DiCaprio being considered. A featurette on the first series DVD release, "Finding Leo", consists of late-night video camera footage (shot mostly by Merchant) chronicling Gervais' fruitless and ultimately unsuccessful attempts to contact DiCaprio's manager. Law was ultimately replaced by Patrick Stewart in the series 1 finale, although a poster for the Jude Law film ''Alfie'' appeared at the end. Other actors that did not appear in ''Extras'' despite initial reports from Gervais include Madonna, Brad Pitt, and Tom Cruise.
References
External links
Category:2000s British television series Category:2005 in British television Category:2005 British television programme debuts Category:2007 British television programme endings Category:BBC television sitcoms Category:Best Musical or Comedy Series Golden Globe winners Category:HBO network shows Category:Satirical television programmes Category:Television series about television Category:Fictional versions of real people
de:Extras es:Extras fr:Extras (série télévisée) hr:Statisti it:Extras (serie televisiva) nl:Extras ja:エキストラ:スターに近づけ! pl:Statyści (serial telewizyjny) pt:Extras sq:Extras fi:Extras sv:ExtrasThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| name | Graham Norton |
|---|---|
| birth name | Graham William Walker |
| birth date | April 04, 1963 |
| birth place | Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland |
| medium | Television, radio, stand-up |
| nationality | Irish |
| active | 1992–present |
| genre | Observational comedy |
| subject | Everyday life, pop culture, current events, celebrities, sex |
| awards | |
| notable work | ''So Graham Norton''''V Graham Norton''''The Graham Norton Effect''''Graham Norton's Bigger Picture''''The Graham Norton Show'' }} |
Early life and career
Norton was born in Clondalkin, a suburb of Dublin, but grew up in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. He was educated at Bandon Grammar School, in County Cork.In 1992 his stand-up comedy drag act in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as a tea-towel clad Mother Teresa of Calcutta made the press when Scottish Television's religious affairs department mistakenly thought he represented the real Mother Teresa.
His first appearances in broadcasting were in his spot as a regular comedian and panellist on the BBC Radio 4 show ''Loose Ends'', when the show ran on Saturday mornings, in the early 1990s. His rise to fame began as one of the early successes of Channel 5, when he won an award for his performance as the stand-in host of a late-night TV talk show usually presented by Jack Docherty. This was followed by a comic quiz show on Channel 5 called ''Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment'', which was not well received as a programme, but did further enhance Norton's individual reputation as a comic and TV host. In 1996, Norton co-hosted the late-night quiz show ''Carnal Knowledge'' on ITV with Maria McErlane.
In 1996, Norton played the part of Father Noel Furlong in three episodes ("Hell", "Flight Into Terror", "The Mainland") of the Channel 4 series ''Father Ted''. Father Noel Furlong was often seen taking charge of a small youth folk-group.
Channel 4
After this early success, Norton moved to Channel 4 to host his own chat shows including ''So Graham Norton'' and ''V Graham Norton''. As a performer who is not only openly gay, but also camp and flamboyant, it was here that Norton's act was fully honed as a cheeky, innuendo-laden joker.In 2003, he was the subject of controversy when, on his show on Channel 4, he made a comedic reference to the recent death of Bee Gees singer Maurice Gibb. The Independent Television Commission investigated after complaints about this insensitivity were forwarded to it and eventually Channel 4 had to make two apologies: one in the form of a caption slide before the show, another from Norton in person.
Also in 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy (though Norton is Irish, the bulk of his television career has been in the UK).
In the summer of 2004, Norton moved across the Atlantic to start a new venture in American television. ''The Graham Norton Effect'' debuted on 24 June 2004 on Comedy Central, and was also broadcast in the UK on BBC Three. In the midst of controversy surrounding Janet Jackson's Super Bowl performance, Norton was wary of moving into the market.
BBC
In 2005, Norton moved to the BBC and began hosting the Saturday evening reality TV series ''Strictly Dance Fever'' on BBC One, as well as a new comedy chat show, ''Graham Norton's Bigger Picture''. He also read stories some nights on the BBC children's channel CBeebies as part of ''Bedtime Hour''.In 2006, Norton hosted the BBC One series ''How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?'' in which Andrew Lloyd Webber tried to find a lead actress for his West End version of ''The Sound of Music''. Norton has subsequently presented the 3 follow-up series: ''Any Dream Will Do'' in 2007, in which a group of males competed to win the role of Joseph in the West End production of ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''; ''I'd Do Anything'' in 2008, in which Andrew Lloyd Webber seeks to find the part of Nancy and Oliver for Sir Cameron Mackintosh's production of Lionel Bart's ''Oliver!''; and ''Over the Rainbow'' in 2010, following a similar format to find a new Dorothy for a ''Wizard of Oz'' West end Production.
Norton hosted various other shows for the BBC during this time, including ''When Will I Be Famous?'' (2007), ''The One and Only'' (2008) and ''Totally Saturday'' (2009). Since 2007, Norton has also been a regular host of The British Academy Television Awards. On 7 July 2007, Norton presented at Live Earth and undertook a trip to Ethiopia with the Born Free Foundation to highlight the plight of the Ethiopian wolf – the rarest canid in the world. In the same year, he was the subject of an episode of the BBC1 genealogy documentary ''Who Do You Think You Are?''.
Norton's chat show, ''The Graham Norton Show'', began on 22 February 2007 on BBC Two. Although in a format that he had not been involved in for 4 years, it is very similar to his previous Channel 4 shows. On 6 October 2009, the show moved to BBC One, in a new one-hour format.
In May 2010, he stood in for Chris Evans' breakfast show on BBC Radio 2. Later that month, it was confirmed that he would be replacing Jonathan Ross's Saturday morning slot on the same station.
In December 2011, the panel show ''Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton'' premiered on BBC America in the time slot immediately following ''The Graham Norton Show''. Recorded in New York, it is one of BBC America's earliest efforts at producing original programming, and is also the first panel game the channel has shown, either of British or American origin.
In January 2012, he called on listeners to his Radio 2 show to help find his car hours after it was stolen. He called it "The Great Car Hunt" and told listeners to “Keep your eyes out for it. It was filthy by the way."
Eurovision
Norton hosted the first annual ''Eurovision Dance Contest'' alongside Claudia Winkleman which was held on 1 September 2007 in London, England. The format was based on the BBC's ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and the EBU's ''Eurovision Song Contest''. Norton and Winkleman also hosted the 2008 Contest in Glasgow, Scotland.In October 2008, it was confirmed by the BBC that Norton would replace Terry Wogan as the BBC's presenter for the UK heats of the ''Eurovision Song Contest'', in a show to be called ''Your Country Needs You''.
On 5 December 2008 it was announced that Norton would also take over from Wogan as the presenter of the main Eurovision Song Contest. The 54th Eurovision Song Contest was held in the Olimpiyskiy (Olympic) Stadium, Moscow on 16 May 2009.
Norton's jokes during his debut received some positive reviews from the British media. ''The Guardian'' noted his comments on Iceland's entry, which finished in second place, had "rooted around in a cupboard and found an old bridesmaid dress from 1987" and the Armenian singers, who finished in tenth place, were sporting traditional dress, "which would be true if you come from the village where Liberace is the mayor."
His comment “The bad news is you’re about to watch Albania. She’s only 17 so please bear that in mind. Where was her mother? Why didn’t she step in and say no?” which was made just before Albanian singer Kejsi Tola was set to take the stage dubbed an insult by many, sent ripples of outrage through not only Albania, but also the Albanian population in Britain. There was even a petition circling the net calling for a formal apology from Norton. The petition, which called his comment “very rude and insulting,” had drawn over 1,000 signatures.
Other
In July 2000 Graham was one of three judges of the Miss Lesbian Beauty Contest 2000 held at The Talk of London, Dury Lane. The contest was won by 42 year old Carol Hutchins who wowed the audience with her sit-down comedy routine from a wheelchair. Graham described Carol as a "very bright, funny lady."Graham Norton played Mr. Puckov in the 2006 American comedy spoof film ''Another Gay Movie''. In 2007, Norton played Taylor in the romantic comedy film ''I Could Never Be Your Woman''.
Norton was involved in a high-publicity advertising campaign for the UK National Lottery as an animated unicorn, the stooge to a character based on Lady Luck (played by Fay Ripley). He has also advertised McVitie's biscuits.
In 2007, Norton featured in Girls Aloud and Sugababes' Comic Relief video for the single "Walk This Way."
In January 2009, Norton made his West End stage debut in a revival of ''La Cage Aux Folles'' at the Playhouse Theatre.
Since 2009, Norton has been the host of the comedy game-show ''Most Popular'' on US cable television channel WE tv.
Norton currently writes an advice column in ''The Daily Telegraph'' newspaper. In October 2010, these columns were made into a book entitled ''Ask Graham'', published by John Blake Publishing.
Personal life
Norton has stated that he felt "out of place" growing up in Ireland; his family are Protestant yet the Republic of Ireland is overwhelmingly Catholic. Norton took part in the TV programme, ''Who Do You Think You Are?'', to trace his ancestry. It was discovered that his family were originally planters sent over from England to take over Irish land. Some members of his family had fought for the British Monarchy during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and taken part in a massacre of Catholics in Carnew Castle. Another member of his family was later killed in battle by the United Irishmen. Norton said he was comforted to find out that his family had resided in Ireland for generations.In 1989, Norton was mugged, beaten and stabbed by a group of attackers on the street. He says he lost half his blood and nearly died, and he was hospitalised for two and a half weeks.
Norton is openly gay.
Norton suffers from vitiligo, a skin disorder in which patches of depigmented skin occur.
Norton caused controversy on 7 October 2006, when he described ecstasy as "fantastic."
Immediately after hosting the BAFTAs in 2009, he said he returned home only to fall down his stairs and break two ribs. Some sources claimed that he presented the next Graham Norton Show on crutches, but this is not true, although he did make a comment about it, related to ''Pushing Daisies'', by saying "in ''Pushing Daisies'' people die in all sorts of bizarre ways... someone else was killed by a man dressed as a crash-test dummy, and some idiot almost died when he got drunk and fell down the stairs after presenting the BAFTAs. As if that could happen in real life!"
TV appearances
Main presenting credits
Other television credits
| !Year!!Title!!Character!!Broadcaster | ||||||
| 1996–98 | ''Father Ted'': | * Hell | * Flight into Terror | * The Mainland | Father Noel Furlong | Channel 4 |
| rowspan=3 | 2001 | ''Rex the Runt'': A Crap Day Out| | The Plants voice | BBC | ||
| ''Rex the Runt'': Patio | Osvalde Halitosis voice | |||||
| ''The Kumars at No. 42'' | Himself | |||||
| 2002 | ''Absolutely Fabulous'': Gay| | Himself | BBC | |||
| rowspan=4 | 2007 | ''Who Do You Think You Are? (British TV series)Who Do You Think You Are?'' || | Himself | BBC | ||
| ''Saving Planet Earth'' | *Saving Wolves | Himself | BBC | |||
| ''Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List'' | ||||||
| ''Robbie the Reindeer'' in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind | Computer voice | |||||
Radio
Sitting in for Chris Evans May /July 2010 BBC Radio 2
On 2 October 2010, he began his weekly BBC Radio 2 Saturday show taking over from Jonathan Ross. The show airs from 10.00am-1.00pm and combines a mixture of music, chat and celebrity guests.
2011/12 Radio 2 Saturday mornings
Filmography
| !Year!!Title!!Character!!Production | |||
| 1999 | ''Stargay''| | Graham Solex | Canal+ |
| 2006 | ''Another Gay Movie''| | Mr. Puckov | Luna Pictures |
| 2007 | ''I Could Never Be Your Woman''| | Taylor | The Weinstein Company |
Stand-Up videos
Awards
References
External links
Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of University College Cork Category:BBC Radio 2 presenters Category:Gay actors Category:Irish columnists Category:Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Irish male comedians Category:Irish people of English descent Category:Irish television talk show hosts Category:LGBT comedians from Ireland Category:LGBT people from Ireland Category:LGBT radio personalities from Ireland Category:LGBT television personalities from Ireland Category:People from County Cork Category:People from Dublin (city) Category:Survivors of stabbing Category:United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
cy:Graham Norton de:Graham Norton es:Graham Norton fy:Graham Norton ga:Graham Norton nl:Graham Norton no:Graham Norton pl:Graham Norton ro:Graham Norton sv:Graham NortonThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| name | 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 |
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 from the time that Hugh Grant came on Leno's show after Grant's arrest for soliciting a prostitute. ; 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 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
Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:American entertainment industry businesspeople 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
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