name	Sylvester Stallone
birth name	Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone
birth date	July 06, 1946
birth place	New York City, New York, U.S.
occupation	Actor, director, screenwriter
years active	1970–present
spouse
children	Sage, Seargeoh, Sophia, Sistine, Scarlet
parents	Frank Stallone Sr.Jackie Stallone
relatives	Frank Stallone (brother)
website	http://www.sylvesterstallone.com }}

Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone (; born July 6, 1946), commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed include boxer Rocky Balboa and soldier John Rambo. The ''Rocky'' and ''Rambo'' franchises, along with several other films, strengthened his reputation as an actor and his box office earnings.

Stallone's film ''Rocky'' was inducted into the National Film Registry as well as having its film props placed in the Smithsonian Museum. Stallone's use of the front entrance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the ''Rocky'' series led the area to be nicknamed the Rocky Steps. Philadelphia has a statue of his Rocky character placed permanently near the museum, on the right side before the steps. It was announced on December 7, 2010 that Stallone was voted into boxing's Hall of Fame.

Early life

Sylvester Stallone was born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone in New York City, the elder son of Frank Stallone, Sr., a hairdresser, and Jackie Stallone (born Jacqueline Labofish), an astrologer, former dancer, and promoter of women's wrestling. His younger brother is actor and musician Frank Stallone. Stallone's father was born in Gioia del Colle, Apulia, Italy, and emigrated to the United States as a child. Stallone's mother is of half Russian Jewish and half French descent.

Complications his mother suffered during labor forced her obstetricians to use two pairs of forceps during his birth; misuse of these accidentally severed a nerve and caused paralysis in parts of Stallone's face. As a result, the lower left side of his face is paralyzed, including parts of his lip, tongue, and chin, an accident which has given Stallone his trademark snarling look and slightly slurred speech. Stallone was baptized and raised Catholic. He spent his first five years in Hell's Kitchen, bouncing between foster homes while his parents endured a loud, troubled marriage. His father, a beautician, moved the family to Washington DC, where he opened a beauty school. His mother opened a women's gymnasium called Barbella's in 1954. He attended Charlotte Hall Military Academy prior to attending Miami Dade College.

Career

When Stallone was nearly broke in New York, barely $50 to his name, he sold the script to ''Paradise Alley'' for $100.

''Italian Stallion'' and ''Score''

Stallone had his first starring role in the soft core pornography feature film ''The Party at Kitty and Stud's'' (1970). He was paid US$200 for two days' work. Stallone later explained that he had done the film out of desperation after being evicted from his apartment and finding himself homeless for several days. He has also said that he slept three weeks in the New York City Port Authority bus station prior to seeing a casting notice for the film. In the actor's words, "it was either do that movie or rob someone, because I was at the end – the very end – of my rope". The film was released several years later as ''Italian Stallion'', in order to cash in on Stallone's new found fame (the new title was taken from Stallone's nickname since ''Rocky'' and a line from the film).

Stallone also starred in the erotic off-Broadway stage play ''Score'' which ran for 23 performances at the Martinique Theatre from October 28 – November 15, 1971 and was later made into a film by Radley Metzger.

Early film roles, 1970–1975

In 1970 Stallone appeared in the film ''No Place to Hide,'' which was re-cut and retitled ''Rebel,'' the second version featuring Stallone as its star. After the style of Woody Allen's ''What's Up, Tiger Lily?,'' this film, in 1990, was re-edited from outtakes from the original movie and newly shot matching footage, then redubbed into an award-winning parody of itself titled ''A Man Called... Rainbo.'' Again starring Stallone, this self-parody was directed by David Casci and produced by Jeffrey Hilton. ''A Man Called...Rainbo'' won Silver Awards at the Chicago International Film Festival and Worldfest – Houston, and was featured on ''Entertainment Tonight'' along with its credited star, Sylvester Stallone. It received a Thumbs-Up on ''Siskel & Ebert,'' and was recommended by Michael Medved on the popular movie review show, ''Sneak Previews.''

Stallone's other first few film roles were minor, and included brief uncredited appearances in Woody Allen's ''Bananas'' (1971) as a subway thug, in the psychological thriller ''Klute'' (1971) as an extra dancing in a club, and in the Jack Lemmon film ''The Prisoner of Second Avenue'' (1975) as a youth. In the Lemmon film, Jack Lemmon chases, tackles and mugs Stallone, thinking that Stallone's character is a pickpocket. He had his second starring role in ''The Lords of Flatbush,'' in 1974. In 1975, he played supporting roles in ''Farewell, My Lovely''; ''Capone''; and ''Death Race 2000.'' He made guest appearances on the TV series ''Police Story'' and ''Kojak.''

Success with ''Rocky,'' 1976

Stallone gained worldwide fame with his starring role in the smash hit ''Rocky'' (1976). On March 24, 1975, Stallone saw the Muhammad Ali–Chuck Wepner fight, which inspired the foundation idea of ''Rocky.'' That night Stallone went home, and after three days 20 straight hours he had written the script for ''Rocky.'' After that, he tried to sell the script with the intention of playing the lead role. Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler in particular liked the script. ''Rocky'' was nominated for ten Academy Awards in all, including Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay nominations for Stallone. ''Rocky'' went on to win the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Directing and Best Film Editing.

Rocky, Rambo and new film roles, 1978–1989

The sequel ''Rocky II,'' which Stallone had also written and directed (replacing John G. Avildsen, who won an Academy Award for directing the first film) was released in 1979 and also became a major success, grossing $200 million.

Apart from the ''Rocky'' films, Stallone did many other films in the late 1970s and early 1980s which were critically acclaimed but were not successful at the box office. He received critical praise for films such as ''F.I.S.T.'' (1978), a social, epic styled drama in which he plays a warehouse worker, very loosely modeled on James Hoffa, who becomes involved in the labor union leadership, and ''Paradise Alley'' (1978), a family drama in which he plays one of three brothers who is a con artist and who helps his other brother who is involved in wrestling. Stallone made his directorial debut directing ''Paradise Alley.''

In the early 1980s, he starred alongside British veteran Michael Caine in ''Escape to Victory'' (1981), a sports drama in which he plays a prisoner of war involved in a Nazi propaganda soccer game. Stallone then made the action thriller film ''Nighthawks'' (1981), in which he plays a New York city cop who plays a cat and mouse game with a foreign terrorist, played by Rutger Hauer.

Stallone had another major franchise success as Vietnam veteran John Rambo, a former Green Beret, in the action-war film ''First Blood'' (1982). The first installment of Rambo was both a critical and box office success. The critics praised Stallone's performance, saying he made Rambo seem human, as opposed to the way he is portrayed in the book of the same name, in ''First Blood'' and in the other films. Three Rambo sequels ''Rambo: First Blood Part II'' (1985), ''Rambo III'' (1988) and ''Rambo'' (2008) followed. Although box office hits, they met with much less critical praise than the original. He also continued his box office success with the ''Rocky'' franchise and wrote, directed and starred in two more sequels to the series: ''Rocky III'' (1982) and ''Rocky IV'' (1985). Stallone has portrayed these two characters in a total of ten films. In preparation for these roles, Stallone embarked upon a vigorous training regimen which often meant six days a week in the gym and further sit ups in the evenings. Stallone claims to have gotten his body fat percentage down to his all time low of 2.8% for Rocky III.

It was during this time period that Stallone's work cultivated a strong overseas following. He also attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, roles in different genres when he co-wrote and starred in the comedy film ''Rhinestone'' (1984) where he played a wannabe country music singer and the drama film ''Over the Top'' (1987) where he played a struggling trucker who, after the death of his wife, tries to make amends with his son who he left behind years earlier. His son does not think too highly of him until he sees him compete in a nation-wide arm wrestling competition. For the ''Rhinestone'' soundtrack, he performed a song. These films did not do well at the box office and were poorly received by critics. It was around 1985 that Stallone was signed to a remake of the 1939 James Cagney classic ''Angels With Dirty Faces.'' The film would form part of his multi-picture deal with Cannon Pictures and was to co-star Christopher Reeve and be directed by Menahem Golan. The re-making of such a beloved classic was met with disapproval by Variety Magazine and horror by top critic Roger Ebert and so Cannon opted to make ''Cobra'' instead. ''Cobra'' (1986) and ''Tango and Cash'' (1989) did solid business domestically but overseas they did blockbuster business grossing over $100 million in foreign markets and over $160 million worldwide.

1990–2002

With the then recent success of ''Lock Up'' and ''Tango and Cash,'' at the start of the 1990s Stallone starred in the fifth installment of the Rocky franchise ''Rocky V'' which was considered a box office disappointment and was also disliked by fans as an unworthy entry in the series.

After starring in the critical and commercial disasters ''Oscar'' (1991) and ''Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot'' (1992) during the early 90s, he made a comeback in 1993 with the hit ''Cliffhanger'' which was a success in the U.S., grossing $84 million, but even more successful worldwide, grossing $171 million for a total over US$255 million. Later that year he starred with Wesley Snipes in the futuristic action film ''Demolition Man'' which grossed in excess of $158 million worldwide. His string of hits continued with 1994's ''The Specialist'' (over $170 million worldwide gross).

In 1995, he played the comic book based title character Judge Dredd, who was taken from the British comic book 2000 AD in the film of the same name. His overseas box office appeal saved the domestic box office disappointment of ''Judge Dredd'', which cost almost $100 million and barely made its budget back with a worldwide tally of $113 million. He also appeared in the thriller ''Assassins'' (1995) with co stars Julianne Moore and Antonio Banderas. In 1996, he starred in the disaster film ''Daylight'' which was not very successful in the US but still grossed $126 million overseas.

That same year Stallone, along with an all-star cast of celebrities, appeared in the Trey Parker and Matt Stone short comedy film ''Your Studio and You'' commissioned by the Seagram Company for a party celebrating their acquisition of Universal Studios and the MCA Corporation. Stallone speaks in his Rocky Balboa voice with subtitles translating what he is saying. At one point, Stallone starts yelling about how can they use his Balboa character, that he left it in the past; the narrator calms him with a wine cooler and calling him, "brainiac." In response, Stallone says, "Thank you very much." He then looks at the wine cooler and exclaims, "Stupid cheap studio!"

Following his breakthrough performance in ''Rocky,'' critic Roger Ebert had once said Stallone could become the next Marlon Brando, though he never quite recaptured the critical acclaim achieved with ''Rocky.'' Stallone did, however, go on to receive much acclaim for his role in the low budget crime drama ''Cop Land'' (1997) in which he starred alongside Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta, but the film was only a minor success at the box office. His performance led him to win the Stockholm International Film Festival Best Actor Award. In 1998 he did voice-over work for the computer-animated film ''Antz,'' which was a big hit domestically.

In 2000, Stallone starred in the thriller ''Get Carter'' – a remake of the 1971 British Michael Caine film of the same name—but the film was poorly received by both critics and audiences. Stallone's career declined considerably after his subsequent films ''Driven'' (2001), ''Avenging Angelo'' (2002) and ''D-Tox'' (2002) also underachieved expectations to do well at the box office and were poorly received by critics.

2003–2005

In 2003, he played a villainous role in the third installment of the Spy Kids trilogy ''Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over'' which was a huge box office success (almost $200 million worldwide). Stallone also had a cameo appearance in the 2003 French film ''Taxi 3'' as a passenger.

Following several poorly reviewed box office flops, Stallone started to regain prominence for his supporting role in the neo-noir crime drama ''Shade'' (2003) which was only released in a limited fashion but was praised by critics. He was also attached to star and direct a film tentatively titled ''Rampart Scandal,'' which was to be about the murder of rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. and the surrounding Los Angeles Police Department corruption scandal. It was later titled ''Notorious'' but was shelved.

In 2005, he was the co-presenter, alongside Sugar Ray Leonard, of the NBC Reality television boxing series ''The Contender.'' That same year he also made a guest appearance in two episodes of the television series ''Las Vegas.'' In 2005, Stallone also inducted wrestling icon Hulk Hogan, who appeared in ''Rocky III'' as a wrestler named Thunderlips, into the WWE Hall of Fame; Stallone was also the person who offered Hogan the cameo in ''Rocky III.''

Revisiting Rocky and Rambo, 2006–2008

After a three year hiatus from films, Stallone made a comeback in 2006 with the sixth installment of his successful Rocky series, ''Rocky Balboa'', which was a critical and commercial hit. After the critical and box office failure of the previous installment ''Rocky V'', Stallone had decided to write, direct and star in a sixth installment which would be a more appropriate climax to the series. The total domestic box office came to $70.3 million (and $155.7 million worldwide). The budget of the movie was only $24 million. His performance in ''Rocky Balboa'' has been praised and garnered mostly positive reviews.

Stallone's fourth installment of his other successful movie franchise, Rambo, with the sequel being titled simply ''Rambo''. The film opened in 2,751 theaters on January 25, 2008, grossing $6,490,000 on its opening day and $18,200,000 over its opening weekend. Its box office was $113,244,290 worldwide with a budget of $50 million.

Asked in February 2008 which of the icons he would rather be remembered for, Stallone said "it's a tough one, but ''Rocky'' is my first baby, so ''Rocky."''

Other film work

Stallone's debut as a director came in 1978 with ''Paradise Alley,'' which he also wrote and starred in. In addition, he directed ''Staying Alive'', the sequel to ''Saturday Night Fever'', along with ''Rocky II'', ''Rocky III'', ''Rocky IV'', ''Rocky Balboa'', and ''Rambo''. In August 2005, Stallone released his book ''Sly Moves'' which claimed to be a guide to fitness and nutrition as well as a candid insight into his life and works from his own perspective. The book also contained many photographs of Stallone throughout the years as well as pictures of him performing exercises. In addition to writing all six ''Rocky'' films, Stallone also wrote ''Cobra'', ''Driven'', and ''Rambo.'' He has co-written several other films, such as ''F.I.S.T.'', ''Rhinestone'', ''Over the Top'', and the first three ''Rambo'' films. His last major success as a co-writer came with 1993's ''Cliffhanger''. In addition, Stallone has continued to express his passion in directing a film on Edgar Allan Poe's life, a script he has been preparing for years. In July 2009, he appeared in a cameo in the Bollywood movie ''Kambakkht Ishq'' where he played himself, for which he has been nominated by the Indian version of Razzies, Golden Kela Awards. Stallone also provided the voice of a lion in Kevin James's comedy ''Zookeeper.'' Stallone has also mentioned that he would like to adapt a Nelson DeMille novel, ''The Lion's Game'' and James Byron Huggin's novel ''Hunter'', which Stallone had the film rights for several years and originally planned to use the plot from ''Hunter'' for ''Rambo V''. In 2009, Stallone expressed interest in starring in a remake of Charles Bronson's 1974 movie ''Death Wish''.

2010 onwards

''The Expendables'' was Stallone's big success of 2010. The movie, which was filmed during summer/winter 2009, was released on August 13, 2010. Stallone wrote, directed and stars in the movie. Joining him in the film were fellow action stars Jason Statham, Jet Li, and Dolph Lundgren plus Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke, Randy Couture, Eric Roberts, and Stone Cold Steve Austin as well as much anticipated cameos for fellow '80s action icons Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Indeed, the cameos of Willis and Schwarzenegger have been pushed quite heavily in the promotion of the movie. Due to the overwhelmingly positive reaction to early test footage and trailers, producer Avi Lerner has reported that there is already talk of making two more sequels, or at least some sort of a longer franchise, based on the members of the team. The movie took $34,825,135 in its opening weekend, going straight in at No.1 in the US box office. The figure marked the biggest opening weekend in Stallone's illustrious 35 year career. In summer 2010, Brazilian company O2 Filmes released a statement saying it was still owed more than $2 million US for its work on the film. Stallone also confirmed the planned ''Rambo V'' was cancelled in May 2010. The movie was officially greenlit by Nu Image/Millenium Films in September 2009 and initially Stallone said the movie was to be entitled ''Rambo V: The Savage Hunt'' and would be loosely based on a novel called ''Hunter'' (a novel to which Stallone had the rights for ten years), involving Rambo hunting a "feral beast". In November 2009 Stallone confirmed that the story has been switched and that the man/beast hunt story will be saved for an unrelated film. ''Rambo V'' will now be based on Rambo searching for women who disappeared in a town over the Mexican border. It was confirmed by Stallone himself in May 2010 that he has scrapped ''Rambo V'' (and "retired" ''Rambo'') in order to work on ''The Expendables'' sequel.

Personal life

Stallone has been married three times. At age 28, on December 28, 1974, he married Sasha Czack. The couple had two sons, Sage Moonblood (b. May 5, 1976) and Seargeoh (b. 1979). His younger son was diagnosed with autism at an early age. The couple divorced on February 14, 1985. He married model and actress Brigitte Nielsen, on December 15, 1985, in Beverly Hills, California. Stallone and Nielsen's marriage, which lasted two years, and their subsequent divorce, were highly publicized by the tabloid press. In May 1997, Stallone married Jennifer Flavin, with whom he has three daughters: Sophia Rose (b. August 27, 1996), Sistine Rose (b. June 27, 1998), and Scarlet Rose (b. May 25, 2002).

In 2007, he was caught in Australia with 48 vials of the synthetic human growth hormone Jintropin.

After Stallone's request that his acting and life experiences be accepted in exchange for his remaining credits, he was granted a Bachelors of Fine Arts (BFA) degree by the President of the University of Miami in 1999.

Stallone stopped going to church as his acting career progressed. He began to rediscover his childhood faith when his daughter was born ill in 1996, and is now a churchgoing Catholic.

Stallone supports the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and is featured prominently on that organization's website along with other celebrities.

Tobacco promotion

In 1983 Stallone entered into an agreement with Associated Film Promotions, Inc. representing their client, cigarette manufacturer Brown & Williamson Corp., to use or place B&W; products in five of his feature films. In exchange, Stallone was paid a total of $500,000, disbursed as $250,000 up front and $50,000 "payable at the inception of production of each participating film." In the initial correspondences Stallone guaranteed that he would "use Brown and Williamson tobacco products in no less than five feature films" but later, to be consistent with the character of Rocky Balboa, it was decided that "other leads will have product usage" in ''Rocky IV''. In 2002 documentation of the agreement was made publicly available through the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library at the University of California, San Francisco.

Injuries

Known for physically demanding roles, and his willingness to do a majority of his own stunts, Stallone has suffered numerous injuries during his acting career. For a scene in ''Rocky IV'', he told Dolph Lundgren "Punch me as hard as you can in the chest." "Next thing I know, I was in intensive care at St. John’s Hospital for four days. It’s stupid!" While filming a fight scene with actor Steve Austin in ''The Expendables'', he broke his neck, which required the insertion of a metal plate.

Filmography

''Also see Sylvester Stallone filmography.'' ''Stop

rowspan=2	Year	Film	Credited as				Role	Notes
Director	Producer		Writer	Actor
rowspan="2"	1970	''The Party at Kitty and Stud's''					Stud
					Jerry Savage
	Bananas (film)>Bananas''					Subway Thug No.1	Uncredited
''Klute''					Discothèque Patron	Uncredited
1974	''The Lords of Flatbush''					Stanley Rosiello	Writer (additional dialogue)
rowspan="7"	1975	''The Prisoner of Second Avenue''					Youth in Park
''Capone (film)	Capone''					Frank Nitti
''Death Race 2000''					Machine Gun Joe Viterbo
''Mandingo (film)	Mandingo''					Young Man in Crowd	Uncredited (Scenes deleted)
''Farewell, My Lovely (1975 film)	Farewell, My Lovely''					Jonnie
''Police Story (TV series)	Police Story''					Caddo	TV series (1 episode)
''Kojak''					Detective Rick Daly
	Cannonball (film)>Cannonball''					Mafioso	Uncredited
''Rocky''					Rocky Balboa	Writer
rowspan="2"	1978	''F.I.S.T.''					Johnny D. Kovak	Screenplay
''Paradise Alley''					Cosmo Carboni	Director and Writer
1979	''Rocky II''					Rocky Balboa	Director and Writer
rowspan="2"	1981	Nighthawks (film)>Nighthawks''					Det. Sgt. Deke DaSilva
''Escape to Victory''					Captain Robert Hatch
rowspan="2"	1982	''Rocky III''					Rocky Balboa	Director and Writer
''First Blood''						Screenplay
1983	''Staying Alive''					Man on Street	Cameo; Uncredited, Director, Producer and Writer
1984	Rhinestone (film)>Rhinestone''					Nick Martinelli	Screenplay
1985	''Rambo: First Blood Part II''						Screenplay
1985	''Rocky IV''					Rocky Balboa	Director and Writer
1986	Cobra (1986 film)>Cobra''					Lieutenant Marion 'Cobra' Cobretti	Screenplay
1987	Over the Top (film)>Over the Top''					Lincoln Hawk	Screenplay
1988	''Rambo III''						Writer
rowspan="2"	1989	Lock Up (film)>Lock Up''					Frank Leone
''Tango & Cash''					Raymond 'Ray' Tango
1990	''Rocky V''					Rocky Balboa	Writer
1991	Oscar (1991 film)>Oscar''					Angelo 'Snaps' Provolone
1992	Or My Mom Will Shoot''					Sgt. Joe Bomowski
	Cliffhanger (film)>Cliffhanger''					Gabe Walker	Screenplay
''Demolition Man (film)	Demolition Man''					John Spartan
1994	''The Specialist''					Ray Quick
rowspan="3"	1995''
''Assassins (1995 film)	Assassins''					Robert Rath
''Your Studio and You''					Himself
1996	Daylight (film)>Daylight''					Kit Latura
rowspan="3"	1997	The Good Life (1997 film)>The Good Life''					Boss	not released
''Men In Black (film)	Men In Black''					Alien on TV Monitors	Cameo; uncredited
''Cop Land''					Sheriff Freddy Heflin
rowspan=2	1998	''Antz''					Weaver	Voice
''An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn''					Himself
2000	Get Carter (2000 film)>Get Carter''					Jack Carter
2001	''Driven''					Joe Tanto	Producer and Screenplay
rowspan="3"	2002	''Liberty's Kids''					Paul Revere	TV series (1 episode)
''D-Tox''					Jake Malloy
''Avenging Angelo''					Frankie Delano
rowspan="3"	2003	''Taxi 3''					Passenger to Airport	Cameo; Uncredited
''Shade (film)	Shade''					Dean 'The Dean' Stevens
''Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over''
2005	Las Vegas (TV series)>Las Vegas''					Frank the Repairman	TV Series (2 episodes)
2006	Rocky Balboa (film)>Rocky Balboa''					Rocky Balboa	Director and Writer
2008	Rambo (film)>Rambo''						Director and Writer
2009	''Kambakkht Ishq''					Himself	Cameo
2010	The Expendables (2010 film)>The Expendables''					Barney Ross	Director and Writer
2011	Zookeeper (film)>Zookeeper''					Lion	Voice
2012	''The Expendables 2''					Barney Ross
2012	''Bullet to the Head''						''Hitman''

References

External links

Category:1946 births Category:American film actors Category:American film directors Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American film directors of Italian descent Category:Actors from Maryland Category:Actors from New York City Category:Actors from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:American people of French descent Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American people of Russian descent Category:American people of Sicilian descent Category:American screenwriters Category:American television actors Category:Charlotte Hall Military Academy alumni Category:International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Category:Living people Category:New York Republicans Category:People from Silver Spring, Maryland Category:University of Miami alumni

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background	solo_singer
birth name	Percy Miller
alias	Lil' Romeo, Rome, Romeo
born	August 19, 1989
origin	New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
genre	Hip hop
occupation	RapperModelBasketball playerEntrepreneurActor
college	USC
years active	2001–present
label	No Limit (2001–2002) Priority (2001–2002) The New No Limit (2002–2004) Universal (2002–2003) E1 (2004–2005) Guttar Music (2005–2006) Take A Stand (2007–present) The Next Generation (CEO) (2010–present) No Limit Forever (CEO) (2010–present)
website	http://romeoforever.com }}

Percy Robert Miller, Jr. (born August 19, 1989), better known by his stage name Romeo (previously Lil' Romeo), is an American rapper, actor, basketball player, entrepreneur, and model. As a rap musician, Miller has released three studio albums and two compilation albums.

Early life

Romeo Miller was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the son of rapper and entrepreneur Master P and former rapper Sonya C. He is the nephew of rappers C-Murder and Silkk the Shocker and the brother of singer Cymphonique. Romeo was signed to No Limit at the age of 5 after he wrote a rap to his dad.

Music career

''Lil' Romeo'' (2001)

He then released his debut album 7 years later titled after his original alias ''Lil' Romeo''. This offering contained the hit single "My Baby" that charted No. 1 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-hop Singles. The album peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and No. 5 on the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums, and was certified certified Platinum by the RIAA for the sales of 1,300,000. Also in 2001 he was featured on his uncle Silkk the Shocker's remix single of "That's Kool", which was also featured on his own album.

''Game Time'' (2002–2003)

In 2002, a year later after his debut album, Miller put out his second studio album, ''Game Time''. It peaked at No. 33 on the Billboard 200 and No. 10 on the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums. It spawned the billboard charting single "2-Way" that charted to No. 66 Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs. It also spawned the album second single "True Love" which charted at No. 16 under the Hot 100 Singles. Though not as successful on the charts as Miller's debut album It still was successful in sales certified 2x Platinum, selling 2,430,785 copies making this Miller's highest selling album.

''Romeoland'' (2004–2007)

In 2004, miller released his third studio album ''Romeoland,'' which was not as successful as his last two albums, but still managed to be certified Gold selling over 459,000 copies in the United States. It was also the last studio album to feature Miller billed as Lil' Romeo. In 2005 Romeo along with his brother Valentino Miller who was known as Young V at that time and their three cousins C-Los, Lil' D & Willie J formed the group Rich Boyz & released their debut album ''Young Ballers: The Hood Been Good to Us''. In 2006 Miller released a compilation album entitled ''Greatest Hits'' the album featured all of his hit songs when Miller was billed as Lil' Romeo. In 2006 Romeo released the two albums ''Lottery'' & ''God's Gift'' on the new label owned by himself and his father Master P, entitled Guttar Music. ''Lottery'' served as Millers first independent release while ''God's Gift'' served as a soundtrack to a movie with the same name. ''God's Gift'' was also Miller's first album to use the name Romeo and to have explicit language. The two albums were also known for containing Miller's single "U Can't Shine Like Me" which was a direct response to Bow Wow, who fans thought dissed Miller in his song "Fresh Azimiz". In 2007 Miller released a collaboration album with his father Master P titled ''Hip Hop History'' it sold 32,000 records worldwide.

''Intelligent Hoodlum'' (2008–present)

In 2008 Miller stated he was working on his fourth studio album entitled ''Gumbo Station''. On June 17, 2008 Miller released the first single from the album which was "Get Low wit It" which featured Akon & his brother Valentino Miller it failed to gain success on the Billboard charts. On March 3, 2009 Romeo released a compilation entitled ''Get Low LP'' that contained songs that were supposed to be on ''Gumbo Station''. It debuted at No. 149 on the Billboard 200 and as of May 5, 2009 it has sold over 20,000 copies. In 2010 Romeo confirmed that he was still working on his fourth studio album but he changed the name of the album to ''The College Boy''. Romeo then announced that the title of the album was going to be ''I Am No Limit''. On January 19, 2010 Romeo released the first promotional single for the album entitled "Tell Me A Million Times" that featured Tempo. Then on January 26, 2010 Romeo released the second promotional single for the album entitled "Ice Cream Man Jr." which was a tribute to his dad Master P. On February 16, 2010 Miller released his debut mixtape ''Patience Is A Virtue'' to promote the album. Then on March 2, 2010 Romeo released two EPs to promote the album which were the ''Famous Girl'' & ''Monster/Practice''. Also In 2010 Miller debuted his newly founded record label The Next Generation Entertainment with his new group the College Boyys. They released a collaboration album on May 25, 2010 entitled ''Spring Break'' which sold over 200,000 copies worldwide. Miller also on this day released three singles which were "You" that featured D'Anna & Lil Twist, "She Bad" that featured Millers cousins Lil' D & Black Don & "They Dont Know" but all of the singles failed to reach the charts. Romeo also performed at the 2010 Hip Hop Honors along with his brother Valentino Miller, his cousins Lil' D & Black Don, & his uncle Silkk The Shocker, along with Trina, Gucci Mane & Mystikal to honor his dad Master P & No Limit Records. In late 2010 Romeo relaunched No Limit as No Limit Forever Romeo also confirmed that he has changed the name of the album from ''I Am No Limit'' to ''Intelligent Hoodlum''. In 2011 It Is confirmed that Romeo is going on a new tour with his dad Master P & his uncle Silkk the Shocker the tour is entitled ”No Limit Forever International". On January 11, 2011 Romeo released his EP ''Dont Push Me''. On May 3, 2011 Romeo released the first official single from ''Intelligent Hoodlum'' which is "Famous Girl (Remix)" which is really the mastered version of the original it still features appearances from Sean Kingston & Miller's cousin Black Don. On August 19, 2011 Romeo released his ''I Am No Limit'' mixtape which was originally supposed to be his fourth studio album before it got changed but Miller just decided it would be best to just release it as a mixtape for his fans.

Other ventures

Acting career

Miller started his acting career with a cameo appearance in the 2001 film ''Max Keeble's Big Move'', as himself. He later co-starred with Jessica Alba, Mekhi Phifer and Zachary Isaiah Williams in the film ''Honey'' (2003). In ''Honey'', his character was Benny, a young boy looking for a break. Also in 2003, he voiced himself on an episode of the animated series, ''Static Shock'', to which he had performed the theme song. He co-starred with his dad in a movie called ''Uncle P'' in 2005. He also starred in another movie with Zachary Isaiah Williams, ''God's Gift'', which came out in 2006. Recently, he made a cameo appearance, as himself, in ''Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide'' as a rapping coach for the teachers. Then in 2007 he starred in film ''ASL'' as himself, Rome, alongside Forrest Lipton and Zachary Isaiah Williams who played the young Romeo; Lil Romey and had also previously starred with Romeo in ''Honey'' and Nickelodeon's ''Romeo!''. He guest-starred as a rapper accused of murder in the 2010 CBS series, ''The Defenders'' and acted in the highly successful film, ''Jumping the Broom'', released in May 2011. In 2011, he also starred in TV commercials for McDonald's & ICDC Colleges.

Fashion designer

On July 24, 2010 Romeo launched his own clothing line titled "College Boyys", which has also been promoted by Miller & his new group the College Boyys. It has also been promoted by artists such as Justin Bieber, Big Time Rush & Jaden Smith. Romeo stated

Basketball career

Name	Percy Miller, Jr.
College	USC
Conference	Pac-10
Sport	Basketball
Position	Point guard
Career start	2008 2010
Nickname	Romeo, Prince P
Jersey	15
Height ft	5
Height in	11
Weight lb	170
Nationality	American
Birth date	August 19, 1989
Birth place	New Orleans, Louisiana
Highschool	Beverly Hills High School
tournaments	y
tournament list	2009 NCAA Tournament
color	DarkRed
fontcolor	Gold }}

Romeo was invited, in the summer of 2006, to the Reebok-sponsored ABCD Camp, which is considered the premier basketball camp in the United States. The Teaneck, New Jersey-based ABCD Camp is an invitation-only basketball showcase previously attended by high-profile players including Kobe Bryant, Stephon Marbury, Tracy McGrady, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. Surrounded by future NBA players such as O. J. Mayo, Derrick Rose, and Kevin Love, Miller looked out of place and averaged less than 2 points a game throughout the camp. ''The Wall Street Journal'' made an article on March 8, entitled "A Hot Prospect," cites Sonny Vaccaro, the longtime director of the ABCD Camp, as explaining, "he invited Romeo Miller to the 2006 camp, primarily as a favor to Percy Miller, whom he knew from the club basketball circuit." In the article, Vaccaro indicated, "If you're looking for the profile of an athlete who plays basketball at USC, he's not it."

On April 13, 2007, Miller verbally committed to the University of Southern California (USC) and signed a letter of intent on November 19, 2007.

Miller, a 5'11" point guard, was a four year starter at Beverly Hills High School. As a junior during the 2005–2006 high school season he averaged 13.9 points and 5.6 assists per game. As a senior during the 2006–2007 high school season he averaged 8.6 points and 9.0 assists per game.

According to ''The Wall Street Journal'', it appears the decision to grant Miller a full scholarship at USC was largely driven by his relationship with friend and teammate Demar DeRozan, the 6-foot-6 All-American forward who was rated as the number five prospect in the country on Scout.com. ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported Coach Tim Floyd as saying, "Last April...Percy Miller called while driving both players from a tournament in Fayetteville, Ark...Percy Miller said 'Demar and Romeo are ready to make their decision, and would you like to have them both on scholarship?'...'I said absolutely.'" Miller and DeRozan began playing in the 2008–2009 season.

Miller had a disappointing career at USC. In his two seasons as a Trojan, he played a total of 19 minutes in 9 games and scored a total of 5 points.

Modeling career

On December 27 Romeo modeled for a new 2011 calender. On April 10, 2011 Miller modeled for the April issue of ''TROIX'' magazine. On April 12, 2011 Miller modeled again for some new pictures. He also modeled with the singer-songwriter Chynna Terrell.

Dancing with the Stars

After originally withdrawing from season two of ''Dancing with the Stars'' due to an injury, Romeo competed in season 12. He was partnered with professional dancer, Chelsie Hightower. They were eliminated from the show on May 10, 2011 and finished in the Top 5, one week before the semi-final.

rowspan="2"	Week #
	style="text-align: center; background:#faf6f6;"|Cha-Cha-Cha/ "Romeo"
	2		Quickstep/ "You're the One That I Want"		7		8		8		Safe
	style="text-align: center; background:#faf6f6;"
	style="text-align: center; background:#faf6f6;"
	style="text-align: center; background:#faf6f6;"
	6		Waltz/ "My Heart Will Go On"		10		9		9
	style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f"|Cha-Cha-Cha/ ""Born This Way""Samba/ "Say Hey (I Love You)"
	style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f"|Tango/"Hold It Against Me"Salsa/"Tequila"

In week 7, Donnie Burns was the guest judge and scored the dances.

Personal life

Miller attended Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, California. Romeo sponsors "Loco Tonic", an energy drink he mentions in his newer songs. In 2008, Romeo was ranked No. 18 in the most fit men in the world.

Discography

;Studio albums

''Lil' Romeo'' (2001)

''Game Time'' (2002)

''Romeoland'' (2004)

''Intelligent Hoodlum'' (2012)

;Independent albums

''Lottery'' (2006)

;Collaboration albums

''Young Ballers: The Hood Been Good to Us'' (2005) (with Rich Boyz)

''Hip Hop History'' (2007) (with Master P)

''Spring Break'' (2010) (with College Boyys)

''TBA'' (2012) (with College Boyys)

''TBA'' (2012) (with Resq3)

;Mixtapes

''Patience Is A Virtue'' (2009)

''I Am No Limit'' (2011)

Filmography

;Films

''Honey (2003 film) ''Still 'Bout It'' ''God's Gift (film) ''Uncle P'' ''The Pig People'' ''Down and Distance'' ''Jumping the Broom (film)

Year
2001	''Max Keeble's Big Move''	Himself
2003	Honey'' ||	Benny	Main Role
rowspan="2">2004	|	M.J.	Main Role
''Decisions''	Jamal
rowspan="2"	2006	God's Gift'' ||	Romeo	Main Role
''Don't Be Scared''	Unknown
rowspan="2"	2007	|	Corey Miller	Main Role
''Crush On U''	Rome
2009	|	TJ	Main Role
2010	|	Darren Sheehan	Main Role
rowspan="2"	2011	Jumping the Broom'' ||	Sebastian	Support Role
''Wolf Boy''	''2120''

;Television

''Oh Drama!'' ''The Hughleys'' ''Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration'' ''Raising Dad'' ''American Music Awards of 2002 ''Proud Family'' ''One on One (TV series) ''Static Shock'' ''All Grown Up!'' ''Romeo!'' ''Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide ''Out of Jimmy's Head ''The Defenders (2010 TV series) ''The Bad Girls Club (season 6) ''Dancing with the Stars (U.S. season 12) ''The Cape ''Reed Between the Lines'' ''Charlie's Angels (2011 TV series)

Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
2001	''The Brothers García''	Ty
2001	|	Musical Guest	Television special
2001	|	Himself
2001	|	Himself
2002	|	Marvin
2002	The 29th Annual American Music Awards'' ||	Himself
2002	|	Himself	"A Hero For Halloween" (episode 24, season 1)
2003	One on One'' ||	Eric	"Spy Games"
2003	|	Himself	Recorded the final theme song for the series.
2003	|	Lil Q	"It's Cupid, Stupid" (episode 8, season 1)
2003–2006	|	Romeo "Ro" Miller	Main Role/Starring as ''Romeo''.
2005	|	Rapping teacher	"Guide to: Emergency Drills and Late Bus" (episode 21, season 2)
2008	|	Himself	"Lunch Tables" (episode 13, season 1)
2010	The Defenders ||	Killa Diz	"The Defenders – Nevada v. Killa Diz"
2011	The Bad Girls Club: Season 6'' ||	Himself	Guest appearance on the reality show (episode 10)
2011	Dancing With the Stars: Season 12 '' ||	Contestant	Romeo was originally supposed to be competing in season 2 but due to a injury he was unable & his dad Master P filled in for him
2011	|	Gangster	Season 1, Episode 9 – "Razer".
2011	|	Darius	Season 1, Episode 5 – "Let's Talk About Competition"
2011	Charlie's Angels'' ||	Royal's son	Season 1, EpisRode 7 – "Royal Angels"

Felipe Solis is schedule to appear in Romeo's new reality show Romeo & Juliet

Awards and nominations

Billboard Music Awards

*2001, Rap Artist of the Year (Winner)

*2001, Music Videos: ''My Baby'' (Winner)

*2002, R&B;/Hip-Hop: ''My Baby'' (Winner)

Kids Choice Awards

*2004, Favorite Television Actor – Male for: ''Romeo!'' (Nominated)

*2005, Favorite Television Actor – Male for: ''Romeo!'' (Winner)

*2006, Favorite Television Actor – Male for: ''Romeo!'' (Nominated)

Teen Choice Awards

*2004, Choice Breakout Movie Star – Male for: ''Honey'' (Nominated)

Black Reel Awards

*2004, Choice Breakout Movie Star – Male for: ''Honey'' (Nominated)

Young Artist Awards

*2005, Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Leading Young Actor: Romeo! (Nominated)

NAMIC Vision Awards

*2005, Best Comedic Performance: ''Romeo!'' (Nominated)

Image Awards

*2005, Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Program – Series or Special: ''Romeo!'' (Nominated)

References

External links

Official website

USC Athletics Player Biography: No. 15 Percy Miller

Photos from Shrink-A-Bulls

Category:1989 births Category:Living people Category:African American basketball players Category:African-American businesspeople Category:African-American fashion designers Category:African American film actors Category:African American child actors Category:African American models Category:African American rappers Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American film actors Category:American male models Category:American voice actors Category:Businesspeople in fashion Category:E1 Music artists Category:No Limit Records artists Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Beverly Hills, California Category:People from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Rappers from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Rappers from Los Angeles, California Category:University of Southern California alumni Category:USC Trojans men's basketball players

da:Romeo Miller de:Romeo (Rapper) es:Lil' Romeo fr:Lil' Romeo it:Lil' Romeo no:Romeo Miller pl:Lil' Romeo pt:Romeo Miller fi:Romeo (rap-artisti) sv:Romeo (artist) th:โรมีโอ มิลเลอร์ tr:Lil’Romeo

name	Bill Conti
background	non_performing_personnel
born	April 13, 1942Providence, Rhode Island, USA
genre	Film score Disco
occupation	Composer, Conductor
years active	1969–present
website	}}

William "Bill" Conti (born April 13, 1942) is an American film music composer who is frequently the conductor at the Academy Awards ceremony.

Early life and career

Conti, an Italian American, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the son of Lucetta and William Conti. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University, and also studied at the Juilliard School of Music. He is a past winner of the Silver Knight Award presented by the Miami Herald.

''Rocky'' series

His big break into celebrity came in 1976, when he was hired to compose the music for a small United Artists film called ''Rocky''. The film became a phenomenon, and Conti's training montage tune, "Gonna Fly Now" topped the Billboard singles chart in 1977. He also composed music for the sequels ''Rocky II'' (1979), ''Rocky III'' (1982), ''Rocky V'' (1990) and ''Rocky Balboa'' (2006).

Other film and television credits

Conti also worked for some other films and, eventually, for television series. In 1981, he wrote the music for the James Bond film, ''For Your Eyes Only'', when John Barry was unwilling to return to the United Kingdom for tax reasons, and provided the score for playwright Jason Miller's film version of his Pulitzer Prize winning play ''That Championship Season'' the following year.

In 1983, he composed the score for HBO's first film, ''The Terry Fox Story''. Conti composed music for the films ''Bad Boys'' and ''Mass Appeal''. Then in 1984, he received an Academy Award for composing the score to 1983's ''The Right Stuff'' followed by composing music for the TV series ''North and South'' in 1985. He also composed the score for ''The Karate Kid'' as well as the ''Masters of the Universe'' live action movie. Another Conti score was the 1987 film ''Happy New Year''.

In 1991, he composed the score for ''Necessary Roughness'', a college football movie starring Scott Bakula, Sinbad and Héctor Elizondo. In 1993, he composed and wrote the music for ''The Adventures of Huck Finn'' starring Elijah Wood and directed by Stephen Sommers. In 1999, he composed the score for ''The Thomas Crown Affair'' remake, starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo; in the same year he composed the original music of ''Inferno'', starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and co-starring late actor Pat Morita from another Conti scored movie, ''The Karate Kid''.

He also composed the classic themes to television's ''Dynasty'' (as well as doing the score for the three hour pilot, and episode after that), ''The Colbys'', ''Falcon Crest'' and its pilot score, ''Cagney & Lacey'', and ''The Lifestyles of The Rich And Famous''. Conti also composed the theme song to the original version of ''American Gladiators'', worked with CBS on the movie jingle, composed one of the early themes to ''Inside Edition'', and wrote the theme to ''Primetime Live'' for ABC News. In addition he composed the score to the studio altered American version of Luc Besson's ''The Big Blue''.

Awards and nominations

Bill Conti has received many award nominations for his work. He received a Best Song nomination for "Gonna Fly Now." He won an Oscar for the largely symphonic score for ''The Right Stuff.'' On April 22, 2008 before a packed house at the LSU Union Theatre at Louisiana State University, Bill Conti was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

Discography

''Rocky OST'' (1976)

''Gloria OST'' (1980)

''For Your Eyes Only (soundtrack)'' (1981)

''The Karate Kid OST'' (1984)

''North and South / The Right Stuff'' (1985)

''Falcon Crest (TeeVee Tunes Soundtrack)'' (1992)

''Dynasty (TeeVee Tunes Soundtrack)'' (1992)

''8 Seconds (soundtrack)'' (1994)

''Inferno (soundtrack)'' (1999)

''North and South'' (2008)

''North and South, Book II'' (2008)

References

External links

Interview

Category:1942 births Category:American composers Category:American film score composers Category:Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American television composers Category:Living people Category:Louisiana State University alumni Category:People from Providence, Rhode Island Category:Rocky music

de:Bill Conti es:Bill Conti fr:Bill Conti id:Bill Conti it:Bill Conti ja:ビル・コンティ pl:Bill Conti pt:Bill Conti fi:Bill Conti sv:Bill Conti

name	Clive Merrison
birth date	September 15, 1945
birth place	Tenby, Wales
occupation	Actor }}

Clive Merrison (born 15 September 1945, Tenby, Wales) is a Welsh actor of film, television, stage and radio. He trained at Rose Bruford College.

Television

He has made numerous television appearances. He appeared as Boris the White Russian commander in the series ''Reilly: Ace of Spies'' (1983) starring Sam Neill as Reilly. He has twice appeared in supporting roles in ''Doctor Who'', in ''The Tomb of the Cybermen'' (1967) and ''Paradise Towers'' (1987). He has also appeared in ''Drop the Dead Donkey'', ''The Kit Curran Radio Show'', ''Yes, Prime Minister'', ''Foyle's War'', ''Time Riders'', ''The Bill'', ''Mortimer's Law'', ''Midsomer Murders'', ''Bergerac'', ''The Labours of Erica'', ''The Tomorrow People'' and in the 2010 ''Peep Show'' Christmas special. He has also done voice work as a guest appearance in the children's animated series ''Testament: The Bible in Animation'' and ''Shakespeare: The Animated Tales''.

Stage

He has been a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and performed with the company at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-on-Avon.

Film

Merrison played the onscreen father of Kate Winslet in the 1994 movie ''Heavenly Creatures'', directed by Peter Jackson and he played the traditionalist headmaster in Alan Bennett's ''The History Boys'', filmed in 2006. He also appeared in the 1982 Clint Eastwood vehicle ''Firefox'', ''An Awfully Big Adventure'' and played the lawyer in Saving Grace.

Sherlock Holmes on radio

From 5 November 1989 to 5 July 1998 he played the lead role of Sherlock Holmes on radio, with Michael Williams as Dr. Watson. Later, with Andrew Sachs as Watson, Merrison continued to play Holmes in the Bert Coules-scripted pastiche series ''The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'', the first series of which was broadcast in 2002, the second in 2004, the third in 2008-9 and the fourth in 2010. He is the only actor to have played Holmes in adaptations of every single Conan Doyle short story and novel about the character.

External links

Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:Welsh radio actors Category:Welsh television actors Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members Category:Alumni of Rose Bruford College

la:Clive Merrison ja:クライヴ・メリソン

Osvaldo César Ardiles (born 3 August 1952 in Bell Ville, Córdoba Province), often referred to in Britain as Ossie Ardiles, is a football coach, pundit and former midfielder who won the 1978 World Cup as part of the Argentine national team. He now runs his own soccer school in the UK called the Ossie Ardiles' Soccer School.

A competitive and skilled midfielder, Ardiles became a cult hero in England, along with Glenn Hoddle and compatriot Ricardo Villa, as a player for Tottenham Hotspur. He left England for a period as a result of the outbreak of the Falklands War in 1982, thus missing most of the 1982–83 season.

As manager of Tottenham in the mid-1990s, he played several matches utilizing a formation that had five forwards, a formation that hadn't been used in English football since the 1950s.

In Ireland he has been a pundit for RTÉ Sport.

He now runs a popular soccer school in the UK called the Ossie Ardiles' Soccer School. The soccer school is unique in that its coaches are ex-professional footballers. Most of the coaches are Ossie's friends from his playing days.

Playing career

As a youngster, Ardiles played football in the streets and was given the nickname ''Pitón'' (python) by his brother because of his snake-like dribbling skills. He began his professional career in Argentina with Instituto de Córdoba, playing also for Club Atlético Belgrano and Huracán. After the 1978 World Cup he moved to England to play for Tottenham where he spent four seasons.

He helped Tottenham win the FA Cup in his third season there (1980-81), and collaborated with pop duo Chas and Dave as well as the rest of the Tottenham players for a song, "Ossie's Dream". He played a big part in another FA Cup triumph the following year, but did not play in the final because it had already been arranged with the Spurs management that he would leave early to join up with Argentina's 1982 World Cup squad.

In the wake of the Falklands War between Britain and Argentina it became hard for him to return to White Hart Lane and he went on loan to Paris Saint Germain in France. After just one season in Paris, he returned to Tottenham, helping the club to win the UEFA Cup in 1984 (coming on as a substitute in the second leg of the final). In the autumn of 1987, he was caretaker manager of Tottenham between the resignation of David Pleat and the appointment of Terry Venables. He left Spurs in 1988.

He then played for Blackburn Rovers, Queens Park Rangers F.C. and Swindon Town F.C., before being appointed as manager of Swindon Town in July 1989. He played part of the 1989 American Soccer League season with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

On 7 February 2008 Ossie Ardiles, along with his fellow countryman Ricky Villa, was inducted into the Tottenham Hotspur Hall of Fame.

Management career

In July 1989, Ardiles moved into football management with second division Swindon Town when Lou Macari resigned to join West Ham in July 1989. He wowed fans by replacing the long ball style which had been so successful with a new "Samba style", which saw the Town playing attacking football. Part of this change was the new "diamond formation" which Ardiles implemented: a 4-4-2 style with left-sided, right-sided, attacking and defensive midfielders.

Ten months after he had joined, Ardiles led Swindon to their highest ever league position, finishing fourth in the second division. After beating Blackburn in the first leg of the play-off semi-final, the fans paid tribute with a tickertape reception in the second leg. Swindon went on to win promotion to the top flight for the first time in their history—beating Sunderland in the Play-Off Final—only to have the promotion taken from them ten days later, when the Football League demoted them for irregular payments to players.

The following season, Ardiles was told to sell to keep the club alive and Wembley hero Alan McLoughlin was the first big-money departure. With Swindon rocked by their pre-season troubles, their form deserted them. By the end of February, relegation threatened, and when Newcastle offered Ardiles the chance to become their new boss, he accepted, becoming the club's first foreign manager. But his time on Tyneside was not a success and he lasted 12 months in the job before being sacked, with the Magpies bottom of the second division, though they achieved safety under his successor Kevin Keegan.

In June 1992 Ardiles replaced Bobby Gould as manager of West Bromwich Albion, who had just missed out on the third division playoffs in 1991–92. At the end of the 1992–93 season, Ardiles guided Albion to victory over Port Vale in the Division Two playoff final. Shortly afterwards he walked out of the Hawthorns to return his former club Tottenham as manager, but his management spell was nowhere near as successful as his spell as a player. Tottenham finished 15th in the Premiership and despite the expensive acquisition of Jürgen Klinsmann, Ilie Dumitrescu and Gheorghe Popescu in the 1994 close season, Ardiles was sacked in October 1994 with Tottenham languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League. They had just been punished for financial irregularities committed during the late 1980s: with a 1-year FA Cup ban, £600,000 fine and 12 league points deducted. The punishment was later amended to a £1.5million fine and six points deducted but the FA Cup ban and points deduction were later quashed.

Ardiles became coach of Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos in January 2000, but was sacked in June 2001 following a poor start to the season. From 2003 to 2005 he coached Tokyo Verdy 1969, with whom he won the 2004 Emperor's Cup. But in July 2005 he was fired after a nine game winless streak. In mid-2006 he moved to Israel to coach Beitar Jerusalem FC, from which he quit after only a few months in charge on October 18, 2006 due to severe differences of opinion with the club's board of directors. After a small break he was appointed Club Atlético Huracán manager in his native Argentina in September 2007, he steered the club to 7th in the table before resigning at the end of the Apertura 2007.

He joined Paraguayan club Cerro Porteño in May 2008 but was sacked in August of the same year after a string of poor results and was replaced by Pedro Troglio

Ossie Ardiles' Soccer School

In 2010 Ossie Ardiles launched the Ossie Ardiles' Soccer School. The soccer school's motto is "Play the Ossie Way". Most of the coaches are ex-professional footballers who are friends of Ossie Ardiles, for example Micky Hazard. This is unique for a soccer school as most do not have coaches who have played at the highest level of football. In addition the replica FA Cup is at all the courses.

The soccer school is currently based in the south east but it is gradually expanding across the country. Currently the soccer school only runs holiday courses but again there are plans to introduce different types of course such as evening courses.

Media career

Ardiles was enlisted by RTÉ Sport for their squad of pundits ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Career chronology

1969–73: Instituto de Córdoba

1974: Club Atlético Belgrano

1975–78: Huracán

1978–82: Tottenham Hotspur F.C. (England)

1982–83: Paris Saint Germain (France)

1983–88: Tottenham Hotspur F.C. (England)

1988–89: Blackburn Rovers (England)

1989–91: Swindon Town F.C.(England) (as player manager)

1991–92: Newcastle United (England) (as manager)

1992–93: West Bromwich (England) (as manager, during their promotion from the Second Division)

1993–94: Tottenham Hotspur F.C. (as manager)

1995: Guadalajara (Mexico) (as manager)

1996–98: J-League team Shimizu S-Pulse (as manager, leading them to victory in the Nabisco Cup in 1996)

1999: Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

2000–01: J-League team Yokohama F. Marinos (as manager, leading the team to the J-League first-stage title)

2001: Al-Ittihad (Saudi Arabia) (as manager)

2002–03: Racing Club (Argentina)

2003–05: J-League team Tokyo Verdy 1969

2006–07: Beitar Jerusalem (Israel)

2007: Huracán (Argentina) (as manager)

2008: Cerro Porteño (Paraguay) (as manager)

Honours

He won 63 caps for Argentina's national team, including playing in the victorious World Cup winning squad of 1978.

He is the only Argentinian to be included in the Football League 100 Legends list.

Osvaldo Ardiles won the FA Cup in 1981 and 1982 and the UEFA Cup in 1984 with Tottenham Hotspur as a player.

Promoted Swindon Town to old Division One (now Premier League) in 1990 as manager although the team were relegated for financial irregularities.

Promoted West Bromwich Albion to Division One as manager in 1993.

Won Nabisco Cup with Shimizu S-Pulse as manager in 1996.

Won Tokai Cup with Shimizu S-Pulse as manager in 1996 and 1998.

Named J. League Manager of the Year in 1998.

Champion J-League First Stage with Yokohama F. Marinos in 2000 as manager.

Emperor's Cup Winner 2004–05 with Tokyo Verdy 1969 as manager.

Statistics

|- |1973||Instituto||Primera División||14||3|||||||||||||||| |- |1974||Belgrano||Primera División||16||2|||||||||||||||| |- |1975||rowspan="4"|Huracán||rowspan="4"|Primera División|||||||||||||||||||| |- |1976|||||||||||||||||||| |- |1977|||||||||||||||||||| |- |1978||||||||||||||||||||| |- |1978-79||rowspan="5"|Tottenham Hotspur||rowspan="5"|First Division||38||3|||||||||||||||| |- |1979-80||40||3|||||||||||||||| |- |1980-81||36||5|||||||||||||||| |- |1981-82||26||2|||||||||||||||| |- |1982-83||2||0|||||||||||||||| |- |1982-83||Paris Saint-Germain||Division 1||14||1|||||||||||||||| |- |1983-84||rowspan="5"|Tottenham Hotspur||rowspan="5"|First Division||9||0|||||||||||||||| |- |1984-85||11||2|||||||||||||||| |- |1985-86||23||1|||||||||||||||| |- |1986-87||25||0|||||||||||||||| |- |1987-88||28||0|||||||||||||||| |- |1987-88||Blackburn Rovers||Second Division||5||0|||||||||||||||| |- |1988-89||Queens Park Rangers||First Division||8||0|||||||||||||||| |- |1989-90||rowspan="2"|Swindon Town||rowspan="2"|Second Division||2||0|||||||||||||||| |- |1990-91||0||0|||||||||||||||| 143||16|||||||||||||||| 253||16|||||||||||||||| 14||1|||||||||||||||| 410||33|||||||||||||||| |}

|- |1973|||| |- |1974|||| |- |1975||8||4 |- |1976||9||1 |- |1977||11||0 |- |1978||12||2 |- |1979||1||0 |- |1980||0||0 |- |1981||2||0 |- |1982||8||1 |- !Total|||| |}

References

External links

Record at Sporting Heros

Record at Futbol Pasion

2006 Interview

Ossie Ardiles managerial statistics at soccerbase.com

Futbol Factory profile (Archived)

Sunday Times article 9 August, 2009

www.ossieardilessoccerschool.com

Category:American Soccer League (1988–1989) players Category:Argentine footballers Category:Argentina international footballers Category:Association football midfielders Category:Instituto footballers Category:Belgrano de Córdoba footballers Category:Fort Lauderdale Strikers (ASL/APSL) players Category:Huracán footballers Category:Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Category:Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players Category:Expatriate footballers in France Category:Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Category:Argentine football managers Category:Premier League managers Category:Newcastle United F.C. managers Category:Swindon Town F.C. managers Category:Tottenham Hotspur F.C. managers Category:West Bromwich Albion F.C. managers Category:Expatriate football managers in Japan Category:Shimizu S-Pulse managers Category:Yokohama F. Marinos managers Category:Tokyo Verdy 1969 managers Category:Beitar Jerusalem F.C. managers Category:Racing Club managers Category:Huracán managers Category:Cerro Porteño managers Category:The Football League players Category:FIFA World Cup-winning players Category:1978 FIFA World Cup players Category:1982 FIFA World Cup players Category:1975 Copa América players Category:People from Córdoba Province (Argentina) Category:1952 births Category:Living people Category:Argentine expatriate footballers Category:Primera División Argentina players Category:Ligue 1 players Category:National Soccer League (Australia) players Category:GNK Dinamo Zagreb managers Category:Expatriate football coaches in Croatia Category:English Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:Expatriate football managers in England Category:Expatriate football managers in Israel Category:Expatriate football managers in Mexico Category:Argentine expatriate sportspeople in France Category:Argentine expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom

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