''Sirocco'', ''scirocco'', , ''jugo'' or, rarely, ''siroc'' () is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and reaches hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe. It is known in North Africa by the Arabic word qibli or ghibli (قبلي i.e. "coming from the qibla".)

Origin of name

''Scirocco'' and ''Sirocco'' are Italian names from which its Greek name, "σιρόκος" (sirokos), is derived, while ''ghibli'' is its name in Libya. The name ''jugo'', , used in Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Macedonia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic comes from the Slavic word ''jug'', which means south. The origin of the Italian "scirocco" might be related to the Arabic شرقي ''sharqī'' 'eastern', for easterly wind. The sirocco reaching the south of France is much dryer than the ''marin'', which is a warm, humid wind also moving to the northwest. In the Canary Islands this oppressive, hot, dust bearing wind is called ''la calima''. The name of sirocco in the southeast of Spain is ''leveche'', and ''xaloc'' (pronounced "shaLOC") in Catalan. The ''leveche'' usually carries red Sahara dust and is associated with storms and heavy rain, the wind being very strong, lasting about 4 days. In Malta, it is known as ''xlokk''. In Levantine Arabic (Lebanon, Syria) a similar wind is referred to as شلوق ''shlūq''.

Development

It arises from a warm, dry, tropical airmass that is pulled northward by low-pressure cells moving eastward across the Mediterranean Sea, with the wind originating in the Arabian or Sahara deserts. The hotter, drier continental air mixes with the cooler, wetter air of the maritime cyclone, and the counter-clockwise circulation of the low propels the mixed air across the southern coasts of Europe.

Effects

The Sirocco causes dusty dry conditions along the northern coast of Africa, storms in the Mediterranean Sea, and cool wet weather in Europe. The Sirocco's duration may be as short as half a day or may last several days. Many people attribute health problems to the Sirocco either because of the heat and dust along the African coastal regions or because of the cool dampness in Europe. The dust within the Sirocco winds can cause abrasion in mechanical devices and penetrate buildings.

Sirocco winds with speeds of up to 100 kilometres per hour are most common during the autumn and the spring. They reach a peak in March and in November when it is very hot, with a maximum speed of about 100 km/h (55 knots).

Similar winds

Other prominent wind systems in the region are the ''bora/bura/burja'' (northwestern) and the ''llebeig/lebeccio/lebić'' (southwestern).

See also

Bora (wind)

Chergui

Etesian

Fremantle doctor

Gregale

Khamaseen

Levantades

Leste

Leveche

Marin (wind)

Mistral (wind)

Simoom

Southerly/Southerly buster

Sukhovey

References

External links

Names of Winds

Local Mediterranean winds

Category:Winds Category:Environment of the Mediterranean Category:Sahara Category:Climate of Africa Category:Climate of Europe Category:Climate of Greece Category:Environment of Libya Category:Arabic words and phrases

ar:شهيلي an:Saloc az:Sirokko bs:Jugo ca:Xaloc cs:Jugo co:Sciroccu da:Scirocco de:Scirocco et:Siroko es:Siroco eo:Ŝiroko fr:Sirocco hi:सिरोको hr:Jugo io:Siroko it:Scirocco ka:სიროკო kk:Сирокко lv:Siroko lt:Sirokas hu:Sirokkó (szél) mk:Југо (ветар) nl:Sirocco (wind) new:सिराँको ja:シロッコ no:Scirocco nn:Sjirokko pl:Sirocco pt:Siroco ru:Сирокко scn:Sciroccu (ventu) sl:Jugo sr:Југо (ветар) sh:Jugo (vjetar) fi:Sirocco sv:Sirocco tr:Sirokko uk:Сироко zh:西洛可风

name	Stephen Fry
birth name	Stephen John Fry
birth date	August 24, 1957
birth place	Hampstead, London, England
occupation	Actor, comedian, author, journalist, broadcaster, film director
nationality	British
years active	1981–present
partner	Daniel Cohen (1995–2010)
alma mater	Queens' College, Cambridge
parents	Alan John Fry Marianne Eve Fry (née Newman)
religion	None (atheist)
title	President of Mind (2011-present) Patron of the Lip Theatre Company Patron of the Norwich Playhouse theatre Vice President of The Noël Coward Society Honorary fellow of Queens' College, Cambridge Honorary fellow of Cardiff University Honorary president of the Cambridge University Quiz Society Rector of the University of Dundee (1992-1998)
influences	Oscar Wilde, P. G. Wodehouse, Evelyn Waugh, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson , Douglas Adams, Rowan Atkinson
website	http://www.stephenfry.com
signature	Stephen Fry signature.svg

Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and 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 & Laurie'', and the duo also played the title roles in ''Jeeves and Wooster''.

As a solo actor, Fry played the lead in the film ''Wilde'', was Melchett in the BBC television series ''Blackadder'', starred as the title character Peter Kingdom in the ITV series ''Kingdom'', and is the host of the quiz show ''QI''. He also presented a 2008 television series ''Stephen Fry in America'', which saw him travelling across all 50 U.S. states in six episodes. Fry has a recurring guest role as Dr. Gordon Wyatt on the Fox crime series ''Bones''.

Apart from his work in television, Fry has contributed columns and articles for newspapers and magazines, and has written four novels and two volumes of autobiography, ''Moab Is My Washpot'' and ''The Fry Chronicles''. He also appears frequently on BBC Radio 4, starring in the comedy series ''Absolute Power'', being a frequent guest on panel games such as ''Just a Minute'', and acting as chairman for ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'', where he was one of a trio of hosts who succeeded the late Humphrey Lyttelton. Fry is also known in the UK for his audiobook recordings, particularly as reader for all seven ''Harry Potter'' novels.

Early life

Fry was born in Hampstead, London, on 24 August 1957, the son of Marianne Eve Fry (née Newman) and Alan John Fry, who was an English physicist and inventor. His maternal grandparents, Martin and Rosa Neumann, were Hungarian Jewish immigrants from Šurany, which is now in Slovakia, and his mother's aunt and cousins died in Auschwitz. Fry grew up in the village of Booton near Reepham, Norfolk, having moved from Chesham, Buckinghamshire at a young age.

Fry briefly attended Cawston Primary School, Cawston, Norfolk, described later in his 1997 book ''Moab Is My Washpot'', before going on to Stouts Hill Preparatory School at the age of seven, and then to Uppingham School, Rutland, where he joined Fircroft house. He was expelled from Uppingham when he was 15, and subsequently from Paston School.

At 17, after leaving Norfolk College of Arts and Technology, Fry absconded with a credit card stolen from a family friend, was arrested in Swindon, and as a result spent three months in Pucklechurch Prison on remand.

Following his release he resumed education at City College Norwich, promising administrators that he would study rigorously to sit the Cambridge entrance exams. He passed well enough to gain a scholarship to Queens' College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, Fry joined the Cambridge Footlights, appeared on ''University Challenge'', and gained a degree in English literature. It was at the Footlights that Fry met his future comedy collaborator Hugh Laurie.

Career

Television

Fry's career in television began with the 1982 broadcasting of ''The Cellar Tapes'', the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue which was written by Fry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson and Tony Slattery. The revue caught the attention of Granada Television, who, keen to replicate the success of the BBC's ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'', hired Fry, Laurie and Thompson to star alongside Ben Elton in ''There's Nothing to Worry About!.'' A second series, re-titled ''Alfresco'', was broadcast in 1983 and a third in 1984; it established Fry and Laurie's reputation as a comedy double act. In 1983, the BBC offered them their own show, which became ''The Crystal Cube'', a mixture of science fiction and mockumentary that was axed after the first episode. Undeterred, Fry and Laurie appeared in an episode of ''The Young Ones'' in 1984, and Fry in Ben Elton's 1985 series, ''Happy Families''. In 1986 and 1987 Fry and Laurie also performed sketches on the LWT/Channel 4 show ''Saturday Live''.

Forgiving Fry and Laurie for ''The Crystal Cube'', the BBC commissioned a sketch show in 1986 that was to become ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie''. The programme ran for 26 episodes spanning four series between 1986 and 1995, and was very successful. During this time Fry starred in ''Blackadder II'' as Lord Melchett, made a guest appearance in ''Blackadder the Third'' as the Duke of Wellington, then returned to a starring role in ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' as General Melchett. In 1988, he became a regular contestant on the popular improvisational comedy radio show ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?''. However, when it moved to television, he only appeared three times: twice in the first series and once in the ninth.

Between 1990 and 1993, Fry starred as Jeeves (alongside Hugh Laurie's Bertie Wooster) in ''Jeeves and Wooster'', 23 hour-long adaptations of P.G. Wodehouse's novels and short stories.

In 1998 BBC Two aired a Malcolm Bradbury adaptation of the Mark Tavener 1989 novel, ''In the Red'' with Fry taking the part of the Controller of BBC Radio 2.

In 2000, Fry played the role of Professor Bellgrove in the BBC serial ''Gormenghast'' which was an adaptation of the first two novels of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast series.

In 2010 he filmed a cameo role in ''Ros na Rún'', an Irish language soap opera broadcast in Ireland, Scotland and the United States. Fry learned Irish for the role. He also came together with Laurie for a retrospective of their partnership titled ''Fry and Laurie Reunited''.

In 2010 Fry took part in a Christmas series of Short Films called 'Little Crackers'. Fry's short is based on a story from his childhood at school.

''QI''

In 2003, Fry began hosting the TV game show ''QI'' (Quite Interesting), a British comedy panel game television quiz show. ''QI'' was created and co-produced by John Lloyd, and features permanent panellist Alan Davies. ''QI'' has the highest viewing figures for any show on BBC Four and UKTV G2 (now Dave). In 2006, Fry won the Rose d'Or award for "Best Game Show Host" for his work on the series.

Other series

A foray into documentary-making has seen Fry fronting the Emmy Award-winning ''The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive'' in 2006, and in 2007 a documentary on the subject of HIV and AIDS, ''HIV and Me''. Also in 2006, he appeared in the genealogy series ''Who Do You Think You Are?'', tracing his family tree to discover his Jewish ancestry. His six-part travel series ''Stephen Fry in America'' began on BBC One on 12 October 2008. In May 2008, it was announced that a five-part companion series, ''More Fry in America'', had been commissioned for BBC Four; it was to feature in-depth essays excluded from the first series due to time constraints. No further information about the project has since been released.

Fry has also been involved in nature documentaries, having narrated ''Spectacled Bears: Shadow of the Forest'' for the BBC ''Natural World'' series in 2008. In the television series ''Last Chance to See'', Fry together with zoologist Mark Carwardine sought out endangered species, some of which were featured in Douglas Adams and Carwardine's 1990 book/radio series of the of the same name. The resulting programmes were broadcast in 2009.

From 2007 to 2009, Fry appeared in and was executive producer for the legal drama ''Kingdom'', which ran for three series on ITV1. He has also taken up a recurring guest role as psychiatrist Dr. Gordon Wyatt in the popular American drama ''Bones''.

On 7 May 2008, Fry gave a speech as part of a series of BBC lectures on the future of public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, which he later recorded for a podcast.

Fry narrates the English language version of the Spanish children's animated series ''Pocoyo''. Fry appeared on ''Room 101'' in 2001, in episode 10 of series 6.

Film

Having made his film debut in the 1985 film ''The Good Father'', Fry had a brief appearance in ''A Fish Called Wanda'' (in which he is knocked out by Kevin Kline, who is posing as an airport security man) and then appeared in the lead role for Kenneth Branagh's ''Peter's Friends'' in 1992. In the 1994 romantic comedy film ''I.Q.'', he played the role of James Moreland. Portraying Oscar Wilde (a man of whom he had been a fan since the age of 13) in the 1997 film ''Wilde'', he fulfilled to critical acclaim a role that he has said he was "born to play". A year later, Fry starred in David Yates' small independent film ''The Tichborne Claimant'', and in 2001 he played the detective in Robert Altman's period costume drama, ''Gosford Park''. In the same year he also appeared in the Dutch film ''The Discovery of Heaven'', directed by Jeroen Krabbé and based on the novel by Harry Mulisch.

In 2003, Fry made his directorial debut with ''Bright Young Things'', adapted by himself from Evelyn Waugh's ''Vile Bodies''. In 2001, he began hosting the BAFTA Film Awards, a role from which he stepped down in 2006. Later that same year, he wrote the English libretto and dialogue for Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of ''The Magic Flute''.

Fry continues to make regular film appearances, notably in treatments of literary cult classics. He portrayed Maurice Woodruff in ''The Life and Death of Peter Sellers'', served as narrator in the 2005 film version of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', and in 2005 he appeared in both ''A Cock and Bull Story'', based on ''Tristram Shandy'', and as a non-conforming TV Presenter who challenges the fascist state in ''V for Vendetta''. In 2006, he played the role of gadget-master Smithers in ''Stormbreaker'', and in 2007 he appeared as himself hosting a quiz in ''St Trinian's''. In 2007, Fry wrote a script for a remake of ''The Dam Busters'' for director Peter Jackson.

In 2008, he participated in a film celebrating the 25th anniversary of GNU, ''Happy Birthday to GNU''. Fry was offered a role in ''Valkyrie'' but was unable to participate. Fry starred in the Tim Burton version of ''Alice in Wonderland'', as the voice of The Cheshire Cat. He will play Mycroft Holmes in the sequel to ''Sherlock Holmes'' directed by Guy Ritchie. In 2010, Fry provided the voice of Socrates the Lion in the environmental animated film ''Animals United''. He will portray the Master of Lake-town in the 2012 film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Hobbit.''

Radio

Fry came to the attention of radio listeners with the 1986 creation of his supposed alter-ego, Donald Trefusis, whose "wireless essays" were broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Loose Ends''. In the 1980s he starred as David Lander in four series of the BBC Radio 4 show ''Delve Special'', written by Tony Sarchet, which became a six part Channel 4 series ''This is David Lander'' in 1988. In 1988, Fry wrote and presented a six-part comedy series entitled ''Saturday Night Fry''; frequent radio appearances have ensued (notably on panel games ''Just a Minute'' and ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue''). In 2000, he began starring as Charles Prentiss in the Radio 4 comedy ''Absolute Power'', reprising the role for three further series on radio and two on television. In 2002, Fry voiced Winnie-the-Pooh and was one of the narrators in ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' and ''The House at Pooh Corner'', both written by A.A Milne. He presented a weekly, 20 x 120-minute series, "The Incomplete and Utter History of Classical Music", a 'witty guide' to the genre over the past 1,000 years, on Classic FM.

In 2007, he hosted ''Current Puns'', an exploration of wordplay, and ''Radio 4: This Is Your Life'', to celebrate the radio station's 40th anniversary. He also interviewed Tony Blair as part of a series of podcasts released by 10 Downing Street.

In February 2008, Fry began presenting podcasts entitled ''Stephen Fry's Podgrams'', in which he recounts his life and recent experiences. In July 2008, Fry appeared as himself in ''I Love Stephen Fry'', an ''Afternoon Play'' for Radio 4 written by former ''Fry and Laurie'' script editor Jon Canter.

Since August 2008 he has presented ''Fry's English Delight'', a series on BBC Radio 4 about the English language. As of 2011, it has been running for four series and 15 episodes.

In the summer 2009 series of ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'', Fry was one of a trio of hosts replacing Humphrey Lyttelton (the others being Jack Dee and Rob Brydon).

He also lends his voice to the introduction and stings for Phill Jupitus' fortnightly podcast, ''The Perfect Ten''.

Theatre

Fry wrote a play entitled ''Latin! or Tobacco and Boys'' for the 1980 Edinburgh Festival, where it won the Fringe First prize. It had a revival in 2009 at London's Cock Tavern Theatre, directed by Adam Spreadbury-Maher. ''The Cellar Tapes'', the Footlights Revue of 1981, won the Perrier Comedy Award. In 1984, Fry adapted the hugely successful 1930s musical, ''Me and My Girl'', for the West End, where it ran for eight years. He was also cast in a lead role in Simon Gray's 1995 play, ''Cell Mates'', which he left three days into the West End run, pleading stage fright. He later recalled the incident as a hypomanic episode in his documentary on bipolar disorder. In 2007, Fry wrote a Christmas pantomime, ''Cinderella'', which ran at London's Old Vic Theatre. Fry is a long-time fan of the 1960s anarchic British musical comedy group, the ''Bonzo Dog Band'' and, particularly, of its eccentric front man, the late Vivian Stanshall. Fry helped to fund an ill-fated 1988 London re-staging of the Stanshall's acclaimed ''Stinkfoot, a Comic Opera'', written by Vivian and Ki Longfellow-Stanshall for the Bristol-based Old Profanity Showboat. Fry performed several of Stanshall's numbers as part of the Bonzo's 26 January 2006 reunion concert at the London Astoria. He also appears as a shiny New Millennium Bonzo on their post-reunion album, ''Pour l'Amour des Chiens'', including his reciting of a recipe for "Salmon Proust", playing a butler in "Hawkeye the Gnu", and voicing ads for the fictitious "Fiasco" stores.

Following three one-man shows in Australia, Fry announced a "sort of stand-up" performance at The Royal Albert Hall in London for September 2010.

Audio books

Stephen Fry has been the reader for the British versions of all of J.K.Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' series of audio books. He discussed this project in an interview with J.K. Rowling in 2005. Fry has also been the reader for Douglas Adams's ''The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy'' film tie-in edition. He has also made recordings of his own books, such as ''The Stars' Tennis Balls''; and works by Roald Dahl, Michael Bond, A. A. Milne, and Anthony Buckeridge.

Video games

Fry's distinctive voice has been featured in a number of video games, including an appearance as Reaver, a main character in Lionhead Studios games ''Fable II'' and ''Fable III'', and as the narrator in ''LittleBigPlanet'' and its sequel on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable. He also served as narrator on the first four ''Harry Potter'' games (''Philosopher's Stone'', ''Chamber of Secrets'', ''Prisoner of Azkaban'' and the ''Goblet of Fire'').

Advertisements

Fry has lent himself and his voice to many advertisements, starting with an appearance as "Count Ivan Skavinsky Skavar" in a 1982 advert for Whitbread Best Bitter. Fry has said in his memoirs that after receiving his payment for this work – £25,000 – he has never subsequently experienced "what one could call serious money troubles". He has since appeared in adverts for products such as Marks and Spencer, Twinings, Kenco, Vauxhall, Direct Line, Calpol, Heineken, Alliance & Leicester, After Eights, Trebor, Panama cigars and Orange Mobile.

Literature

Since the publication of his first novel, ''The Liar'' (1991), Fry has written three additional novels, several non-fiction works and two volumes of autobiography. ''Making History'' (1997) is partly set in an alternative universe where Adolf Hitler's father is made infertile and his replacement proves a rather more effective Führer. The book won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History. ''The Hippopotamus'' (1994) is about Edward (Ted/Tedward) Wallace and his stay at his old friend Lord Logan's country manor in Norfolk. ''The Stars' Tennis Balls'' (2000) is a modern retelling of ''The Count of Monte Cristo''. Fry's book, ''The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within'', is a guide to writing poetry.

When writing a book review for ''Tatler'', Fry wrote under a ''nom de plume'', Williver Hendry, editor of ''A Most Peculiar Friendship: The Correspondence of Lord Alfred Douglas and Jack Dempsey'', a field close to Fry's heart as an Oscar Wilde enthusiast. Once a columnist in ''The Listener'' and ''The Daily Telegraph'', he now writes a weekly technology column in the Saturday edition of ''The Guardian''. His blog attracted more than 300,000 visitors in its first two weeks of existence.

On 26 May 2009, Fry unveiled ''The Dongle of Donald Trefusis'', an audiobook series following the character Donald Trefusis (a character from Fry's novel ''The Liar'' and from the BBC Radio 4 series ''Loose Ends''), set over 12 episodes. After its release, it reached No. 1 on the UK Album Chart list.

On 2 January 2010 it was announced that Fry was "switching off his connections with the outside world" in order to complete a second volume of his autobiography.

Fry's use of the word "luvvie" in ''The Guardian'' on 2 April 1988 is given by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as the earliest recorded use of the word.

Football

On 13 August 2010, Fry joined the Board of Directors at Norwich City Football Club. A lifelong fan of "the Canaries" and regular visitor to Carrow Road, he said on being appointed "Truly this is one of the most exciting days of my life and I am as proud and pleased as I could be."

Twitter

Fry wields a considerable amount of influence through his use of the social networking site Twitter. He is frequently asked to promote various charities and causes, often inadvertently causing their websites to crash because of the sheer volume of traffic generated by his large number of followers, as Fry notes on his website: "Four thousand hits a second all diving down the pipeline at the same time for minutes on end." Fry uses his influence to recommend underexposed musicians and authors (which often see large increases in web hits and sales) and to spread contemporary issues in the world of media and politics, notably the dropping of an injunction against ''The Guardian'' and the lambasting of ''Daily Mail'' columnist Jan Moir over her article on deceased Boyzone member Stephen Gately.

In October 2009 Fry sparked debate amongst users again when he announced an intention to leave the social networking site after criticism from another user on Twitter. He retracted the intention the next day. In October 2010, Fry left Twitter for a few days following press criticism of a quote taken from an interview he had given, with a farewell message of "Bye bye". After returning, Fry explained that he had left Twitter to "avoid being sympathised with or told about an article I would otherwise never have got wind of".

In November 2009 Fry's Twitter account reached 1,000,000 followers. He commemorated the million followers milestone with a humorous video blog in which a 'Step Hen Fry' clone speaks from the year 2034 where MySpace, Facebook and Twitter have combined to form 'Twit on MyFace'.

In November 2010 Fry achieved 2,000,000 followers on Twitter. He welcomed his 2 millionth follower, mobijack, with a blog entry describing Fry's view of the pros and cons of this form of communication.

Acclaim

In 1995, Fry was presented with an honorary doctorate from the University of Dundee, which named their main Students' Association bar after his novel ''The Liar''. Fry is a patron of its Lip Theatre Company. He also served two consecutive terms—1992 to 1995 and 1995 to 1998—as the student-elected Rector of the University of Dundee. Fry is considered to have been one of the most popular rectors the University has had, and was noted for his work to promote the University and his efforts to represent its students on the University Court. Such was his popularity was unoppossed when he sought re-election to office in 1995, and by the time he completed his second term in office he had won the widespread admiration of the University's staff and students. He was awarded the AoC Gold Award in 2004, and was entered into their hall of fame. Fry was also awarded an honorary degree from Anglia Ruskin University of Cambridge, England in 2005. and was also made honorary president of the Cambridge University Quiz Society and honorary fellow of Queens' College, Cambridge. He is a Patron of the Norwich Playhouse theatre and a Vice President of The Noël Coward Society. Fry was the last person to be named Pipe Smoker of the Year before the award was discontinued. On 13 July 2010, he was made an honorary fellow of Cardiff University and on 28 January 2011 he was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Sussex for his work campaigning for people suffering from mental health problems, bipolar disorder and HIV.

In December 2006 he was ranked sixth for the BBC's Top Living Icon Award, was featured on ''The Culture Show'', and was voted ''Most Intelligent Man on Television'' by readers of ''Radio Times''. The ''Independent on Sunday'' Pink List named Fry the second most influential gay person in Britain in May 2007. He had taken the twenty-third position on the list the previous year. Later the same month he was announced as the 2007 ''Mind Champion of the Year'' That same year, ''Broadcast'' magazine listed Fry at number four in its "Hot 100" list of influential on-screen performers, describing him as a polymath and a "national treasure". He was also granted a lifetime achievement award at the British Comedy Awards on 5 December 2007 and the Special Recognition Award at the National Television Awards on 20 January 2010.

BBC Four dedicated two nights of programming to Fry on 17 and 18 August 2007, in celebration of his 50th birthday. The first night, comprising programs featuring Fry, began with a sixty-minute documentary entitled ''Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out''. The second night was composed of programs selected by Fry, as well as a 60-minute interview with Mark Lawson and a half-hour special, ''Stephen Fry: Guilty''. The weekend programming proved such a ratings hit for BBC Four that it was repeated on BBC Two on the 16th and 17 September 2007.

In 2011, he was the subject of Molly Lewis' song ''An Open Letter to Stephen Fry'', in which the singer jokingly offers herself to be the surrogate mother for his child. In February 2011, Fry was awarded the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism by the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University, the Harvard Secular Society and the American Humanist Association.

Views on religion

Fry has repeatedly expressed opposition to organised religion and has identified himself as an atheist, while declaring some sympathy for the ancient Greek belief in capricious gods. In his first autobiography he wrote, "I knew I couldn't believe in God, because I was fundamentally Hellenic in my outlook." He has accepted that religion can have positive effects, "Sometimes belief means credulity, sometimes an expression of faith and hope which even the most sceptical atheist such as myself cannot but find inspiring." In 2009 he and Christopher Hitchens participated in an "Intelligence Squared" debate in which they argued against Ann Widdecombe and Archbishop John Onaiyekan, who supported the view that the Catholic Church was a force for good. Fry and Hitchens argued that the church did more harm than good. Fry attacked the Catholic Church's teachings on sexuality and denounced its wealth.

On 15 September 2010, Fry, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in ''The Guardian'', stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United Kingdom being a state visit.

On 22 February 2011, Fry was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism by the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University, joining a list of previous honorees including novelist Salman Rushdie, screenwriter Joss Whedon, and Mythbusters Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman.

Personal life

Fry struggled to keep his homosexuality secret during his teenage years at public school, and has claimed not to have engaged in sexual activity for 16 years from 1979 until 1995. When asked when he first acknowledged his sexuality, Fry quipped: "I suppose it all began when I came out of the womb. I looked back up at my mother and thought to myself, 'That's the last time I'm going up one of those.'" Fry was in a 14-year relationship with Daniel Cohen, which ended in 2010. Stephen Fry has stated that he is 90% homosexual, but has been attracted to women on occasion.

Fry has a home in London and another in Hollywood. He also has a home near King's Lynn, Norfolk. When in London, Fry drives a black TX4 London cab.

Fry was an active supporter of the Labour Party for many years, and appeared in a party political broadcast on its behalf with Hugh Laurie and Michelle Collins in November 1993. Despite this, he did not vote in the 2005 General Election because of the stance of both the Labour and Conservative parties with regard to the Iraq War. Despite his praising of the Blair/Brown government for social reform, Fry has been critical of the Labour Party's "Third Way" concept. Fry appeared in literature to support changing the British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote for electing Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the Alternative Vote referendum in 2011.

He is on cordial terms with Prince Charles (despite a mild parody Fry performed in his role of King Charles I in the comedy programme ''Blackadder: The Cavalier Years''), through his work with the Prince's Trust. He attended the wedding of the Prince of Wales to Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005.

Fry is a friend of British comedian and actor (and ''Blackadder'' co-star) Rowan Atkinson and was best man at Atkinson's wedding to Sunetra Sastry at the Russian Tea Room in New York City. Fry was a friend of British actor John Mills.

His best friend is Hugh Laurie, whom he met while both were at Cambridge and with whom he has collaborated many times over the years. He was best man at Laurie's wedding and is godfather to all three of his children.

A fan of cricket, Fry has claimed to be related to former England cricketer C.B. Fry, and was recently interviewed for the ''Ashes Fever'' DVD, reporting on England's victory over Australia in the 2005 Ashes series. Regarding football, he is a supporter of Norwich City (as mentioned in ''Ashes Fever''), and is a regular visitor to Carrow Road. Fry's sister, Jo Crocker, was assistant director on ''Bright Young Things''.

He has been described as "deeply dippy for all things digital", claims to have bought the third Macintosh computer sold in the UK (his friend Douglas Adams bought the first two) and jokes that he has never encountered a smartphone that he has not bought. He counts Wikipedia among his favourite websites "because I like to find out that I died, and that I'm currently in a ballet in China, and all the other very accurate and important things that Wikipedia brings us all."

Fry has a long interest in Internet production, including his own website since 1997. His current site, ''The New Adventures of Mr Stephen Fry'', has existed since 2002 and has attracted many visitors following his first blog in September 2007, which comprised a 6,500 word "blessay" on smartphones. In February 2008, Fry launched his private podcast series, ''Stephen Fry's Podgrams'', and a forum, including discussions on depression and activities in which Fry is involved. The website content is created by Stephen Fry and produced by Andrew Sampson. Fry is also a supporter of GNU and the Free Software Foundation. For the 25th anniversary of the GNU operating system, Fry appeared in a video explaining some of the philosophy behind GNU by likening it to the sharing found in science. In October 2008, he began posting to his Twitter stream, which he regularly updates. On 16 May 2009, he celebrated the 500,000-follower mark: "Bless my soul 500k followers. And I love you all. Well, all except that silly one. And that's not you."

On 30 April 2008, Fry signed an open letter, published in ''The Guardian'' newspaper by some well known Jewish personalities, stating their opposition to celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. Furthermore, he is a signatory member of the British Jews for Justice for Palestinians organisation, which campaigns for Palestinian rights.

A year later, ''The Guardian'' published a letter from Fry addressing his younger self, explaining how his future is soon to unfold, reflecting on the positive progression towards gay acceptance and openness around him, and yet not everywhere, while warning on how "the cruel, hypocritical and loveless hand of religion and absolutism has fallen on the world once more".

Fry was among over 100 signatories to a statement published by Sense About Science on 4 June 2009, condemning British libel laws and their use to "severely curtail the right to free speech on a matter of public interest."

In February 2010, he was made a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association, stating: "it is essential to nail one’s colours to the mast as a humanist."

Poland controversy

On 6 October 2009, Fry was interviewed by Jon Snow on ''Channel 4 News'' as a signatory of a letter to British Conservative Party leader David Cameron expressing concern about the party's relationship with Poland's opposition national conservative Law and Justice party in the European Parliament. During the interview, he stated: The remark prompted a complaint from the Polish Embassy in London, an editorial in ''The Economist'' and criticism from British Jewish historian David Cesarani. Fry has since posted an apology in a six-page post on his personal blog, in which he stated:{{bquote|I offer no excuse. I seemed to imply that the Polish people had been responsible for the most infamous of all the death factories of the Third Reich. I didn't even really at the time notice the import of what I had said, so gave myself no opportunity instantly to retract the statement. It was a rubbishy, cheap and offensive remark that I have been regretting ever since.

I take this opportunity to apologise now. I said a stupid, thoughtless and fatuous thing. It detracted from and devalued my argument, such as it was, and it outraged and offended a large group of people for no very good reason. I am sorry in all directions, and all the more sorry because it is no one's fault but my own, which always makes it so much worse.}}

Atomic bombing survivor controversy

On an episode of the BBC comedy quiz program ''QI'', Fry brought up and other guests joked about the fate of Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who survived both atomic bombings of Japan, whom Fry termed "the unluckiest man in the world". As a result of this broadcast there was considerable criticism in Japan, the BBC made an apology, and Fry cancelled a trip to Japan.

Health

Fry has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, specifically stating he suffers from Cyclothymia, referring to it as "bipolar lite". He suffered a nervous breakdown in 1995 while appearing in a West End play called ''Cell Mates'' and subsequently walked out of the production, prompting its early closure and incurring the displeasure of co-star Rik Mayall and playwright Simon Gray. Mayall's comedy partner, Adrian Edmondson, made light of the subject in his and Mayall's second ''Bottom'' live show. After walking out of the production, Fry went missing for several days while contemplating suicide. He abandoned the idea and left the United Kingdom by ferry, eventually resurfacing in Belgium.

Fry has spoken publicly about his experience with bipolar disorder, which was also depicted in the documentary ''Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive''. In the programme, he interviewed other sufferers of the illness including Carrie Fisher, Richard Dreyfuss and Tony Slattery. Also featured were chef Rick Stein, whose father committed suicide, Robbie Williams, who talks of his experience with major depression, and comedienne/former mental health nurse Jo Brand. He is also involved with the mental health charity Stand to Reason.

In 2009, Fry lent his support to a campaign led by the human rights organisation Reprieve to prevent the execution of Akmal Shaikh, a British national who suffered from bipolar disorder, yet, despite calls for clemency, was executed in the People's Republic of China for drug trafficking.

In January 2008, he broke his arm while filming ''Last Chance to See'' in Brazil. He later explained in a podcast how the accident happened: while climbing aboard a boat, he slipped between it and the dock, and, while stopping himself from falling into the water, his body weight caused his right humerus to snap. The damage was more severe than first thought: the resulting vulnerability to his radial nerve—he was at risk of losing the use of his arm—was not diagnosed until he saw a consultant in the UK.

As the host of ''QI'', Fry has revealed that he is allergic to both champagne and bumble bee stings.

Appearing on ''Top Gear'' in 2009, Fry had lost a significant amount of weight, prompting host Jeremy Clarkson to ask jokingly, "Where's the rest of you?" Fry explained that he had shed a total of , attributing the weight loss to doing a lot of walking while listening to downloaded Audiobooks.

Fry is to , in height.

Business

In 2008, Fry formed SamFry Ltd, with long-term collaborator Andrew Sampson, to produce and fund new content, as well as manage his official website.

Bibliography

References

External links

Five Minutes With: Stephen Fry, interview with Matthew Stadlen for the BBC

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bg:Стивън Фрай ca:Stephen Fry cs:Stephen Fry cy:Stephen Fry da:Stephen Fry de:Stephen Fry el:Στίβεν Φράι es:Stephen Fry eu:Stephen Fry fr:Stephen Fry ga:Stephen Fry ko:스티븐 프라이 hr:Stephen Fry id:Stephen Fry is:Stephen Fry it:Stephen Fry he:סטיבן פריי la:Stephanus Fry hu:Stephen Fry nl:Stephen Fry ja:スティーヴン・フライ no:Stephen Fry pl:Stephen Fry pt:Stephen Fry ru:Фрай, Стивен simple:Stephen Fry sh:Stephen Fry fi:Stephen Fry sv:Stephen Fry uk:Стівен Фрай zh:史蒂芬·弗莱

name	Hernán Cattáneo
background	non_performing_personnel
origin	Buenos Aires, Argentina
genre	Progressive House, Deep House, Funky House, Tribal House, Minimal House, Tech House, Electro House, House, Breaks, Techno
occupation	DJ / Producer
years active	1983–present
website	www.hernancattaneo.com
notable instruments	}}

Hernán Cattáneo is an Argentine house DJ.

Biography

Hernán Cattáneo was born in Buenos Aires, where he grew up listening to bands like Simply Red, Level 42, Depeche Mode and New Order while carefully studying Billboard magazine, the only source of information that was readily available at the time. In 1987, one of his friends visited New York and returned with some vinyl records. These records were Hernán’s first exposure to Chicago House. During that period, Frankie Knuckles, who had a huge influence on Hernán and his career, broke into the scene and quickly became an icon of the house genre. The way Frankie Knuckles and artists like Inner City and Derrick May brought together the energy of European electronic music with the soul of North American music left an impact on Hernán and set the foundations for his career.

Career

Hernán became a DJ after being inspired by a collection of Chicago house records brought back from the United States by a friend, featuring artists such as Frankie Knuckles and Inner City. This music played a role in the music he now plays. Hernán describes the music he plays as deep, progressive, funky and tribal house.

In 1996, he won the residency at Clubland Pacha in Buenos Aires. His performances were a great success and led to Cattáneo being invited to DJ at clubs around the Americas. Clubland eventually attracted big-name DJs, such as Sasha, John Digweed, Dave Seaman and Paul Oakenfold who played alongside Hernán. Oakenfold was impressed and signed Hernán Cattáneo to his Perfecto Records label and they toured together in Europe and the United States from 1997 to 1999.

By 2000, Cattáneo was becoming a major name on the world club circuit. Underground releases entitled Clubland Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 created an underground buzz. Also, Ministry magazine released one of his mixes called ''Funky, Deep & Tribal'' in 2001. In 2002 he produced the international hit "Deep Funk", released his first mix compilation entitled "Perfecto Presents South America" on Paul Oakenfold's label, and won the "Best Newcomer DJ" at the Pacha Ibiza Awards. Since releasing his first compilation, he has played about 120 shows a year on every continent around the world.

As a DJ with an ever increasing fanbase, he rose to #22 and then to #6 on the DJ Mag poll of the Top 100 DJs. In addition to appearing repeatedly on John Digweed's Kiss 100 Show, Hernán started a weekly residency show in London which also enjoys great success. Entitled Sequential (like two of his mix compilations) it has been broadcast on Metrodance 95.1 FM every Saturday since 2002. In early 2004, he followed up his first mix compilation with the Renaissance Master's Series Volume One, after which he toured extensively promoting the album on the Renaissance Master's Tour. In early 2005, Hernán released the Renaissance Master's Series Volume 2.

Cattáneo is a major supporter of other Argentinian producers and DJs who have been influenced and inspired by him, including Oliverio, Manuel Sofia, Deep Mariano, Martín García, Juan Deminicis, Pablo Acenso, Yamil Colucci among others. 2005 included a major production release by the name of Warsaw (on John Digweed's Bedrock Records), remixing work on numerous tracks with John Tonks as well as extensive worldwide touring. His fourth compilation and his third for the Renaissance imprint, entitled Sequential, was released in April 2006 to positive reviews. As with previous compilation albums, Cattáneo embarked on the Sequential world tour. In May 2007 he released Sequential Volume 2, which was once again followed by another worldwide tour to promote the compilation.

On 1 May 2008, Metrodance 95.1 FM, which had been airing Cattáneo's Sequential show for approximately six years, dropped the program based on the decision of new ownership to change the musical direction of the station. No new outlet for the show has been set.

In 2009, to celebrate the release of their 50th album, Renaissance Recordings chose Hernan Cattaneo to headline the album. The album, Renaissance: The Masters Series, Part 13, came out in June.

In 2010 Hernan delivered another mixed compilation called Parallel, his fourth double album for Renaissance's Masters Series. He is travelling the world spreading his sound: usually playing in the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Colombia, Romania, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Tunisia, Turkey, Belgium, Dubai (United Arab Emirates), and the United States. He played in India for the first time in his life in 2010.

Compilations

#2010 - Renaissance: The Masters Series, Part 16 "Parallel" #2009 - Renaissance: The Masters Series, Part 13 #2007 - Renaissance: Sequential Vol. 2 #2006 - Renaissance: Sequential #2005 - Renaissance: The Masters Series 2 #2004 - Renaissance: The Masters Series #2002 - Perfecto Presents Hernán Cattáneo: South America #2001 - Ministry Magazine Presents Hernán Cattáneo - Deep Funky N' Tribal #2001 - Clubland Vol. 2 #2000 - Clubland Vol. 1

Singles

(In descending chronological order) #Hernan Cattaneo & Soundexile Feat Tomomi Ukumori - Cripsis [Sudbeat] #Hernan Cattaneo & John Tonks - July / Fereek [Sudbeat] #Hernan Cattaneo & Soundexile - The Remixes EP [Sudbeat] #Hernan Cattaneo & John Tonks - Anime [Urbantorque] #Hernan Cattaneo & John Tonks - Sirocco [Renaissance] #Hernan Cattaneo & John Tonks - Warsaw [Bedrock Breaks] #Hernan Cattaneo & Dean Coleman - Behind The Music [Renaissance Masters CD] #Cattaneo/Cass/Mangan - Hubub [Perfecto Records] #Hernan Cattaneo - Satellites/Deeper Layers [Perfecto Records] #Hernan Cattaneo - Landing [Southamerica CD] #Hernan Cattaneo - Deep Funk/Alone [Perfecto Records]

Remixes

(In descending chronological order) #Fefo & Dario Arcas - Take Me Away [Sudbeat] #Antix - Let The Right One In [Sudbeat] #Abyss - Amore [Sudbeat] #Henry Saiz - They Came From The Light [Natura Sonoris] #Applescal - Describe The Doc [Deep Focus Records] #Schoenbrunn & Pfenning - Mind Groove [Observe Records] #James Harcourt - Arachnofunk [Twisted Frequency Records] #Tomomi Ukomori - With You [Indigo CD] #Nick Muir - I Feel Real [Mashtronic Records] #Funk Harmony Park - Crystal Sky [Arctic Wave Records] #Phonique Feat. Erland Oye - For The Time Being [Renaissance] #Bedrock - Santiago [Bedrock Records] #M.M.M - Enter The Club [Lifetime Records] #Cascade - Escape [Fluid] #Oliverio & MOS - Break My Mind [Off Side Recordings] #Atmos - Raumwelt Signal [Spiral Traxx] #Jeff Bennett - Strange Items [Hearing Aid] #Morgan Page - All I Know [Bedrock Records] #Transluzent Feat. Odessa - I Need You [Ark Records] #Dope Smugglaz - The Word [Perfecto Records] #Pako & Frederik - Beatus Prosessor [Coded Records] #Liquid State - Falling [Perfecto Records] #Stella Brown - Never Knew Love [Perfecto Records] #Alto Camet - Pasion Descalza [Shinichi Records]

The detailed discography of Hernán Cattáneo, including productions and remixes is available at Discogs.

Sudbeat

In 2009 he launched his own record label, which releases in digital format. Sudbeat releases have been charted by Neil Quigley, Henry Saiz, Guy J and 133 other DJs.

#SB001 Danny Howells - Moon EP - 06/2009 #SB002 Guy J - Pleasurety EP - 07/2009 #SB003 Marc Marzenit - Visions EP - 09/2009 #SB004 Hernán Cattáneo & Soundexile - The Remixes EP - 10/2009 #SB005 Alex Dolby & Giorgio Roma - Neutra EP - 12/2009 #SB006 Tonnsaied & Mario Kahn - Voided EP - 02/2010 #SB007 Abyss - Amore - 05/2010 #SB008 Hernán Cattáneo & John Tonks - July / Fereek - 07/2010 #SB009 Hernán Cattáneo & Soundexile Feat Tomomi Ukumori - Cripsis - 08/2010 #SB010 Fefo & Arcas - Take Me Away - 09/2010 #SB011 M.O.D.E. - Circles - 10/2010

References

External links

HernanCattaneo.com

HernanCattaneo.com Music Downloads

HernanCattaneo.com Future Tour Dates

HernanCattaneo.com Past Tour Dates

Hernan Cattaneo at Beatport

Sudbeat at Beatport

Interview with Hernán Cattáneo at Sound Revolt (2004)

Interview with Hernán Cattáneo for ProfessionalRockstars.com at Exit Music Festival, Serbia (2007)

Interview with Hernán Cattáneo about his third album for Renaissance Masters Series at YouTube (2009)

Interview with Hernán Cattáneo about his album Parallel at YouTube (2010)

Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:People from Buenos Aires Category:Argentine musicians Category:Club DJs Category:Living people

es:Hernán Cattáneo ru:Катаньо, Эрнан

name	Sirocco
species	Kakapo, ''Strigops habroptila''
gender	male
birth date	23 March 1997
birth place	Codfish Island
nationality	New Zealand
known	Attempting to mate with Mark Carwardine on BBC series ''Last Chance to See''Ambassador for his species and for conservation
parents	mother: Zephyr, father: Felix
website	biography on DoC website }}

Sirocco is a Kākāpō, a large nocturnal parrot, and one of the few remaining Kākāpō in the world. He achieved individual fame following an incident on the BBC television series ''Last Chance to See'' in which he attempted to mate with zoologist Mark Carwardine. Subsequent featuring of the incident on television channels around the world and on YouTube resulted in Sirocco becoming internationally known. In his home country of New Zealand, Sirocco has attracted thousands of people during 'personal' appearances, and in January 2010 was given the title of Official Spokesbird for Conservation by Prime Minister John Key. In this role, Sirocco helps advocate for conservation through human intermediaries on social media sites and blogs.

Biography

Sirocco was hatched on 23 March 1997 on Codfish Island off the west coast of Stewart Island, south of the New Zealand mainland. At three weeks old he suffered a respiratory illness which led to him being taken away from his mother, Zephyr, and hand-raised by Department of Conservation rangers.

He had to be raised away from other kākāpō and this led to him being imprinted on humans. As an older bird, he still does not associate with other kākāpō. This extends to the mating ritual of 'booming'; Sirocco booms in the presence of humans, rather than female kākāpō. Sirocco is therefore seen as unlikely to be successful when it comes to breeding. However, his affinity to human beings means he has become an effective advocate for the kākāpō species.

As Codfish Island, a protected sanctuary, is closed to the public, this has involved Sirocco travelling away from his home. Since 2006 he has regularly appeared on Ulva Island as part of a 'Kākāpō encounter'; then in September 2009 he travelled to Auckland Zoo where he was visited by thousands of people.

''Last Chance to See'' incident

In 2009, zoologist Mark Carwardine and television presenter Stephen Fry visited Codfish Island as part of a series for the ''Last Chance to See'', focusing on endangered species around the world. While they were filming Sirocco, the bird hopped onto Carwardine's head and attempted to mate with him. The scene itself and Fry's commentary, "Sorry, but this is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. You are being shagged by a rare parrot", proved an instant television hit, being featured on news items around the world.

A video of the incident was uploaded to YouTube, where it received more than 700,000 views in the first week. A year on, more than 2 million people had viewed the clip. Sirocco's Facebook page and Twitter account, set up after the screening, instantly attracted thousands of followers.

Spokesbird

Sirocco's 'fame', and awareness that the television incident had massively raised the profile of kākāpō around the world, led to an unusual government appointment for the bird in January 2010.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key appointed Sirocco as Official Spokesbird for Conservation, to coincide with 2010 being the International Year of Biodiversity. Key commented "He's a very media savvy bird, he's got a worldwide fan base - they hang on every squawk that comes out of his beak. He'll be a great official spokesbird and a great ambassador for New Zealand."

While tongue in cheek, the appointment showed awareness of the ability of Sirocco, through his television and social network presence, to attract and engage with people around the world, thus highlighting the plight of the still-endangered Kākāpō.

References

External links

NZ Department of Conservation Sirocco biography

NZ Department of Conservation blog on the Sirocco phenomenon

Sirocco's appearance at Auckland Zoo, covered by Campbell Live

Shagged by a rare parrot - Last Chance To See - BBC Two, on YouTube

Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard Category:Parrots Category:Individual birds Category:New Zealand culture Category:1997 animal births