An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named. One who is referred to as eponymous is someone who gives his or her name to something, ''e.g., Julian, the eponymous owner of the famous restaurant Julian's Castle.'' A common nonstandard usage is that something eponymous is named after a particular person, ''e.g., Julian's eponymous restaurant.''

In contemporary English, the term self-titled is often used to mean ''eponymous'' in the case of a work with the same name as the person or persons who created it (e.g., the song "Black Sabbath", from the album ''Black Sabbath'', by the band Black Sabbath).

An etiological myth is a "reverse eponym" in the sense that a legendary character is invented in order to explain a term. This is one example of folk etymology.

History

In different cultures, time periods have often been named after the person who ruled during that period.

The ancient Greek classic ''The Odyssey'' is named after the main character, Odysseus.

One of the first recorded cases of eponymy occurred in the second millennium BC, when the Assyrians named each year after a high official (''limmu'').

In ancient Greece, the eponymous archon was the highest magistrate in Athens. Archons of Athens served a term of one year which took the name of that particular archon (e.g., 594 BC was named for Solon). Later historians provided yet another case of eponymy by referring to the period of Fifth-century Athens as The Age of Pericles after its most influential statesman Pericles.

In Ancient Rome, one of the two formal ways of indicating a year was to cite the two annual consuls who served in that year. For example, the year we know as 59 BC would have been described as "the consulship of Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus and Gaius Julius Caesar" (although that specific year was known jocularly as "the consulship of Julius and Caesar" because of the insignificance of Caesar's counterpart). Under the empire, the consuls would change as often as every two months, but only the two consuls at the beginning of the year would lend their names to that year.

During the Christian era, many royal households used eponymous dating by regnal years. The Roman Catholic Church, however, eventually used the ''Anno Domini'' dating scheme based on the birth of Christ on both the general public and royalty. The regnal year standard is still used with respect to statutes and law reports published in some parts of the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries (England abandoned this practice in 1963): a statute signed into law in Canada between February 6, 1994 and February 5, 1995 would be dated 43 Elizabeth II, for instance.

Government administrations or political trends often become eponymous with a government leader. North American examples include ''the Nixon Era'', ''Trudeaumania'', ''Jeffersonian economics'', ''Jacksonian democracy'', ''McCarthyism'', ''Thatcherism'', ''Kennedy's Camelot'', or ''Reaganomics''.

British monarchs have become eponymous throughout the English speaking world for time periods, fashions, etc. ''Elizabethan'', ''Edwardian'', ''Georgian'', and ''Victorian'', are examples of these.

Other eponyms

In intellectual property law an eponym can refer to a genericized trademark or brand name, a form of metonymy.

Both in ancient Greece and independently among the Hebrews, tribes often took the name of a legendary leader (as Achaeus for Achaeans, or Dorus for Dorians). The eponym gave apparent meaning to the mysterious names of tribes, and sometimes, as in the Sons of Noah, provided a primitive attempt at ethnology as well, in the genealogical relationships of eponymous originators.

Places and towns can also be given an eponymous name through a relationship (real or imagined) to an important figure. Peloponnesus, for instance, was said to derive its name from the Greek god Pelops. In historical times, new towns have often been named (and older communities renamed) after their founders, discoverers, or after notable individuals. Examples include Vancouver, British Columbia, named after the explorer George Vancouver; and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, originally called Isbister's Settlement but renamed after Queen Victoria's husband and consort in 1866.

In science and technology, discoveries and innovations are often named after the discoverer (or supposed discoverer) or to honour some other influential workers. Examples are Avogadro's number, the Diesel engine, meitnerium, Alzheimer's disease, and the Apgar score. For a discussion of the process see Stigler's law of eponymy.

In (modern) art

* Some books, films, video games, and TV shows have one or more eponymous principal characters: ''Robinson Crusoe'', the ''Harry Potter'' series, ''The Legend of Zelda'' series, ''I Love Lucy'', for example.

*The term is also applied to music, usually with regard to record titles. For example, Blur's 1997 album was also titled ''Blur''. Bad Company's first album ''Bad Company'' released in 1974 is another example that also contained a track that was a Rock Radio favourite of the same name, "Bad Company". Many other artists and bands have also served as eponyms of albums or singles, usually as their debut or second release. Some bands, such as the Tindersticks, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Crowded House, Van Halen, Duran Duran, Bang Camaro, Santana, Living in a Box, and the Ramones, have released more than one and are thus referred to in other ways, including number and album art (e.g., ''The Blue Album''). Peter Gabriel's first four long-play releases were all such (though the fourth was given a title for its US release). Another more common term is the ''self-titled album''. The band R.E.M. titled their 1988 compilation CD ''Eponymous'' as a joke. Brazilian artists usually self-title their albums; almost all the annual Roberto Carlos albums, are eponymous. Self-titled albums are often indicated with the abbreviation "s/t," e.g., "''They Might Be Giants'' (s/t)"

Lists of eponyms

By person's name

List of eponyms

By category

Albums

Adages

Adjectives

Asteroids

Astronomical objects

Band names

Cartoon characters

Chemical elements

Colleges and universities

Companies

Diseases

Foods

Human anatomical parts

Ideologies

Inventions

Mathematical theorems

Medical signs

Medical treatments

Minerals

Observations

Places and political entities

Prizes, awards and medals

Scientific constants

Scientific equations

Scientific laws

Scientific phenomena

Scientific units

Sports terms

Stadiums (U.S.)

Surgical procedures

Trademarks or brand names

Orthographic conventions

Capitalized versus lowercase

Because proper nouns are capitalized in English, the usual default for eponyms is to capitalize the eponymous part of a term. The common-noun part is not capitalized. For example, in ''Parkinson disease'' (named after James Parkinson), ''Parkinson'' is capitalized, but ''disease'' is not.

However, some eponymous adjectives are nowadays entered in many dictionaries as lowercase when they have evolved a common status, no longer deriving their meaning from the proper-noun origin. For example, ''Herculean'' when referring to Hercules himself, but often ''herculean'' when referring to the figurative, generalized extension sense; and ''quixotic'' and ''diesel engine'' [lowercase only]. For any given term, one dictionary may enter only lowercase or only cap, whereas other dictionaries may recognize the capitalized version as a variant, either equally common as, or less common than, the first-listed styling (marked with labels such as "or", "also", "often", or "sometimes"). For examples, see the comparison table below.

Genitive versus attributive

English can use either genitive case or attributive position to indicate the adjectival nature of the eponymous part of the term. (In other words, that part may be either possessive or nonpossessive.) Thus ''Parkinson's disease'' and ''Parkinson disease'' are both acceptable. Medical dictionaries have been shifting toward nonpossessive styling in recent decades. Thus ''Parkinson disease'' is more likely to be used in the latest medical literature (especially in postprints) than is ''Parkinson's disease''.

National varieties of English

American and British English spelling differences can occasionally apply to eponyms. For example, American style would typically be ''cesarean section'', whereas British style would typically be ''caesarean section'' (or ''cæsarean section'' [with digraph]).

Comparison table of eponym orthographic styling

Prevalent dictionary styling today !! Stylings that defy prevalent dictionary styling !! Comments
Addison disease	*Addison Disease *addison disease
Allemann syndrome	*Allemann Syndrome *allemann syndrome
cesarean [only] cesarean ''also'' cesarian [but no cap variant]
darwinian [only] darwinism [only] Darwinian [only] Darwinism [only] Darwinist [only]
diesel (n/adj/vi) [no cap variant] and also diesel-electric diesel engine dieseling dieselize, dieselization	*Diesel engine *Dieseling *Dieselize, Dieselization
draconian draconian ''often'' Draconian
eustachian [only] eustachian ''often'' Eustachian eustachian tube [only] eustachian tube ''often'' Eustachian tube eustachian tube ''or'' Eustachian tube	*Eustachian Tube
fallopian [only] fallopian ''often'' Fallopian fallopian tube [only] fallopian tube ''often'' Fallopian tube fallopian tube ''also'' Fallopian tube	*Fallopian Tube
Marxism [only] Marxist [only]	*marxism *marxist
mendelian [only] or Mendelian [only] mendelian inheritance [only] or Mendelian inheritance [only]  but Mendel's laws	*Mendelian Inheritance
Newtonian [only]	*newtonian
parkinsonism [only] parkinsonian [only] parkinsonian tremor Parkinson disease [only] Parkinson's disease [only]	*Parkinsonism *Parkinsonian *Parkinsonian tremor *Parkinsonian Tremor *Parkinson Disease *Parkinson's Disease
quixotic [only]	*Quixotic

See also

Antonomasia

Archetypal name

Eponymous hairstyles

Etymology

:* Lists of etymologies

False etymology

Genericized trademark

Medical eponyms

Metonym

Stigler's law of eponymy

References

External links

Definition of -nym words

A site dedicated to Medical Eponyms

What is an Eponym? by Dr. Robert Beard

Eponyms on the h2g2 web site

American Proprietary Eponyms

* Category:Figures of speech Category:Names

bg:Епоним ca:Epònim cv:Эпоним cs:Eponym da:Eponym de:Eponym es:Epónimo eo:Eponimo eu:Eponimo fr:Éponymie hr:Eponim io:Eponimo id:Eponim it:Eponimo he:אפונים mk:Епоним nl:Eponiem ja:エポニム no:Eponym nn:Eponym pl:Eponim pt:Epónimo ro:Eponim ru:Эпоним simple:Eponym sr:Епоним sh:Eponim fi:Eponyymi sv:Eponym uk:Епонім

birth date	August 16, 1953
birth place	Kapuskasing, Ontario
birth name	James Francis Cameron
years active	1978–present
spouse(s)	Sharon Williams (1978–1984)Gale Anne Hurd (1985–1989)Kathryn Bigelow (1989–1991)Linda Hamilton (1997–1999)Suzy Amis (2000–present)
occupation	Film director, film producer, film editor, screenwriter, inventor
Notable works	''The Terminator'', ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', ''Avatar'', '' Titanic'', '' Aliens'', ''True Lies'', ''The Abyss''
influences	Stanley Kubrick, Edgar Rice Burroughs, George Lucas, Roger Corman, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott
influenced	David Fincher, Rupert Wyatt, McG, Sam Raimi, Joss Whedon, Alister Grierson, Steven Quale, Duncan Jones
website	}}

James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1953) is a Canadian film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, and inventor. His writing and directing work includes ''Piranha II: The Spawning'' (1981), ''The Terminator'' (1984), ''Aliens'' (1986), ''The Abyss'' (1989), ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991), ''True Lies'' (1994), ''Titanic'' (1997), and ''Dark Angel'' (2000–2002). In the time between making ''Titanic'' and his return to feature films with ''Avatar'' (2009), Cameron spent several years creating many documentary films (specifically underwater documentaries), and also co-developed the digital 3D Fusion Camera System. Described by a biographer as part-scientist and part-artist, Cameron has also contributed to underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies.

In total, Cameron's directorial efforts have grossed approximately US$2 billion in North America and US$6 billion worldwide. Without adjusting for inflation, Cameron's ''Titanic'' and ''Avatar'' are the two highest-grossing films of all time at $1.8 billion and $2.7 billion respectively. In March 2011 he was named Hollywood's top earner by ''Vanity Fair'', with estimated 2010 earnings of $257 million.

Background

Cameron was born in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada, 1953 the son of Becky (Lowe), an artist and nurse, and Phillip Cameron, an electrical engineer. His paternal great-great-great-grandfather emigrated from Balquhidder, Scotland in 1825; thus, he descends from Clan Cameron.

Cameron grew up in Chippawa, Ontario with his brother Davie Cameron and attended Stamford Collegiate School in Niagara Falls; his family moved to Brea, California in 1971 when he was 17. Cameron enrolled at Fullerton College, a 2-year community college, in 1973 to study physics. He switched to English, then dropped out before the start of the fall 1974 semester.

After dropping out of Sonora{where?}, he went to further his secondary education at Brea Olinda High School. After graduating, he worked several jobs such as truck driving and wrote when he had time. During this period he taught himself about special effects: "I'd go down to the USC library and pull any thesis that graduate students had written about optical printing, or front screen projection, or dye transfers, anything that related to film technology. That way I could sit down and read it, and if they'd let me photocopy it, I would. If not, I'd make notes."

After seeing the original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Cameron quit his job as a truck driver to enter the film industry. When Cameron read Syd Field's book ''Screenplay'', it occurred to him that integrating science and art was possible, and he wrote a ten-minute science fiction script with two friends, entitled ''Xenogenesis''. They raised money and rented camera, lenses, film stock, and studio, and shot it in 35mm. To understand how to operate the camera, they dismantled it and spent the first half-day of the shoot trying to figure out how to get it running.

Early career

While continuing to educate himself in film-making techniques, Cameron started working as a miniature-model maker at Roger Corman Studios. Making rapidly produced, low-budget productions taught Cameron to work efficiently and effectively. He soon found employment as an art director in the sci-fi movie ''Battle Beyond the Stars'' (1980). He did special effects work design and direction on John Carpenter's ''Escape from New York'' (1981), acted as production designer on ''Galaxy of Terror'' (1981), and consulted on the design of ''Android'' (1982).

Cameron was hired as the special effects director for the sequel of ''Piranha'', entitled ''Piranha II: The Spawning'' in 1981. The director left the project and Cameron was hired by Italian producer Assonitis to take over, giving him his first directorial job. He worked with producer Roger Corman. The interior scenes were filmed in Italy while the underwater diving sequences were shot at Grand Cayman Island.

The movie was to be produced in Jamaica, but when Cameron arrived at the studio, he discovered that the project was under-financed and that his crew was mainly composed of Italians who spoke no English. Experiencing considerable stress, Cameron had a nightmare about an invincible robot hitman sent from the future to kill him, giving him the idea for ''The Terminator'', which would later catapult his filming career.

Major films

''The Terminator'' (1984)

After completing a screenplay for ''The Terminator'', Cameron decided to sell it so that he could direct the movie. However, the production companies he contacted, while expressing interest in the project, were unwilling to let a first-time feature film director make the movie. Finally, Cameron found a company called Hemdale Pictures, which was willing to let him direct. Gale Anne Hurd, who had started her own production company, Pacific Western Productions, had previously worked with Cameron in Roger Corman's company and agreed to buy Cameron's screenplay for one dollar, on the condition that Cameron direct the film. Hurd was signed on as producer, and Cameron finally got his first break as director. Orion Pictures distributed the film.

Initially, for the role of the Terminator, Cameron wanted someone who wasn't exceptionally muscular, and who could "blend into" a normal crowd. Lance Henriksen, who had starred in ''Piranha II: The Spawning'', was considered for the title role, but when Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cameron first met over lunch to discuss Schwarzenegger playing the role of Kyle Reese, both came to the conclusion that the cyborg villain would be the more compelling role for the Austrian bodybuilder; Henriksen got the smaller part of LAPD detective Hal Vukovich and the role of Kyle Reese went to Michael Biehn. In addition, Linda Hamilton first appeared in this film in her iconic role of Sarah Connor, and later married Cameron.

''The Terminator'' was a box office hit, breaking expectations by Orion Pictures executives that the film would be regarded as no more than a sci-fi film, and only last a week in theaters. It was a low-budget film which cost $6.5 million to make, cutting expenses in such ways as recording the audio track in mono. However, ''The Terminator'' eventually earned over $78 million worldwide.

''Rambo: First Blood Part II'' (1985)

During the early 1980s, Cameron wrote three screenplays simultaneously: ''The Terminator'', ''Aliens'', and the first draft of ''Rambo: First Blood Part II''. While Cameron continued with ''The Terminator'' and ''Aliens'', Sylvester Stallone eventually took over the script of ''Rambo: First Blood Part II'', creating a final draft which differed radically from Cameron's initial version.

''Aliens'' (1986)

Cameron next began the sequel to ''Alien'', the 1979 film by Ridley Scott. Cameron named the sequel ''Aliens'', and again cast Sigourney Weaver in the iconic role of Ellen Ripley. According to Cameron, the crew on ''Aliens'' was hostile to him, regarding him as a poor substitute for Ridley Scott. Cameron sought to show them ''The Terminator'' but the majority of the crew refused to watch it and remained skeptical of his direction throughout production. Despite this and other off-screen problems (such as clashing with an uncooperative camera man and having to replace one of the lead actors – Michael Biehn of ''Terminator'' took James Remar's place as Corporal Hicks), ''Aliens'' became a box office success, and received Academy Award nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Weaver, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Sound, and won awards for Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Visual Effects. In addition, the film and its lead actress made the cover of ''TIME'' magazine as a result of its numerous and extensive scenes of women in combat - these were almost without precedent and expressed the feminist theme of the film very strongly.

''The Abyss'' (1989)

Cameron's next project stemmed from an idea that had come up during a high school biology class. The story of oil-rig workers who discover otherworldly underwater creatures became the basis of Cameron's screenplay for ''The Abyss'', which cast Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Michael Biehn. Initially budgeted at $41 million U.S. (though the production ran considerably over budget), it was considered to be one of the most expensive films of its time, and required cutting-edge effects technology. Because much of the film takes place underwater and the technology wasn't advanced enough to digitally create an underwater environment, Cameron chose to shoot much of the movie "reel-for-real", at depths of up to . For creation of the sets, the containment building of an unfinished nuclear power plant was converted, and two huge tanks were used. The main tank was filled with of water, and the second with . The cast and crew resided there for much of the shooting.

''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991)

After the success of ''The Terminator'', there had always been talks about a sequel to continue the story of Sarah Connor and her struggle against machines from the future. Although Cameron had come up with a core idea for the sequel, and Schwarzenegger expressed interest in continuing the story, there were still problems regarding who had the rights to the story, as well as the logistics of the special effects needed to make the sequel. Finally, in late-1980s, Mario Kassar of Carolco Pictures secured the rights to the sequel, allowing Cameron to greenlight production of the film, now called ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day''.

For the film, Linda Hamilton reprised her iconic role of Sarah Connor. In addition, Schwarzenegger also returned in his role as The Terminator, but this time as a protector. Unlike the T-800, who is made of a metal endoskeleton, the new villain of the sequel, called the T-1000, was a more advanced Terminator made of liquid metal, and with polymorphic abilities. The T-1000 would also be much less bulky than the T-800. For the role, Cameron cast Robert Patrick, a sharp contrast to Schwarzenegger. Cameron explained, "I wanted someone who was extremely fast and agile. If the T-800 is a human Panzer tank, then the T-1000 is a Porsche."

Cameron had originally wanted to incorporate this advanced-model Terminator into the first film, but the special effects at the time were not advanced enough. The ground-breaking effects used in ''The Abyss'' to digitally depict the water tentacle convinced Cameron that his liquid metal villain was now possible.

TriStar Pictures agreed to distribute the film, but under a locked release date only about one year after the start of shooting. The movie, co-written by Cameron and his longtime friend, William Wisher, Jr., had to go from screenplay to finished film in just that amount of time. Like Cameron's previous film, it was one of the most expensive films of its era, with a budget of about $100 million. The biggest challenge of the movie was the special effects used in creating the T-1000. Nevertheless, the film was finished on time, and released to theaters on July 3, 1991.

''Terminator 2'', or ''T2'', as it was abbreviated, broke box-office records (including the opening weekend record for an R-rated film), earning over $200 million in the United States and Canada, and over $300 million in other territories, and became the highest-grossing film of that year. It won four Academy Awards: Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Visual Effects. It was also nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing, but lost both Awards to ''JFK''.

James Cameron announced a third Terminator film many times during the 1990s, but without coming out with any finished scripts. Kassar and Vajna purchased the rights to the Terminator franchise from a bankruptcy sale of Carolco's assets. ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' was eventually made and released in July 2003 without Cameron's involvement. Jonathan Mostow directed the film and Schwarzenegger returned as the Terminator.

Cameron reunited with the main cast of ''Terminator 2'' to film ''T2 3-D: Battle Across Time'', an attraction at Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan. It was released in 1996 and was a mini-sequel to ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day''. The show is in two parts: a prequel segment in which a spokesperson talks about Cyberdyne, and a main feature, in which the performers interact with a 3-D movie.

''True Lies'' (1994)

Before the release of ''T2'', Schwarzenegger came to Cameron with the idea of making a remake of the French comedy ''La Totale!'' Titled ''True Lies'', with filming beginning after ''T2'''s release, the story revolves around a secret-agent spy who leads a double life as a married man, whose wife believes he is a computer salesman. Schwarzenegger was cast as Harry Tasker, a spy charged with stopping a plan by a terrorist to use nuclear weapons against the United States. Jamie Lee Curtis and Eliza Dushku played the character's family, and Tom Arnold the sidekick.

Cameron's ''Lightstorm Entertainment'' signed on with Twentieth Century Fox for production of ''True Lies''. Made on a budget of $115 million and released in 1994, the film earned $146 million in North America, and $232 million abroad. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects.

''Titanic'' (1997)

Cameron expressed interest in the famous sinking of the ship . He decided to script and film his next project based on this event. The picture revolved around a fictional romance story between two young lovers from different social classes who meet on board. Before production began, he took dives to the bottom of the Atlantic and shot actual footage of the ship underwater, which he inserted into the final film. Much of the film's dialogue was also written during these dives.

Subsequently, Cameron cast Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Gloria Stuart, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Victor Garber, Danny Nucci, David Warner, Suzy Amis and Bill Paxton as the films' principal cast. Cameron's budget for the film reached about $200 million, making it the most expensive movie ever made at the time. Before its release, the film was widely ridiculed for its expense and protracted production schedule.

Released to theaters on December 19, 1997, ''Titanic'' grossed less in its first weekend ($28.6 million) than in its second, ($35.4 million), an increase of 23.8%. This is unheard of for a widely released film, which is a testament to the movie's appeal. This was especially noteworthy, considering that the film's running time of more than three hours limited the number of showings each theater could schedule. It held the No. 1 spot on the box-office charts for months, eventually grossing a total of over $600 million in the United States and Canada and more than $1.8 billion worldwide. ''Titanic'' became the highest-grossing film ever made, until Cameron's 2009 film ''Avatar''. The CG visuals surrounding the sinking and destruction of the ship were considered spectacular. Despite criticism during production of the film, it received a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations (tied with ''All About Eve'') at the 1998 Academy Awards. It won 11 Oscars (also record-tying with ''Ben-Hur'' and later ''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''), including Best Picture, Editing, Sound, Special Effects, Music and Score, and the Best Director award for Cameron. Upon receiving the award, Cameron exclaimed, "I'm king of the world!", in reference to one of the main characters' lines from the film. In March 2010, Cameron revealed that ''Titanic'' will be re-released in 3D in April 2012, in order to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the actual ship.

''Spider-Man'' and ''Dark Angel'' (2000–2002)

Cameron had initially next planned to do a film of the comic book character Spider-Man, a project developed by Menahem Golan of Cannon Films. Columbia hired David Koepp to adapt Cameron's treatment into a screenplay, and Koepp's first draft is taken often word-for-word from Cameron's story, though later drafts were heavily rewritten by Koepp himself, Scott Rosenberg, and Alvin Sargent. Columbia preferred to credit David Koepp solely, and none of the scripts before or after his were ever examined by the Writers Guild of America, East to determine proper credit attribution. Cameron and other writers objected, but Columbia and the WGA prevailed. In its release in 2002, ''Spider-Man'' had its screenplay credited solely to Koepp.

Unable to make ''Spider-Man'', Cameron moved to television and created ''Dark Angel'', a superheroine-centered series influenced by cyberpunk, biopunk, contemporary superhero franchises, and third-wave feminism. Co-produced with Charles H. Eglee, ''Dark Angel'' starred Jessica Alba as Max Guevara, a genetically enhanced transgenic super-soldier created by a secretive organization. Cameron's work was said to "bring empowered female warriors back to television screens[...] by mixing the sober feminism of his ''The Terminator'' and ''Aliens'' characters with the sexed-up Girl Power of a Britney Spears concert." While a success in its first season, low ratings in the second led to its cancellation. Cameron himself directed the series finale, a two-hour episode wrapping up many of the series' loose ends.

Documentaries (2002–2009)

Cameron's recent projects have included undersea documentaries on the (''Expedition: Bismarck'', 2002) and the ''Titanic'' (''Ghosts of the Abyss'' (2003, in IMAX 3D) and ''Tony Robinson's Titanic Adventure'' (2005)). He was a producer on the 2002 film ''Solaris'', and narrated ''The Exodus Decoded''.

Cameron is a leading advocate for stereoscopic digital 3-D films. In a 2003 interview about his IMAX 3D documentary ''Ghosts of the Abyss'', he mentioned that he is "going to do everything in 3D now". He has made similar statements in other interviews. ''Ghosts of the Abyss'' and ''Aliens of the Deep'' (also an IMAX documentary) were both shot in 3-D and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, and Cameron did the same for his new project, ''Avatar'' for 20th Century Fox & Sony Pictures' Columbia Pictures. He intends to use the same technology for ''The Dive'', ''Sanctum'' and an adaptation of the manga series ''Battle Angel Alita''.

Cameron was a co-founder and former CEO of Digital Domain, a visual effects production and technology company.

In addition, he plans to create a 3-D project about the first trip to Mars. ("I've been very interested in the Humans to Mars movement—the 'Mars Underground'—and I've done a tremendous amount of personal research for a novel, a miniseries, and a 3-D film.") He is on the science team for the 2011 Mars Science Laboratory.

Cameron announced on February 26, 2007, that he, along with his director, Simcha Jacobovici, have documented the unearthing of the Talpiot Tomb, which is alleged to be the tomb of Jesus. Unearthed in 1980 by Israeli construction workers, the names on the tomb are claimed, by Cameron, to correlate with the names of Jesus and several individuals closely associated with him. Cameron further claims to have DNA tests, archaeological evidence, and Biblical studies to back up his claim. The documentary, named ''The Lost Tomb of Jesus'', was broadcast on the Discovery Channel on March 4, 2007.

''Avatar'' (2009)

In June 2005, Cameron was announced to be working on a project tentatively titled "Project 880" (now known to be ''Avatar'') in parallel with another project, ''Battle Angel'' (an adaptation of the manga series Battle Angel Alita). Both movies were to be shot in 3D. By December, Cameron stated that he wanted to film ''Battle Angel'' first, followed by ''Avatar''. However in February 2006, he switched goals for the two film projects and decided to film ''Avatar'' first. He mentioned that if both films are successful, he would be interested in seeing a trilogy being made for both.

''Avatar'' had an estimated budget of over $300 million and was released on December 18, 2009. This marked his first feature film since 1997's ''Titanic''. It is composed almost entirely of computer-generated animation, using a more advanced version of the "performance capture" technique used by director Robert Zemeckis in ''The Polar Express''. James Cameron wrote an 80 page scriptment for ''Avatar'' in 1995 and announced in 1996 that he would make the film after completing ''Titanic''. In December 2006, Cameron explained that the delay in producing the film since the 1990s had been to wait until the technology necessary to create his project was advanced enough. The film was originally scheduled to be released in May 2009 but was pushed back to December 2009 to allow more time for post production on the complex CGI and to give more time for theatres worldwide to install 3D projectors. Cameron originally intended ''Avatar'' to be 3D-only. The film went on to break the record for highest-grossing film ever, beating Cameron's previous film ''Titanic''. ''Avatar'' also became the first movie to ever earn more than $2 billion worldwide. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won three for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction. Cameron lost the award for Best Director to his ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow, who also took Best Picture with her film ''The Hurt Locker''.

Cameron was declared as the highest earner in Hollywood for 2010 earning $257 million for his blockbuster hit, in a survey listing the top 40 earners by Vanity Fair.

Awards

Cameron received the Bradbury Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1991—but, being primarily thought of as a genre filmmaker, he did not receive any major mainstream filmmaking awards prior to ''Titanic''. With ''Titanic'', Cameron received Academy Awards for Best Film Editing (shared with Conrad Buff and Richard A. Harris), Best Picture (shared with Jon Landau), and Best Director. He also won a Golden Globe Award for best director for the film.

In recognition of "a distinguished career as a Canadian filmmaker", Carleton University, Ottawa, awarded Cameron the honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts on June 13, 1998. Cameron accepted the degree in person and gave the Convocation Address.

He also received an honorary doctorate in October 1998 from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, for his accomplishments in the international film industry.

In 1998, Cameron attended convocation to receive an honorary doctorate of Laws from Ryerson University, Toronto. The university awards its highest honor to those who have made extraordinary contributions in Canada, or internationally.

In 1999, Cameron received the honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from California State University, Fullerton, where he had been a student in the 1970s. He received the degree at the university's annual Commencement exercises that year, where he gave the keynote speech.

In recognition of his contributions to underwater filming and remote vehicle technology, the University of Southampton awarded Cameron the honorary degree of Doctor of the University. Cameron received his degree in person at the graduation ceremony in July 2004.

On June 3, 2008, it was announced that he would be inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. On December 18, 2009, the same day ''Avatar'' was released worldwide, Cameron received the 2,396th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

On February 28, 2010 James Cameron was honored with a Visual Effects Society (VES) Lifetime Achievement Award.

With ''Avatar'', Cameron has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Picture (shared with Jon Landau), Best Director and Best Film Editing (shared with John Refoua and Stephen E. Rivkin) and received the Golden Globe for Best Picture and Best Director. Cameron and ''Avatar'' lost the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture to Cameron's former wife Kathryn Bigelow for her film, ''The Hurt Locker''.

On September 24, 2010 James Cameron was named Number 1 in The 2010 Guardian Film Power 100 list. In a list compiled by the British magazine New Statesman in September 2010, he was listed 30th in the list of "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010".

Awards

''Rambo: First Blood Part II'' ''[[Aliens (film) ''[[Aliens (film) ''The Abyss'' ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' ''True Lies'' ''[[Titanic (1997 film) ''[[Titanic (1997 film) ''Ghosts of the Abyss'' ''Avatar (2009 film)

Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
style="text-align:center;"	1984	''The Terminator''	Director, Writer
style="text-align:center;"	1985	|	Writer	1986	Aliens">Golden Raspberry Award
style="text-align:center;"	1986	Aliens'' ||	Director, Writer	Academy Award for Best Sound EditingAcademy Award for Best Visual EffectsNominated for Academy Award for Best ActressNominated for Academy Award for Best Original ScoreNominated for Academy Award for Best Sound MixingNominated for Academy Award for Best Film EditingNominated for Academy Award for Best Art Direction
style="text-align:center;"	1989	|	Director, Writer	Academy Award for Best Visual EffectsNominated for Academy Award for Best Art DirectionNominated for Academy Award for Best CinematographyNominated for Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing
style="text-align:center;"	1991	|	Director, Writer and Producer	Academy Award for Best MakeupAcademy Award for Best Sound MixingAcademy Award for Best Sound EditingAcademy Award for Best Visual EffectsNominated for Academy Award for Best CinematographyNominated for Academy Award for Best Film Editing
style="text-align:center;"	1994	|	Director, Writer and Producer	Nominated for 1997	Titanic">Academy Awards
style="text-align:center;"	1997	Titanic'' ||	Director, Writer, Producer and Editor	Academy Award for Best DirectorAcademy Award for Best PictureAcademy Award for Best Film EditingAcademy Award for Best CinematographyAcademy Award for Best Costume DesignAcademy Award for Best Visual EffectsAcademy Award for Best Sound MixingAcademy Award for Best Sound EditingAcademy Award for Best Original ScoreAcademy Award for Best Original SongAcademy Award for Best Art DirectionNominated for Academy Award for Best ActressNominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated for Academy Award for Best Makeup
style="text-align:center;"	2003	|	Director and Producer	Nominated by the Broadcast Film Critics Association for Best Documentary
style="text-align:center;"	2009	Avatar'' ||	Director, Writer, Producer and Editor	Academy Award for Best Cinematography Academy Award for Best Visual Effects Academy Award for Best Art DirectionNominated for Academy Award for Best PictureNominated for Academy Award for Best DirectorNominated for Academy Award for Best Film EditingNominated for Academy Award for Best Original ScoreNominated for Academy Award for Best Sound EditingNominated for Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing

Casting

Cameron often casts certain actors more than once in his films. Cameron has consistently worked with Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Actor !! ''Xenogenesis (film)

Xenogenesis'' (1978) !! ''Piranha II: The Spawning'' (1981) !! ''The Terminator'' (1984) !! ''Aliens'' (1986) !! ''The Abyss'' (1989) !! ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991) !! ''True Lies'' (1994) !! ''Titanic'' (1997) !! ''Expedition: Bismarck'' (2002) !! ''Ghosts of the Abyss'' (2003) !! ''Avatar'' (2009)!! ''Avatar 2'' (2014)!! ''Avatar 3'' (2015)

! Lance Henriksen

|

Bill Paxton

|

Michael Biehn

|

1

Earl Boen

|

Linda Hamilton

|

Arnold Schwarzenegger

|

Jenette Goldstein

|

Sigourney Weaver

|

Zoe Saldana

|

William Wisher, Jr.2

|

Sam Worthington

|

¹ His reprised role of Reese was cut from the theatrical release, but restored in the DVD's Special Edition Version. ² Although Wisher Jr. has written some of Cameron's works, he is listed in the above table as an actor.

Recurring themes

Throughout Cameron's career, several of his films have had recurring themes and subtexts. These include: the prospects of nuclear holocaust (the Skynet takeover scenario from both Terminator films), attempts to reconcile humanity with technology (as seen in ''Aliens'' and ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day''), humanity repeating the same mistakes, the dangers of corporate greed, strong female characters (Sarah Connor, Neytiri, and Ellen Ripley being the most famous), a strong romance subplot, the love of two worlds (The Terminator, Titanic, Avatar), anti-corporation (''Aliens'', ''Avatar''), anti-military (''The Abyss'', ''Avatar''), patchy 'families' forming during the plot (Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day), self-sacrificing - that may or may not result in actual death/termination - for a loved one or for mankind (all of his feature films as of 2011), holding breath and the danger of suffocation (The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Titanic, Avatar) and an undercurrent of feminism. This was also present with Jamie Lee Curtis's character in ''True Lies'' and Kate Winslet's role in ''Titanic'', in which she served as the main protagonist and narrator.

While ''The Abyss'' dealt with deep sea exploration (shot on a studio set), Cameron himself became an expert in the field of deep sea wreckage exploration exploring the wreckage of Titanic and Bismarck. Cameron will return to this theme with ''The Dive'' (see Projects), shooting from a minisub.

So important is technology in Cameron's films that he waited years for the technical tools of the craft to advance sufficiently to realize his vision for ''Avatar'', for which he had special 3-D cameras developed.

Filmography

Cameron has contributed to many projects as either a writer, director, producer, or as a combination of the three.

Cameron's first film was the 1978 science fiction short film ''Xenogenesis'', which he directed, wrote and produced. Cameron's films have grossed a total of over $7 billion worldwide.

In addition to works of fiction, Cameron has directed and appeared in several documentaries including ''Ghosts of the Abyss'' and ''Aliens of the Deep''. He also contributed to a number of television series including ''Dark Angel'' and ''Entourage''. He plans to shoot a small drama film after the Avatar trilogy, just to prove that 3D works even for domestic dramas. His next movie is called Myth.

Personal life

Cameron has been married five times: to Sharon Williams (1978–1984), Gale Anne Hurd (1985–1989), Kathryn Bigelow (1989–1991), and Linda Hamilton (1997–1999, daughter Josephine born in 1993). Cameron dated Hamilton since 1991, but the two didn't marry until 1997. Cameron and Hamilton separated soon after, and he became a financial success with ''Titanic''; this success resulted in his $50 million divorce payment to Hamilton. He married Suzy Amis in 2000, and they have one son and two daughters. Cameron lives in Malibu, California with his wife.

Hurd was the producer of Cameron's ''The Terminator'', ''Aliens'', and ''The Abyss'', and the executive producer of ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day''. Hamilton played the role of Sarah Connor in both ''Terminator'' films. Amis played the part of Lizzy Calvert, Rose's granddaughter, in ''Titanic''. Both Cameron (''Avatar'') and Bigelow (''The Hurt Locker'') were nominated for the Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA Award for Best Director for films released in 2009. Cameron won the Golden Globe, whilst Bigelow won the Oscar and the BAFTA for Best Director, becoming the first woman to win either.

Cameron is a member of the NASA Advisory Council and is working on the project to put cameras on an upcoming manned Mars mission. Cameron has also given speeches and raised money for the Mars Society, a non-profit organization lobbying for the colonization of Mars.

In June 2010, Cameron met in Washington with the EPA to discuss possible solutions to the 2010 BP oil spill. Later that week at the All Things Digital Conference, he attracted some notoriety when he stated, "Over the last few weeks I've watched...and [been] thinking, 'Those morons don't know what they're doing'." Reportedly, Cameron had offered BP help to plug the oil well, but they declined. The oil spill was eventually stopped using techniques similar to what Cameron recommended.

Although Cameron has lived his entire adult life in the United States, he remains a Canadian citizen. Cameron applied for American citizenship but withdrew his application after George W. Bush won the presidential election in 2004.

Cameron calls himself "Converted Agnostic", and says "I've sworn off agnosticism, which I now call cowardly atheism". As a child he described the Lord's Prayer as being a 'tribal chant'.

Reputation

Cameron has been labeled by one collaborator, author Orson Scott Card, as selfish and cruel. When asked about working with Cameron on the novelization of ''The Abyss'', Card said the experience was "hell on wheels. He was very nice to me, because I could afford to walk away. But he made everyone around him miserable, and his unkindness did nothing to improve the film in any way. Nor did it motivate people to work faster or better. And unless he changes his way of working with people, I hope he never directs anything of mine."

After working with Cameron on ''Titanic'', Kate Winslet decided she would not work with Cameron again unless she earned "a lot of money." She said that Cameron was a nice man, but she found his temper difficult to deal with. In an editorial, the British newspaper ''The Independent'' said that Cameron "is a nightmare to work with. Studios have come to fear his habit of straying way over schedule and over budget. He is notorious on set for his uncompromising and dictatorial manner, as well as his flaming temper.".

Sam Worthington, the latest lead actor to work with Cameron, stated on the ''Jay Leno Show'' that Cameron had very high expectations from everyone, and would often use a nail gun to nail the film crew's cell phones to a wall above an exit door in retaliation for unwanted ringing during production. Other actors, such as Bill Paxton and Sigourney Weaver, have praised Cameron's perfectionism. Weaver said of Cameron: "He really does want us to risk our lives and limbs for the shot, but he doesn't mind risking his own."

Appearances in media

''Entourage'' – Cameron appeared as himself. In the series' storyline, he is the director of a film based on the superhero Aquaman. Cameron's involvement in the project attracted protagonist Vincent Chase to the title role.

''The Muse''

''Saturday Night Live'' – In the episode hosted by Sigourney Weaver, Cameron appears as himself in an SNL Digital Short in which he presents Lorne Michaels with an idea for a new film that, much to Michaels' dismay, is a sequel to Laser Cats 4, Laser Cats 5 (starring Weaver), parodying ''Terminator'', ''Aliens'', ''Titanic'', and ''Avatar''. Cameron also appeared as himself when his longtime friend Bill Paxton hosted the show.

''Your Studio and You'' – Cameron appears in the short, gardening the Universal studio landscape.

References

Further reading

External links

James Cameron at The INK Conference

James Cameron at Northern Stars

Category:1954 births Category:Best Director Academy Award winners Category:Best Director Golden Globe winners Category:Best Film Editing Academy Award winners Category:Canadian expatriate film directors in the United States Category:Canadian film directors Category:Canadian atheists Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States Category:Canadian people of Scottish descent Category:Canadian screenwriters Category:English-language film directors Category:Living people Category:People from Kapuskasing Category:People from Niagara Falls, Ontario Category:People from Orange County, California Category:Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award Category:Saturn Award winners Category:Special effects people Category:Canadian film producers Category:Canadian film editors Category:Canadian inventors

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name	Mark McEwan
education	George Brown College
restaurants	North 44, Bymark, ONE
television	''The Heat with Mark McEwan'', ''Superstar Chef Challenge'' }}

Mark McEwan is a Canadian celebrity chef based in Toronto. He is currently the host of Fine Living Network's ''The Heat with Mark McEwan'', a judge on ''Superstar Chef Challenge'', and head judge on Food Network Canada's ''Top Chef Canada''.

Career

In 1981, McEwan was hired by the Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto as executive sous chef. Two years later he was promoted to chef. He opened his first restaurant, North 44, in 1990. In August 2007, McEwan opened ONE at The Hazelton Hotel, Toronto's only 5-star hotel. In June 2009, McEwan opened his first grocery store at the Shops at Don Mills. "McEwan" is promoted as an upscale grocery store. McEwan's first book, ''Great Food at Home'', was published in early 2011. Since 1990, Mark has been an Ambassador for Second Harvest in Toronto, helping to spread the word about food rescue and hunger relief.

TV appearances

''The Heat with Mark McEwan'' - Host

''Superstar Chef Challenge'' - Judge

''Top Chef Canada'' - Head Judge

References

External links

North 44 Restaurant

Bymark Restaurant

ONE - The Hazelton Hotel

McEwan Foods

Mark McEwan at the Chef and Restaurant Database

Second Harvest

Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:Canadian television chefs Category:Canadian restaurateurs Category:Canadian infotainers Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

name	Devin Townsend
background	solo_singer
birth name	Devin Garret Townsend
birth date	May 05, 1972
birth place	New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
instrument	Vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, drum machine, sampler, banjo
genre	Extreme metal, thrash metal, industrial metal, death metal, progressive metal, progressive rock, ambient, new age
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, producer
years active	1993–present
associated acts	The Devin Townsend Band, The Devin Townsend Project, Strapping Young Lad, Steve Vai, Punky Brüster, IR8, Front Line Assembly, Grey Skies, Caustic Thought, Noisescapes, Ayreon, The Wildhearts
website
notable instruments	Peavey, ESP, Fender, and Gibson }}

Devin Garret Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian musician and record producer. He was the founder, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist in extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad from 1994 to 2007 and has had an extensive career as a solo artist.

After performing in a number of metal bands in high school, Townsend was discovered by a record label in 1993 and was asked to perform lead vocals on Steve Vai's album ''Sex & Religion''. After recording and touring with Vai, Townsend was discouraged by what he found in the music industry, and vented his anger on a solo album released under the pseudonym Strapping Young Lad. He soon assembled a band under the name, and released the critically acclaimed ''City'' in 1997. Since then, he has released three more studio albums with Strapping Young Lad, along with solo material released under his own independent record label, HevyDevy Records. Townsend's solo albums, a diverse mix of hard rock and progressive metal, have featured a varying lineup of supporting musicians. In 2002 he formed The Devin Townsend Band, a dedicated lineup which recorded and toured for two of his solo releases.

In 2007, Townsend disbanded both Strapping Young Lad and The Devin Townsend Band, taking a break from touring to spend more time with his family. After a two-year hiatus, he began work on a four-album series called The Devin Townsend Project, with each album written in a different style. The first two entries in the series, ''Ki'' and ''Addicted'', were released in 2009. Townsend scheduled tours throughout Australia and North America in 2010 in support of the albums, and released the next two, ''Deconstruction'' and ''Ghost'', in 2011.

Townsend's trademark production style, featuring a heavily multitracked wall of sound, has been compared to the styles of Phil Spector and Frank Zappa. His versatile vocal delivery ranges from screaming to an opera-esque singing, and his songwriting is similarly diverse. Townsend's musical style is rooted in metal, and his albums are written to express different aspects of his personality.

Biography

Early musical career (1972–1996)

Devin Townsend was born in New Westminster, British Columbia, on May 5, 1972. Townsend picked up the banjo when he was five, and began playing guitar when he was 12. He participated in several metal bands while he was in high school, and founded Grey Skies at the age of 19. Around the same time he joined a popular local group called Caustic Thought, replacing Jed Simon on guitar and playing alongside bassist Byron Stroud, both of whom would later become members of Townsend's flagship band, Strapping Young Lad. In 1993, Townsend began writing material under the name Noisescapes, a project he later described as "just as violent as Strapping Young Lad".

Townsend recorded a Noisescapes demo and sent copies to various record labels. Relativity Records responded to Townsend with a record deal and Townsend began work on what was to be the first Noisescapes album, ''Promise''. Shortly afterward, the label introduced him to musician Steve Vai. Impressed with Townsend's vocal work, Vai offered him the role of the lead vocalist on his new album ''Sex and Religion''. Townsend took the offer, unfamiliar with Vai's work and unaware of his acclaim in the music world. After recording ''Sex and Religion'', Townsend accompanied Vai on a world tour in support of the album. Townsend soon landed a second touring gig, this time with the opening band of Vai's tour, The Wildhearts. He played live with the band throughout half of 1994 in Europe, and appeared as a guest musician on their single Urge. Ginger, the band's frontman, remained close friends with Townsend, later co-writing several songs on ''Infinity'' and the ''Christeen + 4 Demos'' EP.

While on tour with The Wildhearts, Townsend formed a short-lived thrash metal project with Metallica's then-bassist Jason Newsted. The band, known as IR8, featured Newsted on vocals and bass, Townsend on guitar, and Tom Hunting of Exodus on drums. The group recorded a few songs together, although Townsend says that they never intended to go further than that. "People heard about it and thought we wanted to put out a CD, which is absolutely not true," he explains. "People took this project way too seriously." A demo tape was put together, but the material was not released until 2002, when Newsted published the IR8 vs. Sexoturica compilation.

Though Townsend was proud of what he had accomplished so early in his career, he was discouraged by his experience with the music industry. "I was becoming a product of somebody else's imagination, and it was mixing with my own personality," he later reflected. "This combination was appalling." He pushed to get his own projects off the ground. Despite getting notable touring gigs with other musicians, however, Townsend continued to face rejection of his own music. Relativity Records dropped Noisescapes from their label shortly after Townsend accepted Vai's offer, seeing no commercial appeal in Townsend's music. "I have a hunch they only offered me a deal to get me to sing with Steve," he mused. While touring with The Wildhearts, Townsend received a phone call from an A&R; representative for Roadrunner Records, expressing an interest in his demos and an intention to sign him. The offer was ultimately rescinded by the head of Roadrunner, who regarded Townsend's recordings as "just noise".

In 1994, Century Media Records offered Townsend a contract to make "some extreme albums". and began to record material under the pseudonym Strapping Young Lad. Townsend avoided using his real name at this point in career, looking for a fresh start after his high-profile Vai gig. "At the beginning, I wanted to avoid at all cost to use my name because I was known as the singer for Steve Vai and it wasn't the best publicity to have," he later explained. "I was playing somebody else's music and I was judged in respect to that music." Townsend produced and performed nearly all the instruments on the debut studio album, ''Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing'', which was released in April 1995. Following the release of the record, Townsend and several other musician friends he knew in Vancouver recorded an album in 1996 entitled ''Cooked on Phonics'' for another one-off side project, Punky Brüster. Written and recorded in under a month, the album was produced as a parody of punk rock bands and documents the act of selling out for mainstream success.

Devin also provided much of the guitar work on the 1994 album Millennium and the 1995 album Hard Wired by Vancouver industrial band Front Line Assembly.

''City'' through ''Infinity'' (1996–1998)

Townsend assembled a permanent lineup of Strapping Young Lad to record ''City'', including prolific metal drummer Gene Hoglan, along with Townsend's former bandmates Jed Simon on guitar and Byron Stroud on bass. The industrial-influenced album was released in 1997. To this day, the album is widely considered Strapping Young Lad's best work, with ''Metal Maniacs'' calling it "groundbreaking" and ''Revolver'' naming it "one of the greatest metal albums of all time". Townsend himself considers it the band's "ultimate" album. Later that year, Townsend released his first solo album, ''Ocean Machine: Biomech''. The album featured a mix of hard rock, ambient, and progressive rock. Townsend founded his own independent record label, HevyDevy Records, to release the album.

After the completion of ''City'' and ''Biomech'', Townsend began to approach a mental breakdown. "I started to see human beings as little lonesome, water based, pink meat," he explained, "life forms pushing air through themselves and making noises that the other little pieces of meat seemed to understand." In 1997, he checked himself into a mental-health hospital, where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The diagnosis helped him understand where the two sides of his music were coming from; he felt his disorder "gave birth to the two extremes that are Strapping's ''City'' record and Ocean Machine's ''Biomech''." After being discharged from the hospital, Townsend found that "everything just clicked" and he was able to write his second solo album, ''Infinity'', which he described as "the parent project" of ''City'' and ''Biomech'', with music influenced by Broadway. Townsend returned to the studio, accompanied by Hoglan, to work on the album, on which Townsend played most of the instruments. ''Infinity'' was released in October 1998. Later in his career, Townsend has cited ''Infinity'' as his favorite solo record.

With ''Infinity'', Townsend began to label all albums outside of Strapping Young Lad under his own name, dropping the Ocean Machine moniker, to reduce confusion. He wanted to show that despite the highly varied nature of his projects, they are all simply aspects of his identity. The album ''Biomech'' was relabeled and redistributed as ''Ocean Machine: Biomech'', under Townsend's name, to reflect the new arrangement. Townsend's bandmates began to play two sets at their shows, one as Strapping Young Lad, and one as The Devin Townsend Band, playing songs from Townsend's solo albums.

''Physicist'' and ''Terria'' (1999–2001)

Townsend's next project took several years to come to fruition. After the creation of the IR8 demo tape, Townsend and Jason Newsted had begun work on a new project called ''Fizzicist'', which they described as "heavier than Strapping Young Lad". When the IR8 tape was leaked, Newsted's Metallica bandmates James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich learned of the project. Hetfield was "fucking pissed" that Newsted was playing outside the band, and Newsted was prevented by his bandmates from working on any more side projects. With the project stalled, Townsend instead wrote the album himself, entitling it ''Physicist''. Townsend assembled his Strapping Young Lad bandmates to record it, the only time this lineup was featured on a Devin Townsend album. The thrash-influenced ''Physicist'' was released in June 2000, and is generally considered a low point in Townsend's career. Hoglan and the rest of the band were dissatisfied with the way the sound was mixed, and Townsend considers it his worst album to date.

Feeling he had "ostracized a bunch of fans" with ''Physicist'', Townsend felt he had the chance to make a more personal and honest record. Townsend was inspired one morning while driving across Canada with his band, and looked to write an "introspective" album dedicated to his homeland. He produced and recorded ''Terria'', a "highly illustrated stream-of-consciousness" album, with Gene Hoglan on drums, Craig McFarland on bass and Jamie Meyer on keyboards. Townsend cited Ween's ''White Pepper'' as an inspiration for the album. ''Terria'' was released in November 2001.

''Strapping Young Lad'' through ''Synchestra'' (2003–2006)

Townsend's solo run lasted until 2002. After a five-year break from recording, Strapping Young Lad reunited to record a new album. Townsend credits the album, ''Strapping Young Lad'', as an emotional response to the attacks of September 11, 2001, in the United States. "If the world's about to blow up," said Townsend, "let's write the soundtrack for it." The album's lyrics were based more around fear and insecurity than the "hostile" lyrics of ''City''. Musically, ''Strapping Young Lad'' was less industrial than ''City'', and more reminiscent of death metal, with a "larger-than-life" rock production style. Townsend cited Front Line Assembly, Grotus, and Samael's ''Passage'' as influences. The self-titled album was released in February 2003. It received lukewarm reviews, with critics finding it inferior to ''City'', but it was the band's first charting album, entering at 97th place on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.

While Strapping Young Lad was being reunited, Townsend formed a new, permanent band "on par with Strapping" to record and tour for his solo releases. The Devin Townsend Band consisted of Brian Waddell on guitar, Mike Young on bass, Ryan Van Poederooyen on drums, and Dave Young on keyboards. Townsend performed guitar, vocals, and production, as he did in Strapping Young Lad. Townsend worked on the band's first album, ''Accelerated Evolution'', at the same time he was working on ''Strapping Young Lad'', spending half the week on one and half on the other. ''Accelerated Evolution'', named for the pace of putting a new band together in under a year, was released a month after ''Strapping Young Lad''. Mike G. of ''Metal Maniacs'' called it "the album of the year", praising it for "the hard-to-accomplish trick of being extreme yet accessible, simultaneously heavy 'n' rockin' yet majestic and beautiful." Prior to the formation of The Devin Townsend Band, Townsend had represented his solo releases live with the Strapping Young Lad lineup; the band would play one set of Strapping Young Lad songs and one set of Devin Townsend songs. After the release of ''Accelerated Evolution'', Townsend's two bands toured separately for their separate albums.

Strapping Young Lad began working on their next album, ''Alien'', in March 2004. Feeling that the band's previous album did not live up to expectations, Townsend decided to take his music to a new extreme. To prepare for the new album, Townsend stopped taking the medication prescribed to treat his bipolar disorder. "I think that as an artist, in order for me to get to the next plateau, I kind of feel the need to explore things and sometimes that exploration leads you to places that are a little crazy," he explains. "And ''Alien'' was no exception with that." Although Townsend considered the album an "impenetrable mass of technicality", it was well received on its release, selling 3,697 copies in its first week and appearing on several Billboard charts.

Shortly thereafter Townsend began putting together the next Devin Townsend Band record, with the working title ''Human''. Townsend intended the album as the more "pleasant" counterpart to ''Alien''. "It's basically a record about coming back down to earth after being in space with ''Alien'' for a while." The album ended up being renamed ''Synchestra'' and was released in January 2006. Townsend showcased a wide variety of musical styles in ''Synchestra'', blending his trademark "pop metal" with influences from folk, polka, and Middle Eastern music.

''Ziltoid'' and hiatus (2006–2008)

Townsend's wife, Tracy Turner, gave birth to their first son, Reyner Liam Johnstan Townsend, on October 4, 2006. Around this time, Townsend withdrew from touring to spend time with his family. From home, Townsend completed his second solo ambient album, ''The Hummer'', releasing it exclusively on his website in November 2006.

In May 2007, Townsend released ''Ziltoid the Omniscient'', a tongue-in-cheek rock opera about the eponymous fictional alien. This was truly a solo album; he programmed the drums using Drumkit from Hell, a software drum machine that uses MIDI samples recorded by Tomas Haake of Meshuggah Shortly after the album's release, Townsend announced that he no longer planned to tour or make albums with Strapping Young Lad or The Devin Townsend Band. He explained that he was "burnt out on travelling, touring, and self promotion" and wished to do production work, write albums, and spend time with his family without the stress of interviews or touring.

In 2008, Townsend lent his voice to characters in several episodes of the Adult Swim cartoon ''Metalocalypse'' (see Musician cameos in ''Metalocalypse'' for more). The original character design for Pickles the Drummer, one of the series' main characters, bore a striking resemblance to Townsend. The series' co-creator Brendan Small acknowledged the similarity, and altered the design before the series began. "We made sure he didn't look like Devin Townsend. We gave him the goatee and the dreadover so he wouldn't look like that."

The Devin Townsend Project (2008–present)

After removing himself from the music industry, Townsend cut his trademark hair off and gave up drinking and smoking. Townsend found it "disconcerting" that he had difficulty writing music without drugs, and that he had trouble identifying his purpose as a musician. He spent a year producing albums in absence of writing, but found it unrewarding and decided to "pick up the guitar and just write". This began a period of "self discovery" where he learned "how to create without drugs".

Over two years, Townsend wrote over 60 songs, and found that they fit into "four distinct styles". In March 2009, Townsend announced his plans for a four-album series called The Devin Townsend Project, with the goal of clarifying his musical identity and being "accountable" for the persona he projects to the public. The project's concept includes a different "theme" and a different group of musicians on each album.

''Ki'', the first album of The Devin Townsend Project, was written to "set the stage" for the subsequent albums. Townsend channeled his newfound control and sobriety into ''Ki'', a "tense, quiet" album that contrasts with much of the music he had been known for. ''Ki'' was released in May 2009. The second entry, a "commercial, yet heavy" album called ''Addicted'', was released in November 2009.

Townsend returned to the stage in January 2010, touring North America with headliner Between the Buried and Me as well as Cynic and Scale the Summit. This was followed by a headlining tour in Australia and a series of high-profile shows in Europe (for example co-headlining the Brutal Assault festival in Czech Republic). He headlined a North American tour with UK label mates TesseracT supporting, which began in October 2010, and toured in Europe with support from Aeon Zen and Anneke van Giersbergen.

The final albums in The Devin Townsend Project series, Deconstruction and Ghost were released on June 21, 2011.

Townsend is to perform all four of The Devin Townsend Project albums in the UK and record them for release in a special DVD to coincide with the release of The Devin Townsend Project boxset. The first two shows have been confirmed to be held at Union Chapel in Islington on November 10 and November 13 where he will be playing the albums Ki and Ghost respectively. These four shows will each be entitled "An Evening With The Devin Townsend Project".

Since 2009, Townsend has discussed plans to expand the ''Ziltoid the Omniscient'' franchise. His ideas included a sequel album, a "full blown musical" with the title ''Z²'', but the album appeared to have been scrapped, as Townsend stated in mid-June 2011, "I’m very rapidly realizing that humor and metal… it doesn’t really work." However, as of July 2011, he has stated on his Twitter account that the album was still in the works, but was "vying for pole-position" as he works on other projects. He has expressed possible plans to begin a series of online videos, a series titled ''ZTV'', instead, in which a Ziltoid hand puppet conducts interviews with various bands. A graphic novel based on the Ziltoid character, and possibly performing the ''Ziltoid'' album as a staged musical, at least as a one-off, have also been considered.

Townsend has stated on his Twitter that he is working on a new album, entitled "Epicloud". He described the album as "Big, heavy, romantic kind of melodic stuff. Pretty, ethereal and simple."

Musical style

Projects

Townsend designed his two main projects, the aggressive Strapping Young Lad and his more melodic solo material, as counterparts. Strapping Young Lad's music was a diverse mix of extreme metal genres; death metal, thrash metal, black metal and industrial metal. Townsend's solo material blends many genres and influences, with elements of atmospheric ambient music, hard rock and progressive rock, along with pop metal and arena rock. Despite Strapping Young Lad's greater mainstream acceptance, Townsend identifies more with his solo material, and has never intended Strapping Young Lad to be the focus of his music.

Production style

As a self-proclaimed "fan of multitracking", Townsend has developed a trademark production style featuring an atmospheric, layered "wall of sound". Townsend has drawn critical praise for his productions, which "are always marked by a sense of adventure, intrigue, chaotic atmospherics and overall aural pyrotechnics", according to Mike G. of ''Metal Maniacs''. Townsend mainly uses Pro Tools to produce his music, alongside other software suites such as Steinberg Cubase, Ableton Live, and Logic Pro. Townsend's musical ideas and production style have drawn comparisons to Phil Spector and Frank Zappa. Townsend has carried out the mixing and mastering for most of his solo work himself. He has also mixed and remixed work for other artists such as Rammstein.

Playing style

Townsend mainly uses Open C tuning for both six and seven string guitar. He now also uses Open B tuning and Open B flat tuning (Open C tuning tuned a half and a whole step down respectively) on his six string guitars. Townsend's technique varies from fingerpicking, power chords and polychords to sweep-picked arpeggios and tapping techniques. He is also known for his heavy use of reverb and delay effects. He has expressed that he has no taste for shred guitar, saying that "Musically it doesn't do anything for me" and that he only solos when he thinks that he can within the context of the song.

Influences

Townsend draws influence from a wide range of music genres, most prominently heavy metal. Townsend has cited, among others, Judas Priest, W.A.S.P., Frank Zappa, Broadway musicals, Abba, new age music, Zoviet France, King's X, Morbid Angel, Barkmarket, Grotus, Jane's Addiction, Metallica, Cop Shoot Cop and Fear Factory as his influences, and has also expressed his admiration for Meshuggah on several occasions, calling them "the best metal band on the planet". ''City'' was influenced by bands such as Foetus and Cop Shoot Cop, | rowspan="1"| September 2011 |}

;Strapping Young Lad {|class="wikitable" ! Title ! Release date ! Label |- | ''Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing'' | April 4, 1995 | rowspan="5"| Century Media |- | ''City'' | February 11, 1997 |- | ''Strapping Young Lad'' | February 11, 2003 |- | ''Alien'' | March 22, 2005 |- | ''The New Black'' | July 11, 2006 |- |}

References

External links

HevyDevy Records

Devin Townsend at YouTube

Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:People from New Westminster Category:People with bipolar disorder Category:Musicians from Vancouver Category:Canadian rock guitarists Category:Canadian rock singers Category:Canadian record producers Category:Canadian singer-songwriters Category:Canadian people of English descent Category:Canadian multi-instrumentalists Category:Progressive metal guitarists Category:Ableton Live users

br:Devin Townsend ca:Devin Townsend cs:Devin Townsend de:Devin Townsend es:Devin Townsend fr:Devin Townsend it:Devin Townsend hu:Devin Townsend nl:Devin Townsend ja:デヴィン・タウンゼンド no:Devin Townsend pl:Devin Townsend pt:Devin Townsend ru:Таунсенд, Девин fi:Devin Townsend sv:Devin Townsend uk:Девін Таунсенд zh:迪文·唐森德

Name	Tommy Lasorda
Position	Pitcher / Manager
Bats	Left
Throws	Left
Birth date	September 22, 1927
Birth place	Norristown, Pennsylvania
Debutdate	August 5
Debutyear	1954
Debutteam	Brooklyn Dodgers
Finaldate	July 8
Finalyear	1956
Finalteam	Kansas City Athletics
Stat1label	Win–Loss record
Stat1value	0–4
Stat2label	Earned run average
Stat2value	6.48
Stat3label	Strikeouts
Stat3value	37
Stat4label	Games managed
Stat4value	3,041
Stat5label	Win–loss record
Stat5value	1,599–1,439
Stat6label	Winning %
Stat6value	.526
Teams	As player Brooklyn Dodgers (–) Kansas City Athletics () As manager Los Angeles Dodgers (–)
Highlights	2× World Series champion (, ) 2× NL Manager of the Year (1983, 1988) 2006 Branch Rickey Award Los Angeles Dodgers #2 retired
Hofdate
Hofmethod	Veterans Committee }}

Thomas Charles Lasorda (born September 22, 1927 in Norristown, Pennsylvania) is a former Major League baseball player and manager. marked his sixth decade in one capacity or another with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the longest non-continuous (he played one season with the Kansas City Athletics) tenure anyone has had with the team, edging Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully by a single season. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager in 1997.

He was played by actor Arthur J. Nascarella in the ESPN mini-series ''The Bronx is Burning''.

Playing career

Tommy Lasorda signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as an undrafted free agent in 1945 and began his professional career with the Concord Weavers in 1945. He then missed the 1946 & 1947 seasons because of a stint in the United States Army. He served on active duty from October 1945 until spring 1947.

He returned to baseball in 1948 with the Schenectady Blue Jays of the Canadian-American League. On May 31, 1948, he struck out 25 Amsterdam Rugmakers in a 15-inning game setting a professional record (since broken), and drove in the winning run with a single. In his next two starts, he struck out 15 and 13, gaining the attention of the Dodgers, who drafted him from the Phillies chain and sent him to the Greenville Spinners in 1949. Lasorda also pitched for the Cristobal Motta's in the Canal Zone Baseball League in Panama from 1948 through 1950. Lasorda played for Almendares (Cuba) from 1950–52 and 1958–60, compiling a 16-13 record in four seasons, including 8-3 with a 1.89 ERA in 1958-59. The Motta's won the championship in '48 and Lasorda made his major league debut on August 5, 1954 for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Though he did not play, he won a World Series ring as a member of the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers. He pitched for the Dodgers for two seasons, and then for the Kansas City Athletics for one season, after the Athletics purchased him from the Dodgers. He was later traded by Kansas City to the New York Yankees in 1956 and then sold back to the Dodgers in 1957.

He was sent to the Montreal Royals of the International League in 1950. Lasorda played for Almendares (Cuba) from 1950–52 and 1958–60, compiling a 16-13 record in four seasons, including 8-3 with a 1.89 ERA in 1958-59. He pitched for Montreal from 1950–54 and 1958–1960 and is the winningest pitcher in the history of the team (107–57). He led Montreal to four straight Governors' Cups from 1951 to 1954, and a fifth one in 1958. On June 24, 2006 he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. He played only in the minors for the Yankees and the Dodgers returned him to the Montreal team where he was voted the International League's Most Valuable Pitcher Award in 1958, when he won his fifth minor league championship. The Dodgers finally released him on July 9, 1960. To quote him, “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination”.

Coaching career

Minor leagues

Lasorda's first off-field assignment with the Dodgers was as a scout from 1961–65. In 1966, he became the manager for the Pocatello Chiefs in the rookie leagues, then managed the Ogden Dodgers to three Pioneer League championships from 1966–68. He became the Dodgers AAA Pacific Coast League manager in 1969 with the Spokane Indians (1969–71) and remained in the position when the Dodgers switched their AAA farm club to the Albuquerque Dukes (1972). His 1972 Dukes team won the PCL Championship. Lasorda was also a manager for the Dominican Winter Baseball League team Tigres del Licey (Licey Tigers). He led the team to the 1973 Caribbean World Series Title in Venezuela with a series record of 5 wins and 1 loss.

Dodgers' third base coach

In , Lasorda became the third-base coach on the staff of Hall of Fame manager Walter Alston, serving for almost four seasons. He was widely regarded as Alston's heir apparent, and turned down several major league managing jobs elsewhere to remain in the Dodger fold.

Manager of the Dodgers

Lasorda became the Los Angeles Dodgers manager September 29, 1976 upon Alston's retirement. He compiled a 1,599-1,439 record as Dodgers manager, won two World Series championships in ( and ), four National League pennants and eight division titles in his 20 year career as the Dodgers manager.

His 16 wins in 30 NL Championship games managed were the most of any manager at the time of his retirement. His 61 post-season games managed ranks fourth all-time behind Bobby Cox, Casey Stengel and Joe Torre. He also managed in four All-Star games.

Lasorda managed nine players who won the National League Rookie of the Year award. The winners came in two strings of consecutive players. From to , he managed Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela and Steve Sax. From to , he managed Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Raúl Mondesí and Hideo Nomo. Before retiring during the season, he had also managed that year's rookie of the year, Todd Hollandsworth.

His final game was a 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros, at Dodger Stadium (att. 35,467), on June 23, 1996. The following day (June 24) he drove himself to the hospital complaining of abdominal pains, and in fact he was having a heart attack. He officially retired on July 29, 1996. His 1,599 career wins ranks 16th all-time in MLB history.

He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in as a manager in his first year of eligibility. The Dodgers retired his uniform number (2) on August 15, 1997 and re-named a street in Dodgertown as "Tommy Lasorda Lane".

2000 Summer Olympics

Lasorda came out of retirement to manage the United States team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He led the Americans to the gold medal, beating heavily favored Cuba, which had won the gold medals at the two previous Olympics. In doing so, he became the first manager win a World Championship and lead a team to Olympic Gold.

2001 All-Star Game

Lasorda coached the 2001 All-Star Game as third base coach. While at the plate, Vladimir Guerrero broke his bat while swinging, and the broken part flew towards Lasorda, causing him to fall backwards, but Tommy was unharmed. As a joke, Giants outfielder Barry Bonds gave Lasorda a chest protector to wear while manning the third base coaching box.

2008 Spring Training

During Spring Training in 2008, the Dodgers were invited to play a series of exhibition games in China. Dodger manager Joe Torre took a group of players with him for that series. The majority of the team remained behind in Florida to finish out the Grapefruit League season. Lasorda briefly came out of retirement to manage the team while Torre was away.

Awards

Sporting News Minor League Manager of the Year (1970)

UPI & AP Manager of the Year (1977)

AP Manager of the Year (1981)

Baseball America Manager of the Year (1988)

Sporting News Co-Manager of the Year (1988)

Amos Alonzo Stagg Coaching Award presented by the United States Sports Academy (2000)

Dodger Executive

Tommy Lasorda was named "Vice-President" of the Dodgers upon his retirement from managing in 1996. On June 22, 1998 he became the Dodgers interim General Manager upon the mid-season firing of Fred Claire. He resigned as General Manager after the season and was appointed as "Senior Vice-President" of the Dodgers. After the sale of the team to Frank McCourt, Lasorda took on his current position of "Special Advisor to the Chairman" where his responsibilities include "scouting, evaluating and teaching minor league players, acting as an advisor and ambassador for the Dodgers’ international affiliations, and representing the franchise at more than 100 speaking engagements and appearances to various charities, private groups and military personnel each year."

Life outside of baseball

Lasorda has supported the U.S. Armed Forces since his 1945 draft at age 18 into the U.S. Army. Stationed at Fort Mead, MD after completing basic training at Fort McClelland, AL, Lasorda served two years at the end of World War II. At the end of the war, draftees were given the option to leave or re-enlist, and Lasorda stayed with the Army to serve, putting his professional baseball career on hold to fulfill his duty.

Lasorda joined Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity as an alumnus initiate on February 10, 1990. He is a member-at-large and is not associated with any particular chapter.

Lasorda and his wife Jo celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 2010. They named a gymnasium and youth center in memory of their son, Tom Jr., in Yorba Linda, California on September 7, 1997. They have a daughter, Laura, and a granddaughter, Emily.

In June 2005, President George W. Bush asked Lasorda to serve as a delegate to the U.S. National Day at the World Exposition in Aichi, Japan.

Lasorda was equally famous for his colorful personality and outspoken opinions regarding players and other personnel associated with baseball. He had a number of obscenity filled tirades, a number of which were taped and became underground classics. The most famous of these is his "Dave Kingman tirade" in 1976, in which Lasorda ranted at reporter Paul Olden who asked him about Kingman having hit three home runs against the Dodgers that day. He also had an altercation with Doug Rau on the pitching mound in the 1977 World Series, which was recorded, since he was wearing a microphone. He befriended Frank Sinatra (a well-known baseball fan) and other entertainment personalities during his career.

In 1991, Lasorda's son Tommy Lasorda, Jr. (commonly known to friends and family as "Spunky") died of complications related to AIDS. Lasorda was estranged from his son at the time of his death, and refuses to acknowledge his son's homosexuality and the nature of his illness. According to sportswriter Bill Plaschke, when asked about the cause of death Lasorda insists that it was cancer.

In 1996 he voiced the role of Lucky Lasorta, A ''Rough Collie'' commentating the ''Baseball'' game in the film ''Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco''

For years, Lasorda appeared in television advertisements for Slim Fast diet shakes (with his famous quote, "If I can do it, you can do it."), and Rolaids antacids where he was seen writing the product's name on a baseball. He briefly owned a restaurant chain bearing his name. He also bottled and sold a failed brand of spaghetti sauce beginning in 1989 through his company Lasorda Foods.

Lasorda portrayed "The Dugout Wizard" in the syndicated children's television show ''The Baseball Bunch''.

Lasorda is the godfather to Thomas Piazza, the younger brother of Major League All-Star catcher Mike Piazza, both of whom are from Norristown. Thomas was named after Lasorda and it has been widely misstated that Lasorda is Mike's godfather. Lasorda is also the godfather to Alex Avila, a catcher with the Detroit Tigers. Alex's grandfather, Ralph Avila, is a former scout with the Dodgers and friend to Lasorda of over 50 years. Alex's middle name of Thomas was named for Lasorda.

In 2006, Lasorda appeared in a series of commercials promoting the MLB Playoffs for ESPN and Fox. The campaign, entitled "Tommy’s Tough Love", featured Lasorda in a tuxedo motivating fans to watch baseball.

In 2008, the government of Japan conferred the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, which represents the fourth highest of eight classes associated with the award. The decoration was presented in acknowledgment of his contributions to Japanese baseball.

Lasorda became a local celebrity in the Dominican Republic due to his many visits in search of young baseball talents in this land of many famous players in the major leagues, especially after becoming a devoted fan of the "chicharrones" (deep fried pork skins) commonly sold on the streets of the Villa Mella neighborhood of Santo Domingo.

On July 23, 2009, Lasorda made a cameo appearance on ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien''. During his brief cameo Lasorda plugged his upcoming music album of great American standards, one of which is a duet with Rod Stewart.

Managerial record

2 64 67 83 71 47 74 71 83 67 89 89 67 83 76 69 99 81 56 66 35 1,599

rowspan="2"	Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="4"|Regular Season !! colspan="4"|Postseason
! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Finish !! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Result
Los Angeles Dodgers	1976		2	|	.500	2nd in NL West	–	–	–
Los Angeles Dodgers		98	|	.605	1st in NL West	5	5	.500	Lost World Series
Los Angeles Dodgers		95	|	.586	1st in NL West	5	5	.500	Lost World Series
Los Angeles Dodgers		79	|	.488	3rd in NL West	–	–	–
Los Angeles Dodgers		92	|	.564	2nd in NL West (lost playoff)	–	–	–
Los Angeles Dodgers		63	|	.573	1st in NL West (1st half)	10	6	.625	Won World Series
Los Angeles Dodgers		88	|	.543	2nd in NL West	–	–	–
Los Angeles Dodgers		91	|	.562	1st in NL West	1	3	.250	Lost NLCS
Los Angeles Dodgers		79	|	.488	4th in NL West	–	–	–
Los Angeles Dodgers		95	|	.586	1st in NL West	2	4	.333	Lost NLCS
Los Angeles Dodgers		73	|	.451	5th in NL West	–	–	–
Los Angeles Dodgers		73	|	.451	4th in NL West	–	–	–
Los Angeles Dodgers		94	|	.584	1st in NL West	8	4	.667	Won World Series
Los Angeles Dodgers		77	|	.481	4th in NL West	–	–	–
Los Angeles Dodgers		86	|	.531	2nd in NL West	–	–	–
Los Angeles Dodgers		93	|	.574	2nd in NL West	–	–	–
Los Angeles Dodgers		63	|	.389	6th in NL West	–	–	–
Los Angeles Dodgers		81	|	.500	4th in NL West	–	–	–
Los Angeles Dodgers		58	|	.509	1st in NL West	–	–	–	(No postseason - 1994 Major League Baseball strike>strike)
Los Angeles Dodgers		78	|	.542	1st in NL West	0	3	.000	Lost NLDS
Los Angeles Dodgers		41	|	.586	2nd in NL West	–	–	–
colspan="2"	Totals	|	1,439	.526		31	30	.508	Won 2 World Series (1981, 1988)

See also

Tommy Lasorda Baseball

References

External links

Lasorda's manager page and Player page - at MLB

Tommy's blog, ''"Tommy's World"'' - at MLBlogs.com

Lasorda's page - at BaseballLibrary.com

Lasorda's retirement press conference - at CNN

Tommy Lasorda - at Los Angeles Dodgers Online

The Tirades of Tommy Lasorda everything2.net

2008 Moment of Thanks video of Tommy Lasorda thanking the US Armed Forces

}}

Category:1927 births Category:Living people Category:People from Norristown, Pennsylvania Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Baseball players from Pennsylvania Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Category:Major League Baseball managers Category:Major League Baseball third base coaches Category:Manager of the Year Award Category:American bloggers Category:Brooklyn Dodgers players Category:Kansas City Athletics players Category:Los Angeles Dodgers managers Category:International League Hall of Fame inductees Category:Minor league baseball managers Category:Major League Baseball announcers Category:Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Category:Olympic baseball managers Category:People from Fullerton, California Category:Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Category:Los Angeles Dodgers executives Category:Major League Baseball general managers Category:Major League Baseball managers with retired numbers Category:Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Category:Concord Weavers players Category:Schenectady Blue Jays players Category:Greenville Spinners players Category:Montreal Royals players Category:Denver Bears players Category:Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players

fr:Tommy Lasorda ko:토미 라소다 ja:トミー・ラソーダ pt:Tommy Lasorda fi:Tommy Lasorda