Name	David Niven
Birth name	James David Graham Niven
Birth date	March 01, 1910
Birth place	London, UK
Death date	July 29, 1983
Death place	Château-d'Oex, Switzerland
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1932–83
Spouse	Primula Rollo (1940–1946) (her death)Hjordis Paulina Tersmeden (1948–1983) (his death) }}

James David Graham Niven (1 March 191029 July 1983), known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in ''Around the World in 80 Days'' and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in ''The Pink Panther''. He was awarded the 1958 Academy Award for Best Actor in ''Separate Tables''.

Early life

David Niven was born in London, England. He was the son of William Edward Graham Niven (1878–1915) and Henriette Julia Degacher. He was named David for his birth on Saint David's Day. Niven often claimed that he was born in Kirriemuir, in the county of Angus in 1909, but his birth certificate showed this was not true.

Henriette was of French and British ancestry. She was born in Wales, the daughter of army officer William Degacher (1841–1879) by his marriage to Julia Caroline Smith, the daughter of Lieutenant General James Webber Smith. Niven's grandfather William Degacher was killed in action at the Battle of Isandlwana (1879), during the Zulu War. Born William Hitchcock, he and his brother Henry had followed the lead of their father, Walter Henry Hitchcock, in assuming their mother's maiden name of Degacher in 1874.

William Niven, David Niven's father, was of Scottish descent; his paternal grandfather, David Graham Niven, (1811–1884) was from St. Martins, a village in Perthshire. William served in the Berkshire Yeomanry in the First World War and was killed during the Gallipoli Campaign on 21 August 1915. He was buried in Green Hill Cemetery, Turkey in the Special Memorial Section in Plot F. 10.

David's mother Henrietta then married Sir Thomas Comyn-Platt. Graham Lord, in ''NIV: The Authorized Biography of David Niven'', suggested that Comyn-Platt and Mrs. Niven had been having an affair for some time before her husband's death, and that Sir Thomas may well have been David Niven's biological father, a supposition which has some support from her children. A reviewer of Lord's book stated that Lord's photographic evidence showing a strong physical resemblance between Niven and Comyn-Platt "would appear to confirm these theories, though photographs can often be misleading."

David Niven had three older siblings: Margaret Joyce ("Joyce"; born in Geneva, Switzerland 5 January 1900 – 18 November 1981) Henry Degacher ("Max"; born in Buckland, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire) 29 June 1902 – March 1953) Grizel Rosemary Graham (born in Belgravia, Middlesex (now Greater London) 28 November 1906 – 28 January 2007).

The family's country home at Buckland, Carswell Manor, was sold shortly after David's birth.

Education and army service

English public schools at the time of Niven's boyhood were marked for their heavy-handed discipline. Niven himself suffered many instances of corporal punishment owing to his inclination for pranks, which finally led to his expulsion from Heatherdown at the age of 10 and a half. This ended his chances for Eton, a significant blow to his family. He was sent to reform school, where the brutality reached even greater proportions, Niven later recounted. After failing to pass the naval entrance exam due to his difficulty with maths, Niven attended Stowe, a newly created public school led by headmaster J.F. Roxburgh. Roxburgh was unlike any headmaster Niven had experienced. Thoughtful and kind, he addressed the boys by their first name, allowed them bicycles and encouraged and nurtured their personal interests. Niven later wrote, "How he did this, I shall never know, but he made every single boy at that school feel that what he said and what he did were of real importance to the headmaster". He then attended the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, and graduated in 1930 with a commission as a second lieutenant in the regular Army. He did well at Sandhurst, which gave him the "officer and gentleman" bearing that was to be his trademark.

Niven requested assignment to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders or the Black Watch; then jokingly wrote on the form, as his third choice, "anything but the Highland Light Infantry" (because the HLI wore tartan trews rather than kilts). He was assigned to the HLI, and his comment was known in the regiment. Thus Niven did not enjoy his time in the Army. He served with the HLI for two years in Malta, and then for a few months in Dover. In Malta, he became friends with Roy Urquhart, future commander of the British 1st Airborne Division.

Niven grew tired of the peacetime Army. Though promoted to lieutenant on January 1, 1933, he saw no opportunity for further advancement. His ultimate decision to resign came after a lengthy lecture on machine guns, which was interfering with his plans for dinner with a particularly attractive young lady. At the end of the lecture, the speaker (a major general) asked if there were any questions. Showing the typical rebelliousness of his early years, Niven asked, "Could you tell me the time, sir? I have to catch a train."

After being placed under close arrest for this act of insubordination, Niven finished a bottle of whisky with the officer who was guarding him—Rhoddy Rose (later Colonel R. L. C. Rose, DSO, MC). With his connivance, Niven was allowed to escape from a first-floor window. He then headed for America. While crossing the Atlantic, Niven resigned his commission by telegram on September 6, 1933. Niven relocated to New York, where he began an unsuccessful career in whisky sales and horse rodeo promotion in Atlantic City. After subsequent detours to Bermuda and Cuba, he finally arrived in Hollywood in the summer of 1934.

Early film career

When Niven presented himself at the doors of Central Casting, he found out that he had to have a work permit, to allow him to reside and work in the U.S.

This meant that Niven had to leave U.S. soil, and he left for Mexico, where he worked as a "gun-man", cleaning and polishing the rifles of visiting American hunters. He received his Resident Alien Visa from the American Consulate when his birth certificate arrived from England. He then returned to the U.S. and was accepted by Central Casting as "Anglo-Saxon Type No. 2008".

His first work as an extra was as a Mexican in a Western. This inauspicious start notwithstanding, he then found himself an agent: Bill Hawks. He had several bit parts in 1933, 1934, and 1935, including a non-speaking part in MGM's ''Mutiny on the Bounty'', which brought him to wider attention within the film industry.

Niven thus came to the attention of independent film producer Samuel Goldwyn, who signed him to a contract and established his career. Niven appeared in 19 movies in the next four years. He had supporting roles in several major films: ''Rose-Marie'' (1936), ''Dodsworth'' (1936), ''The Charge of the Light Brigade'' (1936), ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937); and leading roles in ''The Dawn Patrol'' (1938), ''Three Blind Mice'' (1938), and ''Wuthering Heights'' (1939), playing opposite such famous stars as Errol Flynn, Loretta Young, and Laurence Olivier. In 1939 he co-starred with Ginger Rogers in the RKO comedy ''Bachelor Mother'', and starred as the eponymous gentleman safe-cracker in ''Raffles''.

Niven joined what became known as the Hollywood Raj, a group of British actors in Hollywood. Other members of the group included Rex Harrison, Errol Flynn, Boris Karloff, Stan Laurel, Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman and Leslie Howard and C. Aubrey Smith. According to his autobiography, he and Errol Flynn shared a house, which they dubbed "Cirrhosis-by-the-Sea" although in fact the co-habitee was Robert Newton, a less well-known actor and thus perhaps less suitable for inclusion in Niven's dinner table anecdotes.

World War II service

After the United Kingdom declared war in 1939, Niven returned to Britain and rejoined the Army. He was alone among British stars in Hollywood in doing so; the British Embassy advised most British actors to stay, many were over the age for military service and did not have Niven's military education and experience. Niven was re-commissioned as a lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade on 25 February 1940, and was assigned to a motor training battalion. But he wanted something more exciting, and transferred into the Commandos. He was assigned to a training base at Inverailort House in the Western Highlands. Niven later claimed credit for bringing future Major General Sir Robert Laycock to the Commandos.

David Niven commanded 'A' Squadron GHQ Liaison Regiment, better known as Phantom.

Niven also worked with the Army Film Unit. He acted in two films during the war, ''The First of the Few'' (1942) and ''The Way Ahead'' (1944). Both films were made to win support for the British war effort, especially in the U.S. His Film Unit work included a small part in the deception operation that used minor actor M. E. Clifton James to impersonate Field Marshal Montgomery.

During his work with the Film Unit, Peter Ustinov, though one of the script-writers, had to pose as Niven's batman. (Ustinov also acted in ''The Way Ahead''.) Niven in his autobiography explained that there was no military way that he, as a lieutenant-colonel, and Ustinov, who was only a private, could associate, save as an officer and his servant, hence their strange "act". Ustinov later appeared with Niven in ''Death on the Nile'' (1978).

Niven took part in the Invasion of Normandy, arriving several days after D-Day. He served in the "Phantom Signals Unit", which located and reported enemy positions, and kept rear commanders up to date on changing battle lines. Niven was posted at one time to Chilham in Kent.

Niven remained close-mouthed about the war, despite public interest in celebrities in combat and a reputation for storytelling. He said once: "I will, however, tell you just one thing about the war, my first story and my last. I was asked by some American friends to search out the grave of their son near Bastogne. I found it where they told me I would, but it was among 27,000 others, and I told myself that here, Niven, were 27,000 reasons why you should keep your mouth shut after the war." Niven also had special scorn for the newspaper columnists covering the war who typed out self-glorifying and excessively florid prose about their meagre wartime experiences. Niven stated, "Anyone who says a bullet sings past, hums past, flies, pings, or whines past, has never heard one—they go ''crack''!"

He gave a few details of his war experience in his autobiography, ''The Moon's a Balloon'': his private conversations with Winston Churchill, the bombing of London, and what it was like entering Germany with the occupation forces. Niven first met Churchill at a dinner party in February 1940. Churchill singled him out from the crowd and stated, "Young man, you did a fine thing to give up your film career to fight for your country. Mark you, had you not done so − it would have been despicable."

A few stories have surfaced. About to lead his men into action, Niven eased their nervousness by telling them, "Look, you chaps only have to do this once. But I'll have to do it all over again in Hollywood with Errol Flynn!" Asked by suspicious American sentries during the Battle of the Bulge who had won the World Series in 1943, he answered "Haven't the foggiest idea . . . But I did co-star with Ginger Rogers in ''Bachelor Mother''!"

Niven ended the war as a lieutenant-colonel. On his return to Hollywood after the war, he received the Legion of Merit, an American military order. Presented by Eisenhower himself, it honoured Niven's work in setting up the BBC Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme, a radio news and entertainment station for the Allied forces.

Post-war acting career

In spite of a six-year absence from the screen, Niven came second in the 1945 Popularity Poll of British film stars.

He resumed his career in 1946, now only in starring roles. ''A Matter of Life and Death'' (1946), ''The Bishop's Wife'' (1947), and ''Enchantment'' (1948) are all highly regarded. In 1950 he starred in ''The Elusive Pimpernel'', which was made in Britain and was to be distributed by Samuel Goldwyn. Goldwyn pulled out, and the film did not appear in the U.S. for three years.

Niven had a long and complex relationship with Goldwyn, who gave him his first start. But the dispute over ''The Elusive Pimpernel'' and Niven's demands for more money led to a long estrangement in the 1950s.

During this period Niven was largely barred from the Hollywood studios. In 1951 to 1956, he made 11 movies, of which two were MGM productions, and the rest were low-budget British or independent productions. However, Niven won a Golden Globe Award for his work in ''The Moon Is Blue'' (1953), produced and directed by Otto Preminger.

In 1955 renowned British photographer Cornel Lucas photographed David Niven while filming at the Rank Film Studio in Denham. These images can be seen at The Cornel Lucas Collection. A limited edition of British postage stamps was produced using one of Cornel Lucas' images taken during this portrait sitting.

Niven also worked in television. Niven appeared several times on various short-drama shows, and was one of the "four stars" of the dramatic anthology series ''Four Star Playhouse'', appearing in 33 episodes. The show was produced by Four Star Television, which was co-owned by Niven, Robert Montgomery, and Charles Boyer. The show ended in 1955, but Four Star TV became a highly successful TV production company.

Niven's film career took off in 1956, when he starred as Phileas Fogg in Michael Todd's immensely successful production of ''Around the World in 80 Days''.

He appeared in 13 more TV episodes. Niven won the 1958 Academy Award for Best Actor for ''Separate Tables''; he was also a co-host of the 30th, 31st and 46th Academy Awards ceremonies.

After Niven won the Academy Award, Goldwyn called with an invitation to his home. In Goldwyn's drawing room, Niven noticed a picture of himself in uniform that he had sent to Goldwyn from England during World War II. In happier times with Goldwyn, he had observed this same picture sitting on Goldwyn's piano. Now years later, the picture was still in exactly the same spot. As he was looking at the picture, Goldwyn's wife Frances said "Sam never took it down."

With an Academy Award to his credit, Niven's career continued to improve. In 1959, he became the host of his own TV drama series, ''The David Niven Show'', which ran for 13 episodes that summer.

Over the rest of his career, Niven appeared in over thirty additional movies. These included ''The Guns of Navarone'' (1961), and ''The Pink Panther'' (1963), ''Murder by Death'' (1976), ''Death on the Nile'' (1978), and ''The Sea Wolves'' (1980), but also a lot of less memorable films.

In 1964, he was cast (along with Boyer) in the Four Star series ''The Rogues''. Niven played Alexander 'Alec' Fleming, one of a family of retired con artists who now fleece villains in the interests of justice. This was his only recurring role on television. ''The Rogues'' ran for only one season, but won a Golden Globe award.

In 1967, he appeared as one of seven incarnations of 007 in the James Bond spoof ''Casino Royale''. In fact, Niven had been Bond creator Ian Fleming's first choice to play Bond in ''Dr. No''. ''Casino Royale'' co-producer Charles K. Feldman said later that Fleming had written the book with Niven in mind, and therefore had sent a copy to Niven.

Niven was the only James Bond actor mentioned by name in the text of Fleming's novels. In ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', Bond visits an exclusive ski resort in Switzerland where he is told that David Niven is a frequent visitor and in ''You Only Live Twice'', David Niven is referred to as the only real gentleman in Hollywood. In the Ian Fleming novel ''You Only Live Twice'', Kissy Suzuki has a cormorant whom she has named David after Niven.

While Niven was co-hosting the 46th Annual Oscars ceremony, a naked man appeared behind him, "streaking" across the stage. Niven responded "Isn't it fascinating to think, that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life, is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?"

In 1974, he hosted ''David Niven's World'' for London Weekend Television. This was a series of profiles of contemporary adventurers such as hang gliders, motorcyclists, and mountain climbers. It ran for 21 episodes.

In 1975, he narrated ''The Remarkable Rocket'', a short animation based on a story by Oscar Wilde.

In 1979, he appeared in ''Escape to Athena'', which was produced by his son David Jr.

Also in 1979, Niven starred in the television miniseries ''A Man Called INTREPID'', based on the supposed memoir of Sir William Stephenson, a Canadian master spy for British intelligence. (In fact the book was mostly invented by co-author William Stevenson (no relation), Sir William then being very old.)

In July 1982, Blake Edwards brought Niven back for cameo appearances in two final "Pink Panther" movies (''Trail of the Pink Panther'' and ''Curse of the Pink Panther''), reprising his role as Sir Charles Litton. By this time, Niven was having serious health problems. When the raw footage was reviewed, his voice was inaudible, and his lines had to be dubbed by Rich Little. Niven was not told of this—he learned it from a newspaper report. This was his last film appearance.

Writing

Niven wrote four books. The first, ''Round the Rugged Rocks'', was a novel which appeared in 1951 and was forgotten almost at once. In 1971, he published his autobiography, ''The Moon's a Balloon'', which was well-received, selling over five million copies. He followed this with ''Bring On the Empty Horses'' in 1975, a collection of highly entertaining reminiscences from Hollywood's "Golden Age" in the 1940s. It now appears that Niven recounted many incidents from a first person perspective which actually happened to other people, and which he borrowed and embroidered. In 1981, Niven published a second and much more successful novel, ''Go Slowly, Come Back Quickly'', which was set during and after World War II, and drew on his experiences during the war and in Hollywood. He was working on a third novel when his health failed in 1983.

Marriages

After a whirlwind two-week romance in 1940, Niven married Primula Susan Rollo (18 February 1918, London – 21 May 1946, Beverly Hills, California), the aristocratic daughter of a British lawyer. The couple had two sons, David Jr. and Jamie. Primula, whom he called Primmie, died at age 28, only six weeks after moving to the U.S., of a fractured skull and brain lacerations from an accidental fall in the home of Tyrone Power. While playing sardines, she walked through a door believing it led to a closet. Instead, it led to a stone staircase to the basement.

Niven recalled this as the darkest period of his life, years afterwards thanking his friends for their patience and forbearance during this time. He later claimed to have been so grief-stricken that he thought for a while that he had gone mad. Following a suicide attempt involving a handgun that failed to go off, he eventually rallied and returned to film making.

In 1948, Niven met Hjördis Paulina Tersmeden (née Genberg, 1919–1997), a divorced Swedish fashion model. The moment of his meeting her was recounted by Niven:

I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life—tall, slim, auburn hair, uptilted nose, lovely mouth and the most enormous grey eyes I had ever seen. It really happened the way it does when written by the worst lady novelists...I goggled. I had difficulty swallowing and had champagne in my knees.

They married six weeks later. Unfortunately, Niven's second marriage was as tumultuous as his first marriage was content.

In an unsuccessful effort to bring harmony to the marriage, they adopted two girls, Kristina and Fiona. Kristina later told biographer Graham Lord that she was convinced that she was Niven's secret child by another fashion model, Mona Gunnarson.

All four of Niven's children, as well as many of his friends, told Lord that Hjördis, unable to achieve an acting career, had affairs with other men and became an alcoholic.

In October 1951, while pheasant shooting with friends in New England, Hjördis was shot in the face, neck and chest by two of Niven's companions. Local doctors wished to operate immediately to remove the bird shot. However, another doctor advised Niven to allow the swelling of the face to go down. In this way his wife avoided disfigurement.

While convalescing in the Blackstone Hotel in New York, Niven and Hjördis were next door neighbours with Audrey Hepburn, who made her debut on Broadway that season. In 1960, while filming ''Please Don't Eat the Daisies'' with Doris Day, Niven and Hjördis separated for a few weeks, though they later reconciled.

Hjördis recovered from her alcoholism after Niven's death in 1983, but returned to it before her own death of a stroke in 1997. She was 78. Niven's friend Billie More noted: "This is not kind, but when Hjördis died I can't think of a single soul who was sorry". Kristina and Fiona told Graham Lord that Hjördis added insult to injury by forbidding them to bury her alongside her husband in the place left for her in his double grave in Switzerland.

Lord wrote that "the biggest wreath, worthy of a Mafia Godfather's funeral, was delivered from the porters at London's Heathrow Airport, along with a card that read: 'To the finest gentleman who ever walked through these halls. He made a porter feel like a king.'"

Niven died on the same day as Raymond Massey, his co-star in ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' and ''A Matter of Life and Death''.

A thanksgiving service was held at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, on 27 October 1983. The congregation of 1200 included Prince Michael of Kent, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, Sir John Mills, Sir Richard Attenborough, Trevor Howard, Sir David Frost, Joanna Lumley, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Sir Laurence Olivier.

Other media

Niven's likeness was used as the inspiration for the DC Comics Green Lantern supervillain, Sinestro.

Quotations

By Niven:

"It really is amazing. Can you imagine being wonderfully overpaid for dressing up and playing games? It's like being Peter Pan."

"I've been lucky enough to win an Oscar, write a best-seller — my other dream would be to have a painting in the Louvre. The only way that's going to happen is if I paint a dirty one on the wall of the gentlemen's lavatory."

When asked why he seemed so incredibly cheerful all the time: "Well, old bean, life is really so bloody awful that I feel it’s my absolute duty to be chirpy and try and make everybody else happy too."

Deadpanning after a streaker ran across stage during an Academy Award telecast: "Well, ladies and gentlemen, that was almost bound to happen. But isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?"

About Niven:

"I don't think his acting ever quite achieved the brilliance or the polish of his dinner-party conversations." — John Mortimer

"David's life was Wodehouse with tears." John Mortimer speaking at Niven's memorial service, quoted by Niven biographer Graham Lord.

"Niv was the twinkling star, the meteor who lit up every room he entered; I am just the dreary drudge whose job it is to try to tell the truth." — Niven biographer Graham Lord, in the preface to his book ''Niv.''

Filmography

{| |- |valign="top"|

''There Goes the Bride'' (1932)

''Eyes of Fate'' (1933)

''Cleopatra'' (1934)

''Without Regret'' (1935)

''Barbary Coast'' (1935)

''A Feather in Her Hat'' (1935)

''Splendor'' (1935)

''Mutiny On the Bounty'' (1935) extra-uncredited

''Rose-Marie'' (1936)

''Palm Springs'' (1936)

''Dodsworth'' (1936)

''Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 4'' (1936)

''Thank You, Jeeves!'' (1936)

''The Charge of the Light Brigade'' (1936)

''Beloved Enemy'' (1936)

''We Have Our Moments'' (1937)

''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937)

''Dinner at the Ritz'' (1937)

''Bluebeard's Eighth Wife'' (1938)

''Four Men and a Prayer'' (1938)

''Three Blind Mice'' (1938)

''The Dawn Patrol'' (1938)

''Wuthering Heights'' (1939)

''Bachelor Mother'' (1939)

''The Real Glory'' (1939)

''Eternally Yours'' (1939)

''Raffles'' (1939)

''The First of the Few'' (1942)

''The Way Ahead'' (1944)

''A Matter of Life and Death'' (1946)

''Magnificent Doll'' (1946)

''The Perfect Marriage'' (1947)

''The Other Love'' (1947)

|valign="top"|

''The Bishop's Wife'' (1947)

''Bonnie Prince Charlie'' (1948)

''Enchantment'' (1948)

''A Kiss in the Dark'' (1949)

''A Kiss for Corliss'' (1949)

''The Elusive Pimpernel'' (1950)

''The Toast of New Orleans'' (1950)

''Happy Go Lovely'' (1951)

''Soldiers Three'' (1951)

''Appointment with Venus'' (1951)

''The Lady Says No'' (1952)

''The Moon Is Blue'' (1953)

''The Love Lottery'' (1954)

''Happy Ever After'' (1954)

''Carrington V.C.'' (1955)

''The King's Thief'' (1955)

''The Birds and the Bees'' (1956)

''The Silken Affair'' (1956)

''Around the World in 80 Days'' (1956)

''Oh, Men! Oh, Women!'' (1957)

''The Little Hut'' (1957)

''My Man Godfrey'' (1957)

''Screen Snapshots: Glamorous Hollywood'' (1958)

''Bonjour Tristesse'' (1958)

''Separate Tables'' (1958)

''Ask Any Girl'' (1959)

''Happy Anniversary'' (1959)

''Please Don't Eat the Daisies'' (1960)

''The Guns of Navarone'' (1961)

''The Shortest Day'' (1962)

''Conquered City'' (1962)

''The Best of Enemies'' (1962)

''The Road to Hong Kong'' (1962)

|valign="top"|

''Guns of Darkness'' (1962)

''55 Days at Peking'' (1963)

''The Pink Panther'' (1963)

''Bedtime Story'' (1964)

''Where the Spies Are'' (1965)

''Lady L'' (1965)

''Eye of the Devil'' (1966)

''All Eyes on Sharon Tate'' (1967)

''Casino Royale'' (1967)

''Prudence and the Pill'' (1968)

''The Impossible Years'' (1968)

''The Extraordinary Seaman'' (1969)

''The Brain'' (1969)

''Before Winter Comes'' (1969)

''The Statue'' (1971)

''King, Queen, Knave'' (1972)

''The Canterville Ghost'' (1974)

''Vampira'' (1974)

''Old Dracula'' (1974)

''Paper Tiger'' (1975)

''The Remarkable Rocket'' (1975)

''No Deposit, No Return'' (1976)

''Murder by Death'' (1976)

''Candleshoe'' (1977)

''Speed Fever'' (1978)

''Death on the Nile'' (1978)

''A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square'' (1979)

''Escape to Athena'' (1979)

''Rough Cut'' (1980)

''The Sea Wolves'' (1980)

''Better Late Than Never'' (1982)

''Trail of the Pink Panther'' (1982)

''Curse of the Pink Panther'' (1983)

|}

Bibliography

Niven, David (1951). ''Round the Rugged Rocks''. London: The Cresset Press.

Footnotes

References

General references

External links

Category:1910 births Category:1983 deaths Category:Best Actor Academy Award winners Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Highland Light Infantry officers Category:British Army Commandos officers Category:British people of French descent Category:British Army personnel of World War II Category:Deaths from motor neurone disease Category:Neurological disease deaths in Switzerland Category:English film actors Category:English television actors Category:English memoirists Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:Old Stoics Category:People from London Category:Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Category:Sandhurst graduates Category:English actors Category:British expatriates in Switzerland Category:People from Vale of White Horse (district)

an:David Niven bg:Дейвид Нивън ca:David Niven cs:David Niven da:David Niven de:David Niven es:David Niven eu:David Niven fr:David Niven ga:David Niven gd:David Niven ko:데이비드 니븐 id:David Niven it:David Niven he:דייוויד ניבן lv:Deivids Naivens hu:David Niven nl:David Niven ja:デヴィッド・ニーヴン no:David Niven pl:David Niven pt:David Niven ro:David Niven ru:Нивен, Дэвид simple:David Niven sk:David Niven sr:Дејвид Нивен sh:David Niven fi:David Niven sv:David Niven tl:David Niven th:เดวิด นิเวน tr:David Niven yo:David Niven

name	King David
title	King of Israel
reign	over Judah c. 1010–1003 BC; over Judah and Israel c. 1003–970 BC
predecessor	Saul (Judah), Ish-bosheth (Israel)
successor	Solomon
consort	Michal, Ahinoam, Abigail, Maachah, Haggith, Abital, Eglah, Bathsheba and Abishag
royal house	House of David (new house)
father	Jesse
mother	not named in the Bible; identified by the Talmud as Nitzevet, daughter of Adael.
birth date	c. 1040 BC
birth place	Bethlehem
death date	c. 970 BC
death place	Jerusalem
buried	}}

David (; ISO 259-3 ''Dawid''; Strong's ''Daveed''; beloved; or ‎ '''') was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary. He is depicted as a righteous king, although not without fault, as well as an acclaimed warrior, musician and poet, traditionally credited for composing many of the psalms contained in the Book of Psalms.

Edwin Thiele dates his life to c. 1040–970 BC, his reign over Judah c. 1010–1003 BC, and his reign over the united Kingdom of Israel c. 1003–970 BC. The Books of Samuel, 1 Kings, and 1 Chronicles are the only source of information on his life and reign, although the Tel Dan stele may record the existence in the mid-9th century of a Judean royal dynasty called the "House of David", although this is disputed.

David's life is very important to Jewish, Christian, and Islamic culture. In Judaism, David, or David HaMelekh, is the King of Israel, and the Jewish people. A direct descendant of David will be the Messiah. In Islam, he is known as ''Dawud'', considered to be a prophet and the king of a nation.

Biblical narrative

David is chosen of God

God withdrew his favour from Saul, king of Israel. ''It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments. 1 Samuel 15:11'' The prophet Samuel seeks a new king from the sons of Jesse of Bethlehem. Seven of Jesse's sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel says "The LORD has not chosen these." He then asks "Are these all the sons you have?" and Jesse answers, "There is still the youngest but he is tending the sheep." David is brought to Samuel, and "the LORD said, 'Rise and anoint him; he is the one.'"

David at the court of Saul

God sends an evil spirit to torment Saul,''1 Samuel 16:14'', and his attendants suggest he send for David, a young warrior famed for his bravery and for his skill with the harp. Saul does so and makes David one of his armor-bearers and "whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him."

David and Goliath

The Israelites, under King Saul, face the Philistines in the Valley of Elah. The boy David is bringing food to his older brothers who are with Saul. He hears the Philistine giant Goliath challenging the Israelites to send their own champion to decide the outcome in single combat. David tells Saul he is prepared to face Goliath and Saul allows him to make the attempt. He is victorious, striking Goliath in the forehead with a stone from his sling. Goliath falls, and David kills him with his own sword and beheads him; the Philistines flee in terror. Saul sends to know the name of the young champion, and David tells him that he is the son of Jesse.

King Saul and David

Saul makes David a commander over his armies and offers him his daughter Michal in marriage for bringing more than 200 foreskins of the Philistines to him. David is successful in many battles, and his popularity awakes Saul's fears — "What more can he have but the kingdom?" By various stratagems the jealous king seeks his death, but the plots only endear David the more to the people, and especially to Saul's son Jonathan, who loves David (1 Samuel 18:1, 2 Samuel 1:25-26). Warned by Jonathan, David flees into the wilderness, where he gathers a band of followers and becomes the champion of the oppressed while evading the pursuit of Saul. He accepts the town of Ziklag as a chief from the Philistine king Achish of Gath, but continues secretly to champion the Israelites. Achish marches against Saul, but David is excused from the war on the accusation of the Philistine nobles that his loyalty to their cause cannot be trusted.

David becomes king

Jonathan and Saul are killed in battle with the Philistines at Mount Gilboa. David mourns their deaths, especially that of Jonathan, his friend, and then goes up to Hebron, where he is anointed king over Judah; in the north, Saul's son Ish-Bosheth is king of the tribes of Israel. War ensues between Ish-Bosheth and David, until Ish-Bosheth is murdered. The assassins bring the head of Ish-Bosheth to David hoping for reward, but David executes them for their crime against the Lord's anointed. Yet with the death of the son of Saul, the elders of Israel come to Hebron, and David, 30 years old, is anointed King over Israel and Judah.

Jerusalem and the Davidic Covenant

David conquers the Jebusite fortress of Jerusalem, and makes it his capital, and "Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house." David brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, intending to build a temple, but God, speaking to the prophet Nathan, forbids it, saying the temple must wait for a future generation. God makes a covenant with David, promising that he will establish the house of David eternally: "Your throne shall be established forever."

With God's help David is victorious over his people's enemies. The Philistines are subdued, the Moabites to the east pay tribute, along with Hadadezer of Zobah, from whom David takes gold shields and bronze vessels.

Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite

David commits adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Bathsheba becomes pregnant. David sends for Uriah, who is with the Israelite army at the siege of Rabbah, so that he may lie with his wife and conceal the identity of the child's father. Uriah refuses to do so while his companions are in the field of battle and David sends him back to Joab, the commander, with a message instructing him to abandon Uriah on the battlefield, "that he may be struck down, and die." David marries Bathsheba and she bears his child, "but the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." The prophet Nathan confronts David, saying: "Why have you despised the word of God, to do what is evil in his sight? You have smitten Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife." Nathan presents three punishments from God for this sin. First, that the "sword shall never depart from your house" (2 Samuel 12:10) second, that "Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel., (2 Samuel 12:12) and finally, that "the son born to you will die" (2 Samuel 12:14). David repents, yet God "struck the [David's] child ... and it became sick ... [And] on the seventh day the child died." David leaves his lamentations, dresses himself, and eats. His servants ask why he wept when the baby was alive, but ends his mourning when the child dies. David replies: "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The may be gracious to me and let the child live.' But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." (2 Samuel 12:22-23, New International Version).

David's son Absalom rebels

David's son Absalom rebels against his father, and they come to battle in the Wood of Ephraim. Absalom is caught by his hair in the branches of an oak and David’s general Joab kills him as he hangs there. When the news of the victory is brought to David he does not rejoice, but is instead shaken with grief: "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!"

The old age of David

When David has become old and bedridden, Adonijah, his eldest surviving son and natural heir, declares himself king. Bathsheba, David's favorite wife, and Nathan the prophet, fearing that they will be killed by Adonijah, go to David and procure his agreement that Solomon, Bathsheba's son, should sit on the throne. And so the plans of Adonijah collapse, and Solomon becomes king. It is to Solomon that David gives his final instructions, including his promise that the line of Solomon and David will inherit the throne of Judah forever, and his request that Solomon kill his oldest enemies on his behalf. David dies and is buried in the City of David, having ruled forty years over Israel, seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem.

David the Musician

In various biblical passages, David is referred to as “the favorite of the songs of Israel,” the one who soothed Saul with music, and the founder of Temple singing. A Psalms scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls (11QPs^a) attributes 3600 tehilim (songs of praise) plus other compositions to David. Seventy-three of the 150 Psalms in the Bible are attributed to David. The supreme kingship of Yahweh is the most pervasive theological concept in the book of Psalms, and many psalms attributed to David are directed to Yahweh by name, whether in praise or petition, suggesting a relationship. According to the Midrash Tehillim, King David was prompted to the Psalms by the Holy Spirit that rested upon him.

In addition to ascribing authorship to David, several Psalms are identified with specific events in David’s life. Psalm 34 is attributed to David on the occasion of his escape from the Abimelech (king) Achish by pretending to be insane. According to the narrative in 1 Samuel 21, instead of killing the man who had exacted so many casualties from him, Abimelech allows David to depart, exclaiming, “Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?" Psalm 34 is one of seven acrostic Psalms in the original Hebrew; most English translations do not retain the acrostic form. The first part of Psalm 34 is directed toward Yahweh in complete and humble gratitude (David does not even mention his own royal status); the second part confidently directs others to Yahweh. encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them … Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the . | Psalm 34:6-7,11 (ESV)}}

In contrast, Psalm 18 is not related to a specific incident but rather to God’s faithful deliverance from “all of his enemies and from the hand of Saul.” The text of this Psalm was thought to date to the 10th century BC even before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and is very similar to that of 2 Samuel 22. In this Psalm, David recalls being in deadly situations: “The cords of death entangled me, the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.” He cries out to God for help, and God rescues David.

The Scottish theologian Samuel Rutherford (1600–1661) notes that crying out to God is mentioned in many Psalms attributed to David. He comments, “Fervour is a heavenly ingredient in prayer. An arrow drawn with full strength hath a speedier issue.” The Midrash Tehillim teaches from Psalm 4 “that the mere mechanical application to the Throne of Mercy is not efficacious is plainly seen from the words of King David, who says God is nigh to all that call upon Him, and … he adds the important words, 'to those who call upon Him ''in truth''.'”

According to Psalm 40, David’s cries to God were heartfelt though not necessarily impatient; the poignant combination of a cry for help with a confident expression of faith echo today in the song “40” by the rock group U2 and that encapsulates David’s experience with his God: ; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the . | Psalm 40:1-3 (NIV)}}

Religions and David

David in Judaism

Name	King David the Prophet
Birth date	c. 1040 B.C.E.
Death date	c. 970 B.C.E.
Venerated in	JudaismChristianityIslamBaha'ism
Birth place	Bethlehem
Death place	Jerusalem
Titles	Holy Monarch, Prophet, Reformer, Spiritual Poet & Musician, Vicegerent of God, Psalm-Receiver
Attributes	Psalms, Harp, Head of Goliath
Prayer attrib	}}

David is an important figure in Judaism. Historically, David's reign represented the formation of a coherent Jewish kingdom centered in Jerusalem. David is an important figure within the context of Jewish messianism. In the Hebrew Bible, it is written that a human descendant of David will occupy the throne of a restored kingdom and usher in a messianic age.

David is also viewed as a tragic figure; his acquisition of Bathsheba, and the loss of his son are viewed as his central tragedies.

Many legends have grown around the figure of David. According to one Rabbinic tradition, David was raised as the son of his father Jesse and spent his early years herding his father's sheep in the wilderness while his brothers were in school. Only at his anointing by Samuel - when the oil from Samuel's flask turned to diamonds and pearls - was his true identity as Jesse's son revealed. David's adultery with Bathsheba was only an opportunity to demonstrate the power of repentance, and some Talmudic authors stated that it was not adultery at all, quoting a Jewish practice of divorce on the eve of battle. Furthermore, according to David's apologists, the death of Uriah was not to be considered murder, on the basis that Uriah had committed a capital offence by refusing to obey a direct command from the King.

According to midrashim, Adam gave up 70 years of his life for the life of David. Also, according to the Talmud Yerushalmi, David was born and died on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks). His piety was said to be so great that his prayers could bring down things from Heaven.

David in Christianity

Originally an earthly king ruling by divine appointment ("the anointed one", as the title Messiah had it), the "son of David" became in the last two pre-Christian centuries the apocalyptic and heavenly who would deliver Israel and usher in a new kingdom. This was the background to the concept of Messiahship in early Christianity, which interpreted the career of Jesus "by means of the titles and functions assigned to David in the mysticism of the Zion cult, in which he served as priest-king and in which he was the mediator between God and man." The early Church believed that "the life of David [foreshadowed] the life of Christ; Bethlehem is the birthplace of both; the shepherd life of David points out Christ, the Good Shepherd; the five stones chosen to slay Goliath are typical of the five wounds; the betrayal by his trusted counsellor, Achitophel, and the passage over the Cedron remind us of Christ's Sacred Passion. Many of the Davidic Psalms, as we learn from the New Testament, are clearly typical of the future Messiah." In the Middle Ages, "Charlemagne thought of himself, and was viewed by his court scholars, as a 'new David'. [This was] not in itself a new idea, but [one whose] content and significance were greatly enlarged by him." The linking of David to earthly kingship was reflected in later Medieval cathedral windows all over Europe through the device of the Tree of Jesse its branches demonstrating how divine kingship descended from Jesse, through his son David, to Jesus.

Western Rite churches (Roman Catholic, Lutheran) celebrate his feast day on 29 December, Eastern-rite on 19 December. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Church celebrate the feast day of the "Holy Righteous Prophet and King David" on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (two Sundays before the Great Feast of the Nativity of the Lord), when he is commemorated together with other ancestors of Jesus. He is also commemorated on the Sunday after the Nativity, together with Joseph and James, the Brother of the Lord.

David in Islam

''Main article Islamic view of David''

David (Arabic داود, ''Dāwūd'') is a highly important figure in Islam as one of the major prophets sent by God to guide the nation of Israel. David is mentioned several times in the Qur'an, often with his son Solomon. In the Qur'an: David kills Goliath (II: 251) and God grants him kingship and wisdom and enforces it (XXXVIII: 20). David is made God's "vicegerent on earth" (XXXVIII: 26) and God further gives David sound judgment (XXI: 78; XXXVII: 21-24, 26) as well as the Psalms, which are regarded as books of divine wisdom (IV: 163; XVII, 55). The birds and mountains unite with David in ushering praise to God (XXI: 79; XXXIV: 10; XXXVIII: 18), while God instructs David in the art of fashioning chain-mail out of iron (XXXIV: 10; XXI: 80). Together with Solomon, David gives judgment in a case of damage to the fields (XXI: 78) and David judges in the matter between two disputants in his prayer chamber (XXXVIII: 21-23). There is no mention in the Qur'an of the wrong David did to Uriah nor is there any reference to Bathsheba, and therefore Muslims reject this narrative.

Muslim tradition and the ''hadith'' stress David's zeal in daily prayer as well as in fasting. Qur'an commentators, historians and compilers of the numerous ''Stories of the Prophets'' elaborate upon David's concise Qur'anic narratives and specifically mention David's gift in singing his Psalms as well as his beautiful musical and vocal talents. His voice is described as having had a captivating power, weaving its influence not only over man but over all beasts and nature, who would unite with him to praise God.

David in Baha'i Faith

David is described as a minor prophet who came in the shadow of the dispensation of Moses to develop and consolidate the process he set in motion.

David in the LDS Faith

The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cites David as one directed by God to practise polygamy, but who sinned in committing adultery with Bathsheba and having Uriah killed. The LDS doctrine is that polygamy is only allowed as directed by the Lord, otherwise it is a grievous sin. Since 1898 the LDS church has prohibited the practice of polygamy by its members.

Historicity of David

''See The Bible and history and dating the Bible for a more complete description of the general issues surrounding the Bible as a historical source.''

Archaeological evidence

Tel Dan Stele and Mesha Stele

A fragment of an Aramaean victory stele discovered in 1993 at Tel Dan and dated c.850-835 BC contains a phrase (bytdwd). Because ancient Aramaic script does not contain vowels, different readings are possible. Scholars agree that the first part should be read (beyt), meaning "house". However, the second part can be read as 1) (dod), which means "uncle" or "beloved" or as 2) (David). The phrase therefore can mean either "House of the beloved", "House of the uncle" or "House of David". Since the stele recounts the victory of an Aramean king over "the king of Israel" the translation of "" as "the House of David" is not illogical. The Mesha Stele from Moab, dating from approximately the same period, may also contain the name David, in two places: in line 12, where the interpretation is uncertain, and בת[ד]וד in line 31, where one destroyed letter must be supplied (here it is bracketed in the middle). Kenneth Kitchen has proposed that an inscription of c. 945 BC by the Egyptian Pharaoh Shoshenq I mentions "the highlands of David." Although a reference to King David in this geographical name is not certain, some scholars suggest it is reasonable.

City of David and Judah, ca. 1000 BC onward

The Bronze and Iron Age remains of the City of David, the original urban core of Jerusalem identified with the reigns of David and Solomon, were investigated extensively in the 1970s and 1980s under the direction of Yigal Shiloh of the Hebrew University, but failed to discover significant evidence of occupation during the 10th century BC, In 2005, Eilat Mazar found a Large Stone Structure which she claimed was David's Palace, but the archaeology is contaminated and impossible to date accurately. Finkelstein and Silberman feel the archaeological evidence from surface surveys indicates that Judah at the time of David was a small tribal kingdom, although both do accept that David and Solomon were likely historical figures in Judah about the 10th century BC (describing David as a "bandit leader").

The biblical account

The biblical account about David comes from the book of Samuel and the book of Chronicles (both of which are divided into two books in Jewish and Christian traditions). (Although almost half of the Psalms are headed "A Psalm of David", the headings are later additions, and no psalm can be attributed to David with certainty). Chronicles merely retells Samuel from a different theological vantage point, and contains little if any information not available there, and the biblical evidence for David is therefore dependent almost exclusively on the material contained in the chapters from 1 Samuel 16 to 1 Kings 2.

Since Martin Noth put forward his analysis of the Deuteronomistic History biblical scholars have accepted that these two books form part of a continuous history of Israel, compiled no earlier than the late 7th century BC, but incorporating earlier works and fragments. Samuel's account of David "seems to have undergone two separate acts of editorial slanting. The original writers show a strong bias against Saul, and in favour of David and Solomon. Many years later, the Deuteronomists edited the material in a manner that conveyed their religious message, inserting reports and anecdotes that strengthened their monotheistic doctrine. Some of the materials in Samuel I and II, notably the boundary, allotment and administrative lists are believed to be very early, since they correspond closely to what we know of the territorial conditions of the late Davidic-early Solomonic period.

Beyond this, the full range of possible interpretations is available. The late John Bright, whose ''History of Israel'', which went through four editions from 1959 to 2000, takes Samuel at face value, but Donald B. Redford thinks all reconstructions from Biblical sources for the United Monarchy period are examples of 'academic wishful thinking', and Thomas L. Thompson measures Samuel against the archaeological evidence and concludes that "an independent history of Judea during the Iron I [i.e., the period of David] and Iron II periods has little room for historicizing readings of the stories of I-II Samuel and I Kings." Some interesting studies of David have been written: Baruch Halpern has pictured David as a lifelong vassal of Achish, the Philistine king of Gath; Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman have identified as the oldest and most reliable section of Samuel those chapters which describe David as the charismatic leader of a band of outlaws who captures Jerusalem and makes it his capital. Steven McKenzie, Associate Professor of the Hebrew Bible at Rhodes College and author of ''King David: A Biography'', states the belief that David actually came from a wealthy family, was "ambitious and ruthless" and a tyrant who murdered his opponents, including his own sons.

David's succession

Genealogy

According to and , David is the eleventh generation from Judah, the fourth son of the patriarch Jacob (Israel). The genealogical line runs as follows: (1) Judah → (2) Pharez → (3) Hezron → (4) Ram → (5) Amminadab → (6) Nahshon → (7) Salmon → (8) Boaz (the husband of Ruth) → (9) Obed → (10) Jesse → (11) David.

David's family

David was born in Bethlehem, in the territory of the Tribe of Judah. His father was named Jesse. His mother is not named in the Bible, but the Talmud identifies her as Nitzevet daughter of Adael. David had seven brothers and was the youngest of them all. He had eight wives: Michal, the second daughter of King Saul; Ahinoam the Jezreelite; Abigail the Carmelite, previously wife of Nabal; Maachah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; Haggith; Abital; Eglah; and Bathsheba, previously the wife of Uriah the Hittite.

The Book of Chronicles lists David's sons by various wives and concubines. In Hebron he had six sons : Amnon, by Ahinoam; Daniel, by Abigail; Absalom, by Maachah; Adonijah, by Haggith; Shephatiah, by Abital; and Ithream, by Eglah. By Bathsheba, his sons were: Shammua; Shobab; Nathan; and Solomon. His sons born in Jerusalem by other wives included: Ibhar; Elishua; Eliphelet; Nogah; Nepheg; Japhia; Elishama; and Eliada. According to , Jerimoth, who is not mentioned in any of the genealogies, is mentioned as another of David's sons. According to , David adopted Jonathan's son Mephibosheth as his own.

David also had at least one daughter, Tamar by Maachah, who was raped by Amnon, her half-brother. Her rape leads to Amnon's death. Absalom, Amnon's half-brother and Tamar's full-brother, waits two years, then avenges his sister by sending his servants to kill Amnon at a feast to which he had invited all the king's sons.

Descendants of David

The following are some of the more notable persons who have claimed descent from the Biblical David, or had it claimed on their behalf:

Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon of Spain/haRaMbaM apx. 1135-1204)

Judah Loew, Yehuda Loew ben Bezalel (c. 1525, Prague; 22 August 1609 Prague), also known as "The Maharal of Prague".

The Abravanel family

The Baal Shem Tov, and through him every Hassidic Rebbe descended from him

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, whose family is descended from Judah Loew.

Legend & Legacy

In European Christian culture of the Middle Ages David was created a member of the Nine Worthies, a group of heroes encapsulating all the ideal qualities of chivalry. His life was thus proposed as a valuable subject for study by those aspiring to chivalric status. This aspect of David in the Nine Worthies was popularised firstly through literature, and was thereafter adopted as a frequent subject for painters and sculptors.

Representation in art and literature

Art

Famous sculptures of David include (in chronological order) those by:

Donatello (''c.'' 1430 - 1440), ''David'' (Donatello)

Andrea del Verrocchio (1476), ''David'' (Verrocchio)

Michelangelo (1504), ''David'' (Michelangelo)

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1624), ''David'' (Bernini)

Antonin Mercié (1873)

Literature

Dryden's long poem Absalom and Achitophel is an allegory that uses the story of the rebellion of Absalom against King David as the basis for his satire of the contemporary political situation, including events such as the Monmouth Rebellion (1685), the Popish Plot (1678) and the Exclusion Crisis.

Elmer Davis's novel ''Giant Killer'' (1928, The John Day company) retells and embellishes the Biblical story of David, casting David as primarily a poet who managed always to find others to do the "dirty work" of heroism and kingship. In the novel, Elhanan in fact killed Goliath but David claimed the credit; and Joab, David's cousin and general, took it upon himself to make many of the difficult decisions of war and statecraft when David vacillated or wrote poetry instead.

Gladys Schmitt wrote a novel titled "David the King" (1946, Doubleday Books) which proceeds as a richly embellished biography of David's entire life. The book took a risk, especially for its time, in portraying David's relationship with Jonathan as overtly homoerotic, but was ultimately panned by critics as a bland rendition of the title character.

In Thomas Burnett Swann's Biblical fantasy novel ''How are the Mighty Fallen'' (1974, DAW) David and Jonathan are explicitly stated to be lovers. Moreover, Jonathan is a member of a winged semi-human race (possibly nephilim), one of several such races co-existing with humanity but often persecuted by it.

Joseph Heller wrote a novel based on David, ''God Knows'' (1984, Simon & Schuster). Told from the perspective of an aging David, the humanity—rather than the heroism—of various biblical characters are emphasized. The portrayal of David as a man of flaws such as greed, lust, selfishness, and his alienation from God, the falling apart of his family is a distinctly 20th century interpretation of the events told in the Bible.

Juan Bosch, Dominican political leader and writer, wrote "David: Biography of a King" (1966, Hawthorn, NY) a realistic approach to David's life and political career.

Allan Massie wrote "King David" (1996, Sceptre), a novel about David's career which portrays the king's relationship to Jonathan and others as openly homosexual.

Madeleine L'Engle's novel ''Certain Women'' (1993, HarperOne) explores family, the Christian faith, and the nature of God through the story of King David's family and an analogous modern family's saga.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used the story of David and Bathsheba as the main structure for the Sherlock Holmes story ''The Adventure of the Crooked Man''. The betrayal of the Crooked Man is paralleled with David's betrayal of Uriah the Hittite, carried out in order to win Bathsheba.

Stefan Heym's "The King David Report" (1998, Northwestern University Press) is a fiction depicting the writings of the Bible historian, Ethan, upon King Solomon's orders, of a true and authoritative report on the life of David, Son of Jesse.

Malachi Martin's 1980 factional novel ''King of Kings: A Novel of the Life of David'' relates the life of David, Adonai's champion in his battle with the Philistine deity Dagon.

William Faulkner's "Absalom, Absalom!"(1936) refers to the story of Absalom, David's son; his rebellion against his father and his death at the hands of David's general, Joab. In addition it parallels Absalom's vengeance for the rape of his sister Tamar by his half-brother, Amnon.

Film

Gregory Peck played King David in the 1951 film ''David and Bathsheba'', directed by Henry King. Susan Hayward played Bathsheba and Raymond Massey played the prophet Nathan.

Jeft Chandler played David in the 1960 film Story of David

Finlay Currie played an aged King David in the 1959 film ''Solomon and Sheba'', directed by King Vidor. Yul Brynner played Solomon and Gina Lollobrigida played the Queen of Sheba.

Richard Gere portrayed King David in the 1985 film ''King David'' directed by Bruce Beresford.

Music

Josquin des Prez's Planxit autem David is a polyphonic setting of 2 Samuel Chapter I verses 17-27, David's lamentation for the dead Saul and Jonathan. His Absalon fili mi is a polyphonic lamentation from David's perspective on the death of his son.

George Frideric Handel's oratorio ''Saul'' features David as one of its main characters

Arthur Honegger's oratorio, ''Le Roi David'' ('King David'), with a libretto by Rene Morax, was composed in 1921 and instantly became a staple of the choral repertoire; it is still widely performed.

Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah" has references to David ("there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord", "The baffled king composing Hallelujah") and Bathsheba ("you saw her bathing on the roof") in its opening verses.

"Mad About You", a song on Sting's 1991 album ''The Soul Cages'' explores David's obsession with Bathsheba from David's perspective.

Dead by the Pixies is a retelling of David's adultery and repentance.

Herbert Howells (1892–1983) composed an artsong for voice and piano called "King David".

Eric Whitacre composed a choral piece, "When David Heard," chronicling the death of Absalom and David's grief over losing his son.

mewithoutYou has a song from their album It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright, entitled "The Angel of Death Came to David's Room," which tells the story of David struggle with the Angel of Death when his (David's) time of death has arrived. It is based on folk tradition of King David and some Hebrew Bible.

Pierce Pettis wrote and recorded a song on his album "Making Light of It" called "Absalom, Absalom," expressing David's feelings of grief over and responsibility for his son's death.

Spoken (band) released a track on their album Echoes of the Spirit Still Dwell called "David" that is based on 2 Samuel 6:14.

Musical theatre

King David, a modern oratorio, with a book and lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Alan Menken.

Television

Nathaniel Parker portrayed King David in the 1997 TV film "David", with Leonard Nimoy as Samuel and Jonathan Pryce as Saul.

In 2009, NBC introduced the series ''Kings'', which was explicitly designed as a modern retelling of the David story.

In the PBS television series Wishbone the episode "Little Big Dog" recounts the story of David, his favor with Saul, and his triumphant battle over Goliath.

The season two episode of Xena: Warrior Princess "Giant Killer" features David and his killing of Goliath.

Trivia

For a considerable period, starting in the 15th century and continuing until the 19th, French playing card manufacturers assigned to each of the court cards names taken from history or mythology. In this context, the King of Spades was often known as "David".

See also

David and Jonathan

King David's Palace site

King David's Tomb

Midrash Shmuel (aggadah)

Passover songs

Tel Arad

Notes

is the traditional Koranic spelling without vocalization.  In Modern Standard Arabic, it is normally written .

References

Kirsch, Jonathan (2000) ''King David: the real life of the man who ruled Israel''. Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-43275-4.

See also the entry "David" in ''Easton's Bible Dictionary''.

Dever, William G. (2001) ''What did the Bible writers know and when did they know it?'' William B. Eerdmans Publ. Co., Cambridge UK.

Further reading

For a more complete summary of all the episodes in the Saul/David story in Samuel (but excluding Chronicles), see synopsis

External links

Complete Bible Genealogy David's family tree

Double Identity: Orpheus as David. Orpheus as Christ? Biblical Archaeology Review

Category:Hebrew Bible people Category:Kings of ancient Israel Category:Kings of ancient Judah Category:10th-century BC biblical rulers Category:11th-century BC biblical rulers Category:Biblical murderers Category:Burials in Jerusalem Category:History of Jerusalem Category:Old Testament saints Category:People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar Category:People from Bethlehem Category:Shepherds Category:Books of Samuel

ace:Daud ar:داود az:Davud peyğəmbər bn:দাউদ be:Давыд, цар ізраільска-іудзейскі br:David (roue Israel) bg:Давид ca:David cs:David (biblická postava) cy:Dafydd (brenin) da:Kong David pdc:Daafit de:David (Israel) el:Δαβίδ es:David eo:Davido eu:David fa:داوود fr:David (Bible) fur:Davide ga:Dáiví gl:David hak:Thai-ví-vòng ko:다윗 hi:दाउद hr:Kralj David id:Daud it:Davide he:דוד ka:დავითი sw:Daudi (Biblia) ku:Dawid lbe:Давуд идавс la:David (rex) lt:Dovydas hu:Dávid zsidó király mk:Давид ml:ദാവീദ് nl:Koning David ja:ダビデ no:David av Israel nn:David I av Israel pl:Dawid (król Izraela) pt:David ro:David (Iuda) ru:Давид sco:David sq:Mbreti David simple:David sk:Dávid (biblická postava) so:Nabi Daa'uud C.S. sr:Давид (краљ) fi:Daavid sv:Kung David ta:தாவீது அரசர் tl:David th:เดวิด tr:Davud uk:Давид vi:David wo:Daawuda yi:דוד המלך zh:大衛

Name	Sir David Frost
Birth name	David Paradine Frost
Birth date	April 07, 1939
Birth place	Tenterden, Kent, England
Known for	''That Was The Week That Was'', ''Breakfast with Frost'', ''Frost On Sunday'' (TV-am)
Occupation	Television presenter, journalist, comedian, writer
Years active	1961–present
Nationality	British
Religion	Methodist
Spouse	Lynne Frederick (1981–82) Lady Carina Fitzalan-Howard (1983–present) }}

Sir David Paradine Frost, OBE (born 7 April 1939) is a British journalist, comedian, writer and media personality, best known for his serious interviews with various political figures, the most notable being Richard Nixon. Since 2006, he has been hosting the weekly programme ''Frost Over the World'' on Al Jazeera English.

Early life

David Paradine Frost was born at Tenterden, Kent, on 7 April 1939 the son of a Methodist minister of Huguenot descent, the Rev. W.J. Paradine Frost. While living in Gillingham, Kent, he was taught in the Bible Class of the Sunday School at his father's church (Byron Road Methodist) by David Gilmore Harvey, and subsequently started training as a Methodist Local Preacher, which he did not complete. He attended Barnsole Road Primary School in Gillingham, then Gillingham Grammar School and finally Wellingborough Grammar School. He subsequently won a place at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a degree in English. He had turned down a contract with Nottingham Forest Football Club to attend university.

At Cambridge, he edited a student newspaper, ''Varsity,'' and a literary magazine, ''Granta.'' He was also secretary of the famous Footlights Drama Society, which included actors such as Peter Cook and John Bird.

After leaving university, he became a trainee at Associated-Rediffusion and worked for Anglia Television.

''That Was the Week That Was'' (''TW3'')

Frost was chosen by writer and producer Ned Sherrin to host a pioneering satirical programme called ''That Was The Week That Was,'' alias ''TW3.'' This caught the wave of the satire boom in 1960s Britain and became a popular programme. ''TW3'' was the last piece of scheduled programming broadcast by the BBC on a Saturday, and regularly overran its time slot.

After a pilot episode on 10 November 1963, a 30-minute American version of ''TW3'' featuring Frost ran on NBC from 10 January 1964 to May 1965. In 1985, David Frost produced and hosted a television special in the same format, ''That Was the Year That Was,'' on NBC.

After ''TW3''

Frost fronted a number of programmes following the success of ''TW3,'' including its immediate successor, ''Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life,'' which he co-chaired with Willie Rushton and P. J. Kavanagh. More notable was ''The Frost Report,'' 1966 and 1967, which launched the television careers of John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. He signed for Rediffusion, the ITV weekday contractor in London, to produce a "heavier" interview-based show called ''The Frost Programme.'' Guests included Sir Oswald Mosley and Rhodesian premier Ian Smith. His memorable dressing-down of insurance fraudster Emil Savundra was generally regarded as the first example of "trial by television" in the UK.

In 1963 a tribute to the recently assassinated President John F. Kennedy on ''That Was the Week That Was'' had seen Frost's fame spread to the United States. His 1970 TV special ''Frost on America'' featured guests such as Jack Benny and Tennessee Williams.

From 1969 to 1972, Frost kept his London shows and fronted ''The David Frost Show'' on the Group W (U.S. Westinghouse Corporation) television stations in the United States. In 1977, he met US President Richard Nixon in a series of interviews for American television.

That same year Frost was the executive producer of the Academy Award-nominated ''The Slipper and the Rose.'' Frost was an organiser of the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. Ten years later, Frost was hired as the anchor of the new American tabloid news program ''Inside Edition.'' However, he was dismissed after only three weeks, and then-ABC News reporter Bill O'Reilly was recruited in his stead.

During the 1990s, he presented the panel game ''Through the Keyhole'', which featured a long running partnership with Loyd Grossman. After transferring from ITV, his Sunday morning interview programme ''Breakfast with Frost'' ran on the BBC from January 1993 until 29 May 2005. The programme originally began in this format on TV-am in September 1983 as ''Frost on Sunday'' until the station lost its franchise at the end of 1992. Later it transferred briefly to BSB before moving to the BBC.

As of November 2006, he works for Al Jazeera English, presenting a live weekly hour-long current affairs programme, ''Frost Over the World'', which started when the network launched in November 2006. The programme has regularly made headlines with interviewees such as Tony Blair, President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, Benazir Bhutto and President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua. The programme is produced by the former Question Time editor and Independent on Sunday journalist Charlie Courtauld. He was one of the first to interview the man who authored the historic fatwa on terrorism, Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri.

During his career as a journalist he became Concorde's most frequent flier, having flown between London and New York an average of 20 times per year for 20 years.

In 2007 Frost hosted a discussion with Libya's dictator Gaddafi as part of the Monitor Group's involvement in the country.

Achievements

Frost was instrumental in starting up two important ITV franchises: London Weekend Television in July 1968 and as one of the ''Famous Five'' who launched TV-am in February 1983. Ironically, both had plans that were considered highbrow and both suffered launch problems with low audience ratings and financial difficulties that led to outside parties taking large stakes in the companies and significant changes in business strategy before stability was achieved.

On 20 and 21 July 1969, during the British television Apollo 11 coverage, he presented ''David Frost's Moon Party'' for LWT, a ten-hour discussion and entertainment marathon from LWT's Wembley Studios, on the night Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Two of his guests on this programme were British historian A.J.P. Taylor and Sammy Davis, Jr. Taylor was skeptical about the proceedings and believed that the moon landing was actually a mock-up being broadcast from a Hollywood studio. Frost started a production company called David Paradine Productions and was also part of a consortium with Richard Branson, which failed to acquire three ITV franchises under the CPV-TV name.

Frost is the only person to have interviewed eight British prime ministers serving between 1964 and 2010 (Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron) and the seven US presidents in office between 1969 and 2008 (Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush). He was also the last person to interview Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran.

He is a patron and former vice-president of the Motor Neurone Disease Association charity, as well as being a patron of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, the Hearing Trust, East Anglia's Children's Hospices, the Home Farm Trust and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

After having been in television for 40 years, Frost is worth £200 million. This valuation includes the assets of his main British company and subsidiaries, plus homes in London and the country.

''Frost/Nixon''

Originally a play by Peter Morgan that was developed from a series of interviews, ''Frost/Nixon'' was presented both in London and on Broadway. The play was adapted into a motion picture, starring Michael Sheen as David Frost, Frank Langella as Richard Nixon, directed by Ron Howard, and released in 2008. The film was nominated for five Golden Globe awards: Best Motion Picture Drama, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Screenplay and Best Original Score, as well as five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Editing.

In February 2009, David Frost was featured on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC-TV) international affairs programme "Foreign Correspondent" in a report titled "The World According To Frost", reflecting on his long career and portrayal in the feature film ''Frost/Nixon''.

Personal life

He is married to Lady Carina ''née'' Fitzalan Howard (born 20 February 1952), a daughter of the 17th Duke of Norfolk, and has three sons. He was previously married (1981–1982) to Lynne Frederick, widow of Peter Sellers. He was also engaged to American actress Diahann Carroll in the early 1970s. He also apparently supports Southampton Football Club

Selected awards and honours

1970: Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) 1993: Knight Bachelor

1994: Honorary doctoral degree of the Sussex University

2005: Fellowship of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA

2009: Honorary Doctor of Letters degree of the University of Winchester.

2009: Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmy Awards.

Publications

''"I gave them a sword": Behind the scenes of the Nixon interviews'' (1978). Published as ''Frost/Nixon'' in 2007.

''David Frosts Book of Millionaires, Multimillionaires, and Really Rich People'' (1984)

''The Rich Tide: Men, Women, Ideas and Their Transatlantic Impact'' (1986). With Michael Shea.

''An Autobiography. Part 1: From Congregations to Audiences'' (1993).

References

External links

BBC News Profile of David Frost

The Frost/Nixon Interviews Site

TV Cream on Paradine Productions

David Frost Interview with Benazir Bhutto

Frost's entry at IMDb

Category:Al Jazeera people Category:People educated at Gillingham Grammar School, Kent Category:Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Category:English Methodists Category:BBC newsreaders and journalists Category:British reporters and correspondents Category:British television producers Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English game show hosts Category:English satirists Category:English television personalities Category:Knights Bachelor Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Beccles Category:People from Tenterden Category:British broadcast news analysts Category:1939 births Category:Living people

cy:David Frost da:David Frost (tv-vært) de:David Frost (Fernsehmoderator) et:David Frost fr:David Frost it:David Frost la:David Frost nl:David Frost (journalist) no:David Frost pt:David Frost ru:Фрост, Дэвид fi:David Frost sv:David Frost zh:大卫·弗罗斯特

Name	Charles Edward Stuart
Title	"Charles III"
Imgw	220
Succession	Jacobite pretender
Reign	1 January 1766 – 31 January 1788
Reign-type	Pretendence
Predecessor	''James III and VIII''
Successor	''Henry IX''
Spouse	Louise of Stolberg-Gedern
Religion	Roman Catholic
Issue	Charlotte Stuart, Duchess of Albany (illegitimate)
Full name	Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Silvester Severino Maria Stuart
Royal house	House of Stuart
Father	''James III''
Mother	Maria Klementyna Sobieska
Birth date	December 31, 1720
Birth place	Palazzo Muti, Rome
Death date	January 31, 1788
Death place	Palazzo Muti, Rome
Place of burial	St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City }}

Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart (31 December 1720 – 31 January 1788) commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. This claim was as the eldest son of James Francis Edward Stuart, and grandson of James II and VII. Charles is perhaps best known as the instigator of the unsuccessful Jacobite uprising of 1745, in which he led an insurrection which ended in defeat at the Battle of Culloden that effectively ended the Jacobite cause. Charles's flight from Scotland after the uprising has rendered him a romantic figure of heroic failure in later representations. In 1759 he was involved in a French plan to invade the British Isles which was abandoned following British naval victories.

Early life

Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart was born in Rome, Italy, on 31 December 1720, where his father had been given a residence by Pope Clement XI. He spent almost all his childhood in Rome and Bologna. Prince Charles Edward was the son of the Old Pretender, James Francis Edward Stuart, son of exiled Stuart King, James II & VII and his second wife Mary of Modena.

His childhood in Rome was one of privilege, being brought up Catholic in a loving but argumentative family. Being the last legitimate heirs of the House of Stuart, his family lived with a sense of pride and staunchly believed in the Divine Right of Kings. The talk of regaining the thrones of England and Scotland for the Stuarts was a constant topic of conversation in the household, principally reflected in his father's often morose and combative moods.

His grandfather, James II of England and VII of Scotland, had ruled the country from 1685 to 1689, at which time he was deposed by the Dutch Protestant, William of Orange, in the Revolution of 1688. James II had aimed to bring England back into the Catholic fold and, in the process, had irritated and alarmed the powerful statesmen of the day. Since the exile of James II, the 'Jacobite Cause' had striven to return the Stuarts to the thrones of England and Scotland, in 1707 united as Great Britain. Prince Charles Edward was to play a major part in the pursuit of this ultimate goal.

The young Prince was trained in the military arts from an early age. In 1734, he observed the French and Spanish siege of Gaeta, his first exposure to the art of war. His father managed to obtain the renewed support of the French government in 1744; and Charles Edward travelled to France with the sole purpose of commanding a French army, which he would lead in an invasion of England. The invasion never materialised, because the invasion fleet was scattered by a storm. By the time the fleet had regrouped, the British fleet had realised the diversion that had deceived them and had retaken their position in the Channel. Undeterred, Charles Edward was determined to carry on in his quest for the restoration of the Stuarts.

The 'Forty-Five'

In December 1743, Charles's father named him Prince Regent, giving him authority to act in his name. Eighteen months later, he led a rising to restore his father to his thrones. Charles raised funds to fit out two ships: the ''Elisabeth'', an old man-of-war of 66 guns, and the ''Doutelle'' (le ''Du Teillay'') a small frigate of 16 guns, which successfully landed him and seven companions at Eriskay on 23 July 1745. Charles had hoped for support from a French fleet, but it was badly damaged by storms, and he was left to raise an army in Scotland. The Jacobite cause was still supported by many Highland clans, both Catholic and Protestant. Charles hoped for a warm welcome from these clans to start an insurgency by Jacobites throughout Britain, and the Highland clans indeed provided him with a warm welcome. Charles raised his father's standard at Glenfinnan and gathered a force large enough to enable him to march on Edinburgh. The city quickly surrendered. On 21 September 1745, he defeated the only government army in Scotland at the Battle of Prestonpans. The government army was led by General John Cope, and their disastrous defence against the Jacobites is immortalised in the song 'Johnnie Cope'. By November, Charles was marching south at the head of approximately 6,000 men. Having taken Carlisle, Charles's army progressed as far as Swarkestone Bridge in Derbyshire. Here, despite the objections of the Prince, the decision was made by his council to return to Scotland, largely because of rumours of a large government force being amassed. The Jacobites marched north once more, winning several more battles. The reports of a government army turned out to have been false, but Charles's retreat gave the English time to muster an actual army. The Jacobites were pursued by King George II's son, the Duke of Cumberland, who caught up with them at the Battle of Culloden on 16 April 1746. Ignoring the advice of his best commander, Lord George Murray, Charles chose to fight on flat, open, marshy ground where his forces would be exposed to superior government firepower. Charles commanded his army from a position behind his lines, where he could not see what was happening. Hoping Cumberland's army would attack first, he had his men stand exposed to Hanoverian artillery. Seeing the error in this, he quickly ordered an attack, but the messenger was killed before the order could be delivered. The Jacobite attack, charging into the teeth of musket fire and grapeshot fired from the cannons, was uncoordinated and met with little success.

The Jacobites broke through the bayonets of the redcoats in one place, but they were shot down by a second line of soldiers, and the survivors fled. Cumberland's troops committed numerous atrocities as they hunted for the defeated Jacobite soldiers, earning him the title "the Butcher" from the Highlanders. Murray managed to lead a group of Jacobites to Ruthven, intending to continue the fight. However Charles, believing himself betrayed, had decided to abandon the Jacobite cause. James, the Chevalier de Johnstone, acted as Murray's Aide de Camp during the campaign and, for a brief spell, the Young Pretender's. He gives a first-hand account of these events in his "Memoir of the Rebellion 1745–1746".

Charles's subsequent flight has become the stuff of legend and is commemorated in the popular folk song "The Skye Boat Song" (lyrics 1884, tune traditional) and also the old Irish song ''Mo Ghile Mear'' by Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill. Hiding in the moors of Scotland, he travelled about, always barely ahead of the government forces. Though many Highlanders saw Charles, and indeed aided him, none of them betrayed him for the £30,000 reward offered. Assisted by such loyal supporters as Flora MacDonald, who helped him escape pursuers on the Isle of Skye by taking him in a small boat disguised as her Irish maid, "Betty Burke," he evaded capture and left the country aboard the French frigate ''L'Heureux'', arriving back in France in September. The cause of the Stuarts now lost, the remainder of his life was — with a brief exception — spent in exile.

Exile

While back in France, Charles had numerous affairs; the one with his first cousin Marie Louise de La Tour d'Auvergne, wife of Jules, Prince of Guéméné, resulted in a short-lived son Charles (1748–1749). In 1748 Charles was expelled from France under the terms of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle which brought the war between Britain and France to an end.

Charles lived for several years in exile with his Scottish mistress, Clementina Walkinshaw, whom he met, and may have begun a relationship with, during the 1745 rebellion. In 1753, the couple had a daughter, Charlotte. Charles's inability to cope with the collapse of the cause led to his problem with drink, and mother and daughter left Charles with James's connivance. Charlotte went on to have three illegitimate children with Ferdinand, an ecclesiastical member of the Rohan family. Their only son was Charles Edward Stuart, Count Roehenstart. Charlotte was suspected by many of Charles's supporters of being a spy planted by the Hanoverian government of Great Britain.

After his defeat, Charles indicated to the remaining supporters of the Jacobite cause in England that, accepting the impossibility of his recovering the English and Scots crowns while he remained a Roman Catholic, he was willing to commit himself to reigning as a Protestant. Accordingly, he visited London incognito in 1750 and conformed to the Protestant faith by receiving Anglican communion, likely at one of the remaining non-juring chapels. Bishop Robert Gordon, a staunch Jacobite whose house in Theobald's Row was one of Charles's safe-houses for the visit is the most likely to have performed the communion, and a chapel in Gray's Inn was suggested as the venue as early as 1788 [Gentleman's Magazine, 1788]. This refuted David Hume's suggestion that it was a church in the Strand. Unusually, the news of this conversion was not advertised widely, and Charles had seemingly returned to the Roman Catholic faith by the time of his marriage.

In 1759, at the height of the Seven Years War, Charles was summoned to a meeting in Paris with the French foreign minister, the Duc De Choiseul. Charles failed to make a good impression, being argumentative and idealistic in his expectations. Choiseul was planning a full-scale invasion of England, involving upwards of 100,000 men—to which he hoped to add a number of Jacobites led by Charles. However, he was so little impressed with Charles, he dismissed the prospect of Jacobite assistance. The French invasion, which was Charles's last realistic chance to recover the British throne for the Stuart dynasty, was ultimately thwarted by naval defeats at Quiberon Bay and Lagos. In 1766, Charles's father died. Pope Clement XIII had recognised James as King of England, Scotland, and Ireland as "James III and VIII" but did not give Charles the same recognition.

In 1772, Charles married Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern. They lived first in Rome but, in 1774, moved to Florence where Charles began to use the title "Count of Albany" as an alias. This title is frequently used for him in European publications; his wife Louise is almost always called "Countess of Albany".

In 1780, Louise left Charles. She claimed that Charles had physically abused her; this claim was generally believed by contemporaries even though Louise was already involved in an adulterous relationship with the Italian poet, Count Vittorio Alfieri.

The claims by two 19th century charlatans—Charles and John Allen alias John Sobieski Stuart and Charles Edward Stuart—that their father, Thomas Allen, was a legitimate son of Charles and Louise are without foundation.

In 1783, Charles signed an act of legitimation for his illegitimate daughter Charlotte, born in 1753 to Clementina Walkinshaw (later known as Countess von Alberstrof). Charles also gave Charlotte the title "Duchess of Albany" in the peerage of Scotland and the style "Her Royal Highness", but these honours did not give Charlotte any right of succession to the throne. Charlotte lived with her father in Florence and Rome for the next five years.

Charles died in Rome on 31 January 1788. He was first buried in the Cathedral of Frascati, where his brother Henry Benedict Stuart was bishop. At Henry's death in 1807, Charles's remains were moved to the crypt of Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican where they were laid to rest next to those of his brother and his father. His mother is also buried in Saint Peter's Basilica.

When the body of Charles Stuart was transferred to Saint Peter's Basilica, his "praecordia" were left in Frascati Cathedral: a small urn encloses the heart of Charles, placed beneath the floor below the funerary monument.

Arms

During his pretence as Prince of Wales, Charles claimed a coat of arms consisting of those of the kingdom, differenced by a ''label argent of three points''.

Ancestry

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In popular culture

Two biographical films have been made about Charles. In 1923, a British silent film, ''Bonnie Prince Charlie'', featured Ivor Novello in the title role. In 1948, another eponymous film was made with David Niven playing the role.

Peter Watkins' 1964 ''Culloden'', with Olivier Espitalier-Noel as the Prince, presents the battle through the eyes of a documentary crew as though they were actually present. The film utilises a number of other dramatic devices to create a tense realistic interpretation of the event. Similarly, the 1994 film ''Chasing the Deer'' depicts the 1745 Jacobite rebellion from the point of view of the commoners caught in the struggle. The Prince, played by Dominique Carrara, makes a brief appearance in the movie and is never actually seen by any of the commoners fighting for his cause.

A 1970 drama-documentary about the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome, ''Upon this Rock'', featured Dirk Bogarde as the older Prince.

Scottish author Sir Walter Scott featured Charles and the 1745 Jacobite uprising in his popular 1814 novel ''Waverley''.

American author Diana Gabaldon's ''Outlander'' series depicts the Bonnie Prince in the first three of her seven novels, ''Outlander'', ''Dragonfly in Amber'' and ''Voyager''.

D.K. Broster's Jacobite Trilogy, beginning with ''The Flight of the Heron'' (1920), also depicts the uprising.

''The Maiden'', Volume 8 of ''The Morland Dynasty'', a series of historical novels by author Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, covers this period of history, seen through the eyes of the fictional Morland family.

The television series ''Highlander'' features two episodes with the series' main protagonist, Duncan MacLeod, aiding the Bonnie Prince's campaigns. "Take Back The Night" depicts the Prince's escape into exile, and "Through a Glass Darkly" depicts him in the aftermath of the failed campaigns, a broken, often drunken man.

The German metal band Grave Digger released ''Tunes of War'' in 1997, a concept album about the history of Scotland. On the album Bonnie Prince Charles is mentioned by name in the song "Rebellion (The Clans Are Marching)".

Scottish vocal duo, The Corries popularised the folk song, ''The Skye Boat Song'', which told of The Bonnie Prince's escape from the Scottish Highlands after the ''Battle of Culloden.''

Lillian de la Torre wrote two stories in her Samuel Johnson series featuring meetings between Johnson and "The Young Pretender." In "Prince Charlie's Ruby," written in the 1940s and set in 1773, she has the two meeting in the Hebrides and Johnson helping the prince find a lost gem, with Johnson thrilled about meeting the prince and Flora MacDonald. But with "Coronation Story," written in the 1970s, she also has Johnson and the prince meeting in 1761 when Charles Stuart secretly attends the coronation of George III, violating her own continuity.

See also

Charles Edward Stuart's Flight

Monument to the Royal Stuarts

"Óró Sé do Bheatha 'Bhaile" (Irish supporters' song)

Prince Charlie's Targe

Touch pieces

References

;Notes

;Bibliography

Chidsey, Donald Barr. ''Bonnie Prince Charlie''. London: Williams & Norgate, 1928.

Daiches, David. ''Charles Edward Stuart: The Life and Times of Bonnie Prince Charlie''. London: Thames & Hudson, 1973.

Douglas, Hugh. ''Charles Edward Stuart''. London: Hale, 1975.

Kybett, Susan M. ''Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Biography of Charles Edward Stuart''. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1988.

McLynn, Frank. ''1759: The Year Britain Became Master of the World''. London: Pimlico, 2005

McLynn, Frank. ''Charles Edward Stuart: A Tragedy in Many Acts''. London: Routledge, 1988.

McLynn, Frank. ''The Jacobites''. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1985.

External links

McFerran, Noel S. ''Charles III''

''Charles Edward Stuart, 1720–1788''

''Ascanius; or, the Young Adventurer''

''Prince Charles Edward Stuart National Galleries of Scotland''

''Oró Sé do Bheatha 'Bhaile video A song for the second Jacobite rising

Category:1720 births Category:1788 deaths Category:British people of Polish descent Category:Earls in the Jacobite peerage Charles Edward Charles Edward Stuart Category:Peers created by James Francis Edward Stuart Category:People from Rome (city) Category:People of the Jacobite Rising of 1745 Charles Edward Stuart Category:Scottish Roman Catholics Category:Collections of Derby Museum and Art Gallery

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name	Marlon Brando
birth name	Marlon Brando, Jr.
birth date	April 03, 1924
birth place	Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
death date	July 01, 2004
death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
death cause	Respiratory failure
nationality	American
education	The New School
spouse	Anna Kashfi (1957–59)Movita Castaneda (1960–62)Tarita Teriipia (1962–72)
children	13, including:Christian Brando (deceased)Cheyenne Brando (deceased)Stephen Blackehart
parents	Marlon Brando, Sr.Dodie Brando
website	http://www.marlonbrando.com/ }}

Marlon Brando, Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor who performed for over half a century.

An enduring cultural icon, Brando was perhaps best known for his role as Stanley Kowalski in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (1951), his Academy Award-nominated performance as Emiliano Zapata in ''Viva Zapata!'' (1952), his role as Mark Antony in the MGM film adaptation of the Shakespeare play ''Julius Caesar'' (1953), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award, and his Academy Award-winning performance as Terry Malloy in ''On the Waterfront'' (1954). During the 1970s, he was most famous for his Academy Award-winning performance as Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's ''The Godfather'' (1972), also playing Colonel Walter Kurtz in another Coppola film, ''Apocalypse Now'' (1979). Brando delivered an Academy Award-nominated performance as Paul in ''Last Tango in Paris'' (1972), in addition to directing and starring in the western film ''One-Eyed Jacks'' (1961).

Brando had a significant impact on film acting, and was the foremost example of the "method" acting style. While he became notorious for his "mumbling" diction and exuding a raw animal magnetism, his mercurial performances were nonetheless highly regarded, and he is widely considered as one of the greatest and most influential actors of the 20th century. Director Martin Scorsese said of him, "He is the marker. There's 'before Brando' and 'after Brando'.'" Actor Jack Nicholson once said, "When Marlon dies, everybody moves up one."

Brando was also an activist, supporting many issues, notably the African-American Civil Rights Movement and various American Indian Movements.

Early life

Marlon Brando was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Marlon Brando, Sr., a pesticide and chemical feed manufacturer, and his wife, Dorothy Julia (née Pennebaker). His parents moved to Evanston, Illinois, but separated when he was eleven years old. His mother took her three children: Jocelyn (1919–2005), Frances (1922–1994) and Marlon, to live with her mother in Santa Ana, California. In 1937, Brando's parents reconciled and moved together to Libertyville, Illinois, north of Chicago.

Brando's family was of mostly Irish ancestry. He also had distant French ancestry. Brando was raised a Christian Scientist. His grandmother Marie Holloway abandoned her family when Marlon Brando, Sr., was five years old. She used the money Eugene sent her to support her gambling and alcoholism.''

Marlon Brando, Sr., was a talented amateur photographer. His wife, known as Dodie, was unconventional but talented, having been an actress. She smoked, wore trousers, and drove cars, unusual for women at the time. However, she was an alcoholic and often had to be brought home from Chicago bars by her husband; she finally joined Alcoholics Anonymous. Dodie Brando acted and was a theater administrator. She helped Henry Fonda to begin his acting career, and fueled her son Marlon's interest in stage acting. However, Brando was closer to his maternal grandmother, Bessie Gahan Pennebaker Meyers, than to his mother. Widowed while young, Meyers worked as a secretary and later as a Christian Science practitioner. Her father, Myles Gahan, was a doctor from Ireland; her mother, Julia Watts, was from England.

Brando was a mimic from early childhood and developed an ability to absorb the mannerisms of people he played and display them dramatically while staying in character. His sister Jocelyn Brando was the first to pursue an acting career, going to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Art. She appeared on Broadway, then movies and television. Brando's sister Frances left college in California to study art in New York. Brando soon followed her.

Brando had been held back a year in school and was later expelled from Libertyville High School for riding his motorcycle through the corridors. He was sent to Shattuck Military Academy, where his father had studied before him. Brando excelled at theatre and did well in the school. In his final year (1943), however, he was put on probation for talking back to a student officer during maneuvers. He was confined to the campus, but tried going into town, and was caught. The faculty voted to expel him, though he was supported by the students, who thought expulsion was too harsh. He was invited back for the following year, but decided instead to drop out of high school.

Brando worked as a ditch-digger as a summer job arranged by his father. It was also during this time that Brando attempted to join the Army. However at his army induction physical it was discovered that a football injury that he had sustained at Shattuck had left him with a trick knee. Brando was therefore classified as a 4-F, and not inducted into the Army. He then decided to follow his sisters to New York. His father supported him for six months, then offered to help him find a job as a salesman. However, Brando left to study at the American Theatre Wing Professional School, part of the Dramatic Workshop of The New School with the influential German director Erwin Piscator and at the Actors Studio. He also studied with Stella Adler and learned the techniques of the Stanislavski System. There is a story in which Adler spoke about teaching Brando, saying that she had instructed the class to act like chickens, then adding that a nuclear bomb was about to fall on them. Most of the class clucked and ran around wildly, but Brando sat calmly and pretended to lay an egg. Asked by Adler why he had chosen to react this way, he said, "I'm a chicken, what do I know about nuclear bombs?"

Career

Early work

Brando used his Stanislavski System skills for his first summer-stock roles in Sayville, New York on Long Island. His behavior got him kicked out of the cast of the New School's production in Sayville, but he was discovered in a locally produced play there and then made it to Broadway in the bittersweet drama ''I Remember Mama'' in 1944. Critics voted him "Broadway's Most Promising Actor" for his role as an anguished veteran in ''Truckline Café'', although the play was a commercial failure. In 1946 he appeared on Broadway as the young hero in the political drama ''A Flag is Born'', refusing to accept wages above the Actor's Equity rate because of his commitment to the cause of Israeli independence. In that same year, Brando played the role of Marchbanks with Katharine Cornell in her production's revival of Candida, one of her signature roles. Cornell also cast him as The Messenger in a her production of Jean Anouilh's Antigone that same year. Brando achieved stardom, however, as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams's 1947 play ''A Streetcar Named Desire,'' directed by Elia Kazan. Brando sought out that role, driving out to Provincetown, Massachusetts, where Williams was spending the summer, to audition for the part. Williams recalled that he opened the screen door and knew, instantly, that he had his Stanley Kowalski. Brando's performance revolutionized acting technique and set the model for the American form of method acting.

Afterward, Brando was asked to do a screen test for Warner Brothers studio for the film ''Rebel Without A Cause'', which James Dean was later cast in. The screen test appears as an extra in the 2006 DVD release of ''A Streetcar Named Desire''.

Brando's first screen role was as the bitter paraplegic veteran in ''The Men'' in 1950. True to his method, Brando spent a month in bed at the Birmingham Army Hospital in Van Nuys to prepare for the role. By Brando's own account it may have been because of this film that his draft status was changed from 4-F to 1-A. He had had an operation on the knee he had injured at Shattuck, and it was no longer physically debilitating enough to incur exclusion from the draft. When Brando reported to the induction center he answered a questionnaire provided to him by saying his race was "human", his color was "Seasonal-oyster white to beige", and he told an Army doctor that he was psycho neurotic. When the draft board referred him to a psychiatrist Brando explained how he had been expelled from Military School, and that he had severe problems with authority. Coincidentally enough the psychiatrist knew a doctor friend of Brando, and Brando was able to avoid military service during the Korean War.

Rise to fame

Brando brought his performance as Stanley Kowalski to the screen in Kazan's adaptation of Tennessee Williams's ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for that role, and again in each of the next three years for his roles in ''Viva Zapata!'' in 1952, ''Julius Caesar'' in 1953 as Mark Antony, and ''On the Waterfront'' in 1954. These first five films of his career established Brando, as evidenced in his winning the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in three consecutive years, 1951 to 1953.

In 1953, Brando also starred in ''The Wild One'' riding his own Triumph Thunderbird 6T motorcycle which caused consternation to Triumph's importers, as the subject matter was rowdy motorcycle gangs taking over a small town. But the images of Brando posing with his Triumph motorcycle became iconic, even forming the basis of his wax dummy at Madame Tussauds.

Later that same year, Brando starred in Lee Falk's production of George Bernard Shaw's ''Arms and the Man'' in Boston. Falk was proud to tell people that Marlon Brando turned down an offer of $10,000 per week on Broadway, in favor of working on Falk's play in Boston. His Boston contract was less than $500 per week. It would be the last time he ever acted in a stage play.

Brando won the Oscar for his role as Terry Malloy in ''On the Waterfront''. For the famous ''I coulda' been a contender'' scene, Brando convinced Kazan that the scripted scene was unrealistic, and with Rod Steiger, improvised the final product.

Brando then took a variety of roles in the 1950s: as Sky Masterson in the musical ''Guys and Dolls''; as Sakini, a Japanese interpreter for the U.S. Army in postwar Japan in ''The Teahouse of the August Moon''; as a United States Air Force officer in ''Sayonara'', and a Nazi officer in ''The Young Lions''.

In the 1960s, Brando starred in films such as ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1962); ''One-Eyed Jacks'' (1961), a western that would be the only film Brando would ever direct; ''The Chase'' (1966), and ''Reflections in a Golden Eye'' (1967), portraying a repressed gay army officer. It was the type of performance that later led critic Stanley Crouch to write, "Brando's main achievement was to portray the taciturn but stoic gloom of those pulverized by circumstances." He also played a guru in the sex farce ''Candy'' (1968). ''Burn!'' (1969), which Brando would later claim as his personal favorite, was a commercial failure. His career slowed down by the end of the decade as he gained a reputation for being difficult to work with.

''The Godfather''

Brando's performance as Vito Corleone or 'the Don' in 1972's ''The Godfather'' was a mid-career turning point. Director Francis Ford Coppola convinced Brando to submit to a "make-up" test, in which Brando did his own makeup (he used cotton balls to simulate the puffed-cheek look). Coppola was electrified by Brando's characterization as the head of a crime family, but had to fight the studio in order to cast the temperamental Brando. Mario Puzo always imagined Brando as Corleone. However, Paramount studio heads wanted to give the role to Danny Thomas in the hope that Thomas would have his own production company throw in its lot with Paramount. Thomas declined the role and actually urged the studio to cast Brando at the behest of Coppola and others who had witnessed the screen test.

Eventually, Charles Bluhdorn, the president of Paramount parent Gulf + Western, was won over to letting Brando have the role; when he saw the screen test, he asked in amazement, "What are we watching? Who is this old guinea?"

Brando won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, but turned down the Oscar, becoming the second actor to refuse a Best Actor award (the first being George C. Scott for ''Patton''). Brando boycotted the award ceremony, sending instead American Indian Rights activist Sacheen Littlefeather, who appeared in full Apache dress, to state Brando's reasons, which were based on his objection to the depiction of American Indians by Hollywood and television.

The actor followed with Bernardo Bertolucci's 1973 film, ''Last Tango in Paris'', but the performance was overshadowed by an uproar over the erotic nature of the film. Despite the controversy which attended both the film and the man, the Academy once again nominated Brando for the Best Actor.

Brando, along with James Caan, was later scheduled in 1974 to appear in the final scene of ''The Godfather Part II''. However, rewrites were made to the script when Brando refused to show up to the studio on the single day of shooting due to disputes with the studio.

Later career

Brando portrayed Superman's father Jor-El in the 1978 film ''Superman''. He agreed to the role only on assurance that he would be paid a large sum for what amounted to a small part, that he would not have to read the script beforehand and his lines would be displayed somewhere off-camera. It was revealed in a documentary contained in the 2001 DVD release of ''Superman'', that he was paid $3.7 million for just two weeks of work.

Brando also filmed scenes for the movie's sequel, ''Superman II'', but after producers refused to pay him the same percentage he received for the first movie, he denied them permission to use the footage. However, after Brando's death the footage was reincorporated into the 2006 re-cut of the film, ''Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut''.

Two years after Brando's death, he "reprised" the role of Jor-El in the 2006 "loose sequel" ''Superman Returns'', in which both used and unused archive footage of Brando as Jor-El from the first two Superman films was remastered for a scene in the Fortress of Solitude, and Brando's voice-overs were used throughout the film.

Brando starred as Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam epic ''Apocalypse Now''. Brando plays a highly decorated American Army Special Forces officer who goes renegade. He runs his own operations out of Cambodia and is feared by the US military as much as the Vietnamese. Brando was paid $1 million a week for his work.

Despite announcing his retirement from acting in 1980, he subsequently gave interesting supporting performances in movies such as ''A Dry White Season'' (for which he was again nominated for an Oscar in 1989), ''The Freshman'' in 1990 and ''Don Juan DeMarco'' in 1995. In his last film, ''The Score'' (2001), he starred with fellow method actor Robert De Niro. Some later performances, such as ''The Island of Dr Moreau'' (1996), earned Brando some of the most uncomplimentary reviews of his career.

Brando conceived the idea of a novel called ''Fan-Tan'' with director Donald Cammell in 1979, which was not released until 2005.

In 2004, Brando signed with Tunisian film director Ridha Behion and began pre-production on a project to be titled ''Brando and Brando''. Up to a week before his death, Brando was working on the script in anticipation of a July/August 2004 start date. Production was suspended in July 2004 following Brando's death, at which time Behi stated that he would continue the film as an homage to Brando, with a new title of ''Citizen Brando''.

Personal life

Relationships and family

In ''Songs My Mother Taught Me'', Brando claimed he met Marilyn Monroe at a party as she played piano, unnoticed by anybody else there, and they had an affair and maintained an intermittent relationship for many years, receiving a telephone call from her several days before she died. He also claimed numerous other romances, although he did not discuss his marriages, his wives, or his children in his autobiography.

Brando married actress Anna Kashfi in 1957. Kashfi was born in Calcutta and moved to Wales from India in 1947. She is said to have been the daughter of a Welsh steel worker of Irish descent, William O'Callaghan, who had been superintendent on the Indian State railways. However, in her book, ''Brando for Breakfast'', she claimed that she really is half Indian and that the press incorrectly thought that her stepfather, O'Callaghan, was her real father. She said her real father was Indian and that she was the result of an "unregistered alliance" between her parents. In 1959, Brando and Kashfi divorced after the birth of their son, Christian Brando, on May 11, 1958.

In 1960, Brando married Movita Castaneda, a Mexican-American actress seven years his senior; they were divorced in 1962. Castaneda had appeared in the first ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' film in 1935, some 27 years before the 1962 remake with Brando as Fletcher Christian. Brando's behavior during the filming of ''Bounty'' seemed to bolster his reputation as a difficult star. He was blamed for a change in director and a runaway budget, though he disclaimed responsibility for either.

The ''Bounty'' experience affected Brando's life in a profound way. He fell in love with Tahiti and its people. He bought a twelve-island atoll, Tetiaroa, which he intended to make partly an environmental laboratory and partly a resort. Tahitian beauty Tarita Teriipia, who played Fletcher Christian's love interest, became Brando's third wife on August 10, 1962. She was 20 years old, 18 years younger than Brando. A 1961 article on Teriipia in the fan magazine ''Motion Picture'' described Brando's delight at how naïve and unsophisticated she was. Because Teriipia was a native French speaker, Brando became fluent in the language and gave numerous interviews in French. Teriipia became the mother of two of his children. They divorced in July 1972. Brando eventually had a hotel built on Tetiaroa. It went through many redesigns as a result of changes demanded by Brando over the years. It is now closed. A new hotel, consisting of thirty deluxe villas, was planned.

Brando was an active ham radio operator, with the call signs KE6PZH and FO5GJ (the latter from his island). He was listed in the FCC records as Martin Brandeaux to preserve his privacy.

;Children

by Anna Kashfi:

* Christian Devi Brando (aka Gary Brown; May 11, 1958 – January 26, 2008, died of pneumonia)

by Movita Castaneda

* Miko Castaneda Brando (b. 1960)

* Rebecca Brando (b. 1966)

by Tarita Teriipia:

* Simon Teihotu Brando (b. 1963) – the only inhabitant of Tetiaroa

* Tarita Cheyenne Brando (1970–1995), committed suicide by hanging

adopted:

* Petra Brando-Corval (b. 1972), daughter of Brando's assistant Caroline Barrett and novelist James Clavell (aka Charles Edmund DuMaresq de Clavell)

by unidentified mothers:

Stefano Brando aka Stephen Blackehart (b. 1967)

* Maimiti Brando (b. 1977) She's the daughter of Tarita, but the father left them, so Brando adopted her.

* Raiatua Brando (b. 1982) She's the adoptive daughter of Tarita and Brando adopted her.

* Dylan Brando (1968–1988)

* Angelique Brando (unknown)

by his housekeeper, Maria Christina Ruiz:

* Ninna Priscilla Brando (b. May 13, 1989)

* Myles Jonathan Brando (b. January 16, 1992)

* Timothy Gahan Brando (b. January 6, 1994)

;Grandchildren

Michael Brando (b.1988)

Tuki Brando (b. 1990)

In May 1990, Dag Drollet, the Tahitian lover of Brando's daughter Cheyenne, died of a gunshot wound after a confrontation with Cheyenne's half-brother Christian at the family's hilltop home above Beverly Hills. Christian, then 31 years old, claimed he was drunk and the shooting was accidental.

After heavily publicized pre-trial proceedings, Christian pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and use of a gun. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. Before the sentence, Brando delivered an hour of testimony, in which he said he and his former wife had failed Christian. He commented softly to members of the Drollet family: "I'm sorry... If I could trade places with Dag, I would. I'm prepared for the consequences." Afterward, Drollet's father said he thought Brando was acting and his son was "getting away with murder." The tragedy was compounded in 1995, when Cheyenne, suffering from lingering effects of a serious car accident and said to still be depressed over Drollet's death, committed suicide by hanging herself in Tahiti. Christian Brando died of pneumonia at age 49, on January 26, 2008.

Lifestyle

Brando became well known for his crusades for civil rights, Native American rights, and other political causes. He also earned a "bad boy" reputation for his public outbursts and antics. On June 12, 1973, Brando broke paparazzo Ron Galella's jaw. Galella had followed Brando, who was accompanied by talk show host Dick Cavett, after a taping of ''The Dick Cavett Show'' in New York City. He reportedly paid a $40,000 out-of-court settlement and suffered an infected hand as a result. Galella wore a football helmet the next time he photographed Brando at a gala benefiting the American Indians Development Association.

In an interview with Gary Carey, for his 1976 biography ''The Only Contender'', Brando said, "Homosexuality is so much in fashion it no longer makes news. Like a large number of men, I, too, have had homosexual experiences and I am not ashamed. I have never paid much attention to what people think about me. But if there is someone who is convinced that Jack Nicholson and I are lovers, may they continue to do so. I find it amusing."

In 1992, he donated money to Michael Jackson to help start his Heal the World Foundation.

Final years and death

Brando's notoriety, his troubled family life, and his obesity attracted more attention than his late acting career. He gained a great deal of weight in the 1980s and by the mid 1990s he weighed over 300 lbs. (136 kg) and suffered from diabetes. Like Orson Welles or Elvis Presley, he had a history of weight fluctuations through his career, attributed to his years of stress-related overeating followed by compensatory dieting. He also earned a reputation for being difficult on the set, often unwilling or unable to memorize his lines and less interested in taking direction than in confronting the film director with odd demands. Brando also dabbled with some innovation in his last years. Brando had several patents issued in his name from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, all of which involve a method of tensioning drum heads, in June 2002 – November 2004. For example, see and its equivalents.

The actor was a longtime close friend of entertainer Michael Jackson and paid regular visits to his Neverland Ranch, resting there for weeks at a time. Brando also participated in the singer's two-day solo career thirtieth-anniversary celebration concerts in 2001, and starred in his 13-minute-long music video, "You Rock My World," in the same year. The actor's son, Miko, was Jackson's bodyguard and assistant for several years, and was a friend of the singer. He stated "The last time my father left his house to go anywhere, to spend any kind of time... was with Michael Jackson. He loved it... He had a 24-hour chef, 24-hour security, 24-hour help, 24-hour kitchen, 24-hour maid service." On Jackson's 30th anniversary concert, Brando gave a speech to the audience on humanitarian work which received a poor reaction from the audience and was unaired.

On July 1, 2004, Brando died, aged 80. He left behind eleven children as well as over thirty grandchildren. The cause of death was intentionally withheld, his lawyer citing privacy concerns. It was later revealed that he had died at UCLA Medical Center of respiratory failure brought on by pulmonary fibrosis. He also suffered from congestive heart failure, failing eyesight caused by diabetes, and liver cancer. Before his death and despite his ill-health, he recorded his voice to appear in ''The Godfather: The Game'', once again as Don Vito Corleone.

Karl Malden, Brando's fellow actor in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', ''On The Waterfront'', and ''One-Eyed Jacks'' (the only film directed by Brando), talks in a documentary accompanying the DVD of ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' about a phone call he received from Brando shortly before Brando's death. A distressed Brando told Malden he kept falling over. Malden wanted to come over, but Brando put him off telling him there was no point. Three weeks later, Brando was dead. Shortly before his death, Brando had apparently refused permission for tubes carrying oxygen to be inserted into his lungs, which, he was told, was the only way to prolong his life.

Brando was cremated, and his ashes were put in with those of his childhood friend Wally Cox and another friend. They were then scattered partly in Tahiti and partly in Death Valley.

In 2007, a 165-minute biopic of Brando, ''Brando: The Documentary'', produced by Mike Medavoy (the executor of Brando's will) for Turner Classic Movies, was released.

Politics

Civil rights

In 1946, Brando showed his dedication to the Jewish desire for a homeland by performing in Ben Hecht's Zionist play "A Flag is Born." Brando's involvement had an impact on three of the most contentious issues of the early postwar period: the fight to establish a Jewish state, the smuggling of Holocaust survivors to Israel, and the battle against racial segregation in the United States.

Brando attended some fundraisers for John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election.

In August 1963, Brando participated in the March on Washington along with fellow celebrities Harry Belafonte, James Garner, Charlton Heston, Burt Lancaster, and Sidney Poitier. Brando also, along with Paul Newman, participated in the freedom rides.

In the aftermath of the 1968 slaying of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Brando made one of the strongest commitments to furthering Dr. King's work. Shortly after Dr. King's death, Brando announced that he was bowing out of the lead role of a major film (''The Arrangement'') which was about to begin production, in order to devote himself to the civil rights movement. "I felt I’d better go find out where it is; what it is to be black in this country; what this rage is all about," Brando said on the late night ABC-TV ''Joey Bishop Show''.

The actor's participation in the African-American civil rights movement actually began well before King's death. In the early 1960s Brando contributed thousands of dollars to both the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (S.C.L.C.) and to a scholarship fund established for the children of slain Mississippi N.A.A.C.P. leader Medgar Evers. By this time, Brando was already involved in films that carried messages about human rights: "Sayonara," which addressed interracial romance, and "The Ugly American," depicting the conduct of US officials abroad and its deleterious effect on the citizens of foreign countries. For a time Brando was also donating money to the Black Panther Party and considered himself a friend of founder Bobby Seale. However, Brando ended his financial support for the group over his perception of its increasing radicalization, specifically a passage in a Panther pamphlet put out by Eldridge Cleaver advocating indiscriminate violence, "for the Revolution."

At the 1973 Academy Awards ceremony, Brando refused to accept the Oscar for his performance in The Godfather. Sacheen Littlefeather represented Mr. Brando at the ceremony. She appeared in full Apache clothing. She stated that owing to the "poor treatment of Native Americans in the film industry" Mr. Brando would not accept the award. At this time the 1973 standoff at Wounded Knee occurred, causing rising tensions between the government and Native American activists. The event grabbed the attention of the US and the world media. This was considered a major event and victory for the movement by its supporters and participants.

Outside of his film work, Brando not only appeared before the California Assembly in support of a fair housing law, but personally joined picket lines in demonstrations protesting discrimination in housing developments.

Comments on Jews, Hollywood, and Israel

In an interview in ''Playboy'' magazine in January 1979, Brando said: "You've seen every single race besmirched, but you never saw an image of the kike because the Jews were ever so watchful for that—and rightly so. They never allowed it to be shown on screen. The Jews have done so much for the world that, I suppose, you get extra disappointed because they didn't pay attention to that."

Brando made a similar comment on ''Larry King Live'' in April 1996, saying "Hollywood is run by Jews; it is owned by Jews, and they should have a greater sensitivity about the issue of—of people who are suffering. Because they've exploited—we have seen the—we have seen the Nigger and Greaseball, we've seen the Chink, we've seen the slit-eyed dangerous Jap, we have seen the wily Filipino, we've seen everything but we never saw the Kike. Because they knew perfectly well, that that is where you draw the wagons around." King, who is Jewish, replied, "When you say—when you say something like that you are playing right in, though, to anti-Semitic people who say the Jews are—" at which point Brando interrupted. "No, no, because I will be the first one who will appraise the Jews honestly and say 'Thank God for the Jews.'"

Jay Kanter, Brando's agent, producer and friend defended him in ''Daily Variety'': "Marlon has spoken to me for hours about his fondness for the Jewish people, and he is a well-known supporter of Israel." Similarly, Louie Kemp, in his article for ''Jewish Journal'', wrote: "You might remember him as Don Vito Corleone, Stanley Kowalski or the eerie Col. Walter E. Kurtz in "Apocalypse Now," but I remember Marlon Brando as a mensch and a personal friend of the Jewish people when they needed it most." Brando was also a major donor to the Irgun, a Zionist political-paramilitary group.

In an interview with ''NBC Today'' one day after Brando's death, Larry King also defended Brando's comments saying that they were out of proportion and taken out of context.

Legacy

Brando is widely considered as one of the greatest and most influential actors of the 20th century. Largely credited for popularizing the "method" acting style, he has earned great respect among critics and theatre experts for his memorable performances and charismatic screen presence. In the book ''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia, ''edited by Philip C. DiMare, James Delmont wrote: "Marlon Brando was arguably the finest screen actor of the twentieth century, winning worldwide acceptance as both a movie star of the first rank and as a performer of uncommon skill." Richard Schickel felt that: "As a movie actor he [Brando] has no peer in this generation. That he consistently underplays, yet still packs more emotion into a scene than anyone else, is a sign of a charisma that may be an act of God." Similarly, film critic Roger Ebert, writing of his iconic performance in ''Last Tango in Paris'', said: "This was the greatest movie actor of his time, the author of performances that do honor to the cinema." Tennessee Williams, among the many who acknowledged his finesse, described Brando as "the greatest living actor ever... greater than [Laurence] Olivier." Laurence Olivier himself said: "Brando acted with an empathy and an instinctual understanding that not even the greatest technical performers could possibly match." In a 2007 ''Best Life'' article, praising his performance in ''On the Waterfront'', Rob Reiner wrote: "Marlon Brando gives the single greatest performance ever. It's just so natural, powerful, real, and honest."

Marlon Brando is a cultural icon whose popularity has endured for over six decades. Brando's rise to national attention in the 1950s had a profound effect on the motion picture industry and influenced the broader scope of American culture. According to film critic Pauline Kael, "[Marlon] Brando represented a reaction against the post-war mania for security. As a protagonist, the Brando of the early fifties had no code, only his instincts. He was a development from the gangster leader and the outlaw. He was antisocial because he knew society was crap; he was a hero to youth because he was strong enough not to take the crap ... Brando represented a contemporary version of the free American ... Brando is still the most exciting American actor on the screen." Sociologist Dr. Suzanne Mcdonald-Walker states: "Marlon Brando, sporting leather jacket, jeans, and moody glare, became a cultural icon summing up 'the road' in all its maverick glory." His portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler in ''The Wild One'' has become an iconic image, used both as a symbol of rebelliousness and a fashion accessory that includes a Perfecto style motorcycle jacket, a tilted cap, jeans and sunglasses. Johnny's haircut inspired a craze for sideburns, followed by James Dean and Elvis Presley, among others. Dean copied Brando's acting style extensively and Presley used him as a model for his role in ''Jailhouse Rock''. The "I coulda been a contenda" scene from ''On the Waterfront'', according to the author of ''Brooklyn Boomer'', Martin H. Levinson, is "one of the most famous scenes in motion picture history and the line itself has become part of America's cultural lexicon."

Brando's estate still earns about $9,000,000 per year, according to ''Forbes''. He was named one of the top-earning dead celebrities in the world by the magazine.

Filmography

Honors, awards and nominations

Brando was named the fourth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute, and part of ''Time'' magazine's Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century. He was also named one of the top 10 "Icons of the Century" by ''Variety'' magazine.

References

Bibliography

Bain, David Haward. ''The Old Iron Road: An Epic of Rails, Roads, and the Urge to Go West''. New York: Penguin Books, 2004. ISBN 0-14303-526-6.

Bosworth, Patricia. ''Marlon Brando''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2001. ISBN 0-297-84284-6.

Brando, Anna Kashfi and E.P. Stein. ''Brando for Breakfast''. New York: Crown Publishers, 1979. ISBN 0-517-53686-2.

Brando, Marlon and Donald Cammell. ''Fan-Tan''. New York: Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-40004-471-5.

Brando, Marlon and Robert Lindsey. ''Brando: Songs My Mother Taught Me''. New York: Random House, 1994. ISBN 0-67941-013-9.

Pierpont, Claudia Roth. ''Method Man''. ''New Yorker'', October 27, 2008.

External links

The Oddfather, ''Rolling Stone'', Jod Kaftan, April 25, 2002

Court TV: Christian Brando: A Hollywood Family Tragedy

Vanity Fair: ''The King Who Would Be Man'' by Budd Schulberg

Marlon Brando: Never-Seen Portraits – slideshow by ''Life magazine''

The New Yorker: ''The Duke in His Domain'' – Truman Capote's influential 1957 interview.

Obituaries

Marlon Brando, Oscar-Winning Actor, Is Dead at 80

Obituary from ''The Washington Post''

Obituary at Slate

MSNBC: Marlon Brando dies in Los Angeles hospital

Long article on auction of Brando's possessions at ''The Observer'' (UK)

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