The German is a short film written and directed by Nick Ryan, Starring Toby Kebbell and Christian Brassington. It premiered at the 2008 Cork Film Festival and has subsequently been screened at Palm Springs Film Festival, LA Shorts Festival and San Paulo Film Festival in Brazil.

Synopis

November 1940 during the greatest conflict man has ever known, an epic duel unfolds between two ace pilots, each willing to take the match to its ultimate conclusion. Unknown to the pilots is a fate neither has considered.

External links

The German Official Web Site

Category:Short films Category:2008 films Category:Aviation films category:World War II films

Coordinates	6°7′55″N1°13′22″N
name	Sid Caesar
birth name	Isaac Sidney Caesar
birth date	September 08, 1922
birth place	Yonkers, New York, U.S.
occupation	Actor, comedian, writer, musician
years active	1946–present
spouse	Florence Levy (1943-2010 [Her death], 3 children)
website	}}

Isaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar (born September 8, 1922) is an American comic actor and writer known as the leading man on the 1950s television series ''Your Show of Shows'' and ''Caesar's Hour'', and to younger generations as Coach Calhoun in ''Grease'' and ''Grease 2''.

Early life

Caesar was born in Yonkers, New York, youngest son of Max Caesar and his wife Ida (née Raphael), Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who ran a restaurant. Caesar would wait on tables and learned to mimic the accents, something he would use throughout his career. He first tried his ''double-talk'' with a group of Italians, his head barely reaching above the table. They enjoyed it so much that they sent him over to a group of Poles to repeat it in Polish, and so on with Russians, Hungarians, Frenchmen, Spaniards, Lithuanians and Bulgarians. Despite his apparent fluency in many languages, Caesar can actually speak only English and Yiddish. Sid's older brother David was his comic mentor and "one-man cheering section." They created their earliest family sketches from then current movies like ''Test Pilot'' and ''Wings''.

At fourteen, Caesar went to the Catskills as a saxophonist with Mike Cifichello's Swingtime Six and would also occasionally perform in sketches at the Borscht Belt. When he graduated from high school, he left home, intent on a musical career. He arrived in New York City penniless and tried to join the musician's union (later he attended classes at the famed Juilliard School of Music). He found work at the Vacationland Hotel in Swan Lake in the Catskills. Under the tutelage of Don Appel, the resort's social director, Caesar played in the band and learned to perform comedy, doing three shows a week. In 1939, when World War II was just starting, he enlisted in the United States Coast Guard, and was assigned to play in military revues and shows in Brooklyn, New York. Vernon Duke, the famous composer of ''Autumn in New York'', ''April in Paris'', and ''Taking a Chance on Love'', was also at the same base and collaborated with Caesar in musical revues.

During the summer of 1942, Caesar met his future wife Florence Levy at the Avon Lodge. After joining the musician's union, he briefly played with Shep Fields, Claude Thornhill, Charlie Spivak, and even Benny Goodman. Caesar's comedy, however, got bigger applause than the musical numbers, and the show's producer asked him to do stand-up between his numbers. While still in the service, Caesar was ordered to Palm Beach, Florida, where Vernon Duke and Howard Dietz were putting together a service revue, ''Tars and Spars''. There he met the civilian director of the show Max Liebman, later the producer of his first hit television series. ''Tars and Spars'' toured nationally, and then a film version was made at Columbia Pictures. He also got a part in ''The Guilt of Janet Ames''. He married Florence Levy on July 17, 1943, and has three children, Michele, Rick, and Karen.

Career

After the war, Caesar and his wife stayed in Hollywood, but despite a few offers to play sidekick roles, Caesar decided to go back to New York, where he got a club date as the opening act for Joe E. Lewis at the Copacabana nightclub. He reunited with Max Liebman, who guided his stage material and presentation. That appearance led to a contract with the William Morris Agency and a nationwide tour. Caesar also performed in a Broadway revue ''Make Mine Manhattan'', which featured ''The Five Dollar Date'', one of his first original pieces in which he sang, acted, double-talked, pantomimed, and wrote the music.

Caesar began his television career when he made an appearance on Milton Berle's ''Texaco Star Theater''. In early 1949, Sid and Max met with Pat Weaver, vice president of television at NBC (and father of Sigourney Weaver), which led to Caesar's appearance in his first series ''The Admiral Broadway Revue'' with Imogene Coca. The Friday show, simultaneously broadcast on NBC and the DuMont network (in order for the show to be carried on the only TV station then operating in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — DuMont's WDTV — the sponsor had to agree to a simulcast) was an immediate success, but its sponsor, Admiral, an appliance company, could not keep up with the demand for its new television sets, so the show was cancelled after 26 weeks on account of its runaway success. According to Sid, an Admiral executive later told him the company had the choice of building a new factory or continuing their sponsorship of the ''Revue'' for another season.

On February 23, 1950, Caesar appeared in the first episode of ''Your Show of Shows'', a Saturday night 90-minute variety program produced by Max Liebman (who had previously produced ''The Admiral Broadway Revue''). The premiere featured Burgess Meredith as guest host, and other musical guests Gertrude Lawrence, Lily Pons, and Robert Merrill. The show launched Caesar into instant stardom and was a mix of scripted and improvised comedy, movie and television satires, Caesar's inimitable double-talk monologues, top musical guests, and large production numbers. The impressive guest list included: Jackie Cooper, Robert Preston, Rex Harrison, Eddie Albert, Michael Redgrave, Basil Rathbone, Charlton Heston, Geraldine Page, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Pearl Bailey, Fred Allen, Benny Goodman, Lena Horne and many other big stars of the time. It was also responsible for bringing together one of the best comedy teams in television history: Sid, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, and Imogene Coca. Many prominent writers, denizens of the famed ''Writer's Room'', also got their start creating the show's madcap sketches, including Lucille Kallen, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Woody Allen, Michael Stewart, Mel Tolkin, Sheldon Keller and Larry Gelbart. Sid Caesar won his first Emmy in 1952. In 1951 and 1952, he was voted the United States' Best Comedian by Motion Picture Daily's TV poll. The show ended after 160 episodes on June 5, 1954. The movie ''My Favorite Year'' was a fictional comedic account of a show similar to ''Your Show of Shows'' — and the favorite year was 1954.

Just a few months later, Sid Caesar returned with ''Caesar's Hour'', a one-hour sketch/variety show with Morris, Reiner, a young Bea Arthur, and much of the seasoned crew. Nanette Fabray replaced Imogene Coca who left to star in her own short-lived series. Ultimate creative and technical control was now totally in Caesar's hands. The show moved to the larger Century Theater, which allowed longer, more sophisticated productions and the weekly budget doubled to $125,000. The premier on September 27, 1954 featured Gina Lollobrigida.

Contemporary movies, foreign movies, theater, television shows and even opera all became targets of satire by the writing team, whose frenetic and competitive spirit produced some of the best comedy in television history. Often the publicity generated by the sketches boosted the box office of the original productions. Some notable sketches included: ''From Here to Obscurity'' (''From Here to Eternity''), ''Aggravation Boulevard'' (''Sunset Boulevard''), ''Hat Basterson'' (''Bat Masterson''), and ''No West For the Wicked'' (''Stagecoach''). Even silent movies were parodied, which showed off the impressive pantomime skills of the entire ensemble. They also performed some recurring sketches. "The Hickenloopers" were television's first bickering couple, predating ''The Honeymooners''. As "The Professor", Caesar was the daffy expert who bluffed his way through his interviews with earnest roving reporter Carl Reiner. In its various incarnations, "The Professor" could be Gut von Fraidykat (mountain-climbing expert), Ludwig von Spacebrain (space expert), or Ludwig von Henpecked (marriage expert). Later, "The Professor" evolved into Mel Brooks' famous "The Two Thousand Year Old Man". The most prominent recurring sketch on the show was "The Commuters", featuring Caesar, Reiner and Morris involved with everyday working and suburban life situations. Years later the sketch "Sneaking through the Sound Barrier", a spoof of the British film, ''The Sound Barrier'', was run continuously as part of a display on supersonic flight at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Everything was performed live, including the commercials, which only took up seven minutes of the one-hour show, as compared to today's shows, which average about 22 minutes of commercials per hour. Famous Hollywood movie stars (or their agents) clamored to be on the show, but in reality doing a sketch in one shot with no cue cards and minimal rehearsal time was a challenge for many of the famous stars used to languid preparation and numerous retakes.

In his book ''Caesar's Hours'', Caesar describes the essence of his comedy as 'working both sides of the street', the deliberate blending of comedy and pathos in the tradition of the great comedians of the 1920s and 1930s — his idols Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton, and W. C. Fields. His sympathetic portrayal of the follies and foibles of his characters resonated with a weekly live audience of over 60 million Americans. He was a master of impeccable timing, careful preparation, and quick-witted flexibility, relying heavily on an endless variety of rapidly changing facial expressions and a strong physical presence. Though by nature shy, Caesar reveled in his characters. The most difficult moment of the show for Caesar was the opening, when he had to say 'good evening ladies and gentlemen'.

''Caesar's Hour'' was followed by ''Sid Caesar Invites You'', briefly reuniting Caesar and Coca in 1958, and in 1963 with several ''As Caesar Sees It'' specials, which evolved into the 1963-'64 ''Sid Caesar Show'', which alternated with Edie Adams in ''Here's Edie''. Caesar also teamed up with Edie Adams in the Broadway show ''Little Me'', a successful Neil Simon play, with choreography by Bob Fosse and music by Cy Coleman in which Sid played eight parts with 32 costume changes. Caesar and Edie Adams played a husband and wife drawn into a mad race to find buried money in the mega-movie-comedy ''It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World''.

Later years

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Caesar continued to make occasional television and night club appearances and starred in several movies including ''Silent Movie'', ''History of the World, Part I'', ''Airport 1975'' and as "Coach Calhoun" in ''Grease'' and its sequel, ''Grease 2'', in 1982. In 1971 he starred opposite Carol Channing and a young Tommy Lee Jones in the Broadway show ''Four on a Garden''. In 1973, Sid and Max Liebman mined their own personal kinescopes from ''Your Show of Shows'' (NBC had 'lost' the studio copies) and they produced a feature film ''Ten From Your Show of Shows'', a hilarious compilation of some of their best sketches. In 1974, Caesar said, "I'd like to be back every week" on TV and appeared in the NBC skit-based comedy television pilot called, "Hamburgers." In 1977, after blanking out during a stage performance of Neil Simon's ''The Last of the Red Hot Lovers'', Sid gave up alcohol 'cold turkey'. His autobiography, ''Where Have I Been'', published in 1983 and his second book, ''Caesar's Hours'', both chronicle his struggle to overcome alcoholism and barbiturates. In 1986 Caesar appeared as Frosh the Jailer in Die Fledermaus at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Although advancing in age, Caesar has remained active by appearing in movies, television shows, at award shows and autograph signings. In 1995 he appeared in the movie ''The Great Mom Swap''. In 1997, he made a guest appearance in ''National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation'' and ''The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit'' in 1998 based on a Ray Bradbury novel. Also that year, Caesar joined fellow television icons Bob Hope and Milton Berle at the 50th anniversary of the Primetime Emmy Awards, where the three were greeted with a long standing ovation. He reprised his famous ''foreign dub'' skit on the November 21, 2001 episode of ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'', to which he was received with an extended standing ovation by the crowd, as well as a surprise birthday cake from the cast and crew. In 2003, he joined Edie Adams and Marvin Kaplan at a 40th anniversary celebration for ''It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World''. In 2004, Caesar's second autobiography, 'Caesar's Hours', was published, and in March 2006, Caesar was presented with the 'Pioneer Award' at the 2006 TV Land Awards. Although appearing quite frail, Caesar performed his famous ''double-talk'' for over five minutes.

Awards

! Year	! Award (number)	! Result
1987		–
2005	DVDX Award	Won
1997	Emmy Award	Nominated
1995	Emmy Award	Nominated
1958	Emmy Award	Nominated
1957	Emmy Award	Won
1956	Emmy Award	Nominated
1954	Emmy Award	Nominated
1953	Emmy Award	Nominated
1952	Emmy Award	Nominated / Won
1951	Emmy Award	Nominated
2006		–
2001	Career Achievement Award	–
Unknown		–

See also

Wayne Lamb, dancer in the ''Make Mine Manhattan''

References

Further reading

Sid Caesar and Eddy Friedfeld, Caesar's Hours: My Life in Comedy, with Love and Laughter, January 30, 2005.

F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre, Sid Caesar's Broadway debut, ''New York Daily News'', October 18, 2004.

External links

Official Sid Caesar Website

Sid Caesar Biography from Museum of Broadcast Communications

Sid Caesar Biography from New York Times

Category:1922 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from New York Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American Jews Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:American television actors Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish comedians Category:People from Yonkers, New York Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics

de:Sid Caesar es:Sid Caesar fr:Sid Caesar it:Sid Caesar ja:シド・シーザー pl:Sid Caesar ro:Sid Caesar simple:Sid Caesar sh:Sid Caesar fi:Sid Caesar tl:Sid Caesar

Ken Burton (born Kenneth Mark Burton; 5 January 1970) is a British chorist, composer and performer.

Burton first gained national attention when two of his choirs (The London Adventist Chorale and the Croydon Seventh-day Adventist Gospel Choir) placed first and second in the prestigious Sainsbury’s Choir of the Year competition sponsored by the British Broadcasting Corporation. His choral activities also involves directorship of BBC Songs of Praise session choir, Adventist Vocal Ensemble (AVE). Burton also formed, and performs with, the acapella group, Tessera, also a regular on BBC Songs of Praise. In addition to his choral and vocal work, he has published several books with Oxford University Press and Faber Music.

References

External links

kenburtonmusic.com

Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:English singers Category:English composers

Rizwan "Riz" Khan (Urdu: ريز خان; born April 1962) is a British television news reporter and interviewer who until April 2011 hosted his own eponymous television show on Al Jazeera English. He first rose to prominence while working for the BBC and CNN.

Life and career

Khan was born in Aden, South Yemen, to a Punjabi father and Gujarati mother. His father's roots are in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, while his mother's roots go back to Kutch, Gujarat. He considers himself as a British Pakistani. Khan moved with his family to London, at the age of four. He attended both Springwell Junior and Hounslow Manor Comprehensive Schools and joined the Air Training Corps, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Medical Physiology from the University of Wales, and then completed a postgraduate course in Radio Journalism at the University of Portsmouth.

In 1987 he was selected for the BBC News Trainee scheme - a two-year BBC training system, usually taking only 6 people per course. Khan progressed to jobs as a BBC reporter, producer, and writer, working in both television and radio, and would later become one of the founding News Presenters on BBC World Service Television News. He hosted the news bulletin that launched BBC World Service Television News in 1991. In 1993, he moved to CNN International, where he became a senior anchor for the network's global news shows. Events he covered included the 1996 and 1999 coverage of elections in India; the 1997 historic election in Britain; and in April 1998 the unprecedented live coverage from the Muslim pilgrimage, the Hajj.

In 1996 he launched his interactive interview show ''CNN: Q&A; with Riz Khan'', and he has conducted interviews with guests including former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, former US Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela, and genomic scientist J. Craig Venter. Khan also secured the world exclusive with Pakistan's General Pervez Musharraf following his coup in October 1999. Khan also hosted ''Q&A-Asia; with Riz Khan''. These interactive shows put world newsmakers and celebrities up for viewer questions live by phone, e-mail, video-mail and fax, along with questions and comments taken from the real-time chatroom that opens half-an-hour before each show.

Until April 2011, Khan had his own show, ''Riz Khan'', on Al Jazeera English, in which he interviewed analysts and policy-makers and invited viewers to interact with them via phone, email, SMS messages or fax.

Khan speaks Urdu and Hindi and also understands other South Asian languages such as Punjabi and Kutchi. He has studied French, and can understand some other European languages, including Swedish and Norwegian.

In 2005 he authored his first book, ''Al-Waleed: Businessman Billionaire Prince'', published by Harper Collins.

In 2011 he authored a preface for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) annual report "Attacks on the Press 2010", which examined working conditions for journalists in more than 100 countries.

References

"Why I'm Joining Al Jazeera", op-ed by Riz Khan, ''The Wall Street Journal'', 13 June 2005, p. A1

"Q&A; CNN Anchor: Riz Khan". ''India Today''. February 19, 2001.

External links

Riz Khan's official website

Profile at Al Jazeera English

MySpace Profile

Interview with Baron Dave Romm of KFAI-FM at the Republican National Convention Sept. 2, 2008 and picture

Category:1962 births Category:Al Jazeera people Category:Alumni of Cardiff University Category:Alumni of the University of Portsmouth Category:British journalists Category:British Muslims Category:British people of Indian descent Category:British people of Pakistani descent Category:British Sunni Muslims Category:British television presenters Category:English Muslims Category:English people of Indian descent Category:English people of Pakistani descent Category:English Sunni Muslims Category:Gujarati people Category:Living people Category:People from Aden Category:Punjabi people Category:Yemeni Muslims Category:Yemeni people of Pakistani descent Category:Yemeni Sunni Muslims

ar:ريز خان he:ריז ח'אן sw:Riz Khan no:Riz Khan

Coordinates	6°7′55″N1°13′22″N
birth name	Thomas Jeffrey Hanks
birth date	July 09, 1956
birth place	Concord, California, U.S.
years active	1979–present
occupation	Actor, producer, director, voice over artist, writer, speaker
spouse	Samantha Lewes(m. 1978–1987; divorced)Rita Wilson (m. 1988–present)
children	Colin, Elizabeth, Chester, Truman }}

Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's ''Big'', before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in ''Philadelphia'', the title role in ''Forrest Gump'', Commander Jim Lovell in ''Apollo 13'', Captain John H. Miller in ''Saving Private Ryan'', Joe Fox in ''You've Got Mail'', Chuck Noland in ''Cast Away'', and voicing the character Woody in the ''Toy Story series''. Hanks won consecutive Best Actor Academy Awards, in 1993 for ''Philadelphia'' and in 1994 for ''Forrest Gump''. U.S. domestic box office totals for his films exceed US$4.0 billion. He is the father of actor Colin Hanks.

Early life

Hanks was born in Concord, California. His father, Amos Mefford Hanks (born in Glenn County, California, on March 9, 1924 – died in Alameda, California, on January 31, 1992), an itinerant cook, was a distant relative of President Abraham Lincoln (through Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks). His mother, Janet Marylyn (née Frager; born in Alameda County, California, on January 18, 1932), was a hospital worker. Hanks' mother is of Portuguese ancestry, while two of his paternal great-grandparents immigrated from Britain. Hanks's parents divorced in 1960. The family's three oldest children, Sandra (now Sandra Hanks Benoiton, a writer), Larry (now Lawrence M. Hanks, PhD, an entomology professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Tom, went with their father, while the youngest, Jim, now an actor and film maker, remained with his mother in Red Bluff, California. Afterwards, both parents remarried. Hanks's first stepmother came to the marriage with five children of her own. Hanks once told ''Rolling Stone'': "Everybody in my family likes each other. But there were always about 50 people at the house. I didn't exactly feel like an outsider, but I was sort of outside it." That marriage ended in divorce after two years.

In addition to having a family history of Catholicism and Mormonism, Hanks was a "Bible-toting evangelical teenager" for several years. In school, Hanks was unpopular with students and teachers alike, later telling ''Rolling Stone'' magazine: "I was a geek, a spaz. I was horribly, painfully, terribly shy. At the same time, I was the guy who'd yell out funny captions during filmstrips. But I didn't get into trouble. I was always a real good kid and pretty responsible." In 1965, Amos Hanks married Frances Wong, a San Francisco native of Chinese descent. Frances had three children, two of whom lived with Tom during his high school years. Hanks acted in school plays, including ''South Pacific'', while attending Skyline High School in Oakland, California.

Hanks studied theater at Chabot College in Hayward, California, and after two years, transferred to California State University, Sacramento. Hanks told ''The New York Times'': "Acting classes looked like the best place for a guy who liked to make a lot of noise and be rather flamboyant. I spent a lot of time going to plays. I wouldn't take dates with me. I'd just drive to a theater, buy myself a ticket, sit in the seat, and read the program, and then get into the play completely. I spent a lot of time like that, seeing Bertolt Brecht, Tennessee Williams, Henrik Ibsen, and all that, and now look at me, acting is my job. I wouldn't have it any other way."

During his years studying theater, Hanks met Vincent Dowling, head of the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland, Ohio. At Dowling's suggestion, Hanks became an intern at the Festival. His internship stretched into a three-year experience that covered most aspects of theater production, including lighting, set design, and stage management, all of which caused Hanks to drop out of college. During the same time, Hanks won the Cleveland Critics Circle Award for Best Actor for his 1978 performance as Proteus in Shakespeare's ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'', one of the few times he played a villain.

Career

Early career

In 1979, Hanks moved to New York City, where he made his film debut in the low-budget slasher film ''He Knows You're Alone'' (1980) and got a part in the television movie ''Mazes and Monsters''. Early in 1979, Hanks was cast in the lead role of Callimaco in the Riverside Shakespeare Company's production of Niccolò Machiavelli's ''The Mandrake'', directed by Daniel Southern. This remains Hanks's only New York stage performance to date; as a high profile Off Off Broadway showcase, the production helped Tom land an agent, Joe Ohla with the J. Michael Bloom Agency. The next year, Hanks landed a lead role on the ABC television pilot of ''Bosom Buddies'', playing the role of Kip Wilson. Hanks moved to Los Angeles, where he and Peter Scolari played a pair of young advertising men forced to dress as women so they could live in an inexpensive all-female hotel. Hanks had previously partnered with Scolari in the 1970s game show ''Make Me Laugh''. ''Bosom Buddies'' ran for two seasons, and, although the ratings were never strong, television critics gave the program high marks. "The first day I saw him on the set," co-producer Ian Praiser told ''Rolling Stone'', "I thought, 'Too bad he won't be in television for long.' I knew he'd be a movie star in two years." But if Praiser knew it, he was not able to convince Hanks. "The television show had come out of nowhere," best friend Tom Lizzio told ''Rolling Stone''. "Then out of nowhere it got canceled. He figured he'd be back to pulling ropes and hanging lights in a theater."

''Bosom Buddies'' and a guest appearance on a 1982 episode of ''Happy Days'' ("A Case of Revenge," where he played a disgruntled former classmate of The Fonz) prompted director Ron Howard to contact Hanks. Howard was working on ''Splash'' (1984), a romantic comedy fantasy about a mermaid who falls in love with a human. At first, Howard considered Hanks for the role of the main character's wisecracking brother, a role that eventually went to John Candy. Instead, Hanks got the lead role and a career boost from ''Splash'', which went on to become a box office hit, grossing more than US$69 million. He also had a sizable hit with the sex comedy ''Bachelor Party'', also in 1984.

In 1983–84, Hanks made three guest appearances on ''Family Ties'' as Elyse Keaton's alcoholic brother, Ned Donnelly.

Period of successes and failures

With ''Nothing in Common'' (1986) – about a young man alienated from his parents who must re-establish a relationship with his father, played by Jackie Gleason – Hanks began to establish the credentials of not only a comic actor but of someone who could carry a serious role. "It changed my desires about working in movies," Hanks told ''Rolling Stone''. "Part of it was the nature of the material, what we were trying to say. But besides that, it focused on people's relationships. The story was about a guy and his father, unlike, say, ''The Money Pit'', where the story is really about a guy and his house."

After a few more flops and a moderate success with ''Dragnet'', Hanks succeeded with the film ''Big'' (1988), both at the box office and within the industry. The film established Hanks as a major Hollywood talent. It was followed later that year by ''Punchline'', in which he and Sally Field co-starred as struggling comedians. Hanks's character, Steven Gold, a failing medical student trying to break into stand-up, was somewhat edgy and complex. Hanks' portrayal of Gold offered a glimpse of the far more dramatic roles Hanks would master in films to come. Hanks then suffered a pile of box-office failures: ''The 'Burbs'' (1989), ''Joe Versus the Volcano'' (1990), and ''The Bonfire of the Vanities'' (1990), as a greedy Wall Street type who gets enmeshed in a hit-and-run accident. Only the 1989 movie ''Turner & Hooch'' brought success for Hanks during this time. In a 1993 issue of ''Disney Adventures'', Hanks said, "I saw ''Turner & Hooch'' the other day in the SAC store and couldn't help but be reminiscent. I cried like a baby." He did admit to making a couple of "bum tickers," however, and blamed his "...deductive reasoning and decision making skills."

Progression into dramatic roles

Hanks climbed back to the top again with his portrayal of a washed-up baseball star turned manager in ''A League of Their Own'' (1992). Hanks has admitted that his acting in earlier roles was not great and that he has improved. In an interview with ''Vanity Fair'', Hanks noted his ''"modern era of moviemaking ... because enough self-discovery has gone on.... My work has become less pretentiously fake and over the top"''. This "modern era" began in 1993 for Hanks, first with ''Sleepless in Seattle'' and then with ''Philadelphia''. The former was a blockbuster success about a widower who finds true love over the airwaves. Richard Schickel of ''TIME'' called his performance "charming," and most critics agreed that Hanks' portrayal ensured him a place among the premier romantic-comedy stars of his generation.

In ''Philadelphia'', he played a gay lawyer with AIDS who sues his firm for discrimination. Hanks lost thirty-five pounds and thinned his hair in order to appear sickly for the role. In a review for ''People'', Leah Rozen stated "Above all, credit for ''Philadelphia'''s success belongs to Hanks, who makes sure that he plays a character, not a saint. He is flat-out terrific, giving a deeply felt, carefully nuanced performance that deserves an Oscar." Hanks won the 1993 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in ''Philadelphia''. During his acceptance speech he revealed that his high school drama teacher Rawley Farnsworth and former classmate John Gilkerson, two people with whom he was close, were gay.

Hanks followed ''Philadelphia'' with the 1994 summer hit ''Forrest Gump''. Of the film, Hanks has remarked: "When I read the script for ''Gump'', I saw it as one of those kind of grand, hopeful movies that the audience can go to and feel ... some hope for their lot and their position in life... I got that from the movies a hundred million times when I was a kid. I still do." Hanks won his second Best Actor Academy Award for his role in ''Forrest Gump'', becoming only the second actor to have accomplished the feat of winning consecutive Best Actor Oscars. (Spencer Tracy was the first, winning in 1937–38. Hanks and Tracy were the same age at the time they received their Academy Awards: 37 for the first and 38 for the second.)

Hanks' next role—astronaut and commander Jim Lovell, in the 1995 movie ''Apollo 13''--reunited him with Ron Howard. Critics generally applauded the film and the performances of the entire cast, which included actors Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, and Kathleen Quinlan. The movie also earned nine Academy Award nominations, winning two. The same year, Hanks starred in the animated blockbuster ''Toy Story'' as the voice of the toy Sheriff Woody.

1996 – present: Directing, producing and acting

Hanks turned to directing with his 1996 film ''That Thing You Do!'' about a 1960s pop group, also playing the role of a music producer. Hanks and producer Gary Goetzman went on to create Playtone, a record and film production company named for the record company in the film.

Hanks executive produced, co-wrote, and co-directed the HBO docudrama ''From the Earth to the Moon''. The twelve-part series chronicles the space program from its inception, through the familiar flights of Neil Armstrong and Jim Lovell, to the personal feelings surrounding the reality of moon landings. The Emmy Award-winning project was, at US$68 million, one of the most expensive ventures taken for television.

Hanks's next project was no less expensive. For ''Saving Private Ryan'' he teamed up with Steven Spielberg to make a film about a search through war-torn France after D-Day to bring back a soldier. It earned the praise and respect of the film community, critics, and the general public. It was labeled one of the finest war films ever made and earned Spielberg his second Academy Award for direction, and Hanks another Best Actor nomination. Later in 1998, Hanks re-teamed with his ''Sleepless in Seattle'' co-star Meg Ryan for ''You've Got Mail'', a remake of 1940's ''The Shop Around the Corner''.

In 1999, Hanks starred in an adaptation of the Stephen King novel ''The Green Mile''. He also returned as the voice of Woody in ''Toy Story 2.'' The following year he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor and an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of a marooned FedEx systems analyst in Robert Zemeckis's ''Cast Away''. In 2001, Hanks helped direct and produce the acclaimed HBO mini-series ''Band of Brothers''. He also appeared in the September 11 television special ''America: A Tribute to Heroes'' and the documentary ''Rescued From the Closet''.

Next he teamed up with ''American Beauty'' director Sam Mendes for the adaptation of Max Allan Collins's and Richard Piers Rayner's graphic novel ''Road to Perdition'', in which he played an anti-hero role as a hitman on the run with his son. That same year, Hanks collaborated with director Spielberg again, starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in the hit crime comedy ''Catch Me if You Can'', based on the true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr. The same year, Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson produced the hit movie ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding''. In August 2007, he along with co-producers Rita Wilson and Gary Goetzman, and writer and star Nia Vardalos, initiated a legal action against the production company Gold Circle Films for their share of profits from the movie. At the age of 45, he became the youngest ever recipient of the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award on June 12, 2002.

In 2004, he appeared in three films: The Coen Brothers' ''The Ladykillers'', another Spielberg film, ''The Terminal'', and ''The Polar Express'', a family film from Robert Zemeckis. In a ''USA Weekend'' interview, Hanks talked about how he chooses projects: "[Since] ''A League of Their Own'', it can't be just another movie for me. It has to get me going somehow.... There has to be some all-encompassing desire or feeling about wanting to do that particular movie. I'd like to assume that I'm willing to go down any avenue in order to do it right". In August 2005, Hanks was voted in as vice president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Hanks next starred in the highly anticipated film ''The Da Vinci Code'', based on the bestselling novel by Dan Brown. The film was released May 19, 2006 in the US and grossed over US$750 million worldwide. He followed the film with Ken Burns's 2007 documentary ''The War''. For the documentary, Hanks did voice work, reading excerpts from World War II-era columns by Al McIntosh. In 2006, Hanks topped a 1,500-strong list of 'most trusted celebrities' compiled by ''Forbes'' magazine. Hanks next appeared in a cameo role as himself in ''The Simpsons Movie'', in which he appeared in an advertisement claiming that the US government has lost its credibility and is hence buying some of his. He also made an appearance in the credits, expressing a desire to be left alone when he is out in public. Later in 2006, Hanks produced the British film ''Starter for Ten'', a comedy based on working class students attempting to win ''University Challenge''.

In 2007, Hanks starred in Mike Nichols's film ''Charlie Wilson's War'' (written by screenwriter Aaron Sorkin) in which he plays Democratic Texas Congressman Charles Wilson. The film opened on December 21, 2007, and Hanks received a Golden Globe nomination.

In 2008's ''The Great Buck Howard'', Hanks played the on-screen father of a young man (Hanks' real-life son, Colin Hanks) who chooses to follow in the footsteps of a fading magician (John Malkovich). Tom Hanks's character was less than thrilled about his son's career decision.

Hanks's next endeavor, released on May 15, 2009, was a film adaptation of ''Angels & Demons'', based on the novel of the same name by Dan Brown. Its April 11, 2007, announcement revealed that Hanks would reprise his role as Robert Langdon, and that he would reportedly receive the highest salary ever for an actor. The following day he made his 10th appearance on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'', impersonating himself for the ''Celebrity Jeopardy'' sketch.

Hanks is producer of the Spike Jonze film ''Where The Wild Things Are'', based on the children's book by Maurice Sendak.

In 2010, Hanks reprised his role as Sheriff Woody in the third film in the Toy Story franchise, ''Toy Story 3'', after he, Tim Allen, and John Ratzenberger were invited to a movie theater to see a complete story reel of the movie.

In 2011, he directed and starred opposite Julia Roberts in the title role in the romantic comedy ''Larry Crowne''. The movie has received generally bad reviews with only 35% of the 175 Rotten Tomatoes reviews giving it high ratings.

Hanks is ranked the highest all time box office star with over $3.639 billion total box office gross, an average of $107 million per film. He has been involved with seventeen films that grossed over $100 million at the worldwide box office, the highest grossing of which was 2010's ''Toy Story 3''.

Personal life

Hanks was married to American actress Samantha Lewes (née Susan Jane Dillingham) from 1978 to 1987. The couple had two children, son Colin Hanks (also an actor) and daughter Elizabeth Ann.

In 1988, Hanks married actress Rita Wilson. The two first met on the set of Hanks's television show ''Bosom Buddies'' but later developed a romantic interest while working on the film ''Volunteers''. They have two sons: Chester, or "Chet" (who has a small part as a student in ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' and released a rap single in 2011), and Truman.

Hanks became a grandfather when his son Colin and daughter-in-law Samantha gave birth to granddaughter Olivia Jane Hanks on February 1, 2011.

Regarding his religious views, Hanks has said, "I must say that when I go to church – and I do go to church – I ponder the mystery. I meditate on the 'why?' of 'Why people are as they are' and 'Why bad things happen to good people,' and 'Why good things happen to bad people'... The mystery is what I think it is, almost, the grand unifying theory of mankind."

Politics

Hanks has made donations to many Democratic politicians and has been open about his support for same-sex marriage, environmental causes and alternative fuels. Hanks made public his presidential candidate choice in the 2008 election when he uploaded a video to his MySpace account in which he announced his endorsement of Barack Obama.

A proponent of environmentalism, Hanks is an investor in electric vehicles and owns both a Toyota RAV4 EV and the first production AC Propulsion eBox. Hanks was a lessee of an EV1 before it was recalled, as chronicled in the documentary ''Who Killed the Electric Car?'' He is on the waiting list for an Aptera 2 Series.

Hanks was extremely outspoken about his opposition to Proposition 8, an amendment to the California constitution that defined marriage as a union only between a man and a woman. Hanks and others who were in opposition to the proposition raised over US$44 million in contrast to the supporters' $39 million, but Proposition 8 passed with 52% of the vote.

While premiering a TV series in January 2009, Hanks called supporters of Proposition 8 "un-American" and attacked the LDS (Mormon) church members, who were major proponents of the bill, for their views on marriage and their role in supporting the bill. About a week later, Hanks apologized for the remark, saying that nothing is more American than voting one's conscience.

Other activities

A supporter of NASA's manned space program, Hanks has said that he originally wanted to be an astronaut but "didn't have the math." Hanks is a member of the National Space Society, serving on the Board of Governors of the nonprofit educational space advocacy organization founded by Dr. Wernher Von Braun. He also produced the HBO miniseries ''From the Earth to the Moon'' about the Apollo program to send astronauts to the moon. In addition, Hanks co-wrote and co-produced ''Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D'', an IMAX film about the moon landings. Hanks also provided the voice over for the premiere of the show ''Passport to the Universe'' at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

In 2006, the Space Foundation awarded Hanks the Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award. The award is given annually to an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to public awareness of space programs.

In June 2006 Hanks was inducted as an honorary member of the United States Army Rangers Hall of Fame for his accurate portrayal of a Captain in the movie ''Saving Private Ryan''; Hanks, who was unable to attend the induction ceremony, was the first actor to receive such an honor. In addition to his role in ''Saving Private Ryan'', Hanks was cited for serving as the national spokesperson for the World War II Memorial Campaign, for being the honorary chairperson of the D-Day Museum Capital Campaign, and for his role in writing and helping to produce the Emmy Award-winning miniseries, ''Band of Brothers''.

Hanks is one of several celebrities who frequently participates in planned comedy bits on Conan O'Brien's talk shows, including ''Late Night'', ''The Tonight Show'', and ''Conan'' while a guest. On one visit, Hanks asked Conan to join his run for president on the "Bad Haircut Party" ticket, with confetti and balloons and a hand held sign with the slogan "You'd be stupid to vote for us". On another episode, O'Brien, noting that Hanks was missing Christmas on his promotional tour, brought the season to him, including a gift (the skeleton of Hooch), and a mass of snow burying them both. On yet another episode, Conan gave Hanks a painting he had commissioned reflecting two of his interests: Astronauts landing on the beach at Normandy. On March 10, 2008, Hanks was on hand at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to induct sixties band The Dave Clark Five. Asteroid 12818 Tomhanks is named for him.

Filmography

+ List of film credits
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1980	''He Knows You're Alone''	Elliot
1982	''Mazes and Monsters''	Robbie Wheeling	Made for television
1984		Allen Bauer
1984		Rick Gassko
1985	''''	Richard Harlan Drew
1985		Lawrence Whatley Bourne III
1986	''''	Walter Fielding, Jr.
1986	''Nothing in Common''	David Basner
1986		David Bradley
1987		Pep Streebeck
1988	''Big''	Adult Josh Baskin
1988		Steven Gold
1989	''Turner & Hooch''	Detective Scott Turner
1989	''''	Ray Peterson
1990	''Joe Versus the Volcano''	Joe Banks
1990	''''	Sherman McCoy
1992	''''	Jimmy Dugan
1992		Older Mike	(uncredited)
1993	''Sleepless in Seattle''	Sam Baldwin
1993		Andrew Beckett
1994
1995		Jim Lovell
1995	''Toy Story''		(voice)
1996	''That Thing You Do!''	Mr. White	(writer and director)
1998	''Saving Private Ryan''	Captain John H. Miller
1998	''You've Got Mail''	Joe Fox
1999	''Toy Story 2''	Woody	(voice)
1999	''''	Paul Edgecomb
2000	''Cast Away''	Chuck Noland
2002	''Road to Perdition''	Michael Sullivan, Sr.
2002	''Catch Me If You Can''	FBI Agent Carl Hanratty
2004	''''	Viktor Navorski
2004	''''	Professor G.H. Dorr
2004		Mailbox Elvis	(cameo)
2004	''''
2006	''''
2006		Woody Car	(voice)
2007	''''	Himself	(voice)
2007	''Charlie Wilson's War''		Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2008	''''	Mr. Gable
2008			(producer)
2009		Professor Robert Langdon
2009	''''	Various historical figures	(voice)
2009			(producer)
2010	''Toy Story 3''	Woody	|Nominated—IGN Movie Award for Best Ensemble Cast|Nominated—Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie|Nominated— Scream Award for Best Fantasy Actor}}
2011	''Larry Crowne''	Larry Crowne	(director, producer, writer)
2011	''Hawaiian Vacation''	Woody	(voice)
2011		Thomas Schell Jr.
2012		Dr. Henry Goose	filming

+ List of television credits
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1980	''''	Rick Martin	TV series, episode: "Friends and Lovers/Sergeant Bull/Miss Mother"
1980–1982	''Bosom Buddies''	Kip Wilson
1982		Gordon
1982	''Mazes and Monsters''	Robbie Wheeling
1982	''Happy Days''	Dr. Dwayne Twitchell	TV series, episode: "A Case of Revenge"
1983	''Family Ties''	Ned	Elyse Keaton's brother
1994	''Vault of Horror I''	Director
1998		Narrator (also executive producer/director/writer)	Miniseries
2001		Producer, director, writer	Miniseries
2002	''''	Interviewee
2006–2011	''Big Love''	Executive producer	TV series
2008		Executive producer	Miniseries
2010	''''	Executive producer/Narrator	Miniseries
2011	''Saturday Night Live''	Guest cast member

Other accolades

+ List of accolades and awards won
! Organization	! Year	! Award
Hollywood Women's Press Club	1988	Golden Apple Award
Hasty Pudding Theatricals	1995
American Film Institute	2002	AFI Life Achievement Award
Hollywood Film Festival	2002	Actor of the Year
	2004	Britannia Award for Excellence in Film
	2004	Bambi for Film – International
Film Society of Lincoln Center	2009	Gala Tribute

References

Further reading

Gardner, David, ''Tom Hanks: The Unauthorized Biography'', London, England 1999

Gardner, David, ''Tom Hanks: Enigma'' 2007

Pfeiffer, Lee, ''The Films of Tom Hanks'', Secaucus, New Jersey, 1996

Salamon, Julie, ''The Devil's Candy: The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood'', Boston, 1991

Trakin, Roy, ''Tom Hanks: Journey to Stardom'', 1987; rev. ed.1995

Wallner, Rosemary, ''Tom Hanks: Academy Award-Winning Actor'', Edina, Minnesota, 1994

External links

Tom Hanks' Facebook Page

Tom Hanks's thoughts on Earth Day 2006

Interview from 1989 issue of ''Film Comment''

Tom Hanks's films of the 1980s

Category:1956 births Category:Actors from California Category:American film actors Category:American film directors Category:American people of Portuguese descent Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Best Actor Academy Award winners Category:Best Actor Empire Award winners Category:Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:California Democrats Category:California State University, Sacramento alumni Category:Living people Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Concord, California Category:People from Oakland, California Category:Saturn Award winners Category:Space advocacy

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