Éric Gay (born January 7, 1958 in Canala) is a French politician in New Caledonia. He has been mayor of Le Mont-Dore since 2003.

References

Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:Mayors of places in New Caledonia

fr:Éric Gay

Coordinates	33°37′0″N117°53′51″N
name	Eric Marcus
birth date	November 12, 1958
birth place	New York, NY
occupation	non-fiction writer
nationality	American
website	http://www.ericmarcus.com }}

Eric Marcus is an American non-fiction writer. His works are primarily of LGBT interest, including ''Breaking the Surface'', the autobiography of gay Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis, which became a #1 New York Times Bestseller and ''Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945-1990'', which won the Stonewall Book Award. Other topics he's addressed in his writing include suicide and pessimistic humor. Eric Marcus received his A.B. from Vassar College in 1980 where he majored in Urban Studies. He earned his Masters degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1984 and a Master's degree in real estate development in 2003, also from Columbia University.

Works

''What If Someone I Know Is Gay? Answers to Questions about What It Means to be Gay and Lesbian (Simon Pulse, September 2007)''

''Pessimisms: Famous (and not so famous) Observations, Quotations, Thoughts, and Ruminations on What to Expect When You’re Expecting the Worst (Anova Books, 2007)''

''Making Gay History: The Half-Century Fight for Lesbian & Gay Equal Rights (HarperCollins, 2002)''

''Together Forever: Gay & Lesbian Couples Share Their Secrets for Lasting Happiness (Anchor, 1998, 1999)''

''Icebreaker: The Autobiography of U.S. Figure Skating Champion Rudy Galindo (Pocket Books, 1997)''

''Why Suicide? Questions & Answers About Suicide, Suicide Prevention, and Coping with the Suicide of Someone You Know, (HarperOne, 2010)''

''Breaking the Surface (Random House, 1995; Plume, 1996)''

''Is It A Choice? Answers to 300 of the Most Frequently Asked Questions About Gay & Lesbian People (HarperOne, 1993,1999, 2005)''

''Expect the Worst (You Won't Be Disappointed) (HarperSF, 1992)''

''Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945 to 1990 (HarperCollins, 1992)''

''The Male Couple's Guide: Finding a Man, Making a Home, Building a Life (HarperCollins, 1988, 1992, 1999)''

External links

Eric Marcus official site

"Why Suicide?" official site

Category:Gay writers Category:American non-fiction writers Category:Historians of LGBT topics Category:Columbia University alumni Category:LGBT writers from the United States Category:Living people Category:1958 births Category:Vassar College alumni

de:Eric Marcus

Coordinates	33°37′0″N117°53′51″N
name	Larry King
birth name	Lawrence Harvey Zeiger
birth date	November 19, 1933
birth place	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
alma mater	DePauw University
religion	Jewish (1933–1966)Agnostic (1966–present)
occupation	Television/Radio personality
years active	1953–present
spouse	Freda Miller (1952–1953; annulled)Annette Kaye (1961; divorced)Alene Akins (1961–1963; divorced)Mickey Sutphin (1963–1967; divorced)Alene Akins (1967–1972; divorced)Sharon Lepore (1976–1983; divorced)Julie Alexander (1989–1992; divorced)Shawn Southwick (1997–present)
website	}}

Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King (born November 19, 1933) is an American television and radio host.

He is recognized in the United States as one of the premier broadcast interviewers. He has won an Emmy Award, two Peabody Awards, and ten Cable ACE Awards.

King began as a local Florida journalist and radio interviewer in the 1950s and 1960s. He became prominent as an all-night national radio broadcaster starting in 1978, and then, in 1985, began hosting the nightly interview TV program ''Larry King Live'' on CNN.

On June 29, 2010, it was announced that he would step down as host of the show but would continue to host specials for CNN. In early September, CNN confirmed that he would be replaced by Piers Morgan. King's last show aired on December 16, 2010.

Early life

King was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to Edward Zeiger, a restaurant owner and defense plant worker, and his wife Jennie Gitlitz, a garment worker, who emigrated from Belarus. King grew up in a religious and observant Jewish home, but in adulthood became an agnostic. King's father died at 44 of heart disease, and his mother had to go on welfare to support her two sons. His father's death greatly affected King, and he lost interest in school. After graduating from high school, he worked to help support his mother. From an early age, however, he had wanted to go into radio.

Career

Miami radio and television

A CBS staff announcer, whom King met by chance, told him to go to Florida, a growing media market where openings still existed for inexperienced broadcasters. King rode a bus to Miami. After initial setbacks, King persisted and got his first job in radio. The manager of a small station, WAHR (now WMBM) in Miami Beach, hired him to clean up and perform miscellaneous tasks. When one of their announcers quit, they put King on the air. His first broadcast was on May 1, 1957, when he worked as the disc jockey from 9 a.m. to noon. He also did two afternoon newscasts and a sportscast. He was paid $55 a week. He acquired the name Larry King when the general manager Martial Cemen said that Zeiger was too ethnic and difficult to remember, so Larry chose the surname ''King'', which he got from an ad in ''The Miami Herald'' for King's Wholesale Liquor, minutes before air. He started interviewing on a midmorning show for WIOD, at Pumpernik's Restaurant in Miami Beach. He would interview anyone who walked in. His first interview was with a waiter at the restaurant. Two days later, singer Bobby Darin, in Miami for a concert later that day, walked into Pumpernik's as a result of coming across King's show on his radio; Darin became King's first celebrity interview guest.

His Miami radio show launched him to local stardom. A few years later, in May 1960, he hosted ''Miami Undercover,'' airing Sunday nights at 11:30 p.m. on WPST-TV Channel 10 (now WPLG). On the show, he moderated debates on important issues of the time. King credits his success on local TV to the assistance of another showbiz legend, comedian Jackie Gleason, whose national TV variety show was being filmed in Miami Beach during this period. "That show really took off because Gleason came to Miami," King said in a 1996 interview he gave when inducted into the Broadcasters' Hall of Fame. "He did that show and stayed all night with me. We stayed till five in the morning. He didn't like the set, so we broke into the general manager's office and changed the set. Gleason changed the set, he changed the lighting, and he became like a mentor of mine." Jackie Gleason was instrumental in getting Larry a hard-to-get on air interview with Frank Sinatra during this time.

During this period, WIOD gave King further exposure as a color commentator for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League, during their 1970 season and most of their 1971 season. However, he was dismissed by both WIOD and television station WTVJ as a late-night radio host and sports commentator as of December 20, 1971, when he was arrested after being accused of grand larceny by a former business partner. Other staffers covered the Dolphins' games into their 24–3 loss to Dallas in Super Bowl VI. King also lost his weekly column at the ''Miami Beach Sun'' newspaper. The charges were dropped on March 10, 1972, and King spent the next several years in reviving his career, including a stint as the color announcer in Louisiana for the Shreveport Steamer of the World Football League in 1974–75 on KWKH. Eventually, King was rehired by WIOD in Miami. For several years during the 1970s in South Florida, he hosted a sports talk-show called "Sports-a-la-King" that featured guests and callers.

National radio

In 1978, he went national, inheriting the nightly talk show slot on the Mutual Broadcasting System, broadcast coast-to-coast, that had been "Long John" Nebel's until his death, and had been pioneered by Herb Jepko. One reason King got the Mutual job is that he had once been an announcer at WGMA-AM in Hollywood, Florida, which was then owned by C. Edward Little. Little went on to become president of Mutual and was the one who hired King when Nebel died. King's Mutual show developed a devoted audience.

It was broadcast live Monday through Friday from midnight to 5:30 a.m. Eastern Time. King would interview a guest for the first 90 minutes, with callers asking questions that continued the interview for another 90 minutes. At 3 a.m., he would allow callers to discuss any topic they pleased with him, until the end of the program, when he expressed his own political opinions. That segment was called "Open Phone America". Some of the regular callers used the pseudonyms "The Portland Laugher", "The Miami Derelict", "The Todd Cruz Caller", "The Scandal Scooper", "Mr. Radio" and "The Water Is Warm Caller". "Mr. Radio" made over 200 calls to King during Open Phone America. The show was successful, starting with relatively few affiliates and eventually growing to more than 500. It ran until 1994.

For its final year, the show was moved to afternoons, but, because most talk radio stations at the time had an established policy of local origination in the time-slot (3 to 6 p.m. Eastern Time) that Mutual offered the show, a very low percentage of King's overnight affiliates agreed to carry his daytime show and it was unable to generate the same audience size. The afternoon show was eventually given to David Brenner and radio affiliates were given the option of carrying the audio of King's new CNN evening television program. The Westwood One radio simulcast of the CNN show continued until December 31, 2009.

CNN

He started his ''Larry King Live'' CNN show in June 1985, hosting a broad range of guests from controversial figures of UFO conspiracy theories and alleged psychics, to prominent politicians and leading figures in the entertainment industry, often doing their first or only interview on breaking news stories on his show.

Unlike many interviewers, King has a direct, non-confrontational approach. His reputation for asking easy, open-ended questions has made him attractive to important figures who want to state their position while avoiding being challenged on contentious topics. His interview style is characteristically frank, but with occasional bursts of irreverence and humor. His approach attracts some guests who would not otherwise appear. King, who is known for his general lack of pre-interview preparation, once bragged that he never read the books of authors before making an appearance on his program.

In a show dedicated to the surviving Beatles, King asked George Harrison's widow about the song "Something", which was written about George Harrison's first wife. He seemed surprised when she did not know very much about the song.

Throughout his career King has interviewed many of the leading figures of his time. CNN claimed during his final episode that he had performed 60,000 interviews in his career.

King also wrote a regular newspaper column in USA Today for almost 20 years, from shortly after that newspaper's origin in 1982 until September 2001. The column consisted of short "plugs, superlatives and dropped names" but was dropped when the newspaper redesigned its "Life" section. The column was resurrected in blog form in November 2008 and on Twitter in April 2009.

Departure

On June 29, 2010, King announced that after 25 years, he would be stepping down from his nightly job hosting ''Larry King Live''. However, he stated that he would remain with CNN to host occasional specials. The announcement came in the wake of speculation that CNN had approached Piers Morgan, the British television personality and journalist, as King's primetime replacement.

On September 8, 2010, CNN confirmed that Morgan would occupy King's 9:00 pm timeslot from January 2011 onward.

The final edition of ''Larry King Live'' aired on December 16, 2010. Guests and friends were led by Ryan Seacrest while thanking the legend for his years of service to journalism. The show concluded with his last thoughts and a thank you to his audience for watching and supporting him over the years.

Possibility of work with Comedy Central

Various sources have indicated that Larry King may be joining Jon Stewart as a contributor on ''The Daily Show''. Stewart was featured on King's last show, offering praise for his work and his decision to step down. Stewart stated, "You're the last guy out of a burning building, my friend." King's position on Stewart's show has only been discussed briefly, and could fail to culminate. Sources have been quite clear that King is not planning to take on a role as a regular correspondent, but rather as a contributor with occasional appearances on the show, a position adopted by comedian Lewis Black. Regardless of his future with ''The Daily Show'', King has been clear that he is interested in taking a comedy tour of his own now that his position as a regular host is over. King also held a position in ''Comedy Central's'' ''Roast of Donald Trump''.

On February 24, 1987, King suffered a major heart attack and then had quintuple-bypass surgery. Prior to this, King was an avid smoker, sometimes consuming three packs of cigarrettes a day. He stopped smoking the same day he had his heart attack, and has not lit up since.

Since then, King has written two books about living with heart disease. ''Mr. King, You're Having a Heart Attack: How a Heart Attack and Bypass Surgery Changed My Life'' (1989, ISBN 0-440-50039-7) was written with New York's ''Newsday'' science editor B. D. Colen. ''Taking On Heart Disease: Famous Personalities Recall How They Triumphed over the Nation's #1 Killer and How You Can, Too'' (2004, ISBN 1-57954-820-2) features the experience of various celebrities with cardiovascular disease including Peggy Fleming and Regis Philbin.

On February 12, 2010, Larry King revealed that he had undergone surgery 5 weeks earlier to place stents in his coronary artery to remove plaque from his heart. During the segment on Larry King Live which discussed Bill Clinton's similar procedure, King said he was "feeling great" and had been in hospital for just one day.

Charitable works

As a result of heart attacks, he established the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, an organization to which David Letterman, through his American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming, has also contributed. King gave $1 million to George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs for scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

On September 3, 2005, following the devastation to the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina, King aired "How You Can Help", a three-hour special designed to provide a forum and information clearinghouse for viewers to understand and join nationwide and global relief efforts. Guest Richard Simmons, a native of New Orleans, told him, "Larry, you don't even know how much money you raised tonight. When we rebuild the city of New Orleans, we're going to name something big after you."

On January 18, 2010, in the wake of the devastation caused by the 2010 Haiti earthquake, King aired "Haiti: How You Can Help", a special two-hour edition designed to show viewers how to take action and be a part of the global outreach.

Following the Deepwater Horizon explosion, King aired "Disaster in the Gulf: How You Can Help", a special two-hour edition designed to show viewers how to take action in the clean-up efforts on the Gulf Coast.

King serves as a member of the Board of Directors on the Police Athletic League of New York City, a nonprofit youth development agency serving inner-city children and teenagers.

On August 30, 2010, King served as the host of Chabad's 30th annual "To Life" telethon, in Los Angeles.

Controversial positions

On September 10, 1990, while on ''The Joan Rivers Show,'' Rivers asked King which contestant in the Miss America pageant was "the ugliest". King responded, "Miss Pennsylvania. She was one of the 10 finalists and she did a great ventriloquist bit [...] The dummy was prettier." King was a judge for the September 8, 1990 pageant. King later sent Miss Pennsylvania, Marla Wynne, a dozen long-stemmed roses and a telegram apologizing for saying she was the ugliest contestant in the pageant that year.

In 1997, King was one of 34 celebrities to sign an open letter to then-German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, published as a newspaper advertisement in the ''International Herald Tribune'', which protested the treatment of Scientologists in Germany, comparing it to the Nazis' oppression of Jews in the 1930s. Other signatories included Dustin Hoffman and Goldie Hawn.

Personal life

King has been married eight times, to seven different women. He married high-school sweetheart Freda Miller in 1951 at age 18. The union ended the following year at the behest of their parents, who reportedly had the marriage annulled. King was later briefly married to Annette Kaye who gave birth to his son, Larry Jr., in November 1961. King did not meet Larry Jr. until the son was in his thirties. Larry Jr. and his wife, Shannon, have three children.

In 1961, King married his third wife, Alene Akins, a ''Playboy'' bunny at one of the magazine's eponymous nightclubs. The couple had son Andy in 1962, and divorced the following year. In 1963, King married his fourth wife, Mary Francis "Mickey" Sutphin, who divorced King. He remarried Akins, with whom he had a second child, Chaia, in 1969. The couple divorced a second time in 1972. In 1997, Dove Books published a book written by King and Chaia, ''Daddy Day, Daughter Day''. Aimed at young children, it tells each of their accounts of his divorce from Akins.

On September 25, 1976, King married his fifth wife, math teacher and production assistant Sharon Lepore. The couple divorced in 1983.

King met businesswoman Julie Alexander in summer 1989, and proposed to her on the couple's first date, on August 1, 1989. Alexander became King's sixth wife on October 7, 1989, when the two were married in Washington, D.C. The couple lived in different cities, however, with Alexander in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and King in Washington, D.C., where he worked. The couple separated in 1990 and divorced in 1992. He became engaged to actress Deanna Lund in 1995, after five weeks of dating, but they never married.

He married his seventh wife, Shawn Southwick, born in 1959 as Shawn Oro Engemann, a former singer and TV host, in King's Los Angeles, California, hospital room three days before King underwent heart surgery to clear a clogged blood vessel. The couple have two children: Chance, born March 1999, and Cannon, born May 2000. He is stepfather to Danny Southwick. On King and Southwick's 10th anniversary in September 2007, Southwick boasted she was "the only [wife] to have lasted into the two digits". On April 14, 2010, both Larry and Shawn King filed for divorce. but have since stopped the proceedings, claiming "We love our children, we love each other, we love being a family. That is all that matters to us".

Shawn attempted suicide in May 2010 when she overdosed on prescription pills.

In July 2009, King appeared on ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'', where he told host O'Brien about his wishes to be cryogenically preserved upon death, as he had revealed in his book ''My Remarkable Journey''.

Larry has adapted throughout his life to changing technologies. King is currently an active user of Twitter. When hosting Larry King Live, King used Twitter as a method to interact with fans during his show. Fans could tweet questions to guests of the show and even live-chat with Larry while watching. This allowed fans to be active participants in the interviews and contribute their opinions. Despite being retired from Larry King Live, King continues to use Twitter in his daily life. King’s tweets consist of updates on his activities, messages to his celebrity friends, promotion of his charities, and updates on current news stories.

Awards

King has received many broadcasting awards. He won the Peabody Award for Excellence in broadcasting for both his radio (1982) and television (1992) shows. He has also won 10 CableACE awards for Best Interviewer and for Best Talk Show Series.

In 1989, King was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame, and in 1996 to the Broadcasters' Hall of Fame. In 2002, the industry magazine ''Talkers'' named King both the fourth-greatest radio talk show host of all time and the top television talk show host of all time.

in June 1998, King received an Honorary Degree from Brooklyn College, City University of New York, for his life achievements.

King was given the Golden Mike Award for Lifetime Achievement in January 2009, by the Radio & Television News Association of Southern California.

King is an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Beverly Hills. He is also a recipient of the President's Award honoring his impact on media from the Los Angeles Press Club in 2006.

King is the first recipient of the Arizona State University Hugh Downs Award for Communication Excellence, presented April 11, 2007, via satellite by Downs himself. Downs sported red suspenders for the event and turned the tables on King by asking "very tough questions" about King's best, worst and most influential interviews during King's 50 years in broadcasting.

References

External links

CNN profile

Larry King Cardiac Foundation - Foundation to fund treatments cardiac patients with little or no insurance

Clark lawsuit

Larry King Live - Transcripts of all interviews since 2000

Larry King interviewed by Gianluca D'Agostino

Larry King Archive of American Television video interview

Category:1933 births Category:Living people Category:American actors Category:American agnostics Category:American Jews Category:American talk radio hosts Category:National Radio Hall of Fame inductees Category:American television talk show hosts Category:American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:American voice actors Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish agnostics Category:Miami Dolphins broadcasters Category:National Football League announcers Category:People from Brooklyn Category:World Football League announcers

ar:لاري كينغ bg:Лари Кинг cs:Larry King da:Larry King de:Larry King et:Larry King es:Larry King fa:لری کینگ fr:Larry King gl:Larry King ko:래리 킹 hr:Larry King id:Larry King it:Larry King he:לארי קינג hu:Larry King mn:Ларри Кинг nl:Larry King ja:ラリー・キング no:Larry King pl:Larry King pt:Larry King ro:Larry King ru:Ларри Кинг simple:Larry King sh:Larry King fi:Larry King sv:Larry King th:แลร์รี คิง tr:Larry King uk:Ларрі Кінг zh:拉里·金

Coordinates	33°37′0″N117°53′51″N
Image name	Eric Massa.jpg
State	New York
District	29th
Party	Democratic
Term start	January 3, 2009
Preceded	Randy Kuhl
Term end	March 8, 2010
Succeeded	Tom Reed
Birth date	September 16, 1959
Birth place	Charleston, South Carolina
Residence	Corning, New York
Religion	Roman Catholic
Spouse	Beverly Massa
Alma mater	United States Naval Academy
Occupation	Naval officer, business consultant
Branch	United States Navy
Serviceyears	1981–2004
Website	}}

Eric James Joseph Massa (born September 16, 1959) is an American Democratic politician from Corning, New York. Until March 8, 2010, Massa served as the United States Representative for the 29th Congressional District of New York. On March 5, Massa announced that he would resign his seat on March 8, 2010, citing as reasons a recurrence of cancer, a pending investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct before the House Ethics Committee, and pressure from the Democratic leadership to step down after opposing the health care reform bill.

Early life and career

Born in Charleston, South Carolina, the son of a career naval officer, Massa grew up in various locations, including Argentina and New Orleans. Massa graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1981 and went on to serve in the Navy for 24 years. He qualified as a Surface Warfare Officer on the USS New Jersey (BB-62), and eventually served as aide to former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, General Wesley Clark. Near the end of his Navy career he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, from which he later recovered. A former Republican, he left his party over the issue of the Iraq War, among other issues, and campaigned in New Hampshire during the unsuccessful 2004 presidential bid of his former boss, Wesley Clark. Thereafter, he was identified by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as an ideal candidate in 2006 because of his military background, which it was hoped would appeal to veterans and to independents who favor a strong defense policy.

During the 2006 campaign, Massa positioned himself as strongly opposed to the Iraq war and unrestricted free trade, favoring instead fair trade. Other issues in his platform included expanding farm aid programs, as well as bringing homeland security money to the 29th District. Massa is also active in Band of Brothers/Veterans for a Secure America whose goal is to help veterans who are running for Congress as Democrats. He also supported a system for universal health care.

Massa lives in Corning, New York with his wife Beverly, daughter Alexandra and son Justin. His eldest son Richard lives in California.

Massa was listed in the 2007 Esquire 100.

2008 election

Almost immediately after conceding defeat in 2006, Massa prepared for a rematch against Kuhl in 2008. The race remained tight through the campaign; however, Massa emerged victorious, defeating Kuhl 51% to 49% (a margin of approximately 4000 votes), although Kuhl did not immediately concede defeat. All voting machines were impounded at Kuhl's request (pending a re-count), with 12,000 absentee ballots to be counted. The recount yielded a margin of victory of 5,000 votes for Massa, and Kuhl conceded November 20.

Some press reports attribute Massa's victory to the plurality he attained among voters in Cattaraugus County, which voted for Kuhl in 2004 and 2006, in the latter by approximately 4,000 votes over Massa. Others point to the 57%-43% margin of votes Massa garnered in the portion of the 29th district located in Monroe County, essentially southern suburbs of Rochester, traditionally the most Democratic portion of the district (which had also voted for Massa in 2006 and voted for Samara Barend in 2004).

111th Congress

Massa was openly seeking a position on the House Transportation Committee (Kuhl had also held a seat on the same committee), to advocate for the expansion of U.S. Route 219 in New York from Springville to Salamanca. However, he failed to retain that committee assignment.

Because he is a military veteran, he was given a seat on the House Armed Services Committee, though he did not seek it. He also inherited Kuhl's seat on the Agriculture Committee, and earned a seat the House Homeland Security Committee. Massa was also a member of the Populist Caucus, formed in February 2009.

Massa voted in favor of, and generally supported, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, but has said he finds faults with the legislation. After the act failed to generate the expected stimulus to the Southern Tier economy, Massa claimed that virtually all of the stimulus funds were funneled to the state governments and diverted to interests in New York City.

In April 2009, Massa was noted for his suggestion to close the United States-Mexico border as a response to the 2009 swine flu outbreak, which originated in Mexico. He also was a leading critic of Time Warner Cable's abortive plan to charge a tiered service rate for its high-speed Internet service.

Though he generally supports a health care reform plan, he opposes, and voted against, the current plans put forth by the Obama administration, due to the cost, and prefers a single-payer health care system instead.

During the 2009 Netroots Nation convention held in Pittsburgh, PA, Massa told a group of activists that he "will vote adamantly against the interests of my district if I actually think what I am doing is going to be helpful." in regards to single payer health care system. Moments later Massa clarified that he meant he would vote against the "opinions" of his constituents if he thought it was the right thing to do. He also controversially exclaimed that Sen. Chuck Grassley's comments describing end-of-life care as "killing Grandma" constitute "an act of treason."

Committee assignments

Committee on Agriculture

*Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research

*Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture

Committee on Armed Services

*Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces

*Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces

Committee on Homeland Security

*Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism

*Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection

2010 Reelection and Retirement

On October 10, 2009, Massa announced his plans for re-election, saying, "I don’t want to play games with people about speculation, I want to be very direct and candid."

On a press conference call on March 3, 2010, Massa announced that his cancer had returned and that he would not seek re-election. In his statement, Massa addressed allegations of sexual harassment, but claimed he would stay on for the remainder of his term.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer confirmed that the House Ethics Committee was investigating allegations against Massa of sexual misconduct as the result of a complaint that a senior member of Massa's staff had filed with the committee on February 8, 2010. The investigation was said to involve alleged sexual advances and harassment toward a younger male member of Massa's staff. Though Massa described his behavior and his language as "salty," he claimed that he had apologized to the parties in question, did not know of the specific allegations, and that such allegations were not the reason behind his retirement.

Resignation

Eric Massa announced on March 5, 2010, that he would resign his seat in Congress effective 5:00 p.m. on March 8, 2010. In a published statement on his website, Massa identified his declining health and the ongoing ethics investigation as the reasons for his departure. He apologized in response to the sexual harassment complaint, saying that "There is no doubt in my mind that I did in fact, use language in the privacy of my own home and in my inner office that, after 24 years in the navy, might make a Chief Petty Officer feel uncomfortable. In fact, there is no doubt that this ethics issue is my fault and mine alone."

On March 7, 2010, in his weekly radio address on WKPQ, Massa accused White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel of orchestrating the ethics investigation in an effort to intimidate other first-term Democrats who oppose the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Massa claimed that there was a conspiracy "to oust him because he had voted against overhauling health care." Massa placed specific blame for his resignation on Emanuel, stating that Emanuel "is the son of the devil’s spawn... He is an individual who would sell his mother to get a vote. He would strap his children to the front end of a steam locomotive." Massa also commented on the following alleged confrontation with Emanuel in the congressional gym locker room: "I am sitting there showering, naked as a jaybird, and here comes Rahm Emanuel, not even with a towel wrapped around his tush, poking his finger in my chest, yelling at me because I wasn't going to vote for the president's budget... He goes there to intimidate members of Congress... He's hated me since day one, and now he wins. He'll get rid of me, and this bill will pass." A Democratic spokesperson denied the existence of the alleged conspiracy.

On March 10, 2010, ''The Washington Post'' reported that Massa was under investigation for allegations that he had groped multiple male staffers working in his office. In the ''Washington Post'' article,

''The freshman Democrat told Fox News Channel host Glenn Beck that "not only did I grope [a staffer], I tickled him until he couldn't breathe," then said hours later on CNN's "Larry King Live" that "it is not true" that he groped anyone on his staff.'' ''He told Beck that he resigned from the House because he made the mistake of "getting too familiar with my staff" members, but he told King that he left primarily for health reasons. Massa, 50, has survived non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but he said he is afraid that he is facing his "third major cancer-recurrence scare." ''

Massa claims that he contemplated vehicular suicide at least twice on his way back to his home in Corning, New York, following his resignation. As of March 2010, he resided in Corning. He has refused to grant interviews to the press since his resignation. Later campaign finance filings revealed that his campaign funds were being used to fund his wife's salary well after his resignation, as well as to pay legal fees stemming from disputes with his staffers.

Electoral history

See also

New York's 29th congressional district election, 2006

New York's 29th congressional district election, 2008

New York's 29th congressional district election, 2010

References

External links

Congressman Eric J.J. Massa ''official U.S. House site''

Eric Massa for U.S. Congress ''official campaign site''

Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from New York Category:New York Democrats Category:People from Steuben County, New York Category:United States Naval Academy alumni Category:United States Navy officers Category:Cancer survivors

no:Eric Massa nn:Eric Massa sv:Eric Massa

Coordinates	33°37′0″N117°53′51″N
name	Eric Braeden
birth name	Hans Jörg Gudegast
birth date	April 03, 1941
birth place	Bredenbek, Germany
occupation	Actor
years active	1960–present
spouse	Dale Russell Gudegast (1966–present); 1 child
website	http://www.ericbraeden.com }}

Eric Braeden (born Hans Jörg Gudegast on April 3, 1941) is a German-American film and television actor, best known for his role as Victor Newman on the soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' and as John Jacob Astor IV in the 1997 film ''Titanic''. Braeden won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1998 for Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the role.

Early life

Braeden was born Hans Jörg Gudegast in Bredenbek, Germany (near Kiel), where his father was once mayor. He immigrated to the USA in 1959. In the United States, Braeden attended The University of Montana in Missoula.

Career

Braeden accumulated many TV and film credits during his first two decades in America. In 1966 he guest-starred (credited as Hans Gudegast) as Luftwaffe Major Bentz in the second season episode 28, "Day of Reckoning" of ''12 O-Clock High (TV series)''. He is most notably known for his role as the German Hauptmann (Captain) Hans Dietrich on the TV series ''The Rat Patrol'' (1966–1968), as well as a starring role in the movie ''Colossus: The Forbin Project'' (1970), in which he first took the stage name of Eric Braeden. Lew Wasserman of Universal Pictures told him that no one would be allowed to star in an American film if they had a German name. After much thought he took the name Braeden from his hometown of Bredenbek.

In the 1970s he took a supporting role in the 1971 film ''Escape from the Planet of the Apes''. Throughout the 1970s, he guest-starred in a variety of television shows including ''The Six Million Dollar Man'', ''Wonder Woman'', and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and also appeared in several episodes of the long-running CBS western series ''Gunsmoke''. In 1977 he appeared in Walt Disney's ''Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo'' as the arrogant but formidable race car driver, Bruno von Stickle. He also appeared, uncredited, as Bradford Dillman's ''de facto'' stunt double in the 1978 film ''Piranha''--Braeden had originally been cast to play Dillman's character, Paul Grogan, and had shot some underwater swimming footage before the role was recast; Braeden's stunt footage ended up in the finished film anyway.

In 1980, he was offered the role of self-made magnate Victor Newman on the daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' for a 26-week run. His character imprisoned his wife's lover, and became so popular the character became a ''love-to-hate'' villain, and his contract was renewed. Still on the show today, Braeden won a Daytime Emmy for his work in 1998.

In late December 1991, Braeden and actor Peter Bergman had a physical altercation backstage. According to press reports, after exchanging bitter words on the set, Braeden showed up at Bergman's dressing room door to further discuss the matter and violence ensued. Y&R;'s creator and senior executive producer William J. Bell threatened to fire them both if it ever happened again. Since then, the actors have resolved their differences and now have a cordial relationship.

In 1997, he played Colonel John Jacob Astor IV in the blockbuster film ''Titanic'', cast because he strongly resembled the powerful millionaire.

In 2008, Braeden starred in "The Man Who Came Back", an independent Western film, which was written and directed by Louisiana's Glen Pitre.

Also in 2008, Braeden guest-starred in an episode of ''How I Met Your Mother'' as Robin Sr., Robin's father, trying to make his daughter act like the son he never had.

Braeden announced on October 18, 2009, in an article by Dan J. Kroll that after almost 30 years on ''The Young and the Restless'', he was leaving the show. "We reached an impasse in the negotiations", Braeden said in an exclusive interview with celebrity news website EW.com. Braeden's last airdate was scheduled to be November 2; however, on October 23, 2009, CBS announced that Braeden had inked a new three-year deal and would remain with the soap, even agreeing to take a pay cut, which was the original issue.

On December 17, 2010, Neil Patrick Harris announced via Twitter that Braeden would not be reprising his role on ''How I Met Your Mother.'' In his tweet, Harris called Braeden a "D-Bag" for deciding on very short notice not to film a scheduled cameo for the program. Harris claimed that Braeden said the role was not substantial enough for Braeden to appear. According to Harris, the part has been recast with Ray Wise.

Personal life

Braeden is regarded as a very good tennis player. He and his wife, Dale Gudegast, were witnesses at the wedding of Bob Crane and Sigrid Valdis while on the set of '' Hogan's Heroes''. Their son, Christian Gudegast, is a screenwriter who co-wrote the film ''A Man Apart'', which starred Vin Diesel and was nominated for a ''Teen Choice Award'' in 2003.

Actor Clarence Williams III and former boxer Ken Norton are two of his best friends.

Awards, honors and nominations

Braeden won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1998 for Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his work on ''The Young and the Restless''.

On July 20, 2007, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Braeden received the Gilmore Award from the Pacific Pioneers, a radio and television industry group, in 2007.

Daytime Emmys -Winner, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (1998)

Daytime Emmys Nomination, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (1987, 1990, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004)

Daytime Emmys Pre-Nomination, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (2004, 2005, 2008)

18th Annual People's Choice Award for Most Popular Daytime Actor

Distinguished German-American of the Year 1990

He received the 2009 Friend of German Award from the American Association of Teachers of German.

Roles

Year			! Role
1963	''Combat!''	Hans Gruber
1965?	''Combat!''
1966–1967	''Mission: Impossible''
1966–1968	''The Rat Patrol''
rowspan="2">1969	''Hawaii Five-O''
''100 Rifles''	Lt. Franz Von Klemme
rowspan="3"	1970	''Hawaii Five-O''
''Colossus: The Forbin Project''	Dr. Charles A. Forbin
''The Mask of Sheba''	Dr. Morgan
1970	''The Young Rebels''
1971	''Escape from the Planet of the Apes''
1971	''Gunsmoke's episode Jaekel''
1971	''Bearcats	''
1972	''The Judge and Jake Wyler''
1972	''Hawaii Five-O''
rowspan="2">1973	The Adulteress (1973 film)>The Adulteress''
''The Six Million Dollar Man''	Findletter
rowspan="3"	1974	''Kolchak: The Night Stalker''
''Banacek''	Paul Bolitho
''The Ultimate Thrill''	Roland
1975	Wonder Woman (TV series)>Wonder Woman''
rowspan="3"	1977	''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''
''Kojak''	Kenneth Krug
''Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo''	Bruno von Stickle
1979	''CHiPs''
1980-present	''The Young and the Restless''
1981	''Charlie's Angels''
1990	''Lucky/Chances''
1990	''The Ambulance''
1994	The Nanny (TV series)>The Nanny''
1995	''Diagnosis: Murder''
1997	Titanic (1997 film)>Titanic ''
1998	''Meet the Deedles''
1999	''The Bold and the Beautiful''
2008	''The Man Who Came Back''
2008	''How I Met Your Mother''

See also

Victor Newman and Nikki Reed

Supercouple

Distinguished German-American of the Year

References

External links

Eric Braeden's Official Website

Category:1941 births Category:Living people Category:German film actors Category:German soap opera actors Category:German television actors Category:German emigrants to the United States Category:American people of German descent Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:People from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein Category:People from Rendsburg-Eckernförde Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:University of Montana alumni Category:Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

de:Eric Braeden fr:Eric Braeden it:Eric Braeden la:Ericus Braeden nl:Eric Braeden ro:Eric Braeden fi:Eric Braeden