Coordinates	46°19′25″N48°02′12″N
name	Jim Garrison
office	District Attorney of Orleans Parish
term start	1961
term end	1973
predecessor	Richard Dowling
successor	Harry Connick, Sr.
constituency	New Orleans, Louisiana
birth date	November 20, 1921
birth place	Denison, Iowa
death date	October 21, 1992
death place	New Orleans, Louisiana
nationality	American
party	Democratic Party
alma mater	law degree from Tulane University in 1949
footnotes	}}

Earling Carothers "Jim" Garrison (November 20, 1921 – October 21, 1992) — who changed his first name to Jim in the early 1960s — was the District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana from 1962 to 1973. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best known for his investigations into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (JFK).

Garrison remains a controversial figure. Opinions differ as to whether he uncovered a conspiracy behind the John F. Kennedy assassination but was blocked from successful prosecution by a federal government cover-up, whether he bungled his chance to uncover a conspiracy, or whether the entire case was an unproductive waste of resources.

Early life and career

Earling Carothers Garrison was born in Denison, Iowa. His family moved to New Orleans in his childhood, where he was reared by his divorced mother. He served in the U.S. National Guard in World War II, then obtained a law degree from Tulane University Law School in 1949. He worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for two years and then returned to active duty with the National Guard. After fifteen months, he was relieved from duty. One Army doctor concluded he had a "severe and disabling psychoneurosis" which "interfered with his social and professional adjustment to a marked degree. He is considered totally incapacitated from the standpoint of military duty and moderately incapacitated in civilian adaptability." Although one doctor did recommend that Garrison be discharged from service and collect 10% permanent disability, Garrison opted instead to join the National Guard where his record was reviewed by the army surgeon general who “found him to be physically qualified for federal recognition in the national army.”

District Attorney

Garrison worked for New Orleans law firm Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles from 1954 to 1958, when he became an assistant district attorney. Garrison became a flamboyant, colorful, well-known figure in New Orleans, but was initially unsuccessful in his run for public office, losing a 1959 election for criminal court judge. In 1961 he ran for district attorney, winning against incumbent Richard Dowling by 6,000 votes in a five-man Democratic primary. Despite lack of major political backing, his performance in a televised debate and last minute television commercials are credited with his victory.

Once in office, Garrison cracked down on prostitution and the abuses of Bourbon Street bars and strip joints. He indicted Dowling and one of his assistants with criminal malfeasance, but the charges were dismissed for lack of evidence. Garrison did not appeal. Garrison received national attention for a series of vice raids in the French Quarter, staged sometimes on a nightly basis. Newspaper headlines in 1962 praised Garrison's efforts, "Quarter Crime Emergency Declared by Police, DA. — Garrison Back, Vows Vice Drive to Continue — 14 Arrested, 12 more nabbed in Vice Raids." Garrison's critics often point out that many of the arrests made by his office did not result in convictions, implying that he was in the habit of making arrests without evidence. However, assistant DA William Alford has said that charges would more often than not be reduced or dropped if a relative of someone charged gained Garrison’s ear. He had, said Alford, “a heart of gold.”

After a conflict with local criminal judges over his budget, he accused them of racketeering and conspiring against him. The eight judges charged him with misdemeanor criminal defamation, and Garrison was convicted in January 1963. (In 1965 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction and struck down the state statute as unconstitutional.) At the same time, Garrison indicted Judge Bernard Cocke with criminal malfeasance and, in two trials prosecuted by Garrison himself, Cocke was acquitted.

Garrison charged nine policemen with brutality, but dropped the charges two weeks later. At a press conference he accused the state parole board of accepting bribes, but could obtain no indictments. He accused the state legislature of the same, but held no investigation. He was unanimously censured by the legislature.

In 1965, running for reelection against Judge Malcolm O'Hara, Garrison won with 60 percent of the vote.

Kennedy assassination investigation

New Orleans D.A. Jim Garrison began an investigation into the assassination of President Kennedy in late 1966, after receiving several tips from Jack Martin that a man named David Ferrie may have been involved in the assassination. The end result of Garrison's investigation was the arrest and trial of New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw in 1969, with Shaw being unanimously acquitted less than one hour after the case went to the jury.

Garrison was able to subpoena the Zapruder film from ''Life'' magazine and show it to the public for the first time. Until the trial, the film had rarely been seen, and bootleg copies made by assassination investigators working with Garrison led to the film's wider distribution.

Garrison's key witness against Clay Shaw was Perry Russo, a 25-year-old insurance salesman from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. During the trial, Russo testified that he had attended an "assassination party" at David Ferrie's apartment, where Shaw, Ferrie, and Lee Harvey Oswald had discussed killing President Kennedy. Russo’s version of events has been questioned by some historians and researchers, such as Patricia Lambert, once it became known that part of his testimony was induced by hypnotism, and by the drug sodium pentothal (sometimes called "truth serum"). Indeed, the early version of Russo's testimony, as told in the DA memo, before he was subjected to sodium pentothal and hypnosis, fails to mention an "assassination party" and says that Russo met Clay Shaw on two occasions, neither of which occurred at the "party." However in Jim Garrison's book ''On the Trail of the Assassins'', he says Russo had already told of the party at David Ferrie's before any "truth serum" was admitted.

Later career

In 1973, Garrison was tried for accepting bribes to protect illegal pinball machine operations. Pershing Gervais, Garrison's former chief investigator, testified that Garrison had received approximately $3,000 every two months for nine years from the dealers. Garrison, acting as his own defense attorney, called the allegations baseless, alleging they were concocted as part of a U.S. government effort to destroy him, because of his efforts to implicate the CIA in the Kennedy assassination. The jury found Garrison not guilty. In an interview conducted by New Orleans reporter Rosemary James with Pershing Gervais, James said Gervais admitted to concocting the charges.

In the same year, Garrison was defeated for reelection as district attorney by Harry Connick, Sr. On April 15, 1978, Garrison won a special election over a Republican candidate, Thomas F. Jordan, for a state Circuit Court of Appeals judgeship, a position that he held until his death.

In 1987, Garrison appeared as himself in the film ''The Big Easy''.

After the Shaw trial, Garrison wrote three books on the Kennedy assassination, ''A Heritage of Stone'' (1970), ''The Star Spangled Contract'', and the best-seller, ''On The Trail of The Assassins'' (1988). His investigation again received widespread attention through Oliver Stone's 1991 film, ''JFK'', which was largely based on Garrison's book ''On the Trail of the Assassins'' as well as Jim Marrs' ''Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy''. Kevin Costner played a fictionalized version of Garrison in the movie. Garrison himself had a small on-screen role in the film, playing United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren.

Legacy

Some suggest that Garrison will be remembered positively, including political analyst Carl Oglesby who was quoted as saying, "...I have done a study of Garrison: I come out of it thinking that he is one of the really first-rate class-act heroes of this whole ugly story [the killing of John F. Kennedy, the cover-up, and subsequent investigation], which suffers so badly for heroes."

Garrison was later viewed as an embarrassment by writer Gerald Posner, who believes Oswald acted alone. However, several researchers, including Jim DiEugenio, William Davy, and Joan Mellen have defended Garrison.

Garrison came under contemporary criticism from writers including Sylvia Meaghy, who in 1967 wrote: "as the Garrison investigation continued to unfold, it gave cause for increasingly serious misgivings about the validity of his evidence, the credibility of his witnesses, and the scrupulousness of his methods. The fact that many critics of the Warren Report have remained passionate advocates of the Garrison investigation, even condoning tactics which they might not condone on the part of others, is a matter of regret and disappointment" (''Accessories After the Fact,'' 456-7).. Others say Garrison was cruel and mistreated witnesses in his attempt to prove an assassination conspiracy . Witnesses, including Perry Raymond Russo later claimed to have been bribed and threatened with perjury and contempt of court charges by Garrison in order to make his case against Shaw. However Perry Russo, in an interview with public radio station reporters Will Robinson and Marilyn Colman, had this to say: "...[NBC News reporter] Walter Sheridan tells me and threatens me that he's gonna take Garrison out and take me with him."

References

Further reading

Vincent Bugliosi, ''Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy'' (W.W. Norton and Company, 2007) -- pp. 1347-1436 of the main text and pp. 804-932 of the endnotes are devoted to "Jim Garrison's Prosecution of Clay Shaw and Oliver Stone's Movie ''JFK''"

William Hardy Davis, ''Aiming for the Jugular in New Orleans'' (Ashley Books, June 1976)

Paris Flamonde, ''The Kennedy Conspiracy''

Paris Flamonde, ''The Assassinastion of America'' (2007)

Jim Garrison, ''A Heritage of Stone'' (Putnam Publishing Group, 1970) ISBN 0-399-10398-8

Jim Garrison, ''On the Trail of the Assassins'' (New York: Sheridan Square Press, 1988) ISBN 0-446-36277-8

James Kirkwood, ''American Grotesque: An Account of the Clay Shaw-Jim Garrison-Kennedy Assassination Trial in New Orleans''

Patricia Lambert, ''False Witness: The Real Story of Jim Garrison's Investigation and Oliver Stone's Film'' JFK. ISBN 0-87131-920-9

Gerald Posner, ''Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK'' (New York: Random House Publishers, 1993)

James Savage, ''Jim Garrison's Bourbon Street Brawl: The Making of a First Amendment Milestone'' (University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press, 2010) ISBN: 9781887366953

Harold Weisberg, ''Oswald in New Orleans: Case for Conspiracy with the C.I.A.'' (New York: Canyon Books, 1967)

Christine Wiltz, ''The Last Madam'' p. 145-150 ISBN 0-571-19954-2

External links

JFK Online: The Jim Garrison Investigation

JFK Online: The JFK 100 - Oliver Stone's portrayal of Jim Garrison - a detailed study comparing the real Jim Garrison to his fictional counterpart in the film ''JFK'' played by Kevin Costner

CIA Counterintelligence Director James Angleton Spying on a Garrison Witness

JFK Online: Jim Garrison audio resources - mp3s of Garrison speaking

Jim Garrison's ''Playboy'' interview, October 1967

"Garrison Guilty. Another Case Closed" by Gerald Posner, ''New York Times Magazine'', August 6, 1995

"New Orleans, and the Garrison Investigation"

Jim Garrison's Grave on Find A Grave

Category:1921 births Category:1992 deaths Category:People from Crawford County, Iowa Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:American non-fiction writers Category:District attorneys Category:Louisiana state court judges Category:People associated with the John F. Kennedy assassination Category:Researchers of the John F. Kennedy assassination Category:Louisiana lawyers Category:Louisiana Democrats Category:People from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Tulane University alumni Category:Tulane University Law School alumni Category:Burials at Metairie Cemetery

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Coordinates	46°19′25″N48°02′12″N
name	Johnny Carson
birth name	John William Carson
birth date	October 23, 1925
birth place	Corning, Iowa, U.S.
death date	January 23, 2005
death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
nationality	American
active	1950–1994
signature	Johnny Carson Signature.svg
influences	Groucho Marx, Jack Benny, Fred Allen, Bob Hope, Laurel and Hardy, Red Skelton, George Burns, Milton Berle, Steve Allen, Charlie Chaplin, Don Rickles, Michael Gough
influenced	Ray Combs, Ellen DeGeneres, Kathy Griffin, Bill Hicks, Jay Leno, David Letterman, George Lopez, Bill Maher, Conan O'Brien, Jerry Seinfeld, Garry Shandling
spouse	Joan Morrill Wolcott (1949–1963)Joanne Copeland (1963–1972)Joanna Holland (1972–1985)Alexandra Mass (1987–2005, his death)
notable work	Host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''

}} John William "Johnny" Carson (October 23, 1925 January 23, 2005) was an American television host and comedian, known as host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' for 30 years (1962–1992). Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the ''Television Academy Hall of Fame'' in 1987. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992, and received Kennedy Center Honors in 1993.

Although his show was already hugely successful by the end of the 1960s, it was during the 1970s that he became an American icon and the "best guest" in American homes up until his retirement in 1992. Carson adopted a casual, conversational approach with extensive interaction with guests, an approach pioneered by Arthur Godfrey and previous ''Tonight Show'' hosts Steve Allen and Jack Paar. Late night hosts David Letterman, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Craig Ferguson, and Jimmy Fallon have all cited Carson's influence on their late-night talk shows, which greatly resemble Carson's show in format and tone.

Early life and career

Carson was born in Corning, Iowa, on October 23, 1925 to Homer "Kit" Lloyd Carson, a power company manager, and Ruth Hook Carson. He grew up in the nearby towns of Avoca, Clarinda and Red Oak in southwest Iowa, before moving to Norfolk, Nebraska at the age of eight. At the age of 12 Carson found a book on magic at a friend's house and immediately purchased a mail-order magician's kit. He debuted as "The Great Carsoni" at 14 and was paid $3; many other performances at local picnics and country fairs followed.

After attending Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, he joined the U.S. Navy on June 8, 1943, received V-12 officer training at Columbia University, and continued to perform magic. Commissioned an ensign late in the war, Carson was assigned to the USS ''Pennsylvania'' in the Pacific. He was en route to the combat zone aboard a troopship when the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the war. Carson served as a communications officer in charge of decoding encrypted messages, and said that the high point of his military career was performing a magic trick for United States Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal.

Carson then attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln where he joined Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, continued performing magic (now paid $25 per appearance), wrote a thesis on the structure of Jack Benny's comedy routines, and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in radio and speech with a minor in physics in 1949.

He began his broadcasting career in 1950 at WOW radio and television in Omaha, Nebraska. Carson soon hosted a morning television program called ''The Squirrel's Nest''. One of his routines involved interviewing pigeons on the roof of the local courthouse that would allegedly report on the political corruption they had seen. Carson supplemented his income by serving as master of ceremonies at local church dinners, attended by some of the same politicians and civic leaders that he had lampooned on the radio.

In 1951 Carson visited California and unsuccessfully sought work. The wife of one of the political figures he spoofed owned stock in a radio station in Los Angeles and referred Carson to her brother, who was influential in the emerging television market in Southern California, and later that year Carson went to work at CBS-owned Los Angeles television station KNXT. He would later joke that he owed his success to the birds of Omaha. In 1953 comic Red Skelton — a fan of Carson's "cult success" low-budget sketch comedy show, ''Carson's Cellar'' (1951 to 1953) on KNXT — asked Carson to join his show as a writer. In 1954 Skelton during rehearsal accidentally knocked himself unconscious an hour before his live show began, and Carson successfully filled in for him. In 1955 Jack Benny invited Carson to appear on one of his programs, during the opening and closing segments. Carson imitated Benny and claimed that Benny had copied his gestures. Benny, however, predicted that Carson would have a successful career as a comedian. Carson hosted several shows besides ''Carson's Cellar'', including the game show ''Earn Your Vacation'' (1954) and the variety show ''The Johnny Carson Show'' (1955–1956). He was a regular panelist on the original ''To Tell the Truth'' until 1962. After the prime time ''The Johnny Carson Show'' failed, he moved to New York City to host ''Who Do You Trust?'' (1957–1962), formerly known as ''Do You Trust Your Wife?''. In 1958 he appeared as a guest star in an episode entitled "Do You Trust Your Wife" on NBC's short-lived variety show, ''The Polly Bergen Show''. It was on ''Who Do You Trust?'' that Carson met his future sidekick, Ed McMahon. Although he saw moving to daytime as hurting his career, ''Who Do You Trust?'' was a success. It was the first show where he could ad lib and interview guests, and because of Carson's on-camera wit, the show became "the hottest item on daytime television" during his five years there.

''The Tonight Show''

NBC's ''Tonight'' was the late-night counterpart to its early-morning show ''Today''. Originating in 1953 with host Steve Allen, ''Tonight'' was somewhat experimental at the time, because no television network had yet attempted late-night programming. ''Tonight'' was successful, and when Allen moved on to prime-time comedy-variety shows, Jack Paar replaced him as host of ''Tonight''. Paar left the show in 1962.

Johnny Carson's success on ''Who Do You Trust?'' led NBC to invite him to take over ''Tonight'' a few months before Paar's departure. Carson declined the offer because he feared the difficulty of interviewing celebrities for 105 minutes daily, but NBC asked him again after Bob Newhart, Jackie Gleason, Groucho Marx, and Joey Bishop all declined. Carson accepted in March 1962, but had six months left on his ABC contract, during which NBC used multiple guest hosts including Merv Griffin.

Although he continued to have doubts about his new job, Carson became host of ''Tonight'' (later becoming ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'') on October 1, 1962 and quickly overcame his fears. While ''Tonight'' under its previous hosts had been successful, with Carson the show's ratings soared. Billy Wilder said of Carson:

}}

McMahon followed Carson from ''Who Do You Trust?'' as his announcer and sidekick. McMahon's opening line, "Heeeere's Johnny" was followed by a brief monologue by Carson. This was often followed by comedy sketches, interviews, and music. Carson's trademark was a phantom golf swing at the end of his monologues, aimed stage left toward the studio orchestra. Guest hosts sometimes parodied that gesture. Bob Newhart rolled an imaginary bowling ball toward the audience. Johnny enjoyed what he called the "Carson Kits," or beautiful girls to dress his show. Theona Bryant, a favorite, was a model. The other "Carson Cuties" were Phyllis Applegate, Norma Brooks, and Sally Todd.

Paul Anka wrote the theme song ("Johnny's Theme"), a reworking of his "Toot Sweet", given lyrics, renamed "It's Really Love," and recorded by Annette Funicello in 1959. Before taking over ''The Tonight Show'', Carson wrote lyrics for the song and thus claimed 50 percent of the song's performance royalties (even though the lyrics were never used).

The show was originally produced in New York City, with occasional stints in California. It was not live in its early years, although during the 1970s, NBC fed the live taping from Burbank to New York via satellite for editing (see below). The program had been done "live on tape" (uninterrupted unless a problem occurred) since the Jack Paar days. Carson had a talent for quick quips to deal with problems. If the opening monologue fared poorly, the band would start playing "Tea for Two" and Carson danced, to laughs from the studio audience. Alternatively, Carson might pull the boom mic close to his face and announce ''"Attention K-Mart shoppers!"''

Move to Burbank

In May 1972, the show moved from New York to Burbank, California. Carson often joked about "beautiful downtown Burbank" and referred to "beautiful downtown Bakersfield," which prompted Mayor Mary K. Shell to chide Carson and invite him to her city to see improvements made during the early 1980s.

After July 1971, Carson stopped doing shows five days a week. Instead, on Monday nights there was a guest host, leaving Carson to do the other four each week. Shows were taped in Burbank at 5:30 pm (8:30 pm Eastern time) to be shown that evening at 11:30 pm Eastern time. On September 8, 1980, at Carson's request, the show cut its 90-minute format to 60 minutes; Tom Snyder's ''Tomorrow'' added a half hour to fill the vacant time. Joan Rivers became the "permanent" guest host from September 1983 until 1986, when she was fired for accepting a competing show on Fox without consulting Carson. ''The Tonight Show'' returned to using rotating guest hosts, including comic George Carlin. Jay Leno then became the exclusive guest host in fall 1987. Leno stated that although other guest hosts upped their fees, he kept his low, assuring himself more bookings. Eventually, Monday night was for Leno, Tuesday for ''The Best of Carson'', rebroadcasts usually dating from a year earlier but occasionally from the 1970s.

As Carson's work schedule shortened, ''Tonight'' remained so successful for NBC that his compensation continued to rise; by the mid-1970s Carson had become the highest-paid person on television at about $4 million a year ($}} today), not including nightclub appearances and his other businesses. Carson refused many offers to appear in films, including the title role in ''The Thomas Crown Affair'' and Gene Wilder's role in ''Blazing Saddles''.

In recognition of his 25th anniversary on ''The Tonight Show'', Carson received a personal Peabody Award, with the Board saying he had "become an American institution, a household word, [and] the most widely quoted American"; they also said they "felt the time had come to recognize the contributions that Johnny has made to television, to humor, and to America."

Comic characters

Carson played several continuing characters on sketches during the show, including

Art Fern, the "Tea Time Movie" announcer, whose theme song was "Hooray for Hollywood." Carson once admitted on camera that this was his favorite character, based on late-afternoon TV hosts who would deliver commercials throughout the movie. Each sketch usually featured three long commercials interrupted by silent, four-second clips from antique films. When the camera returned from each clip, Art was always caught off-guard and immediately reminded viewers that they were watching a film favorite. The movies always had unlikely casts and even less likely titles: "Slim Pickens, Patti Page, Duke Wayne, and Charlton Heston in another classic Western: 'Kiss My Saddle Horn'!" Carson originally played the fast-talking huckster in his own voice (as Honest Bernie Schlock or Ralph Willie), and finally settled on a nasal, high-pitched, smarmy drone reminiscent of Jackie Gleason's "Reginald Van Gleason III" character. The character, now permanently known as Art Fern, wore a lavish toupee, loud jackets, and a pencil mustache. Actress Carol Wayne became famous for her 100-plus appearances (1971–1982) as Art's buxom assistant, the Matinée Lady. While Art gave his spiel, she would enter the stage behind him. Art would react to her attractive body, wincing loudly, "''Ho'' — leeeee!" After Carol Wayne's death in 1985, Carson kept Art Fern off the air for most of the next year, and finally hired Danuta Wesley and then Teresa Ganzel to play the Matinée Lady. Carson also used these sketches to poke fun at the intricate Los Angeles interstate system, using a pointer and map to give confusing directions to shoppers often including points where he would unfold the cardboard map to point out, via the appropriate picture, when the shopper would arrive at "the fork in the road." Another freeway routine in the same theme centered around the fictional "Slauson Cutoff." Art Fern would advise drivers to take a series of freeways until they reached the Slauson Cutoff, and would then advise them to "Get out of your car, cut off your slauson, get back in your car," often followed by peals of laughter from the audience, led by McMahon.

Carnac the Magnificent, a turbaned psychic who could answer questions before seeing them. (This same routine had been done by Carson's predecessor, Steve Allen, as "The Answer Man." The Carnac character and routine closely resembled Ernie Kovacs' character "Mr. Question Man.") Carnac had a trademark entrance in which he always turned the wrong direction when coming onto stage and then "tripped" on the step up to Carson's desk. (In one episode, technicians rigged Carson's desk to fall apart when Carnac fell into it.) These comedic missteps were an indication of Carnac's true prescient abilities. Ed McMahon would hand Carnac a series of envelopes, containing questions. Carnac would place each envelope against his forehead and predict the answer, such as "Gatorade." Then he would read the question: "What does an alligator get on welfare?" Some of the jokes were feeble, and McMahon used pauses after terrible puns and audience groans to make light of Carnac's lack of comic success ("Carnac must be used to quiet surroundings"), prompting Carson to return an equal insult. McMahon would always announce near the end, "I hold in my hand the ''last'' envelope," at which the audience would applaud wildly, prompting Carnac to pronounce a comedic "curse" on the audience, such as "May your sister elope with a camel!"

Floyd R. Turbo, American (with no pause between words). A stereotypical redneck wearing a plaid hunting coat and cap, who offered "editorial responses" to left-leaning causes or news events. Railing against women's rights in the workplace, for example, Turbo would shout, "This raises the question: kiss my Dictaphone!"

Aunt Blabby, a cantankerous and sometimes amorous old lady, invariably being interviewed by straight man Ed McMahon about elder affairs. McMahon would innocently use a common expression like "check out," only to have Aunt Blabby warn him, "Don't say 'check out' to an old person!" Aunt Blabby was an obvious copy of Jonathan Winters’ most famous creation, Maude Frickert, including her black spinster dress and wig.

El Mouldo, a mentalist, who would attempt to perform mind-reading and mind-over-matter feats, all of which failed. Often his tricks would include an attempt to bilk money from Ed McMahon or would end with him begging the audience for a dollar, or at least bus fare.

The Maharishi, whose theme song was "Song of India". This frizzy-haired "holy man" spoke in a high-pitched, tranquil tone, greeted announcer McMahon with a flower, and answered philosophical questions.

Carson uncensored on satellite

Even though Carson's program was based in Burbank, NBC's editing and production services for the program were located in New York, resulting in the requirement that Carson's program be transmitted from Burbank to New York. Beginning in 1976, NBC used the Satcom 2 satellite to do this, feeding the live taping (which usually took place in the early evening) directly to New York, where it would be edited prior to the normal broadcast. This live feed lasted usually from two to two-and-a-half hours a night, and was uncensored and commercial-free. During the commercial breaks the audio and picture would be left on, capturing at times risque language and other events that would certainly be edited out later going out over the feed.

At the same time, however, satellite ground stations owned by private individuals began to appear, and some managed to find the live feed. Satellite dish owners began to document their sightings in technical journals, giving viewers knowledge of things they were not meant to see. Carson and his production staff grew concerned about this, and pressured NBC into ceasing the satellite transmissions of the live taping in the early 1980s. The satellite link was replaced by microwave landline transmission until the show's editing facilities were finally moved to Burbank.

Effect on popular culture

Carson's show was the launch for many performers, notably comedians. Many got their break on the show, and it was an achievement to get Carson to laugh and be called to the guest chair. Most notable were Jerry Seinfeld, Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Maher, Ellen Degeneres, Tim Allen, Drew Carey, and Roseanne Barr. Carson was successor to ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' as a showcase for all kinds of talent, as well as continuing a vaudeville-style variety show.

A bit of adult humor was not beyond Carson. During an interview with Dolly Parton, in reference to her large bust, she said, ''"People are always asking if they're real and ... I'll tell you what, these are mine."'' Carson replied, ''"I have certain guidelines on this show. But I would give about a year's pay to peek under there."'' Videotape of the Parton interview survives and has been rebroadcast several times during ''Tonight Show'' retrospectives.

In 1966, Carson singlehandedly popularized the game Twister when he got down on the floor to play it with Eva Gabor. Previous to their game on television, Twister had languished on Milton Bradley's B-list, but after the broadcast, it took off in popularity.

Controversies and feuds

Carson made several routine jokes at the expense of other celebrities. Some years after a high-profile feud between Carson and Wayne Newton, the latter appeared on ''Larry King Live'', declaring that "Johnny Carson was a mean-spirited human being. And there are people that he has hurt that people will never know about. And for some reason at some point, he decided to turn that kind of negative attention toward me. And I refused to have it."

Carson reportedly loathed what he felt was disloyalty among friends. The comedian was displeased when former ''Tonight Show'' guest hosts John Davidson and Joan Rivers got their own talk shows. Rivers' show on the Fox network directly competed with Carson during the 1986-1987 season, and died a quick death. On June 24, 2009 following Ed McMahon's death, Rivers lauded McMahon on ''Larry King Live'' but stated that Carson "never again spoke to me, up to his death."

Carson successfully sued a manufacturer of portable toilets who wanted to call its product "Here's Johnny".

Business ventures

Carson was a major investor in the ultimately failed DeLorean Motor Company.

Carson was head of a group of investors who purchased and operated two television stations. The first was KVVU-TV in Henderson, Nevada, an independent station serving Las Vegas, acquired by the Carson group in 1979. Shortly after buying the station, KVVU was rumored to acquiring an NBC affiliation as then long-time affiliate KORK-TV was in the process of being replaced by KVBC, but it never happened. Carson's second station, independent KNAT-TV in Albuquerque, New Mexico was purchased in 1982. Unlike the Las Vegas operation, KNAT faced stiffer competition for top-quality syndicated programming. Carson sold both of his stations between 1985 and 1986, with KVVU going to Meredith Corporation and KNAT being sold to Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Carson's other business ventures included the successful Johnny Carson Apparel, Inc.—his turtlenecks became a fashion trend—and a failed restaurant franchise.

Retirement

Carson retired from show business on May 22, 1992, when he stepped down as host of ''The Tonight Show''. His farewell was a major media event, and stretched over several nights. It was often emotional for Carson, his colleagues, and the audiences, particularly the farewell statement he delivered on his 4,531st and final ''Tonight Show'':

NBC gave the role of host to the show's then-current permanent guest host, Jay Leno. Leno and David Letterman were soon competing on separate networks.

Post-retirement appearances

At the end of his final ''Tonight Show'' appearance, Carson indicated that he might, if so inspired, return with a new project, but instead chose to go into full retirement, rarely giving interviews and declining to participate in NBC's 75th anniversary celebrations. He made the occasional cameo appearance, including voicing himself on a 1993 episode of ''The Simpsons'' ("Krusty Gets Kancelled"), telephoning David Letterman on a November 1993 episode of ''Late Show with David Letterman'', and appearing in the 1993 NBC Special ''Bob Hope: The First 90 Years''. On May 13, 1994, Carson appeared on ''Late Show with David Letterman''. During a week of shows from Los Angeles, Letterman was having Larry "Bud" Melman (Calvert DeForest) deliver his "Top Ten Lists" under the guise that a famous personality would be delivering the list instead. On the last show of the week, Letterman indicated that Carson would be delivering the list. Instead, DeForest delivered the list, insulted the audience (in keeping with the gag), and walked off to polite applause. Letterman then indicated that the card he was given did not have the proper list on it and asked that the "real" list be brought out. On that cue, the real Johnny Carson emerged from behind the curtain (as Letterman's band played "Johnny's Theme"), an appearance which prompted a standing ovation from the audience. Carson then requested to sit behind Letterman's desk; Letterman obliged, as the audience continued to cheer and applaud. After some moments, Carson departed from the show without having spoken to the audience. He later cited acute laryngitis as the reason for his silence. This night turned out to be Carson's last television appearance.

Letterman

Just days before Carson's death, it was revealed that he occasionally sent jokes to Letterman. Letterman would then use these jokes in the monologue of his show, which Carson got "a big kick out of" according to Worldwide Pants, Inc., Senior Vice-President Peter Lassally, who formerly produced both men's programs. He also claimed that Carson had always believed Letterman, not Leno, to be his "rightful successor." Letterman frequently employs some of Carson's trademark bits on his show, including "Carnac" (with band leader Paul Shaffer as Carnac), "Stump the Band," and the "Week in Review."

Personal life

Despite his on-camera demeanor, Carson was very shy off-camera, avoided most large parties, and was referred to as "the most private public man who ever lived". Dick Cavett recalled that "I felt sorry for Johnny in that he was so socially uncomfortable. I've hardly ever met anybody who had as hard a time as he did." George Axelrod said of Carson: "Socially, he doesn’t exist. The reason is that there are no television cameras in living rooms. If human beings had little-red lights in the middle of their foreheads, Carson would be the greatest conversationalist on earth."

He normally refused to discuss politics, social controversies, his childhood, or private life with interviewers, and offered the following list of prewritten answers to journalists who wanted to ask him questions: #Yes, I did. #Not a bit of truth in that rumor. # Only twice in my life, both times on Saturday. #I can do either, but I prefer the first. #No. Kumquats. #I can’t answer that question. #Toads and tarantulas. #Turkestan, Denmark, Chile, and the Komandorskie Islands. #As often as possible, but I’m not very good at it yet. I need much more practice. #It happened to some old friends of mine, and it’s a story I’ll never forget.

Politics

Carson opposed capital punishment, favored racial equality, and was against crimininalizing extramarital sex and pornography. He avoided explicitly mentioning his views on ''Tonight'', however, saying "I hate to be pinned down" as that would "hurt me as an entertainer, which is what I am".

Marriages

In 1948, Carson married Jody Wolcott. The marriage was volatile, with infidelities by both parties, finally ending in divorce. In 1963, Carson got a "quickie" Mexican divorce from Wolcott and married Joanne Copeland on August 17, 1963. After a protracted divorce in 1972, Copeland received nearly half a million dollars in cash and art, and $100,000 a year in alimony for life.

At the Carson ''Tonight Show'' 10th anniversary party on September 30, 1972, Carson announced that he and former model Joanna Holland had been secretly married that afternoon, shocking his friends and associates. Carson kidded that he had married three similarly named women to avoid "having to change the monogram on the towels." A similar joke was made by Bob Newhart during Carson's roast by Dean Martin. On March 8, 1983, Holland filed for divorce. Under California's community property laws, she was entitled to 50 percent of all the assets accumulated during the marriage, even though Carson earned virtually 100 percent of the couple's income. During this period he joked on ''The Tonight Show'', "My producer, Freddie de Cordova, really gave me something I needed for Christmas. He gave me a gift certificate to the Law Offices of Jacoby & Meyers." The divorce case finally ended in 1985 with an 80-page settlement, Holland receiving $20 million in cash and property.

On June 20, 1987, Carson married Alexis Mass. The marriage lasted until his death in 2005.

Children

Carson had three sons. Richard Carson, his son from his first marriage, died on June 21, 1991, when his car plunged down a steep embankment along a paved service road off Highway 1 near Cayucos, a small town north of San Luis Obispo, California. Apparently, Richard had been taking photographs when the accident occurred. On the first ''Tonight Show'' after Ricky's death, Carson gave a tribute in the final minutes of his show as samples of his son's photographic work (and images of Ricky, himself) were displayed with the music accompaniment of ''Riviera Paradise'' by blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. In addition, the final image — as well as some "More to Come" bumpers — of Carson's last show that aired May 22, 1992 featured a photo Richard had taken.

Charity

In 1981, Carson created the John W. Carson Foundation, dedicated to supporting children, education and health services. The Foundation continues to support charitable causes.

In November 2004, Carson announced a $5.3 million gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation to support the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts' Department of Theatre Arts, which created the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film. Another $5 million donation was announced by the estate of Carson to the University of Nebraska following his death.

Carson also donated to causes in his hometown of Norfolk, including the Carson Cancer Center at Faith Regional Health Services, the Elkhorn Valley Museum, and the Johnny Carson Theater at Norfolk Senior High School.

In August 2010, the charitable foundation created by Johnny Carson reported receiving $156 million from a personal trust established by the entertainer years prior to his January 2005 death. Carson's foundation was now by far the biggest of Hollywood charities.

Other events

Carson, an amateur astronomer, was close friends with astronomer Carl Sagan, who often appeared on ''The Tonight Show''. The unique way Sagan had of saying certain words, like "billions" of galaxies, would lead to Carson ribbing his friend, imitating his voice and saying ''"BILL-ions and BILL-ions"'', a phrase attributed to Sagan. Carson was the first person to contact Sagan's wife with condolences when the scientist died in 1996. He owned several telescopes, including a Questar, considered at the time a top-of-the line telescope.

Carson was shown on a segment of ''60 Minutes'' practicing at home on a drum set given to him by close friend Buddy Rich, who was the jazz musician with the most appearances on ''The Tonight Show''. Writer Gore Vidal, another frequent ''Tonight Show'' guest and friend, writes about Carson's personality in his 2006 memoirs.

In 1982, Carson was found to be driving his DeLorean while under the influence of alcohol. He pled ''nolo contendere'' to a misdemeanor charge and given three years of probation. Carson was required to attend an alcohol program for drivers and was permitted to use his car only to drive to work and back.

Death and tributes

On March 19, 1999, Carson, then 73, suffered a severe heart attack at his home in Malibu, California. Carson was sleeping when he suddenly awoke with severe chest pains. He was rushed to a hospital in nearby Santa Monica where he underwent quadruple-bypass surgery.

At 6:50 AM PST on January 23, 2005, Carson died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, of respiratory failure arising from emphysema. He was 79 years old. Carson had revealed his illness to the public in September 2002. Following Carson's death his body was cremated, and the ashes were given to his wife. In accordance with his family's wishes, no public memorial service was held. There were numerous tributes paid to Carson upon his death, including a statement by then President George W. Bush, recognizing the deep and enduring affection held for him.

On January 24, 2005, ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' paid tribute to Carson with guests Ed McMahon, Bob Newhart, Don Rickles, Drew Carey and k.d. lang. Letterman followed suit on January 31 with former ''Tonight Show'' executive producer Peter Lassally and bandleader Doc Severinsen. During the beginning of this show, Letterman said that for 30 years no matter what was going on in the world, no matter whether people had a good or bad day, they wanted to end the day by being "tucked in by Johnny." Letterman also told his viewers that the monologue he had just given (which had been very well received by the studio audience) had consisted entirely of jokes sent to him by Carson in the last few months of his life. Doc Severinsen ended the Letterman show that night by playing one of Carson's two favorite songs, "Here's That Rainy Day" (the other was "I'll Be Seeing You"). It had been reported over the decades of Carson's fame that he was, off-camera, so intensely private that he had never once invited McMahon to his home. After Carson's death, though, McMahon disputed those rumors and claimed that a close friendship existed. On his final ''Tonight Show'' appearance, Carson himself said that while sometimes people who work together for long stretches of time on television don't necessarily like each other, this was not the case with him and McMahon: They were good friends who would have dinner together, and the camaraderie that they had on the show could not be faked. Carson and McMahon were friends for forty-six years.

A week or so after the tributes, Dennis Miller was on ''The Tonight Show'' and told Jay Leno about the first time he tried to host a talk show, and how miserably it went. He said that he got a call immediately after the first show, from Carson, telling him, "It's not as easy as it looks, is it, kid?"

The 2005 film ''The Aristocrats'' was dedicated to Carson, as well as ''The Simpsons'' episode "Mommie Beerest".

At the 1st Annual Comedy Awards on Comedy Central, the Johnny Carson Award was given to David Letterman.

References

Further reading

Accounts on work and life

Humor material collections

ISBN-10: 1199397350 ASIN: B002J1EG3A

''Johnny Carson Collection'', Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

External links

Official website for ''The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson''

at Salon at ''The New Republic''

1978 profile from ''The New Yorker'' by Kenneth Tynan

''The Johnny Carson Show'' from USA Today

Posthumous Letter to Carson from Steve Martin published in ''The New York Times''

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Obituaries

CNN obituary

MSNBC obituary

Johnny Carson obituary by James Wolcott

Category:1925 births Category:2005 deaths Category:American game show hosts Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television talk show hosts Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:Deaths from emphysema Category:Disease-related deaths in California Category:Entertainers from Nebraska Category:University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni Category:United States Navy officers Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Peabody Award winners Category:People from Adams County, Iowa

ar:ج�?ني �?ارس�?ن da:Johnny Carson de:Johnny Carson es:Johnny Carson eo:Johnny Carson fr:Johnny Carson ga:Johnny Carson gl:Johnny Carson id:Johnny Carson it:Johnny Carson he:ג'וני קרסון nl:Johnny Carson ja:ジ�?��?��?��?�カ�?�ソ�?� no:Johnny Carson pl:Johnny Carson pt:Johnny Carson simple:Johnny Carson sh:Johnny Carson fi:Johnny Carson sv:Johnny Carson zh:约翰尼·卡森

:''This is an article about the New Orleans businessman. See E. Clay Shaw, Jr. for an article about the politician from Florida.''

Coordinates	46°19′25″N48°02′12″N
Name	Clay Shaw
Birth date	March 17, 1913
Birth place	Kentwood, Louisiana, United States
Death date	August 15, 1974
Death place	New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Death cause	Lung cancer with metastasis to brain and liver
Nationality	American
Known for	Head of the International Trade Mart; charged for being part of a conspiracy to assassinate President John F. Kennedy.
Occupation	Businessman and director of the International Trade Mart in New Orleans}}

Clay Laverne Shaw (March 17, 1913 – August 15, 1974) was a businessman in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the only person prosecuted in connection with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and was found not guilty.

Biography

Shaw was honorably discharged from the United States Army as a major in 1946. He served as secretary to the General Staff and was decorated by three nations: the United States with the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star, by France with the Croix de Guerre and named Chevalier de l'Ordre du Merite, and by Belgium named Chevalier of the Order of the Crown of Belgium.

After World War II Shaw helped start the International Trade Mart in New Orleans which facilitated the sales of both domestic and imported goods. He was known locally for his efforts to preserve buildings in New Orleans' historic French Quarter.

Arrest

New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison prosecuted Clay Shaw on the charge that Shaw and a group of right-wing activists, including David Ferrie and Guy Banister, were involved in a conspiracy with elements of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the John F. Kennedy assassination. Garrison arrested Shaw on March 1, 1967. Garrison believed that Clay Shaw was the man named as "Clay Bertrand" in the Warren Commission Report. Garrison claimed that Shaw used the alias "Clay Bertrand" among New Orleans' gay society.

The trial

During the trial, which took place in January–February 1969, Garrison called insurance salesman Perry Russo as his main witness. Russo testified that he had attended a party at the apartment of anti-Castro activist David Ferrie. At the party, Russo said that Ferrie, Oswald, and "Clay Bertrand" (who Russo identified in the courtroom as Clay Shaw) had discussed killing Kennedy.

Critics of Garrison argue that his own records indicate that Russo's story had evolved over time. A key source was the "Sciambra Memo", which records Assistant D.A. Andrew Sciambra's first interview with Russo. Not only does the memo fail to mention an "assassination party", it says that Russo met Shaw on two occasions, neither of which occurred at the "party". Sciambra blamed himself for leaving out the Shaw/Ferrie/Oswald party episode, an omission that Shaw's attorneys were able to exploit by raising questions about the validity of Perry Russo's testimony.

Another Garrison witness, Charles Spiesel, said, under cross examination, that he had filed a lawsuit in 1964 against a psychiatrist and the City of New York. He testified that, over a period of several years, the police and others had hypnotized him and harassed him out of business. He also said that he regularly fingerprinted his children, lest they had been replaced with cloned lookalikes by the US Government. Spiesel had been called as a witness for his claim that he had attended a gathering where Clay Shaw was present and identified himself as "Clay Bertrand". Land titles records showed the building where Spiesel claimed to have met Shaw was indeed owned by Shaw at the time of the alleged meeting.

On March 1, 1969 Shaw was unanimously acquitted less than one hour after the case went to the jury.

Aftermath

Garrison later wrote a book about his investigation of Clay Shaw and the subsequent trial called ''On the Trail of the Assassins''. In the book, Garrison states that Shaw had an "extensive international role as an employee of the CIA". Shaw denied any such connections.

In 1979, Richard Helms, former director of the CIA, testified under oath that Clay Shaw had been a part-time contact of the Domestic Contact Service of the CIA, where Shaw volunteered information from his travels abroad, mostly to Latin America. By the mid-1970s, 150,000 Americans (businessmen, journalists, etc.) had provided such information to the DCS.

In 1979, the House Select Committee on Assassinations stated in its Final Report that the Committee was "inclined to believe that Oswald was in Clinton [Louisiana] in late August, early September 1963, and that he was in the company of David Ferrie, if not Clay Shaw," and that witnesses in Clinton, Louisiana "established an association of an undetermined nature between Ferrie, Shaw and Oswald less than 3 months before the assassination".

Death

Shaw died on August 15, 1974 about 12:40 AM at his residence, 1022 St. Peter Street. The death certificate was signed by Dr. Hugh M. Batson, with the cause of death listed as metastatic lung cancer.

Fictional portrayals

Shaw was portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones in Oliver Stone's 1991 film ''JFK''. Jones received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role.

References

Further reading

External links

Jim Garrison and New Orleans

''Louisiana v. Shaw'' (1969) trial transcript

Orleans Parish Grand Jury transcripts

Esquire December 1968 interview

Penthouse interview with Clay Shaw

The JFK 100: One Hundred Errors of Fact and Judgment in Oliver Stone's ''JFK'': Who was Clay Shaw?

Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Category:People from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:People from Kentwood, Louisiana Category:People associated with the John F. Kennedy assassination Category:American businesspeople Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:American LGBT military personnel Category:Order of the Crown (Belgium) recipients Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit Category:Recipients of the Bronze Star Medal Category:Deaths from lung cancer Category:Cancer deaths in Louisiana Category:1913 births Category:1974 deaths

de:Clay Shaw es:Clay Shaw fr:Clay Shaw it:Clay Shaw nl:Clay Shaw

Clay Bertrand is the name of the person that New Orleans attorney, Dean Andrews Jr., claimed attempted to hire him to represent Lee Harvey Oswald, the suspected assassin, after the John F. Kennedy assassination of 1963. Oswald was murdered November 24, 1963 in the basement of the Dallas police station by Jack Ruby before the trial took place.

The actual existence of a "Clay Bertrand" has been debated, with Andrews claiming both that he made the name up and that the FBI intimidated him into claiming Clay Bertrand does not exist.

New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison asserted that "Clay Bertrand" was actually New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw. During the trial of Clay Shaw, Garrison accused Shaw of using the alias "Clay Bertrand" to solicit Andrews' legal services on Oswald's behalf; however, Garrison was unable to prove any connection to Shaw. Shaw was found not guilty.

Ten years after Shaw's trial, former assistant to the Director of the CIA and proponent of the organized crime and the CIA conspiracy theory Victor Marchetti argued that Clay Bertrand was, in fact, Clay Shaw.

Notes

Category:People associated with the John F. Kennedy assassination

Coordinates	46°19′25″N48°02′12″N
name	Kevin Costner
birth name	Kevin Michael Costner
birth date	January 18, 1955
birth place	Lynwood, California, U.S.
occupation	Actor, producer, director; musician
years active	1974–present
spouse	Cindy Silva (1978-1994) Christine Baumgartner (2004–present) }}

Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J. Dunbar in the film ''Dances with Wolves'', Jim Garrison in ''JFK'', Ray Kinsella in ''Field of Dreams'', Robin Hood in ''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'', Crash Davis in ''Bull Durham'', Robert "Butch" Haynes in ''A Perfect World'', Frank Farmer in ''The Bodyguard'' and Eliot Ness in ''The Untouchables''. Costner also founded the band Modern West, and has performed with the band since 2007.

Early life

Costner was born in Lynwood, California, the youngest of three sons (the middle of whom died at birth). His mother, Sharon Rae (née Tedrick), was a welfare worker, and his father, William Costner, was an electrician and later utilities executive at Southern California Edison. Costner's patrilineal ancestry originates with German immigrants to South Carolina in the 1700s; he also has English and Irish ancestry, and has said that one of his ancestors had "married a Cherokee woman". Costner was raised Baptist. He attended Cabrillo Middle School and Villa Park High School. Costner was not academically inclined. Rather, he enjoyed sports, took piano lessons, wrote poetry and sang in the First Baptist Choir. He has stated that a viewing of the film ''How the West Was Won'' at the age of seven had "formed" his childhood.

Spending his teenage years in various parts of California as his father's career progressed, Costner has described this as a period when he "lost a lot of confidence", having to make new friends often. Costner lived in Orange County, then in Visalia (Tulare County), attending Mt. Whitney High School, and then back to Ventura, graduating from Buena High School in 1973. He went on to earn a B.A. in marketing and finance from California State University, Fullerton, in 1978.

Post-graduation

Costner became interested in acting while in his last year of college, and on graduation married Cindy Silva. The couple honeymooned in Puerto Vallarta and on the return plane journey had a chance encounter with actor and fellow passenger Richard Burton, who had purchased all the seats around him for solitude. Burton agreed to speak to Costner after he finished his book. Costner, who had been taking acting classes, but had not told his wife about his desire to be an actor, watched Burton closely and approached when Burton gestured. Costner told Burton that he would prefer that his life was not filled with the type of drama that had followed Burton and asked if he would have to tolerate that if he became an actor. Burton replied, "You have green eyes. I have green eyes. I think you'll be fine." After landing, Burton's limousine pulled up to the curb where Costner and Cindy were waiting for a taxi, where Burton wished Costner luck. Costner would never see Burton again, but credits Burton with partially contributing to his career.

Having agreed to undertake a job as a marketing executive on return, Costner began taking acting lessons five nights a week, with the support of his wife. His marketing job lasted 30 days. He took work which allowed him to develop his acting skills via tuition, including working on fishing boats, as a truck driver, and giving tours of stars' Hollywood homes to support the couple while he also made the audition rounds.

Career

Acting

Costner allegedly made his film debut in the film ''Sizzle Beach, U.S.A.'' Although a biography claims it was actually filmed in the winter of 1978-1979, the film was not released until 1986.

Costner made a very brief cameo in the 1982 Ron Howard film ''Night Shift'', he is listed in the credits as 'Frat Boy #1' and appears at the climax of a frat-style, blow-out party in the New York City morgue, when the music is suddenly stopped by a frantic Henry Winkler, Costner can be seen holding a beer and looking surprised at the sudden halt of celebration.

He appeared in a commercial for the Apple Lisa and ''Table for Five'' in 1983, and, the same year, had a small role in the nuclear holocaust film ''Testament''. Later, he was cast in ''The Big Chill'' and filmed several scenes that were planned as flashbacks, but they were removed from the final cut. His role was that of Alex, the friend who committed suicide, the event that brings the rest of the cast together. All that is seen of him are his hair and his slashed wrists as the mortician dresses his corpse in the movie's opening scenes. Costner was a friend of director Lawrence Kasdan, who promised the actor a role in a future project. That became 1985's ''Silverado'' and a breakout role for Costner. He also starred that year in the smaller films ''Fandango'' and ''American Flyers''.

Full-blown movie star status for Costner arrived in 1987, when he starred as federal agent Eliot Ness in ''The Untouchables'' and in the leading role of the thriller ''No Way Out''. He solidified his A-list status in the baseball-themed films ''Bull Durham'' (1988) and ''Field of Dreams'' (1989).

Costner's next success came with the epic ''Dances with Wolves'' (1990). He directed and starred in the film and served as one of its producers. The film was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won seven, including two for him personally (Best Picture and Best Director). The same year saw the release of ''Revenge'', in which he starred along with Anthony Quinn and Madeleine Stowe, directed by Tony Scott (Costner had wanted to direct it himself).

He followed this with ''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' (1991), the Oliver Stone-directed ''JFK'' (1991), ''The Bodyguard'' (1992), and Clint Eastwood's ''A Perfect World'' (1993), all of which provided box office or critical acclaim.

He then took the title role in the biopic ''Wyatt Earp'' (1994), directed by Kasdan. It received bad reviews and flopped at the box office. The science fiction-post-apocalyptic epics ''Waterworld'' (1995) and ''The Postman'' (1997), the latter of which Costner also directed, were both commercial disappointments and both largely regarded by critics as artistic failures. However, ''The Postman'' results were worse than ''Waterworld'' and ended up "winning" five Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture, Worst Actor and Worst Director for Costner.

Costner then starred in the golf comedy ''Tin Cup'' (1996) for Ron Shelton, who had previously directed him in ''Bull Durham''. He developed the film ''Air Force One'' and was set to play the lead role of the President, but ultimately decided to concentrate on finishing ''The Postman'' instead. He personally offered the project to Harrison Ford.

His career revived somewhat in 2000 with ''Thirteen Days'', in which he portrayed a top adviser to John F. Kennedy. The western ''Open Range'', which he directed and starred in, received critical acclaim in 2003, and was a surprise success commercially. He received some of his best reviews for his supporting role as retired professional baseball player Denny Davies in ''The Upside of Anger'', for which he received a nomination from the Broadcast Film Critics Association and won the San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor.

After that, Costner starred in ''The Guardian'' and in ''Mr. Brooks'', in which he portrayed a serial killer. In 2008, Costner starred in ''Swing Vote''. Costner was honored on September 6, 2006 when his hand and foot prints were set in concrete in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre alongside those of other celebrated actors and entertainers.

In 2010, ''The Company Men'' debuted on the Sundance Festival starring Costner with Ben Affleck. It had good reviews. It was released in cinemas worldwide in January 2011. The film was considered to be an Oscar contender, but did not get a nomination.

Costner announced that he would be returning to the director's chair for the first time in seven years in 2011 with ''A Little War of Our Own''. The film is about a local sheriff who must keep his town from erupting into violence during World War II. The other lead role is that of a German U-boat captain. The screenplay is by Dan Gordon, who co-wrote another sheriff movie for Costner, 1994's ''Wyatt Earp''. In January 2012 Costner had to admit funding did not come through, and that he still hopes to make it in 2013.

He was also about to team up again with director Kevin Reynolds in ''Learning Italian''. Costner would play a CIA agent stationed in a coastal Italian town in order to keep an eye on a KGB operative. However, the movie did not get past pre-production phase because they could not get the money together and it is currently not known if the movie will ever be made.

He also appears, as a special cameo, in ''Funny or Die'''s "Field of Dreams 2: Lockout".

Warner Bros. confirmed that Costner would portray Jonathan Kent in the upcoming rebooted Superman film, '' Man of Steel'', directed by Zack Snyder. In 2011, Costner confirmed his role in Quentin Tarantino's ''Django Unchained''. Later on, it was announced that Costner had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, most likely to be the tv-series directed by Kevin Reynolds called ''Hatfields & McCoys''.

Country music

Costner is the singer in Kevin Costner & Modern West, a country rock band which he founded with the encouragement of his wife Christine. They began a worldwide tour in October 2007, which included shows in Istanbul and Rome. The group also performed at NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Daytona International Speedway and Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, NC.

The band released a country album, ''Untold Truths'', on November 11, 2008 on Universal South Records. The album peaked at #61 on the ''Billboard'' Top Country Albums and #35 on the Top Heatseekers chart. Three singles ("Superman 14", "Long Hot Night" and "Backyard") have been released to radio, although none have charted. The single "Superman 14" has been made into a live music video.

In 2009, they went on tour with opening act The Alternate Routes. In August, at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alberta, Costner and the band were scheduled next on stage when a severe thunderstorm struck, collapsing the stage and stands on the main stage. One person was reported dead and forty injured. Later, an auction was held to raise money for the two young sons of the woman killed. A dinner with Costner was auctioned off for $41,000. Two guitars, one autographed by Costner, helped raise another $10,000 each.

A second Kevin Costner and Modern West album, ''Turn It On'', was released in February 2010 in Europe and was supported by a European tour.

Other ventures

Baseball

Several of Costner's films have included a baseball theme. They include ''Chasing Dreams'', ''Bull Durham'', ''Field of Dreams'', ''For Love of the Game'' and ''The Upside of Anger'', in which his character is a former pro baseball player.

He has a home in Austin, Texas and sometimes appears at University of Texas baseball practices and games. Costner is a close friend of Longhorns baseball coach Augie Garrido from Garrido's days coaching at Cal State Fullerton, the actor's alma mater. He cast Garrido to play the role of the Yankee manager in ''For Love of the Game''. He tries to attend every College World Series game that Cal State Fullerton plays in Omaha, Nebraska.

Costner is a partial owner of the Zion, Illinois-based Lake County Fielders independent baseball team team in the North American League. The Fielders name is an homage to ''Field of Dreams'', with the logo showing a ballplayer standing amid a field of corn.

Business interests

Costner owns 100% of the Midnight Star casino, in Deadwood, South Dakota. The casino, its sports bar Diamond Lil's, and its restaurant Jake's are named after characters and locations from the movie ''Silverado''. The facility contains posters, costumes, and other memorabilia from Costner's films.

In July 2004, Costner fired Francis and Carla Caneva, who managed the Midnight Star. A judge subsequently ordered Costner to pay a percentage of $6.1 million to buy out the Canevas as his business partners. In October 2006, Costner asked the South Dakota Supreme Court to re-examine the ruling, as an accountant hired by the actor had determined the market value of the casino to be $3.1 million.

In 1995, Costner began developing oil separation machines based on a patent he purchased from the US government. The machines developed by the company were of little commercial interest until the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, when BP took six of the machines from a company in which Costner owned an interest, Ocean Therapy Solutions, for testing in late May 2010. On June 16, 2010 BP entered into a lease with Ocean Therapy Solutions for 32 of the oil-water separation devices.. Although Spyron Contoguris and Stephen Baldwin previously sold their interests in Ocean Therapy Solutions in mid-June to another investor in the company, they filed a lawsuit in Louisiana District Court claiming $10.64 million for securities fraud and misrepresentation. The suit claims that Costner kept a meeting with BP secret from them, and the secret meeting resulted in an $18 million down payment on a $52 million purchase and that after the down payment but before any announcement another investor used part of the downpayment to buy out their shares, thus excluding them from their share of the profits from the total sale. The suit claims that, despite public statements by Costner, Ocean Therapy Solutions, BP and others to the contrary, Baldwin and Contogouris were told that BP was still testing the machines and had not yet committed to lease the machines from Ocean Therapy Solutions and that the other investor in Ocean Therapy Solutions purchased their shares for $1.4 million to Baldwin and $500,000, to Contogouris..

In January 2009, Costner agreed to take part in a commercial that was aired outside of the US for Turkish Airlines. Costner had not flown with Turkish Airlines before, but said, "I have received commercial proposals before. What is important is to work with a company that gives importance to its clients. That is why I have chosen Turkish Airlines." Costner, who is not of Turkish descent, also said that working with Turkish Airlines "is a very important step in my life." (UTC)

Philanthropy

Costner serves on an honorary board for The National World War I Museum in Kansas City. In spring 2011, he recorded two radio spots for the museum that were aired on Kansas City Royals Radio Network.

NASCAR

Costner was named ceremonial Grand Marshal of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series' Auto Club 500 which took place on February 25, 2007, at the California Speedway. In 2008, he worked with the NASCAR Media Group and CMT Films to help produce the NASCAR Documentary, ''The Ride of Their Lives'' which would be released in 2009. Costner would be the narrator for that documentary. Also in 2009, he was named the spokesperson for NASCAR Day which took place on May 15. The next day, May 16, he and his country music band would perform in the infield of Lowe's Motor Speedway as well as participate as a judge in the 2nd annual Pennzoil Victory Challenge before the 25th Running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

Personal life

Relationships

While in college, Costner was a member of Delta Chi fraternity. He started dating fellow student Cindy Silva in March 1975, and their subsequent marriage three years later produced three children: Anne "Annie" Clayton (born April 15, 1984), Lily McCall (born August 4, 1986), and Joseph "Joe" Tedrick (born January 31, 1988). The couple divorced in 1994 after 16 years of marriage. He has a son, Liam (born in 1996), with Bridget Rooney, with whom he had a brief relationship following his divorce.

In 1996, he cohabited with supermodel Elle MacPherson.

On September 25, 2004, Costner married his girlfriend of four years, German-American model and handbag designer Christine Baumgartner, at his ranch in Aspen, Colorado. Costner took his new bride for a canoe ride on a lake following the ceremony. The couple honeymooned in Scotland. Their first child, Cayden Wyatt Costner, was born on May 6, 2007 at a Los Angeles hospital. Their second son, Hayes Logan, was born on February 12, 2009, and their third child, a daughter named Grace Avery, was born on June 2, 2010.

Sports

The actor plays regularly in celebrity golf tournaments, including the PGA Tour's annual pro-am at Pebble Beach, California and the BMW Pro-Am held each April in Greenville County, South Carolina. Costner is a member at Birnam Wood Golf Club in California.

Costner is a fan of the London football team Arsenal F.C. While filming ''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'', he had the opportunity to attend a game and has followed the team ever since.

Political activism

Since 1992, Costner has financially supported a variety of Democratic Party politicians, including Al Gore and Tom Daschle, but also made contributions to the Republican Party's Phil Gramm as late as 1995. He said publicly in 2008 that he has no ambition to run for political office, adding "I've lived quite a colorful life."

In the final days before the 2008 election, Costner campaigned for Barack Obama, visiting various places in Colorado—a state in which he has a home. In his speech, Costner stated the need for young voters to get to the polls, early and with enthusiasm. "We were going to change the world and we haven't," Costner said at a Colorado State University rally. "My generation didn't get it done, and we need you to help us."

Filmography

+ List of film credits
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1981	''Malibu Hot Summer''	John Logan	''Sizzle Beach, U.S.A.'' (1986)
1982	''Chasing Dreams''	Ed
1982		Frat Boy #1
1982		Joe, Policeman #2
1982	''Frances''	Luther (Man in Alley)	qualified for Screen Actor's Guild card
1983	''Stacy's Knights''	Will Bonner
1983	''Table for Five''	Newlywed husband
1983	''''	Alex	scenes deleted
1983		Phil Pitkin
1984	''''	Ted
1985		Gardner Barnes, Groover
1985		Jake
1985		Marcus Sommers
1986	''Shadows Run Black''	Jimmy Scott
1987	''''	Eliot Ness
1987		Lt. Cmdr. Tom Farrell
1988	''Bull Durham''	Crash Davis
1989	''Field of Dreams''
1990		Michael 'Jay' Cochran	also executive producer
1990	''Dances with Wolves''	Lieutenant John J. Dunbar	}}
1991	''Madonna: Truth or Dare''	Himself	documentary (uncredited role)
1991	''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves''	Robin Hood
1991		Jim Garrison	Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1992	''Amazing Stories: Book One''	Captain	Episode: "The Mission", archive footage
1992	''Oliver Stone: Inside Out''	Himself	documentary
1992	''''	Frank Farmer	also producer
1993	''''	Robert 'Butch' Haynes
1994	''''	Himself	documentary
1994		Wyatt Earp	also producerRazzie Award for Worst ActorNominated—Academy Award for Best CinematographyNominated—Razzie Award for Worst Picture
1994	''''	Steven Simmons
1995	''Waterworld''	Mariner
1996	''Tin Cup''	Roy 'Tin Cup' McAvoy	Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1997	''Sean Connery, An Intimate Portrait''	Himself	documentary
1997	''''	The Postman
1999		Garret Blake	also producerNominated—Golden Raspberry Award
1999		Billy Chapel	Nominated—[[Golden Raspberry Award
1999	''[[Play It to the Bone''	Ringside Fan	Cameo
2000		Kenny O'Donnell	also producer
2001	''3000 Miles to Graceland''	Thomas J. Murphy
2001	''Road to Graceland''	Murphy (voice)	animated short
2002		Joe Darrow
2003	''Open Range''	Charlie Waite	also director and producer
2005	''''	Denny Davies	San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
2005	''Rumor Has It…''	Beau Burroughs
2006	''''	Ben Randall
2007	''Mr. Brooks''	Mr. Earl Brooks	also producer
2008		Bud Johnson
2009	''''	John James
2010	''''	Jack Dolan
2013

References

External links

AMC's Photo Gallery : Kevin Costner, Hollywood Icon

KevinCostner.com – Official website

JewReview.net interview with Kevin Costner

Kevin Costner – Biography, filmography and awards

Films They Would Rather Forget – Shadows Run Black

Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:People from Lynwood, California Category:Actors from California Category:American country singers Category:American film actors Category:American people of Cherokee descent Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Baptists from the United States Category:Best Director Academy Award winners Category:Best Director Golden Globe winners Category:People from Orange County, California Category:People from Ventura County, California Category:Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award Category:Show Dog-Universal Music artists Category:Western (genre) film actors

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