Name	Adam
Spouse	Eve
Children	CainAbelSethmore sons and daughters }}

Adam (Hebrew: אָדָם‎, Arabic: آدم‎) is a prominent figure in Abrahamic religions. He is the first man created by God in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Adam appears originally in the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Genesis and is referenced throughout the Qur'an. His wife was Eve. In the Quran, his wife was Hawa.

Individual/humanity and etymology

''Adam'' (Hebrew: אָדָם‎, Arabic: آدم‎) in Biblical (as well as modern) Hebrew is sometimes used as the personal name of an individual and at other times in a generic sense meaning "mankind", in the same way as the earlier Canaanite '' 'adam''. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, its use in is generic, while in and the generic and personal usages are mixed.

The usage of the word as personal pre-dates the generic usage. Its root is not the standard Semitic root for "man" which is instead '''-(n)-sh'' but is attested as a personal name in the Assyrian King List in the form ''Adamu'' showing that it was a genuine name from the early history of the Near East. The generic usage in Genesis meaning "mankind" reflects the view that Adam was the ancestor of all men. Etymologically it is the masculine form of the word ''adamah'' meaning ground or earth and related to the words ''adom'' (red), ''admoni'' (ruddy) and ''dam'' (blood)

Christianity and Judaism

Hebrew Bible

The story is told in the book of Genesis, contained in the Torah and Bible. These texts have a central role in both Judaism and Christianity. Adam is discussed in and , with some additional elements in chapters 4 and 5. These might present two accounts of the creation story. Several apocryphal books, such as the Book of Jubilees, Life of Adam and Eve and Book of Enoch also contain details of Adam's life.

Creation

According to Genesis 1, God (Elohim) created human beings. "Male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam..." (). "Adam" is a general term, like "Man" and could refer to the whole of humankind. God blessed them to be "fruitful and multiply" and ordained that they should have "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth" ().

The account in records that God first formed Adam out of "the dust of the ground" and then "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life", causing him to "become a living soul" (). God then placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, giving him the commandment that "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" ().

God then noted that "It is not good that the man should be alone" (). He then brought every "beast of the field and every fowl of the air" () before Adam and had Adam name all the animals. However, among all the animals, there was not found "a helper suitable for" Adam (), so God caused "a deep sleep to fall upon Adam" and took one of his ribs, and from that rib, formed a woman (), subsequently named Eve.

Lilith

In Jewish folklore, Lilith is the name of Adam's first wife, who was created at the same time and from the same earth as Adam. She left Adam after she refused to become subservient to Adam and then would not return to the Garden of Eden after she mated with archangel Samael. Her story was greatly developed, during the Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadic midrashim, the Zohar and Jewish mysticism. The resulting Lilith legend is still commonly used as source material in modern culture, literature, occultism, fantasy and horror.

Expulsion

Adam and Eve were subsequently expelled from the Garden of Eden, were ceremonially separated from God, and lost their innocence after they broke God's law about not eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This occurred after the serpent (understood to be Satan in many Christian traditions) told Eve that eating of the tree would result not in death, but in Adam and Eve's eyes being opened, resulting in their being "as gods, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3.4-5). Convinced by the serpent's argument, Eve eats of the tree and has Adam do likewise (Gen. 3.6).

As a result, both immediately become aware of the fact that they are naked, and thus cover themselves with garments made of fig leaves (Gen. 3.7). Then, finding God walking in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve hide themselves from God's presence (Gen. 3.8). God calls to Adam "Where art thou?" (Gen. 3.9, KJV) and Adam responds "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself" (Gen. 3.10, KJV). When God then asks Adam if he had eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam responds that his wife had told him to (Gen. 3.11-12).

As a result of their breaking God's law, the couple were removed from the garden (Gen. 3.23) (the Fall of Man according to Christian doctrine) and both receive a curse. Adam's curse is contained in Gen. 3.17-19: "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (KJV).

Post-expulsion

After his expulsion from Eden, Adam was forced to work hard for his food for the first time. According to the Book of Genesis, he bore three children with Eve named as Cain, Abel, and Seth. The Book of Jubilees, a second century BC text which is not considered canonical by most Abrahamic faiths, gives Adam the daughters Azura and Awan, who married Seth and Cain, respectively, in incestuous unions.

According to the Genealogies of Genesis, Adam died at the age of 930. With such numbers, calculations such as those of Archbishop Ussher would suggest that Adam would have died only about 127 years before the birth of Noah, nine generations after Adam. In other words, Adam's lifespan would have overlapped that of Lamech (father of Noah), at least fifty years. Ussher and a group of theologians and scholars in 1630 performed calculations and created a study that reported the creation of Adam on October 23, 4004 BC at 9:00 am and lived until 3074 BC. There was controversy over the fact that Ussher believed the whole creation process occurred on that day.

Although the Book of Joshua mentions a "City of Adam" at the time that the Israelites crossed the Jordan River on entering Canaan, it doesn't suggest any relationship between this city and the first man of Genesis. Traditional Jewish belief, on the other hand, says that following his death, Adam was buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron.

He appears to an extent in both Eastern and Western Christian liturgies.

The New Testament

The relevance of Adam is not solely with the Old Testament. In the New Testament, the first Adam is compared with the second Adam. The first Adam brought about the Fall of Man, which cursed man with the knowledge of sin. Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden and out of God's presence. The second Adam (Jesus) came to the world to save mankind from Adam's original sin that everyone inherits. With the first Adam there is death, but with the second Adam there is life.

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses view Adam and Eve as the ones who brought sin, and thus death, into the world by committing the original sin, by disobeying Jehovah's clear command not to eat of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil.

Eve's sin is counted as deliberate disobedience, as she did know that Jehovah had commanded them not to eat, but she is held to have been deceived by the Serpent. (She was deceived only about the effect of their disobedience, not about the will of God on the matter.) Adam's sin is considered even more reproachable, as he had not been deceived. Rather, when confronted with his sin, he attempted to blame both his wife Eve, and Jehovah himself. Genesis 3:12 NWT - "The woman who you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree and so I ate.". By his sin, he forfeited human perfection and was therefore unable to pass it on to his offspring.

Latter Day Saint (LDS) view

The Latter Day Saint movement holds that Adam and Michael the archangel are the same individual. Michael the archangel fought against and cast out Lucifer (who became Satan) and his followers at the conclusion of the War of Heaven during the pre-mortal existence (see Book of Revelation ). Michael was born into this mortal existence as the man "Adam, the father of all, the prince of all, the Ancient of Days" (see Doctrine and Covenants and ). Mormons also consider Adam to be the first among all the prophets on earth. Brigham Young and other early leaders spoke favorably about the Adam–God theory, the idea that Adam and God the Father were the same person, but it did not become church doctrine and has since been repudiated by the church.

The Latter Day Saints hold the belief that the "Fall" was not a tragedy, but a necessary part of God's plan. They believe that Adam and Eve had to partake of the forbidden fruit in order to fulfill God's will, and that it is good that they did so.

Seventh-day Adventist view

Seventh-day Adventist believe that the importance of the literal creation time-line is pivotal to the story of humanity, their relationship to God, and the plan of salvation and atonement for Adam and Eve’s transgression (fall), by which all their descendants are under subjugation. The Bible states, “Since by man (Adam) came death, by man (Jesus the Christ) came also the resurrection... (I Cor. 15:21).” To disavow a literal creation and our first parents (Adam and Eve) nearly 6,000 years ago negates a fundamental, orthodox doctrine and the supremacy of the Holy Bible that the sovereign, triune God --“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth,” (Genesis 1:26 NASB)—according to His own purpose and counsel and for His own glory, created humanity in the Biblical/Torah account.

Islamic view

In Islam, Adam is considered the first Prophet of God (Allah) and the husband of Eve (arabic - Hawa, pronounced Hauwwa) who was also created by the will of God. Allah created Adam from dust (arabic - turaab). Allah commanded "Be" and he was. Satan (The Devil) had lured Adam and Eve/Hawa into disobeying God by tasting from the forbidden tree (although no reference is necessary as to what he may have tasted). This was the first act of revenge from Satan for being banished from heaven due to mankind. According to the Qur'an, Adam and Eve/Hawa were both tempted by Satan and therefore equally guilty:

"Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them (before): he said: 'Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest ye should become angels or such beings as live for ever.' And he swore to them both, that he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought about their fall: when they tasted of the tree, their shame became manifest to them, and they began to sew together the leaves of the garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them: Did I not forbid you that tree, and tell you that Satan was an avowed enemy unto you?"

The Qur'an also mentions that Adam was forgiven by God after much repentance.

Bahá'í view

In the Bahá'í view, Adam was the first Manifestation of God in recorded history. He is believed by Bahá'ís to have started the Adamic cycle 6000 years ago, which has culminated with Bahá'u'lláh. The Biblical story of Adam and Eve, according to Bahá'í belief, is allegorical and is explained by `Abdu'l-Bahá in Some Answered Questions.

Druze religion

In the Druze religion, Adam and Eve are seen as dualistic cosmic forces and are complementary to one another. Adam represents the universal mind and Eve, the universal soul.

See also

Adam and Eve

Adam Kadmon

Banu (Arabic)

''Paradise Lost''

Table of prophets of Abrahamic religions

Y-chromosomal Adam

Mahabad (prophet)

Notes

Category:Burials in Hebron Category:Gnosticism Category:Hebrew Bible people Category:Old Testament saints Category:People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar Category:Prophets of Islam Category:Book of Genesis

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Lana Lang is a fictional supporting character in DC Comics' ''Superman'' series. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist John Sikela, she first appears in ''Superboy'' #10 (September/October 1950).

Lana traditionally has been Superman's romantic interest when they were in Smallville. In the Silver Age, she regularly appeared in series featuring the character’s teenaged self, Superboy. She also often appeared as an adult in the Superman titles, vying with current love interest Lois Lane for his attention.

In modern DC Comics continuity, she and Clark Kent were and still are close friends with a certain degree of romantic tension between them. Furthermore, in the current version of Superman's origin story in ''Superman: Secret Origin'', Lana is made privy to Clark's unusual abilities from an early age, becoming his only confidant in his childhood outside his parents and the Legion of Super-Heroes. For a time, Lana is married to Pete Ross, Clark Kent's best friend as a youth, and has a son by Pete named Clark Peter Ross.

Lana has been featured in most other media adaptations of Superboy or Superman as a teenager, including the WB/UPN television series ''Smallville'', in which she is played by Kristin Kreuk. Lana was Clark Kent’s main romantic interest for the first seven seasons of the series. She has also appeared in many adaptations of Superman, although her role is generally smaller. An exception is the 1983 film ''Superman III,'' where she was played by Annette O'Toole (who later played Martha Kent in ''Smallville''). Prior to ''Smallville'', Lana was a regular character on the syndicated TV series ''Superboy'' television series. She was portrayed by Stacy Haiduk for the series' entire 100 episode run.

Lana is one of several Superman characters with the alliterative initials "LL", including her father Professor Lewis Lang, Lex Luthor, Lionel Luthor, Lena Luthor (whose surname was changed to "Thorul" in the Silver Age, to distance herself from her criminal brother), Lutessa Luthor (Lex's sister in "Smallville", but when given up for adoption, her name was changed to Tess Mercer), Lois Lane, Lucy Lane, Superman's Babysitter Letitia Lerner, Lori Lemaris, Leta Lal (a distant ancestor of Lori Lemaris), Luma Lynai, Lyla Lerrol, Linda Lee (aka Supergirl), and Linda Lake.

Fictional character biography

Silver Age and Bronze Age

Earth-One version

In the original Superboy stories, Lana was the girl who lived next door to the Kent family in Smallville, and was a romantic interest of Superboy. In the Silver Age stories, Lana often behaved like a younger version of Lois, spending much of her time trying to prove that Superboy and Clark Kent were one and the same.

At one point, Lana once rescued an insect-like alien trapped by a fallen tree in Smallville. In gratitude, the alien gave her a "bio-genetic" ring which allowed Lana to gain insect (and insect-like, such as arachnids) characteristics. Lana created a yellow honeybee-like costume and mask, and took the name "Insect Queen", under which identity Lana had several adventures.

Lana also had various adventures with Superboy, and several with the futuristic superhero team the Legion of Super-Heroes. Also appearing in some Silver Age stories was Lana's uncle, Professor Potter, an eccentric inventor.

After Clark and Lana graduated from high school, Lana went to college, and eventually became a television reporter; as an adult, she became a rival to Lois Lane for Superman's romantic affection in various 1960s stories, often appearing in the title ''Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane''.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, Lana became an anchorwoman for WGBS-TV's evening news in Metropolis, as a co-anchor to Clark Kent. Her attraction to Superman during this time had also died off, leaving Superman to Lois. Lana later became romantically linked to the alien super-hero Vartox. Eventually, she and Clark Kent became romantically involved in stories prior to the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Earth-Two version

In the early 1980s, with the use of the multiverse system DC had in place, Lana Lang was also shown in several stories to have had an Earth-Two counterpart (Earth-Two at the time the home of the Justice Society of America and DC's Golden Age versions of its characters, versus its mainstream universe of "Earth-One"). The Earth-Two Lana Lang was introduced in ''Superman Family'' #203 (September–October 1980). In this story, set in the early 1950s, Lana Lang joins the ''Daily Star'' staff as a television critic. She relates to Clark Kent that she and her family left Smallville when she was very young, explaining why they hadn't met during their youth unlike the Earth-One versions.

Later, she became an Insect Queen like her Earth-One counterpart; in this case, Lana had received a mystic amulet from her archaeologist father, said amulet having been created to allow a Pharaoh to control and divert the locust hordes that threatened ancient Egypt. Unfortunately, the charm associated with the amulet was set to be energized by the sound of approaching insect wings; by unfortunate coincidence, the sound of Superman's super-speed flying was similar enough to activate the spell. Lana was thus compelled to create a Chitinous golden-brown costume (woven by silkworms under her control) and adopt a villainous alter ego, the Insect Queen. After an initial clash with Superman, the Insect Queen fell under the mental influence of Superman's enemy, the Ultra-Humanite, who kept her under the spell's compulsion and prevented her from reverting to normal. Earth-Two's Superman was able to locate an antidote to the spell, which Lois Lane used to remove the compulsion (''Superman Family'' #213, December 1981), letting Lana break free of Ultra's influence and making her able to use the amulet's power at her own discretion. The Earth-2 Insect Queen would later use her abilities to aid Superman in times of need. This version of Lana Lang phased out of existence during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Modern Age

After the 1985-1986 miniseries ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' was written, various aspects of Lana's history were retconned, starting with comics writer John Byrne's miniseries ''The Man of Steel'', which was designed to rewrite Superman's origin from scratch. In the post-Crisis version of events, Lana was a childhood friend of Clark, with a certain degree of romantic tension in the air as Lana had long pined after Clark, who had loved her only platonically in return.

After they graduated from high school Clark took Lana on a private walk, saying that he had to tell her something important, which Lana honestly expected to be a marriage proposal. He then divulged to her that he had superpowers, displayed by flying her around the world, before explaining that he felt he had to leave Smallville to help humanity as a whole. Kissing her goodbye "like a brother," Lana was left in considerable shock, not only over the revelation of Clark's superpowers, but also over the final realization that he held no reciprocal romantic feelings towards her, leaving Lana heartbroken and alone. When Lana finally aired her grievance with him years later, Clark felt very badly over how he had hurt her.

When Clark appeared in public as Superman some years later, the lonely and depressed Lana deduced his true identity and became something of a stalker, to the extent that Lex Luthor noticed the frequency with which she appeared in the vicinity of the hero and actually had her tortured in an attempt to gain whatever inside knowledge of Superman she might have. However, Lana bravely kept Clark's identity a secret and upon his rescuing her their relationship became more healthy once again, albeit still at a distance. Unlike the pre-Crisis Earth-One continuity, Lana did not go on to have a journalistic career, compete with Lois for Superman's affections, nor play a significant role in Clark's life in Metropolis.

Lana's relationship with Clark is again altered in 2003's ''Superman: Birthright'' limited series by Mark Waid, which again revises Superman's origins. This storyline, which takes some inspiration from the TV show ''Smallville'' (such as the appearance of Ma and Pa Kent), also shows Clark and Lana to have had a mutual romantic relationship during their youth. At the start of the storyline, Lana has already left Smallville prior to Clark's return from his world journey. Upon his arrival home, a disappointed Clark is told that Lana left some time prior and has not been heard from since. Following this storyline, there is never again made mention of her past history regarding Clark or Superman.

Lana's "Birthright" history has been yet again re-made following the events of the Infinite Crisis, which has revived Clark's pre-''Crisis'' Superboy alter-ego. In this new history, Lana had a deep romantic relationship with Clark, that was often interrupted by her two obnoxious brothers (which she lacked in previous versions). The full extent of her history and her connection to Superboy/Clark has not yet been fully disclosed. Again, her previous history has not been mentioned since this revision.

Years later, the post-''Crisis'' Lana eventually married Pete Ross. The two settled into a quiet life in Smallville, where they had a son they named after their mutual friend, Clark, after Lana asked Clark to save the baby's life when a car accident caused him to be born eight weeks premature; although Clark's efforts to take him to receive care were interrupted by the attack of the Brainiac-controlled Doomsday, Brainiac's subsequent attempts to use the baby's DNA to create a new body for himself brought the baby to full term. Pete began a career in politics that got him elected to the Senate. In 2000, Senator Ross became Lex Luthor's vice presidential running mate in Luthor's bid to become President, and after the two won, Lana moved to Washington, D.C. Eventually, Luthor was forced from his office, and Pete Ross became President (and Lana the First Lady). As she and Pete began to drift apart, Lana began to subtly attempt to regain Clark's affections, much to the anger of his (now) wife Lois Lane. Pete and Lana briefly reunited after Superman saved them from being killed by the villainous Ruin in ''Adventures of Superman.

In ''Superman'' #654, Perry White reported that Lana had become CEO of Lexcorp following the ousting of founder Lex Luthor. In ''Superman/Batman'' #49, it is revealed that she sold Kryptonite to the government to prevent Lexcorp from going under, and had caches of Kryptonite placed all over the planet, as a last-ditch defense if Superman should ever go rogue. When Superman and Batman come to remove the Kryptonite, Lana refuses to hand it over, and pushes a button which turns the caches into "dirty bombs" which spread Kryptonite molecules through the entire planet, forcing all Kryptonians to vacate. However, Toyman uses special nanobots to remove all of the Kryptonite molecules, undoing the damage. Superman meets with Lana again, with Lana telling him she was left with no choice. Superman responds by telling her that, while he does sometimes wonder what things would have been like if he had married her rather than Lois, there is a reason he is with Lois instead of her: Lois would never have pushed the button. After Superman flies off, someone is shown watching Lana crying on a screen, saying to her "you did perfect". ''Superman/Batman'' #63 suggests that this was Gorilla Grodd.

She later tries to help Superman, facing the time-traveling strongman Atlas, by sending the Luthor Squad. This act activates a dormant program inside the Lexcorp mainframes, an holographic version of Luthor. The holographic copy of Luthor informs Lana that by helping Superman she has violated the Lexcorp standard contract of employment ("very, very fine print"), that forbids Lexcorp employers to use Lexcorp resources for helping Kryptonians, under the penalty of termination. Lana is given five minutes to leave the building, or she will be shot to death.

New ''Supergirl'' writer Sterling Gates tells Newsarama "We're integrating Supergirl's book more into the Superman universe, and that includes having a supporting cast that overlaps with that world. I'm very interested in tying her back in to Metropolis and making sure that her world is a part of the Superman universe. Cat Grant will be a regular supporting cast member, as will Lana Lang."

Lana takes it upon herself to reach out to Supergirl. She offers her advice and friendship. Around the same time, Perry White has been actively pursuing Lana to take over the Business section of the ''Daily Planet'', a position which Lana was afraid to accept, following her bad experience with Lexcorp. Eventually, Lana and Supergirl decide together that Lana will accept the position, and that Supergirl will take on the secret identity of Linda Lang, niece of Lana Lang. Lana now lives in Metropolis with Supergirl, and is working as the editor of the Business section of the ''Daily Planet''.

She briefly returns to Smallville to attend Jonathan Kent's funeral. However, unable to muster enough resolve to patch up things with Clark, Lana leaves before giving him her condolences.

While attending a student journalism award ceremony with Jimmy Olsen and Cat Grant, Lana suddenly collapses, with blood pouring out her nose.; She receives a call from her doctor telling her that he has "bad news" for her. Following another collapse, Lana is taken to hospital and operated on. She apparently dies on the operating table, but her body is later encased in a cocoon by black insect-like creatures, which then starts to crack open. The hospital is soon engulfed by a gigantic cocoon-like structure, and a number of workers as well as the Science Police and the Guardian are taken hostage by an army of giant insects. Supergirl is soon captured and awakens bound and gagged at the feet of Lana, who is now possessed by the Insect Queen. The Queen reveals to Supergirl that during her last encounter with Lana, she injected her with a portion of her DNA and has been slowly taking control of her body for the past year, with the ultimate goal of capturing a Kryptonian to use as a template for an army of hybird insects. Supergirl breaks free and is able to expel the Queen from Lana's body with help from Kryptonian technology, and Lana returns to her normal state. While recovering, Lana is visited by Supergirl, who tells her she can no longer be a part of her family due to her lies about her condition. Lana and "Linda" have since reconciled and are currently living in the Hammersmith tower building in Metropolis.

Other versions

Dark Knight Lana Lang

In Frank Miller's classic miniseries ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'', Lana is an overweight, middle-aged woman, and ''The Daily Planet'''s managing editor. Over the course of the story, she becomes Batman's most outspoken supporter, appearing in a series of TV debates in which she and others argue over his methods and influence.

Superman: Red Son

In ''Superman Red Son'' by Mark Millar, Lana is re-imagined as Lana Lazarenko. Lana who grew up in the Ukraine along with a young Superman. She becomes a tour guide in a Superman museum and occasionally accompanies Superman to public events.

JLA: The Nail

In ''JLA: The Nail'', Lana is a doctor at a research facility dedicated to studying metahumans in the belief that they are alien invaders, although she secretly helps smuggle various heroes out of the facility to hide with the Kents (Who in this reality never found Kal-El's ship)

In other media

''The Adventures of Superboy''

In the failed 1961 TV pilot ''The Adventures of Superboy'', Lana Lang made her first live-action appearance, portrayed by Bunny Henning, alongside Johnny Rockwell as Superboy.

Beginning in 1966, Lana appeared in ''The Adventures of Superboy'' segments that were featured in the animated series ''The New Adventures of Superman'' and other series. She was voiced by Janet Waldo.

''Superman: The Movie''

In Richard Donner's ''Superman'' in 1978, Lana Lang had a brief appearance in a scene at Smallville High. She was shown to be a cheerleader at the school with a fairly obvious crush on Clark, even though her current boyfriend was a football player named Brad. She was portrayed by Diane Sherry.

''Superman III''

In the 1983 movie ''Superman III'', Lana was played by Annette O'Toole. In an interview for the documentary ''Look Up In The Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman'', O'Toole states that the producers of ''Smallville'' (where she plays Clark's own adoptive mother, Martha Kent) were not aware that she had appeared in ''Superman III'' until after she was cast in the TV series. In ''Superman III'', Lana is a divorcee with a son named Ricky. Lana's former boyfriend Brad, a former jock and Clark's childhood bully, is now a security guard and is still vying for her attention.

''Superboy'' (TV series)

In the late 1980s-early 1990s ''Superboy'' television series, Lana was played by Stacy Haiduk. In this version, she was a lifelong friend of Clark, who accompanied him to Shuster University (named after Superman's co-creator) and later the Bureau for Extra-Normal Matters, where she and Clark investigated all of the unusual incidents that took place in Capitol City, Florida.

''Superman'' (1988 TV series)

Lana also appeared in the ''Superman'' 1988 animated Saturday morning television series produced by Ruby-Spears Productions and had a 13-episode run. It's also notable for being the first appearance of the Superman mythos following John Byrne's major relaunch of the character from 1986. The final four minutes of each Superman episode were devoted to a brief snapshot from the "Superman Family Album." These biographical segments deviated from the contemporary comics to have Clark have his powers fully developed since infancy as opposed to developing as he matured. These stories depicted the Smallville misadventures of the young Kryptonian immigrant as he faces typical childhood trials with his first day at school, an overnight scouting campout, getting a driver's license, his first date, and more. Lana was featured in some of these "Superman Family Album" flashback segments, but never appeared during the regular episode story segment.

''Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''

Lana made one appearance in ''Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', where she was played by Emily Procter (best known as Calleigh Duquesne in TV's ''CSI: Miami''). Lana's appearance was in an episode set in an alternate universe where Lois was dead and a ''blonde'' Lana was engaged to Clark, encouraging him to keep his abilities secret, constantly telling him that he would be locked up and sent to a government laboratory if people knew what he was capable of. When the mainstream universe's Lois persuaded that world's Clark to become Superman, Lana ended their relationship.

''Superman: The Animated Series''

The pilot episode of ''Superman: The Animated Series'' followed the "post-Crisis" comics, with Lana being the first person Clark confided in about his superpowers. The young Lana was voiced by Kelley Schmidt, and the adult version by Joely Fisher. She mentioned she had a crush on him since the age of three. Lana, as an adult, appeared in later episodes as a world-famous fashion designer and still retained romantic feelings for her old friend (it is mentioned that they used to date).

Adult Lana first appears in "My Girl", already having deduced Superman's identity, when her relationship with Lex Luthor breaks off after she tries to pass information on to Clark about Luthor's plots. She later plays a prominent role in "Obsession" and a cameo in the ending of the episode "The Late Mr. Kent", providing a cover story for Clark's reappearance after he was presumed dead in an accident.

''Justice League''

Lana appears in a cameo in the episode "Hereafter", at Superman's funeral. She also makes an appearance (as a combination of Lois and Lana) as Superman's wife in the dream induced by Mongul in "For The Man Who Has Everything", under the name of Loana. In this dreamworld, they both live on Krypton, along with Jor-El, and have a son named Van-El.

''Smallville''

In the 2000s television series ''Smallville'', Lana, played by Kristin Kreuk, is again the love interest of the young Clark Kent. In a marked contrast to the redhead Lana Lang who appears in the Superman comic books, Kreuk is a brunette with an olive complexion. Lana is said to be descended on her mother's side from a French witch, Countess Marguerite Isobel Theroux, whose vengeful spirit returns to possess her in a story line taking up much of season 4.

In ''Smallville'', Lana and Clark's relationship is depicted (at least initially) as the complete reverse of the post-Crisis version, whereby it was "Clark who long pined over Lana without the other really knowing." This initial scenario also incorporated elements of the 1978 movie continuity by introducing the character of Whitney Fordman, Lana's quarterback boyfriend and Clark's antagonist at the beginning of the series. Following Whitney's departure at the end of the first season, their relationship varied over the next few years, Clark occasionally attempting to date Lana before his fears over her reaction to his secret caused him to retreat, these fears made even worse since he blames himself for the death of Lana's parents in the same meteor shower that brought him to Smallville. Although the two begin dating at the end of Season Four after Clark's powers are taken from him by Jor-El as punishment for disobeying him, he begins to draw back after he regains his abilities because he is afraid of hurting her if they are intimate.

Although he reveals his secret in the mid-season finale of Season Five, he turns back time and erases this confession when Lana is killed in an accident, subsequently breaking up with her after his father's death because he feels guilty about lying to her. Although Lana goes on to date and marry Lex Luthor, the two divorce when Lana learns that Lex faked her pregnancy to get her to marry him, Lana once again dating Clark after he admits his secret to her. Although they are involved for most of Season Seven, Lana's attempts to plan to take down Lex, along with such factors as her spending two weeks involved with Clark's Phantom Zone duplicate without realising the difference, culminate in Lana leaving him at the end of the season.

Lana returned in Season Eight after acquiring superpowers which equally matched that of Clark due to a special suit developed by Lex Luthor. Both Clark and Lana worked together to save people but it takes a twist when one of Lana's powers involved having the ability to drain power from kryptonite, resulting in her being constantly 'irradiated' by kryptonite, weakening Clark when he got close to her. Lex Luthor, as a last attempt for revenge, threatens to blow up the entire Daily Planet building with kryptonite explosives unless Lana drained all the radiation from them, leaving her a walking piece of kryptonite. She and Clark share a kiss before they decide she has to absorb the kryptonite from the bomb. Later at the barn, Clark heart broken attempts to kiss Lana despite his agony, and as he does green veins crawl up his face, showing that he is dying from the intimate exposure. Lana breaks off the kiss, not being able to stand the pain it was causing Clark, and she runs off with tears to go on her own quest. Clark is left on his knees devastated.

''Batman: The Brave and the Bold''

Lana makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the ''Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' episode "The Battle of the Superheroes!", an episode that pays tribute to a number of Silver Age Superman stories. In a scene that directly homages the cover to ''Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane'' #26, Lana and a Red Kryptonite-infected Superman are shown relaxing together on a beach while a stunned Lois watches them in horror.

DC Universe Online

Lana appears in the ''DC Universe Online'' video game, voiced by Lorrie Singer.

References

External links

Lana Lang: Honorary Legionnaires - Hero History Hero History at Major Spoilers

Lana Lang profile at the Smallville Wiki

Category:DC Comics characters Category:Comics characters introduced in 1950 Category:Fictional American people of French descent Category:Fictional characters from Kansas Category:Fictional cheerleaders Category:Fictional murderers Category:Fictional orphans Category:Fictional reporters Category:Fictional businesspeople Category:DC Comics superheroes Category:Film characters Category:Characters created by Bill Finger

bs:Lana Lang ca:Lana Lang es:Lana Lang fr:Lana Lang it:Lana Lang he:לאנה לאנג hu:Lana Lang nl:Lana Lang pt:Lana Lang simple:Lana Lang fi:Lana Lang sv:Lana Lang tr:Lana Lang

Name	Keith Olbermann
Birthname	Keith Theodore Olbermann
Birth date	January 27, 1959
Birth place	New York City, New York, U.S.
Education	B.S., Cornell University
Occupation	Political commentator
Years active	1980s–present
Credits	''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' (2003–2011)''SportsCenter'' (1992–1997)''Football Night in America'' (2007–2010)
Agent	}}

Keith Theodore Olbermann (; born January 27, 1959) is an American political commentator and writer. He is the host of Countdown with Keith Olbermann on Current TV, an approximately hour-long nightly commentary program, and the Chief News Officer of the Current TV network. A former sportscaster and news anchor, Olbermann hosted Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC for almost eight years before moving the show to Current TV. The new show began airing June 20, 2011.

Olbermann spent the first twenty years of his career in sports journalism. He was a sports correspondent for CNN and for local TV and radio stations in the 1980s, winning the ''Best Sportscaster'' award from the California Associated Press three times. He later co-hosted ESPN's ''SportsCenter'' from 1992 to 1997. After leaving ESPN amid controversy, Olbermann became a sports anchor and producer for Fox Sports Net from 1998 to 2001, during which time he hosted Fox's studio coverage of baseball.

After leaving Fox, Olbermann re-joined MSNBC after a hiatus, hosting ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' from 2003 until 2011. Olbermann established a niche in cable news commentary, gaining note for his pointed criticism of major politicians and public figures, directed particularly at the political right. He feuded with rival Fox News Channel commentator Bill O'Reilly and strongly criticized the George W. Bush administration and John McCain's unsuccessful 2008 Presidential candidacy. Although he has said on at least one occasion "I'm not a liberal; I'm an American", many describe Olbermann as a liberal.

Early life

Olbermann was born January 27, 1959, in New York City to Marie Katherine (née Charbonier), a preschool teacher, and Theodore Olbermann, a commercial architect, and is of German descent. He has one younger sister, Jenna, who was born in 1968. Olbermann grew up in a Unitarian household in the town of Hastings-on-Hudson in Westchester County, and attended Hackley School in nearby Tarrytown.

Olbermann became a devoted fan of baseball at a young age, a love he inherited from his mother who was a lifelong New York Yankees fan. As a teenager, he often wrote about baseball card-collecting and appeared in many sports card-collecting periodicals of the mid-1970s. He is also referenced in ''Sports Collectors Bible'', a 1979 book by Bert Sugar, which is considered one of the important early books for trading card collectors.

While at Hackley, Olbermann began his broadcasting career as a play-by-play announcer for WHTR. After graduating from Hackley in 1975, Olbermann enrolled at Cornell University at the age of 16. At college, Olbermann served as sports director for WVBR, a student-run commercial radio station in Ithaca. Olbermann graduated from Cornell in 1979 with a B.S. in communications arts.

Sports broadcasting

Olbermann began his professional career at UPI and the RKO Radio Network before joining then nascent CNN in 1981. Among the early stories he covered was the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid including the "Miracle on Ice." In the early-to-mid '80s he was a sportscaster on the old WNEW 1130-AM radio station in New York City. Also in the mid-1980s, he did the voice-over on the USA Cable Network's "Cartoon Express", with cheering kids heard in the background. In 1984, he briefly worked as a sports anchor at WCVB-TV in Boston, before heading to Los Angeles to work at KTLA and KCBS. His work there earned him 11 Golden Mike Awards, and he was named best sportscaster by the California Associated Press three times.

ESPN

In 1992, Olbermann joined ESPN's ''SportsCenter'', a position he held until 1997 with the exception of a period from 1993–1994 when he was at ESPN2 on ''SportsNight''. He joined ESPN2 as their "marquee" personality to help launch the network. He often co-hosted ''SportsCenter'' 11 PM show with Dan Patrick, the two becoming a popular anchor team. In 1995, Olbermann won a Cable ACE award for Best Sportscaster. Olbermann later co-authored a book with Patrick called ''The Big Show'' about their experiences working at ''SportsCenter''; he also said that the short-lived ABC dramedy ''Sports Night'' was based on his time on ''SportsCenter'' with Patrick. He made $350,000 at the end of his tenure at ESPN.

Early in 1997, Olbermann was suspended for two weeks after he made an unauthorized appearance on ''The Daily Show'' on Comedy Central with then-host and former ESPN colleague Craig Kilborn. At one point in the show, he referred to Bristol, Connecticut (ESPN's headquarters), as a "'Godforsaken place." Later that year, Olbermann abruptly left ESPN under a cloud of controversy, apparently burning his bridges with the network's management; this began a long and drawn-out feud between Olbermann and ESPN. Between 1997 and 2007, incidents between the two sides included Olbermann's publishing an essay on Salon.com in November 2002, titled "Mea Culpa", in which he stated: "I couldn't handle the pressure of working in daily long-form television, and what was worse, I didn't know I couldn't handle it." The essay told of an instance when his former bosses remarked he had "too much backbone," a claim that is literally true, as Olbermann has six lumbar vertebrae instead of the normal five.

In 2004, Olbermann was not included in ESPN's guest lineup for its 25th anniversary ''SportsCenter'' "Reunion Week," which saw Craig Kilborn and Charley Steiner return to the ''SportsCenter'' set. In 2007, ten years after Olbermann's departure, in an appearance on ''The Late Show with David Letterman'', he said: "If you burn a bridge, you can possibly build a new bridge, but if there's no river any more, that's a lot of trouble." During the same interview, Olbermann stated that he had recently learned that as a result of ESPN's agreeing to let him return to the airwaves, he was banned from ESPN's main (Bristol, Connecticut) campus.

Post-''SportsCenter''

In 1998, Olbermann joined Fox Sports Net as anchor and executive producer for ''The Keith Olbermann Evening News'', a sportscast similar to ''SportsCenter'', airing weekly on Sunday evenings. While at Fox, he again hosted the 2000 World Series as well as Fox Broadcasting's baseball ''Game of the Week''. In May and July 1999, Olbermann also guest starred ten times on the ''Hollywood Squares''.

According to Olbermann, he was fired from Fox in 2001 after reporting on rumors that Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corporation owns Fox, was planning on selling the Los Angeles Dodgers. When asked about Olbermann, Murdoch said: "I fired him...He's crazy." News Corp. went on to sell the Dodgers to Frank McCourt in 2004. That year, Olbermann remarked, "Fox Sports was an infant trying to stand [in comparison to ESPN], but on the broadcast side there was no comparison—ESPN was the bush leagues."

After Olbermann left Fox Sports in 2001, he provided twice-daily sports commentary on the ABC Radio Network, reviving the "Speaking of Sports" and "Speaking of Everything" segments begun by Howard Cosell.

In 2005, Olbermann made a return to ESPN on the radio when he began co-hosting an hour of the syndicated ''Dan Patrick Show'' on ESPN radio, a tenure that lasted until Patrick left ESPN on August 17, 2007. Olbermann and Patrick referred to this segment as "The Big Show," just as their book was known. Patrick often introduced Olbermann with the tagline "saving the democracy," a nod to his work on ''Countdown''.

On April 16, 2007, Olbermann was named co-host of ''Football Night in America'', NBC's NFL pre-game show that precedes their Sunday Night NFL game, a position which reunited him in 2008 with his former ''SportsCenter'' co-anchor Dan Patrick. Olbermann left the show prior to the start of the 2010 season.

News journalism

In 1997, Olbermann left ESPN to host a primetime show on MSNBC, ''The Big Show with Keith Olbermann'' (ESPN objected to the use of the title). The news-driven program, with substantial discussion, relied on Olbermann to carry the 8 to 9 PM hour. The show typically covered three or four topics in a one-hour broadcast. Olbermann also hosted two Sunday editions of ''NBC Nightly News'' and once co-anchored a Saturday edition of the ''Today'' show. During that period, Olbermann along with Hannah Storm, also co-hosted NBC Sports' pre-game coverage of the MLB 1997 World Series.

When the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke in 1998, ''The Big Show with Keith Olbermann'' morphed into ''White House in Crisis''. Olbermann became frustrated as his show was consumed by the Lewinsky story. In 1998, he stated that his work at MSNBC would "make me ashamed, make me depressed, make me cry." Olbermann left MSNBC for Fox Sports Net shortly thereafter.

After leaving Fox Sports in 2001, Olbermann returned once more to news journalism. In 2003, his network won an Edward R. Murrow Award for writing on the "Keith Olbermann Speaking of Everything" show. In addition, Olbermann wrote a weekly column for Salon.com from July 2002 until early 2003., worked for CNN as a freelance reporter, and was a fill-in for newscaster Paul Harvey.

Olbermann revived his association with MSNBC in 2003 briefly as a substitute host on ''Nachman'' and as an anchor for the network's coverage of the war in Iraq.

''Countdown with Keith Olbermann''

Olbermann's own show, ''Countdown'', debuted on March 31, 2003, in the 8 p.m. ET time slot previously held by programs hosted by Phil Donahue and, briefly, Lester Holt. On October 13, 2004, Olbermann launched ''Bloggermann'', his ''Countdown'' blog, hosted on MSNBC.com. Olbermann used the open format of the blog to expand on facts or ideas alluded to in the broadcast, to offer personal musings and reactions. However, in February 2007, Olbermann launched a new blog, ''The News Hole''.

''Countdown'''s format, per its name, involves Olbermann ranking the five biggest news stories of the day or sometimes "stories my producers force me to cover," as Olbermann puts it. This is done in numerically reverse order, counting down with the first story shown being ranked fifth but apparently the most important. The segments ranked numbers two and one typically are of a lighter fare than segments ranked five through three. The first few stories shown are typically oriented toward government, politics, and world events. His stories usually involve celebrities, sports, and, regularly and somewhere in the middle, the bizarre, in a segment he calls "Oddball." Opinions on each are offered by Olbermann and interviewed guests. Olbermann has been criticized for only having guests that agree with his perspective. Former ''Los Angeles Times'' television critic Howard Rosenberg stated that "Countdown is more or less an echo chamber in which Olbermann and like-minded bobbleheads nod at each other."

In a technique similar to that of former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite in connection to the Iran Hostage Crisis, Olbermann for many years closed the program by counting the days since May 1, 2003, the day that President George W. Bush declared the end of "major combat operations" in Iraq under a banner that read "Mission Accomplished", and then crumpling up his notes, throwing them at the camera and saying "Good night and good luck" in the mode of another former CBS newsman, Edward Murrow. Olbermann discounts this gesture to his hero as "presumptuous" and a "feeble tribute."

On February 16, 2007, MSNBC reported that Olbermann had signed a four-year extension on his contract with MSNBC for ''Countdown'' which also provided for his hosting of two ''Countdown'' specials a year to be aired on ''NBC'' as well as for his occasional contribution of essays on ''NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams''.

Olbermann co-anchored, with Chris Matthews, MSNBC's coverage of the death of fellow NBC News employee Tim Russert on June 13, 2008. He presented a tribute, along with several fellow journalists, in honor of Russert.

During the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Olbermann co-anchored MSNBC's coverage with Chris Matthews until September 7, 2008, when they were replaced by David Gregory after complaints from both outside and inside of NBC that they were making partisan statements. This apparent conflict of interest had been an issue as early as May 2007, when Giuliani campaign officials complained about his serving in dual roles, as both a host and a commentator. Despite this, ''Countdown'' was broadcast both before and after each of the presidential and vice-presidential debates, and Olbermann and Matthews joined Gregory on MSNBC's Election Day coverage. Olbermann and Matthews also led MSNBC's coverage of the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

In November 2008, it was announced that Olbermann had signed a four-year contract extension worth an estimated $30 million.

Feud with Bill O'Reilly

Since beginning ''Countdown'''s "Worst Person in the World" segment in July 2005, Olbermann has repeatedly awarded Bill O'Reilly, host of ''The O'Reilly Factor'' on Fox News Channel, the dubious honor. The feud between the anchors originated with Olbermann's extensive coverage of a 2004 sexual harassment suit brought against O'Reilly by former Fox News Channel producer Andrea Mackris during which Olbermann asked ''Countdown'' viewers to fund the purchase of lurid audio tapes allegedly held by Mackris. In 2008 O'Reilly decided to avoid mentioning Olbermann's name on the air, and once cut off a caller who mentioned Olbermann. O'Reilly has also led campaigns against MSNBC's political coverage without ever specifically mentioning Olbermann. The rivalry continued when in 2006 at Television Critics' Association in California, Olbermann donned a mask of O'Reilly and made a Nazi salute, leading to a letter of protest from the Anti-Defamation League.

In an article on "perhaps the fiercest media feud of the decade", the ''New York Times's'' Brian Stelter noted that as of early June 2009 the "combat" between the two hosts seems to have abruptly ended due to instructions filtered down to Olbermann and O'Reilly from the chief executives of their respective networks. On the August 3, 2009 edition of ''Countdown'', Olbermann asserted that he had made statements to Stelter before the article was published denying that he was a party to such a deal, or that there was such a deal between NBC and Fox News, or that any NBC executive had asked him to change ''Countdown'''s content. Olbermann maintained that he had stopped joking about O'Reilly because of O'Reilly's attacks of George Tiller, and soon resumed his criticism of O'Reilly.

Suspension

On October 28, 2010, days before the 2010 U.S. elections, Olbermann donated $2,400 each to three Democratic candidates for Congress: Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway, and Arizona Democratic Representatives Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords. Grijalva had appeared on Olbermann's show immediately before Olbermann mailed the donations. In response, on November 5, MSNBC President Phil Griffin suspended him indefinitely without pay for violating a network policy which required employees to obtain approval from management before making political contributions. An online petition calling for his reinstatement received over 250,000 signatures; two days after the suspension began, Griffin announced that Olbermann would return to the air on November 9.

Departure

On January 21, 2011, Olbermann announced his departure from MSNBC and the episode would be the final episode of ''Countdown''. MSNBC issued a statement that it had ended its contract with Olbermann, with no further explanation. Additional reporting in the days immediately following suggested that the negotiations for the end of Olbermann's tenure at MSNBC had begun soon after the end of his suspension.

Current TV and FOKNewsChannel.com

On February 8, 2011, it was announced that Olbermann had taken the position of Chief News Officer for the Al Gore/Joel Hyatt public affairs channel Current TV. It was confirmed that he would begin hosting a one-hour prime time program on the network "sometime in the spring." The new show was scheduled to air at 8 PM Eastern — the same time slot that ''Countdown'' was in. On April 26, 2011 it was announced that Olbermann's new show would debut on June 20 and would be named "Countdown with Keith Olbermann". Olbermann will also be heavily involved in the development of the rest of the network's news programming. The deal includes an equity stake in Current TV.

During the interim between shows, Olbermann also launched an "official not-for-profit" blog called FOKNewsChannel.com, "FOK" being an abbreviation for "Friends Of Keith". The blog features political commentaries by Olbermann—including viral video versions of ''Countdown'''s "Special Comment" and "Worst Person" segments—as well as photographs of his outings at professional baseball games. On May 29, 2011, the FOKNewsChannel.com domain redirected to the Current website promoting the June 20 launch.

Political positions

Viewpoints

Although it began as a traditional newscast, ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' eventually adopted an opinion-oriented format. In a ''Countdown'' interview with Al Franken on October 25, 2005, Olbermann noted that in 2003, after having Janeane Garofalo and Franken on his show, a vice president of MSNBC had questioned him on inviting "liberals" on consecutive nights, contrasting that occurrence to the apparent ideological latitude he enjoyed at the time of the second Franken interview. In January 2007 ''The Washington Post'''s Howard Kurtz wrote that Olbermann was "position[ing] his program as an increasingly liberal alternative to ''The O'Reilly Factor''." Much of the program has featured harsh criticism of prominent Republicans and right-leaning figures, including those who worked for or supported the George W. Bush Administration, 2008 Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain and running mate Governor Sarah Palin, and rival news commentator Bill O'Reilly, whom Olbermann has routinely dubbed the "Worst Person In The World."

During the 2008 Democratic Party primaries Olbermann frequently chastised presidential aspirant Hillary Clinton for her campaign tactics against her principal opponent, Senator Barack Obama, and made her the subject of two of his "special comments". Olbermann has also posted on the liberal blog Daily Kos.

In November 2007, British newspaper ''The Daily Telegraph'' placed Olbermann at #67 on their Top 100 list of most influential US liberals. It said that he uses his MSNBC show to promote "an increasingly strident liberal agenda." It added that he would be "a force on the Left for some time to come." Avoiding ideological self-labeling, Olbermann once told the on-line magazine Salon.com, "I'm not a liberal, I'm an American."

Before the 2010 Massachusetts special election, Olbermann called Republican candidate Scott Brown "an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, Tea Bagging supporter of violence against women, and against politicians with whom he disagrees". This was criticized by his colleague Joe Scarborough, who called the comments "reckless" and "sad". Yael T. Abouhalkah of the ''Kansas City Star'' said that Olbermann "crossed the line in a major way with his comments". Jon Stewart criticized him about this attack in his show by noting that it was "the harshest description of anyone I've ever heard uttered on MSNBC", following which Olbermann apologized by noting, "I have been a little over the top lately. Point taken. Sorry."

He has accused the Tea Party movement of being racist due to what he views as a lack of racial diversity at the events, using photos that show overwhelmingly Caucasian crowds attending the rallies. In response, the Dallas Tea Party invited Olbermann to attend one of their events and also criticized his network for a lack of racial diversity, pointing out that an online banner of MSNBC personalities that appears on the website shows only white personalities. Olbermann declined the invitation, citing his father's prolonged ill health and hospitalization and noted that the network has minority anchors, contributors and guests.

Criticism of the Bush administration

In Olbermann's "Special Comment" segment on July 3, 2007, he called President George W. Bush's commutation of Lewis "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence the "last straw" and called for the resignation of Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

On his February 14, 2008 "Special Comments" segment, Olbermann castigated Bush for threatening to veto an extension of the Protect America Act unless it provided full immunity from lawsuits to telecom companies. During the same commentary, Olbermann called Bush a fascist.

In a special comment on May 14, 2008, Olbermann criticized Bush for announcing that he had stopped playing golf in honor of American soldiers who died in the Iraq war. He stated that Bush never should have started the war in the first place, and he accused Bush of dishonesty and war crimes.

Baseball fan

Olbermann is a dedicated baseball fan and historian of the sport, with membership in the Society for American Baseball Research. In 1973, when he was only 14 years old, Card Memorabilia Associates published his book ''The Major League Coaches: 1921–1973''. The September issue of Beckett Sports Collectibles Vintage included a T206 card that depicted Olbermann in a 1905-era New York Giants uniform. He argues that New York Giants baseball player Fred Merkle has been unduly criticized for his infamous baserunning mistake. He contributed the foreword to ''More Than Merkle'' (ISBN 0-8032-1056-6), a book requesting amnesty for "Merkle's Boner". Olbermann was also one of the founders of the first experts' fantasy baseball league, the ''USA Today Baseball Weekly'' League of Alternative Baseball Reality, and he gave the league its nickname "LABR". Olbermann wrote the foreword to the 2009 Baseball Prospectus Annual.

In March 2009, Olbermann began a baseball-related blog entitled Baseball Nerd. He has also written a series of articles on baseball cards for the ''Sports Collectors Digest''.

Personal life

In June 2006, Olbermann began dating Katy Tur, now a reporter with WNBC-TV. According to Mediaite, the couple broke up in 2009 after three years of cohabitation.

Olbermann suffers from a mild case of coeliac disease, as well as restless legs syndrome. In August 1980, he also suffered a head injury while "leaping" onto the NYC subway. This head injury permanently upset his equilibrium, resulting in his avoidance of driving. Along with Bob Costas, he supports the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation as an honorary board member.

During a period in the mid-1990s, Olbermann appeared in a series of Boston Market advertisements, in which he would instruct a group of underweight models to "Eat something!"

Olbermann's father, Theodore, died on March 13, 2010 of complications from colon surgery the previous September. His mother had died several months before. Olbermann had cited the need to spend time with his father for taking a leave of absence shortly before his father's death, occasionally recording segments to air at the beginning of the shows which Lawrence O'Donnell guest hosted in his absence, giving his views on the state of the American health care system and updating viewers on his father's condition.

Career timeline

''SportsCenter'', co-anchor (1992–1997) ''The Big Show'', anchor (1997–1998) ''White House in Crisis'', anchor (1997–1998) ''Major League Baseball on Fox'', studio host (1999–2000) ''The Keith Olbermann Evening News'', anchor (1998–2001)

''Football Night in America'', co-host (2007–2010)

''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'', anchor (MSNBC: 2003–2011; Current TV: 2011–present)

Bibliography

''The Major League Coaches: 1921–1973'' (Card Memorabilia Associates, 1973).

''The Big Show: Inside ESPN's Sportscenter'' (Atria, 1997) (coauthor: Dan Patrick). ISBN 0-671-00918-4.

''The Worst Person In the World and 202 Strong Contenders'' (Wiley, September 2006). ISBN 0-470-04495-0.

''Truth and Consequences: Special Comments on the Bush Administration's War on American Values'' (Random House, December 2007). ISBN 978-1-4000-6676-6.

''Pitchforks and Torches: The Worst of the Worst, from Beck, Bill, and Bush to Palin and Other Posturing Republicans'' (Wiley, October 25, 2010). ISBN 0-470-61447-1.

References

External links

Fok News Channel

Keith Olbermann on Current TV

Keith Olbermann's blog on The Daily Kos

Baseball Nerd, Keith Olbermann's Major League Baseball blog

Keith Olbermann's biography at TV guide

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:1959 births Category:American broadcast news analysts Category:American political pundits Category:American television news anchors Category:American television talk show hosts Category:Boston, Massachusetts television anchors Category:Cornell University alumni Category:American writers of German descent Category:Living people Category:Television news anchors in Los Angeles, California Category:Major League Baseball announcers Category:MSNBC Category:NBC News Category:People from New York City Category:People from Westchester County, New York Category:National Football League announcers

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Albert William Ketèlbey (9 August 1875 – 26 November 1959), born Ketelbey, was an English composer, conductor and pianist.

Biography

Ketèlbey was born in Alma Street in the Lozells area of Birmingham, England, the son of an engraver, George Henry Ketelbey (written with no accent), and Sarah Ann Aston. At the age of eleven he wrote a piano sonata that won praise from Edward Elgar. Ketèlbey gained a scholarship to the Trinity College of Music in London, where he showed his talent for playing various orchestral instruments reflected in the masterfully colourful orchestration, especially of oriental inspiration, that became his trademark. At Trinity he beat Gustav Holst in competition for a musical scholarship. He used the pseudonyms Raoul Clifford and Anton Vodorinski for some of his works (some reference books mistakenly give Vodorinski as his true name and Ketèlbey as the pseudonym). His name is frequently misspelt ''Ketelby''.

Ketèlbey held a number of positions, including organist at St John's, Wimbledon, before being appointed musical director of London's Vaudeville Theatre, where he met his future wife Charlotte (Lottie) Siegenberg. Whilst at the Vaudeville he continued writing diverse vocal and instrumental music. Later, he became famous for composing lightweight, popular music, much of which was used as accompaniments to silent films, and as mood music at tea dances. Success enabled him to relinquish his London appointments.

Once, whilst conducting a programme of his own music at a Royal Command Performance, Ketèlbey gave a second rendering of the State Procession movement of his ''Cockney Suite'' during the interval, at the request of King George V, who had arrived too late to hear it performed at the beginning of the programme.

He was active in several other fields including being music editor to some well-known publishing houses and for more than twenty years from 1906, served Musical Director of the Columbia Graphophone Company, where over 600 recordings were issued with him conducting the Court Symphony Orchestra, the Silver Stars Band, and other ensembles.

Although not proven, he is frequently quoted as becoming Britain's first millionaire composer. In 1929, he was proclaimed in the "Performing Right Gazette" as "Britain’s greatest living composer", on the basis of the number of performances of his works.

Ketèlbey had a long and happy marriage to an actress and singer, Charlotte Siegenberg (1871–1947). After her death he married Mabel Maud Pritchett. There were no children by either marriage. He died at his home, Rookstone, Egypt Hill in Cowes, where he had moved in order to concentrate on writing and his hobby of playing billiards. His work fell out of favour after the Second World War and at the time of his death he had slipped into obscurity, with only a handful of mourners at his funeral, held at Golders Green crematorium.

Ketèlbey's music is frequently heard on radio. In a 2003 poll by the BBC radio programme ''Your Hundred Best Tunes'', "Bells across the Meadows" was voted thirty-sixth most popular tune of all time.

Works

His most famous compositions include:

''The Heart's Awakening'' (1908)

''In a Monastery Garden'' (1915) — at age 40, the hit that made his name.

''Phantasy for String Quartet'' — listed but never found (1915)

''In the Moonlight'' (1919)

''In a Persian Market'' (1920)

''Romantic Suite'' (1922)

''Bank Holiday (Appy 'Ampstead)'' (1924) — from ''Cockney Suite''

''In a Chinese Temple Garden'' (1923)

''By the Blue Hawaiian Waters'' (1927)

''In the Mystic Land of Egypt'' (1931)

''From a Japanese Screen'' (1934)

''Italian Twilight'' (1951)

''Cockney Suite''

''Jungle Drums'' (1926)

'' Tangled Tunes''

''Bells across the Meadows'' (1921)

''Dance of the Merry Mascots''

''The Clock and the Dresden Figures'' (1930)

''With Honour Crowned''

''Wedgwood Blue (Graceful Dance)

''Sanctuary of the Heart (1924)

Connected individuals

Ketèlbey's nephew, the pianist Sir Clifford Curzon, recalled in his BBC ''Desert Island Discs'' broadcast, 'Little Clifford was supposed to be in bed but he never was, he was out sitting on the landing, listening to my uncle playing through the well of the stairway of my father's old house, and so the first [pieces of] music I really heard were these immortal melodies of Ketèlbey.'

Ketèlbey's sister was the historian and author C.D.M Ketelbey. Works included "A History of Modern Times", 1929 and "History Stories to Tell", 1931.

Graham Ovenden, an English painter, fine art photographer, writer and architect, was taught music privately by Albert Ketèlbey.

Ketèlbey was related to Mrs. Maria Eliza Ketelbey Rundell, author of "A New System of Domestic Cookery", the most popular English cookbook of the first half of the nineteenth century.

Legacy

Ronnie Ronalde made ''In a Monastery Garden'' famous again in 1958. In his early television appearances, commedian [Ben Blue]] used ''In a Persian Market'' as his entrance music when in his guise as a swami. In 2006, a syncopated arrangement of ''In a Persian Market'' was used in a TV commercial for TomTom automotive navigation systems — this tune was also adapted for one of the songs (''Persian Cat'') by Taiwanese girl band S.H.E. Under the title ''Persian Cat'', this tune was given a new lease of life in the '60s by Jamaican producer Duke Reid and saxophonist Tommy McCook. They recorded two versions, one credited to The Skatalites, the other to Tommy McCook and the Supersonics. Serge Gainsbourg used the theme for his song "My Lady Héroïne". American fingerstyle guitarist John Fahey recorded it on his 1975 album, ''Old Fashioned Love''. Della Reese recorded a vocal version called "Take my Heart" on her album ''The Classic Della''. James Last made a recording arranged in his typical style.

Sources and references

''Albert Ketelbey — From the Sanctuary of his Heart'', John Sant 2001, ISBN 0-9538058-0-8

''The Recordings of the Music of Albert W. Ketèlbey'', a critical and historical discography complied by Tom McCanna

''The Music of Albert W. Ketèlbey a Catalogue'', complied by Tom McCanna

''A Forum for all admirers of the Music of Albert W. Ketèlbey'', on blogspot.com (2009)

Brian Jones in the booklet with the Philips Digital Classics CD 400011-2 (1981 recording)

''The Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music'', Phil Hardy 2001, ISBN 978-0-571-19608-1

''Chambers Biographical Dictionary'', Edinburgh 1990, ISBN 978-0-550-16040-9

''The Times'', London 1908, 1915, 1922

The works of Duke Reid and Tommy McCook can be found via Trojan Records

References

External links

Website dedicated to Albert W.Ketèlbey

Discography compiled by Tom McCanna

Music Catalogue compiled by Tom McCanna

Forum for all admirers of the Music of Albert W. Ketèlbey

BBC news clip

Birmingham City Council page about Ketèlbey

Downloadable and streaming recordings of ''In a Monastery Garden'' performed by the Peerless Orchestra and male chorus. From an Edison Phonograph recorded in 1921.

Category:1875 births Category:1959 deaths Category:Light music composers Category:People from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:Alumni of the Birmingham School of Music

de:Albert Ketèlbey es:Albert William Ketèlbey fr:Albert Ketèlbey gl:Albert Ketèlbey it:Albert Ketèlbey he:אלברט קטלבי nl:Albert Ketèlbey ja:アルバート・ケテルビー pl:Albert Ketèlbey fi:Albert Ketèlbey sv:Albert W. Ketèlbey zh:阿尔伯特·凯特尔比

name	Ian Somerhalder
birth date	December 08, 1978
birth place	Covington, Louisiana, U.S.
birthname	Ian Joseph Somerhalder
occupation	Actor, model, producer
yearsactive	1997–present }}

Ian Joseph Somerhalder (born December 8, 1978) is an American model, actor and producer, best known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama ''Lost'' and Damon Salvatore in the TV drama ''The Vampire Diaries''.

Early life

Somerhalder was born and raised in Covington, Louisiana, the son of Edna, a massage therapist, and Robert Somerhalder, an independent building contractor. He was raised a Catholic and attended St. Paul's, a private Catholic school in Covington. He embarked on a modeling career from age 10 to 13, and by the age of 17 he decided to go into acting.

Career

In the summer of 2000, Somerhalder starred in the short-lived WB series ''Young Americans'', a spin-off of ''Dawson's Creek''. He played Hamilton Fleming, the son of the dean of a prestigious boarding school. In 2002, Somerhalder played bisexual character Paul Denton in Roger Avary's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel, ''The Rules of Attraction'', alongside James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, and Jessica Biel.

In 2004, Somerhalder scored his breakthrough role when he played Boone Carlyle in the hit TV show ''Lost''. Despite his character's death in the twentieth episode of the first season, Somerhalder returned to the role of Boone for seven more episodes, between 2005 and 2010, including the series finale. In an ironic twist, Somerhalder was the first actor to be cast in a role for the series, but he was also the first character to die. He has stated that he was going to buy a house in Hawaii, where filming took place, until he learned his character was being killed off.

In May 2006, Somerhalder was named one of DNA Models' Top 10 Male Models.

In September 2009, Somerhalder appeared in the movie ''The Tournament'' where he played the role of an assassin participating in a lethal competition with other assassins. On 10 October 2009, it was announced that he will star in the Gothic movie ''Cradlewood'', which is to be directed by Harry Weinmann. The movie is set to be released in 2013.

Somerhalder appears in the limited-edition coffee table book ''About Face'' by celebrity photographer John Russo and Press Worldwide publishers.

Somerhalder currently stars in the CW television drama ''The Vampire Diaries'' as Damon Salvatore, portraying a dangerous, maniacal, witty, whole-hearted vampire in love with his brother's human girlfriend, Elena Gilbert, who is the doppleganger of the Salvatore brothers past love.

Philanthropy

Somerhalder was the first actor/celebrity to become actively involved in the cleanup after the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling disaster on April 22, 2010. His efforts included cleaning of oiled wildlife and taping public service announcements to let the public know how they could help. Numerous Youtube videos are of him speaking of the horrific environmental impacts the oil has done and how others can help. Somerhalder also supports the St. Tammany Humane Society, an organization for animal shelter and welfare. On November 13, 2010, he hosted a Bash on the Bayou charity fundraiser for the St. Tammany Humane Society. During the event, Somerhalder was presented with a donation of $11,100 by ''The Vampire Diaries'' fandom for his birthday project.

Together with his ''The Vampire Diaries'' co-star Candice Accola, Somerhalder is also one of many supporters of the It Gets Better Project, a project that has made it a goal to prevent suicide among LGBT youth, associated with The Trevor Project.

Somerhalder announced, via Twitter, and in various interviews that he is in the process of setting up The Ian Somerhalder Foundation, which he hopes will educate people on the importance of protecting the environment and animals. Somerhalder has stated:

}}

He hopes that donations will be used to provide proper medical services to stray animals and he established the foundation on December 8, 2010, his 32nd birthday.

Filmography

+ Film
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1998		Unconfirmed	Uncredited
2001	''Life as a House''	Josh
2002	''Changing Hearts''	Jason Kelly
2002		Paul Denton
2004		U.S.S. Swordfish Danny Miller
2004	''The Old Man and the Studio''	Matt	Short Film
2006	''National Lampoon's TV: The Movie''	Unconfirmed	Uncredited
2006		Dexter
2006	''The Sensation of Sight''	Drifter
2008	''The Lost Samaritan''	William Archer
2008	''Lost City Raiders''	Jack Kubiak
2009		Tyler
2009		Miles Slade
2010	''How to Make Love to a Woman''	Daniel Meltzer
2012	''Cradlewood''	Josh	Pre-production

+ Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1997		I.Q.	1 episode: "The Black Bag"
1999	''Now and Again''	Brian	1 episode: "A Girl's Life"
2000		Hamilton Fleming	8 episodes
2001	''Anatomy of a Hate Crime''	Russell Henderson	TV Film
2002	''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''	Tony Del Nagro	1 episode: "Revenge Is Best Served Cold"
2003	''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''	Charlie Baker	1 episode: "Dominance"
2003	''CSI: Miami''	Ricky Murdoch	1 episode: "The Best Defense"
2004		Jordan Gracie	TV Film
2004	''Smallville''	Adam Knight	7 episodes
2007		Marco Polo	TV Film
2007	''Tell Me You Love Me''	Nick	6 episodes
2008	''Lost City Raiders''	Jack Kubiak	TV Film
2009	''Fireball''	Lee Cooper	TV Film
2004–2010		Boone Carlyle	27 episodes
2009–present	''The Vampire Diaries''	Damon Salvatore	Lead role

Awards

!Year	!Category	!Shared with	!Recipient	!Result
2002	Exciting New Face – Male	N/A	N/A	Winner
2005	Choice TV Breakout Performance – Male	N/A		Nominated
2006	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series			Winner
	Choice TV Villain			Winner
Choice Male Hottie	Nominated
	Choice TV Actor Fantasy/Sci-Fi	Winner
Choice Vampire
Choice Male Hottie
2011	Favourite TV Drama Actor	N/A	''The Vampire Diaries'' (2009)	Nominated

References

External links

Category:1978 births Category:Actors from Louisiana Category:American film actors Category:American male models Category:American television actors Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Living people Category:Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Covington, Louisiana Category:People from New Orleans, Louisiana

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