official name	Zanzibar
image name	Spice Islands (Tanzania).svg
native name
settlement type
image seal	Coat of arms of Zanzibar.png
map caption	The Zanzibar archipelago
pushpin map
pushpin label position
coordinates region	TZ
subdivision type	Country
subdivision name	Tanzania
subdivision type1	Islands
subdivision name1	Unguja and Pemba
subdivision type2	Capital
subdivision name2	Zanzibar City
government type	semi-autonomous part of Tanzania
leader title	President
leader name	Ali Mohammed Shein
leader title1
established title	Settled
established date	AD 1000
established title2
established title3
unit pref
area footnotes
area total km2	2643
population as of	2004
population total	1070000
elevation footnotes
postal code type
footnotes	}}

image name	Spice Islands (Tanzania).svg
native name	''Zang bar'' (Rust-land)
native name link	Farsi
location	Indian Ocean
area km2	984
country	Tanzania
country admin divisions title	Region
country admin divisions	Zanzibar
country capital city	Chake Chake
country largest city	Wete
population	362,000
population as of	census 2002
density km2	428
additional info	}}

Zanzibar (; Persian: زنگبار, from suffix ''bār'': "coast" and ''Zangi'': "bruin" (iron after rust); Arabic: زنجبار) is a semi-autonomous part of the United Republic of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, informally referred to as Zanzibar), and Pemba. Other nearby island countries and territories include Comoros and Mayotte to the south, Mauritius and Réunion to the far southeast, and the Seychelles Islands about 1,500 km to the east. Arab and Portuguese traders visited the region in early times, and it was controlled by Omanis in the 18th and 19th centuries. Britain established a protectorate (1890) that became an independent sultanate in December 1963 and a republic after an uprising in January 1964. In April 1964 it joined Tanganyika to form a new republic that was renamed Tanzania in October 1964. (Frommers, 2002) The capital of Zanzibar, located on the island of Unguja, is Zanzibar City, and its historic centre, known as Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site.

Zanzibar's main industries are spices, raffia, and tourism. In particular, the islands produce cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper. For this reason, the islands, together with Tanzania's Mafia Island, are sometimes called the Spice Islands (a term also associated with the Maluku Islands in Indonesia). Zanzibar's ecology is of note for being the home of the endemic Zanzibar Red Colobus Monkey and the (possibly extinct) Zanzibar Leopard.

History

The presence of microlithic tools attests to at least 50,000 years of human occupation of Zanzibar. A Greek text between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'', mentioned this island as Menuthias. The islands became part of the historical record of the wider world when Persian traders discovered them and used them as a base for voyages between the Middle East, India, and Africa. Unguja, the larger island, offered a protected and defensible harbor, so although the archipelago offered few products of value, the Persians settled at what became Zanzibar City ("Stone Town") as a convenient point from which to trade with East African coastal towns. They established garrisons on the islands and built the first Zoroastrian fire temples and mosques in the Southern hemisphere.

During the Age of Exploration, the Portuguese Empire was the first European power to gain control of Zanzibar, and the Portuguese kept it for nearly 200 years. In 1698, Zanzibar fell under the control of the Sultanate of Oman, which developed an economy of trade and cash crops with a ruling Arab elite. Plantations were developed to grow spices, hence the term Spice Islands. Another major trade good for Zanzibar was ivory. The Sultan of Zanzibar controlled a substantial portion of the East African coast, known as Zanj; this included Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, and trading routes that extended much further inland, such as the route leading to Kindu on the Congo River. Zanzibar was famous worldwide for its spices and its slaves. It was East Africa's main slave-trading port, and in the mid-19th century as many as 50,000 slaves were passing annually through the slave markets of Zanzibar. Sometimes gradually and sometimes by fits and starts, control of Zanzibar came into the hands of the British Empire; part of the political impetus for this was the 19th century movement for the abolition of the slave trade. The relationship between Britain and the German Empire, at that time the nearest relevant colonial power, was formalized by the 1890 Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty, in which Germany pledged not to interfere with British interests in insular Zanzibar. That year, Zanzibar became a protectorate (not a colony) of Britain. From 1890 to 1913, traditional viziers were appointed to govern as puppets, switching to a system of British residents (effectively governors) from 1913 to 1963. The death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on 25 August 1896 and the succession of Sultan Khalid bin Barghash of whom the British did not approve led to the Anglo-Zanzibar War. On the morning of 27 August 1896, ships of the Royal Navy destroyed the Beit al Hukum Palace. A cease fire was declared 38 minutes later, and to this day the bombardment stands as the shortest war in history.

The islands gained independence from Britain in December 1963 as a constitutional monarchy. A month later, the bloody Zanzibar Revolution, in which thousands of Arabs and Indians were killed in a genocide and thousands more expelled, led to the establishment of the Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba. That April, the republic was subsumed by the mainland former colony of Tanganyika. This United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar was soon renamed (as a portmanteau) the United Republic of Tanzania, of which Zanzibar remains a semi-autonomous region.

Government and politics

Zanzibar has a government of national unity, with the current president of Zanzibar being Ali Mohamed Shein, since 1 November 2010. As a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, Zanzibar has its own government, known as the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar. It is made up of the Revolutionary Council and House of Representatives.

The House of Representatives has a similar composition to the National Assembly of Tanzania: There are 50 members from electoral constituencies, directly elected by universal suffrage to serve five-year terms; 10 members appointed by the President of Zanzibar; 15 special seats for women; 5 Regional commissioners; and an attorney-general. Five of these 81 members are then elected to represent Zanzibar in the National Assembly of Tanzania.

Unguja comprises three administrative regions: Zanzibar Central/South, Zanzibar North and Zanzibar Urban/West. Pemba has two: Pemba North and Pemba South.

There are many political parties in Zanzibar, but the main Parties are the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the Civic United Front (CUF). Since the early 1990s, the politics of the archipelago have been marked by repeated clashes between these two political parties. Contested elections in late 2000 led to a massacre in Zanzibar in January 2001 when the government shot into crowds of protestors, killing 35 and injuring 600. Violence erupted again in 2005 after another contested election, with the CUF claiming that its rightful victory had been stolen from them. Following 2005, negotiations between the two parties aiming at the long-term resolution of the tensions and a power-sharing accord took place, but they suffered repeated setbacks. The most notable of these took place in April 2008, when the CUF walked away from the negotiating table following a CCM call for a referendum to approve of what had been presented as a done deal on the power-sharing agreement.

In October 2009, the former president of Zanzibar, Amani Abeid Karume, met with CUF secretary Seif Sharif Hamad, who is currently the first vice president of Zanzibar, at the State House to discuss how to save Zanzibar from future political turmoil and to end the backlash between them, a move which was welcomed by many people including the USA and political parties. It was the first time since the multi-party system was introduced in Zanzibar that CUF agreed to recognize Karume as the legitimate president of Zanzibar.

The relationship between Zanzibar government and Tanzanian Mainland hasn't been so good in recent years since Tanzania Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda's remark about the Isles' strong sovereignty that Zanzibar is not an independent country outside the Union Government, within which it can only exercise its sovereignty. Members from both the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) disagreed with Mr Pinda's interpretation and stand firmly in recognizing Zanzibar as a fully autonomous and full state, the move which is widely unrecognized by the formation of the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania which raises a backlash between Members of Parliament from the Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar.

In 2008, Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete tried to silence the matter when he addressed the nation in a live conference by saying that ''Zanzibar is a state internal but semi-state international''.

A proposal to amend Zanzibar’s laws to allow rival parties to form governments of national unity was adopted by 66.4 per cent of voters, after official results of a referendum which was held on July 31, 2010.

Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) Chairman said 293,039 (or 71.9 per cent) out of 407,667 people registered for the referendum actually turned up at polling stations across the Isles to cast their votes. He said a total of 284,318 valid votes were cast, with 188,705 (or 66.4 per cent) voting YES for a Government of National Unity and 95,613 opposed to the proposition and 8,721 were spoilt.

Geography, weather, and climate

thumb|left|250px|The waterfront of Zanzibar cityCovering an area of 2,461 km² (950 sq miles) Zanzibar is a mainly low lying island, with its highest point at 120 metres. It is 108 km long and 32.km wide. It is +3 GMT during winter and +2 during summer time. It is located in the Indian Ocean, about 25 miles from the Tanzanian mainland coast, and 6° south of the equator. It is characterised by beautiful sandy beaches with fringing coral reefs, and the magic of historic Stone Town - said to be the only functioning ancient town in East Africa. The coral reefs that surround the East Coast are rich in marine diversity.

The heat of summer is seasonally often cooled by windy conditions, resulting in sea breezes, particularly on the North and East coasts. Being near to the equator, the islands are warm all year round, but officially, summer and winter peak in December and June respectively.

Short rains can occur in November but are characterised by short showers which do not last long. The long rains normally occur in April and May although this is often referred to as the 'Green Season', and it typically does not rain every day during that time.

Wildlife

The main island of Zanzibar, Unguja, has a fauna which reflects its connection to the African mainland during the last Ice Age. Endemic mammals with continental relatives include the Zanzibar red colobus, one of Africa's rarest primates, the Zanzibar red colobus may number only about 1500. Isolated on this island for at least 1,000 years, the Zanzibar red colobus (Procolobus kirkii) is recognized as a distinct species, with different coat patterns, calls and food habits than related colobus species on the mainland.

Zanzibar red colobus live in a wide variety of drier areas of coastal thickets and coral rag scrub, as well as mangrove swamps and agricultural areas. About one third of the red colobus live in and around Jozani Forest- Ironically, the easiest monkeys to see are on farm land adjacent to the reserve. They are used to people and the low vegetation means they come close to the ground.

Rare native animals include the Zanzibar leopard, which is critically endangered and possibly extinct; and the recently described Zanzibar servaline genet. There are no large wild animals in Zanzibar, and forest areas such as Jozani are inhabited by monkeys, bush-pigs, small antelopes, civets, and, rumor has it, the elusive Zanzibar leopard. Various species of mongoose can also be found on the island. There is a wide variety of birdlife, and a large number of butterflies in rural areas. Pemba island is separated from Unguja island and the African continent by deep channels and has a correspondingly restricted fauna, reflecting its comparative isolation from the mainland. Its best-known endemic is the Pemba Flying Fox.

Population

According to the most recent census of 2002, the total population of Zanzibar was 984,625 - with a steady annual growth rate of 3.1%. According to that census the population of Zanzibar City, which is the largest city, is approximately 205,870. The people of Zanzibar are of diverse ethnic origins. The first permanent residents of Zanzibar seem to have been the ancestors of the Hadimu and Tumbatu, who began arriving from the East African mainland around AD 1000. They belonged to various mainland ethnic groups, and on Zanzibar they lived in small villages and did not coalesce to form larger political units. Because they lacked central organization, they were easily subjugated by outsiders.

Ancient pottery demonstrates existing trade routes with Zanzibar as far back as the time of the ancient Assyrians. Traders from Arabia, as well as the Persian Gulf region of modern-day Iran (especially Shiraz), and west India, probably visited Zanzibar as early as the 1st century. They used the monsoon winds to sail across the Indian Ocean to land at the sheltered harbor located on the site of present-day Zanzibar City.

Zanzibar is mostly populated by African people of Bantu origin, but there is also a minority population of Asians, originally from India and Arab countries. A significant proportion of people also identify as Shirazi.

According to the 2002 census, around two thirds of the people – 622,459 – live on Zanzibar Island (Unguja), with the greatest proportion settled in the densely populated west. Besides Zanzibar City, other towns on Zanzibar Island include Chaani, Mbweni, Mangapwani, Chwaka, and Nungwi. Outside of these towns, most people live in small villages and are engaged in farming or fishing.

On Pemba Island, the overall settlement pattern is similar to that of the main island. The largest town is Chake-Chake, with a population of 19,283; other smaller towns are Wete and Mkoani. The other island of Zanzibar, Mafia, has a total population of about 40,801.

Considerable disparities exist in the standard of living for inhabitants of Pemba and Unguja, as well as the disparity between urban and rural populations. The average annual income of just US$250 hides the fact that about half the population lives below the poverty line. Despite a relatively high standard of primary health care and education, infant mortality is still 83 in 1,000 live births, and it is estimated that malnutrition affects one in three of Zanzibar's people. Life expectancy at birth is 48 years, which is significantly lower than the 2010 world average of 67.2. While the incidence of HIV/AIDS is considerably less in Zanzibar than in Tanzania as a whole (0.6% of the population, as against the national average of around 8%), it is a growing problem.

Religion

The most commonly practised religion is Islam. About 95% of Zanzibar's population follow the laws of Islam. Its history was influenced by the Arabs and the Indian mainland people. The remaining are Christians.

There are 51 mosques, and muezzins invoke before the prayer time. There are also six Catholic Cathedrals as well as an Anglican Cathedral in Zanzibar's multi-ethnic town (Stone Town). There are many burial places around the outskirts with interesting headstones and graves, and some important graves in the town itself, usually of religious leaders of the past. There are also Evangelical Christian churches in Zanzibar Town. Some distance from Zanzibar Town are other Christian churches such as Evangelistic Assemblies of God Zanzibar (EAGZ) which is at Kijito Upele-Fuoni Zanzibar, pioneered by the Founder for Evangelical Movement in Zanzibar, Rev. Leonard Masasa. Another church is Tanzania Assemblies of God which is at Kariakoo. There are now more than 25 Evangelical churches in Zanzibar. There is also a small population of Bahá'ís. (Sfee Bahá'í Faith in Tanzania.)

Economy

The clove, originating from the Moluccan Islands (today in Indonesia), was introduced in Zanzibar by the Omani sultans in the first half of the 19th century. Zanzibar, mainly Pemba Island, was once the world's leading clove producer, but annual clove sales have plummeted by 80% since the 1970s. Zanzibar's clove industry has been crippled by a fast-moving global market, international competition and a hangover from Tanzania's failed experiment with socialism in the 1960s and 1970s, when the government controlled clove prices and exports. Zanzibar now ranks a distant third with Indonesia supplying 75% of the world's cloves compared to Zanzibar's 7%.

Zanzibar exports spices, seaweed and fine raffia. It also has a large fishing and dugout canoe production. Tourism is a major foreign currency earner. thumb|200px|The Michenzani apartment blocks near Stone Town, once the pride of East German development cooperation with Zanzibar.Zanzibar's economy is based primarily on the production of cloves (90% grown on the island of Pemba), the principal foreign exchange earner. Exports have suffered with the downturn in the clove market. Tourism is a promising sector with a number of new hotels and resorts having been built in recent years.

The Government of Zanzibar legalized foreign exchange bureaus on the islands before mainland Tanzania moved to do so. The effect was to increase the availability of consumer commodities. The government has also established a free port area, which provides the following benefits: contribution to economic diversification by providing a window for free trade as well as stimulating the establishment of support services; administration of a regime that imports, exports, and warehouses general merchandise; adequate storage facilities and other infrastructure to cater for effective operation of trade; and creation of an efficient management system for effective re-exportation of goods.

The island's manufacturing sector is limited mainly to import substitution industries, such as cigarettes, shoes, and processed agricultural products. In 1992, the government designated two export-producing zones and encouraged the development of offshore financial services. Zanzibar still imports much of its staple requirements, petroleum products, and manufactured articles.

During May and June 2008, Zanzibar suffered a major failure of its electricity system, which left the island without electricity for nearly a month. Another blackout happened from December 2009 to March 2010, due to a problem with the submarine cables and the local plant. This led to a serious and ongoing shock to the island's fragile economy, which is heavily dependent on foreign tourism. In 2000, the annual income per capita was US$220.

There is also a possibility of oil availability in Zanzibar on the island of Pemba, and efforts have been made by the Tanzanian Government and Zanzibar revolutionary Government to exploit what could be one of the most significant discoveries in recent memory. Oil would help boost the economy of Zanzibar, but there have been disagreements about dividends between the Tanzanian mainland and Zanzibar, the latter claiming the oil should be excluded in Union matters. A Norwegian consultant has been sent to Zanzibar to investigate its oil potential.

Education

In 2000 there were 207 government schools and 118 privately owned schools in Zanzibar. There are also two universities and one college: Zanzibar University, the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA) and the Chukwani College of Education.

SUZA was established in 1999, and is located in Stone Town, in the buildings of the former Institute of Kiswahili and Foreign Language (TAKILUKI). It is the only public institution for higher learning in Zanzibar, the other two institutions being private. In 2004, the three institutions had a total enrollment of 948 students, of whom 207 were female.

The primary and secondary education system in Zanzibar is slightly different than that of the Tanzanian mainland. On the mainland, education is only compulsory for the seven years of primary education, while in Zanzibar an additional three years of secondary education are compulsory and free. Students in Zanzibar score significantly less on standardized tests for reading and mathematics than students on the mainland.

In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, national service after secondary education was necessary, but it is now voluntary and few students volunteer. Most choose to seek employment or attend teacher's colleges.

Transport

Zanzibar has a total road network of 1,600 kilometres of roads, of which 85% are tarmacked or semi-tarmacked. The remainder are earth roads, which are rehabilitated annually to make them passable throughout the year. There is no public transport owned by the government at the moment in Zanzibar, but the Daladala (as it is officially known in Zanzibar) is the only kind of public transport owned by private owners; the term Daladala originated from the swahili word DALA or five shillings during the 1970s and 80s (at that time public transport cost five shillings).

Zanzibar now has an improved and thriving sea transport network, by which public owned ships and private speed boats serve the ports of Zanzibar, which was renovated by the help of European Union. There are five ports in the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba. The Zanzibar Port Corporation (ZPC) is a public entity, which has full autonomy for operation and development of ports. The wharves of the main seaport were constructed in 1989-1991 with financial assistance from the European Union. The port handles more than 90% of Zanzibar trade. Malindi port was built in 1925 as a modest lighter port.

The port is in a poor state in terms of infrastructure (quays, container stacking yard, etc.) as well as very limited operational area and storage facilities. Several assessments of the Malindi port's condition were made between 1995 and 2001. However, no repair works has been done resulting in further deterioration of the wharves. The main port wharf has deteriorated to the extent that it can no longer be repaired.

The most recent accident was in May 2009, when a cargo vessel sank before departing for Dar-es Salaam. It is still unclear how many people lost their lives, as is the cause of the accident. It took more than a week to rescue and lift the vessel. Zanzibar is well connected to the rest of the world. Zanzibar's main airport, Zanzibar International Airport, can now handle larger planes, which has resulted in an increase in passenger and cargo inflows and outflows.

Energy

The energy sector in Zanzibar consists of unreliable electric power, petroleum and petroleum products; it is also supplemented by firewood and its related products. Coal and gas are rarely used for either domestic and industrial purposes. Zanzibar gets 70 percent of its electric power needs from mainland Tanzania through a submarine cable, and the rest (for Pemba) is thermally generated. The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and the government of the Kingdom of Norway signed an agreement in August, 2008 whereby Norway agreed to provide funds for the Tanga-Pemba Sub Sea Cable Project, which will enable Pemba Island to receive electricity from the National Grid from the Tanga Region; the laying of a 40 megawatts marine cable started in December 2009. Between 70 and 75% of the electricity generated is used domestically while less than 20 percent is used industrially. Fuel wood, charcoal and kerosene are widely used as sources of energy for cooking and lighting for most rural and urban areas. The consumption capacity of petroleum, gas, oil, kerosene and IDO is increasing annually, going from a total of 5,650 tons consumed in 1997 to more than 7,500 tons in 1999. Zanzibar suffered its second major blackout on December 10 to March 23, 2010, 2009, and the Tanzanian island's energy ministry says it is unclear when the problem will be fixed. The first major blackout, which left the islanders powerless and entirely dependent on alternative methods of electricity generation (mainly diesel generators), was from May 21 to June 19, 2008. The mainland, where the fault originated, managed to be restored at the same time.

Culture and language

Zanzibar's local people are from a mixture of ethnic backgrounds, indicative of its colourful history. Zanzibaris speak Swahili (known locally as Kiswahili), a language which is spoken extensively in East Africa. Many believe that the purest form is spoken in Zanzibar, as it is the birthplace of the language. Many locals also speak English.

Zanzibar's most famous event is the Zanzibar International Film Festival, also known as the Festival of the Dhow Countries. Every July, this event showcases the best of the Swahili Coast arts scene, including Zanzibar's favorite music, Taarab.

Important architectural features in Stone Town are the Livingstone house, The Old dispensary of Zanzibar , the Guliani Bridge, Ngome kongwe (The Old fort of Zanzibar) and the House of Wonders. The town of Kidichi features the Hamamni Persian Baths, built by immigrants from Shiraz, Iran during the reign of Barghash bin Said.

Zanzibar also is the only place in Eastern African countries to have the longest settlement houses formally known as Michenzani flats which were built by the aid from East German during 1970's to solve housing problems in Zanzibar.

Media and communication

Zanzibar was the first region in Africa to introduce colour television, in 1973. The first television service on mainland Tanzania was not introduced until some twenty years later, but it currently ranks low among African countries due to poor services offered and lack of modern production tools as well as experienced staff. The current TV station is called TVZ. There are about 8 private radio stations.

Among the famous reporters of TVZ during the 1980s and 1990s were the late Alwiya Alawi 1961–1996 (the elder sister of Inat Alawi, famous Taarab singer during the 1980s), Neema Mussa, Sharifa Maulid, Fatma Mzee, Zaynab Ali, Ramadhan Ali, and Khamis Faki.

In terms of communication, Zanzibar is well served by the newly restructured public telecommunication company (TTCL) and four privately owned mobile systems. Through these systems, the whole of Zanzibar (Unguja and Pemba) is widely covered and connected to most parts of the world.

Zanzibar Telecommunicatio known as Zantel was the first and only Zanzibar based Tele-communication company since 1999 before relocating its main headquarters to the Mainland. Almost all Mobile and Internet companies served in Mainland Tanzania are available in Zanzibar.

Sport

Association Football is the most popular sport in Zanzibar, overseen by the Zanzibar Football Association. Zanzibar is an associate member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). This means that the Zanzibar national football team is not eligible to enter national CAF competitions, such as the African Nations Cup, but Zanzibar's football clubs get representation at the CAF Confederation Cup and the CAF Champions League.

The national team participates in non-FIFA international tournaments such as the FIFI Wild Cup, and the ELF Cup. Because Zanzibar is not a member of FIFA, their team is not eligible for the World Cup.

The Zanzibar Football Association also has a Premier League for the top clubs, which was created in 1981.

Since 1992 there has also been Judo in Zanzibar. The founder, Mr. Tsuyoshi Shimaoka established a strong team which participates in national and international competitions. In 1999 Zanzibar Judo Association (Z.J.A.) was registered and became an active member of Tanzania Olympic Committee.

Famous people

Murtaza Alidina, scholar

Farouque Abdillahi, who was Princess Diana's designer

Freddie Mercury of the popular band Queen was born in Zanzibar. His birth name was Farouque Bulsara.

Contemporary references

Tenacious D's song Fuck Her Gently

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is set in Zanzibar Land, a region unrelated to Zanzibar.

Jimmy Buffet's song Six String Music

John Brunner's novel Stand on Zanzibar

The Halo 2 map Zanzibar

Giles Foden's novel Zanzibar

Ashley Prowse's novel The Clepsydra Stopped

Tristan Jones' The Incredible Voyage

Bill Harley's song Zanzibar

Billy Joel's song Zanzibar

The Lonely Island comedy trio's song Zanzabar

Gallery

See also

German East Africa

Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty

Zanzibari cuisine

References

External links

Further reading

''Revolution in Zanzibar'', Don Petterson (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 2002)

''Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar'', Emily Ruete, 1888. (Many reprints). Author (1844–1924) was born Princess Salme of Zanzibar and Oman and was a daughter of Sayyid Said.

''Banani: the Transition from Slavery to Freedom in Zanzibar and Pemba'', H. S. Newman, (London, 1898)

''Travels in the Coastlands of British East Africa'', W. W. A. FitzGerald, (London, 1898)

''Zanzibar in Contemporary Times'', R. N. Lyne, (London, 1905)

''Pemba: The Spice Island of Zanzibar'', J. E. E. Craster, (London, 1913)

''Nyerere and Africa: End of an Era'', and ''Tanzania under Mwalimu Nyerere: Reflections on an African Statesman'', Godfrey Mwakikagile, (Pretoria, South Africa: New Africa Press, 2006)

''Hatice Uğur, Osmanlı Afrikası'nda Bir Sultanlık: Zengibar (Zanzibar as a Sultanate in the Ottoman Africa), İstanbul: Küre Yayınları, 2005. kureyayinlari.com For its English version, see Boun.edu

''Challenges of Informal Urbanisation. The Case of Zanzibar/Tanzania'', Wolfgang Scholz (Dortmund 2008) Amazon.de

External links

Government of Zanzibar

Education Statistics and Quality of Education in Zanzibar

Map of Zanzibar and Tanganyika in 1886

Zanzibar without Poverty – A plain language guide to the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar’s Zanzibar Poverty Reduction Plan (ZPRP) of January 2002

Zanzibar Stone Town & Hotels A travel guide website containing pictures and information about Stone Town as well as a selection of Stone Town Hotels.

Zanzibar Culture A site containing details of Zanzibar's culture and history.

CAAA Collegien Acadiens et leurs Amis Africain Development assistance organisation from Switzerland

Category:Islands of Tanzania Category:Former Portuguese colonies Category:Former British protectorates Category:Swahili city-states Category:Populated coastal places in Zanzibar Category:States and territories established in 1963 Category:Former member states of the United Nations

af:Zanzibar ar:زنجبار be:Занзібар be-x-old:Занзыбар br:Zanzibar bg:Занзибар ca:Zanzíbar cs:Zanzibar cy:Zanzibar (ynys) da:Zanzibar de:Sansibar et:Sansibar el:Ζανζιβάρη es:Zanzíbar eo:Zanzibaro eu:Zanzibar fa:زنگبار fo:Sansibar fy:Sansibar gl:Zanzíbar ko:잔지바르 hi:ज़ांज़ीबार hr:Zanzibar io:Zanzibar id:Zanzibar is:Sansibar it:Zanzibar he:זנזיבר ka:ზანზიბარი kk:Занзибар sw:Jamhuri ya Watu wa Zanzibar la:Zanzibar lv:Zanzibāra lt:Zanzibaras hu:Zanzibár mr:झांझिबार arz:زنجبار nl:Zanzibar (eiland) ja:ザンジバル no:Zanzibar nn:Zanzibar pap:Zanzibar pl:Zanzibar pt:Zanzibar ro:Zanzibar ru:Занзибар sq:Zanzibari simple:Zanzibar sk:Zanzibar sl:Zanzibar sr:Занзибар fi:Sansibar sv:Zanzibar ta:சான்சிபார் th:แซนซิบาร์ tr:Zanzibar uk:Занзібар (острів) vec:Zanzibar vi:Zanzibar fiu-vro:Sansibar yo:Zanzibar zh:桑給巴爾

name	Road to Zanzibar
director	Victor Schertzinger
producer	Paul Jones
writer	Frank Butler &Don Hartmanfrom a story bySy Bartlett &Frank Butler
starring	Bing CrosbyBob HopeDorothy LamourUna Merkel
music	Victor Young
distributor	Paramount Pictures
released	April 11, 1941
runtime	91 min
country	U.S.
language	English
preceded by	Road to Singapore
followed by	Road to Morocco }}

''Road to Zanzibar'' is a 1941 Paramount Pictures comedy film starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour, and marked the second picture in the popular "''Road to …''" series made by the trio.

Paramount executives owned the rights to a story by Sy Bartlett titled "Find Colonel Fawcett" about two men trekking through the jungles of Madagascar. They felt that its plot was so similar to the recently released ''Stanley and Livingstone'' (1939) that it could not be made as written without seeming too derivative, so they turned the project over to Frank Butler and Don Hartman, the writers on the wildly successful ''Road to Singapore'' which Paramount had released the year before. Thus reborn as a comedy and spoof of the safari genre, the film resembled its predecessor in every important way, with plot taking a back seat to gags (many of them ad libbed), and music. The film was so successful that further "''Road to...''" pictures were assured.

Plot

The film starts with con-artist Chuck Reardon (Bing Crosby) as a side-show caller at a circus advertising an act featuring his friend Hubert "Fearless" Frazier (Bob Hope), as a human cannonball, with 'Fearless' quickly substituting a dummy at the last minute and hiding in a secret compartment. The flaming dummy sets the big tent on fire and everyone into a panic and the two of them flee. Their subsequent acts show 'Fearless' doing more dangerous acts, usually getting injured every time. When Chuck brings the next 'great idea', wrestling a live octopus, 'Fearless' finally balks and wants to go back to the states. At a fancy restaurant, they're sent champagne by a wealthy man, diamond baron Charles Kimble (Eric Blore). The festive mood turns sours when the police show up, but Kimble bails them out. They decide to go home to the United States, but when Chuck goes to get the tickets Kimble invites him onto his yacht for a drink.

'Fearless' is busy packing and when Chuck comes back, he finds out Chuck spent all their money, five thousand, on the deed for one of Kimble's diamond mines. It seems like a good deal, until they find out Kimble is an eccentric who would sign over anything and the deed is worthless. Furious at Chuck losing all their money, 'Fearless' ends their partnership.

Later that evening, 'Fearless' comes back with a fistful of money, claiming to have 'sold' the diamond mine to some guy at a bar for SEVEN thousand. They start to leave only to be confronted by the same man, Monsieur Lebec (Lionel Royce). 'Fearless' had inflated the story a little, so the Lebec and his huge bodyguard want Chuck and 'Fearless' to accompany them to actually see the mine. Chuck and 'Fearless' manage to escape and jump onto a boat.

Stranded, they are propositioned by Julia Quimby (Una Merkel) to help rescue her friend, Donna LaTour (Dorothy Lamour), from being sold at a slave auction. They bid 150 in local coin on her to rescue her. Unbeknownst to both of them, Julia and Donna are also con-artists and take half of the payment to get food. Donna reveals to Julia about the seven thousand Chuck and 'Fearless' have and how she convince them to take her and Julia on a safari across the country, not telling them it's to see Donna's wealthy boyfriend. 'Fearless' is reluctant to go, but Chuck convinces him it's the best way to hide out and really wants to help Donna.

On the safari, Donna romances 'Fearless', but he's unsure about her intentions, especially when she cuddles up to Chuck, who seem oblivious. Julia, also doesn't like Donna romancing Chuck and casually throws around the name of Donna's boyfriend.

As their journey continues, with the help of an announcer and a montage, both Chuck and 'Fearless' both vie for Donna's attention. During a moonlit canoe ride, Chuck proclaims his feelings and Donna realizes she's starting to fall for him too. Julia tells Donna it would be foolish to give up her wealthy boyfriend for a side show croonie. Chuck and 'Fearless' continue to fight over Donna, with Chuck drugging 'Fearless' and 'Fearless' ripping up Chuck's shirt.

Donna finally confides to 'Fearless' that despite her feelings for Chuck, her heart belongs to another. Thinking its him, 'Fearless' agrees to tell Chuck. Chuck refuses to believe 'Fearless, who is practically skipping, but then Julia comes in and tell them both about the rich boyfriend.

Chuck and 'Fearless' finally learn they've been had from the beginning and everything had been a set-up. They angrily run into the jungle to confront her. While she's swimming, a pair of leopards appear and tear her clothes while she hides in the reeds. Upon seeing her torn clothes, Chuck and 'Fearless' assume she's dead. They bury her clothes and have a funeral, all while Donna watches. During their attempt at a eulogy, they admit that despite the fact she lied to them, they both loved her. Chuck and 'Fearless' start to sing and burst into tears, until Donna sings to them and then they both turn on her. They storm off into the jungle and the safari leaves without them.

While trying to find their way back, Chuck and 'Fearless' stumble upon skeleton laden caves. They jokingly bang on the drums only to summon a local tribe of natives. The natives, thinking they are gods, adorn them with jewels and give them food. Chuck and 'Fearless' thinks its great until the natives decide to test them by throwing 'Fearless' in a cage with a giant gorilla. After a comical wrestling match, in which 'Fearless' loses, the natives prepare to cook them both, until they use their infamous 'patty cake' routine to escape.

They return to civilization, haggard, dirty and penniless until they hock the jewels they had received from the natives. 'Fearless' reluctantly lets Chuck go get the tickets. When he comes back empty handed, 'Fearless' is crushed, until Chuck presents Donna and Julia. Donna gave up the rich boyfriend because she's in love with Chuck.

When 'Fearless' asks what they are going to do for money, Chuck springs another 'great idea' and the film ends with the four of them again doing a carnival act, this time sawing a woman (Julia) in half.

Cast

Bing Crosby ... Chuck Reardon

Bob Hope ... Hubert 'Fearless' Frazier

Dorothy Lamour ... Donna LaTour

Una Merkel ... Julia Quimby

Eric Blore ... Charles Kimble

Douglass Dumbrille ... Slave trader

Iris Adrian ... French soubrette in cafe

Lionel Royce ... Monsieur Lebec

Buck Woods ... Thonga

Leigh Whipper ... Scarface

Ernest Whitman ... Whiteface

Noble Johnson ... Chief

Joan Marsh ... Dimples, helper in Human Cannonball act

Luis Alberni ... Native booth proprietor

Robert Middlemass ... Police inspector

Songs

"You Lucky People, You" performed by Bing Crosby

"African Etude / Road To Zanzibar" performed by Bing Crosby and a chorus while on safari

"You're Dangerous" performed by Dorothy Lamour

"It's Always You" performed by Bing Crosby

All lyrics by Johnny Burke, and music by Jimmy Van Heusen

Copyright renewal

The film's copyright was renewed in a timely manner by the company which had acquired it. Originally registered for copyright as LP10409 with a declared publication date of April 11, 1941, the continuation of copyright was contingent upon renewal between the 27th and 28th anniversaries of that date. Renewal occurred April 18, 1968, number R434268.

While the film opened in New York on April 9, 1941, the renewal is still timely even if the earlier date were considered publication date. Renewal was filed by EMKA, Ltd., which acquired Paramount's classic pre-1950 library in 1957. Today, EMKA is part of NBC Universal Television Distribution, and Universal Studios is now the theatrical and home video distributor. The copyright is now scheduled to run until 95 years after the publication date (2036). The film has not entered the public domain.

References

Raymond Strait, ''Bob Hope: A Tribute'' (New York: Pinnacle Books, 2003)

External links

Category:1941 films Category:1940s comedy films Category:1940s musical films Category:American adventure comedy films Category:American musical comedy films Category:American romantic comedy films Category:American romantic musical films Category:Black-and-white films Category:Buddy films Category:English-language films Category:Films directed by Victor Schertzinger Category:Films set in Africa Category:Paramount Pictures films Category:Road movies

ca:Camí de Zanzíbar fr:En route vers Zanzibar it:Avventura a Zanzibar pt:Road to Zanzibar

name	Road to Perdition
director	Sam Mendes
producer	Sam MendesDean ZanuckRichard D. Zanuck
screenplay	David Self
based on	Road to Perdition by Max Allan CollinsRichard Piers Rayner
starring	Tom HanksPaul NewmanJude LawDaniel Craig Tyler Hoechlin
music	Thomas Newman
cinematography	Conrad L. Hall
editing	Jill Bilcock
distributor	DreamWorks20th Century Fox
released
runtime	117 minutes
country
language	English
budget	$80 million
gross	$181,001,478 }}

''Road to Perdition'' is a 2002 American period drama film directed by Sam Mendes. The screenplay was adapted by David Self, from the graphic novel of the same name by Max Allan Collins. The film stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, and Daniel Craig. The film was released on July 12, 2002, and eventually grossed over $180 million worldwide. A home media release first debuted on February 25, 2003. The cinematography, setting, and the lead performances by both Paul Newman (making his final theatrical appearance) and Tom Hanks were well-received by critics.

The plot follows the story of an enforcer for the mob and his young son, who becomes a witness to a hit-gone-wrong. When a higher-ranking mobster decides that the child must be killed to keep the hitmen's identities a secret the father and son try to flee town, beginning the road trip that frames most of the film. During this trip they face escalating violence and respond with escalating violence of their own. This escalation of violence and the resulting death of innocents is a theme explored in depth by the film, alternating between being a source of pressure that forces the father and son to bond and also as a source of trauma that pushes the son further away emotionally.

Filming took place in the Chicago area. Mendes, having recently finished 1999's acclaimed ''American Beauty'', pursued a story that had minimal dialogue and conveyed emotion through imagery. Cinematographer Conrad L. Hall took advantage of the environment to create symbolism for the film, for which he won several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

Plot

Michael Sullivan, Sr. (Tom Hanks) is a mob enforcer for John Rooney (Paul Newman), an Irish mob boss in Illinois during the Great Depression and Al Capone era. Rooney raised Sullivan, an orphan, and loves him as a son; more so, in fact, than his real son, the ruthless, unstable Connor (Daniel Craig). Sullivan and Connor go to a warehouse for a meeting with Finn McGovern, a disgruntled employee. Twelve-year-old Michael Sullivan, Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) hides in his father's car and witnesses Connor kill McGovern in a fit of rage. Sullivan swears his son to secrecy, but Connor decides to hush these witnesses forever. He murders Sullivan's wife Annie and the couple's younger son Peter, mistakenly thinking he has murdered young Michael. Sullivan and his remaining son flee to Chicago.

Sullivan requests a job with Capone's mob. He asks permission of crime kingpin Frank Nitti (Stanley Tucci) to seek revenge on Connor, who has been sent into hiding. The offer is rejected. Rooney is aware of the meeting and allows Nitti to dispatch assassin Harlen Maguire (Jude Law) to kill Sullivan. Maguire, a psychopathic crime-scene photographer who likes to photograph his victims, tracks Sullivan and son to a roadside diner but misses a chance to make the hit. Knowing now that Nitti has sided against him, Sullivan begins robbing the banks that hold the Capone and Rooney syndicate's laundered money, hoping to trade it for Connor. Michael Jr. drives the getaway car at the holdups.

Maguire sets a trap with the aid of Rooney's accountant, Alexander Rance. On the day Sullivan comes to Rance's hotel room, Rance stalls him until Maguire can arrive. Rance is killed in the crossfire of the ensuing gunfight. Maguire is injured, his face peppered with fragments of glass, though he manages to shoot the escaping Sullivan in the arm.

Michael drives his father to a farm where a childless elderly couple helps Sullivan to recover. During his recuperation, Sullivan discovers (in ledgers taken from Rance) that Connor has been embezzling from his father for years, using the names of dead gang members to hide his activities. As the Sullivans depart, they give the couple much of the remaining money from the bank robberies.

Rooney is surprised by Sullivan while attending Mass. He acknowledges that he already knows about the embezzlement and that this must end with Connor's death, but still refuses to be the one to give up his son. That night, cloaked by darkness and a driving rain, Sullivan dispatches Rooney's entire entourage with his Thompson submachine gun and then walks up to Rooney himself, who says "I'm glad it's you". With tears in his eyes, Sullivan pulls the trigger. Seeing no further reason to protect Connor now that Rooney is dead, Nitti reveals his location to Sullivan, making him promise that this will be the end. Sullivan goes to the hotel where Connor is hiding and kills him to complete his full circle of revenge.

Sullivan decides to drive Michael Jr. to a relative's beach house in Perdition, a town on the shore of Lake Michigan. Here he is ambushed and shot by a disfigured Maguire, who has survived the hotel shootout. Michael Jr. shows up and points a gun at Maguire, but cannot bring himself to fire. The standoff ends when Sullivan draws a hidden gun and kills Maguire before dying in his son's arms. Mourning his father's death, Michael Jr. finds his way back to the elderly farm couple that looked after them. In Michael Jr.'s closing voice-over, he states: I saw then that my father's only fear was that his son would follow the same road. And that was the last time I ever held a gun. People always thought I grew up on a farm. And I guess, in a way, I did. But I lived a lifetime before that, in those six weeks on the road in the winter of 1931. When people ask me if Michael Sullivan was a good man, or if there was just no good in him at all, I always give the same answer. I just tell them... he was my father.

Cast

Tom Hanks as Michael Sullivan, Sr., a top-notch hitman who works for John Rooney. Hanks was sent a copy of the graphic novel ''Road to Perdition'' by Steven Spielberg while he was filming ''Cast Away'' (2000). Initially too busy to make sense of the story, he later received David Self's adapted screenplay, to which he became attached. Hanks, a father to four children, described Michael Sullivan's role, "I just got this guy. If you're a man, and you've got offspring ... emotionally, it's devastating." Tyler Hoechlin as Michael Sullivan, Jr., Hoechlin was chosen from over 2,000 candidates to portray Michael Sullivan's son. The actor was 14 years old at the time of filming. For scenes in which Hoechlin's character assisted his father as a getaway driver, Hoechlin was trained by a driving instructor. Paul Newman as John Rooney, a crime boss who treats Sullivan as a surrogate son. Newman was unanimously the first choice for the role. The actor prepared by requesting Frank McCourt, the Irish-American author of ''Angela's Ashes'', to record a tape of his voice. Jude Law as Harlen Maguire, a crime-scene photographer who moonlights as an assassin. Self, who created this character (who did not exist in the graphic novel), explained, "He gets so jaded from exposure to this world, he steps over the line from being the storyteller to being the story maker." To capture the "seedy countenance" of the character, Law was given a sallow skin tone that reflected the wear from working in a darkroom. Law's teeth also received a lower gumline and had a rotted look. He was also given a weak, thinning hairline. Law's character carried a camera that served as dual symbolism to his acts of murder. The character's apartment also displayed a collection of favorite photographs, some of which were actual police stills from the 1930s.

Daniel Craig as Connor Rooney, the unstable, violent son of John Rooney. He is jealous of the surrogate relationship between his father and Sullivan.

Stanley Tucci as Frank Nitti, the Under-Boss for the Al Capone Outfit. Tucci had previously avoided roles in gangster films, believing that Hollywood stereotyped all Italian-Americans as gangsters. The actor, attracted to the prospect of working with Mendes and his crew, accepted the role of Nitti, a real-life Mob boss from Chicago. Jennifer Jason Leigh as Annie Sullivan, the wife of Michael Sullivan, Sr., the actress was a friend of Sam Mendes and portrayed the role as a favor to him. Leigh had more scenes as Annie than the film showed, but due to time constraints, some were cut. Scenes were subsequently included on the film's DVD.

Liam Aiken as Peter Sullivan, the doomed youngest son of Michael Sullivan, Sr.

Dylan Baker as Alexander Rance, an accountant who holds the ledgers for the Rooney crime syndicate.

Ciarán Hinds as Finn McGovern, the man whose murder by Connor Rooney is witnessed by Sullivan's son.

Anthony LaPaglia as Al Capone, the notorious crime boss. This character was filmed for a single scene, which was omitted from the final cut, and can be found in the DVD's deleted scenes. Mendes believed that Capone was more menacing as an unseen presence. Actor Alfred Molina was approached to portray Capone, but Molina was forced to turn the role down due to scheduling conflicts with ''Frida'' (2002). Instead, LaPaglia was cast as Capone.

Production

When the graphic novel ''Road to Perdition'' was written by Max Allan Collins, his agent saw potential in the story as a film adaptation and showed it to a film agent. By 1999, the novel reached Dean Zanuck, who was the vice president of development at the company of his father, producer Richard D. Zanuck. The novel was sent to the elder Zanuck in Morocco, who was there producing ''Rules of Engagement'' (2000). The Zanucks agreed on the story's prospect and sent it to director-producer Steven Spielberg. Shortly afterward, Spielberg set up the project at his studio DreamWorks, though he did not pursue direction of the film due to his full slate.

Mendes sought a new project after completing ''American Beauty'' (1999) and explored prospects including ''A Beautiful Mind'', ''K-PAX'', ''The Shipping News'', and ''The Lookout''. DreamWorks sent Mendes ''Road to Perdition'' as a prospect. Mendes was attracted to the story, considering it "narratively very simple, but thematically very complex". One theme that he saw in the story was of the parents' world that is inaccessible to their children. Mendes considered the story's theme to be about how children deal with violence, and whether exposure to violence would render children violent themselves. Mendes described the script as having "no moral absolutes", a factor that appealed to the director.

Writing

When Spielberg set up ''Road to Perdition'' at DreamWorks, he contacted screenwriter David Self to adapt the graphic novel ''Road to Perdition'' by Max Allan Collins into a feature film. Self wrote an initial draft that remained close to the source material and retained most of its dialogue. The screenplay was then rewritten by uncredited writers, distancing the script from the graphic novel and leaving the core elements of the story. Some of the harsher aspects of the story were toned down as the script became more streamlined; for example, in some early drafts of the screenplay, Sullivan became an alcoholic, but this element was ultimately absent from the final version. The story itself is deeply informed by the Lone Wolf and Cub manga series. Novelist Max Allan Collins acknowledged the influence of Lone Wolf and Cub on his graphic novel ''Road to Perdition'' in an interview to the BBC, declaring that "''Road To Perdition'' is 'an unabashed homage' to Lone Wolf And Cub".

Some of the characters' names were slightly changed from their original versions from the graphic novel: the surname of the real-life gangsters John Looney and his son Connor were changed to Rooney, and the surname of Tom Hanks' character and his family was streamlined from the original O'Sullivan to simply Sullivan. One significant addition to the script was the creation of one of the film's antagonists, portrayed by Jude Law, to provide a persistent element of pursuit to the Sullivans' departure from the old world.

Hanks and cinematographer Conrad Hall requested Mendes to limit violence in the film to meaningful acts, rather than gratuitous carnage. Hanks's character, Michael Sullivan, is known as "The Angel of Death" in the graphic novel and invokes fear in those around him, but his infamy is downplayed in the film. Mendes, who described the graphic novel as "much more pulpy", sought to reduce the graphic novel's background to its essence, seeking the "nonverbal simplicity" of films like ''Once Upon a Time in America'' (1984), ''Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid'' (1973), and films by Akira Kurosawa that lacked dialogue. Duplicate language in characters' confrontations in ''Road to Perdition'' was trimmed to the absolute minimum. Mendes described ''Road to Perdition'' as a "poetic, elegiac story, in which the pictures tell the story". An unspoken scene in the film was the piano duet with Hanks and Newman's characters, intended to convey their relationship without words. In the final 20 minutes of ''Road to Perdition'', the script was written to have only six lines of dialogue.

The author of the ''Perdition'' graphic novel, Max Allan Collins, originally wanted to write the adapted screenplay for the feature film, but was not given the opportunity. He chose to stay out of the scripting process in respect to the different style of writing for a different medium, though he served as a consultant in the process. Collins praised the addition of Law's character and considered the minimalist use of dialogue to be appropriate. The author also applauded the film's version of Rooney as "more overtly a father figure" to Sullivan.

Collins opposed the profanity in the script, as the vulgar language did not fit his vision of the 1930s. He also contested the path of Sullivan's son in the film. In the graphic novel, the son kills once, and in the film, he does not kill anyone. Collins also disagreed with the narration technique of the film. In the novel, the son narrates the story as an adult, becoming a priest, while in the film, he narrates while still a young boy.

Filming

Prior to filming, Mendes sought to produce a period film that would avoid clichés in the gangster genre. He chose to film ''Road to Perdition'' on location in downtown Chicago, the neighborhood of Pullman as well as the Chicago suburb of Geneva, Illinois. The Armory, the state's largest location mainstay which houses the Illinois State National Guard, was provided to the studio by the Illinois State Film Commission. Sets were built inside the Armory, including interiors of the Sullivan family's home and the Rooney mansion. The availability of an inside location provided the crew complete control over the lighting environment, which was established with the rigging of scaffoldings. Mendes collaborated with costume designer Albert Wolsky, production designer Dennis Gassner, and cinematographer Conrad Hall to design the film's style. Wolsky designed costumes that were "very controlled, with soft outlines and very soft silhouettes". Gassner built sets that could capture the cold look of the era. Mendes sought a muted palette for the film, having dark backgrounds and sets with dark, muted greens and grays. Mendes filmed ''Road to Perdition'' using the Super 35 format.

The director filmed exterior scenes in Illinois in the winter and the spring of 2001, using real weather conditions such as snow, rain, and mud for the scenes. Mendes considered the usage of bleak weather conditions and the intended coldness of Gassner's exterior locations to define the characters' emotional states. Pullman became a key location to reflect this theme, having several settings, including the town's historic Florence Hotel, easily redressed by the crew for the film. Filming concluded in June 2001.

Cinematography

To establish the lighting of scenes in ''Road to Perdition'', Mendes drew from the paintings of Edward Hopper as a source of inspiration, particularly Hopper's ''New York Movie'' (1939). Mendes and cinematographer Conrad Hall sought to convey similar atmospheric lighting for the film's scenes, applying a "less is more" mantra. Hall also shot wide open scenes that retained one point in the depth of field sharply focused. Hall considered the technique to provide an emotional dimension to the scenes. The cinematographer also used unconventional techniques and materials to create unique lighting effects. One of Hall's methods was to use black silk in daylight exterior scenes to filter the light enough to create an in-shade look.

Hall purposely distanced the camera from Hanks' character, Michael Sullivan, at the beginning of the film to establish the perspective of Sullivan's son, who is unaware of his father's true nature. Hanks's character was filmed as partially obscured and seen through doorways, and his entrances and exits took place in shadows. A wide lens was used to maintain a distance from the character.

Shots in the film were drawn directly from panels in the graphic novel, illustrated by Richard Piers Rayner. An instance of the direct influence was the scene in which Michael Jr. looks up at the Chicago skyline from the vehicle, with the skyline reflected in the vehicle's glass.

A seamless 40-second driving scene in which Michael Sullivan and his son travel into Chicago from the countryside was aided by visual effects. The live-action part of the scene was filmed at LaSalle Street, and due to the lack of scenery for part of the drive down LaSalle Street, the background of Balbo Drive was included with the use of visual effects.

Themes

Consequences of violence

The film's title, ''Road to Perdition'', is both the destination town of Michael Sullivan and his son and also a euphemism for Hell, a road that Sullivan desires to keep his son from traveling. Sullivan, who chooses his violent path early on in life, considers himself irredeemable and seeks to save his son from a similar fate. Said Mendes, "[Sullivan] is in a battle for the soul of his son. Can a man who has led a bad life achieve redemption through his child?" Hanks described his character as a man who achieved a comfortable status through violent means, of which he had ignored the likely repercussions. When Sullivan is faced with the consequences, Hanks says, "At the moment we're dropped into the story, it is literally the last day of that false perspective." To keep Hanks' character from justifying his violent actions in the film, Mendes left out scenes in the final cut that had Sullivan explaining to his son about his background.

In the film, most of the numerous acts of violence are committed off-screen. The acts of violence were also designed to be quick, reflecting the actual speed of violence in the real world. The focus was not on the direct victims of the perpetuated violence, but the impact of violence on the responsible person or witnesses to the act.

Fathers and sons

The film also explores father-son relationships, not only between Michael Sullivan and his son, but between Sullivan and his boss, John Rooney. Sullivan simultaneously idolizes and fears Rooney, and Sullivan's son feels the same for his own father. Rooney's son, Connor, has none of Sullivan's redeeming qualities, and Rooney is conflicted on whom to protect: his real son or his surrogate son. Connor is jealous of his father's relationship with Sullivan, which fuels his actions, ultimately causing a domino effect that drives the film.

Because Sullivan shields his background from his son, his attempt to preserve the father-son relationship is actually harmful. Tragedy brings Sullivan and his son together. Sullivan escapes from the old world with his son, and the boy finds opportunity to establish a stronger relationship with his father than before. Tyler Hoechlin, who portrayed Michael Jr., explained, "His dad starts to realize that Michael is all he has now and how much he's been missing. I think the journey is of a father and son getting to know each other, and also finding out who they themselves are."

Water

Water served as a motif in the film. It was developed after research for the wake scene at the beginning of the film informed the director that corpses were kept on ice in the 1920s to keep the body from decomposing. The notion was interwoven into the film, with the presence of water being linked to death. Mendes reflected on the theme, "The linking of water with death... speaks of the mutability of water and links it to the uncontrollability of fate. These are things that humans can't control."

Release

When filming concluded in June 2001, the studio intended a United States release for the following Christmas. But by September 2001, Mendes requested more time. It was rescheduled for release on July 12, 2002, an unconventional move that placed the drama among the action-oriented summer films.

Box office

''Road to Perdition'' opened in 1,797 theaters over its opening weekend, competing against several other new releases including ''Reign of Fire'', ''Halloween: Resurrection'', and ''The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course''. The film grossing $22,079,481, placing second to ''Men in Black 2'', which was in its second week of release. It eventually grossed $104,454,762 in the United States and $76,546,716 in other territories for a worldwide total of $181,001,478.

Critical response

The film received mostly positive reviews by critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 82 percent based on reviews from 203 critics, with an average score of 7.5/10. Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 from reviews by mainstream critics, gave a film rating of 72/100 based on 36 reviews.

Reviewer James Berardinelli, on his own ReelViews web site, praised ''Road to Perdition'' for its atmosphere and visuals, but he considered an emotional attachment to be lacking except for Sullivan's son. Roger Ebert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' praised Hall's cinematography and the thematic use of water. He, too, felt an emotional detachment from the characters, saying, "I knew I admired it, but I didn't know if I liked it... It is cold and holds us outside."

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie of ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' enjoyed the film's cinematography and Depression-era setting, as well as the performances of Hanks and Newman. Gillespie expressed the wish that the film lasted a little longer to explore its emotional core further. Eric Harrison of the ''Houston Chronicle'' considered ''Road to Perdition'' "the most brilliant work in this [gangster] genre" since the uncut ''Once Upon a Time in America'' (1984). Harrison considered Self's script "so finely honed that the story can change directions in a heartbeat."

Kirk Honeycutt of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' praised Hanks, Newman, and Craig but called Law's performance "almost cartoonish". Peter Travers of ''Rolling Stone'' also complimented Hanks and Newman: "[They] act together with the confidence of titans, their talents in the service of character, never star ego." Travers cited Hall's "breathtaking" cinematography and composer Thomas Newman's "evocative" score.

Paul Clinton of CNN said: "While these deeply human issues are touched upon, they're never fully explored, and that undermines the sense of greatness to which this movie obviously aspires. Clinton considered Craig's character "one-dimensional to the extreme". He found the cinematography too overpowering for the film's storyline, which he considered "weak". J. Hoberman of ''The Village Voice'' described the film as "grim yet soppy." He added: "The action is stilted and the tabloid energy embalmed." Stephen Hunter of ''The Washington Post'' thought that the script lost its path when Sullivan and his son fled their old life.

Accolades

''Road to Perdition'' was nominated for six Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor (Paul Newman), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography (Conrad L. Hall), Best Original Score (Thomas Newman), Best Sound, and Best Sound Editing. The sole award went to Hall for Cinematography.

The film was also nominated for BAFTA Awards for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Newman), Best Cinematography and Best Production Design, winning awards for the latter two. Hall also won an award from the American Society of Cinematographers for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases. In April 2006, ''Empire'' recognized ''Road to Perdition'' as number six in its list of the top 20 comic book films.

Home media

The author of the graphic novel, Max Allan Collins, was hired to write the novelization for the film adaptation. Collins initially turned in a draft that contained 90,000 words, but the licensing at DreamWorks required the author to use only the dialogue from the film and no additional dialogue. Collins reluctantly edited the novelization down to 50,000 words and later said he regretted taking on the task.

''Road to Perdition'' was released on DVD on February 25, 2003, in both full screen and anamorphic widescreen versions. The DVD's features included an audio commentary, deleted scenes, a HBO "Making of" documentary and a photo gallery. Work on the DVD began on the same day that the film's production began, and a collaborative effort among the director, the studio, and the DVD production crew shaped the DVD's content. Due to a limit of space on the DVD, the film's deleted scenes were chosen over a DTS soundtrack. Instead, the DVD included a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. A special edition DVD containing both DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks was also released, excluding the "Making of" documentary to fit both soundtracks.

''Road to Perdition'' was released on Blu-ray Disc on August 3, 2010, featuring a widescreen transfer, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and all of the features from the DVD release.

References

Further reading

External links

Cinematography coverage at American Cinematographer

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name	Bing Crosby
background	solo_singer
birth name	Harry Lillis Crosby
born	May 03, 1903Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
origin	Spokane, Washington, U.S.
died	October 14, 1977Madrid, Spain
instrument	Vocals
voice type	Baritone/Bass-baritone
genre	Traditional pop, jazz, vocal
occupation	Singer, actor
years active	1926–1977
label	Brunswick, Decca, Reprise, RCA Victor, Verve, United Artists
associated acts	Bob Hope, Dixie Lee, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire, The Rhythm Boys, Rosemary Clooney, David Bowie, Louis Armstrong
website	http://www.bingcrosby.com }}

Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation.

A multimedia star, from 1934 to 1954 Bing Crosby was a leader in record sales, radio ratings and motion picture grosses. His early career coincided with technical recording innovations; this allowed him to develop a laid-back, intimate singing style that influenced many of the popular male singers who followed him, including Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin. ''Yank'' magazine recognized Crosby as the person who had done the most for American G.I. morale during World War II and, during his peak years, around 1948, polls declared him the "most admired man alive," ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. Also in 1948, the ''Music Digest'' estimated that Crosby recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music.

Crosby exerted an important influence on the development of the postwar recording industry. He worked for NBC at the time and wanted to record his shows; however, most broadcast networks did not allow recording. This was mainly because of the quality of recording at the time. While in Europe performing during the war, Crosby had witnessed tape recording, on which The Crosby Research Foundation would come to have many patents. The company also developed equipment and recording techniques such as the Laugh Track which are still in use today. In 1947, he invested $50,000 in the Ampex company, which built North America's first commercial reel-to-reel tape recorder. He left NBC to work for ABC, because NBC was not interested in recording at the time. This proved beneficial because ABC accepted him and his new ideas. Crosby then became the first performer to pre-record his radio shows and master his commercial recordings onto magnetic tape. He gave one of the first Ampex Model 200 recorders to his friend, musician Les Paul, which led directly to Paul's invention of multitrack recording. Along with Frank Sinatra, Crosby was one of the principal backers behind the famous United Western Recorders recording studio complex in Los Angeles.

During the "Golden Age of Radio," performers often had to recreate their live shows a second time for the west coast time zone. Through the aegis of recording, Crosby constructed his radio programs with the same directorial tools and craftsmanship (editing, retaking, rehearsal, time shifting) being used in motion picture production. This became the industry standard.

Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Father Chuck O'Malley in the 1944 motion picture ''Going My Way'', and was nominated for his reprise of the role in ''The Bells of St. Mary's'' the next year, becoming the first of four actors to be nominated twice for playing the same character. In 1963, Crosby received the first Grammy Global Achievement Award. Crosby is one of the 22 people to have three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Early life

Crosby was born in Tacoma, Washington, on May 3, 1903, in a house his father built at 1112 North J Street. In 1906, Crosby's family moved to Spokane, Washington. In 1913, Crosby's father built a house at 508 E. Sharp Ave. The house now sits on the campus of Bing's alma mater Gonzaga University and formerly housed the Alumni Association.

He was the fourth of seven children: brothers Larry (1895–1975), Everett (1896–1966), Ted (1900–1973), Harry 'Bing' (1903–1977), and Bob (1913–1993); and two girls, Catherine (1904–1974) and Mary Rose (1906–1990). His parents, Harry Lincoln Crosby (1870–1950), an English-American bookkeeper, and Catherine Helen (known as Kate) Harrigan (1873–1964), who was a second generation Irish-American. Bing's paternal ancestors had emigrated to what would become the U.S. in the 17th century, and included Patience Brewster, the daughter of the Pilgrim leader and ''Mayflower'' passenger William Brewster, (c. 1567 – April 10, 1644).

In 1910, six-year-old Harry Crosby was forever renamed. The Sunday edition of the ''Spokesman-Review'' published a feature called "The Bingville Bugle". Written by humorist Newton Newkirk, ''The Bingville Bugle'' was a parody of a hillbilly newsletter filled with gossipy tidbits, minstrel quips, creative spelling, and mock ads. A neighbor, 15-year-old Valentine Hobart, shared Crosby's enthusiasm for "The Bugle" and noting Crosby's laugh, took a liking to him and called him "Bingo from Bingville". Eventually the last vowel was dropped and the nickname stuck.

In 1917, Crosby took a summer job as property boy at Spokane's "Auditorium," where he witnessed some of the finest acts of the day, including Al Jolson, who held Crosby spellbound with his ad libbing and spoofs of Hawaiian songs. Crosby later described Jolson's delivery as "electric".

Popular success

Music

By 1925, Crosby had formed a vocal duo with partner Al Rinker, brother of singer Mildred Bailey. Mildred introduced Al and Bing to Paul Whiteman, who was at that time America's most famous bandleader. Hired for $150 a week, they made their debut on December 6, 1926 at the Tivoli Theatre (Chicago). Their first recording was "I've Got The Girl," with Don Clark's Orchestra, but the Columbia-issued record did them no vocal favors, as it was inadvertently recorded at a speed slower than it should have been, which increased the singers' pitch when played at 78 rpm. Throughout his career, Bing Crosby often credited Mildred Bailey for getting him his first important job in the entertainment business.

Even as the Crosby and Rinker duo was increasing in popularity, Whiteman added a third member to the group. The threesome, now including pianist and aspiring songwriter Harry Barris, were dubbed "The Rhythm Boys". They joined the Whiteman touring act, performing and recording with musicians Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagarden, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, and Eddie Lang and Hoagy Carmichael, and appeared together in a Whiteman movie.

Crosby soon became the star attraction of the Rhythm Boys, and in 1928 had his first number one hit with the Whiteman orchestra, a jazz-influenced rendition of "Ol' Man River". However, Crosby's reported taste for alcohol and his growing dissatisfaction with Whiteman led to the Rhythm Boys quitting to join the Gus Arnheim Orchestra. During his time with Arnheim, the other two Rhythm Boys were increasingly pushed to the background as the emphasis was on Crosby. Harry Barris wrote several of Crosby's subsequent hits including "At Your Command," "I Surrender Dear", and "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams". But the members of the band had a falling out and split, setting the stage for Crosby's solo career.

On September 2, 1931, Crosby made his solo radio debut. Before the end of the year, he signed with both Brunswick Records and CBS Radio. Doing a weekly 15-minute radio broadcast, Crosby quickly became a huge hit. His songs "Out of Nowhere", "Just One More Chance", "At Your Command" and "I Found a Million Dollar Baby (in a Five and Ten Cent Store)" were all among the best selling songs of 1931.

As the 1930s unfolded, Crosby became the leading singer in America. Ten of the top 50 songs for 1931 featured Crosby, either solo or with others. A so-called "Battle of the Baritones" with singing star Russ Columbo proved short-lived, replaced with the slogan "Bing Was King." Crosby played the lead in a series of sound era musical comedy short films for Mack Sennett, signed a long-term deal with Jack Kapp's new record company Decca, and starred in his first full-length feature, 1932's ''The Big Broadcast'', the first of 55 films in which he received top billing. He would appear in 79 pictures.

Around this time Crosby co-starred on radio with The Carl Fenton Orchestra on a popular CBS radio show. By 1936, he'd replaced his former boss, Paul Whiteman, as the host of NBC's ''Kraft Music Hall'', the weekly radio program where he remained for the next ten years. "Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day)", which also showcased one of his then-trademark whistling interludes, became his theme song and signature tune.

Crosby's much-imitated style helped take popular singing beyond the kind of "belting" associated with boisterous performers like Al Jolson, who had been obliged to reach the back seats in New York theatres without the aid of the microphone. As Henry Pleasants noted in ''The Great American Popular Singers'', something new had entered American music, a style that might be called "singing in American," with conversational ease. This new sound led to the popular epithet "crooner". Crosby made numerous live appearances before American troops fighting in the European Theater. He also learned how to pronounce German from written scripts, and would read propaganda broadcasts intended for the German forces. The nickname "Der Bingle" for him was understood to have become current among Crosby's German listeners, and came to be used by his English-speaking fans. In a poll of U.S. troops at the close of World War II, Crosby topped the list as the person who had done the most for G.I. morale, ahead of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, General Dwight Eisenhower, and Bob Hope.

"White Christmas"

The biggest hit of Crosby's career was his recording of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas", which he introduced through a radio broadcast during the 1942 Christmas season, and the movie ''Holiday Inn''. Crosby's recording hit the charts on October 3, 1942, and rose to #1 on October 31, where it stayed for 11 weeks. A holiday perennial, the song was repeatedly re-released by Decca, charting another 16 times. It topped the charts again in 1945, and for a third time in January 1947. The song remains the best-selling single of all time. According to Guinness World Records, Crosby's recording of "White Christmas" has "sold over 100 million copies around the world, with at least 50 million sales as singles." Crosby's recording was so popular that he was obliged to re-record it in 1947 using the same musicians and backup singers; the original 1942 master had become damaged due to its frequent use in pressing additional singles. Though the two versions are very similar, it is the 1947 recording which is most familiar today. Crosby was dismissive of his role in the song's success, saying later that "a jackdaw with a cleft palate could have sung it successfully."

Motion pictures

''See Bing Crosby filmography'' With 1,077,900,000 movie tickets sold, Crosby is by that measure the third most popular actor of all time, behind Clark Gable and John Wayne. The Quigley Publishing Company's ''International Motion Picture Almanac'' lists Crosby in a tie for second on the "All Time Number One Stars List" with Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, and Burt Reynolds. Crosby's most popular film, ''White Christmas'', grossed $30 million in 1954 ($}} million in current value). Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Actor for ''Going My Way'' in 1944, and was nominated for the 1945 sequel, ''The Bells of Saint Mary's''. He received critical acclaim for his performance as an alcoholic entertainer in ''The Country Girl'', and received his third Academy Award nomination.

Crosby starred with Bob Hope in seven ''Road to'' musical comedies between 1940 and 1962, cementing the two entertainers as an on-and-off duo, despite never officially declaring themselves a "team" in the sense that Laurel and Hardy or Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were teams. The series consists of ''Road to Singapore'' (1940), ''Road to Zanzibar'' (1941), ''Road to Morocco'' (1942), ''Road to Utopia'' (1946), ''Road to Rio'' (1947), ''Road to Bali'' (1952), and ''The Road to Hong Kong'' (1962), and Crosby and Hope were planning another entry called ''The Road to the Fountain of Youth'' in 1977, which was dropped upon Crosby's death. Appearing solo, Crosby and Hope frequently made note of the other during their various appearances, typically in a comically insulting fashion, and they appeared together countless times on stage, radio, and television over the decades as well as cameos in several additional films.

By the late 1950s, Crosby's singing career had evolved into that of an avuncular elder statesman, and his albums ''Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings'' and ''Bing With A Beat'' sold reasonably well, even in the rock 'n roll era. In 1960, Crosby starred in ''High Time'', a collegiate comedy with Fabian and Tuesday Weld that foretold the emerging gap between older Crosby fans and a new generation of films and music.

Television

''The Fireside Theater'' (1950) was Crosby's first television production. The series of 26-minute shows was filmed at Hal Roach Studios rather than performed live on the air. The "telefilms" were syndicated to individual television stations.

Crosby was a frequent guest on the musical variety shows of the 1950s and 1960s. He was especially closely associated with ABC's variety show ''The Hollywood Palace''. He was the show's first and most frequent guest host, and appeared annually on its Christmas edition with his wife Kathryn and his younger children. In the early 1970s he made two famous late appearances on the ''Flip Wilson Show'', singing duets with the comedian. Crosby's last TV appearance was a Christmas special filmed in London in September 1977 and aired just weeks after his death. It was on this special that Crosby recorded a duet of "Little Drummer Boy" with the flamboyant rock star David Bowie. It was first released as a single five years later, and has since become a staple of holiday radio, and the final popular hit of Crosby's career. At the end of the century, ''TV Guide'' listed the Crosby-Bowie duet as one of the 25 most memorable musical moments of 20th century television.

Bing Crosby Productions, affiliated with Desilu Studios and later CBS Television Studios, produced a number of television series, including Crosby's own unsuccessful ABC sitcom ''The Bing Crosby Show'' in the 1964–1965 season (with co-stars Beverly Garland and Frank McHugh). The company produced two ABC medical dramas, ''Ben Casey'' (1961–1966) and ''Breaking Point'' (1963–1964), the popular ''Hogan's Heroes'' (1965–1971) military comedy on CBS, as well as the lesser-known show ''Slattery's People'' (1964–1965).

Singing style and vocal characteristics

Crosby was one of the first singers to exploit the intimacy of the microphone, rather than using the deep, loud "vaudeville style" associated with Al Jolson and others. Crosby's love and appreciation of jazz music helped bring the genre to a wider mainstream audience. Within the framework of the novelty singing style of The Rhythm Boys, Crosby bent notes and added off-tune phrasing, an approach that was firmly rooted in jazz. He'd already been introduced to Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith prior to his first appearance on record. Crosby and Armstrong would remain professionally friendly for decades, notably in the 1956 film ''High Society'', where they sang the duet "Now You Has Jazz."

During the early portion of his solo career (about 1931-1934), Crosby's emotional, often pleading style of crooning was extremely popular. But Jack Kapp (manager of Brunswick and later Decca) talked Crosby into dropping many of his jazzier mannerisms, in favor of a straight-ahead clear vocal style.

Crosby also elaborated on a further idea of Al Jolson's: phrasing, or the art of making a song's lyric ring true. His success in doing so was influential. "I used to tell Sinatra over and over," said Tommy Dorsey, "there's only one singer you ought to listen to and his name is Crosby. All that matters to him is the words, and that's the only thing that ought to for you, too."

Vocal critic Henry Pleasants wrote: :"[While] the octave B flat to B flat in Bing's voice at that time [1930s] is, to my ears, one of the loveliest I have heard in forty-five years of listening to baritones, both classical and popular, it dropped conspicuously in later years. From the mid-1950s, Bing was more comfortable in a bass range while maintaining a baritone quality, with the best octave being G to G, or even F to F. In a recording he made of 'Dardanella' with Louis Armstrong in 1960, he attacks lightly and easily on a low E flat. This is lower than most opera basses care to venture, and they tend to sound as if they were in the cellar when they get there."

Career statistics

Crosby's was among the most popular and successful musical acts of the 20th century. Although Billboard Magazine operated under different methodologies for the bulk of Crosby's career, his chart numbers remain astonishing: 383 chart singles, including 41 #1 hits. Crosby had separate charting singles in every calendar year between 1931 and 1954; the annual re-release of "White Christmas" extended that streak to 1957. He had 24 separate popular singles in 1939 alone. Billboard's statistician Joel Whitburn determined Crosby to be America's most successful recording act of the 1930s, and again in the 1940s.

thumb|left|250px|Crosby with Danny Kaye in ''[[White Christmas (film)|White Christmas'' (1954)]]For 15 years (1934, 1937, 1940, 1943–1954), Crosby was among the top 10 in box office drawing power, and for five of those years (1944–1948) he was tops in the world. He sang four Academy Award-winning songs – "Sweet Leilani" (1937), "White Christmas" (1942), "Swinging on a Star" (1944), "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" (1951) – and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in ''Going My Way'' (1944).

He collected 23 gold and platinum records, according to the book ''Million Selling Records.'' The Recording Industry Association of America did not institute its gold record certification program until 1958, by which point Crosby's record sales were barely a blip; prior to that point, gold records are awarded by an artist's own record company. Universal Music, current owner of Crosby's Decca catalog, has never requested RIAA certification for any of his hit singles.

In 1962, Crosby was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been inducted into the halls of fame for both radio and popular music. In 2007 Crosby was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame, and in 2008 into the Western Music Hall of Fame.

Entrepreneurship

Mass media

Crosby's radio career took a significant turn in 1945, when he clashed with NBC over his insistence that he be allowed to pre-record his radio shows. (The live production of radio shows was also reinforced by the musicians' union and ASCAP, which wanted to ensure continued work for their members.) In ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio'', historian John Dunning wrote about German engineers having developed a tape recorder with a near-professional broadcast quality standard: :"[Crosby saw] an enormous advantage in prerecording his radio shows. The scheduling could now be done at the star's convenience. He could do four shows a week, if he chose, and then take a month off. But the networks and sponsors were adamantly opposed. The public wouldn't stand for 'canned' radio, the networks argued. There was something magic for listeners in the fact that what they were hearing was being performed, and heard everywhere, at that precise instant. Some of the best moments in comedy came when a line was blown and the star had to rely on wit to rescue a bad situation. Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Phil Harris, and, yes, Crosby were masters at this, and the networks weren't about to give it up easily."

Crosby's insistence eventually factored into the further development of magnetic tape sound recording and the radio industry's widespread adoption of it. He used his clout, both professional and financial, to innovate new methods of reproducing audio of his performances. But NBC (and competitor CBS) were also insistent, refusing to air prerecorded radio programs. Crosby walked away from the network and stayed off the air for seven months, creating a legal battle with Kraft, his sponsor, that was settled out of court. Crosby returned to the air for the last 13 weeks of the 1945–1946 season.

The Mutual network, on the other hand, had pre-recorded some of its programs as early as the 1938 run of ''The Shadow'' with Orson Welles. And the new ABC network, which had been formed out of the sale of the old NBC Blue network in 1943 following a federal anti-trust action, was willing to join Mutual in breaking the tradition. ABC offered Crosby $30,000 per week to produce a recorded show every Wednesday that would be sponsored by Philco. He would also get an additional $40,000 from 400 independent stations for the rights to broadcast the 30-minute show, which was sent to them every Monday on three 16-inch lacquer/aluminum discs that played ten minutes per side at 33⅓ rpm.

Crosby wanted to change to recorded production for several reasons. The legend that has been most often told is that it would give him more time for his golf game. And he did record his first Philco program in August 1947 so he could enter the Jasper National Park Invitational Golf Tournament in September, just when the new radio season was to start. But golf was not the most important reason.

Though Crosby did want more time to tend his other business and leisure activities, he also sought better quality through recording, including being able to eliminate mistakes and control the timing of his show performances. Because his own Bing Crosby Enterprises produced the show, he could purchase the latest and best sound equipment and arrange the microphones his way; the logistics of mic placement had long been a hotly debated issue in every recording studio since the beginning of the electrical era. No longer would he have to wear the hated toupee on his head previously required by CBS and NBC for his live audience shows (he preferred a hat). He could also record short promotions for his latest investment, the world's first frozen orange juice, sold under the brand name Minute Maid. This investment allowed Crosby to make more money by finding a loophole whereby the IRS couldn't tax him at a 77% rate.

The transcription method posed problems, however. The acetate surface coating of the aluminum discs was little better than the wax that Edison had used at the turn of the century, with the same limited dynamic range and frequency response.

But Murdo MacKenzie of Bing Crosby Enterprises had seen a demonstration of the German Magnetophon in June 1947—the same device that Jack Mullin had brought back from Radio Frankfurt, along with 50 reels of tape, at the end of the war. It was one of the magnetic tape recorders that BASF and AEG had built in Germany starting in 1935. The 6.5mm ferric-oxide-coated tape could record 20 minutes per reel of high-quality sound. Alexander M. Poniatoff ordered his Ampex company, which he'd founded in 1944, to manufacture an improved version of the Magnetophone.

Crosby hired Mullin to start recording his ''Philco Radio Time'' show on his German-made machine in August 1947, using the same 50 reels of I.G. Farben magnetic tape that Mullin had found at a radio station at Bad Nauheim near Frankfurt while working for the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The crucial advantage was editing. As Crosby wrote in his autobiography: :"By using tape, I could do a thirty-five or forty-minute show, then edit it down to the twenty-six or twenty-seven minutes the program ran. In that way, we could take out jokes, gags, or situations that didn't play well and finish with only the prime meat of the show; the solid stuff that played big. We could also take out the songs that didn't sound good. It gave us a chance to first try a recording of the songs in the afternoon without an audience, then another one in front of a studio audience. We'd dub the one that came off best into the final transcription. It gave us a chance to ad lib as much as we wanted, knowing that excess ad libbing could be sliced from the final product. If I made a mistake in singing a song or in the script, I could have some fun with it, then retain any of the fun that sounded amusing."

Mullin's 1976 memoir of these early days of experimental recording agrees with Crosby's account: :"In the evening, Crosby did the whole show before an audience. If he muffed a song then, the audience loved it – thought it was very funny – but we would have to take out the show version and put in one of the rehearsal takes. Sometimes, if Crosby was having fun with a song and not really working at it, we had to make it up out of two or three parts. This ad lib way of working is commonplace in the recording studios today, but it was all new to us."

Crosby invested US$50,000 in Ampex with an eye towards producing more machines. In 1948, the second season of Philco shows was taped with the new Ampex Model 200 tape recorder using the new Scotch 111 tape from the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) company. Mullin explained how one new broadcasting technique was invented on the Crosby show with these machines: :"One time Bob Burns, the hillbilly comic, was on the show, and he threw in a few of his folksy farm stories, which of course were not in Bill Morrow's script. Today they wouldn't seem very off-color, but things were different on radio then. They got enormous laughs, which just went on and on. We couldn't use the jokes, but Bill asked us to save the laughs. A couple of weeks later he had a show that wasn't very funny, and he insisted that we put in the salvaged laughs. Thus the laugh-track was born." Crosby had launched the tape recorder revolution in America. In his 1950 film ''Mr. Music'', Bing Crosby is seen singing into one of the new Ampex tape recorders that reproduced his voice better than anything else. Also quick to adopt tape recording was his friend Bob Hope.

Mullin continued to work for Crosby to develop a videotape recorder (VTR). Television production was mostly live television in its early years, but Crosby wanted the same ability to record that he had achieved in radio. 1950's ''The Fireside Theater'', sponsored by Procter and Gamble, was his first television production. Mullin had not yet succeeded with video tape, so Crosby filmed the series of 26-minute shows at the Hal Roach Studios, and the "telefilms" were syndicated to individual television stations.

Crosby did not remain a television producer, but continued to finance the development of videotape. Bing Crosby Enterprises (BCE), gave the world's first demonstration of videotape recording in Los Angeles on November 11, 1951. Developed by John T. Mullin and Wayne R. Johnson since 1950, the device aired what were described as "blurred and indistinct" images, using a modified Ampex 200 tape recorder and standard quarter-inch (6.3 mm) audio tape moving at 360 inches (9.1 m) per second.

TV stations

A Bing Crosby-led group purchased KCOP-TV station in 1954. NAFI Corporation and Bing Crosby purchase together the television station, KPTV, for $4 million on September 1, 1959. In 1960, NAFI purchased KCOP from Crosby's group.

Thoroughbred horse racing

Crosby was a fan of thoroughbred horse racing and bought his first racehorse in 1935. In 1937, he became a founding partner of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and a member of its Board of Directors. Operating from the Del Mar Racetrack at Del Mar, California, the group included millionaire businessman Charles S. Howard, who owned a successful racing stable that included Seabiscuit. His son, Lindsay Howard, became one of Crosby's closest friends; Crosby named his son Lindsay after him, and would purchase his 40-room Hillsborough estate from Lindsay in 1965.

Crosby and Lindsay Howard formed Binglin Stable to race and breed thoroughbred horses at a ranch in Moorpark in Ventura County, California. They also established the Binglin stock farm in Argentina, where they raced horses at Hipódromo de Palermo in Palermo, Buenos Aires. A number of Argentine-bred horses were purchased and shipped to race in the United States. On August 12, 1938, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club hosted a $25,000 winner-take-all match race won by Charles S. Howard's Seabiscuit over Binglin's horse Ligaroti. In 1943, Binglin's horse Don Bingo won the Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

The Binglin Stable partnership came to an end in 1953 as a result of a liquidation of assets by Crosby, who needed to raise enough funds to pay the hefty federal and state inheritance taxes on his deceased wife's estate. The Bing Crosby Breeders' Cup Handicap at Del Mar Racetrack is named in his honor.

Crosby was also a co-owner of the British colt Meadow Court, with jockey Johnny Longden's friend Max Bell . Meadow Court won the 1965 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and the Irish Derby. In the Irish Derby's winner's circle at the Curragh, Crosby sang "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling."

Though Crosby's stables had some success, he often joked about his horseracing failures as part of his radio appearances. "Crosby's horse finally came in" became a running gag.

Crosby the sportsman

Crosby had an interest in sports. In the 1930s, his friend and former college classmate, Gonzaga head coach Mike Pecarovich appointed Crosby as an assistant football coach. From 1946 until the end of his life, he was part-owner of baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates. Although he was passionate about his team, he was too nervous to watch the deciding Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, choosing to go to Paris with Kathryn and listen to the game on the radio. But Crosby had the NBC telecast of the game recorded on kinescope. The game was one of the most famous in baseball history, capped off by Bill Mazeroski's walk-off home run. He apparently viewed the complete film just once, and then stored it in his wine cellar, where it remained undisturbed until it was discovered in December 2009. The restored broadcast was shown on MLB Network in December 2010.

Crosby was also an avid golfer, and in 1978, he and Bob Hope were voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship. He is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Since 1937, the 'Crosby Clambake' as it was popularly known—now the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am—has been a leading event in the world of professional golf.

Crosby first took up golf at 12 as a caddy, dropped it, and started again in 1930 with some fellow cast members in Hollywood during the filming of ''The King of Jazz''. Crosby was accomplished at the sport, with a two handicap. He competed in both the British and U.S. Amateur championships, was a five-time club champion at Lakeside Golf Club in Hollywood, and once made a hole-in-one on the 16th at Cypress Point.

Personal life

Crosby was married twice, first to actress/nightclub singer Dixie Lee from 1930 until her death from ovarian cancer in 1952. They had four sons: Gary, twins Dennis and Phillip, and Lindsay. The 1947 film ''Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman'' is indirectly based on her life. After Dixie's death, Crosby had relationships with actresses Inger Stevens and Grace Kelly before marrying the actress Kathryn Grant in 1957. They had three children: Harry (who played Bill in ''Friday the 13th''), Mary (best known for portraying Kristin Shepard, the woman who shot J.R. Ewing on TV's ''Dallas''), and Nathaniel.

Kathryn converted to Catholicism in order to marry the singer. Crosby was also a registered Republican, and actively campaigned for Wendell Willkie in 1940 against President Roosevelt, arguing that no man should serve more than two terms in the White House. After Willkie lost, Crosby decreed that he would never again make any open political contributions.

Crosby reportedly had an alcohol problem in his youth, and may have been dismissed from Paul Whiteman's orchestra because of it, but he later got a handle on his drinking. ''Village Voice'' jazz critic and Crosby biographer Gary Giddins says that Louis Armstrong's influence on Crosby "extended to his love of marijuana." Crosby smoked it during his early career when it was still legal, and "surprised interviewers" in the 1960s and 70s by advocating its decriminalization. According to Giddins, Crosby told his son Gary to stay away from alcohol ("It killed your mother") and suggested he smoke pot instead. Gary said, "There were other times when marijuana was mentioned and he'd get a smile on his face." Gary thought his father's pot smoking had influenced his easygoing style in his films. Crosby finally quit smoking his pipe following lung surgery in 1974.

After Crosby's death, his eldest son, Gary, wrote a highly critical memoir, ''Going My Own Way'', depicting his father as cold, remote, and both physically and psychologically abusive. Two of Crosby's other sons, Lindsay and Dennis, sided with Gary's claim and stated Crosby abused them as well. Dennis also stated that Crosby would abuse Gary the most often.

Gary Crosby wrote: :"We had to keep a close watch on our actions... When one of us left a sneaker or pair of underpants lying around, he had to tie the offending object on a string and wear it around his neck until he went off to bed that night. Dad called it "the Crosby lavalier." At the time the humor of the name escaped me...

:"Satchel Ass" or "Bucket Butt" or "My Fat-assed Kid." That's how he introduced me to his cronies when he dragged me along to the studio or racetrack... By the time I was ten or eleven he had stepped up his campaign by adding lickings to the regimen. Each Tuesday afternoon he weighed me in, and if the scale read more than it should have, he ordered me into his office and had me drop my trousers... I dropped my pants, pulled down my undershorts and bent over. Then he went at it with the belt dotted with metal studs he kept reserved for the occasion. Quite dispassionately, without the least display of emotion or loss of self-control, he whacked away until he drew the first drop of blood, and then he stopped. It normally took between twelve and fifteen strokes. As they came down I counted them off one by one and hoped I would bleed early...

:When I saw ''Going My Way'' I was as moved as they were by the character he played. Father O'Malley handled that gang of young hooligans in his parish with such kindness and wisdom that I thought he was wonderful too. Instead of coming down hard on the kids and withdrawing his affection, he forgave them their misdeeds, took them to the ball game and picture show, taught them how to sing. By the last reel, the sheer persistence of his goodness had transformed even the worst of them into solid citizens. Then the lights came on and the movie was over. All the way back to the house I thought about the difference between the person up there on the screen and the one I knew at home."

It was revealed that Crosby's will had established a blind trust, with none of the sons receiving an inheritance until they reached the age of 65.

However, younger son Phillip vociferously disputed his brother Gary's claims about their father. Around the time Gary made his claim, Phillip stated to the press that "Gary is a whining...crybaby, walking around with a 2-by-4 and just daring people to nudge it off." However, Phillip did not deny that Crosby believed in corporal punishment. In an interview with People Magazine, Phillip stated that "we never got an extra whack or a cuff we didn't deserve." In an interview conducted in 1999 by the Globe, Phillip said: :"My dad was not the monster my lying brother said he was; he was strict, but my father never beat us black and blue, and my brother Gary was a vicious, no-good liar for saying so. I have nothing but fond memories of Dad, going to studios with him, family vacations at our cabin in Idaho, boating and fishing with him.

:To my dying day, I'll hate Gary for dragging Dad's name through the mud. He wrote ''Going My Own Way'' out of greed. He wanted to make money and knew that humiliating our father and blackening his name was the only way he could do it. He knew it would generate a lot of publicity. That was the only way he could get his ugly, no-talent face on television and in the newspapers.

:My dad was my hero. I loved him very much. He loved all of us too, including Gary. He was a great father." Gary Crosby died in 1995 at the age of 62, and 69-year-old Phillip Crosby died in 2004.

Lindsay and Dennis Crosby each committed suicide, shooting themselves with shotguns in 1989 and 1991, respectively. Nathaniel Crosby, Crosby's youngest son from his second marriage, was a high-level golfer who won the U.S. Amateur at age 19 in 1981, at the time the youngest-ever winner of that event (a record later broken by Tiger Woods). Harry Crosby is an investment banker who occasionally makes singing appearances.

Widow Kathryn Crosby dabbled in local theater productions intermittently, and appeared in television tributes to her late husband. Denise Crosby, Dennis Crosby's daughter, is also an actress and is known for her role as Tasha Yar on ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', and for the recurring role of the Romulan Sela (daughter of Tasha Yar) after her withdrawal from the series as a regular cast member. She also appeared in the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel ''Pet Sematary''. In 2006, Crosby's niece, Carolyn Schneider, published the laudatory book "Me and Uncle Bing."

Failing health and death

Following his recovery from a life-threatening fungal infection of his right lung in 1974, Crosby emerged from semi-retirement to start a new spate of albums and concerts. In March 1977, after videotaping a concert for CBS to commemorate his 50th anniversary in show business and with a horrified Bob Hope looking on, Crosby backed off the stage and fell into an orchestra pit, rupturing a disc in his back and requiring a month in the hospital. His first performance after the accident was his last American concert, on August 16, 1977; when the power went out, he continued singing without amplification. In September, Crosby, his family, and singer Rosemary Clooney began a concert tour of England that included two weeks at the London Palladium. While in England, Crosby recorded his final album, ''Seasons'', and his final TV Christmas special with guest David Bowie. His last concert was in The Brighton Centre four days before his death, with British entertainer Dame Gracie Fields in attendance. Crosby's last photograph was taken with Fields.

At the conclusion of his work in England, Crosby flew alone to Spain to hunt and play golf. Shortly after 6 p.m. on October 14, Crosby collapsed and died of a massive heart attack after a round of 18 holes of golf near Madrid where he and his Spanish golfing partner had just defeated their opponents. It is widely written that his last words were "That was a great game of golf, fellas." In ''Bob Hope's Confessions of a Hooker: My Lifelong Love Affair With Golf'', the comedian recounts hearing that Crosby had been advised by a physician in England to play only nine holes of golf because of his heart condition.

Legacy

He is a member of the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in the radio division.

The family launched an official website on October 14, 2007, the 30th anniversary of Crosby's death.

In his 1990 autobiography ''Don't Shoot, It's Only Me!'' Bob Hope wrote, "Dear old Bing. As we called him, the ''Economy-sized Sinatra''. And what a voice. God I miss that voice. I can't even turn on the radio around Christmas time without crying anymore."

Calypso musician Roaring Lion wrote a tribute song in 1939 entitled "Bing Crosby", in which he wrote: "Bing has a way of singing with his very heart and soul / Which captivates the world / His millions of listeners never fail to rejoice / At his golden voice..."

Compositions

Crosby co-wrote lyrics to 15 songs. His composition "At Your Command" was no.1 for three weeks on the U.S. pop singles chart beginning on August 8, 1931. "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You" was his most successful composition, recorded by Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Thelonious Monk, Billie Holiday, and Mildred Bailey, among others. Songs co-wrotten by Crosby include:

#"That's Grandma" (1927), with Harry Barris and James Cavanaugh #"From Monday On" (1928), with Harry Barris and recorded with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra featuring Bix Beiderbecke on cornet, no. 14 on US pop singles charts #"What Price Lyrics?" (1928), with Harry Barris and Matty Malneck #"At Your Command" (1931), with Harry Barris and Harry Tobias, US, no. 1 (3 weeks) #"Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day)" (1931), with Roy Turk and Fred Ahlert, US, no. 4; US, 1940 re-recording, no. 27 #"I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You" (1932), with Victor Young and Ned Washington, US, no. 5 #"My Woman" (1932), with Irving Wallman and Max Wartell #"Love Me Tonight" (1932), with Victor Young and Ned Washington, US, no. 4 #"Waltzing in a Dream" (1932), with Victor Young and Ned Washington, US, no.6 #"I Would If I Could But I Can't" (1933), with Mitchell Parish and Alan Grey #"Where the Turf Meets the Surf" (1941) #"Tenderfoot" (1953) #"Domenica" (1961) #"That's What Life is All About" (1975), with Ken Barnes, Peter Dacre, and Les Reed, US, AC chart, no. 35; UK, no. 41 #"Sail Away to Norway" (1977)

Filmography

Discography

Radio

The Radio Singers (1931, CBS), sponsored by Warner Brothers, 6 nights a week, 15 minutes.

''The Cremo Singer'' (1931–1932, CBS), 6 nights a week, 15 minutes.

Unsponsored (1932, CBS), initially 3 nights a week, then twice a week, 15 minutes.

''Chesterfield's Music that Satisfies'' (1933, CBS), broadcast two nights, 15 minutes.

''Bing Crosby Entertains for Woodbury Soap'' (1933–1935, CBS), weekly, 30 minutes.

''Kraft Music Hall'' (1935–1946, NBC), Thursday nights, 60 minutes until Jan. 1943, then 30 minutes.

Armed Forces Radio (1941–1945; World War II).

''Philco Radio Time'' (1946–1949, ABC), 30 minutes weekly.

''The Bing Crosby Chesterfield Show'' (1949–1952, CBS), 30 minutes weekly.

''The Minute Maid Show'' (1949–1950, CBS), 15 minutes each weekday morning; Bing as disc jockey.

''The General Electric Show'' (1952–1954, CBS), 30 minutes weekly.

''The Bing Crosby Show'' (1954–1956, CBS), 15 minutes, 5 nights a week.

''A Christmas Sing with Bing'' (1955–1962, CBS, VOA and AFRS), 1 hour each year, sponsored by the Insurance Company of North America.

''The Ford Road Show'' (1957–1958, CBS), 5 minutes, 5 days a week.

''The Bing Crosby – Rosemary Clooney Show'' (1958–1962, CBS), 20 minutes, 5 mornings a week, with Rosemary Clooney.

RIAA certification

{| style="background:none" cellpadding="2" |- ! style="width:30%; background:white;"|Album ! style="width:20%; background:white;"|RIAA |- |Merry Christmas |Gold |- |Bing sings |2x platinum |- |White Christmas |4x platinum |}

References

;Bibliography

Macfarlane, Malcolm. ''Bing Crosby – Day By Day''. Scarecrow Press, 2001.

Osterholm, J. Roger. ''Bing Crosby: A Bio-Bibliography''. Greenwood Press, 1994.

Prigozy, R. & Raubicheck, W., ed. ''Going My Way: Bing Crosby and American Culture''. The Boydell Press, 2007.

External links

The Official Bing Crosby Website

Bing Crosby Collection at Gonzaga University

BING magazine (a publication of the ICC)

Bing Crosby Official 10" (78Rpm) Discography

A Bing Crosby Session based discography

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birth name	Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton
birth date	December 10, 1914
birth place	New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
death date	September 22, 1996
death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
occupation	Actress
years active	1933—94
website	http://dorothylamour.com/
spouse	Herbie Kay (1935–39)William Ross Howard III (1943–78) 2 children }}

Dorothy Lamour (December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the ''Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope (see Timeline of major beauty pageants) .

Early life

Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise (née LaPorte) and John Watson Slaton, both of whom were waiters. Lamour was of French Louisianan, Spanish and Irish descent. Her parents' marriage lasted only a few years, with her mother re-marrying to Clarence Lambour, and Dorothy took his last name. That marriage also ended in divorce when Dorothy was a teenager.

In 1935, she had her own fifteen-minute weekly musical program on NBC Radio. She also sang on the popular Rudy Vallee radio show and the Chase and Sanborn Hour.

Early in her career, Lamour met J. Edgar Hoover, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. According to Hoover's biographer Richard Hack, Hoover pursued Lamour romantically, but she was initially interested only in friendship with him. Hoover and Lamour remained close friends to the end of Hoover's life, and after his 1972 death, Lamour did not deny rumors that she'd had an affair with him in the years after she divorced Kay. However, this appears nowhere in her memoirs "My Side of the Road" (Prentice-Hall ISBN 0-13-218594-6).

Career

In 1936, she moved to Hollywood and began appearing regularly in films for Paramount Pictures. The role that made her a star was ''Ulah'' (a sort of female Tarzan) in ''The Jungle Princess'' (1936). She wore a sarong, which would become associated with her. While she first achieved stardom as a sex symbol, Lamour also showed talent as both a comic and dramatic actress. She was among the most popular actresses in motion pictures from 1936 to 1952. She starred in the "''Road to...''" movie series with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope in the 1940s and 1950s. The movies were enormously popular during the 1940s, and they regularly placed among the top moneymaking films each year. While the films centered more on Hope and Crosby, Lamour held her own as their "straight man", looked beautiful, and sang some of her most popular songs. Her contribution to the films was considered by the public and theater owners of equal importance to that of Crosby and Hope during the series' golden era, 1940-1952. The series essentially ended with the release of ''Road to Bali'' in 1952, with her career declining while co-stars Hope and Crosby remained major show business figures.

During the World War II years, Lamour was among the most popular pinup girls among American servicemen, along with Betty Grable, Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner and Veronica Lake. Lamour was also largely responsible for starting up the war bond tours in which movie stars would travel the country selling U.S. government bonds to the public. Lamour alone promoted the sale of over $21 million dollars worth of war bonds, and other stars promoted the sale of a billion more.

Some of Lamour's other notable films include John Ford's ''The Hurricane'' (1937), ''Spawn of the North'' (1938; with George Raft, Henry Fonda, and John Barrymore), ''Disputed Passage'' (1939), ''Johnny Apollo'' (1940; with Tyrone Power), ''Aloma of the South Seas'' (1941), ''Beyond the Blue Horizon'' (1942), ''Dixie'' (1943; with Bing Crosby), ''A Medal for Benny'' (1945), ''My Favorite Brunette'' (1947; with Bob Hope), ''On Our Merry Way'' (1948) and the best picture Oscar-winner ''The Greatest Show on Earth'' (1952; with Charlton Heston). Her other leading men included William Holden, Ray Milland, James Stewart, Jack Benny, and Fred MacMurray.

Dorothy Lamour starred in a number of movie musicals and sang in many of her comedies and dramatic films as well. She introduced a number of standards, including "The Moon of Manakoora", "I Remember You", "It Could Happen to You", "Personality", and "But Beautiful".

Lamour's film career petered out in the early 1950s, and she began a new career as a nightclub entertainer and occasional stage actress. In the 1960s, she returned to the screen for secondary roles in three films and became more active in the legitimate theater, headlining a road company of ''Hello Dolly!'' for over a year near the end of the decade.

Later career

Lamour's good humor and lack of pretension allowed her to have a remarkably long career in show business for someone best known as a glamour girl. She was a popular draw on the dinner theatre circuit of the 1970s. In the 1960s and 1970s, she lived with her longtime husband William Ross Howard III (whom she married in 1943), in the Baltimore suburb of Sudbrook Park. He died in 1978. Lamour published her autobiography ''My Side of the Road'' in 1980, revived her nightclub act, and performed in plays and television shows such as ''Hart to Hart'', ''Crazy Like a Fox'', ''Remington Steele'' and ''Murder, She Wrote''.

During the 1990s, she made only a handful of professional appearances but she remained a popular interview subject for publications and TV talk and news programs. In 1995, the musical ''Swinging on a Star'', a revue of songs written by Johnny Burke opened on Broadway and ran for three months; Lamour was credited as a "special advisor". Burke wrote many of the most famous "''Road to...''" movie songs as well as the score to Lamour's ''And the Angels Sing''. The musical was nominated for the Best Musical Tony Award and the actress playing "Dorothy Lamour" in the Road movie segment, Kathy Fitzgerald, was also nominated.

Death

Lamour died at her home in North Hollywood, California at the age of 81 from a heart attack. She was interred in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

Features

''Footlight Parade'' (1933)

''College Holiday'' (1936)

''The Jungle Princess'' (1936)

''Swing High, Swing Low'' (1937)

''The Last Train from Madrid'' (1937)

''High, Wide, and Handsome'' (1937)

''The Hurricane'' (1937)

''Thrill of a Lifetime'' (1937)

''The Big Broadcast of 1938'' (1938)

''Her Jungle Love'' (1938)

''Tropic Holiday'' (1938)

''Spawn of the North'' (1938)

''St. Louis Blues'' (1939)

''Man About Town'' (1939)

''Disputed Passage'' (1939)

''Road to Singapore'' (1940)

''Johnny Apollo'' (1940)

''Typhoon'' (1940)

''Moon Over Burma'' (1940)

''Chad Hanna'' (1940)

''Road to Zanzibar'' (1941)

''Caught in the Draft'' (1941)

''Aloma of the South Seas'' (1941)

''The Fleet's In'' (1942)

''Beyond the Blue Horizon'' (1942)

''Road to Morocco'' (1942)

''Star Spangled Rhythm'' (1942)

''They Got Me Covered'' (1943)

''Dixie'' (1943)

''Riding High'' (1943)

''And the Angels Sing'' (1944)

''Rainbow Island'' (1944)

''A Medal for Benny'' (1945)

''Duffy's Tavern'' (1945)

''Masquerade in Mexico'' (1945)

''Road to Utopia'' (1946)

''My Favorite Brunette'' (1947)

''Variety Girl'' (1947)

''Wild Harvest'' (1947)

''Road to Rio'' (1947)

''On Our Merry Way'' (1948)

''Lulu Belle (film)'' (1948)

''The Girl from Manhattan'' (1948)

''The Lucky Stiff'' (1949)

''Slightly French'' (1949)

''Manhandled'' (1949)

''Here Comes the Groom'' (1951) (Cameo)

''The Greatest Show on Earth'' (1952)

''Road to Bali'' (1952)

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

''Donovan's Reef'' (1963)

''Pajama Party'' (1964)

''The Phynx'' (1970)

''Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood'' (1976) (cameo)

''Creepshow 2'' (1987)

Short subjects

''The Stars Can't Be Wrong'' (1936)

''Hollywood Handicap'' (1938)

''Meet the Stars #1: Chinese Garden Festival'' (1940)

''Show Business at War'' (1943)

''Unusual Occupations: Film Tot Holiday'' (1947)

''Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Shower of Stars'' (1955)

Books

Lamour was the heroine of a novel, ''Dorothy Lamour and the Haunted Lighthouse'' (1947, by Matilda Bailey), where "the heroine has the same name and appearance as the famous actress but has no connection ... it is as though the famous actress has stepped into an alternate reality in which she is an ordinary person." The story was written for a young teenage audience and is reminiscent of the adventures of Nancy Drew. It is part of a series known as "Whitman Authorized Editions", 16 books published between 1941-1947 that featured a film actress as heroine.

The real Lamour's autobiography, ''My Side of the Road'', was published by Prentice-Hall in 1980.

She also had a brief print run of 2-3 issues during the 1950s in "Dorothy Lamour Jungle Princess Comics" - A series of comic books dedicated to her movie ''Jungle Princess'' persona. (featuring screen shots from past movies as the covers.)

Notes

External links

Post-Blitz Clydebank — a documentary about Clydebank, Scotland from 1947 to 1952, featuring Dorothy Lamour

Photographs of Dorothy Lamour

Category:1914 births Category:1996 deaths Category:Actors from Louisiana Category:American beauty pageant winners Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American people of French descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Spanish descent Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:People from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Torch singers Category:Traditional pop music singers Category:Vaudeville performers

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