name	Evening Standard
type	Regional free daily newspaper
format	Tabloid
foundation	1827
owners	Alexander Lebedev, Evgeny Lebedev (74.1%), Daily Mail and General Trust (24.9%)
chairman	Evgeny Lebedev
headquarters	Northcliffe House, Derry Street, Kensington
editor	Sarah Sands
circulation	263,095 (paid, December 2006)600,000+ (free, October 2009)
website	http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/ }}

The ''Evening Standard'', now styled the ''London Evening Standard'', is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London, England. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London finance. In October 2009 the paper ended a 180-year history of paid circulation and became a free giveaway, doubling its circulation as part of a change in its business plan.

History[link]

The newspaper was founded by the barrister, Stanley Lees Giffard, on 21 May 1827, as the ''Standard''. The early owner of the paper was Charles Baldwin. Under the ownership of James Johnstone ''The Standard'' became a morning paper from 29 June 1857, with ''The Evening Standard'' being published from 11 June 1859. ''The Standard'' gained eminence for its detailed foreign news, with its reporting events of the American Civil War (1861–1865), of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, and of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, all contributing to a rise in circulation.

The ''Evening Standard'' has sponsored the annual Evening Standard Theatre Awards since the 1950s. The newspaper has also awarded the annual Evening Standard Pub of the Year (discontinued 2007) and the Evening Standard British Film Awards since the 1970s.

Lebedev takeover[link]

On 21 January 2009 Russian businessman and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev and son Evgeny Lebedev, now the paper's chairman, agreed to purchase 75.1% of the paper for £1. The paper was formerly published by Associated Newspapers Ltd., a division of Daily Mail and General Trust, which also published the ''Daily Mail'', ''The Mail on Sunday'', and ''Metro'', a free morning paper distributed Monday-Friday at London stations.

In November 2009, it was announced that the ''London Evening Standard'' would drop its midday 'News Extra' edition from 4 January 2010 with the first edition being the West End Final, available from 2pm. One edition of 600,000 copies would be printed starting at 12:30pm, ending 3am starts for journalists and the previous deadline of 9am for the first edition; twenty people were expected to lose their jobs as a result.

Previously there were three editions each weekday, excluding Bank holidays. The first of these, "News Extra", went to print at 10:00am and was available around 11:00am in central London, slightly later in more outlying areas (such as Kent). A second edition "West End Final" went to print at 3:00pm and the "Late Night Final" went to print at 5 p.m. and was available in the central area from about 6 p.m. There was often considerable variation between the editions, particularly with the front page lead and following few pages, including the Londoner's Diary, though features and reviews stayed the same. The page changes are indicated by stars in the bottom left hand corner of each page: two stars for the second edition, three stars for the third.

May 2009 relaunch[link]

In May 2009 the paper launched a series of poster ads, each of which prominently featured the word 'Sorry' in the paper's then-masthead font. These ads offered various apologies for past editorial approaches, such as 'Sorry for losing touch'. None of the posters mentioned the ''Evening Standard'' by name, although they featured the paper's Eros logo. Ex-editor Veronica Wadley criticised the "Pravda-style" campaign saying it humiliated the paper's staff and insulted its readers. The campaign was designed by McCann Erickson. Also in May 2009 the paper relaunched as the ''London Evening Standard'' with a new layout and masthead, marking the occasion by giving away 650,000 free copies on the day, and refreshed its sports coverage.

October 2009: freesheet[link]

After a long history of paid circulation, on 12 October 2009 the ''Standard'' became a free newspaper, with free circulation limited to central London. In February 2010, a paid-for circulation version became available in suburban areas of London for 20p. The newspaper won the ''Media Brand of the Year'' and the ''Grand Prix Gold'' awards at the Media Week awards in October 2010. The judges said, "[the Standard has] quite simply ... stunned the market. Not just for the act of going free, but because editorial quality has been maintained, circulation has almost trebled and advertisers have responded favourably. Here is a media brand restored to health." The Standard also won the daily newspaper of the year award at the London Press Club Press Awards in May 2011.

Editorial style[link]

The current editor of the ''Standard'' is Sarah Sands who replaced Geordie Greig following his departure to the Mail on Sunday in March 2012. Veronica Wadley was the paper's editor for seven years between 2002 and 2009. Max Hastings was editor from 1996 until he retired in 2002.

Although, under Associated Newspaper's ownership, the ''Standard'' shared the same Editor in Chief, Paul Dacre, as the ''Daily Mail'', it maintained a quite different style from the latter's "middle England" outlook, in order to appeal to its local, more cosmopolitan readership.

The ''Evening Standard'', although a regional newspaper for London, also covers national and international news, though with an emphasis on London-centred news (especially in its features pages), covering building developments, property prices, traffic schemes, politics, the congestion charge and, in the ''Londoner's Diary'' page, gossip on the social scene. It also occasionally runs campaigns centred around local issues that national newspapers do not cover in detail.

It has a tradition of providing quality arts coverage, and is noted for its visual art critic, Brian Sewell, more recently also a television personality, who is renowned for his outspoken dismissal of Britart and the Turner Prize. This accords with the general readership, but was so unpopular with leading figures in the art world that they signed a letter demanding his dismissal (he is still there).

Its headline writers have been accused of having a "doom-and-gloom" agenda.

2008 London Mayoral Election[link]

During the 2008 London mayoral election the ''Evening Standard''—and particularly its correspondent Andrew Gilligan—published articles in support of Conservative candidate Boris Johnson, including frequent front-page headlines condemning Ken Livingstone. This included the headline, "Suicide bomb backer runs Ken's campaign!"

2010 General Election[link]

On 5 May 2010, the ''Standard'' stated in an editorial that having supported Labour under Tony Blair, the paper would be supporting David Cameron and the Conservatives in the General Election, saying that "''the Conservatives are ready for power: they look like a government in waiting.''"

Freesheet and supplements[link]

On 14 December 2004 Associated Newspapers launched a freesheet edition of the ''Evening Standard'' called ''Standard Lite'' to help boost circulation. This had 48 pages, compared with about 80 in the main paper, which also had a supplement on most days.

In August 2006 the freesheet was relaunched as ''London Lite''. It was designed to be especially attractive to younger female readers, and featured a wide range of lifestyle articles, but less news and business news than the main paper. It was initially only available between 11.30am and 2.30pm at ''Evening Standard'' vendors and in the central area, but later became available in the evening from its street distributors. With the sale of the ''Evening Standard'', but not the ''London Lite'', to Alexander Lebedev on 21 January 2009, the ownership links between the ''Standard'' and the ''Lite'' were broken.

On Fridays the ''Evening Standard'' includes a free glossy lifestyle magazine, ''ES''. This has moved from more general articles to concentrate on glamour, with features on the rich, powerful and famous. On Wednesdays, readers can pick up a free copy of the ''Homes & Property'' supplement, edited by Janice Morley, which includes London property listings as well as articles from lifestyle journalists including Barbara Chandler, Katie Law and Alison Cork.

An entertainment guide supplement ''Metro Life'' (previously called ''Hot Tickets'') was launched in September 2002. This was a what's on guide with listings of cinemas and theatres in and around London, and was given away on Thursdays. It was discontinued on 1 September 2005.

The paper also supplies occasional CDs and DVDs for promotions. It also give Londoners a chance to win exclusive tickets to film premieres and sports tournament tickets, such as the Wimbledon Ladies Singles Final.

The ''Evening Standard Black Book'' is a list of London's 1000 most influential people in 2008.

In popular culture[link]

In the 2002 apocalyptic horror film 28 days later, the newspaper was one of the last printed papers in the UK, informing Londoners about a deadly epidemic sweeping the country as well as that the city was to be evacuated and the Prime Minister had declared a state of emergency.

Websites[link]

The newspaper's ''This Is London'' website carries some of the stories from the ''Evening Standard'' and promotions, reviews and competitions. It also includes a number of blogs by ''Evening Standard'' writers, such as restaurant critic Charles Campion, theatre critic Kieron Quirke and music critic David Smyth. A separate website contains images of each page of the print edition (two versions) and supplements.

Editors[link]

:1827: Stanley Lees Giffard :1846: Robert Knox :1857: ''Unknown'' :1860: Charles Williams and Pritchard :1863: Thomas Hamber :1871: W. H. Mudford :1899: Byron Curtis :1906: William Woodward :1912: James A. Kilpatrick :1914: D. M. Sutherland :1916: Arthur Mann :1920: D. Phillips :1923: E. Raymond Thompson :1928: George Gilliat :1933: Percy Cudlipp :1938: Frank Owen :1942: Michael Foot :1943: Sydney Elliott :1945: Bert Gunn :1952: Percy Elland :1959: Charles Wintour :1976: Simon Jenkins :1978: Charles Wintour :1980: Louis Kirby :1986: John Leese :1991: Paul Dacre :1992: Stewart Steven :1996: Max Hastings :2002: Veronica Wadley :2009: Geordie Greig :2012: Sarah Sands

References[link]

External links[link]

This is London stories from the ''Evening Standard''

London Evening Standard E-edition (requires registration to view)

Category:Daily Mail and General Trust Category:London newspapers Category:Free daily newspapers Category:Publications established in 1827 * Category:1827 establishments in England

da:Evening Standard de:Evening Standard es:Evening Standard fr:Evening Standard hu:Evening Standard no:Evening Standard pt:Evening Standard ro:Evening Standard sv:Evening Standard

Name	Benedict Cumberbatch
Birth name	Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch
birth date	July 19, 1976
birth place	London, England, UK
occupation	Actor
years active	2001–present
parents	Timothy CarltonWanda Ventham
spouse	}}

Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English film, television, radio and theatre actor. His most acclaimed roles include Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama ''Hawking'' (2004); William Pitt in the historical film ''Amazing Grace'' (2006); the protagonist Stephen Ezard in the miniseries thriller ''The Last Enemy'' (2008); Paul Marshall in ''Atonement'' (2007); Bernard in ''Small Island'' (2009); Sherlock Holmes in the modern BBC adaptation series ''Sherlock'' (2010); and Peter Guillam in the spy thriller ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' (2011).

In February 2011, he began playing both Victor Frankenstein and his creature opposite Jonny Lee Miller in Danny Boyle's stage adaptation of Mary Shelley's ''Frankenstein.'' The play had a three-month run at the National Theatre. In late 2011, he played Major Stewart in Steven Spielberg's ''War Horse'' (2011). The film received five BAFTA nominations and six Academy Award nominations, including the Best Picture nomination in 2012. He also played Peter Guillam, one of the pivotal roles in Tomas Alfredson's ''Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'' (2011), which was nominated for three Academy Awards and 11 BAFTA Awards. ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' was also nominated for Best Picture in 2012.

He reprised the role of Sherlock Holmes in the second series of the BBC's ''Sherlock'', which aired in the United Kingdom in January 2012 and was broadcast on PBS in the United States in May 2012. In addition to the BBC's ''Sherlock'', he stars as Christopher Tietjens in the BBC/HBO co-production television miniseries ''Parade's End'', which is expected to be released in 2012. He will portray Smaug the Dragon through motion capture and voice the Necromancer in Peter Jackson's ''The Hobbit: There and Back Again''. He will also portray the antagonist in director J.J. Abrams’s ''Untitled Star Trek sequel'', which will be released in May 2013.

Early life and education[link]

Cumberbatch was born on 19 July 1976 in London, the son of actors Timothy Carlton (birth name Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch) and Wanda Ventham. He was educated at two independent schools: Brambletye School in West Sussex, followed by Harrow School in northwest London, where he began performing as an actor. After school, he took a gap year to teach English in a Tibetan monastery. He then attended the University of Manchester, where he studied drama. After graduating, Cumberbatch continued his training as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Career[link]

Theatre[link]

Since 2001, Cumberbatch has had major roles in a dozen classic plays at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, Almeida Theatre, Royal Court Theatre and the National Theatre. He was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for his performance as Tesman in ''Hedda Gabler'', a role he performed at the Almeida Theatre on 16 March 2005, as well as at the Duke of York's Theatre when it transferred to the West End on 19 May 2005.

Cumberbatch acted in ''The Children’s Monologues'', a star-studded theatrical event at London's Old Vic Theatre on 14 November 2010. The show was produced by Dramatic Need. In February 2011, he began playing, on alternate nights, both Victor Frankenstein and his creature, opposite Jonny Lee Miller, in Danny Boyle's stage production of Mary Shelley's ''Frankenstein'' at the National Theatre. ''Frankenstein'' was broadcast to cinemas as a part of National Theatre Live in March 2011. ''The Children’s Monologues'' was directed by Danny Boyle as well.

In April 2012 Cumberbatch won the Olivier Award for Best Actor (jointly with Jonny Lee Miller) for the acclaimed Frankenstein at the National Theatre, directed by Danny Boyle, with the two lead actors alternating the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature.

Television[link]

Cumberbatch's television roles include two separate guest roles in ''Heartbeat'' (2000, 2004), Freddy in ''Tipping the Velvet'' (2002), Edward Hand in ''Cambridge Spies'' (2003) and Rory in the ITV comedy drama series ''Fortysomething'' (2003). He was also featured in ''Spooks'' and ''Silent Witness''.

In 2004, he starred as Stephen Hawking in ''Hawking''. He was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor and won the Golden Nymph for Television Films – Best Performance by an Actor. (He later provided Hawking's voice in the first episode of the television series ''Curiosity''.) He also appeared in the BBC miniseries ''Dunkirk'' as Lieutenant Jimmy Langley.

In 2005, Cumberbatch starred as the protagonist Edmund Talbot in the miniseries ''To the Ends of the Earth'', based on William Golding's trilogy. Director David Attwood said:

We found Benedict Cumberbatch fairly early. We needed a very good actor, someone young enough to be believable as an aristocratic, an almost slightly dislikeable character who is an adolescent in terms of his views of the world, his upbringing. But we also needed someone who could hold the screen for four and half hours, in every scene. We needed someone with experience who was not only a very good actor, but also with terrific comic timing. Benedict was the ideal answer to that.

Producer Lynn Horsford added:

Benedict was remarkable. He carried the Golding novels with him on set and constantly referred to them. We needed him every single day and he just didn't stop, nor complain. He simply became Edmund Talbot. And that commitment spread to every cast member. The process of making this film echoed the journey the characters went on in the story—we really got to know each other during our four months on location and we became very close.

He also made brief appearances in the comedy sketch show ''Broken News'' in 2005.

Cumberbatch next starred alongside Tom Hardy in the television adaptation of the book ''Stuart: A Life Backwards'', which aired on the BBC in September 2007. In 2008, he starred in the BBC miniseries drama ''The Last Enemy'', for which he was nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Film.

In 2009, Cumberbatch starred in ''Marple: Murder Is Easy'' as Luke Fitzwilliam. He played Bernard in the TV adaptation of ''Small Island''; the performance earned him a nomination for BAFTA Television Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also starred in Michael Dobbs' play ''The Turning Point'' which aired as one of a series of TV plays broadcast live on Sky Arts channel. The two-hander depicted a little-known October 1938 meeting between Soviet spy Guy Burgess, then a young man working for the BBC, and Winston Churchill. Cumberbatch portrayed Burgess; Churchill was played by Matthew Marsh, who had played a supporting role in ''Hawking''.

Cumberbatch narrated the 6-part series ''South Pacific'' (U.S. title: ''Wild Pacific''), which aired May to June 2009 on BBC 2.

Cumberbatch, a fan of long-running British science fiction series ''Doctor Who'', suggested in a July 2010 interview that he would be interested in appearing as a main or recurring character on the show, run by ''Sherlock'' producer and personal friend Steven Moffat. In 2008 he had discussed with David Tennant taking over the part of the Doctor but had decided not to try for the role.

In 2010, Cumberbatch portrayed Vincent van Gogh in ''Van Gogh: Painted with Words''. ''The Telegraph'' called his performance "[a] treat ... vividly bringing Van Gogh to impassioned, blue-eyed life." Also in 2010, Cumberbatch began playing Sherlock Holmes in the first series of the BBC television programme ''Sherlock'', to critical acclaim. A second three-part series began on New Years Day 2012 in England and will broadcast on PBS in the United States in May 2012.

He will co-star with Rebecca Hall as Christopher and Sylvia Tietjens in ''Parade's End'', a forthcoming BBC/HBO television miniseries, expected for release in 2012. It is an adaptation of the tetralogy of novels of the same name by Ford Madox Ford. Its five episodes will be directed by Susanna White and written by Tom Stoppard.

Film[link]

In 2006, Cumberbatch played William Pitt the Younger in ''Amazing Grace''. The film is the story of William Wilberforce's intense and lengthy political fight in the late 18th century to eliminate slave trade in the British Empire. Pitt was Wilberforce's closest friend and staunchest political ally, and became Prime Minister at an early age. The role garnered Cumberbatch a nomination for the London Film Critics Circle British Breakthrough Acting Award.

Cumberbatch subsequently appeared in supporting roles in ''Atonement'' (2007) and ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008). In 2009, he appeared in the Darwin biopic ''Creation'' as Darwin's friend Joseph Hooker. In 2010, he appeared in ''The Whistleblower''.

He played Peter Guillam, George Smiley's right-hand man in the 2011 adaptation of the John le Carré novel ''Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'', directed by Tomas Alfredson, also starring Gary Oldman and Colin Firth. He also portrayed Major Stewart in Steven Spielberg's ''War Horse'' (2011).

He will play Smaug the Dragon through motion capture and voice the Necromancer in ''The Hobbit: There and Back Again''.

It has been reported that Cumberbatch will play a lead role in the upcoming J. J. Abrams-directed ''Star Trek sequel''.

Radio[link]

In May 2009, BBC Radio 4 broadcast an adaptation of John Mortimer's novel ''Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders''. Cumberbatch played the "young Rumpole", and Timothy West took the part of the "old Rumpole". Cumberbatch plays Capt Martin Crieff in the BBC's Cabin Pressure.

Miscellaneous[link]

The British GQ magazine named him "Actor of the Year 2011".

Personal life[link]

Cumberbatch was in a relationship with actress Olivia Poulet, whom he met at university, for over 12 years. They broke up in March 2011.

List of credits[link]

+ Film	! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes, awards and nominations
2002	''Hills Like White Elephants''	The Man	Short film
2003	''To Kill a King''	Royalist
2006		Patrick Watts
2006		William Pitt the Younger
2007	''Inseparable''	Joe/Charlie	Short film
2007		Paul Marshall
2008	''''
2008	''Burlesque Fairytales''	Henry Clark
2009
2010	''Four Lions''	Ed
2010	''Third Star''	James
2010	''''	Nick Kaufman
2010	''Wreckers''	David
2011		Major Stewart
2011		Peter Guillam
2013	''''		Filming
2013	''Untitled Star Trek sequel''		Filming

+ Television	! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes	Awards and nominations
2002	''Fields of Gold''	Jeremy	TV film
2002		Freddy	Drama serial
2002	''Silent Witness''	Warren Reid	Drama series; 2 episodes
2003	''Cambridge Spies''	Edward Hand	Drama serial; 1 episode
2003	''Spooks''	Jim North	Drama series; 1 episode
2003		Rory Slippery	Comedy drama
2004		Lt. Jimmy Langley	Docu-drama
2004		Stephen Hawking	TV film	Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo
2005	''[[To the Ends of the Earth''	Edmund Talbot	Drama serial
2005	''Broken News''	Will Parker	Comedy series; 3 episodes
2005	''Nathan Barley''	Robin	Comedy series; 2 episodes
2007	''Stuart: A Life Backwards''	Alexander Masters	TV film
2008	''''	Stephen Ezard	Drama serial
2009		Luke Fitzwilliam	TV film
2009	''The Turning Point''	Guy Burgess	TV play
2009		Bernard Bligh	Drama serial
2010	''Van Gogh: Painted with Words''	Vincent van Gogh	Docudrama
2010	''Have I Got News For You''	Guest host	Panel show
2010	''Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking''	Narrator (with Stephen Hawking, reading Hawking's words)	Documentary
2010	''''	Presenter	Documentary
2010–present			Drama series	Crime Thriller Awards – Best Actor (2010) Broadcasting Press Guild Awards – Best Actor (2011)Nominated — National Television Awards – Outstanding Drama Performance (2011)Nominated — BAFTA Television Awards – Best Leading Actor (2011)Nominated — TV Choice Awards – Best Actor (2011)
2012		Christopher Tietjens	Drama series

+ Theatre	! Year	! Title	! Role	Venue	Awards and nominations
2001	''Love's Labour's Lost''	Ferdinand	Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
2001	''A Midsummer Night's Dream''	Demetrius	Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
2002	''As You Like It''		Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
2002	''Romeo and Juliet''	Benvolio	Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
2002	''Oh, What a Lovely War!''		Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
2004	''''	Lyngstrand	Almeida Theatre
2005	''Hedda Gabler''	Tesman	Almeida TheatreDuke of York's Theatre
2006	''Period of Adjustment''	George	Almeida Theatre
2007		Bérenger	Royal Court Theatre
2007	''''	Eisenring	Royal Court Theatre
2008	''''	Chris	Royal Court Theatre
2010		David Scott-Fowler
2011		The Creature/Victor Frankenstein

+ Voice acting	! Year	! Title	! Role	Format
2004	''''	Nigel Rowan	BBC Radio 4 series
2004	''Kepler''	Johannes Kepler	BBC Radio 4
2004	''''	Worthy	BBC Radio 4
2004	''''	Ferdinand	Audiobook
2004	''''	Telemachus	BBC Radio 4
2004	''''	Captain Rob Collins	BBC Radio 4
2004	''''	Narrator	BBC Radio 4
2004	''''	Narrator	BBC Radio 4
2004	''Mr Norris Changes Trains''	Narrator	BBC Radio 4
2005	''Le Pere Goriot''	Narrator	BBC Radio 4
2005	''Seven Women''	Tovey	BBC Radio 4
2005	''Medical Humanities – Baptism by Rotation''	Narrator	BBC Radio 4
2005	''Fieldstudy – The Field''	Narrator	BBC Radio 4
2005	''''	Peter Quilpe	BBC Radio 4
2006	''''	Nikolai Stavrogin	BBC Radio 3
2007	''''	Narrator	Audiobook
2008	''Death in a White Tie''	Narrator	Audiobook
2008	''Artists in Crime''	Narrator	Audiobook
2008	''''	Tadanobu	BBC Radio 4
2008	''Blake 7 The Early Years''	Townsend	Audio plays
2008	''''	GF	BBC Radio 4
2008	''At War With Wellington''	Duke of Wellington	BBC Radio 4
2008	''Chatterton – The Allington Solution''	Thomas Chatterton	BBC Radio 4
2008		Capt. Martin Crieff	BBC Radio 4 comedy series
2008	''Spellbound''	Dr Murchison	BBC Radio 4
2008	''Rainy Season''	Narrator	BBC Radio 4
2008	''''	Narrator	BBC Radio 4
2008	''Words and Music – Italian Fantasy''	Narrator	BBC Radio 4
2008	''Doctor Who: Forty-Five''	Howard Carter, Thing 2	Audio plays
2009	''Good Evening''	Dudley Moore	BBC Radio 4
2009	Little Red Hen	Narrator	Ladybird
2009		Narrator	TV documentary
2009		Young Rumpole	BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
2009	''Metamorphosis''	Narrator	BBC Radio 7
2010		Young Rumpole	BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
2010		Young Rumpole	BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
2010		Narrator	Discovery Channel/Channel 4 series
2010	Sherlock Holmes: The Rediscovered Railway and Other Stories	Narrator	Audiobook
2010	Words for You – The Next Chapter	Narrator
2011	Curiosity With Stephen Hawking – Did God Create the Universe?	Narrator	Discovery Channel
2011	Tom and Viv	TS Eliot	BBC Radio 7
2011	Jaguar	Narrator	Commercials
2011	Pimms	Narrator	Commercials
2011	Sony	Narrator	Commercials
2011	''''	Narrator	Video game
2012		Young Rumpole	BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
2012		Young Rumpole	BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
2012	''Google+: "Tom"'' ''The seven ages of man'' (monologue)	Narrator	Commercials

References[link]

External links[link]

Benedict Cumberbatch (unofficial website)

Benedict Cumberbatch Online

Category:Living people Category:1976 births Category:English film actors Category:English radio actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:Audio book narrators Category:Shakespearean actors Category:Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester Category:People associated with the University of Manchester Category:Laurence Olivier Award winners Category:Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Category:People educated at Harrow School Category:Sherlock Holmes Category:GQ Award winners Category:Evening Standard Award for Best Actor Category:Royal National Theatre Company members Category:People educated at Brambletye School

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Name	Ralph Lauren
Birth name	Ralph Lifshitz
Nationality	American
Birth date	October 14, 1939
Birth place	Bronx, New York
Education	Baruch College,City University of New York
Spouse	Ricky Anne Low-Beer (1964-present)
Children	3
Net worth	US$5.8 billion (2011)
Label name	Polo Ralph Lauren
Boards	Polo Ralph Lauren Rugby Ralph Lauren Club Monaco
Awards	Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur}}

Ralph Lauren (born Ralph Lifshitz, October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.

Early life[link]

Ralph Lauren was born Ralph Lifshitz in the Bronx, New York, to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants, from Pinsk, Belarus: Fraydl (née Kotlar) and Frank Lifshitz, a house painter.

Ralph attended the Salanter Academy Jewish Day School followed by MTA (now known as the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy), before eventually graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1957. In MTA Lauren was known by his classmates for selling ties to his fellow students. In a moment of spontaneity, when asked what he wanted to do in his Clinton yearbook he stated under his picture that he wanted to be a millionaire. During the summer, Ralph attended Camp Roosevelt (Monticello).

At the age of 16, Ralph's brother Jerry (who was his guardian) changed their last name to Lauren to avoid the unfortunate obscenity reference Lifshitz has in English (although Ralph's brother Lenny retained the name). Apparently Ralph was teased about it in school. “My given name has the word shit in it,” he told Oprah Winfrey. “When I was a kid, the other kids would make a lot of fun of me. It was a tough name. That's why I decided to change it. Then people said, "Did you change your name because you don't want to be Jewish?" I said, "Absolutely not. That's not what it's about. My cousins who lived in California had changed their last name to Lawrence. So I just thought, "I'm going to pick a nice last name"—it wasn't particularly connected to anything or anyone."

He went to Baruch College where he studied business, although he dropped out after two years. From 1962 to 1964 he served in the United States Army. He did not attend fashion school, but worked for Brooks Brothers as a salesman. In 1967, with the financial backing of Manhattan clothing manufacturer Norman Hilton, Lauren opened a necktie store where he also sold ties of his own design, under the label "Polo." He later received the rights to use the trademark Polo from Brooks Brothers.

Personal life[link]

On December 20, 1964, he married Ricky Anne Low-Beer in New York City. The two met six months earlier, in an eye doctor's office where Ricky was working as a receptionist. They have three children: Dylan, David and Andrew.

In 1970, Ralph Lauren won the COTY Award for his menswear line. Around that same time he released a line of women's suits that were tailored in a classic men's style, which was when the first Polo emblem was seen. It was on the cuff of the women's suit. Ralph Lauren released Polo's famous short sleeve mesh shirt with the Polo logo in 1972. It came out in 24 colors and soon became a classic. He also gained recognition for his design after he was contracted to provide clothing styles for the movie ''The Great Gatsby''.

In 1984, he transformed the Rhinelander Mansion, former home of the photographer Edgar de Evia and Robert Denning, into the flagship store for Polo Ralph Lauren. This same year de Evia photographed the cover feature story for ''House & Garden'' on the Lauren home Round Hill in Jamaica, which had formerly been the home of Babe and Bill Paley. On June 11, 1997, Polo Ralph Lauren became a public company, traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RL.

By 2007 Ralph Lauren had over 35 boutiques in the United States. There were 23 locations that carried Ralph Lauren Purple Label, including Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Boston, Charlotte, Washington, DC, Chicago, Costa Mesa, Dallas, Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Las Vegas, Manhasset, New York, Palm Beach, Palo Alto, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Short Hills, and Troy. The Financial Times reported in its edition of January 2–3, 2010 that the firm had revenues of $5 billion for the fiscal year 2009. The article addresses succession plans and the future of the overall business.

In 2010, Ralph Lauren was decorated Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in Paris

Surgery[link]

Sometime in early 1987, he was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor. In April 1987 he underwent surgery to remove the tumor and made a full recovery.

Net worth[link]

As of September 2011, ''Forbes'' estimates his wealth at $6.1 billion dollars which would make Ralph Lauren the 173rd richest person in the world.

Automobile Collection[link]

Ralph Lauren is also well known as a collector of automobiles, some of which are extremely rare. A large portion of his over 70 automobiles are held in his estate in Katonah, New York. He owns a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, two Ferrari 250 Testa Rossas, three 1996 McLaren F1s (one of them an ultra-rare F1 LM), a Mercedes 300SL Gullwing, a 1929 Blower Bentley, one Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, a Porsche 997 GT3 RS, a Bugatti Veyron, a 1930 Mercedes-Benz CountTrossi SSK (aka "The Black Prince") a 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Mille Miglia., a Lamborghini Reventón and the rare Reventón Roadster. His cars have won "best in show" at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance multiple times. In 2005 his collection was displayed at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. In 2011 17 prime members of his collection were exhibited at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.

Controversies[link]

In 2009, Ralph Lauren apologized for digitally retouching a photograph of model Filippa Hamilton to make her look thinner. Hamilton also claims that she was fired by Ralph Lauren a few days later. Another model's photo was also digitally retouched adding to the row.

See also[link]

List of swimwear brands

Notes[link]

References[link]

Gross, Michael: ''Genuine Authentic: The Real Life of Ralph Lauren''. Harper, New York 2003.

Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A.: ''Ralph Lauren: The Man behind the Mystique''. Little, Brown and Company New York 1981.

McDowell, Colin: ''Ralph Lauren: The Man, The Vision, The Style''. Rizzoli, New York 2002.

External links[link]

Ralph Lauren Web Site

Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention

''Men's Vogue'' profile of Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren Auto Collection

WIRED Magazine celebrates the Ralph Lauren Classic Automobile Collection

Category:1939 births Category:Living people Category:American fashion designers Category:American billionaires Category:Businesspeople from New York City Category:Businesspeople in fashion Category:Cancer survivors Category:Car collectors Category:Baruch College alumni Category:DeWitt Clinton High School alumni Category:American Jews Category:Ashkenazi Jews Category:United States Army soldiers Category:Jewish fashion designers Category:Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Category:American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent

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