birth name	Elaine Bawson Stritch
birth date	February 02, 1925
birth place	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
occupation	Actress/Vocalist
years active	1944–present
spouse	John Bay (1973-82; his death) }}

Elaine Bawson Stritch (born February 2, 1925) is an American actress and vocalist. She has appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals, feature films, and many television programs. She is known for her performance of "The Ladies Who Lunch" in Stephen Sondheim's 1970 musical ''Company'', her 2001 one-woman show ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'', and recently for her role as Jack Donaghy's mother Colleen on NBC's ''30 Rock.'' She has been nominated for the Tony Award four times in various categories, and won for ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty''.

Biography

Early years

Elaine Bawson Stritch was born in 1925 in Detroit, Michigan to Mildred (née Jobe), a homemaker, and George Joseph Stritch, an executive with B.F. Goodrich. Her family was wealthy and devoutly Roman Catholic. Stritch's father was of Irish descent and her mother was of Welsh descent. Stritch was a niece of Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago.

Stritch trained at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York City under Erwin Piscator; other students at the Dramatic Workshop at this time included Marlon Brando and Bea Arthur.

Beginning stage career

Stritch made her stage debut in 1944. However, her Broadway debut came in the revue ''Angel in the Wings'' in which she performed comedy sketches and the song "Civilization". Stritch understudied Ethel Merman for ''Call Me Madam'', and, at the same time, appeared in the 1952 revival of ''Pal Joey'', singing "Zip". Stritch later starred in the national tour of ''Call Me Madam'' and appeared in a supporting role in the original Broadway production of William Inge's play ''Bus Stop''. She was the lead in ''Goldilocks''.

She starred in Noel Coward's ''Sail Away'' on Broadway in 1961. Stritch started in the show in a "relatively minor role and was only promoted over the title and given virtually all the best songs when it was reckoned that the leading lady...although excellent, was rather too operatic for a musical comedy." During out-of-town tryouts in Boston, Coward was "unsure about the dramatic talents" of one of the leads, opera singer Jean Fenn. "They were, after all, engaged for their voices and...it is madness to expect two singers to play subtle 'Noel Coward' love scenes with the right values and sing at the same time." Joe Layton suggested "What would happen if ...we just eliminated [Fenn's] role and gave everything to Stritch? ... The show was very old-fashioned, and the thing that was working was Elaine Stritch... every time she went on stage [she]was a sensation. The reconstructed 'Sail Away'...opened in New York on 3 October."

Stritch became known as a singer with a brassy, powerful voice, most notably originating on Broadway the role of Joanne in ''Company'' (1970). After over a decade of successful runs in shows in New York, Stritch moved in 1972 to London, where she starred in the West End production of ''Company''.

Television

Her earliest television appearances were in ''The Growing Paynes'' (1949) and the ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' (1953–55). She also appeared on episodes of ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' in 1954. She was the first and original Trixie Norton in the pilot for ''Honeymooners'' sketch with Jackie Gleason, Art Carney and Pert Kelton. Her character was a burlesque dancer, but the role was rewritten and Trixie became a regular housewife. Stritch was replaced by Joyce Randolph. Other television credits, include a number of dramatic programs in the 1950s and 1960s, including ''Studio One''.

In 1975, Stritch starred in the British LWT comedy series ''Two's Company'' opposite Donald Sinden. She played Dorothy McNab, an American writer living in London who was famous for her lurid and sensationalist thriller novels. Sinden played Robert, her English butler, who disapproved of practically everything Dorothy did and the series derived its comedy from the inevitable culture clash between Robert's very British stiff-upper-lip attitude and Dorothy's devil-may-care New York view of life. ''Two's Company'' was exceptionally well-received in Britain and ran for four seasons until 1979, despite being buried in the "graveyard slot" of Sundays at 10:30pm. Stritch and Sinden also sang the theme tune to the programme.

Her other British television appearances included Roald Dahl's ''Tales of the Unexpected''. Although she appeared several times in different roles, perhaps her most memorable appearance was in the story "William and Mary," in which she played the wife of a man who has cheated death by having his brain preserved. In his introduction to the episode, Dahl observed that humor should always be used in horror stories, in order to provide light to the shade, and that was why Stritch had been cast, as ''"an actress who knows a lot about humor"''.

Stritch became a darling of the British chat show circuit, appearing with Michael Parkinson and Terry Wogan many times, usually ending the appearance with a song. She also appeared on BBC One's children's series, ''Jackanory'', reading, among other stories, ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' by Roald Dahl.

On returning to live in the United States, she was a regular on the short-lived'' The Ellen Burstyn Show'' in 1986, playing Burstyn's character's mother. She appeared as stern schoolteacher Mrs. McGee on three episodes of ''The Cosby Show'' (1989–1990). She followed later with appearances on ''Law & Order'' (1992, 1997) as Lainie Steiglitz; as Judge Grace Lema on ''Oz'' (1998); and as the character Martha Albright (mother of Jane Curtin's character) on two episodes of ''3rd Rock From the Sun'' (1997, 2001), alongside her Broadway co-star George Grizzard, who played George Albright (the names George and Martha were a play on the characters Stritch and Grizzard played in ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf'').

Stritch was reportedly considered for the role of Dorothy Zbornak on ''The Golden Girls'' but, as she related in her show ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'', she "blew her audition". The role was subsequently cast with Bea Arthur (who had appeared with Stritch in 1956 in the television series ''Washington Square'').

More recently, she was seen on ''One Life to Live'' (1993) and recurring roles on ''Law & Order'' (1992, 1997) and ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1997, 2001).

On April 26, 2007, she began guest appearances on the NBC sitcom ''30 Rock'' as Colleen, the fearsome mother of Alec Baldwin's lead character, Jack Donaghy.

In 2008, Stritch appeared as herself in an episode during the second season of ''The Big Gay Sketch Show''. She was spoofed during the first season as well as the second season.

BBC Radio

In 1982, Stritch appeared on an edition of the long running BBC Radio comedy series ''Just a Minute'' alongside Kenneth Williams, Clement Freud and Barry Cryer. The show has been described by long-time chairman Nicholas Parsons as being among the most memorable because of the way Stritch stretched the show's rules. It was on this occasion that Stritch famously described Kenneth Williams as being able to make "one word into a three-act play". She also appeared as Martha in a radio adaptation of Edward Albee's ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (she understudied Uta Hagen in the same role during the show's original Broadway run, performing during matinees before taking over the role entirely).

Later stage work

After John Bay's death from brain cancer in 1982, Stritch returned to America. After a lull in her career and struggles with alcoholism, Stritch began performing again in the 1990s. She appeared in a one-night only concert of ''Company'' in 1993, as Parthy in a Broadway revival of the musical ''Show Boat'' in 1994, and as Claire in a revival of Edward Albee's ''A Delicate Balance'' in 1996.

Her one-woman show, ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'', a summation of her life and career, premiered at New York's Public Theater, running from November 7, 2001 to December 30, 2001, and then ran on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre from February 21 to May 27, 2002. ''Newsweek'' noted:

Now we see how ''At Liberty'', the amazing one-woman show Stritch is moving to Broadway from the Public Theater this week, acquired the credit, ''"Constructed by John Lahr. Reconstructed by Elaine Stritch"''. "The reconstruction means I had the last say", she says. "Damn right I did."... In case you didn't notice, Stritch is not the kind of woman who goes in for the sappy self-indulgence that pollutes most one-person shows. In fact, ''At Liberty'' is in a class by itself, a biting, hilarious and even touching tour-de-force tour of Stritch's career and life. Almost every nook and cranny of "At Liberty" holds a surprise. Turns out she dated Marlon Brando, Gig Young and Ben Gazzara, though she dropped Ben when Rock Hudson showed an interest in her. "And we all know what a bum decision that turned out to be", she says. And then there were the shows. A British writer recently called Stritch ''"Broadway's last first lady"'', and when you see her performing her signature numbers from ''Company'' and ''Pal Joey'' and hear her tell tales of working with Merman, Coward, Gloria Swanson and the rest, it's hard to argue. Especially since she does it all dressed in a long white shirt and form-fitting black tights. It's both a metaphor for her soul-baring musical and a sartorial kiss-my-rear gesture to anyone who thinks there isn't some life left in the 76-year-old [sic] diva. "Somebody said to me the other day, 'Is this the last thing you're going to do?'", says Stritch. "In your dreams! I can't wait to get back into an Yves Saint Laurent costume that isn't mine--but will be when the show is over.

''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' played to British audiences in 2002-03. She reprised ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' at Hartford Stage in June 2008. She appeared in the Broadway revival of Sondheim's ''A Little Night Music'', from July 2010 to January 2011, succeeding Angela Lansbury in the role of Madame Armfeldt, the wheelchair-bound mother who remembers her life as a courtesan in the song "Liaisons". The AP reviewer of the musical (with the two new leads) wrote "Devotees of Stritch, who earned her Sondheim stripes singing, memorably, "The Ladies Who Lunch" in "Company" 40 years ago, will revel in how the actress, who earned a huge ovation before her very first line at a recent preview, brings her famously salty, acerbic style to the role of Madame Armfeldt." The theatre critic for ''The Toronto Star'' wrote:

"Stritch offers a sophisticated gloss on her by now patented, plain-talking woman who reveals all the home truths everyone ever wanted (or didn't) to hear about themselves. When Stritch tears into her big set-piece, "Liaisons", about all the affairs in her life, it's not just a witty catalogue of indiscretions but a deeply moving fast-forward through a life filled equally with love, loss, joy and regret.

Cabaret

Stritch has been performing a cabaret act at the Cafe Carlyle in New York City since 2005 (she is a resident of the Carlyle Hotel). Her first show at the Carlyle was titled "At Home at the Carlyle". The ''New York Times'' reviewer wrote

Amazingly, none of the 16 songs she performs have ever been in her repertory, and just as amazingly, you don't miss signature numbers... [L]etting them go has allowed her to venture into more sensitive emotional territory. Interpreting stark, talk-sing versions of Rodgers and Hart's "He Was Too Good to Me", "Fifty Percent" from the musical ''Ballroom'', and Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash's "That's Him", she comes into her own as a dramatic ballad singer.

Between musical numbers, Stritch told stories from the world of stage and screen, tales from her everyday life and personal glimpses of her private tragedies and triumphs. She most recently performed at the Cafe Carlyle in January and February 2010, and again in March 2010 in ''At Home at the Carlyle: Elaine Stritch Singin' Sondheim…One Song at a Time''.

Personal life

Her late husband, John Bay, was part of the family that owns the Bay's English Muffins company, and Stritch sends English muffins as gifts to friends. Said John Kenley: "Every Christmas, she still sends me English muffins." When she was based in London, instead of renting or buying a property Stritch and her husband lived at the Savoy Hotel. She is good friends with gossip columnist Liz Smith, who shares the same birthday (February 2) as Stritch.

Stritch has been candid about her struggles with alcohol. She took her first drink at 13, and began using it as a crutch prior to performances to vanquish her stage fright and insecurities. Her drinking worsened after Bay's death, and she sought help after experiencing issues with effects of alcoholism, as well as the onset of diabetes. ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' discusses the topic at length.

Popular culture

Stritch's voice and vocal delivery are spoofed in the ''Forbidden Broadway'' songs "The Ladies Who Screech" and "Stritch," parodies of "The Ladies Who Lunch" and "Zip", songs she performed in the musicals ''Company'' and ''Pal Joey''. In 2009, a parody by Bats Langley entitled "How the Stritch Stole Christmas" (loosely based on "How the Grinch Stole Christmas") appeared on YouTube.

On ''The Big Gay Sketch Show,'' she was spoofed as a Wal-Mart greeter who's still a theater gal at heart. ("I'm heeere. I'm still heeeerrre." "Here's to the ladies who shop... at ''Wal-Mart!''") This draws inspiration from footage of D.A. Pennebaker's documentary film, ''Company: Original Cast Album'', in which she says "I'm just screaming", self-critiquing during recording "The Ladies Who Lunch". The sketch also spoofs ''Elaine Stritch Live at Liberty'' in which she refers to her feat, as a young stage actress and understudy for Ethel Merman in ''Call Me Madam'', where she had to check in with Merman at half hour to curtain in New York, then commute to Connecticut for the out of town tryout of ''Pal Joey'', and on some days make the round trip twice when there was a matinee and evening performance of both shows.

In a subsequent episode of ''The Big Gay Sketch Show'', Stritch is spoofed as an airport security guard, who's still "on" and isn't able to tone down her over-the-top antics. In yet another episode, "Stritch" (played by Nicol Paone) is promoting her self-titled perfume, "Stritchy" in dramatic fashion when she's confronted by the real-life Elaine Stritch, who makes a cameo appearance.

Honors and awards

Stritch has been nominated for the Tony Award four times:

Best Featured Actress in a Play for ''Bus Stop'', 1956

Best Actress in a Musical for ''Sail Away'', 1962, as Mimi Paragon

Best Actress in a Musical for ''Company'', 1971

Best Actress in a Play for ''A Delicate Balance'', 1996

In 2002, her one-woman show ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' won the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show. In ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' she shared stories and songs from her life in theatre and observations on her experiences with alcoholism. The D.A. Pennebaker documentary of ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' (2004) combined rehearsal elements and her stage performance to win several Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Achievement in a Variety or Music Program. She received an Emmy Award in September 2007 for Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her appearance on ''30 Rock''.

Work

Stage

''Loco'' (October 16 - November 16, 1946)

''Angel in the Wings'' (December 11, 1947 - September 4, 1948)

''Yes, M'Lord'' (October 4 - December 18, 1949)

''Call Me Madam'' (October 12, 1950 - May 3, 1952) (understudy for Ethel Merman) (replaced by Nancy Andrews when on national tour)

''Pal Joey'' (Revival) (January 3, 1952 - April 18, 1953) (replaced by Betty O'Neil)

''On Your Toes'' (Revival) (October 11 - December 4, 1954)

''Bus Stop'' (March 2, 1955 - April 21, 1956)

''The Sin of Pat Muldoon'' (March 13–16, 1957)

''Goldilocks'' (October 11, 1958 - February 28, 1959)

''Sail Away'' (October 3, 1961 - February 24, 1962)

''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (October 13, 1962 - May 16, 1964) (replacement for Uta Hagen starting in 1963)

''Company'' (April 26, 1970 - January 1, 1972) (replaced by Jane Russell in 1971)

''Love Letters'' (October 31, 1989 - January 21, 1990) (replacement for Kate Nelligan)

''Company'' (April 11 and April 12, 1993) (concert staging)

''Show Boat'' (Revival) (October 2, 1994 - January 5, 1997) (replaced by Carole Shelley)

''A Delicate Balance'' (Revival) (April 21 - September 29, 1996)

''Angela Lansbury - A Celebration'' (November 17, 1996) (benefit concert)

''Elaine Stritch at Liberty'' (February 21 - May 27, 2002)

''Endgame'', Brooklyn Academy of Music, (April 25 - May 17, 2008)

''The Full Monty'', Papermill Playhouse, (June 10 - July 12, 2009)

''A Little Night Music'' (Broadway Revival), (July 13, 2010 - January 9, 2011) (replacement for Angela Lansbury)

Filmography

Stritch performed in more than 30 feature films and television films, including ''A Farewell to Arms,'' Woody Allen's ''September,'' ''Screwed,'' ''Out to Sea,'' ''Monster-In-Law,'' and ''Autumn in New York.'' She has been interviewed in documentaries such as ''Broadway: The Golden Years, by the Legends Who Were There'' (2003) and ''The Needs of Kim Stanley'' (2005).

Selected filmography

''Three Violent People'' (1957)

''A Farewell to Arms'' (1957)

''The Perfect Furlough'' (1958)

''Too Many Thieves'' (1966)

''The Spiral Staircase'' (1975)

''Providence'' (1977)

''September'' (1987)

''Cocoon: The Return'' (1988)

''Cadillac Man'' (1990)

''One Life to Live'' (1994)

''Out to Sea'' (1997)

''3rd Rock from the Sun'' as Martha Albright (2 episodes: 1997, 2001)

''Krippendorf's Tribe'' (1998)

''Screwed'' (2000)

''Autumn in New York'' (2000)

''Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There'' (2003) (documentary)

''Monster-in-Law'' (2005)

''Romance & Cigarettes'' (2005)

''30 Rock'' (6 episodes: 2007−present)

''The Big Gay Sketch Show'' (2008)

References

External links

Just A Minute Transcript

Father Beck interviews Elaine Stritch

Elaine Stritch interview: Performance Working in the Theatre CUNY-TV video by the American Theatre Wing, September 1989

Category:1925 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from Michigan Category:American film actors Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Welsh descent Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:Drama Desk Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics

de:Elaine Stritch es:Elaine Stritch fr:Elaine Stritch it:Elaine Stritch nl:Elaine Stritch ru:Стритч, Элейн fi:Elaine Stritch sv:Elaine Stritch tl:Elaine Stritch

name	Sir Michael Parkinson CBE
birth date	March 28, 1935
birth place	Cudworth, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
years active	1963–present
other names	Parky
occupation	Broadcaster, author, journalist
spouse
children	3
known	''Parkinson (1971–1982, 1998–2007)''
website	Official site }}

Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE (born 28 March 1935) is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, ''Parkinson'', from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.

Early life

Parkinson, or "Parky" as he is known, was born in the village of Cudworth, England. The son of a miner, he was educated at Barnsley Grammar School and passed two O-Levels: in Art and English Language. He was a club cricketer, and both he and his opening partner at Barnsley Cricket Club, Dickie Bird, had trials for Yorkshire together with Geoffrey Boycott. Parkinson began as a journalist on local newspapers, and his Yorkshire background and accent remain part of his appeal. He worked as a reporter on the ''Manchester Guardian'' and later on the ''Daily Express'' in London. He was also conscripted into National Service as Britain's youngest army captain and was involved in the Suez Operation in the summer of 1956.

Career

Television

During the 1960s, Parkinson moved into television, working on current affairs programmes for the BBC and Manchester-based Granada Television.

From 1969 he presented Granada's ''Cinema'', a late-night film review programme, (which included his first star interview with Laurence Olivier), before in 1971 presenting his eponymous BBC series. ''Parkinson'' ran until 1982 and from 1998 until December 2007, leaving the BBC for ITV1 partway through the second run. It featured celebrities but it avoided posing the confrontational questions for which Parkinson is well known. By his own reckoning, Parkinson interviewed 2,000 of the world's most famous people. In 1985, he stood in for Barry Norman as presenter of Film 85.

He was one of the original line-up of TV-am in 1983, with Angela Rippon, Anna Ford and Robert Kee, all replaced with younger talent. He also took over as host of Thames Television's ''Give Us a Clue'' from Michael Aspel.

On Halloween night 1992, Parkinson appeared as himself in the television drama ''Ghostwatch''. He was the studio link during a fictional, apparently live, paranormal investigation. However, the ''cinéma vérité'' style in which it was shot led to complaints from viewers who believed it depicted real events. From 1995 to 1999, he hosted the BBC One daytime programme ''Going for a Song''. He again played himself in Richard Curtis' 2003 romantic comedy, ''Love Actually'', interviewing the character Billy Mack, played by Bill Nighy. From 31 January to 3 February 2007, Parkinson presented "Symphony at the Movies" at Sydney Opera House, where he shared stories about his interviews with movie stars and introduced music from films.

In October 2003, Parkinson had a controversial interview with Meg Ryan while she was in the United Kingdom to promote ''In the Cut''. He said it was his most difficult television moment.

Parkinson announced his retirement on 26 June 2007:

In 2007, Parkinson appeared in the Australian soap ''Neighbours'' as himself. On 24 November 2007, during recording of the final regular edition of his ITV chat show, broadcast on 16 December, Parkinson fought back tears as he was given an ovation. The last artist to perform on his show was regular guest Jamie Cullum.

As of December 2008, Parkinson held 458 credits as a presenter on his own and with others.

''Parkinson'' was a flagship of the BBC's prime time schedule, attracting top names before the chat show circuit was part of the promotional mill. Parkinson interviewed Marlon Brando, he was able to interview wartime variety stars while attracting up-and-coming comedians such as Billy Connolly, and was not afraid to allow an interviewee time to be himself, sometimes as with Fred Astaire or Sir Paul McCartney devoting an entire programme to a guest.

Parkinson was a guest on ''Top Gear'' in 2008, posting a lap time of 1:49.4 as the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car".

Parkinson would always maintain that the most remarkable man he ever interviewed was Muhammad Ali.

He regrets having never interviewed Frank Sinatra or Sir Donald Bradman.

Radio

Parkinson took over BBC Radio 4's ''Desert Island Discs'' in 1985, after the death of its creator, Roy Plomley, whose widow was unhappy with Parkinson replacing him. Parkinson stayed for three years until handing over to Sue Lawley. Between 1994 and 1996 he hosted ''Parkinson on Sport'' on BBC Radio Five Live. Between 1996 and 2007, he presented a morning show on BBC Radio 2 called ''Parkinson's Sunday Supplement''; it featured newspaper and entertainment summaries with the help of journalists and a lengthy interview with a media personality. These were interspersed with music that demonstrated his penchant for jazz and big-band. In October 2007, a few months after announcing his retirement from his television series, Parkinson said his radio show would also end. The last programme was broadcast on Sunday 2 December 2007. As an interim Clive Anderson presented the programme during December/January and Eammon Holmes during February and Fiona Bruce during March. Michael Ball has now replaced him on a permanent basis. Parkinson presented a mid-morning programme on London's LBC Newstalk 97.3FM. He was considered responsible for promotion of jazz singers to a more mainstream audience during the run of his BBC radio show.

Writing

In 1965 ''The Sunday Times'' invited Parkinson to write a regular sports column, drawing on characters in his days in cricket and soccer. In the 1980s, Parkinson wrote a series of children's books called ''The Woofits'' about a family of anthropomorphic dog-like creatures in the fictional Yorkshire coal-mining village of Grimeworth. The books led to a TV series, which he narrated. He wrote a sports column for the ''Daily Telegraph'' and is president of the Sports Journalists' Association of Great Britain.

His book ''Parky: My Autobiography'' was published on 2 October 2008.

In April 2009, Parkinson wrote about the recently deceased Jade Goody in ''Radio Times''. He described her as "barely educated, ignorant and puerile," adding, "When we clear the media smokescreen from around her death, what we're left with is a woman who came to represent all that's paltry and wretched about Britain today." Bishop Jonathan Blake, who had presided over Goody's wedding, took exception to Parkinson's comments.

Other work

On 29 September 2008 Parkinson launched his website, which includes online interviews with Nelson Mandela and British comedian Rory Bremner. The site also includes a blog, giving Parkinson's views on news events plus information about his compilation album, ''Michael Parkinson: My Life In Music'', featuring favourite songs performed by Frank Sinatra, Michael Bublé, Dionne Warwick and others.

Parkinson gave the keynote address in Sydney on Australia Day 2011, the first non-Australian to do so. Parkinson used the publicity surrounding his Australia Day appearance to promote the abolishment of the Australian monarchy.

Personal life

On 22 August 1959 he married Mary Heneghan, who was from Doncaster. Under her new name, Mary Parkinson was one of the presenters of the Thames TV daytime show ''Good Afternoon'' and briefly presented ''Parkinson'' in the 1970s. They have three children, Andrew, Nicholas and Michael Jr, who were born in 1960, 1964 and 1967 and eight grandchildren (Laura, James, Emma, Georgina, Ben, Felix, Sofia and Honey). In the 1970s he campaigned in support of birth control, having had a vasectomy in 1972 to allow his wife to stop taking the Pill. He is a cricket fan, and in 1990 hosted a World XI team against Yorkshire. Parkinson and his wife live in Bray, Berkshire. He met his friend Michel Roux when rowing down the River Thames on a Sunday to his then pub, the Waterside Inn.

Honours and awards

In 1999 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Lincoln. He was invested as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Prince Charles in November 2000 for services to broadcasting. Parkinson was made a Knight Bachelor in the 2008 New Year's Honours List; he remarked that he was "not the type to get a knighthood" coming as he did "from Barnsley. They give it to anyone nowadays."

''Parkinson'' was ranked 8th in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals. In April 2006, Parkinson was awarded Honorary Patronage of the University Philosophical Society (Trinity College, Dublin). He was voted number 20 in ITV's "TV's 50 Greatest Stars".

On 4 June 2008 his knighthood was bestowed by the Queen at Buckingham Palace

Parkinson became the first Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University on 11 November 2008. His role includes representing the university and conferring degrees at graduation ceremonies. He is quoted as saying, “I am honoured to be offered the chancellorship at Nottingham Trent University. In television I have always worked with young, ambitious people and I am keen to be involved in this university which helps to realise the aspirations of the young. It will also give me an opportunity to see what I missed!”.

Since 2005, Parkinson has served as the President of the Sports Journalists' Association of Great Britain, the largest national organisation of sports journalists in the world.

In popular culture

His presenting techniques were spoofed by Benny Hill on ''The Benny Hill Show'' (sketch "The Golden Boy"), Alistair McGowan on ''Big Impression'' and by Jon Culshaw on ''Dead Ringers'', in which Culshaw portrays Parkinson interviewing the public at bus stops and other locations. The Kenny Everett character Cupid Stunt was "interviewed" by a cut-out Parkinson in "her" sketches. He is on the cover of the Wings album ''Band on the Run''. Paul McCartney told Parkinson that he would appear on his chat show if Parkinson appeared on the album cover, although it was not until 1999 that McCartney fulfilled his promise.

In 2005, Parkinson appeared with comedian Peter Kay on the music video of the re-released "Is This the Way to Amarillo" for Comic Relief, which became a Number 1 single. Parkinson was also featured in ''Irregular Webcomic!'' Number 1697.

In May 2009 Parkinson "bemoaned the state of TV generally, saying he was fed up of the rise of celebrities hosting shows, ridiculously titled documentaries and property shows", saying "In my television paradise there would be no more property programmes, no more police-chasing-yobbos-in-cars programmes and, most of all and please God, no more so-called documentary shows with titles like My 20-Ton Tumour, My Big Fat Head, Wolf Girl, Embarrassing Illnesses and The Fastest Man on No Legs." On the 11th October 2010 Parkinson appeared on Richard Bacon's Radio 5 Live show where he was particularly critical of British comedian and actor Russell Brand saying “I don't see the point of him,"

Mark E. Smith of The Fall, on the song "Middlemass" from the live album ''The Legendary Chaos Tape, London, 1980'' has an improvised line about "the son of Mike Parkinson made from coal".

References

External links

Official Website

Michael Parkinson and the MBC's Encyclopedia of Television

Category:1935 births Category:Living people Category:British radio DJs Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:English children's writers Category:English journalists Category:British Army officers Category:English radio personalities Category:English sportswriters Category:English television presenters Category:Knights Bachelor Category:People from Cudworth Category:People from Yorkshire

sv:Michael Parkinson

name	Marlon Brando
birth name	Marlon Brando, Jr.
birth date	April 03, 1924
birth place	Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
death date	July 01, 2004
death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
death cause	Respiratory failure
nationality	American
education	The New School
spouse	Anna Kashfi (1957–59)Movita Castaneda (1960–62)Tarita Teriipia (1962–72)
children	13, including:Christian Brando (deceased)Cheyenne Brando (deceased)Stephen Blackehart
parents	Marlon Brando, Sr.Dodie Brando
website	http://www.marlonbrando.com/ }}

Marlon Brando, Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor who performed for over half a century.

An enduring cultural icon, Brando was perhaps best known for his role as Stanley Kowalski in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (1951), his Academy Award-nominated performance as Emiliano Zapata in ''Viva Zapata!'' (1952), his role as Mark Antony in the MGM film adaptation of the Shakespeare play ''Julius Caesar'' (1953), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award, and his Academy Award-winning performance as Terry Malloy in ''On the Waterfront'' (1954). During the 1970s, he was most famous for his Academy Award-winning performance as Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's ''The Godfather'' (1972), also playing Colonel Walter Kurtz in another Coppola film, ''Apocalypse Now'' (1979). Brando delivered an Academy Award-nominated performance as Paul in ''Last Tango in Paris'' (1972), in addition to directing and starring in the western film ''One-Eyed Jacks'' (1961).

Brando had a significant impact on film acting, and was the foremost example of the "method" acting style. While he became notorious for his "mumbling" diction and exuding a raw animal magnetism, his mercurial performances were nonetheless highly regarded, and he is widely considered as one of the greatest and most influential actors of the 20th century. Director Martin Scorsese said of him, "He is the marker. There's 'before Brando' and 'after Brando'.'" Actor Jack Nicholson once said, "When Marlon dies, everybody moves up one."

Brando was also an activist, supporting many issues, notably the African-American Civil Rights Movement and various American Indian Movements.

Early life

Marlon Brando was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Marlon Brando, Sr., a pesticide and chemical feed manufacturer, and his wife, Dorothy Julia (née Pennebaker). His parents moved to Evanston, Illinois, but separated when he was eleven years old. His mother took her three children: Jocelyn (1919–2005), Frances (1922–1994) and Marlon, to live with her mother in Santa Ana, California. In 1937, Brando's parents reconciled and moved together to Libertyville, Illinois, north of Chicago.

Brando's family was of mostly Irish ancestry. He also had distant French ancestry. Brando was raised a Christian Scientist. His grandmother Marie Holloway abandoned her family when Marlon Brando, Sr., was five years old. She used the money Eugene sent her to support her gambling and alcoholism.''

Marlon Brando, Sr., was a talented amateur photographer. His wife, known as Dodie, was unconventional but talented, having been an actress. She smoked, wore trousers, and drove cars, unusual for women at the time. However, she was an alcoholic and often had to be brought home from Chicago bars by her husband; she finally joined Alcoholics Anonymous. Dodie Brando acted and was a theater administrator. She helped Henry Fonda to begin his acting career, and fueled her son Marlon's interest in stage acting. However, Brando was closer to his maternal grandmother, Bessie Gahan Pennebaker Meyers, than to his mother. Widowed while young, Meyers worked as a secretary and later as a Christian Science practitioner. Her father, Myles Gahan, was a doctor from Ireland; her mother, Julia Watts, was from England.

Brando was a mimic from early childhood and developed an ability to absorb the mannerisms of people he played and display them dramatically while staying in character. His sister Jocelyn Brando was the first to pursue an acting career, going to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Art. She appeared on Broadway, then movies and television. Brando's sister Frances left college in California to study art in New York. Brando soon followed her.

Brando had been held back a year in school and was later expelled from Libertyville High School for riding his motorcycle through the corridors. He was sent to Shattuck Military Academy, where his father had studied before him. Brando excelled at theatre and did well in the school. In his final year (1943), however, he was put on probation for talking back to a student officer during maneuvers. He was confined to the campus, but tried going into town, and was caught. The faculty voted to expel him, though he was supported by the students, who thought expulsion was too harsh. He was invited back for the following year, but decided instead to drop out of high school.

Brando worked as a ditch-digger as a summer job arranged by his father. It was also during this time that Brando attempted to join the Army. However at his army induction physical it was discovered that a football injury that he had sustained at Shattuck had left him with a trick knee. Brando was therefore classified as a 4-F, and not inducted into the Army. He then decided to follow his sisters to New York. His father supported him for six months, then offered to help him find a job as a salesman. However, Brando left to study at the American Theatre Wing Professional School, part of the Dramatic Workshop of The New School with the influential German director Erwin Piscator and at the Actors Studio. He also studied with Stella Adler and learned the techniques of the Stanislavski System. There is a story in which Adler spoke about teaching Brando, saying that she had instructed the class to act like chickens, then adding that a nuclear bomb was about to fall on them. Most of the class clucked and ran around wildly, but Brando sat calmly and pretended to lay an egg. Asked by Adler why he had chosen to react this way, he said, "I'm a chicken, what do I know about nuclear bombs?"

Career

Early work

Brando used his Stanislavski System skills for his first summer-stock roles in Sayville, New York on Long Island. His behavior got him kicked out of the cast of the New School's production in Sayville, but he was discovered in a locally produced play there and then made it to Broadway in the bittersweet drama ''I Remember Mama'' in 1944. Critics voted him "Broadway's Most Promising Actor" for his role as an anguished veteran in ''Truckline Café'', although the play was a commercial failure. In 1946 he appeared on Broadway as the young hero in the political drama ''A Flag is Born'', refusing to accept wages above the Actor's Equity rate because of his commitment to the cause of Israeli independence. In that same year, Brando played the role of Marchbanks with Katharine Cornell in her production's revival of Candida, one of her signature roles. Cornell also cast him as The Messenger in a her production of Jean Anouilh's Antigone that same year. Brando achieved stardom, however, as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams's 1947 play ''A Streetcar Named Desire,'' directed by Elia Kazan. Brando sought out that role, driving out to Provincetown, Massachusetts, where Williams was spending the summer, to audition for the part. Williams recalled that he opened the screen door and knew, instantly, that he had his Stanley Kowalski. Brando's performance revolutionized acting technique and set the model for the American form of method acting.

Afterward, Brando was asked to do a screen test for Warner Brothers studio for the film ''Rebel Without A Cause'', which James Dean was later cast in. The screen test appears as an extra in the 2006 DVD release of ''A Streetcar Named Desire''.

Brando's first screen role was as the bitter paraplegic veteran in ''The Men'' in 1950. True to his method, Brando spent a month in bed at the Birmingham Army Hospital in Van Nuys to prepare for the role. By Brando's own account it may have been because of this film that his draft status was changed from 4-F to 1-A. He had had an operation on the knee he had injured at Shattuck, and it was no longer physically debilitating enough to incur exclusion from the draft. When Brando reported to the induction center he answered a questionnaire provided to him by saying his race was "human", his color was "Seasonal-oyster white to beige", and he told an Army doctor that he was psycho neurotic. When the draft board referred him to a psychiatrist Brando explained how he had been expelled from Military School, and that he had severe problems with authority. Coincidentally enough the psychiatrist knew a doctor friend of Brando, and Brando was able to avoid military service during the Korean War.

Rise to fame

Brando brought his performance as Stanley Kowalski to the screen in Kazan's adaptation of Tennessee Williams's ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for that role, and again in each of the next three years for his roles in ''Viva Zapata!'' in 1952, ''Julius Caesar'' in 1953 as Mark Antony, and ''On the Waterfront'' in 1954. These first five films of his career established Brando, as evidenced in his winning the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in three consecutive years, 1951 to 1953.

In 1953, Brando also starred in ''The Wild One'' riding his own Triumph Thunderbird 6T motorcycle which caused consternation to Triumph's importers, as the subject matter was rowdy motorcycle gangs taking over a small town. But the images of Brando posing with his Triumph motorcycle became iconic, even forming the basis of his wax dummy at Madame Tussauds.

Later that same year, Brando starred in Lee Falk's production of George Bernard Shaw's ''Arms and the Man'' in Boston. Falk was proud to tell people that Marlon Brando turned down an offer of $10,000 per week on Broadway, in favor of working on Falk's play in Boston. His Boston contract was less than $500 per week. It would be the last time he ever acted in a stage play.

Brando won the Oscar for his role as Terry Malloy in ''On the Waterfront''. For the famous ''I coulda' been a contender'' scene, Brando convinced Kazan that the scripted scene was unrealistic, and with Rod Steiger, improvised the final product.

Brando then took a variety of roles in the 1950s: as Sky Masterson in the musical ''Guys and Dolls''; as Sakini, a Japanese interpreter for the U.S. Army in postwar Japan in ''The Teahouse of the August Moon''; as a United States Air Force officer in ''Sayonara'', and a Nazi officer in ''The Young Lions''.

In the 1960s, Brando starred in films such as ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1962); ''One-Eyed Jacks'' (1961), a western that would be the only film Brando would ever direct; ''The Chase'' (1966), and ''Reflections in a Golden Eye'' (1967), portraying a repressed gay army officer. It was the type of performance that later led critic Stanley Crouch to write, "Brando's main achievement was to portray the taciturn but stoic gloom of those pulverized by circumstances." He also played a guru in the sex farce ''Candy'' (1968). ''Burn!'' (1969), which Brando would later claim as his personal favorite, was a commercial failure. His career slowed down by the end of the decade as he gained a reputation for being difficult to work with.

''The Godfather''

Brando's performance as Vito Corleone or 'the Don' in 1972's ''The Godfather'' was a mid-career turning point. Director Francis Ford Coppola convinced Brando to submit to a "make-up" test, in which Brando did his own makeup (he used cotton balls to simulate the puffed-cheek look). Coppola was electrified by Brando's characterization as the head of a crime family, but had to fight the studio in order to cast the temperamental Brando. Mario Puzo always imagined Brando as Corleone. However, Paramount studio heads wanted to give the role to Danny Thomas in the hope that Thomas would have his own production company throw in its lot with Paramount. Thomas declined the role and actually urged the studio to cast Brando at the behest of Coppola and others who had witnessed the screen test.

Eventually, Charles Bluhdorn, the president of Paramount parent Gulf + Western, was won over to letting Brando have the role; when he saw the screen test, he asked in amazement, "What are we watching? Who is this old guinea?"

Brando won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, but turned down the Oscar, becoming the second actor to refuse a Best Actor award (the first being George C. Scott for ''Patton''). Brando boycotted the award ceremony, sending instead American Indian Rights activist Sacheen Littlefeather, who appeared in full Apache dress, to state Brando's reasons, which were based on his objection to the depiction of American Indians by Hollywood and television.

The actor followed with Bernardo Bertolucci's 1973 film, ''Last Tango in Paris'', but the performance was overshadowed by an uproar over the erotic nature of the film. Despite the controversy which attended both the film and the man, the Academy once again nominated Brando for the Best Actor.

Brando, along with James Caan, was later scheduled in 1974 to appear in the final scene of ''The Godfather Part II''. However, rewrites were made to the script when Brando refused to show up to the studio on the single day of shooting due to disputes with the studio.

Later career

Brando portrayed Superman's father Jor-El in the 1978 film ''Superman''. He agreed to the role only on assurance that he would be paid a large sum for what amounted to a small part, that he would not have to read the script beforehand and his lines would be displayed somewhere off-camera. It was revealed in a documentary contained in the 2001 DVD release of ''Superman'', that he was paid $3.7 million for just two weeks of work.

Brando also filmed scenes for the movie's sequel, ''Superman II'', but after producers refused to pay him the same percentage he received for the first movie, he denied them permission to use the footage. However, after Brando's death the footage was reincorporated into the 2006 re-cut of the film, ''Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut''.

Two years after Brando's death, he "reprised" the role of Jor-El in the 2006 "loose sequel" ''Superman Returns'', in which both used and unused archive footage of Brando as Jor-El from the first two Superman films was remastered for a scene in the Fortress of Solitude, and Brando's voice-overs were used throughout the film.

Brando starred as Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam epic ''Apocalypse Now''. Brando plays a highly decorated American Army Special Forces officer who goes renegade. He runs his own operations out of Cambodia and is feared by the US military as much as the Vietnamese. Brando was paid $1 million a week for his work.

Despite announcing his retirement from acting in 1980, he subsequently gave interesting supporting performances in movies such as ''A Dry White Season'' (for which he was again nominated for an Oscar in 1989), ''The Freshman'' in 1990 and ''Don Juan DeMarco'' in 1995. In his last film, ''The Score'' (2001), he starred with fellow method actor Robert De Niro. Some later performances, such as ''The Island of Dr Moreau'' (1996), earned Brando some of the most uncomplimentary reviews of his career.

Brando conceived the idea of a novel called ''Fan-Tan'' with director Donald Cammell in 1979, which was not released until 2005.

In 2004, Brando signed with Tunisian film director Ridha Behion and began pre-production on a project to be titled ''Brando and Brando''. Up to a week before his death, Brando was working on the script in anticipation of a July/August 2004 start date. Production was suspended in July 2004 following Brando's death, at which time Behi stated that he would continue the film as an homage to Brando, with a new title of ''Citizen Brando''.

Personal life

Relationships and family

In ''Songs My Mother Taught Me'', Brando claimed he met Marilyn Monroe at a party as she played piano, unnoticed by anybody else there, and they had an affair and maintained an intermittent relationship for many years, receiving a telephone call from her several days before she died. He also claimed numerous other romances, although he did not discuss his marriages, his wives, or his children in his autobiography.

Brando married actress Anna Kashfi in 1957. Kashfi was born in Calcutta and moved to Wales from India in 1947. She is said to have been the daughter of a Welsh steel worker of Irish descent, William O'Callaghan, who had been superintendent on the Indian State railways. However, in her book, ''Brando for Breakfast'', she claimed that she really is half Indian and that the press incorrectly thought that her stepfather, O'Callaghan, was her real father. She said her real father was Indian and that she was the result of an "unregistered alliance" between her parents. In 1959, Brando and Kashfi divorced after the birth of their son, Christian Brando, on May 11, 1958.

In 1960, Brando married Movita Castaneda, a Mexican-American actress seven years his senior; they were divorced in 1962. Castaneda had appeared in the first ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' film in 1935, some 27 years before the 1962 remake with Brando as Fletcher Christian. Brando's behavior during the filming of ''Bounty'' seemed to bolster his reputation as a difficult star. He was blamed for a change in director and a runaway budget, though he disclaimed responsibility for either.

The ''Bounty'' experience affected Brando's life in a profound way. He fell in love with Tahiti and its people. He bought a twelve-island atoll, Tetiaroa, which he intended to make partly an environmental laboratory and partly a resort. Tahitian beauty Tarita Teriipia, who played Fletcher Christian's love interest, became Brando's third wife on August 10, 1962. She was 20 years old, 18 years younger than Brando. A 1961 article on Teriipia in the fan magazine ''Motion Picture'' described Brando's delight at how naïve and unsophisticated she was. Because Teriipia was a native French speaker, Brando became fluent in the language and gave numerous interviews in French. Teriipia became the mother of two of his children. They divorced in July 1972. Brando eventually had a hotel built on Tetiaroa. It went through many redesigns as a result of changes demanded by Brando over the years. It is now closed. A new hotel, consisting of thirty deluxe villas, was planned.

Brando was an active ham radio operator, with the call signs KE6PZH and FO5GJ (the latter from his island). He was listed in the FCC records as Martin Brandeaux to preserve his privacy.

;Children

by Anna Kashfi:

* Christian Devi Brando (aka Gary Brown; May 11, 1958 – January 26, 2008, died of pneumonia)

by Movita Castaneda

* Miko Castaneda Brando (b. 1960)

* Rebecca Brando (b. 1966)

by Tarita Teriipia:

* Simon Teihotu Brando (b. 1963) – the only inhabitant of Tetiaroa

* Tarita Cheyenne Brando (1970–1995), committed suicide by hanging

adopted:

* Petra Brando-Corval (b. 1972), daughter of Brando's assistant Caroline Barrett and novelist James Clavell (aka Charles Edmund DuMaresq de Clavell)

by unidentified mothers:

Stefano Brando aka Stephen Blackehart (b. 1967)

* Maimiti Brando (b. 1977) She's the daughter of Tarita, but the father left them, so Brando adopted her.

* Raiatua Brando (b. 1982) She's the adoptive daughter of Tarita and Brando adopted her.

* Dylan Brando (1968–1988)

* Angelique Brando (unknown)

by his housekeeper, Maria Christina Ruiz:

* Ninna Priscilla Brando (b. May 13, 1989)

* Myles Jonathan Brando (b. January 16, 1992)

* Timothy Gahan Brando (b. January 6, 1994)

;Grandchildren

Michael Brando (b.1988)

Tuki Brando (b. 1990)

In May 1990, Dag Drollet, the Tahitian lover of Brando's daughter Cheyenne, died of a gunshot wound after a confrontation with Cheyenne's half-brother Christian at the family's hilltop home above Beverly Hills. Christian, then 31 years old, claimed he was drunk and the shooting was accidental.

After heavily publicized pre-trial proceedings, Christian pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and use of a gun. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. Before the sentence, Brando delivered an hour of testimony, in which he said he and his former wife had failed Christian. He commented softly to members of the Drollet family: "I'm sorry... If I could trade places with Dag, I would. I'm prepared for the consequences." Afterward, Drollet's father said he thought Brando was acting and his son was "getting away with murder." The tragedy was compounded in 1995, when Cheyenne, suffering from lingering effects of a serious car accident and said to still be depressed over Drollet's death, committed suicide by hanging herself in Tahiti. Christian Brando died of pneumonia at age 49, on January 26, 2008.

Lifestyle

Brando became well known for his crusades for civil rights, Native American rights, and other political causes. He also earned a "bad boy" reputation for his public outbursts and antics. On June 12, 1973, Brando broke paparazzo Ron Galella's jaw. Galella had followed Brando, who was accompanied by talk show host Dick Cavett, after a taping of ''The Dick Cavett Show'' in New York City. He reportedly paid a $40,000 out-of-court settlement and suffered an infected hand as a result. Galella wore a football helmet the next time he photographed Brando at a gala benefiting the American Indians Development Association.

In an interview with Gary Carey, for his 1976 biography ''The Only Contender'', Brando said, "Homosexuality is so much in fashion it no longer makes news. Like a large number of men, I, too, have had homosexual experiences and I am not ashamed. I have never paid much attention to what people think about me. But if there is someone who is convinced that Jack Nicholson and I are lovers, may they continue to do so. I find it amusing."

In 1992, he donated money to Michael Jackson to help start his Heal the World Foundation.

Final years and death

Brando's notoriety, his troubled family life, and his obesity attracted more attention than his late acting career. He gained a great deal of weight in the 1980s and by the mid 1990s he weighed over 300 lbs. (136 kg) and suffered from diabetes. Like Orson Welles or Elvis Presley, he had a history of weight fluctuations through his career, attributed to his years of stress-related overeating followed by compensatory dieting. He also earned a reputation for being difficult on the set, often unwilling or unable to memorize his lines and less interested in taking direction than in confronting the film director with odd demands. Brando also dabbled with some innovation in his last years. Brando had several patents issued in his name from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, all of which involve a method of tensioning drum heads, in June 2002 – November 2004. For example, see and its equivalents.

The actor was a longtime close friend of entertainer Michael Jackson and paid regular visits to his Neverland Ranch, resting there for weeks at a time. Brando also participated in the singer's two-day solo career thirtieth-anniversary celebration concerts in 2001, and starred in his 13-minute-long music video, "You Rock My World," in the same year. The actor's son, Miko, was Jackson's bodyguard and assistant for several years, and was a friend of the singer. He stated "The last time my father left his house to go anywhere, to spend any kind of time... was with Michael Jackson. He loved it... He had a 24-hour chef, 24-hour security, 24-hour help, 24-hour kitchen, 24-hour maid service." On Jackson's 30th anniversary concert, Brando gave a speech to the audience on humanitarian work which received a poor reaction from the audience and was unaired.

On July 1, 2004, Brando died, aged 80. He left behind eleven children as well as over thirty grandchildren. The cause of death was intentionally withheld, his lawyer citing privacy concerns. It was later revealed that he had died at UCLA Medical Center of respiratory failure brought on by pulmonary fibrosis. He also suffered from congestive heart failure, failing eyesight caused by diabetes, and liver cancer. Before his death and despite his ill-health, he recorded his voice to appear in ''The Godfather: The Game'', once again as Don Vito Corleone.

Karl Malden, Brando's fellow actor in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', ''On The Waterfront'', and ''One-Eyed Jacks'' (the only film directed by Brando), talks in a documentary accompanying the DVD of ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' about a phone call he received from Brando shortly before Brando's death. A distressed Brando told Malden he kept falling over. Malden wanted to come over, but Brando put him off telling him there was no point. Three weeks later, Brando was dead. Shortly before his death, Brando had apparently refused permission for tubes carrying oxygen to be inserted into his lungs, which, he was told, was the only way to prolong his life.

Brando was cremated, and his ashes were put in with those of his childhood friend Wally Cox and another friend. They were then scattered partly in Tahiti and partly in Death Valley.

In 2007, a 165-minute biopic of Brando, ''Brando: The Documentary'', produced by Mike Medavoy (the executor of Brando's will) for Turner Classic Movies, was released.

Politics

Civil rights

In 1946, Brando showed his dedication to the Jewish desire for a homeland by performing in Ben Hecht's Zionist play "A Flag is Born." Brando's involvement had an impact on three of the most contentious issues of the early postwar period: the fight to establish a Jewish state, the smuggling of Holocaust survivors to Israel, and the battle against racial segregation in the United States.

Brando attended some fundraisers for John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election.

In August 1963, Brando participated in the March on Washington along with fellow celebrities Harry Belafonte, James Garner, Charlton Heston, Burt Lancaster, and Sidney Poitier. Brando also, along with Paul Newman, participated in the freedom rides.

In the aftermath of the 1968 slaying of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Brando made one of the strongest commitments to furthering Dr. King's work. Shortly after Dr. King's death, Brando announced that he was bowing out of the lead role of a major film (''The Arrangement'') which was about to begin production, in order to devote himself to the civil rights movement. "I felt I’d better go find out where it is; what it is to be black in this country; what this rage is all about," Brando said on the late night ABC-TV ''Joey Bishop Show''.

The actor's participation in the African-American civil rights movement actually began well before King's death. In the early 1960s Brando contributed thousands of dollars to both the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (S.C.L.C.) and to a scholarship fund established for the children of slain Mississippi N.A.A.C.P. leader Medgar Evers. By this time, Brando was already involved in films that carried messages about human rights: "Sayonara," which addressed interracial romance, and "The Ugly American," depicting the conduct of US officials abroad and its deleterious effect on the citizens of foreign countries. For a time Brando was also donating money to the Black Panther Party and considered himself a friend of founder Bobby Seale. However, Brando ended his financial support for the group over his perception of its increasing radicalization, specifically a passage in a Panther pamphlet put out by Eldridge Cleaver advocating indiscriminate violence, "for the Revolution."

At the 1973 Academy Awards ceremony, Brando refused to accept the Oscar for his performance in The Godfather. Sacheen Littlefeather represented Mr. Brando at the ceremony. She appeared in full Apache clothing. She stated that owing to the "poor treatment of Native Americans in the film industry" Mr. Brando would not accept the award. At this time the 1973 standoff at Wounded Knee occurred, causing rising tensions between the government and Native American activists. The event grabbed the attention of the US and the world media. This was considered a major event and victory for the movement by its supporters and participants.

Outside of his film work, Brando not only appeared before the California Assembly in support of a fair housing law, but personally joined picket lines in demonstrations protesting discrimination in housing developments.

Comments on Jews, Hollywood, and Israel

In an interview in ''Playboy'' magazine in January 1979, Brando said: "You've seen every single race besmirched, but you never saw an image of the kike because the Jews were ever so watchful for that—and rightly so. They never allowed it to be shown on screen. The Jews have done so much for the world that, I suppose, you get extra disappointed because they didn't pay attention to that."

Brando made a similar comment on ''Larry King Live'' in April 1996, saying "Hollywood is run by Jews; it is owned by Jews, and they should have a greater sensitivity about the issue of—of people who are suffering. Because they've exploited—we have seen the—we have seen the Nigger and Greaseball, we've seen the Chink, we've seen the slit-eyed dangerous Jap, we have seen the wily Filipino, we've seen everything but we never saw the Kike. Because they knew perfectly well, that that is where you draw the wagons around." King, who is Jewish, replied, "When you say—when you say something like that you are playing right in, though, to anti-Semitic people who say the Jews are—" at which point Brando interrupted. "No, no, because I will be the first one who will appraise the Jews honestly and say 'Thank God for the Jews.'"

Jay Kanter, Brando's agent, producer and friend defended him in ''Daily Variety'': "Marlon has spoken to me for hours about his fondness for the Jewish people, and he is a well-known supporter of Israel." Similarly, Louie Kemp, in his article for ''Jewish Journal'', wrote: "You might remember him as Don Vito Corleone, Stanley Kowalski or the eerie Col. Walter E. Kurtz in "Apocalypse Now," but I remember Marlon Brando as a mensch and a personal friend of the Jewish people when they needed it most." Brando was also a major donor to the Irgun, a Zionist political-paramilitary group.

In an interview with ''NBC Today'' one day after Brando's death, Larry King also defended Brando's comments saying that they were out of proportion and taken out of context.

Legacy

Brando is widely considered as one of the greatest and most influential actors of the 20th century. Largely credited for popularizing the "method" acting style, he has earned great respect among critics and theatre experts for his memorable performances and charismatic screen presence. In the book ''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia, ''edited by Philip C. DiMare, James Delmont wrote: "Marlon Brando was arguably the finest screen actor of the twentieth century, winning worldwide acceptance as both a movie star of the first rank and as a performer of uncommon skill." Richard Schickel felt that: "As a movie actor he [Brando] has no peer in this generation. That he consistently underplays, yet still packs more emotion into a scene than anyone else, is a sign of a charisma that may be an act of God." Similarly, film critic Roger Ebert, writing of his iconic performance in ''Last Tango in Paris'', said: "This was the greatest movie actor of his time, the author of performances that do honor to the cinema." Tennessee Williams, among the many who acknowledged his finesse, described Brando as "the greatest living actor ever... greater than [Laurence] Olivier." Laurence Olivier himself said: "Brando acted with an empathy and an instinctual understanding that not even the greatest technical performers could possibly match." In a 2007 ''Best Life'' article, praising his performance in ''On the Waterfront'', Rob Reiner wrote: "Marlon Brando gives the single greatest performance ever. It's just so natural, powerful, real, and honest."

Marlon Brando is a cultural icon whose popularity has endured for over six decades. Brando's rise to national attention in the 1950s had a profound effect on the motion picture industry and influenced the broader scope of American culture. According to film critic Pauline Kael, "[Marlon] Brando represented a reaction against the post-war mania for security. As a protagonist, the Brando of the early fifties had no code, only his instincts. He was a development from the gangster leader and the outlaw. He was antisocial because he knew society was crap; he was a hero to youth because he was strong enough not to take the crap ... Brando represented a contemporary version of the free American ... Brando is still the most exciting American actor on the screen." Sociologist Dr. Suzanne Mcdonald-Walker states: "Marlon Brando, sporting leather jacket, jeans, and moody glare, became a cultural icon summing up 'the road' in all its maverick glory." His portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler in ''The Wild One'' has become an iconic image, used both as a symbol of rebelliousness and a fashion accessory that includes a Perfecto style motorcycle jacket, a tilted cap, jeans and sunglasses. Johnny's haircut inspired a craze for sideburns, followed by James Dean and Elvis Presley, among others. Dean copied Brando's acting style extensively and Presley used him as a model for his role in ''Jailhouse Rock''. The "I coulda been a contenda" scene from ''On the Waterfront'', according to the author of ''Brooklyn Boomer'', Martin H. Levinson, is "one of the most famous scenes in motion picture history and the line itself has become part of America's cultural lexicon."

Brando's estate still earns about $9,000,000 per year, according to ''Forbes''. He was named one of the top-earning dead celebrities in the world by the magazine.

Filmography

Honors, awards and nominations

Brando was named the fourth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute, and part of ''Time'' magazine's Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century. He was also named one of the top 10 "Icons of the Century" by ''Variety'' magazine.

References

Bibliography

Bain, David Haward. ''The Old Iron Road: An Epic of Rails, Roads, and the Urge to Go West''. New York: Penguin Books, 2004. ISBN 0-14303-526-6.

Bosworth, Patricia. ''Marlon Brando''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2001. ISBN 0-297-84284-6.

Brando, Anna Kashfi and E.P. Stein. ''Brando for Breakfast''. New York: Crown Publishers, 1979. ISBN 0-517-53686-2.

Brando, Marlon and Donald Cammell. ''Fan-Tan''. New York: Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-40004-471-5.

Brando, Marlon and Robert Lindsey. ''Brando: Songs My Mother Taught Me''. New York: Random House, 1994. ISBN 0-67941-013-9.

Pierpont, Claudia Roth. ''Method Man''. ''New Yorker'', October 27, 2008.

External links

The Oddfather, ''Rolling Stone'', Jod Kaftan, April 25, 2002

Court TV: Christian Brando: A Hollywood Family Tragedy

Vanity Fair: ''The King Who Would Be Man'' by Budd Schulberg

Marlon Brando: Never-Seen Portraits – slideshow by ''Life magazine''

The New Yorker: ''The Duke in His Domain'' – Truman Capote's influential 1957 interview.

Obituaries

Marlon Brando, Oscar-Winning Actor, Is Dead at 80

Obituary from ''The Washington Post''

Obituary at Slate

MSNBC: Marlon Brando dies in Los Angeles hospital

Long article on auction of Brando's possessions at ''The Observer'' (UK)

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name	Bernadette Peters
birth name	Bernadette Lazzara
birth date	February 28, 1948
birth place	Ozone Park, Queens, New York, United States
spouse	Michael Wittenberg (1996-2005) (his death)
occupation	Actress, singer, author, comedienne
years active	1958–present
website	}}

Bernadette Peters (born Bernadette Lazzara on February 28, 1948) is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York . Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings. She is one of the most critically acclaimed Broadway performers, having received nominations for seven Tony Awards, winning two, and eight Drama Desk Awards, winning three. Four of the Broadway cast albums on which she has starred have won Grammy Awards.

Peters first performed on the stage as a child and then a teenage actor in the 1960s, and in film and television in the 1970s. She was praised for this early work and for appearances on ''The Muppet Show'', ''The Carol Burnett Show'' and in other television work, and for her roles in films like ''Silent Movie'', ''The Jerk'', ''Pennies from Heaven'' and ''Annie''. In the 1980s, she returned to the theatre, where she became one of the best-known Broadway stars over the next three decades. She also has recorded six solo albums and several singles, as well as many cast albums, and performs regularly in her own solo concert act. Peters also continues to act in films and on television, where she has been nominated for three Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards, winning once.

Peters is particularly noted for her starring roles in stage musicals, including ''Sunday in the Park with George'', ''Into the Woods'', ''Song and Dance'', ''Annie Get Your Gun'', ''Gypsy'', ''A Little Night Music'' and ''Follies'', becoming closely associated with composer Stephen Sondheim. She had a four-year romantic relationship with comedian Steve Martin and was married to investment adviser Michael Wittenberg for over nine years until he was killed in a helicopter crash on September 26, 2005. Peters is known for her charitable work, including as a founder of the Broadway Barks animal charity.

Early life and career

Peters was born Bernadette Lazzara to an Italian-American family in Ozone Park, Queens, New York, the youngest of three children. Her siblings are casting director Donna DeSeta and Joseph Lazzara. Her father Peter drove a bread delivery truck, and her mother, Marguerite (née Maltese), started her in show business by putting her on the television show ''Juvenile Jury'' at the age of three-and-a-half. She appeared on the television shows ''Name That Tune'' and several times on ''The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour'' at age five.

In January 1958, at age nine, she obtained her Actors Equity Card in the name of Bernadette Peters to avoid ethnic stereotyping, with the stage name taken from her father's first name. She made her professional stage debut the same month in ''This is Goggle'', a comedy directed by Otto Preminger that closed during out-of-town tryouts before reaching New York. She then appeared on NBC television as Anna Stieman in ''A Boy Called Ciske'', a Kraft Mystery Theatre production, in May 1958, and in a vignette entitled "Miracle in the Orphanage", part of "The Christmas Tree", a Hallmark Hall of Fame production, in December 1958 with fellow child actor Richard Thomas and veteran actors Jessica Tandy and Margaret Hamilton. She first appeared on the New York stage at age 10 as Tessie in the New York City Center revival of ''The Most Happy Fella'' (1959). In her teen years, she attended the Quintano's School for Young Professionals, a now defunct private school that several famous people, such as Steven Tyler, attended.

At age 13, Peters appeared as one of the "Hollywood Blondes" and was an understudy for "Dainty June" in the second national tour of ''Gypsy''. During this tour, Peters first met her long-time accompanist, conductor and arranger Marvin Laird, who was the assistant conductor for the tour. Laird recalled, "I heard her sing an odd phrase or two and thought, 'God that's a big voice out of that little girl,'" The next summer, she played Dainty June in summer stock, and in 1962 she recorded her first single. In 1964, she played Leisl in ''The Sound of Music'' and Jenny in ''Riverwind'' in summer stock at the Mt. Gretna Playhouse (Pennsylvania), and ''Riverwind'' again at the Bucks County Playhouse in 1966. Upon graduation from high school, she started working steadily, appearing Off-Broadway in the musicals ''The Penny Friend'' (1966) and ''Curley McDimple'' (1967) and as a standby on Broadway in ''The Girl in the Freudian Slip'' (1967). She made her Broadway debut in ''Johnny No-Trump'' in 1967, and next appeared as George M. Cohan's sister opposite Joel Grey in ''George M!'' (1968), winning the Theatre World Award.

It was Peters' performance as "Ruby" in the 1968 Off-Broadway production of ''Dames at Sea'', a parody of 1930s musicals, that brought her critical acclaim and her first Drama Desk Award. She had appeared in an earlier 1966 version of ''Dames at Sea'' at the Off-Off-Broadway performance club Caffe Cino. Peters had starring roles in her next Broadway vehicles—Gelsomina in ''La Strada'' (1969) and Hildy in ''On the Town'' (1971), for which she received her first Tony Award nomination. She played Mabel Normand in ''Mack and Mabel'' (1974), receiving another Tony nomination. Clive Barnes wrote: "With the splashy ''Mack & Mabel'' ... diminutive and contralto Bernadette Peters found herself as a major Broadway star." Although these had short runs, Peters was singled out for praise by the critics, and the ''Mack and Mabel'' cast album became popular among musical theatre fans. She moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s to concentrate on television and film work.

Film appearances

Peters has appeared in 32 feature films or television movies beginning in 1973, including Mel Brooks' 1976 film ''Silent Movie'' (for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award), the musical ''Annie'' (1982), ''Pink Cadillac'' (1989), in which she co-starred with Clint Eastwood, and Woody Allen's ''Alice'' (1990).

Peters starred opposite Steve Martin in ''The Jerk'' (1979), in a role that he wrote for her, and ''Pennies From Heaven'' (1981), for which she won the Golden Globe Award as Best Motion Picture Actress in a Comedy or Musical. In ''Pennies from Heaven'', she played Eileen Everson, a schoolteacher turned prostitute. Of her performance in ''Pennies From Heaven'', John DiLeo wrote that she "is not only poignant as you'd expect but has a surprising inner strength." Pauline Kael wrote in ''The New Yorker'': "Peters is mysteriously right in every nuance." Kael further noted that "The dance numbers are funny, amazing, and beautiful all at once; several of them are just about perfection." A review of the DVD reissue noted, "Peters brought a cocky attitude and a sexy exuberance to the musical numbers."

Peters and Martin had begun a romantic relationship in 1977 that lasted approximately four years. By 1981, her popularity had led to Peters appearing on the cover and in a spread in the December 1981 issue of ''Playboy Magazine'', in which she posed in lingerie designed by Bob Mackie.

Peters appeared with three generations of the Kirk Douglas family in the 2003 film ''It Runs in the Family'', in which she played the wife of Michael Douglas's character. In May 2006, she appeared in the movie ''Come le formiche'' (''Wine and Kisses'') with F. Murray Abraham, filmed in Italy, playing a rich American who becomes involved with an Italian family that owns a vineyard. The DVD was released in 2007 in Italy. She starred in a film titled ''Coming Up Roses'', playing a former musical-comedy actress with two daughters. The movie, produced by Bullet Pictures, Inc. and directed by Lisa Albright was filmed in March 2010.

Theatre roles, 1980s to present

In 1982, Peters returned to the New York stage after an eight year absence in one of her few non-musical stage appearances, the off-Broadway Manhattan Theatre Club production of the comedy-drama ''Sally and Marsha'', for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. She then returned to Broadway as Dot/Marie in the Stephen Sondheim–James Lapine musical ''Sunday in the Park with George'' (1984), for which she received her third Tony Award nomination. ''The New York Times'' reviewer Frank Rich called her performance "radiant". She recorded the role for PBS in 1986, winning a 1987 ACE Award. Her next role was Andrew Lloyd Webber's ''Song and Dance'' (1985), winning her first Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance in the role of Emma. Theater critic Frank Rich wrote in an otherwise negative review of the show that Peters "has no peer in the musical theater right now."

She then created the role of the Witch in Sondheim-Lapine's ''Into the Woods'' (1987). Peters is "considered by many to be the premier interpreter of [Sondheim's] work," according to writer Alex Witchel. Raymond Knapp wrote that Peters "achieved her definitive stardom" in ''Sunday in the Park With George'' and ''Into the Woods''. Sondheim has said of Peters, "Like very few others, she sings and acts at the same time," he says. "Most performers act and then sing, act and then sing ... Bernadette is flawless as far as I'm concerned. I can't think of anything negative." Peters continued her association with Sondheim with a 1995 benefit concert of ''Anyone Can Whistle''. Additionally, she appeared in several concerts featuring Sondheim's work, and performed for him at his 1993 Kennedy Center Honors ceremony.

She next starred in the musical adaptation of Neil Simon's ''The Goodbye Girl'' with music by Marvin Hamlisch (1993). Peters won her second Tony for her performance as Annie Oakley in the 1999 revival of ''Annie Get Your Gun'' opposite Tom Wopat. Among many glowing notices for this role, critic Lloyd Rose of the ''Washington Post'' commented: "[Peters] banishes all thoughts of Ethel Merman about two bars into her first number, 'Doin' What Comes Natur'lly.' Partly this is because Merman's Annie was a hearty, boisterous gal, while Peters plays an adorable, slightly goofy gamine... For anyone who cares about the American musical theater, the chance to see Peters in this role is reason enough to see the show." ''Playbill'' went even further: "Arguably the most talented comedienne in the musical theatre today, Peters manages to extract a laugh from most every line she delivers."

In 2003, Peters took on the role of Mama Rose in the Broadway revival of ''Gypsy'', earning another Tony nomination. Ben Brantley in his ''New York Times'' review wrote, "Working against type and expectation under the direction of Sam Mendes, Ms. Peters has created the most complex and compelling portrait of her long career, and she has done this in ways that deviate radically from the Merman blueprint." Arthur Laurents said: "But in 2003 there was a new Rose on Broadway: Bernadette Peters! Brilliant, original, totally unlike any of the others." In February 2006, she participated in a reading of the Sondheim-Weidman musical ''Bounce''. On September 24, 2007, Peters participated in a one-time only charity reading of the play ''Love Letters'' with her former ''Gypsy'' co-star, John Dossett.

After an absence from the Broadway stage of six years (''Gypsy'' closed in 2004), she starred in the Broadway revival of Sondheim's ''A Little Night Music'', as Desiree Armfeldt from July 13, 2010 to January 9, 2011. She replaced Catherine Zeta-Jones in the role. ''The New York Times'' reviewer wrote of her performance, "for theater lovers there can be no greater current pleasure than to witness Bernadette Peters perform the show’s signature number, "Send In the Clowns," with an emotional transparency and musical delicacy that turns this celebrated song into an occasion of transporting artistry. I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced with such palpable force – or such prominent goose bumps – the sense of being present at an indelible moment in the history of musical theater."

Peters appeared in the role of Sally Durant Plummer in the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts production of the Sondheim musical, ''Follies'' in May and June 2011. Of her performance, one critic wrote: "Peters may not be the most traditional casting for Sally, now an ultraneurotic housewife in Phoenix, but she exquisitely captures the character's unfathomable sadness and longing. It's a star turn, for sure, but one that brings attention to itself because of its truthfulness. Not surprisingly, her rendition of 'Losing My Mind' is simply shattering." She is reprising her role of Sally in the Broadway limited engagement of ''Follies'', which starts in previews on August 7, 2011 at the Marquis Theatre.

Theatre awards

Peters has been nominated for the Tony Award seven times, and won twice. She has also been nominated for the Drama Desk Award eight times and won three times (''Annie Get Your Gun'', ''Song and Dance'', and ''Dames at Sea'').

Television appearances

Peters was nominated for Emmy Awards for her guest-starring roles on ''The Muppet Show'' (1977) and ''Ally McBeal'' (2001). On ''The Muppet Show'', Peters sang the song "Just One Person" to Robin the Frog. She was one of the Muppets' guests when they hosted ''The Tonight Show'' in 1979, again singing "Just One Person" to Robin, and she appeared in other episodes with the Muppets. Peters was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award, Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special, for her work in the 2002 made-for-television movie ''Bobbie's Girl''. She won the 1987 "CableACE Award" for her role as Dot in the television version of ''Sunday in the Park With George''.

She has appeared in many variety shows with stars such as Sonny and Cher and George Burns. She has both performed and presented on the Academy Awards broadcasts in 1976, 1981, 1983, 1987 and 1994. Peters has been a presenter at the annual Tony Awards ceremony and co-hosted the ceremony with Gregory Hines in June 2002. She also hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' in November 1981. She made 12 guest appearances on ''The Carol Burnett Show'' as well as appearing with Burnett in the made-for-television version of ''Once Upon a Mattress'' and the 1982 film ''Annie''. She also performed at the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony for Burnett in 2003. Peters often appeared on the ''Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' and on the day-time talk show ''Live with Regis and Kelly'', both as a co-host and a guest. Peters voiced Rita the stray cat in the "Rita and Runt" segments of the animated series ''Animaniacs''. Peters, as Rita, sang both original songs written for the show and parodies of Broadway musical numbers. She appeared on ''Inside the Actor's Studio'' in November 2000, discussing her career and craft.

Peters has co-starred in a number of television movies, including ''The Last Best Year'' (1990) with Mary Tyler Moore, ''Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella'' (1997) with Brandy (receiving a nomination for the "Golden Satellite Award" for her role), and ''Prince Charming'' (2003) with Martin Short. She co-starred in her own television series, ''All's Fair'', with Richard Crenna in 1976–77, for which Peters was nominated for a Golden Globe award as Best TV Actress — Musical/Comedy. In March 2005, she made a pilot for an ABC situation comedy series titled ''Adopted'', co-starring with Christine Baranski, but it was not picked up. Peters appeared in the Lifetime television movie ''Living Proof'', which was first broadcast on October 18, 2008. She played the role of Barbara, an art teacher with breast cancer, who is initially reluctant to participate in the study for the cancer drug Herceptin. Andrew Gans of ''Playbill'' wrote, "Peters is able to choose from an expansive emotional palette to color the character, and her performance... is moving, humorous and ultimately spirit-raising".

Peters' television work in recent years also includes guest appearances on several television series. She appeared as the sharp-tongued sister of Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) on the penultimate episode of the NBC series ''Will & Grace'', "Whatever Happened to Baby Gin?" (May 2006); as a defense attorney on the NBC series, ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (November 2006); as a judge on the ABC series ''Boston Legal'' (May 2007); and as an accident victim in ''Grey's Anatomy'' (September 2008). Of her role in ''Grey's Anatomy'', ''TV Guide'' wrote: "Peters is especially fine as she confronts a life spinning out of control. I'd make her an early contender for a guest-actor Emmy nomination." In January, February and May 2009, she appeared in the ABC series ''Ugly Betty'' in five episodes as Jodie Papadakis, a magazine mogul running the YETI (Young Editors Training Initiative) program that Betty and Marc are in.

Peters' appearance at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in June 2009 was filmed and broadcast in Australia later that month.

Recordings

Peters has recorded six solo albums and several singles. Three of her albums have been nominated for the Grammy Award. Peters' 1980 single "Gee Whiz" reached the top forty on the U.S. pop singles charts. She has recorded most of the Broadway and off-Broadway musicals she has appeared in, and four of these cast albums have won Grammy Awards.

Peters' debut album in 1980 (an LP), entitled ''Bernadette Peters'' contained 10 songs, including "If You Were The Only Boy", "Gee Whiz", "Heartquake", "Should've Never Let Him Go", "Chico's Girl", "Pearl's a Singer", "Other Lady", "Only Wounded", "I Never Thought I'd Break" and "You'll Never Know". The original cover painting by Alberto Vargas, pictured at left, was one of his last works, created at the age of 84. According to ''The New York Daily News'', Peters "persuaded him to do one last 'Vargas Girls' portrait... She just went to his California retreat, asked him to do one more, he looked at her and said, 'You ARE a Vargas girl!'" She kept the original painting. The original title planned for the album was ''Decades''. ''Rolling Stone'' wrote of her debut album:

Her next solo album, ''Now Playing'' (1981), featured songs by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Carole Bayer Sager and Marvin Hamlisch, and Stephen Sondheim (for example, "Broadway Baby"). ''Bernadette Peters'' was re-released on CD in 1992 as ''Bernadette'', with the 1980 Vargas cover art, and included some of the songs from ''Now Playing''. In 1996, she was nominated for a Grammy Award for her best-selling album, ''I'll Be Your Baby Tonight'', which includes popular songs by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Lyle Lovett, Hank Williams, Sam Cooke, and Billy Joel, as well as Broadway classics by Leonard Bernstein and Rodgers and Hammerstein. The live recording of her 1996 Carnegie Hall concert, ''Sondheim, Etc. - Bernadette Peters Live At Carnegie Hall'', also was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Peters' next studio album, in 2002, ''Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers and Hammerstein'', consisted entirely of Rodgers and Hammerstein songs, including two that she often sings in her concerts, "Some Enchanted Evening" and "There Is Nothin' Like a Dame". This album, which reached position 14 in the "Top Internet Charts", was her third album in a row nominated for a Grammy Award. It formed the basis of her Radio City Music Hall solo concert debut in June 2002. Her last solo album, titled ''Sondheim Etc., Etc. Live At Carnegie Hall: The Rest of It'', was released in 2005. It consists of all of the songs (and patter) from her 1996 Carnegie Hall concert that were not included in the earlier recording.

Additionally, Peters has recorded songs on other albums, such as "Dublin Lady" on John Whelan's ''Flirting with the Edge'' (Narada, 1998). On the Mandy Patinkin ''Dress Casual'' 1990 album, Patinkin and Peters recorded the songs from Stephen Sondheim's 1966 television play, ''Evening Primrose''. On the tribute album ''Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins'' Peters sings "Trust Your Heart".

Concert performances

Peters has been performing her solo concert in the United States and Canada for many years. She made her solo concert debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1996, devoting the second half to the work of Stephen Sondheim. She performed a similar concert in London, which was taped and released on video, and also aired on U.S. Public Television stations in 1999. She continues to perform her solo concert at venues around the U.S., such as the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, and with symphony orchestras such as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Hall.

In a review of her 2002 Radio City Music Hall concert, Stephen Holden of ''The New York Times'' described Peters as "the peaches-and-cream embodiment of an ageless storybook princess... inside a giant soap bubble floating toward heaven. A belief in the power of the dreams behind Rodgers and Hammerstein's songs, if not in their reality, was possible." Peters made her solo concert debut at Lincoln Center in New York City on May 1, 2006. Holden, reviewing this concert, noted, "Even while swiveling across the stage of Avery Fisher Hall like a voluptuous Botticelli Venus in Bob Mackie spangles... she radiated a preternatural innocence.... For the eternal child in all of us, she evokes a surrogate childhood playmate". In June 2009, Peters was the headliner at the 2009 Adelaide Cabaret Festival in Adelaide, Australia. The ''Sunday Mail'' felt that Peters showed "the verve, vigour and voice of someone half her age."

Peters' concert performances often benefit arts organizations or help them to mark special occasions, such as her performance on an overnight cruise on the Seabourn Odyssey in a benefit for the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami in November 2009. She was one of the performers to help celebrate the Center's grand opening, in October 2006. She headlined The Alliance of The Arts Black Tie Anniversary Gala at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks, California, on November 21, 2009. She had helped to celebrate the opening of the Arts Plaza with concerts fifteen years earlier.

Children's books

To support the animal adoption charity that she co-founded, Broadway Barks, Peters has written two children's books, both illustrated by Liz Murphy. The first is about a scrappy dog, named after her dog Kramer, and the pleasure of adopting a pet. Titled ''Broadway Barks'', the book is published by Blue Apple Books (2008). Peters wrote the words and music to a lullaby, titled "Kramer's Song", which is included on a CD in the book. The book reached #5 on ''The New York Times'' Children's Best Sellers: Picture Books list for the week of June 8, 2008.

Her second children's book is the story of a pit bull, Stella, named after Peters' pit bull. The character would rather be a pig ballerina, but she learns to accept herself. Titled ''Stella is a Star'', the book includes a CD with an original song written and performed by Peters and was released in April 2010 by Blue Apple Books. According to ''Publisher's Weekly'', "Turning the pages to Peters' spirited narration, which is provided in an accompanying CD, makes for a more rewarding reading experience. The story and disc end with a sneakily affecting self-esteem anthem, which, like the familiar tale itself, is buoyed by the author's lovely vocals." Peters introduced the book at a reading and signing where she also sang part of the song, at the L.A. Times Festival of Books, Los Angeles, California, on April 24, 2010.

Peters sings four songs on the CD accompanying the 2005 children's picture book ''Dewey Doo-it Helps Owlie Fly Again'', the proceeds of which benefit the Christopher Reeve Foundation. Her co-star from ''Sunday in the Park With George'', Mandy Patinkin, also sings on the CD.

Other activities

;Broadway Barks Peters contributes her time and talents to various charitable, celebratory and civic efforts. In 1999, Peters and Mary Tyler Moore co-founded Broadway Barks, an annual animal adopt-a-thon held in New York City. Each July, she and Mary Tyler Moore act as co-hosts and presenters for the Broadway Barks event. Peters held a concert, "A Special Concert for Broadway Barks Because Broadway Cares", at the Minskoff Theatre, New York City, on November 9, 2009 as a benefit for both Broadway Barks and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. The concert raised an estimated $615,000 for the two charities. Also in support of Broadway Barks, Peters has appeared on the daytime talk show ''Live With Regis and Kelly''.

;Other Peters serves on the Board of Trustees of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and participates in the organization's events, such as the annual Broadway Flea Market and Grand Auction, and the "Gypsy of the Year" competition. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Standing Tall, a non-profit educational program offering an innovative program for children with multiple disabilities, based in New York City. Her late husband was the Director and Treasurer of Standing Tall. Peters' 1995 ''Anyone Can Whistle'' concert and her "Carnegie Hall" 1996 concert were benefits for the Gay Men's Health Crisis. She also has supported the Christopher Reeve Foundation.

In 2007, Peters helped the Broadway community celebrate the end of the stagehand strike in a "Broadway's Back" concert at the Marquis Theatre. In 2008, she was one of the participants in a fund-raiser for the Westport Country Playhouse, and in the opening ceremony and dedication of the renovated TKTS discount ticket booth in Times Square. That year, she also presented Mayor Michael Bloomberg with the Humanitarian Award at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation awards. On March 8, 2009, she helped celebrate the last birthday of Senator Ted Kennedy (singing "There Is Nothin' Like a Dame") in a private concert and ceremony held at the Kennedy Center, hosted by Bill Cosby, with many Senators, Representatives, and President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama in attendance. On November 19, 2009, she helped to celebrate the opening of The David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center.

On February 8, 2010, Peters was one of the many to honor Angela Lansbury at the annual Drama League of New York benefit, singing "Not While I'm Around". In March 2010, Peters helped Stephen Sondheim celebrate his 80th birthday in the Roundabout Theatre Company "Sondheim 80" benefit. She was one of the Honorary Chairs. She had been part of the Roundabout Theatre's Sondheim gala for his 75th birthday.

Personal life

Peters married investment adviser Michael Wittenberg on July 20, 1996 at the upstate New York home of long-time friend Mary Tyler Moore. Wittenberg died at age 43 on September 26, 2005 in a helicopter crash in Montenegro while on a business trip.

Peters has two dogs, a mixed-breed dog named Kramer and an American pit bull terrier named Stella, both adopted from shelters. Peters' goddaughter Isabelle and Kramer were the inspirations for the characters in her first children's book, ''Broadway Barks'', and Stella inspired the title character of her second children's book, ''Stella is a Star''.

Honorary awards

Peters has received many honorary awards over the years, such as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in April 1987. She was named the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year in 1987. Other honors include the Sarah Siddons Award for outstanding performance in a Chicago theatrical production (1994); the American Theatre Hall of Fame at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City (1996), becoming the youngest person so honored; The Actors' Fund Artistic Achievement Medal (1999); an Honorary Doctorate from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York (May 19, 2002); the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame in June 2002 and the National Dance Institute 2009 Artistic Honoree in April 2009. She was the recipient of the Stephen Sondheim Award, presented by the Signature Theatre on April 11, 2011.

Work

Stage (selected)

{|class="wikitable sortable" width="95%" ! Year ! Show ! Role ! class="unsortable"| Notes |- | align="center"| 1958 | ''This is Goggle'' | | Professional stage debut |- | align="center"| 1967 | ''The Girl in the Freudian Slip'' | Leslie Maugham | Broadway debut (standby) |- | align="center"| 1967 | ''Johnny No-Trump'' | Bettina | |- | align="center"| 1968 | ''George M!'' | Josie Cohan | Theatre World Award for Debut Performance |- | align="center"| 1968 | ''Dames at Sea'' | Ruby | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance |- | align="center"| 1968 | ''A Mother's Kisses'' | Performer | Written by Bruce Jay Friedman and featured Bea Arthur. Three weeks of out-of-town tryouts in New Haven and Baltimore; cancelled before scheduled Broadway premiere. |- | align="center"| 1969 | ''La Strada'' | Gelsomina | Closed after one official performance. Peters' performance was praised. |- | align="center"| 1971 | ''Nevertheless, They Laugh'' | Consuelo | Lamb's Club, New York City, March 1971 (5 performances) |- | align="center"| 1971 | ''W.C.'' | Carlotta Monti | Starred Mickey Rooney. Played only out-of-town from May to October 1971, never opening in New York City. |- | align="center"| 1971 | ''On the Town'' (revival) | Hildy Esterhazy | Nominated—Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical |- | align="center"| 1974 | ''Mack & Mabel'' | Mabel Normand | Nominated—Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical Nominated—Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical |- | align="center"| 1982 | ''Sally and Marsha'' | Sally | |- | align="center"| 1984 | ''Sunday in the Park with George'' | Dot/Marie | Nominated—Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical Nominated—Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical |- | align="center"| 1985 | ''Song and Dance'' | Emma | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical |- | align="center"| 1987 | ''Into the Woods'' | Witch | Nominated—Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical |- | align="center"| 1993 | ''The Goodbye Girl'' | Paula | Nominated—Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical |- | align="center"| 1999 | ''Annie Get Your Gun'' (revival) | Annie Oakley | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical |- | align="center"| 2003 | ''Gypsy'' (revival) | Rose | Nominated—Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical Nominated—Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical |- | align="center"| 2009 | ''A Little Night Music'' (revival) | Desiree Armfeldt | Replacement for Catherine Zeta-Jones |- | align="center"| 2011 | ''Follies'' (revival) | Sally Durant Plummer | Kennedy Center and also Broadway revival |}

Filmography

''Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies'' (1973)

''The Longest Yard'' (1974)

''Silent Movie'' (1976)

''W.C. Fields and Me'' (1976)

''Vigilante Force'' (1976)

''The Jerk'' (1979)

''Tulips'' (1981)

''Pennies from Heaven'' (1981)

''Heartbeeps'' (1981)

''Annie'' (1982)

''Slaves of New York'' (1989)

''Pink Cadillac'' (1989)

''Alice'' (1990)

''Impromptu'' (1991)

''Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas'' (1997) (voice)

''Anastasia'' (1997) (voice)

''Barney's Great Adventure'' (1998) (singer, title song)

''Wakko's Wish (1999) (voice)

''Let It Snow'' (2001)

''The Making and Meaning of We Are Family'' (2002) (documentary)

''It Runs in the Family'' (2003)

''The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration'' (2003) (voice)

''Come le formiche'' (''Wine and Kisses'') (2007) (DVD released in Italy)

Television

''The Carol Burnett Show'' (various shows, 1969–1991)

''George M!'' (1970)

''Once Upon a Mattress'' (1972) as Lady Larkin

"Love American Style" – Episode titled "Love and the Hoodwinked Honey" (1973) as Nellie (opposite Jerry Orbach)

''Paradise Lost'' (TV film, 1974)

''Maude'' – Episode titled "Rumpus in the Rumpus Room" (1975)

''All in the Family'' – Episode titled "Gloria Suspects Mike" (1975)

''All's Fair'' (TV series) (1976–1977)

''McCloud'' – Episode titled "The Day New York Turned Blue" (1976)

''The Muppet Show'' (1977)

''The Islander'' (1978)

''The Martian Chronicles'' (1980) (miniseries)

''Saturday Night Live'' (1981) (host and performer)

''Faerie Tale Theatre – Sleeping Beauty'' (1983)

''Sunday in the Park with George'' (1986)

''Diana Ross: Red Hot Rhythm and Blues'' (1987)

''David'' (TV film, 1988)

''Fall from Grace'' (TV film, 1990)

''The Last Best Year'' (TV film, 1990)

''Into the Woods'' (1991)

''The Last Mile'' (1992)

''Animaniacs'' ("Rita and Runt" episodes, 1993–1994) (voice of Rita)

''The Larry Sanders Show'' – Episode titled "Montana" (1994)

''A&E; Stage'': "A Tribute to Stephen Sondheim at Southern Methodist University" (1995)

''Live with Regis and Kelly'' (various appearances, 1996–2010)

''The Odyssey'' (1997) (miniseries)

''Cinderella'' (TV film, 1997)

''What the Deaf Man Heard'' (TV film, 1997)

''Holiday in Your Heart'' (TV film, 1997)

''The Closer'' – Episode titled "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (1998)

''Inside the Actors Studio'' (2000)

''Frasier'' ("Sliding Frasiers") (2001) (celebrity call-in)

''Ally McBeal''  – Episodes titled "The Getaway" and "The Obstacle Course" (2001)

''Bobbie's Girl'' (TV film, 2002)

''Prince Charming'' (TV film, 2001 (Peru), 2003 (USA))

''Adopted'' (2005) (unsold ABC pilot)

''Will & Grace'' – Episode titled "Whatever Happened to Baby Gin?" (2006)

''Law and Order:SVU'' – Episode titled "Choreographed" (2006)

''Boston Legal'' – Episode titled "Guantanamo By The Bay" (2007)

''Grey's Anatomy'' – Episode titled "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (2008)

''Living Proof'' (TV film, 2008)

''Ugly Betty'' – Episodes titled "Dress for Success"; "There's No Place Like Mode", "Things Fall Apart", "In The Stars", and ''Curveball'' (2009)

Concerts

;Major concerts Various venues, summer of 1989: 10-city concert tour with Peter Allen. Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, California on September 6 and 7, 1996 (solo concert).

Carnegie Hall, New York City on December 9, 1996 (solo concert with guest singers/dancers, recorded on CD).

Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia on January 7 and 8, 1998 (solo concert). Royal Festival Hall, London on September 17, 1998 (solo concert with guest singers/dancers, recorded on video). Radio City Music Hall, New York City on June 19, 2002 (solo concert with guest singers). Lincoln Center (Avery Fisher Hall), New York City, on May 1, 2006 (solo concert). Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Adelaide, Australia, on June 6 and 7, 2009 (solo concert). Peters headlined, and the concert was televised on June 27, 2009 on Foxtel. A DVD of the concert was released in Australia in June 2010. Benefit concert, "Bernadette Peters: A Special Concert for Broadway Barks Because Broadway Cares", Minskoff Theatre, New York City on November 9, 2009.

;Other notable concerts

"Sondheim: A Celebration At Carnegie Hall" (broadcast on PBS Great Performances in 1993)  – June 10, 1992, singing "Being Alive" and "Sunday"

"Hey Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron MacKintosh" – June 7, 1998, singing, among others, "Unexpected Song", "Not a Day Goes By" and "You Gotta Have A Gimmick" Hollywood Bowl Sondheim Concert – July 8, 2005, performing in the "Opening Doors Medley" and "Being Alive". "Sondheim: The Birthday Concert", the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, a celebration of Sondheim's 80th birthday – March 15 and 16, 2010. Peters sang "Move On" with Mandy Patinkin and "Not a Day Goes By".

Discography

;Solo recordings

''Bernadette'' (1980) MCA. US #114

''Now Playing'' (1981) MCA US #151

''I'll Be Your Baby Tonight'' (1996) Angel Records – Grammy Award nominee

''Sondheim, Etc. - Bernadette Peters Live At Carnegie Hall'' (1997) Angel Records – Grammy Award nominee

''Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers and Hammerstein'' (2002) Angel Records – Grammy Award nominee

''Sondheim Etc., Etc. Live At Carnegie Hall: The Rest of It'' (2005) Angel Records

"Kramer's Song" (2008) Blue Apple Books (single)

"Stella's Song" (2010) Blue Apple Books (single)

;Cast recordings

''George M!'' – Sony (1968)

''Dames At Sea'' – Columbia Masterworks (1969)

''Mack and Mabel'' – MCA (1974)

''Sunday in the Park with George'' – RCA Records (1984) – Grammy Award winner (Best Cast Show Album, 1985)

''Song and Dance – The Songs'' – RCA Victor (1985)

''Into The Woods'' – RCA Victor Records (1988) – Grammy Award winner (Best Musical Cast Show Album, 1989)

''The Goodbye Girl'' – Columbia Records (1993)

''Anyone Can Whistle Live At Carnegie Hall'' – Columbia Records (1995)

''Annie Get Your Gun'' The New Broadway Cast Recording – Angel Records (1999) – Grammy Award winner (Best Musical Show Album, 2000)

''Gypsy'' The New Broadway Cast Recording – Angel Records (2003) – Grammy Award winner (Best Musical Show Album, 2004)

''Sherry!'' – Studio Cast Recording – Angel Records (2004)

''Legends Of Broadway-Bernadette Peters Compilation'' (2006) – Sony Masterworks Broadway (Original versions of songs from ''Dames At Sea'', ''Annie Get Your Gun'', ''Anyone Can Whistle'', ''Sunday in the Park with George'', ''Mack and Mabel'', ''Song and Dance'', ''Into The Woods'' and ''Gypsy''.)

;Other recordings ''Dress Casual'' – ''Evening Primrose'' suite with Mandy Patinkin – CBS Records (1990)

''Sondheim – A Celebration at Carnegie Hall (Concert Cast)'' RCA Victor Broadway (1992)

''Hey Mr. Producer!: The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh'' – Philips Records (1998)

''Flirting with the Edge'' – John Whelan – Narada (1998)

''Dewey Doo-It Helps Owlie Fly Again'' – Randall Fraser Publishing (2005)

''Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins'' – Wildflower Records (2008) - "Trust Your Heart"

Notes

References

Bryer, Jackson R. and Richard Allan Davison. ''The Art Of The American Musical: Conversations With The Creators'' (2005), Rutgers University Press, ISBN 0813536138

Crespy, David Allison. ''Off-Off-Broadway Explosion'' (2003), Back Stage Books, ISBN 0823088324

Knapp, Raymond. ''The American Musical and the Performance of Personal Identity'' (2006), Princeton University Press, ISBN 0691125244

External links

Bernadette Peters official website

Standing Tall website

The Carol Burnett Show screengrabs, "As the Stomach Turns" episode

Photo of Peters on Bing Crosby Christmas special

Numerous photos of Peters

YouTube excerpt of Peters performing "Send in the Clowns" on Broadway, 2010

Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Actors from New York City Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Drama Desk Award winners Category:People from New York City Category:People from Queens Category:Tony Award winners Category:1948 births Category:Living people

ar:بيرناديت بيترس de:Bernadette Peters es:Bernadette Peters fr:Bernadette Peters it:Bernadette Peters nl:Bernadette Peters ja:バーナデット・ピーターズ pl:Bernadette Peters pt:Bernadette Peters ru:Питерс, Бернадетт simple:Bernadette Peters sr:Бернадет Питерс fi:Bernadette Peters sv:Bernadette Peters tl:Bernadette Peters

title	Ben Gazzara
birthname	Biagio Anthony Gazzara
birth date	August 28, 1930
birth place	New York City, New York, U.S.
occupation	Actor
yearsactive	1953-present
spouse	1 child }}

Ben Gazzara (born August 28, 1930) is an American actor.

Early life

Gazzara was born Biagio Anthony Gazzara in New York City, the son of Italian immigrants Angelina (née Cusumano) and Antonio Gazzara, who was a laborer and carpenter. Gazzara grew up on New York's tough Lower East Side. He actually lived on E. 29th Street and participated in the drama program at Madison Square Boys and Girls Club located across the street. He later attended New York City's famed Stuyvesant High School. He found relief from his bleak surroundings by joining a theater company at a very young age. Years later, he said that the discovery of his love for acting saved him from a life of crime during his teen years. Despite his obvious talent, he went to City College of New York to study electrical engineering. After two years, he relented. He took classes in acting at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York with the influential German director Erwin Piscator and afterward joined the Actors Studio.

Career

In the 1950s, Gazzara starred in various Broadway productions, most notably Tennessee Williams' ''Cat On A Hot Tin Roof'', directed by Elia Kazan. However, he lost out on the film role to Paul Newman. He was nominated three times for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play—in 1956 for ''A Hatful of Rain'', in 1975 for the paired short plays ''Hughie'' and ''Duet'', and in 1977 for a revival of ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' opposite Colleen Dewhurst.

Gazzara has had a long and varied acting career, with spells as an accomplished director, mostly in television. He directed ''Columbo'' episodes A Friend in Deed and Troubled Waters. He joined other Actors Studio members in the 1957 film ''The Strange One''. Then came a high-profile performance as a soldier on trial for avenging his wife's rape in Otto Preminger's 1959 classic courtroom drama ''Anatomy of a Murder''.

Subsequent screen credits included ''The Young Doctors'' (1961), ''A Rage to Live'' (1965), ''The Bridge at Remagen'' (1969), ''Capone'' (1975), ''Voyage of the Damned'' (1976), and ''High Velocity'' (1976).

In 1954, Gazzara made several appearances on NBC's legal drama ''Justice'', based on case studies from the Legal Aid Society of New York. Gazzara became well-known in several television series, beginning with ''Arrest and Trial'', which ran from 1963 to 1964 on ABC, and the more-successful series ''Run for Your Life'' from 1965 to 1968 on NBC, in which he played a terminally ill man trying to get the most out of the last two years of his life. For his work in the series, Gazzara received two Emmy nominations for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" and three Golden Globe nominations for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama."

Some of the actor's most-formidable characters were those he created with his friend John Cassavetes in the 1970s. They collaborated for the first time on Cassavetes's film ''Husbands'' (1970), in which he appeared alongside Peter Falk and Cassavetes himself. In ''The Killing of a Chinese Bookie'', Gazzara took the leading role of the hapless strip-joint owner, Cosmo Vitelli. A year later, Gazzara starred in yet another Cassavetes-directed movie, ''Opening Night'', as stage director Manny Victor, who struggles with the mentally unstable star of his show, played by Cassavetes's wife Gena Rowlands. In 1974, he co-starred with Anthony Hopkins in the acclaimed TV mini-series ''QB VII''. In 1979, Gazzara starred in the movie "Saint Jack".

In the 1980s, Gazzara appeared in a variety of movies, such as '''They All Laughed'' (directed by Peter Bogdanovich), and in a villainous role in the oft-televised Patrick Swayze film ''Road House,'' which the actor jokingly says is probably his most-watched performance. He starred with Rowlands in a controversial and critically acclaimed AIDS-themed TV movie ''An Early Frost'' (1985), for which he received his third Emmy nomination.

Very much in demand for supporting parts, Gazzara appeared in thirty-eight films—many for TV—in the 1990s. He worked with a number of renowned directors, such as the Coen brothers (''The Big Lebowski''), Spike Lee (''Summer of Sam''), David Mamet (''The Spanish Prisoner''), Walter Hugo Khouri (''Forever''), Todd Solondz (''Happiness''), John Turturro (''Illuminata''), and John McTiernan (''The Thomas Crown Affair'').

In his eighties, Gazzara continues to be active. In 2003, he was in the ensemble cast of the experimental film ''Dogville'', directed by Lars von Trier of Denmark and starring Nicole Kidman, as well as the television film ''Hysterical Blindness'' (he received his first Emmy Award for his role). Several other projects have recently been completed or are currently in production. In 2005, he played Agostino Casaroli in the TV miniseries ''Pope John Paul II.''

Personal life

Gazzara was featured in a 1994 article in Cigar Aficionado; he was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1999. He lost more than 40 pounds during treatment.

He has been married three times, first to Louise Erickson (1951–1957), then actress Janice Rule (1961–1979), and finally, German model Elke Krivat (sometimes known as Elke Stuckmann) since 1982.

In his 2004 autobiography the actor recounts his love affair with actress Audrey Hepburn. They co-starred in two of her final films, "Bloodline" (1979) and "They All Laughed" (1981).

He is a friend of Robert Vaughn, who played Napoleon Solo on ''The Man From U.N.C.L.E.''. During on location filming of the big-budget war movie ''The Bridge at Remagen'' with co-stars Vaughn, Bradford Dillman and George Segal, the U.S.S.R. led an invasion of Czechoslovakia. Filming was halted temporarily, and the cast and crew were detained. They were later allowed to leave, and filming was completed in West Germany. During their departure Gazzara and Vaughn planned and executed the daring escape of a Czech waitress whom they had befriended. As recounted in Gazzara's autobiography, Vaughn and Gazzara smuggled her to Austria in their car, being waved through a border crossing that had not yet been taken over by the Soviet army.

Further reading

"Broadway: The Golden Age - by the Legends Who Were there," a film by Rick McKay Films, etc. Broadcast on KCET, Ch.28 (PBS in Los Angeles, December 16, 2006. Gazzara speaks openly about getting off of 29th St.

Harris, Irving (2009), ''Madison Square Memoir: The Magic and History of Madison Square Boys and Girls Club'' (visit www.madisonsquare.org); Gazzara wrote the introduction.

Sutton, Imre, 2008. ''Back to E.29th Street: Where Fact and Fiction Revisit Kips Bay, N. Y.'' (Fullerton, CA: Americo Publications)

References

External links

Category:1930 births Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Living people Category:People from New York City Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American people of Sicilian descent Category:Stuyvesant High School alumni

de:Ben Gazzara es:Ben Gazzara fr:Ben Gazzara fy:Ben Gazzara io:Ben Gazzara it:Ben Gazzara la:Blasius Antonius Gazzara nl:Ben Gazzara ja:ベン・ギャザラ pl:Ben Gazzara pt:Ben Gazzara ru:Газзара, Бен sk:Ben Gazzara fi:Ben Gazzara sv:Ben Gazzara tr:Ben Gazzara