Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA (ASA).^[1] The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in arcade games, home video game consoles, and home computers. The company's products, such as Pong and the Atari 2600, helped define the computer entertainment industry from the 1970s to the mid 1980s.

In 1984, the original Atari Inc. was split, and the arcade division was turned into Atari Games Inc.^[2] Atari Games received the rights to use the logo and brand name with appended text "Games" on arcade games, as well as rights to the original 1972 - 1984 arcade hardware properties. The Atari Consumer Electronics Division properties were in turn sold to Jack Tramiel's Tramel Technology Ltd., which then renamed itself to Atari Corporation.^[3][4] In 1996, Atari Corporation reverse merged with disk drive manufacturer JT Storage (JTS),^[5] becoming a division within the company.

In 1998, Hasbro Interactive acquired all Atari Corporation related properties from JTS,^[6] creating a new subsidiary, Atari Interactive.^[7] IESA bought Hasbro Interactive in 2001 and renamed it to Infogrames Interactive.^[8] IESA changed the company name entirely to Atari Interactive in 2003.^[1]

The company that currently bears the name Atari Inc. was founded in 1993 under the name GT Interactive. IESA acquired a 62% controlling interest in GT Interactive in 1999, and renamed it Infogrames, Inc.^[9] Following IESA's acquisition of Hasbro Interactive, Infogrames, Inc. intermittently published Atari branded titles for Infogrames Interactive. In 2003, Infogrames Inc. licensed the Atari name and logo from Atari Interactive and changed its name to Atari Inc.^[10] On October 11, 2008, Infogrames completed its acquisition of Atari, Inc., making it a wholly owned subsidiary.^[11]

History[link]

Atari Inc. (1972–1984)[link]

In 1971, Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney founded an engineering firm, Syzygy Engineering,^[12] that designed and built the first arcade video game - Computer Space for Nutting Associates. On June 27, 1972 Atari, Inc. was incorporated and soon hired Al Alcorn as their first design engineer. Bushnell decided to have Alcorn produce as a test of his abilities, an arcade version of the Magnavox Odyssey's Tennis game,^[13] which would be named Pong. While Bushnell incorporated Atari in June 1972, Syzygy Company was never formally incorporated. Before Atari's official incorporation, Bushnell wrote down several words from the game go, eventually choosing atari, a term which in the context of the game means a state where a stone or group of stones is imminently in danger of being taken by one's opponent. In Japanese, atari　(当たり, あたり, or アタリ) is the nominalized form of ataru （当たる, あたる, or アタル） (verb), meaning "to hit the target" or "to receive something fortuitously". The word 'atari' is used in Japanese when a prediction comes true or when someone wins a lottery. Atari was incorporated in the state of California on June 27, 1972.^[14]

The third version of the Atari Video Computer System sold from 1980 to 1982

In 1973, Atari secretly spawned a "competitor" called Kee Games, headed by Nolan's next door neighbor Joe Keenan, to circumvent pinball distributors' insistence on exclusive distribution deals; both Atari and Kee could market (virtually) the same game to different distributors, with each getting an "exclusive" deal. Though Kee's relationship to Atari was discovered in 1974, Joe Keenan did such a good job managing the subsidiary that he was promoted to president of Atari that same year.

In 1976, Bushnell, through a Grass Valley, CA. engineering firm — Cyan Engineering, started an effort to produce a flexible video game console that was capable of playing all four of Atari's then-current games. The result was the Atari Video Computer System, or "VCS" (Later renamed the Atari 2600 when the Atari 5200 was released). Bushnell knew he had another potential hit on his hands, but bringing the machine to market would be extremely expensive. Looking for outside investors, in 1976 Bushnell sold Atari to Warner Communications for an estimated $28 – $32 million, using part of the money to buy the Folgers Mansion. Nolan continued to have disagreements with Warner Management over the direction of the company, the discontinuing of the Pinball division and most importantly, he felt that the Atari 2600 should be discontinued. In 1978, the Kee Games brand was dropped.^[15] In December of that year during a heated argument between Nolan Bushnell and Manny Gerard, Bushnell was fired.

A project to design a successor to the 2600 started as soon as the system shipped. The original development team estimated the 2600 had a lifespan of about three years, and decided to build the most powerful machine they could, given that time frame. Midway into the effort's time-frame, the home computer revolution was taking off, so the new machines were adapted, with the addition of a keyboard and various inputs, to produce the Atari 800, and its smaller cousin, the 400. Although a variety of issues made them less attractive than the Apple II for some users, the new machines had some success when they finally became available in quantity in 1980. In 1982, the Atari 5200 was released, based heavily on the 400 and 800 models, but without a keyboard.

Under Warner, Atari Inc. achieved its greatest success, selling millions of 2600s and computers. At its peak, Atari accounted for a third of Warner's annual income and was the fastest-growing company in the history of the United States at the time. However, Atari Inc. ran into problems in the early 1980s. Its home computer, video game console, and arcade divisions operated independently of one another and rarely cooperated. Faced with fierce competition and price wars in the game console and home computer markets, Atari was never able to duplicate the success of the 2600.

These problems were followed by the infamous video game crash of 1983, with losses that totaled more than $500 million. Warner's stock price slid from $60 to $20, and the company began searching for a buyer for its troubled division. In 1983, Ray Kassar was forced to resign, and executives involved in the Famicom lost track of the negotiations, and the deal eventually died. With Atari's further financial problems and the Famicom's runaway success in Japan after its July 16, 1983 release date, Nintendo decided to go it alone.

Financial problems continued to mount and Ray's successor, James J. Morgan, had less than a year in which to tackle his predecessor's problems, he began a massive restructuring of the company and worked with Warner Communications in May 1984 to create "NATCO" which stood for New Atari Company which would further lean the company facilities, personnel and spending and make the company profit. Unknown to James Morgan and the senior management of Atari, Warner had been in talks with Tramel Technology to buy Atari's Consumer electronics and Home Computer divisions. Negotiating up until close to midnight of July 1, 1984 Jack Tramiel purchased Atari. Warner sold the home computing and game console divisions of Atari to Tramiel for $50 cash and $240 million in promisary notes and stocks, giving Warner a 20% stake in Atari Corporation ^[16] who then used it to create a new company under the name Atari Corporation. Warner retained the arcade division, continuing it under the name Atari Games, but sold it to Namco in 1985. Warner also sold the fledgling Ataritel to Mitsubishi.

Atari Corporation (1984–1996)[link]

Atari ST

Under Tramiel's ownership, Atari Corp. used the remaining stock of game console inventory to keep the company afloat while they finished development on a 16/32-bit computer system, the Atari ST. ("ST" stands for "sixteen/thirty-two", referring to the machines' 16-bit bus and 32-bit processor core.) In April 1985, they released the first update to the 8-bit computer line — the Atari 65XE, the Atari XE series. June 1985 saw the release of the Atari 130XE, Atari User Groups received early sneak-preview samples of the new Atari 520ST's, and major retailer shipments hit store shelves in September 1985 of Atari's new 32-bit Atari ST computers. In 1986, Atari launched two consoles designed under Warner — the Atari 2600jr and the Atari 7800 console (which saw limited release in 1984). Atari rebounded, earning a $25 million profit that year.

In 1989, Atari released the Atari Lynx, a handheld console with color graphics, to much fanfare. A shortage of parts kept the system from being released nationwide for the 1989 Christmas season, and the Lynx lost market share to Nintendo's Game Boy which, despite only having a black and white display, was cheaper, had better battery life and had much higher availability. Tramiel emphasized computers over game consoles but Atari's proprietary computer architecture and operating system fell victim to the success of the Wintel platform while the game market revived. In 1989, Atari Corp. sued Nintendo for $250 million, alleging it had an illegal monopoly.^[17] Atari eventually lost the case when it was rejected by a US district court in 1992.^[18]

In 1993, Atari positioned its Jaguar as the only 64-bit interactive media entertainment system available but it sold poorly.

By 1996, a series of successful lawsuits^[19] had left Atari with millions of dollars in the bank, but the failure of the Lynx and Jaguar left Atari without a product to sell. Tramiel and his family also wanted out of the business. The result was a rapid succession of changes in ownership. In July 1996, Atari merged with JTS Inc., a short-lived maker of hard disk drives, to form JTS Corp.^[20] Atari's role in the new company largely became that of holder for the Atari properties and minor support, and consequently the name largely disappeared from the market.

As a division of Hasbro (1998–2001)[link]

In March 1998, JTS sold the Atari name and assets to Hasbro Interactive for $5 million—less than a fifth of what Warner Communications had paid 22 years earlier. This transaction primarily involved the brand and intellectual property, which now fell under the Atari Interactive division of Hasbro Interactive. The brand name changed hands again in December 2000 when French software publisher Infogrames took over Hasbro Interactive.

Atari Inc., a division of Atari, SA (2001-)[link]

In October 2001 Infogrames (now Atari, SA) announced that it was "reinventing" the Atari brand with the launch of two new games featuring a prominent Atari branding on their boxarts : Splashdown and MX Rider.^[21] On May 7, 2003, Infogrames had its majority-owned, but discrete US subsidiary Infogrames NA officially renamed Atari, Inc., renamed its European operations to Atari Europe but kept the original name of the main company Infogrames Entertainment. The original Atari holdings division purchased from Hasbro, Atari Interactive, was also made a separate corporate entity.

On March 6, 2008, Infogrames made an offer to Atari Inc. to buy out all remaining public shares for a value of $1.68 per share, or $11 million total. The offer would make Infogrames sole owner of Atari Inc., thus making it a privately held company.^[22] On April 30, 2008, Atari Inc. announced its intentions to accept Infogrames' buyout offer and to merge with Infogrames.^[23] On October 11, 2008, Infogrames completed its acquisition of Atari Inc., making it a wholly owned subsidiary.^[11]

On December 9, 2008, Atari announced that it had acquired Cryptic Studios, an MMORPG developer.^[24]

Namco Bandai has purchased a 34% stake in Atari Europe on May 14, 2009, paving the way for its acquisition from Infogrames.^[25] Atari has had significant financial issues for several years now, posting losses in the tens of millions since 2005.

Atari, SA (2009-)[link]

In May 2009 Infogrames Entertainment, SA, the parent company of Atari Inc. and Atari Interactive Inc., announced it would be changing Infogrames' name to Atari, SA. In April 2010, Atari board member and former CEO David Gardner resigned. His replacement is Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell.^[26]

See also[link]

	Computer Science portal
	Video Games portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Atari

• History of video game companies
• Golden Age of Video Arcade Games
• Atari Democrat
• Tengen (company)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Atari brand's official global site
• The Atari History Museum - Atari historical archive site.
• Atari Times, supporting all Atari consoles.
• AtariAge.com
• Atari Gaming Headquarters - Atari historical archive site.
• Atari On Film - List of Atari products in films.
• The Dot Eaters: classic video game history - Comprehensive history of videogames, extensive info on Atari offerings and history

Jack Black
Jack Black, Los Angeles, California on October 4, 2011
Background information
Also known as	Jables, JB
Born	(1969-08-28) August 28, 1969 (age 42)[1] Santa Monica, California, United States
Genres	Rock, comedy rock, heavy metal, hard rock, acoustic rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, actor, comedian
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, percussion, keyboard
Years active	1982–present
Labels	Epic, Sony BMG
Associated acts	Tenacious D, Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal, Probot, Foo Fighters, Meat Loaf, Ronnie James Dio
Website	www.tenaciousd.com

Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969)^[1] is an American comedian, actor and musician. He makes up one half of the comedy and satirical rock duo Tenacious D. The group has three albums as well as a television series and a film. His acting career is extensive, starring primarily as bumbling, cocky, but internally self-conscious outsiders in comedy films. He was a member of the Frat Pack, a group of comedians who have appeared together in several Hollywood films, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe award. He has also won an MTV Movie Award, and a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award as well as hosting the 2006, 2008, and 2011 Kids Choice Awards.

Early life[link]

Black was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of two satellite engineers, Judith (née Cohen), who worked on the Hubble Space Telescope, and Thomas William Black.^[2][3] His mother is Jewish and his father converted to Judaism (Black attended Hebrew school).^[4][5] On The Tonight Show, he said his surname may have come from the occupational name Blacksmith.^[6] Black's parents divorced when he was 10; Black moved to Culver City with his father and frequently visited his mother’s home. As a child, Black appeared in a commercial for the Activision game Pitfall! in 1982,^[7] which was later shown during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live and again on The Tonight Show with Conan O' Brien. When Black entered high school, his parents enrolled him at the Poseidon School, a private secondary school engineered specifically for students struggling in the traditional school system.^[8] Black also attended the Crossroads School, where he excelled in drama. He later attended UCLA but dropped out during his sophomore year to pursue a career in entertainment, at which point his father discontinued his financial support.^{[citation needed]} Fellow UCLA alumnus Tim Robbins later cast Black in Bob Roberts. He also had recurring roles on the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show.

Career[link]

Acting career[link]

Black's acting career began with prime time television. He played roles on shows including Life Goes On, Northern Exposure, Mr. Show, Picket Fences, and The X-Files. Black appeared in the unaired TV pilot Heat Vision and Jack, directed by Ben Stiller, in which he played an ex-astronaut pursued by actor Ron Silver. He was accompanied by his friend who had merged with a motorcycle, voiced by Owen Wilson.

Black later took on small roles in Airborne, Demolition Man, Waterworld, The Fan, Mars Attacks!, Tim Robbins' Dead Man Walking, and others. He had a small role in True Romance as a security guard, but the scene was deleted. In 2000, he appeared in High Fidelity as a wild employee in John Cusack's record store, a role Black considers his breakout.^{[citation needed]}

His career soon led to leading roles in films such as Shallow Hal, Nacho Libre, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, Year One and Gulliver's Travels. He received particular praise for his starring role in the well-received School of Rock, earning critical acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor – Musical Or Comedy.^[9] In a rare move, he starred in a dramatic role as the obsessed filmmaker Carl Denham in Peter Jackson's 2005 remake of King Kong, a performance he based on Orson Welles. He voiced the title role in Kung Fu Panda, which grossed $20.3 million on its opening day, June 6, 2008, and Kung Fu Panda 2; it is a role he considers his favorite, with a performance enhanced with the tutoring of co-star and two time Academy Award winner, Dustin Hoffman. On September 13, 2009 before nominees for best rock video at MTV Video Music Awards Black led the audience in a Satanic prayer in which he told the audience to throw up their horns.^[10] His next film, The Big Year, a competitive birdwatching comedy co-starring Owen Wilson, Steve Martin, and JoBeth Williams, was released in October 2011. He is referred to in the media as a member of the Frat Pack,^{[citation needed]} a group of comedy actors who frequently work together, which also includes Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, and Steve Carell.

He guest-starred on The Office along with Cloris Leachman, Jessica Alba, and Steve Carell in a movie within the show. He also guest-starred in iCarly, in the episode iStart a Fan War.

Black has appeared numerous times on the "untelevised TV network" short film festival Channel101, created by Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab, starring in the shows Computerman, Timebelt, and Laserfart. He also provided an introduction for the unaired sketch comedy Awesometown, donning a Colonial-era military uniform. In the introduction, he claims to be George Washington (and takes credit for the accomplishments of other American Presidents such as Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln). Black also guest starred in the Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" show Tom Goes to the Mayor, as a bear-trap store owner. Black also guest-starred on Dan Harmon's show Community.

Black hosted the 2006 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards on April 1, 2006 and hosted it again March 29, 2008, and April 2, 2011. He also appeared on the MTV video music awards on August 31, 2006. Black has made five appearances on Saturday Night Live: three times as a host, once as a musical guest (with Kyle Gass as Tenacious D), and another appearance with Tenacious D, not as a host or musical guest. He produced and appeared on VH1's Internet video show Acceptable.TV.^[11]

Black voice acted for The Simpsons episode "Husbands and Knives", which aired November 18, 2007, voicing the friendly owner of the rival comic book store, Milo. Black took part in the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? celebrity edition along with Denis Leary, Jimmy Kimmel and others and was handed the prize of US$125,000 in October 2001.^[12] On December 14, Jack Black hosted the 2008 Spike Video Game Awards. He provided the voice of the main character, roadie Eddie Riggs, in the heavy metal-themed action-adventure video game, Brütal Legend. In 2009, at the Spike Video Game Awards, he earned the Best Voice award for the voice of Eddie Riggs in Brütal Legend. In April 2009, Black also starred in an episode of the children's show "Yo Gabba Gabba!" on Nick Jr. vocalized funny kid songs such as "It's Not Fun to Get Lost", "Friends" and "The Goodbye Song". He was also voiced as Po on Kung Fu Panda.

Music career[link]

Jack Black with Kyle Gass of Tenacious D.

Black, also known as JB or Jables, is the lead singer for the rock comedy band Tenacious D. Along with Kyle Gass, they have released three albums, a self-titled debut, the follow-up, The Pick of Destiny, and Rize of the Fenix. One of their songs "The Metal", from their album "The Pick of Destiny" was used in the music video games "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" and "Brütal Legend". "Rock Your Socks" from the album "Tenacious D" was played in the music videogame "Rock Band Unplugged", and "Master Exploder" from "The Pick Of Destiny" went on to be used in music video games "Guitar Hero Van Halen" and "Rock Band 2", along with their song "Tribute" from "Tenacious D". "Master Exploder" and "The Metal" featured in the film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. The film, directed by Tenacious D veteran Liam Lynch, features recurring characters such as Lee the superfan and Sasquatch. Tim Robbins cameos as does Dave Grohl and Satan. Ben Stiller also makes an appearance as a worker at Guitar Center, and also another appearance in the music video for "Tribute".

Tenacious D helped the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation^[13] to raise awareness and funds in San Diego on June 16, 2007. Tenacious D can be seen performing in the Pauly Shore film Bio-Dome where the duo is performing its song "The Five Needs" at a "Save the Environment" party. Black was also a guest star on an episode of The Ellen Degeneres Show entitled "Ellen the Musical", alongside Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth and teenage singer-actress Olivia Olson. On the show, besides singing, he discussed his then-upcoming film Nacho Libre with the host.

Black has also appeared on Dave Grohl's Probot album, providing vocals for the hidden song "I Am The Warlock", and Lynch's Fake Songs album, providing vocals for the song "Rock and Roll Whore". Black performed a cover of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" in the last sequence of High Fidelity. He lent his musical abilities to the Queens of the Stone Age song "Burn the Witch" with rhythmic stomps and claps, some performed with his eyes closed. He also provided vocals for The Lonely Island's track "Sax Man" from the album Incredibad.

Black has also recorded a duet on Meat Loaf's new CD Hang Cool Teddy Bear. The song is called Like a Rose. Meat Loaf has also played Black's father in the Pick of Destiny movie. Hang Cool Teddy Bear also features Hugh Laurie, Kara Dioguardi, Brian May, Steve Vai & Patti Russo, produced by Rob Cavallo.

Black performing in 2006

Black has appeared in music videos of Beck "Sexx Laws"; Foo Fighters "Learn To Fly", "Low", and "The One"; The Eagles of Death Metal's "I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)"; Sum 41's "Things I Want"; Dio's "Push"; and Weezer's "Photograph." In October 2010, Tenacious D appeared at BlizzCon 2010, a convention hosted by the game designers, Blizzard Entertainment.

Personal life[link]

In January 2006, Black became engaged to Tanya Haden. She is the daughter of the jazz double bassist Charlie Haden, and sister of violinist and singer Petra Haden. Haden herself is an accomplished cellist. Both attended Crossroads school and met again 15 years after graduating, at a friend's birthday party. Black proposed marriage around Christmas 2005. They married on March 14, 2006, in Big Sur, California.^[14] Their son, Samuel Jason "Sammy" Black, was born on June 10, 2006, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.^[15] On May 23, 2008, Black and his wife had their second son, Thomas David Black.^[16] Black is an atheist, but is still considering sending his children to a Jewish school.^[17][18]

Filmography[link]

Television work[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jack Black

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jack Black

• Jack Black at the Internet Movie Database
• Jack Black at AllRovi
• Jack Black collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Margot at the Wedding
• Suicide Girls interview
• Jack Black in King Kong
• The Tao of Jack Black, Steve Ramos, Cincinnati CityBeat, October 8, 2003

Alan Alda
Alda in December 2008
Born	Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo (1936-01-28) January 28, 1936 (age 76) Bronx, New York, U.S.
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Fordham University
Occupation	Actor, author, activist, director, screenwriter
Years active	1958–present
Home town	Chicago, Illinois
Television	M*A*S*H
Spouse	Arlene Alda (1957–present)
Children	3
Parents	Robert Alda, Joan Browne
Awards	Six Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Award

Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo (born January 28, 1936), better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Journalism and a member of the advisory board of The Center for Communicating Science.^[1]

In 1996, Alda was ranked #41 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.^[2]

Family and early life[link]

Alda was born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo in The Bronx, New York City. His father, Robert Alda (born Alphonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo), was an actor and singer, and his mother, Joan Browne, was a former showgirl. His father was of Italian descent and his mother was of Irish ancestry.^[3] His adopted surname, "Alda," is a portmanteau of ALphonso and D'Abruzzo. When Alda was seven years old, he contracted Poliomyelitis. To combat the disease, his parents administered a painful treatment regimen developed by Sister Elizabeth Kenny that consisted of applying hot woolen blankets to his limbs and stretching his muscles.^[4] Alda attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York.^[5] In 1956, he received his Bachelor of Science degree in English from Fordham College of Fordham University in the Bronx, where he was a student staff member of its FM radio station, WFUV. Alda's half-brother, Antony Alda, was born the same year and would also become an actor.

During Alan Alda's junior year, he studied in Paris, acted in a play in Rome, and performed with his father on television in Amsterdam. After graduation, he joined the U.S. Army Reserve, and served a six-month tour of duty as a gunnery officer.^[6] A year after graduation, he married Arlene Weiss, with whom he has three daughters, Eve, Elizabeth Alda, and Beatrice Alda. He also has seven grandchildren, two of whom are aspiring actors. The Aldas have been longtime residents of Leonia, New Jersey.^[7] Alda frequented Sol & Sol Deli on Palisade Avenue in the nearby town of Englewood, New Jersey—a fact mirrored in his character's daydream about eating whitefish from the establishment, in an episode of M*A*S*H in which Hawkeye sustains a head injury.^[8]

Career[link]

Early acting[link]

Alda began his career in the 1950s, as a member of the Compass Players comedy revue. In 1966, he starred in the musical The Apple Tree on Broadway; he was nominated for the Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical for that role.

Alda made his Hollywood acting debut as a supporting player in Gone are the Days! – a film version of the highly successful Broadway play Purlie Victorious, which co-starred veteran actors Ruby Dee and her husband, Ossie Davis. Other film roles would follow, such as his portrayal of author, humorist, and actor George Plimpton in the film Paper Lion (1968),^[5] as well as The Extraordinary Seaman (1969), and the occult-murder-suspense thriller The Mephisto Waltz, with actress Jacqueline Bisset. During this time, Alda frequently appeared as a panelist on the 1968 revival of What's My Line?. He also appeared as a panelist on I've Got a Secret during its 1972 syndication revival.

[edit] M*A*S*H Series (1972–83)

Alda (left of center) as Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H, 1972

In early 1972, Alda auditioned for and was selected to play the role of "Hawkeye Pierce" in the TV adaptation of the 1970 film MASH.^[5] He was nominated for 21 Emmy Awards, and won five. He took part in writing 19 episodes, including the finale, and directed 32. When he won his first Emmy Award for writing, he was so happy that he performed a cartwheel before running up to the stage to accept the award. He was also the first person to win Emmy Awards for acting, writing, and directing for the same series.^{[citation needed]} Richard Hooker, who wrote the novel on which M*A*S*H was based, did not like Alda's portrayal of Hawkeye Pierce (Hooker, a Republican, had based Hawkeye on himself, whereas Alda and the show's writers took the character in a more liberal direction).^{[citation needed]} Alda also directed the show's 1983 2½-hour series finale "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", which remains the single most-watched episode of any television series.^[5] Alda is the only series regular to appear in all 251 episodes.^[9]

Alda commuted from Los Angeles to his home in New Jersey every weekend for 11 years while starring in M*A*S*H.^[10] His wife and daughters lived in New Jersey, and he did not want to uproot his family to L.A., especially because he did not know how long the show would last.

Alan Alda, father Robert Alda, and half-brother Antony Alda appeared together in an episode of M*A*S*H, "Lend a Hand", during Season 8. Robert had previously appeared in "The Consultant" in Season 3.

During the first five seasons of the series, the tone of "M*A*S*H" was largely that of a traditional "service comedy", in the vein of shows like "McHale's Navy". However, as the original writers gradually left the series, Alda gained increasing control, and by the final seasons had become a producer and creative consultant. Under his watch, M*A*S*H retained its comedic foundation, but gradually assumed a somewhat more serious tone, openly addressing political issues. As a result, the 11 years of M*A*S*H are generally split into two eras: the Larry Gelbart/Gene Reynolds "comedy" years (1972–1977), and the Alan Alda "dramatic" years (1977–1983).

In his 1981 autobiography, Jackie Cooper (who directed several early episodes) wrote that Alda concealed a lot of hostility beneath the surface, and that the two of them barely spoke to each other by the time Cooper’s directing of M*A*S*H ended.^[11]

During his M*A*S*H years, Alda made several game-show appearances, most notably in The $10,000 Pyramid and as a frequent panelist on To Tell the Truth.

His favorite episodes of M*A*S*H are "Dear Sigmund" and "In Love and War".^[12]

Writing and Directing Credits[link]

The following is a list of M*A*S*H episodes written and/or directed by Alda.

Season One

• Episode 19: "The Long John Flap" (Written)

Season Two

• Episode 5: "Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde" (Written with Robert Klane)
• Episode 23: "Mail Call" (Directed)

Season Three

• Episode 16: "Bulletin Board" (Directed)

Season Four

• Episode 4: "The Late Captain Pierce" (Directed)
• Episode 7: "Dear Mildred" (Directed)
• Episode 8: "The Kids" (Directed)
• Episode 16: "Dear Ma" (Directed)

Season Five

• Episode 2: "Margaret's Engagement" (Directed)
• Episode 7: "Dear Sigmund (Written and Directed)
• Episode 12: "Exorcism" (Directed)
• Episode 19: "Hepatitis" (Written and Directed)

Season Six

• Episode 2: "Fallen Idol" (Written and Directed)
• Episode 4: "War of Nerves" (Written and Directed)
• Episode 7: "In Love and War" (Written and Directed)
• Episode 12: "Comrades in Arms, Part 1" (Written; Directed with Burt Metcalfe)
• Episode 13: "Comrades in Arms, Part 2" (Written; Directed with Burt Metcalfe)

Season Seven

• Episode 5: "The Billfold Syndrome" (Directed)
• Episode 8: "Major Ego" (Directed)
• Episode 14: "Dear Sis" (Written and Directed)
• Episode 16: "Inga" (Written and Directed)
• Episode 25: "The Party" (Written with Burt Metcalfe)

Season Eight

• Episode 3: "Guerilla My Dreams" (Directed)
• Episode 11: "Life Time" (Written with Walter D. Dishell, M.D.; Directed)
• Episode 15: "Yessir, That's Our Baby" (Directed)
• Episode 20: "Lend a Hand" (Written and Directed)
• Episode 22: "Dreams" (Teleplay; Story with James Jay Rubinfier; Directed)

Season Nine

• Episode 4: "Father's Day" (Directed)
• Episode 12: "Depressing News" (Directed)
• Episode 15: "Bottoms Up" (Directed)
• Episode 20: "The Life You Save" (Written with John Rappaport; Directed)

Season Ten

• Episode 6: "Communication Breakdown" (Directed)
• Episode 10: "Follies of the Living—Concerns of the Dead" (Written and Directed)
• Episode 16: "Where There's a Will, There's a War" (Directed)

Season Eleven

• Episode 1: "Hey, Look Me Over" (Written with Karen Hall)
• Episode 16: "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" (Written with Burt Metcalfe, John Rappaport, Dan Wilcox, Thad Mumford, Elias Davis, David Pollock and Karen Hall; Directed)

[edit] Post-M*A*S*H

Alda's prominence in the enormously successful M*A*S*H gave him a platform to speak out on political topics, and he has been a strong and vocal supporter of women's rights and the feminist movement.^[5] He co-chaired, with former First Lady Betty Ford, the ERA Countdown campaign. In 1976, The Boston Globe dubbed him "the quintessential Honorary Woman: a feminist icon" for his activism on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment. As a liberal and often progressive activist, he has been a target for some political and social conservatives.

Alda played Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman in the play QED, which had only one other character. Although Peter Parnell wrote the play, Alda both produced and inspired it. Alda has also appeared frequently in the films of Woody Allen, and was a guest star five times on ER, playing Dr. Kerry Weaver's mentor, Gabriel Lawrence. During the later episodes, it was revealed that Dr. Lawrence was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Alda also had a co-starring role as Dr. Robert Gallo in the 1993 TV movie And the Band Played On.

During M*A*S*H's run and continuing through the 1980s, Alda embarked on a successful career as a writer and director, with the ensemble dramedy The Four Seasons being perhaps his most notable hit. Betsy's Wedding was his last directing credit to date. After M*A*S*H, Alda took on a series of roles that either parodied or directly contradicted his "nice guy" image.^[5] His role as a pompous celebrity television producer in Crimes and Misdemeanors was widely seen as a self-parody, although Alda has denied this.

Recent work[link]

Alda at the 1994 Emmys.

In 1993 he co-starred with Woody Allen (also the director), Diane Keaton, and Anjelica Huston in the comedy/mystery Manhattan Murder Mystery. The four play a quartet of amateur crime solvers who become entangled in a murder plot possibly perpetrated by Keaton and Allen's neighbor. Alda's character is Ted, a playwright secretly in love with Keaton's character Carol, but who eventually falls for Huston's character Marcia.

In 1995, he starred as the President in Michael Moore's political satire/comedy film Canadian Bacon. Around this time, rumors circulated that Alda was considering running for the United States Senate in New Jersey, but he denied this. In 1996, Alda played Henry Ford in Camping With Henry and Tom, based on the book by Mark St. Germain.

Beginning in 2004, Alda was a regular cast member on the NBC program The West Wing, portraying Republican U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Arnold Vinick, until the show's conclusion in May 2006. He made his premiere in the sixth season's eighth episode, "In The Room," and was added to the opening credits with the thirteenth episode, "King Corn." In August 2006, Alda won an Emmy for his portrayal of Arnold Vinick in the final season of The West Wing.

In 2004, Alda portrayed conservative Maine Senator Owen Brewster in Martin Scorsese's Academy-Award winning film The Aviator, in which he co-starred with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Throughout his career, Alda has received 31 Emmy Award nominations and two Tony Award nominations, and has won seven People's Choice Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and three Directors Guild of America awards. However, it was not until 2005, after a long distinguished acting career, that Alda received his first Academy Award nomination, for his role in The Aviator.

Alda also wrote several of the stories and poems that appeared in Marlo Thomas's Free to Be... You and Me television show.

Alda starred in the original Broadway production of the play Art, which opened on March 1, 1998, at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. The play won the Tony Award for best original play.

Alda also had a part in the 2000 romantic comedy What Women Want, as the CEO of the advertising firm where the main characters worked.

In the spring of 2005, Alda starred as Shelly Levene in the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross, for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play. Throughout 2009 and 2010, he appeared in three episodes of 30 Rock as Milton Greene, the biological father of Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin).

In 2011, Alda was scheduled to guest star on Law & Order: LA, portraying former police and naval officer John Winters, the father of the former main character Rex Winters. It is unknown if he filmed his role before the series was redesigned and Rex Winters written off.

After the release of the movie Tower Heist, Alda was devastated, when on December 7, 2011, he lost his idol and decades-long friend Harry Morgan, who played opposite Alda as Colonel Sherman T. Potter on M*A*S*H. Upon Morgan's death, Alda released a statement: "We had just a wonderful time reminiscing. That was the last time I saw Harry."^[13]

Charitable work and other interests[link]

Alda has done extensive charity work. He helped narrate a 2005 St. Jude's Children's Hospital produced one-hour special TV show Fighting for Life.^[14] He and his wife, Arlene, are also close friends of Marlo Thomas, who is very active in fund-raising for the hospital her father founded. The special featured Ben Bowen as one of six patients being treated for childhood cancer at Saint Jude. Alda and Marlo Thomas had also worked together in the early 70s on a critically acclaimed children's album entitled Free to Be You and Me, which featured Alda, Thomas and a number of other well-known character actors. This project remains one of the earliest public signs of his support of women's rights.

In 2005, Alda published his first round of memoirs, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I've Learned.^[10] Among other stories, he recalls his intestines becoming strangulated while on location in Chile for his PBS show Scientific American Frontiers, during which he mildly surprised a young doctor with his understanding of medical procedures, which he had learned from M*A*S*H. He also talks about his mother's battle with schizophrenia. The title comes from an incident in his childhood, when Alda was distraught about his dog dying and his well-meaning father had the animal stuffed. Alda was horrified by the results, and took from this that sometimes we have to accept things as they are, rather than desperately and fruitlessly trying to change them.

In 2006, Alda contributed his voice to a part in the audio book of Max Brooks' World War Z. In this book, he voiced Arthur Sinclair Jr., the director of the United States Government's fictional "Department of Strategic Resources (DeStRes)".

His second memoir, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, weaves together advice from public speeches he has given with personal recollections about his life and beliefs.

Alda also has an avid interest in cosmology, and participated in BBC coverage of the opening of the Large Hadron Collider, at CERN, Geneva, in September 2008.^[15]

After years of interviews, Alda helped inspire the creation of the The Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in 2009. He remains on the advisory board as of 2012.^[16]

Alda has been an activist for feminism for many years.^[17]

Religious views[link]

In the mentioned memoir, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, Alda candidly describes how briefly, at one time in his life he realized that he had begun thinking like an agnostic or atheist, although he had been raised as a Roman Catholic:

For a while in my teens, I was sure I had it. It was about getting to heaven. If heaven existed and lasted forever, then a mere lifetime spent scrupulously following orders was a small investment for an infinite payoff. One day, though, I realized I was no longer a believer, and realizing that, I couldn’t go back. Not that I lost the urge to pray. Occasionally, even after I stopped believing, I might send off a quick memo to the Master of the Universe, usually on a matter needing urgent attention, like Oh, God, don’t let us crash. These were automatic expulsions of words, brief SOS messages from the base of my brain. They were similar to the short prayers that were admired by the church in my Catholic boyhood, which they called “ejaculations.” I always liked the idea that you could shorten your time in purgatory with each ejaculation; what boy wouldn’t find that a comforting idea? But my effort to keep the plane in the air by talking to God didn’t mean I suddenly was overcome with belief, only that I was scared. Whether I’d wake up in heaven someday or not, whatever meaning I found would have to occur first on this end of eternity.

Speaking further on agnosticism, Alda goes on to say:

I still don't like the word agnostic. It's too fancy. I'm simply not a believer. But, as simple as this notion is, it confuses some people. Someone wrote a Wikipedia entry about me, identifying me as an atheist because I'd said in a book I wrote that I wasn't a believer. I guess in a world uncomfortable with uncertainty, an unbeliever must be an atheist, and possibly an infidel. This gets us back to that most pressing of human questions: why do people worry so much about other people's holding beliefs other than their own?

Alda made these comments in an interview for the 2008 question section of the Edge Foundation website.^[18]

Awards and nominations[link]

Awards

• Emmy Award for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" in 2006, for his portrayal of Senator & Presidential candidate Arnold Vinick in The West Wing
• Emmy Award for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" in 1980
• Emmy Award for "Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Comedy-Variety or Music Series" in 1979
• Emmy Award for "Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series" in 1977
• Emmy Award for "Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" in 1972
• Emmy Award for "Actor of the Year – Series" in 1972
• Golden Globe for "Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series – Musical/Comedy" in 1983
• Golden Globe for "Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series – Musical/Comedy" in 1982
• Golden Globe for "Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series – Musical/Comedy" in 1981
• Golden Globe for "Best TV Actor – Musical/Comedy" in 1980
• Golden Globe for "Best TV Actor – Musical/Comedy" in 1976
• Golden Globe for "Best TV Actor – Musical/Comedy" in 1975
• DGA Award for "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series" in 1983
• DGA Award for "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series" in 1982
• DGA Award for "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series" in 1977
• Drama Desk Award for "Outstanding Ensemble Performance" in 2005 for Glengarry Glen Ross.
• Became Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2006^[19]

Nominations

• The audiobook version of Things I Overheard While Talking To Myself was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award in the category of Best Spoken Word Album.

• Alda received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Senator Ralph Owen Brewster in Martin Scorsese's film The Aviator.

Filmography[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Alda, Alan (2006). Never Have Your Dog Stuffed. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 978-0-09-179652-5. OCLC 64931144. 
•   (2007). Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6617-9. OCLC 122309367. 

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alan Alda

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Alan Alda

• Alan Alda at AllRovi
• Alan Alda at the Internet Movie Database
• Alan Alda at the Internet Broadway Database
• Alan Alda at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Never Have Your Dog Stuffed and Things I Learned While Talking To Myself - Alan Alda books Website
• Bio on Scientific American Frontiers
• Military Service
• Alan Alda Discusses Science, Improv and Richard Feynman at USC's Annenberg School]
• A film clip "The Open Mind - Alan Alda . . . on Celebrity and Its Discontents (2007)" is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Interview with Alda on NPR's Fresh Air (September 21, 2005)
• Alan Alda's Charity Work
• Performance Working in the Theatre seminar video at American Theatre Wing.org, April 1992
• Alan Alda Interview at Archive of American Television