Look up run in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Run(s) or RUN may refer to:

Geography and topography[link]

• Run (waterfalls), the horizontal distance a waterfall flows
• Stream or run, a flowing body of water
• Run (island), one of the Banda Islands
• Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant

Computers[link]

• Execution (computing), to begin operation of a computer program
  • Run command, a command used to execute a program in Microsoft Windows
• RUN (magazine), a computer magazine of the 1980s
• A sequence of something repeated, in computer coding

Sports and games[link]

• Run (American football), an offensive action in American football
• Run (baseball), the unit of scoring in baseball
• Run (cricket), the unit of scoring in cricket
• Run, the unit of scoring in softball
• A variety of events in track and field athletics
• Run (cards), a series of playing cards with consecutive values
• Piste or ski run, a marked trail down a mountain for winter sports
• Run, in sailing, to sail downwind

Film and television[link]

• Run (1991 film), a U.S. action thriller
• Run (1994 film), a Hong Kong film featuring Leon Lai
• Run (2002 film), a Tamil film directed by N. Linguswamy
• Run (2004 film), a Hindi remake of the Tamil film
• Run (2013 film), an upcoming film featuring William Moseley
• "Run!", an episode of the U.S. TV series Heroes
• "Run", an episode of the U.S. TV series Smallville
• "Run", an episode of the U.S. TV series Without a Trace

Novels[link]

• Run (novel), a novel by Ann Patchett
• The Run, a novel by Stuart Woods
• Run, a novel by Eric Walters
• Run, a novel in the Fearless series by Francine Pascal

Music[link]

Albums[link]

• Run (album), by B'z
• Run, by Nine Mile, or the title song

Songs[link]

• "Run" (Amy Macdonald song)
• "Run" (Cog song)
• "Run" (George Strait song)
• "Run" (Lighthouse Family song)
• "Run" (Red Flag song)
• "Run" (Snow Patrol song), also covered by Leona Lewis
• "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)", a song by Gnarls Barkley
• "Run", by Air from Talkie Walkie
• "Run", by Broadcast 2000
• "Run", by Cappadonna from The Pillage
• "Run", by Collective Soul from Dosage
• "Run", by Disturbed from Indestructible
• "Run", by Epik High from Epilogue
• "Run", by Ghostface Killah from The Pretty Toney Album
• "Run", by Grinspoon from Six to Midnight
• "Run", by The Knux from Eraser
• "Run", by Kutless from Kutless
• "Run", by New Order from Technique
• "Run", by Pink Floyd from The Dark Side of the Moon
• "Run", by Rex Goudie
• "Run", by Sandie Shaw
• "Run", by Shihad, under the name Pacifier, from Pacifier
• "Run", by Shinhwa from Volume 9
• "Run", by Supergrass from Life on Other Planets
• "Run", by Tony Jay (as Shere Khan) from the video game The Jungle Book Groove Party
• "Run", by Vampire Weekend from Contra

Other[link]

• Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, from the hip-hop group Run–D.M.C.
• Run (music), a musicology term for a short rapid series of notes

Other meanings[link]

• Running, moving swiftly on foot
• Bank run, a mass withdrawal by many people of money from a bank
• Radboud University Nijmegen
• RUN, the IATA code for Roland Garros Airport, in Saint-Denis, Réunion
• RUN, the ICAO code for ACT Airlines
• run, the ISO 639-2 and ISO 639-3 code for the Rundi (Kirundi) language
• the runs, a colon disorder formally known as diarrhea

See also[link]

• Run Run Run (disambiguation)
• Need for Speed: The Run
• Running (disambiguation)
• All pages beginning with "Run"

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Bradley Cooper
Cooper speaking at the USS Ronald Reagan in July 2009
Born	Bradley Charles Cooper[1] (1975-01-05) January 5, 1975 (age 37) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater	Georgetown University The New School
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1999–present
Spouse	Jennifer Esposito (2006–2007)

Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American film, theater, and television actor. He is known for his roles in the films The Hangover, The A-Team, Wedding Crashers, and Limitless. In 2011, People magazine named Cooper "Sexiest Man Alive".^[2]

Early life[link]

Cooper was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and grew up in nearby Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. His mother, Gloria (née Campano), is Italian-American, and his father, Charles J. Cooper, was Irish-American and worked as a stockbroker for Merrill Lynch. He has one sister named Holly.^[3][4][5] Cooper was raised Catholic.^[6][7] While attending Germantown Academy, Cooper worked at the Philadelphia Daily News.^[8] After graduating from Germantown Academy in 1993,^[9] he attended Villanova University for his freshman year,^[10] then transferred to Georgetown University, from which he graduated with an honors BA in English in 1997.^[11][12] Cooper became fluent in French at Georgetown and spent six months as an exchange student in Aix-en-Provence, France.^[13][14][15] Later, in 2000, he received an MFA in acting from Actors Studio Drama School at The New School in New York City.^[11][16]

Career[link]

Cooper began his professional acting career on the television series Sex and the City in 1999,^[5] and also served as a presenter for Globe Trekker. Cooper made his film debut in Wet Hot American Summer in 2001, before landing his role as Will Tippin in the successful television drama Alias.^[5] He returned twice to Alias as a guest star after leaving the show in 2003, and he also guest-starred on the short-lived TV series Miss Match in the same year. Cooper shot scenes for the 2002 psychological thriller Changing Lanes; the footage was removed from the finished film but is featured on the film's DVD and Blu-ray releases.^[17][18]

Cooper co-starred in the ABC Family film I Want to Marry Ryan Banks with Jason Priestly, and appeared as a regular guest star in the WB series Jack & Bobby. He played the popular villain Sack Lodge in the hit comedy Wedding Crashers and appeared in the film Failure to Launch as a friend of Matthew McConaughey's character. Cooper played the lead role in the Fox sitcom Kitchen Confidential, based on a memoir by chef Anthony Bourdain, which debuted in September 2005. However, despite critical acclaim, Fox announced after just four episodes that the series had been canceled.^[19][20]

Cooper at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Whatever Works

In March 2006, Cooper starred in Three Days of Rain on Broadway with Julia Roberts and Paul Rudd at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater.^[21][22] Cooper also appeared on stage as Jake in the 2008 production of Theresa Rebeck's play The Understudy at the Williamstown Theatre Festival alongside Kristen Johnston.^[23]

Cooper at Comic Con 2007

In 2007, Cooper starred in Season 5 of Nip/Tuck as Aidan Stone, a television star on the fictional show Hearts 'N Scalpels. Cooper also starred in Yes Man with Jim Carrey. He also made an appearance in the movie The Rocker with Rainn Wilson in 2008.

On February 7, 2009, Cooper hosted Saturday Night Live with musical guest TV on the Radio. Cooper impersonated Christian Bale in a fake commercial for a DVD featuring celebrities yelling at movie crew members called, "No, Bruce! Let Me Finish! The Best of Celebrity Tirades." In 2009, Cooper starred in the films He's Just Not That into You, Case 39^[24] and The Hangover. In October 2009, Cooper received the Hollywood Comedy Award at the 13th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards.^[25] The success of The Hangover led to new opportunities for Cooper, but in an interview with Shave Magazine, Cooper said: "It’s the same. I mean, look, more doors have been opened for sure but it’s not like I sit back with a cigar on Monday morning and go through the scripts that have been offered."^[26]

In 2010, he starred in Valentine's Day, and played the role of Templeton "Faceman" Peck in the feature film version of The A-Team. He guest co-hosted WWE Raw on June 7, 2010 along with his The A-Team co-stars Sharlto Copley and Quinton Jackson.^[27]

In 2011, Cooper starred in the techno-thriller Limitless, based on the 2001 novel The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn, as well as the comedy sequel The Hangover Part II. As of August 2011^[update], he is filming for The Place Beyond the Pines, in the role of an early 1990s police officer.^[28] He will then go on to film an adaptation of Matthew Quick's serio-comic novel The Silver Linings Playbook with Robert De Niro and Jennifer Lawrence, directed by David O. Russell.^[29][30] In September 2011, GQ UK presented Cooper with the "International Man of the Year" award.^[31] On November 16, 2011, People magazine named him Sexiest Man Alive.^[32]

In January 2012, plans were announced for Cooper to reunite with The Silver Linings Playbook co-star Jennifer Lawrence for the Susanne Bier adaptation of Ron Rash's period novel Serena.^[33] In March 2012, Cooper and Warner Bros. entered into a two-year first look deal for his production company 22 & Indiana Pictures.^[34]

Personal life[link]

Cooper married actress Jennifer Esposito in late 2006.^[35] In May 2007, it was announced that Esposito had filed for divorce.^[36]

In September 2010, it was reported that Cooper and actress Renée Zellweger had been in a relationship for over a year.^[37] On March 18, 2011, People reported that the couple had ended their relationship.^[38]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bradley Cooper

• Bradley Cooper at the Internet Movie Database
• Bradley Cooper on Charlie Rose
• Works by or about Bradley Cooper in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Bradley Cooper at the Notable Names Database

Kristen Bell
Bell at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	Kristen Anne Bell (1980-07-18) July 18, 1980 (age 31) Huntington Woods, Michigan, United States
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1992–present
Partner	Dax Shepard (2007-present)

Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress. In 2001, she made her Broadway debut as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. After moving to Los Angeles, Bell landed various television guest appearances and small film parts before appearing in a lead role in the David Mamet film Spartan. Her first film role was an uncredited appearance in Polish Wedding. She gained fame and critical praise as the title role on the acclaimed television series Veronica Mars from September 2004 to May 2007.

During her time on Veronica Mars, Bell appeared as Mary Lane in the film Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, a reprise of the role she had played in the New York theatrical production of the eponymous musical upon which the film was based. She also portrayed the lead role in Pulse, a remake of a J-Horror film. In 2007, she joined the cast of Heroes, playing the character Elle Bishop, and Gossip Girl as the off-screen titular narrator. In 2008, she played Sarah Marshall in the comedy film Forgetting Sarah Marshall. She has since appeared in a number of comedy films, such as Fanboys, Couples Retreat, and When in Rome. Bell was also the voice of Cora in Astro Boy and is the voice and face of Lucy Stillman in the Assassin's Creed video game series. Bell has received a Satellite Award and Saturn Award, and has been nominated several times for Television Critics Association Awards and Teen Choice Awards.^{[citation needed]}

Early life and family[link]

Bell was born and raised in Huntington Woods, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Her mother, Lorelei (née Frygier), is a registered nurse, and her father, Tom Bell, is the television news director for WOAI-TV in San Antonio.^[1] Her parents divorced when she was two years old, and she has two half sisters, Sara and Jody, from her father's second marriage. Bell has strabismus, which affects her right eye. She inherited it from her mother, who had it corrected as a child. Bell claims that if she does not get enough sleep, it aggravates the ailment. She calls her right eye "Wonky".^[2][3]

Bell stated that she did not like her first name at the age of four. Her mother convinced Bell to go by her middle name of Anne instead; she used the name Annie until high school.^[4]

Just before her freshman year of high school, Bell's parents decided to pull her from the public school system.^[5] She then attended Shrine Catholic High School in nearby Royal Oak, where she took part in the drama and music club.^[6] During her time at the school, she won the starring role in the school's 1997 production of The Wizard of Oz as Dorothy Gale^[7] and also appeared in productions of Fiddler on the Roof (1995), Lady Be Good (1996), and Li'l Abner (1998). In 1998, the year she graduated, Bell was named the yearbook's "Best Looking Girl" by senior class vote.^[8]

When Bell was 17, her best friend, whom she met at age 11 during a Detroit community theater production, was killed in an automobile accident. Bell said that it was "both the best and worst thing that has ever happened to me. [...] Once you learn not to take people for granted, you live a lot happier life".^[9]

Shortly after her high school graduation, Bell moved to New York City to attend the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University,^[4] majoring in musical theater.^[10] In 2001, during her senior year at New York University, Bell left a few credits shy of graduating^[11] to take a role in the Broadway musical version of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Career[link]

Early work (1992–2003)[link]

In 1992, Bell went to her first audition and won a dual role as a banana and a tree^[9] in a suburban Detroit theater's production of Raggedy Ann and Andy.^[4] Her mother had established her with an agent before Bell was 13, which allowed her to appear in newspaper advertisements for several Detroit retailers and television commercials. She also began private acting lessons.^[4] In 1998, she appeared with an uncredited role in the locally filmed movie Polish Wedding.

In 2001, Bell left New York University to take a key role as Becky Thatcher in the short-lived Broadway musical of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. That same year, she made her credited film debut in Pootie Tang. Her one line in the film was cut and her appearance exists only as a scene shown during the credit sequence.^[12] Additionally, she auditioned for the television series Smallville for the role of Chloe Sullivan, a part eventually won by Allison Mack.^[13] In 2002, she appeared in the Broadway revival of The Crucible with Liam Neeson, Angela Bettis and Laura Linney. Bell then moved to Los Angeles, California in 2002 because of her friendship with writers Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney,^[12] and appeared in a handful of television shows as a special guest, finding trouble gaining a recurring role in a television series. Bell had "tested like eight times and booked nothing and every show [she] tested for got picked up," including auditions for Skin and a Norm Macdonald series.^[9]

In 2003, she landed a role in the Hallmark Channel movie The King and Queen of Moonlight Bay. Bell appeared on the show Punk'd.

Breakout (2004–06)[link]

Bell on the set of Veronica Mars

In 2004, Bell appeared in the Lifetime television movie Gracie's Choice, which received one of the network's highest ratings.^[11] She made her debut in a theatrically released film, with David Mamet's Spartan, as Laura Newton, the kidnapped daughter of the U.S. President, acting alongside Val Kilmer. Bell also guest-starred on the HBO's drama Deadwood in a two-episode story arc ("Bullock Returns to the Camp" and "Suffer the Little Children").

At 24 she won the role of the title character in UPN's drama Veronica Mars, which was launched in the fall of 2004. Created by Rob Thomas, the series starred Bell as the seventeen year old detective Veronica, which put her alongside actors Enrico Colantoni who played her father, Jason Dohring, Percy Daggs III and Ryan Hansen. Bell noted the parallels between the character of Veronica and her own life — Bell's parents had divorced and her best friend had also died, like that of Veronica.^[11] The series earned positive reviews from television critics, as did Bell's performance. Some critics felt that she was overlooked, however, and deserved an Emmy Award nomination.^[14][15][16]

In 2005, Bell starred in Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, reprising the role she played in the short-lived 2001 off-broadway musical. The musical was a spoof of the 1936 exploitation film of the same name. Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical debuted on the Showtime network on April 16, 2005. On September 18, 2005, Bell performed the theme song from Fame on the "Emmy Idol" portion of the 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. She and the cast of Veronica Mars were nominated for two Teen Choice Awards in 2005: "Choice Breakout Actress" and "Choice Breakout TV Show".

In 2006, Bell won the Saturn Award for "Best Actress on Television" for her acting on Veronica Mars, while the series was nominated for "Best Network Television Show". Aside from working on Veronica Mars, in April, Bell starred as Gracie in Fifty Pills, an entry for the Tribeca Film Festival. She appeared in a short independent film called The Receipt and the horror film Roman, which was directed by her The Crucible co-star Angela Bettis. Released on August 11, 2006, Pulse starred Bell as the lead Mattie. A remake of the Japanese horror film Kairo, the film grossed US$27.9 million worldwide,^[17] however it garnered negative response from critics. Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter commented, "despite the starring presence of Kristen Bell, [the] young actress has far less interesting material to work with here than she does as [the character] "Veronica Mars.""^[18]

Recent and future roles (2007–present)[link]

Veronica Mars continued on UPN until the third season, in which the show was renewed and returned on the newly created The CW. On January 19, 2007 CW Entertainment President Dawn Ostroff announced that, while she was pleased with the gradual improvement of Veronica Mars's ratings, the series would be put on hiatus after February sweeps to air a new reality series, Pussycat Dolls Present. On May 17, 2007 Ostroff announced the cancellation of the series.^[19] The two-hour series finale aired in the United States on May 22, 2007, and on June 11, 2007 Thomas officially announced in an email to TV Guide's Michael Ausiello that Veronica Mars had been canceled by the CW.^[20] A Veronica Mars feature film and comic book series continuation had been discussed,^[21] and for a short time there was talk of another collaboration between Bell and creator Thomas that would be unrelated to the Veronica Mars series.^[19]

Following the cancellation of Veronica Mars, Bell had voiced interest in appearing on Heroes because she was a fan prior to being cast.^[22] On July 29, 2007, during a train ride back to Los Angeles from the San Diego Comic-Con with Heroes actors Zachary Quinto and Masi Oka, and writers from the series, the writers had mentioned that if she "ever want[ed] to come on Heroes, give us [writers] a call," to which Bell said she would "love to."^[23] She was also spoken to about a role on Lost, but turned down the role^[24][25] to portray Charlotte Staples Lewis.^[26] Announced in August 2007, Bell was to portray Elle Bishop, a "mysterious young lady" with an "awesome power".^[23] She did not have to audition for the role of Elle,^[12] who made her first appearance in an October 2007 episode, and will appear in at least thirteen episodes during the run of the series.^[27] The casting of Bell, as Heroes creator Tim Kring explains, "was not easy to pull off", but because of the large ensemble cast of the series and multiple story arcs, "we found a way to jump into a small window in [Bell's] schedule."^[27] Concurrently with filming on Heroes, she narrated as title character in the CW series Gossip Girl.

Shortly after the cancellation of Veronica Mars in early 2007, Bell filmed on location in Hawaii for her starring role as the title character in the Judd Apatow comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall. She noted that the improvisational comedy in the film was "a lovely experience".^[12] The film, written by and also starring Jason Segel, was released theatrically on April 18, 2008. Bell lent her voice and likeness to the video game Assassin's Creed which was released on November 13, 2007 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and April 8, 2008 for the PC.^[28] Bell reprises her role of Lucy in Assassin's Creed II released on November 17, 2009, and again in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, released on 16 November 2010.^[29] In the spring of 2006, she finished filming the Star Wars-themed comedy Fanboys, which had its release date pushed to January 14, 2008. This was due to additional funding given to director Kyle Newman to shoot new scenes, however, the busy schedules of the actors only allowed for filming in September 2007, thus moving the release date to accommodate that.^[30] Bell will voice the character of Marybelle in the animated feature Sheepish, which also has a 2008 release date.^[31] She also starred in the 2009 comedies Serious Moonlight, alongside Meg Ryan, and Couples Retreat, which chronicled four couples who partake in therapy sessions at a tropical island resort. Jason Bateman played her husband.^[32] On March 31, 2008, Bell began shooting for the Mark Steven Johnson-written Disney film When in Rome in locations in Rome and New York; the film was released in 2010.^[33] Bell reprised her role as Sarah Marshall for a cameo appearance in the film Get Him to the Greek, a spin-off sequel from Forgetting Sarah Marshall, released June 4, 2010.

Bell has also said that when she is free from film and television roles, she would like to perform on stage again.^[34] She co-starred with singers Christina Aguilera and Cher in the movie-musical Burlesque which was released on Thanksgiving in 2010.

Bell had a cameo in Scream 4, which was released on April 15, 2011.^[35] She is also attached to the films Everybody Loves Whales and Dance of the Mirlitons.^[36]

She has also appeared in the music video for "Madder Red" by Brooklyn experimental rock band Yeasayer.

Bell portrays the role of "Mary Magdalene" in The Truth & Life Dramatized Audio New Testament Bible, a 22-hour, celebrity-voiced, fully dramatized audio New Testament which uses the RSV-CE translation.

She is the female lead on the Showtime series House of Lies, which premiered on January 8, 2012, and is directed by Stephen Hopkins.

In the media[link]

In 2006, Bell was selected "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" on PETA's yearly poll.^[37] She was placed #68 on Maxim's 2005 "Hot 100" list,^[38] #11 in Maxim's 2006 "Hot 100" list,^[39] and #46 in Maxim's 2007 "Hot 100" list in which she was stated to have "single-handedly saved the CW from becoming the worst network ever."^[40] In 2006, Maxim also placed Bell at the top of the "Fall TV's Criminally Sexy Investigators" List.^[37] In 2008, she was featured at #59 on Ask Men's Top 99 Women of 2008 List.^[41] Reflecting on her admitted popularity with "geeks", Bell was voted the fourth sexiest woman on TV by the staff at Wizard magazine.^[42]

She stated to have never thought of herself as womanly because she "always play[ed roles] and look[ed] and act[ed] 10 years younger than [she is]", however as she explains, "Something magical happened when I turned 25 — I looked in the mirror and was like, You might not get carded for an R-rated movie anymore. Like I didn't have a little stick figure anymore."^[43] Bell has said that many of the characters she has played are tomboys because she was "not homely enough to play the nerdy girl and not nearly pretty enough to play the pretty girl".^[43]

Bell has been associated with the idea that "nerdy is the new cool", and she explains, "what was previously perceived as nerdy is now viewed as original. What I like about nerdiness, geekiness, is it doesn't really matter what you're into — it just means you're not a follower."^[43] She has also said, "I love nerds. Comic-Con junkies are the tastemakers of tomorrow. Isn't that funny? The tables have turned."^[12] Vanessa Juarez of Entertainment Weekly commented that Bell's role on Veronica Mars, Heroes and as a Star Wars fanatic in Fanboys has "solidif[ied] her placement at the center of the geek universe", while Rodney Rothman stated, "I guess she's cornered the market on losers."^[44] Bell's work is often compared to Sarah Michelle Gellar's portrayal of the titular character on the cult television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.^[45] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter stated that Bell was "arguably the television successor [to Gellar's portrayal of Buffy] when it comes to fighting bad guys." Bell is sometimes confused with Lauren Conrad from the show The Hills. "Yeah, sometimes fans yell, 'Hey, Lauren' to me, but usually from a distance," said Kristen.^[18]

Despite "new celebrity" status, Bell claims that she is not concerned because "no one ever recognizes [her] anyway". As Bell explains, "I hang out with Hayden quite a bit — they never take pictures of me. I just step to the side, and I push myself in front of her when she wants to get out of it, or put her in the car."^[43] Bell is a recurring guest on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, appearing in interviews as well as sketches. On the Late Late Show, she is shown to have garnered a humorous hostility towards Craig's robot skeleton sidekick Geoff Peterson, claiming that she had wanted to be Craig's sidekick on his show and taking it upon herself to cut Geoff down every chance she gets. Both Bell and Geoff Peterson appeared with Ferguson during the five Late Late shows filmed in France.^[46]

In January 2011 it was announced that Bell would be the new face of Neutrogena.^[47]

Personal life[link]

Bell signing in January 2005 at San Francisco's Metreon

At age 11, Bell became a vegetarian.^[37] In an interview with PETA, Bell stated, "I have always been an animal lover. I had a hard time disassociating the animals I cuddled with — dogs and cats, for example — from the animals on my plate, and I never really cared for the taste of meat. I always loved my Brussels sprouts!"^[48] During her time in Michigan, Bell fostered animals from Michigan Humane Society and she now supports the San Diego-based Helen Woodward Animal Center. Bell often attends fund raisers for the ASPCA and other non-profit organizations dedicated to protecting animals. She owns a Welsh Corgi-Chow Chow mix named Lola, a Welsh Corgi-Chihuahua mix named Shakey, and a black Labrador Retriever named Sadie, who was 11 years old when she was rescued from Hurricane Katrina and adopted by Bell in 2005.^[5][49]

She and many of those who worked on Veronica Mars, including personal friend Ryan Hansen, are involved with the charity organization Invisible Children Inc. The goal of the organization is to create awareness regarding the plight of Northern Ugandans who are caught in the midst of a civil war between the government and Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army.^[50] Bell has also done a public service announcement for Do Something's Healthy Living Campaign.^[51]

Bell supported and campaigned for Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential election. Along with Rashida Jones, she visited college campuses in Missouri to discuss the candidates and encourage voter registration.^[52][53][54] Bell has shown her support for the Writers Guild of America in the writer's strike, appearing in the picket lines in December 2007 stating, "the writers are just looking for some fairness."^[55]

In 2007, Bell ended a five-year relationship with former fiancé Kevin Mann,^[43] and went on to date actor Dax Shepard.^[56] As of January 2010, she is engaged to Shepard.^[57] She told Complex magazine that dating "makes me want to vomit. And not out of grossness — OK, a little bit out of grossness, but just nerves." Bell explains, "I've always been a serial monogamist."^[43]

As she is a Detroit native, she is also an avid fan of the Detroit Red Wings hockey team.^[58]

She is also a lover of sloths. When her now fiance Shepard got her a sloth for her birthday, she broke down in tears.^[59]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

Wins[link]

2006 

Saturn Award, for Veronica Mars

Jury Prize at the Austin Fantastic Fest, for Roman

Family Film Award, for Veronica Mars (shared with Enrico Colantoni)

2005 

Satellite Award, for Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical

Nominations[link]

2009 

Teen Choice Award, for Heroes

Saturn Award, for Heroes

MTV Movie Award, for Forgetting Sarah Marshall

2008 

Teen Choice Award, for Forgetting Sarah Marshall

2007 

Saturn Award, for Veronica Mars

2006 

Satellite Award, for Veronica Mars

Teen Choice Award, for Veronica Mars

2005 

Satellite Award, for Veronica Mars

Saturn Award, for Veronica Mars

Teen Choice Award, for Veronica Mars

TCA Award, for Veronica Mars

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Kristen Bell

Wikinews has related news: Award show producers try Emmy Idol

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kristen Bell

• Kristen Bell at the Internet Movie Database
• Kristen Bell at the Internet Broadway Database
• Kristen Bell at AllRovi
• Kristen Bell^{[dead link]} at Complex
• Couples Retreat Video Interview at AMCtv.com

The Edge
Background information
Birth name	David Howell Evans
Born	(1961-08-08) 8 August 1961 (age 50) Barking, Essex, England, United Kingdom
Origin	County Dublin, Ireland
Genres	Rock, post-punk, alternative rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, activist
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, keyboards, piano, bass guitar
Years active	1976–present
Labels	Island, Mercury
Associated acts	U2, Passengers
Website	www.u2.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Explorer Fender Stratocaster Gibson Les Paul Fender Telecaster Gretsch Country Gentleman Gretsch White Falcon Rickenbacker 330/12

David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), more widely known by his stage name The Edge (or just Edge),^[1] is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record. As a guitarist, The Edge has crafted a minimalistic and textural style of playing. His use of a rhythmic delay effect yields a distinctive ambient, chiming sound that has become a signature of U2's music.

The Edge was born in England to a Welsh family, but was raised in Ireland after moving there as an infant. In 1976, at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, he formed U2 with his fellow students and his older brother Dik. Inspired by the ethos of punk rock and its basic arrangements, the group began to write its own material. They eventually became one of the most popular acts in popular music, with successful albums such as 1987's The Joshua Tree and 1991's Achtung Baby. Over the years, The Edge has experimented with various guitar effects and introduced influences from several genres of music into his own style, including American roots music, industrial music, and alternative rock. With U2, The Edge has also played keyboards, co-produced their 1993 record Zooropa, and occasionally contributed lyrics. The Edge met his second and current wife, Morleigh Steinberg, through her collaborations with the band.

As a member of U2 and as an individual, The Edge has campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes. He co-founded Music Rising, a charity to support musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina. He has collaborated with U2 bandmate Bono on several projects, including songs for Roy Orbison and Tina Turner, and the soundtracks to the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and the Royal Shakespeare Company's London stage adaptation of A Clockwork Orange. In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine placed him at number 38 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Personal life[link]

The Edge at a U2 concert in Anaheim (2005)

David Howell Evans was born at the Barking Maternity Hospital,^[2] Essex, England to Welsh parents Garvin and Gwenda Evans.^[1] When he was one, his family moved to County Dublin, Ireland where he attended St Andrew's National School. He received piano and guitar lessons and often performed with his brother Dik Evans before they both answered an advertisement posted by Larry Mullen, Jr. at their school, Mount Temple Comprehensive School, seeking musicians to form a band.^[3] The band accepted both of them. This band went through several incarnations before emerging as U2 in March 1978 (Dik Evans left the band just before the name change).^[3] U2 began performing in various venues in Ireland and eventually began developing a following. Their debut album, Boy, was released in 1980.

In 1981, leading up to the October tour, Evans came very close to leaving U2 for religious reasons, but he decided to stay.^[3] During this period, he became involved with a group called Shalom Tigers, in which bandmates Bono and Larry Mullen Jr. were also involved.^[4] Shortly after deciding to remain with the band, he wrote a piece of music that later became "Sunday Bloody Sunday".^[3] The Edge married his high school girlfriend Aislinn O'Sullivan on 12 July 1983.^[5] The couple had three daughters together: Hollie in 1984, Arran in 1985 and Blue Angel in 1989.^[4] The couple separated in 1990, but were unable to get officially divorced because of Irish laws regarding marriage annulment; divorce was legalised in 1995 and the couple were legally divorced in 1996.^[4]

In 1993, The Edge began dating Morleigh Steinberg, a professional dancer and choreographer employed by the band as a belly dancer during the Zoo TV Tour. They had a daughter, Sian (born 1997), and a son, Levi (born 25 October 1999),^[4] before marrying on 22 June 2002.^[4] He appeared in the 2009 music documentary film It Might Get Loud.^[6] The Edge has been criticized for his efforts to build five luxury mansions on a 156 acre plot of land in Malibu, California.^[7] The California Coastal Commission voted 8-4 against the plans, with the project described by the commission's executive director, Peter Douglas, as "In 38 years...one of the three worst projects that I've seen in terms of environmental devastation...It's a contradiction in terms – you can't be serious about being an environmentalist and pick this location."^[7] The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy agreed to remain neutral on the issue following a $1 million donation from The Edge and a commitment from The Edge to designate 100 acres of the land as open space for public footpaths.^[7]

Music style[link]

Guitar playing[link]

As a guitar player, The Edge has a sound typified by a low-key playing style, a chiming, shimmering sound (thanks in part to the sound of VOX AC-30s) that he achieves with extensive use of delay effects and reverb. The feedback delay is often set to a dotted eighth note (3/16 of a measure), and the feedback gain is adjusted until a note played repeats two or three times.^{[citation needed]}

On 1987's The Joshua Tree, The Edge often contributes just a few simple lead lines given depth and richness by an ever-present delay. For example, the introduction to "Where the Streets Have No Name" is simply a repeated six-note arpeggio, broadened by a modulated delay effect. The Edge has said that he views musical notes as "expensive", in that he prefers to play as few notes as possible. He said in 1982 of his style,

"I like a nice ringing sound on guitar, and most of my chords I find two strings and make them ring the same note, so it's almost like a 12-string sound. So for E I might play a B, E, E and B and make it ring. It works very well with the Gibson Explorer. It's funny because the bass end of the Explorer was so awful that I used to stay away from the low strings, and a lot of the chords I played were very trebly, on the first four, or even three strings. I discovered that through using this one area of the fretboard I was developing a very stylized way of doing something that someone else would play in a normal way."^[9]

Many different influences have shaped The Edge's guitar technique.^{[citation needed]} His first guitar was an old acoustic guitar that his mother bought him at a local flea market for only a few pounds; he was nine at the time. He and his brother Dik Evans both experimented with this instrument.^[9] He said in 1982 of this early experimentation, "I suppose the first link in the chain was a visit to the local jumble sale where I purchased a guitar for a pound. That was my first instrument. It was an acoustic guitar and me and my elder brother Dik both played it, plonking away, all very rudimentary stuff, open chords and all that."^[9] The Edge has stated that many of his guitar parts are based around guitar effects. This is especially true from the Achtung Baby era onwards, although much of the band's 1980s material made heavy use of echos.

Vocals[link]

The Edge in June 2005

The Edge also supplies the backing vocals for U2. U2's 1983 live album and video release, Under a Blood Red Sky and Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky are good reference points for his singing (as are the live DVDs from the Elevation Tour, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle and Elevation 2001: Live from Boston). For example, he sings the chorus to "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (Bono harmonizes on the final 'Sunday'). U2 used this tradeoff technique later in "Bullet the Blue Sky" as well. His backing vocals are sometimes in the form of a repeated cry; examples of songs that use this approach include "Beautiful Day", "New Year's Day" and "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)". Another technique he uses in his backing vocals is the falsetto, in songs such as "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", "A Man and a Woman", "The Wanderer", live versions of "The Fly", and "Window in the Skies".

The Edge sings the lead vocal on "Van Diemen's Land" and "Numb", the first half of the song "Seconds", dual vocals with Bono in "Discotheque", and the bridge in the song "Miracle Drug".^[4] He also sings the occasional lead vocal in live renditions of other songs (such as "Sunday Bloody Sunday" during the PopMart Tour and "Party Girl" during the Rotterdam Zoo TV show when it was Bono's birthday).^[10] He also plays a solo acoustic version of the song "Love is Blindness" that is featured in the documentary film From the Sky Down.

Other instruments[link]

He has played piano and keyboards on many of the band's songs, including "I Fall Down", "October", "So Cruel", "New Year's Day", "Running to Stand Still", "Miss Sarajevo", "The Hands that Built America", and "Original of the Species" and others. He plays the organ on "Please". In live versions of "New Year's Day", "The Unforgettable Fire", "Your Blue Room", and "Moment of Surrender", he plays both the piano and guitar parts alternately. In most live versions of "Original of the Species," piano is the only instrument played during the song. Although The Edge is the band's lead guitarist, he occasionally plays bass guitar, including the live performances of the song "40" where The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton switch instruments.

Solo recordings[link]

In addition to his regular role within U2, The Edge has also recorded with such artists as Johnny Cash, B. B. King, Tina Turner, Ronnie Wood, Jay-Z, and Rihanna. The Edge connected with Brian Eno and Lanois collaborator Michael Brook (the creator of the infinite guitar, which he regularly uses), working with him on the score to the film Captive (1986). From this soundtrack the song "Heroine", the vocal of which was sung by a young Sinéad O'Connor was released as a single.

He also created the theme song for season one and two of The Batman. He and fellow U2 member, Bono, wrote the lyrics to the theme of the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye. The Edge, along with bandmate Bono, recently composed a musical adaptation of Spider-Man. On May 25, 2011, a single titled Rise Above 1: Reeve Carney Featuring Bono and The Edge was released digitally.^[11] The music video was released on July 28, 2011.^[12]

Musical equipment[link]

Edge's 1964 Vox AC30 on stage in Foxborough for the U2 360° Tour.

The Edge plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, bass guitar (on "40" and "Race Against Time") and lap steel guitar. Compared to many lead guitarists, The Edge is known for using many more guitars during a show. According to his guitar tech Dallas Schoo, a typical lead guitarist uses four or five different guitars in one night, whereas The Edge takes 45 on the road, and uses 17 to 19 in one 2.5-hour concert. He is estimated to have more than 200 guitars in the studio.^{[citation needed]}

Philanthropy[link]

In 2005, The Edge along with Bob Ezrin and Henry Juszkiewicz co-founded Music Rising, a charity that helped provide replacement instruments for those that were lost in Hurricane Katrina. The instruments were originally only replaced for professional musicians but they soon realized the community churches and schools needed instruments as well. The charity's slogan is "Rebuilding the Gulf Region note by note" and has so far helped over a hundred musicians who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Edge also serves on the board of the Angiogenesis Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving global health by advancing angiogenesis-based medicine, diets, and lifestyle.^[13]

See also[link]

• Timeline of U2
• List of people on stamps of Ireland

References[link]

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (October 2011)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Edge

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Edge

• U2.com, official U2 site
• Music Rising
• The Edge at the Internet Movie Database
• The Edge – Album Credits
• A Study of The Edge's Guitar Delay
• The Edge: 'It's all about the vision'
• Food Bank For New York City public service announcement
• Comment on the mathematical analysis of The Edge's guitar sound