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Three frames form a morph from George W. Bush to Arnold Schwarzenegger showing the mid-point between the two extremes

Morphing is a special effect in motion pictures and animations that changes (or morphs) one image into another through a seamless transition. Most often it is used to depict one person turning into another through technological means or as part of a fantasy or surreal sequence. Traditionally such a depiction would be achieved through cross-fading techniques on film. Since the early 1990s, this has been replaced by computer software to create more realistic transitions.

Early examples of morphing[link]

Though the 1986 movie The Golden Child implemented very crude morphing effects from animal to human and back, the first movie to employ detailed morphing was Willow, in 1988. A similar process was used a year later in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade to create Walter Donovan's gruesome demise. Both effects were created by Industrial Light & Magic using grid warping techniques developed by Tom Brigham and Doug Smythe (AMPAS).^[1]

In 1985, Godley & Creme created a primitive "morph" effect using analogue cross-fades in the video for "Cry". The cover for Queen's 1989 album The Miracle featured the technique to morph the four band members' faces into one gestalt image. In 1991, morphing appeared notably in the Michael Jackson music video Black or White and in the movies Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. The first application for personal computers to offer morphing was Gryphon Software Morph on the Macintosh. Other early morphing systems included ImageMaster, MorphPlus and CineMorph, all of which premiered for the Commodore Amiga in 1992. Other programs became widely available within a year, and for a time the effect became common to the point of cliché. For high-end use, Elastic Reality (based on MorphPlus) saw its first feature film use in In The Line of Fire (1993) and was used in Quantum Leap (work performed by the Post Group). At VisionArt Ted Fay used Elastic Reality to morph Odo for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Elastic Reality was later purchased by Avid, having already become the de facto system of choice, used in many hundreds of films. The technology behind Elastic Reality earned two Academy Awards in 1996 for Scientific and Technical Achievement going to Garth Dickie and Perry Kivolowitz. The effect is technically called a "spatially warped cross-dissolve". The first social network designed for user-generated morph examples to be posted online was Galleries by Morpheus (morphing software).

In Taiwan, Aderans, a hair loss solutions provider, did a TV commercial featuring a morphing sequence in which people with lush, thick hair morph into one another, reminiscent of the end sequence of the Black or White video.

Modern morphing techniques[link]

Computer-animated morphing was used in the 1974 canadian animation Hunger.

In the early 1990s computer techniques that often produced more convincing results began to be widely used. These involved distorting one image at the same time that it faded into another through marking corresponding points and vectors on the "before" and "after" images used in the morph. For example, one would morph one face into another by marking key points on the first face, such as the contour of the nose or location of an eye, and mark where these same points existed on the second face. The computer would then distort the first face to have the shape of the second face at the same time that it faded the two faces. To compute the transformation of image coordinates required for the distortion, e.g. the algorithm of Beier and Neely can be used.

Later, more sophisticated cross-fading techniques were employed that vignetted different parts of one image to the other gradually instead of transitioning the entire image at once. This style of morphing was perhaps most famously employed in the video that former 10cc members Kevin Godley and Lol Creme (performing as Godley & Creme) produced in 1985 for their song Cry. It comprised a series of black and white close-up shots of faces of many different people that gradually faded from one to the next. In a strict sense, this had little to do with modern-day computer generated morphing effects, since it was merely a dissolve using fully analog equipment.

Morphing in the future[link]

Morphing algorithms continue to advance today and many programs can automatically morph images that correspond closely enough with relatively little instruction from the user. This has led to the use of morphing techniques to create convincing slow-motion effects where none existed in the original film or video footage by morphing between each individual frame using optical flow technology. Morphing has also appeared as a transition technique between one scene and another in television shows, even if the contents of the two images are entirely unrelated. The algorithm in this case attempts to find corresponding points between the images and distort one into the other as they crossfade.

Morphing is used far more heavily today than ever before. In years past, effects were obvious, which led to their overuse. Now, morphing effects are most often designed to be seamless and invisible to the eye.

Software[link]

• Abrosoft FantaMorph
• Gryphon Software Morph
• Morpheus (morphing software)
• MorphThing

See also[link]

Look up morphing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Morph target animation
• Inbetweening

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tutorial on morphing using Adobe After Effects
• Morph images on Mac OS X
• Xmorph: A Walkthrough of Morphing

Priscilla Presley
Priscilla Presley. September 2003
Born	Priscilla Ann Wagner (1945-05-24) May 24, 1945 (age 67) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Other names	Priscilla Beaulieu
Occupation	Actress/Businesswoman
Years active	1983–99 (acting) 1982–present (business)
Spouse	Elvis Presley (m. 1967–1973) «start: (1967-05)–end+1: (1973-10-10)»"Marriage: Elvis Presley to Priscilla Presley" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.db.wn.com/index.php/Priscilla_Presley)
Website
http://www.priscillapresley.com/

Priscilla Presley (born Priscilla Ann Wagner; May 24, 1945) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the ex-wife of singer Elvis Presley, and the mother of singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley.

Priscilla was chairwoman of the board of Elvis Presley Enterprises from 1982 to 1998, helping to turn Graceland into a multi-million dollar tourist attraction. As an actress, Priscilla is best known for co-starring with Leslie Nielsen in the three successful Naked Gun films between 1988 and 1994, and for her five-year run playing the character Jenna Wade on the television series Dallas.

Ancestry and early life[link]

Priscilla's grandfather, Albert Henry Iversen, emigrated from Egersund in Norway to the United States in the beginning of the 1900s. He married Lorraine Davis, who was of Scots-Irish and English descent. They had three children: Albert Jr. (March 1922), James Richard (March 1924) and Anna Lillian Iversen (March 1926). Later she was called, or her name was changed to, Ann. She was called Rooney (short for Annie Rooney) as a child. At the age of 19 she gave birth to Priscilla.^[1] They both still have cousins in Norway. In a letter to the City Hall of Egersund, Ann asked for information about their relatives, and wrote that Priscilla was interested in knowing about them; Priscilla's parents then visited family members in Norway in 1992.^[2]

Priscilla has a square named after her in Egersund – Priscilla Presleys plass. When she was told about this tribute being planned, by a visiting Norwegian relative (summer 2007), and asked what she thought, she answered: "Oh, it's marvellous!".^[3] The area is in the street outside the house where her grandfather was born in 1899, and lived. Priscilla and her family were invited by the Lord Mayor of Egersund to the opening ceremony of Priscilla Presleys plass, which took place August 23, 2008, but were unable to go due to Lisa Marie being pregnant.^[4][5]

Priscilla's biological father was US Navy pilot James Wagner. His parents were Kathryn and Harold Wagner. On August 10, 1944, at the age of 23, he married Priscilla's mother; they had been dating for more than three years.^[1] He was killed in a plane crash while returning home on leave when Priscilla was six months old.^[6] When Priscilla discovered this "..family secret..."^[7] whilst rummaging through an old wooden box of family keepsakes, she was encouraged by her mother to keep it from the other children as she feared it would "...endanger our family closeness...".^[6]

In 1948, her mother met a United States Air Force officer named Paul Beaulieu, from Quebec. The couple were married within a year. Beaulieu took over the raising of Priscilla and was the only father Priscilla would ever know. Over the next few years, Priscilla grew up quickly, helping to care for the growing family as her father's Air Force career moved them from Connecticut to New Mexico to Maine. In her own words, she described herself during this period as "...a shy, pretty little girl unhappily accustomed to moving from base to base every two or three years."^[8] Priscilla later recalled that she felt uncomfortable moving so often because she never knew if she could make friends for life, or even if she would fit in with the new people she met on each move.^[8]

In 1956, the Beaulieus moved to and settled in Austin, Texas, but soon her father was transferred to Wiesbaden, Germany.^[9] Priscilla was "..crushed.." by this news, and after finishing Junior High her fears of leaving her friends behind and making new ones were once again at the forefront of her mind.^[9]

Life in Germany[link]

Initially the Beaulieus stayed at the Helene Hotel when they arrived in Germany, but after three months the cost of living there became too expensive and they looked for a place to rent.^[10] The family settled in a large apartment in a "vintage building constructed long before World War I". Soon after moving in, the Beaulieus realized that it was a brothel, but due to scarce housing they were forced to remain there.^[10]

Feeling like an outsider once again due to her lack of understanding of the German language, Priscilla frequented the Eagles Club; a place where American families would gather to have dinner and be entertained.^[10] It was "within walking distance" of their apartment, and proved to be an important discovery for Priscilla.^[10] She would go there "every day after school" and listen to the jukebox while writing letters back home to her friends in Austin.

It was here, at the Eagles Club, that Priscilla met Currie Grant, a young American Air Force recruit whose Commanding Officer knew Priscilla's father.^[11] Through Grant, who stated that he was good friends with the singer and that he and his wife would visit him quite often,^[11] she came to meet Elvis Presley. Nonetheless it is still controversial what led to that first encounter.

On the one hand Priscilla states that Grant offered to introduce her to Elvis Presley. Being cautious and skeptical of such a claim about his friendship with Presley, she said she would have to ask her parents. On the other hand Currie Grant described it the other way around. According to his statement it was Priscilla who asked him to introduce her, as she was curious about meeting Presley.^[12]

However, over the next two weeks Grant met with Priscilla's parents and assured them that she would be well chaperoned.^[11]

Life with Elvis[link]

Germany[link]

Elvis and Priscilla met on September 13, 1959,^[13] during a party at Elvis' home in Bad Nauheim, Germany during his stay in the army.^[14] Despite her only being 14 years old at the time, she made a huge impression on Elvis with her much older appearance.^[15] Elvis allegedly regressed to acting like an "awkward, embarrassed" boy next door figure in front of her.^[15] However, by the end of the evening he had managed to compose himself.^[15]

Despite Priscilla's parents being angered by her late return home during that first meeting and insisting that she would never meet Elvis again,^[16] his eagerness for another meeting, and his promise never to bring her home late again,^[16] led them to relent. They were frequently together until Elvis left Germany in March 1960. After Elvis left Germany, Priscilla was inundated with requests for interviews from media outlets around the world.^[17] She received fan mail from Elvis fans, some nice and some not so nice, as well as mail from "lonesome G.I.'s".^[17] Convinced she would never see Elvis again, and with rumors of his ongoing relationship with Nancy Sinatra flying around the gossip magazines, Priscilla resigned herself to the fact that her whirlwind romance was over.^[17]

Move to Graceland[link]

After Elvis' return to America, the couple stayed in contact over the phone, though they would not see each other again until the summer of 1962, when Priscilla's parents agreed to let her visit for two weeks.^[14][18] Priscilla's parents only allowed her to go if Elvis would pay for a first class round trip, arrange for her to be chaperoned at all times, and that she write home every day.^[17] Elvis agreed to all these demands and Priscilla flew to Los Angeles. Elvis told her that they were going to Las Vegas and, to throw her parents off the scent, he had Priscilla write a postcard for every day they would be gone so that they could be mailed from Los Angeles by a member of his staff.^[19]

It was during this visit, whilst on a trip to Las Vegas, that Priscilla first took amphetamines and sleeping pills to keep up with Elvis' lifestyle.^[20] After another visit at Christmas, Priscilla's parents finally let her move to America for good in March 1963.^[14][21] Part of the agreement was that she would attend an all-girls' Catholic school, the Immaculate Conception High School, and live with Elvis' father and his stepmother in a separate house on the Graceland estate until she graduated from high school. Part of the agreement also was that they would eventually marry.^[21] However, after a few weeks she was moved into Graceland to be with Elvis, although her parents did eventually agree to her living there if Elvis promised to marry her.^[14] Priscilla later said, "The move was natural. I was there all the time anyway".^[22]

Priscilla was always keen to go to Hollywood with Elvis, but he kept telling her that he was too busy for that and she was made to stay in Memphis.^[19] During the filming of Viva Las Vegas, Elvis began an affair with his co-star Ann Margret. When Priscilla read of these reports in the press, she confronted Elvis. He told her that they were simply rumors to promote the film and that she should not believe everything that she read in the press.^[19] For the next few years Elvis would have relationships with many of his leading ladies and co-stars, all the while denying their existence to Priscilla. Eventually she was allowed to visit him in Hollywood, but her visits were kept short.^[19]

Marriage and pregnancy[link]

Shortly before Christmas 1966, Elvis proposed to Priscilla. According to author Albert Goldman, this was the result of a phone call from Priscilla's father to remind Elvis in "no uncertain terms" that over four years had passed since his promise to marry,^[23] although this "rumor" has been strenuously denied by both Priscilla and her father since.^[24] Other accounts suggest that Priscilla threatened to take her story to the press if Elvis refused to marry her, and that her father threatened to have Elvis charged under the Mann Act; "taking a minor across state lines for sexual purposes".^[25] Colonel Parker, Elvis' manager, also attempted to encourage him to marry by reminding him about his RCA "moral's clause" within his record contract.^[25] Parker had always been leery of Elvis' relationship with Priscilla, knowing full well how Jerry Lee Lewis's career had been affected by his involvement with a minor.^[25] Elvis was reluctant to marry for a number of reasons, primarily the fear that his career could be harmed by marriage.^[23] Goldman also claims that Elvis would often state that he "wasn't made to be married".^[26] Priscilla also suggested in a 1973 interview with "Ladies Home Journal" magazine that she and Elvis were quite happy to just live together, but "at that time it wasn't nice for people to [just] live together".^[27] Accounts by Elvis' cook, Alberta, claim that he was so upset about the wedding that she caught him crying about it one day. When she asked why he didn't just cancel the wedding if it upset him so much, he replied "I don't have a choice".^[25] Marty Lacker, a close friend to Elvis, has also spoken about Elvis' reluctance to marry, claiming that Parker practically scared him into marriage by insisting his career would be over like Jerry Lee Lewis's if he didn't marry.^[25] Others, however, including Joe Esposito, have always insisted that Elvis was "thrilled to finally marry Priscilla".^[25]

After originally setting a date "over the holidays",^[23] Elvis pushed the wedding back a few months and they married on May 1, 1967 at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. The wedding, arranged by Parker to maximize publicity, featured very few guests and was over in only eight minutes.^[25] It was followed by a quick press conference and a $10,000 breakfast reception, attended by friends, family, and business associates from MGM, RCA, and the William Morris Agency.^[25] The wedding caused rifts between Elvis and several of his closest friends who weren't invited to the actual wedding ceremony.^[28] Red West, especially, was furious about the situation. He and his wife had been personally invited by Elvis to Las Vegas for the wedding, had dressed for the occasion, and at the last minute were told that they would not be present.^[28] For Red, who had been with Elvis since the beginning of his rise to fame and had given Elvis the role of best man at his own wedding, this was enough of an insult that he decided to quit his job working for Elvis.^[28] Many other friends of Elvis were also disappointed and held resentment towards him for many years to follow, although they mainly blamed Parker for their exclusion rather than Elvis himself.^[28]

Following the reception, Elvis and Priscilla boarded a private jet and enjoyed a short honeymoon in Palm Springs.^[25] On May 4, they flew back to Memphis and retreated to their private ranch, just over the Mississippi state line, for a three-week break.^[28] Many of Elvis' inner circle joined them, although for the most part the couple were left alone and were able to enjoy each other's company without the intrusion of the Memphis Mafia.^[28] Priscilla reveled in her chance to be a proper wife; cooking, cleaning, and washing for her husband. "I loved playing house" she later remarked, adding "Here was an opportunity to take care of him myself. No maids or housekeepers to pamper us."^[28] In an attempt to heal rifts, Elvis and Priscilla held another reception at Graceland on May 29 for the friends and family who were unable to attend the original ceremonies.^[28]

Soon after, Priscilla found out that she was pregnant. She was upset at such an early pregnancy, certain that it would destroy the closeness she had finally found with Elvis.^[29] She had asked him earlier if she could take birth control pills, but Elvis had insisted they weren't perfected yet.^[29] She considered abortion, and even discussed it with Elvis at one point, but both decided they could not live with themselves if they had gone through with it.^[29] Their only child, Lisa Marie, was born exactly nine months after their wedding, on February 1, 1968.

Priscilla wrote in her 1985 biography, Elvis and Me, that around the time Elvis was filming Live a Little, Love a Little (1968) she began taking private dance lessons. She found herself deeply attracted to the instructor, known simply as Mark in the book, and she confesses to having a short affair.^[30] She implies regret, however, saying "I came out of it realizing I needed much more out of my relationship with Elvis."^[30]

Despite Priscilla's affair and Elvis' on and off relationships with his co-stars and leading ladies, the first few years they were married seemed a happy time for the couple. However, when Elvis' career took off again after his 1968 television special, he was constantly touring and playing in Las Vegas. Elvis had also been seeing other women on and off, often leaving Priscilla at home with Lisa Marie. Due to Elvis being away so often, the marriage soured.

Separation and divorce[link]

Elvis was a keen karate student, and persuaded Priscilla to take it up. Priscilla thought it was a good idea, as it would pass the time she spent alone if she had a hobby to concentrate on, and she was also keen to share in Elvis' interests.^[31] Following suggestions from Elvis, Priscilla began taking lessons from Mike Stone, a karate instructor she had met in 1972 backstage at one of Elvis' concerts.^[32] She soon began an affair with him.^[33] Priscilla states in her book, "My relationship with Mike had now developed into an affair. I still loved Elvis greatly, but over the next few months I knew I would have to make a crucial decision regarding my destiny" ^[33] She later states "Elvis must have perceived my new restlessness".^[34] A couple of months later she said that Elvis had requested to see her in his hotel suite. It was then that she states in her book that Elvis "forcefully made love to me", and said, "This is how a real man makes love to his woman".^[35] She later stated in an interview that she regretted her choice of words in describing the incident, and said it had been an overstatement. She went on to say following the incident, "what really hurt was that he was not sensitive to me as a woman and his attempt at reconciliation had come too late" suggesting that his actions were a deliberate attempt at reconciliation or compensation for his lack of sexual interest in Priscilla which had been a source of hurt and discontent for her for years. Priscilla states in her book "He had mentioned to me before we were married that he had never been able to make love to a woman who had a child"^[36] and she later expressed the personal repercussions of their sexual dysfunction "I am beginning to doubt my own sexuality as a woman. My physical and emotional needs were unfulfilled." ^[36] After this now-famous sexual incident, Priscilla summarized "this was not the gentle, understanding man I grew to love."^[37]

Elvis and Priscilla separated on February 23, 1972, and filed for legal separation on July 26.^[38] To avoid Priscilla having to make her home address available on the public records and therefore risking the security of both her and Lisa Marie,^[39] Elvis filed for divorce on August 18^[40] and it was finalized on October 9, 1973,^[41] after almost six and a half years of marriage. The couple agreed to share custody of their daughter and Priscilla was awarded an outright cash payment of $725,000 as well as spousal support, child support, 5% of Elvis' new publishing companies and half the income from the sale of their Beverly Hills home.^[41] Originally the couple had agreed upon a much smaller settlement; a $100,000 lump payment, $1,000 a month spousal support, and $500 a month child support.^[42] This was all Priscilla had wanted as she was keen to make it on her own and prove that her marriage to Elvis was not about money.^[42] Soon afterwards, however, her new lawyers had persuaded her to up her demands, pointing out that a star of Elvis' stature could easily afford more for his ex-wife and child.^[43]

Priscilla and Elvis remained close, leaving the courthouse on the day of their divorce hand in hand.^[43] Although Priscilla was granted full custody of Lisa Marie, she promised Elvis that he could have access to her any time he wished. He would later remark to Linda Thompson that he thought he could "mold" Priscilla into the woman he wanted her to be, but that he had realized too late that you "can't teach a person to be affectionate."^[23] Priscilla still attended a number of Elvis' Las Vegas shows, and on several occasions he would ask her to speak to his current girlfriends to advise them on how to look after him.^[19] Elvis confided to close friend Larry Geller that Priscilla had been more of a sister than a soulmate.^[19]

Priscilla has not remarried since her divorce from Elvis, although she has had several long-term relationships. The first of these was with Mike Stone, which lasted two years. In 1978, Priscilla began dating model-actor Mike Edwards, remaining together until 1984. Edwards and his daughter Caroline lived with Priscilla and Lisa Marie during this time. In 1988, Edwards wrote a tell-all book titled Priscilla, Elvis and Me (the title is a parody of Priscilla's own memoir, Elvis and Me) in which he claimed that Priscilla cheated on him with actor Richard Gere, and admitted to having been sexually attracted to Lisa Marie. In 1984, Priscilla met Italian screenwriter Marco Garibaldi and they had a son, Navarone, on March 1, 1987.^[44] In March 2006, they ended their relationship.^[19] Between 2007 and 2009, Priscilla was in a relationship with entertainment mogul Nigel Lythgoe. In 2010, Priscilla dated Raquel Welch's ex-husband, restauranteur Richard Palmer.^[45] Since December 2011, Priscilla has been linked to Australian singer Barry Crocker.^[46]

Religion[link]

Priscilla is a devoted member of Church of Scientology,^[19] and speaks publicly for the religion's anti-psychiatry front group, the CCHR.^[47]

Career[link]

Hal B. Wallis, a Hollywood producer who had financed many of Elvis' earlier films, had shown an interest in signing Priscilla to a contract.^[48] Elvis, however, had no intentions of allowing his wife to have a career of any kind; in his opinion, albeit a very common one at the time, "a woman's place was in the home looking after her man".^[48] Priscilla had shown an interest in dancing and modeling, but her knowledge of Elvis' opinion meant that she kept them as hobbies instead of pursuing them as careers. She did get the opportunity to model for a local store once, but when Elvis heard about it he asked her to give it up.^[19]

Bis & Beau[link]

In 1973, after her split from Elvis, Presley set up a joint venture with her friend and stylist Olivia Bis. Together they opened a clothing boutique in Los Angeles called Bis & Beau.^[49] Elvis was supportive of Presley's venture, and even contacted several friends within publicity to help with promotion for the launch.^[50] In a 1973 interview to promote the opening of the store, Priscilla said, "After the separation, I had to make up my mind about what I wanted to do, and since I had worked with Olivia for such a long time on my own clothes, I decided to try it professionally. We both do the designing for the shop, and have people who sew for us."^[49] The shop was a very successful venture for Priscilla and Bis, with celebrity clients including Cher, Lana Turner, Barbra Streisand, and Natalie Wood shopping there regularly.^[51] The shop closed in 1976. ^[52]

Business in Graceland[link]

After Elvis' death in 1977, Vernon Presley served as executor of his estate.^[53] Before his death in 1979 he chose Priscilla to serve as the estate executor for Elvis' only child, Lisa Marie, who was only 11.^[53] Graceland itself cost $500,000 a year in upkeep, and expenses had dwindled Lisa Marie's inheritance to only $1 million.^[53] Taxes due on the property and other expenses due came to over $500,000.^[53] Faced with having to sell Graceland, Priscilla examined other famous homes/museums. She hired a CEO, Jack Soden, to turn Graceland into a tourist attraction. Graceland was opened to the public on June 7, 1982. Priscilla's gamble paid off; only four weeks after opening Graceland's doors, the estate made back all the money it had invested.^[53] Priscilla became the chairwoman and president of Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), stating she would remain in the position until Lisa Marie reached 21 years of age. Under Priscilla's guidance the enterprise's fortunes soared and eventually the trust grew to be worth over $100 million.

Acting[link]

Priscilla had originally been offered a role as one of the angels on Charlie's Angels. She turned down the role because she disliked the show.^[54] Priscilla made her television debut as co-host of Those Amazing Animals in 1980.^[52][55] In 1983, she got her first chance to act professionally on a season 2 episode of The Fall Guy titled "Manhunter".^[19] She then found a role in a television film titled Love is Forever, starring alongside Michael Landon.^[56] Although she was treated well by most of the cast and crew, and her acting was praised by several of her co-stars, Landon was difficult to work with on set.^[56] After the television film aired, Priscilla landed the role of Jenna Wade on the popular television soap Dallas.^[52] She played the role of Wade for five years, leaving the show in 1988 to focus on other parts. She has appeared in several well known television series, including Melrose Place, Touched by an Angel, and Spin City.

Priscilla has also appeared in a few feature film roles, most notably Lt. Frank Drebin's girlfriend and (later) wife in the Naked Gun film series.^[19] Other big screen roles have included parts in The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.

Other outlets[link]

In 1988, Priscilla launched her own range of fragrances, and followed this up with a range of linen.^[19] She has also helped produce a couple of films, including Breakfast With Einstein, and Finding Graceland.^[19] Priscilla lent her support to the Dream Foundation, a charity set up to help terminally ill people achieve their dreams.^[19]

Other Endeavors[link]

Priscilla was a contestant on Season 6 of Dancing with the Stars.

Bibliography[link]

• Presley, Priscilla (1985). Elvis and Me. ISBN 0-399-12984-7
• Presley, Priscilla / Presley, Lisa Marie (2005). Elvis by the Presleys. ISBN 0-307-23741-9

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

• Clayton, Rose / Dick Heard (2003). Elvis: By Those Who Knew Him Best. Virgin Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-7535-0835-4
• Clutton, Helen (2004). Everything Elvis. ISBN 0-7535-0960-1
• Edwards, Michael (1988). Priscilla, Elvis & Me: Life in the Shadow of the King
• Finstad, Suzanne (1997). Child Bride: The Untold Story of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley
• Goldman, Albert (1981). Elvis. ISBN 0-14-005965-2
• Guralnick, Peter (1999). Careless Love. The Unmaking of Elvis Presley. Back Bay Books. ISBN 0-316-33297-6
• Guralnick, Peter / Jorgensen, Ernst (1999). Elvis: Day by Day. ISBN 0-345-42089-6
• Presley, Priscilla (1985). Elvis and Me. ISBN 0-399-12984-7

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Priscilla Presley

• Priscilla Presley at the Internet Movie Database
• Priscilla Presley at AllRovi

Mickey Rourke
Rourke at the 2009 premiere of City Island
Born	Philip Andre Rourke, Jr. (1952-09-16) September 16, 1952 (age 59) Schenectady, New York
Other names	Sir Eddie Cook
Occupation	Actor, professional boxer, screenwriter, music supervisor
Years active	Actor (1979–present) Boxer (1991–1994)

Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. (born September 16, 1952)^[1] is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films.

During the 1980s, Rourke starred in Diner, Rumble Fish, and the erotic drama 9½ Weeks, and received critical praise for his work in Barfly and Angel Heart. In 1991, Rourke, who had trained as a boxer in his early years, left acting and became a professional boxer for a period.^[2] He had supporting roles in several later films, including The Rainmaker, Buffalo '66, The Pledge, Get Carter, Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Man on Fire.

In 2005, Rourke made his comeback in mainstream Hollywood circles with a lead role in Sin City, for which he won awards from the Chicago Film Critics Association, the Irish Film and Television Awards and the Online Film Critics Society. In the 2008 film The Wrestler, Rourke portrayed a past-his-prime wrestler, and received a 2009 Golden Globe award, a BAFTA award, and a nomination for an Academy Award.^[3]

In 2010, he appeared in the blockbusters Iron Man 2 and The Expendables.

Early life[link]

Philip Andre Rourke, Jr., was born in Schenectady, New York,^[1] to a family of Irish and French descent.^[4] He was raised Roman Catholic and still practices his faith.^[5][6][7] His father, Philip Andre Rourke, Sr., an amateur body builder, left the family when Mickey was six years old.^[8] After his parents divorced, his mother, Annette,^[9] married Eugene Addis, a Miami Beach police officer with five sons, and moved Rourke, his younger brother (Joey), and their sister (Patricia) to south Florida. There, he graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School in 1971.^[10]

Amateur Boxing[link]

During his teenage years, Rourke focused his attention mainly on sports. He took up self-defense training at the Boys Club of Miami.^{[citation needed]} It was there that he learned boxing skills and decided on an amateur career.

At age 12, Rourke won his first boxing match as a 112-pound flyweight,^[11] fighting some of his early matches under the name Phil Rourke. He continued his boxing training at the famed 5th Street Gym, in Miami Beach, Florida, where Muhammad Ali began his career. In 1969, Rourke, then weighing 140 lbs. (63.5 kg),^{[citation needed]} sparred with former World Welterweight Champion Luis Rodríguez. Rodriguez was the number one-rated middleweight boxer in the world and was training for his match with world champion Nino Benvenuti. Rourke boxed Rodriguez and claims to have received a concussion in this sparring match.^[12]

At the 1971 Florida Golden Gloves, Rourke suffered another concussion in a boxing match. After being told by doctors to take a year off and rest, Rourke temporarily retired from the ring.

From 1964 to 1972, Rourke compiled an amateur boxing record of 27 wins (17 by knockout) and 3 defeats, which included first round knock out wins over Sherman Bergman, John Carver, and Ronald Robinson,^[11] and decision victories over Ron Carter, Charles Gathers, Joe Riles, and Javier Villanueva.^[11]

[edit] Amateur Boxing Record^[11][13]

Mickey Rourke's amateur boxing record was 27 (wins) and 3 (losses), as mentioned on "Mickey Rourke on Inside the Actors Studio hosted by James Lipton" season 15, episode 12, original airdate 2009-08-31.

Amateur Boxing record
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Win	13-0-0	Deon Harris	KO	1	1972 Aug 27	Liberty City, Florida, USA
Win	12-0-0	Sherman Bergman	KO	1	1972 Aug 20	Miami, Florida, USA	Rourke climbs off canvas to win in 31 seconds.
Win	11-0-0	John"Two Dice"Carver	KO	1 ():39)	1972 May 7	Miami, FloridaUSA	Rourke scores 39 second knockout.
Win	10-0-0	Ron"22nd Street"Robinson	KO	1 (0:18)	1972 Feb 15	Miami, Florida, USA	Rourke wins in 18 seconds.
Win	9-0-0	Leroy Harrington	KO	1	1971 Jul 04	Miami, Florida, USA	Rourke wins in 15 seconds.
Win	8-0-0	Paul Malsoh	KO	1 ():29)	1970 Jun 22	Miami, FloridaUSA	Rourke scores 29 second knockout.
Win	7-0-0	Kenny Jacobs	KO	1 (0:14)	1970 Jun 15	Miami Beach, Florida, USA	Rourke wins in 14 seconds.
Win	6-0-0	Joe Riles	PTS	3 ()	1964 Aug 26	Miami, Florida, USA
Win	5-0-0	Charles Gathers	PTS	3	1964 Aug 12	Miami, Florida
Win	4-0-0	Ronnie Carter	PTS	3	1965 Jun 16	Miami, Florida, USA
Win	3–0-0	Javier Villanueva	PTS	3 (3)	1964	Miami, Florida, USA
Win	2-0-0	Jesus"KoKo"Carranza	PTS	3		Miami, Florida, USA
Win	1–0-0	Roger Hough	PTS	3 (3)	1964 July	Miami, Florida, USA

Early acting roles[link]

In 1971, as a senior at Miami Beach Senior High School, Rourke had a small acting role in the Jay W. Jensen-directed school play, The Serpent.^[14] However, Rourke's interests were geared to boxing, and he never appeared in any other school productions. Soon after he temporarily gave up boxing, a friend at the University of Miami told Rourke about a play he was directing, Deathwatch, and how the man playing the role of Green Eyes had quit. Rourke got the part and immediately became enamored with acting. Borrowing 400 dollars from his sister, he went to New York to take private lessons with an acting teacher from the Actors Studio, Sandra Seacat. It is she who actually motivated Rourke to go and find his father, whom he had been separated from for more than 20 years and had no idea as to what or whom he was looking for. During his visit as a guest to the Actors' Studio, after the release of The Wrestler (2008 film), while Rourke was talking to James Lipton, Lipton disclosed the fact that Rourke had been selected to the Actor's Studio in his first audition, which Elia Kazan is reported to have said that it was the "best audition in 30 years". Similarly, later director Adrian Lyne would go on to say that had Mickey died after the release of Angel Heart, he would have become a bigger phenomenon than James Dean.^[12]

Rourke's film debut was a small role in Steven Spielberg's film 1941. However, it was his portrayal of an arsonist in Body Heat that received significant attention, despite his modest time on screen. He mostly appeared in television films in his early career. During the early 1980s, Rourke starred in Diner, alongside Paul Reiser, Daniel Stern, Steve Guttenberg, Tim Daly and Kevin Bacon, and yet again drew further critical notices for his portrayal as the suave compulsive gambler "Boogie" Sheftell; The National Society of Film Critics named him "Best Supporting Actor" that year. Soon thereafter, Rourke starred in Rumble Fish, Francis Ford Coppola's follow-up to The Outsiders.

Rourke's performance in the film The Pope of Greenwich Village alongside Daryl Hannah and Eric Roberts also caught the attention of critics, although the film was not financially successful. In the mid-1980s, Rourke earned himself additional leading roles. His role alongside Kim Basinger in the erotic drama 9½ Weeks helped him gain "sex symbol" status.^[15] He received critical praise for his work in Barfly as the alcoholic writer Henry Chinaski (the literary alter ego of Charles Bukowski) and in Year of the Dragon. In 1987, Rourke appeared in Angel Heart. The film was nominated for several awards. It was seen as controversial by some owing to a sex scene involving Cosby Show cast member Lisa Bonet, who won an award for her part in the film.^[16] Although some of Rourke's work was viewed as controversial in the U.S., he was well-received by European, and especially French, audiences, who loved the "rumpled, slightly dirty, sordid ... rebel persona"^[17] that he projected in Year of the Dragon, 9½ Weeks, Angel Heart, and Desperate Hours.

In the late 1980s, Rourke performed with David Bowie on the Never Let Me Down album. Around the same time he also wrote his first screenplay, Homeboy, a boxing tale in which he starred. In 1989, Rourke starred in the docu-drama Francesco, portraying St. Francis of Assisi. This was followed by Wild Orchid, another critically panned film, which gained him a nomination for a Razzie award (also for Desperate Hours). In 1991, he starred in the box office bomb Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man as Harley Davidson, a biker whose best friend, Marlboro, was played by Don Johnson. In his last role before departing for the boxing ring, Rourke played an arms dealer chased by Willem Dafoe and Samuel Jackson in White Sands, a film noir which reviewers found to be stylish but incoherent.^[18][19]

Rourke's acting career eventually became overshadowed by his personal life and career decisions. Directors such as Alan Parker found it difficult to work with him. Parker stated that "working with Mickey is a nightmare. He is very dangerous on the set because you never know what he is going to do."^[17] In a documentary on the special edition DVD of Tombstone, actor Michael Biehn, who plays the part of Johnny Ringo, mentions that his role was first offered to Rourke.^[20]

Professional Boxing Career[link]

In 1991, Rourke decided that he "had to go back to boxing" because he felt that he "was self-destructing ... (and) had no respect for (himself as) an actor."^[2] Rourke was undefeated in eight fights, with six wins (four by knockout) and two draws. He fought internationally in countries including Spain, Japan and Germany.^[21]

During his boxing career, Rourke suffered a number of injuries, including a broken nose, toe, ribs, a split tongue, and a compressed cheekbone.^[22] He also suffered from short term memory loss.^[23]

His trainer during most of his boxing career was Hells Angels member, actor and celebrity bodyguard Chuck Zito.^[24] Freddie Roach also trained Rourke for seven fights.^[25] Rourke's entrance song into the ring was often Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine."^[26]

Boxing promoters said that Rourke was too old to succeed against top-level fighters. Indeed, Rourke himself admits that entering the ring was a sort of personal test: "[I] just wanted to give it a shot, test myself that way physically, while I still had time."^[27] In 1995, Rourke retired from boxing and returned to acting.

Rourke's boxing career resulted in a notable physical change in the 1990s, as his face needed reconstructive surgery to mend his injuries. His face was later called "appallingly disfigured."^[28] In 2009, the actor told The Daily Mail that he had gone to "the wrong guy" for his surgery, and that his plastic surgeon had left his features "a mess."^[22]

Professional Boxing Record
6 Wins (4 knockouts, 2 decisions), 0 Losses, 2 Draws[29]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Draw	6-0-2	Sean Gibbons	MD	4	September 8, 1994	Davie, Florida, USA
Win	6-0-1	Thomas McCoy	TKO	3 (4)	November 20, 1993	Hamburg, Germany
Win	5-0-1	Bubba Stotts	TKO	3 (4)	July 24, 1993	Joplin, Missouri, USA
Win	4-0-1	Tom Bentley	KO	1 (4)	March 30, 1993	Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Win	3-0-1	Terry Jesmer	PTS	4	December 12, 1992	Oviedo, Spain
Draw	2-0-1	Francisco Harris	MD	4	April 25, 1992	Miami Beach, Florida, USA	Scoring was 38-39 for Harris, 38-38 and 38-38.
Win	2–0	Darrell Miller	KO	1 (4), 2:14	June 23, 1991	Tokyo, Japan
Win	1–0	Steve Powell	UD	4	May 23, 1991	Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA	In his professional boxing debut, Rourke jabbed and uppercut, but he also danced, clowned and taunted the crowd throughout the fight. The boxers were constantly in clinches, two of which sent Powell through the ropes. Rourke managed to land several solid rights, particularly in the final two rounds. Scoring was 38-37, 38-37 and 39-37.

1990s: Return To Acting[link]

In the early 1990s, Rourke was offered and declined the role of Butch Coolidge, which later became Bruce Willis' role in Pulp Fiction.^[30] After his retirement from boxing, Rourke did accept supporting roles in several 1990s films, including Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of John Grisham's The Rainmaker, Vincent Gallo's Buffalo '66, Steve Buscemi's Animal Factory, Sean Penn's The Pledge and Sylvester Stallone's remake of Get Carter. Rourke also has written several films under the name "Sir Eddie Cook", including Bullet, in which he co-starred with close friend Tupac Shakur.^[31]

While Rourke was also selected for a significant role in Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line; his part ended up on the editing room floor. Rourke also played a small part in the film Thursday, in which he plays a crooked cop. He also had a lead role in 1997's Double Team, which co-starred martial arts actor Jean-Claude Van Damme. It was Rourke's first over-the-top action film role, in which he played the lead villain. During that same year, he filmed Another 9½ Weeks, a sequel to 9½ Weeks, which only received limited distribution. He ended the 1990s with the direct-to-video films Out in Fifty, Shades and television film Shergar, about the kidnapping of Epsom Derby-winning thoroughbred racehorse Shergar. Rourke has expressed his bitterness over that period of his career, stating that he came to consider himself a "has-been" and lived for a time in "a state of shame."^[28]

2000s[link]

In 2001, he appeared as the villain in Enrique Iglesias's music video for "Hero," which also featured Jennifer Love Hewitt. In 2002, Rourke took the role of The Cook in Jonas Åkerlund's Spun, teaming up once again with Eric Roberts. His first collaborations with directors Robert Rodriguez and Tony Scott in Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Man on Fire, were for smaller roles. Nonetheless, these directors subsequently decided to cast Rourke in lead roles in their next films.

In 2005, Rourke made his comeback in mainstream Hollywood circles with a lead role (Marv) in Robert Rodriguez's adaptation of Frank Miller's Sin City. Rourke received awards from the Chicago Film Critics Association, the IFTA and the Online Film Critics Society, as well as "Man of the Year" from Total Film magazine that year. Rourke followed Sin City with a supporting role in Tony Scott's Domino alongside Keira Knightley, in which he played a bounty hunter.

Rourke played the role of "The Blackbird" in an adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Killshot, and appeared as Darrius Sayle in the adaptation of the Alex Rider novel Stormbreaker.

Rourke at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.

In addition, in 2004, Rourke provided the voice for "Jericho" in the third installment of the Driver video game series. Rourke also recently appeared in a 40-page story by photographer Bryan Adams for Berlin's Zoo Magazine. In an article about Rourke's return to steady acting roles, entitled "Mickey Rourke Rising",^[32] Christopher Heard stated that actors/musicians Tupac Shakur, Johnny Depp, Sean Penn and Brad Pitt have "...animated praise for Rourke and his work." During a roundtable session of Oscar-nominated actors held by Newsweek, Brad Pitt cited Rourke as one of his early acting heroes along with Sean Penn and Gary Oldman.^[33]

Despite having withdrawn from acting at various points, and having made films that he now sees as a creative "sell-out" (the action film Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man), Rourke has stated that "...all that I have been through...[has] made me a better, more interesting actor." Rourke's renewed interest in pursuing acting can be seen in his statement that "... my best work is still ahead of me."^[34]

Rourke had a role in the film version of The Informers, playing Peter, an amoral former studio security guard who plots to kidnap a small child.

In 2008, Rourke played the lead in The Wrestler, winner of the Golden Lion Award for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival, about washed-up professional wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson. Regarding first reading the screenplay, he stated that he originally "didn't care for it."

He also spoke on personal concern and hesitance of being in a film about wrestling, for he perceived it as being "pre-arranged and pre-choreographed." However, as he trained for the film, he developed an appreciation and respect for what real-life pro wrestlers do to prepare for the ring:

He trained under former WWE wrestler Afa the Wild Samoan for the part, and has received a British Academy (BAFTA) award, a Golden Globe award, an Independent Spirit Award, and an Oscar nomination as Best Actor. Rourke was pessimistic about his chances to win the Oscar, as he had burned many bridges in Hollywood as a result of his past behavior.^[22] Rourke lost the Oscar to Sean Penn, while Penn did acknowledge Rourke in his acceptance speech.

Rourke has written or co-written six scripts: Homeboy, The Last Ride, Bullet, Killer Moon, Penance and the latest, Pain. Of these, the first three were produced as films between 1988 and 1996.

Rourke with Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXV.

In early 2009, Rourke developed a small feud with WWE Superstar Chris Jericho, as part of a storyline. The storyline climaxed at WrestleMania XXV, when Rourke knocked out Jericho with a left hook after Jericho won his match against Jimmy Snuka, Ricky Steamboat, and Roddy Piper, with Ric Flair in their corner.

In 2009, Rourke starred in John Rich's music video for Shuttin' Detroit Down alongside Kris Kristofferson.

In 2009, Rourke voiced protagonist U.S. Navy SEAL Dick Marcinko in the video game Rogue Warrior. The game received very poor reviews from critics.

In 2010, Rourke played the role of the main villain Whiplash in the film Iron Man 2, in an interview with Rip It Up Magazine he revealed that he prepared for the role by visiting Russian jail inmates.^[37] He also had a supporting role playing 'Tool' in Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables.

Just before the end of the year, he confirmed on a British TV talk show that he would play Gareth Thomas in an upcoming film about the Welsh rugby star who came out as gay the previous year.^[38] As of February 2011, he had begun research on the film, but noted, "We're not going to make this movie until we've done all the proper research. We need to do our homework and I need to train for from nine to eleven months."^[39]

In 2011, Rourke was cast in the film Java Heat as an American citizen shadowing terrorists group in Java, Indonesia. The film will be released in 2013.^[40]

Personal life[link]

Rourke has dated several celebrities, including Terry Farrell and Sasha Volkova. He has been married twice. In 1981, he married Debra Feuer, whom he met on the set of Hardcase (1981) and who co-starred with him in Homeboy (1988) as his love interest. The marriage ended in 1989, with Rourke subsequently commenting that making the film 9½ Weeks "was not particularly considerate to my wife's needs."^[41] The two have remained good friends, according to an interview Feuer gave in 2009.^[42]

Andy García and Rourke at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.

Wild Orchid co-star Carré Otis was briefly a cause célèbre following the release of the film owing to rumors that she and then-lover Rourke filmed an unsimulated sex scene. Otis married Rourke on June 26, 1992. In 1994, Rourke was arrested for spousal abuse. The charges were later dropped. The couple reconciled and also starred together in Exit in Red, but their marriage ended in December 1998. In November 2007, Rourke was arrested again, this time on DUI charges in Miami Beach.^[43]

In numerous TV and print interviews, he attributes his comeback after fourteen years to his agent David A. Unger,^[44][45] weekly meetings with a psychiatrist, "Steve," and a Catholic priest he identified as "Father Pete."^{[citation needed]}

Since 2009, Rourke has been dating the Russian model Anastassija Makarenko. In mid-2011, he bought an apartment in Wiesbaden, Germany which is close to his girlfriend's parents' place of residence.^[46]

Rourke is also a motorcycle enthusiast and uses motorcycles in some of his films.^{[citation needed]}

Dogs[link]

In addition to his faith and his psychiatric treatment, Rourke has publicly attributed his comeback to his dogs. He is well known as a pet lover, particularly fond of small-breed dogs. A spay/neuter advocate, Rourke participated in a protest outside of a pet shop in 2007^[47] and has done a public service announcement for PETA.^[48]

His first little dog was reportedly a gift from his second wife.^[47] Though Rourke's dogs are generally referred to as "chihuahuas," some are not pure-bred. Loki, his most-publicized dog whom he described as "the love of my life,"^[47] was a chihuahua-terrier mix.^[49][50] So reliant was Rourke on Loki's companionship, he spent US$5,400 to have her flown to England while he was on the set of the film Stormbreaker.^[50]

Rourke gave his dogs credit during his Golden Globe Best Actor acceptance speech January 11, 2009: "I'd like to thank all my dogs. The ones that are here, the ones that aren't here anymore because sometimes when a man's alone, that's all you got is your dog. And they've meant the world to me."^[51] The day of the 2009 Golden Globes show, he told Barbara Walters that "I sort of self-destructed and everything came out about fourteen years ago or so ... the wife had left, the career was over, the money was not an ounce. The dogs were there when no one else was there." Asked by Walters if he had considered suicide, he responded:

Despite being identified as "Lowjack" in the transcription above, the dog in the anecdote was apparently Beau Jack, who sired two of Rourke's later pets, Loki and her littermate Chocolate.^[53] Beau Jack died in 2002, though Rourke gave him 45 minutes of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.^[50][54] Chocolate was the subject of a children's book, Chocolate at the Four Seasons, about his temporary stay with producer Bonnie Timmerman.^[55] Chocolate returned to Rourke and died in 2006.^[55] In addition to those dogs and several other past pets, Rourke currently owns a chihuahua named Jaws who appeared with him in his 2009 PETA ad, as well as in the film "Man on Fire."^[48] He has had as many as seven dogs at one time, back in 2005.^[54] At the time of his Golden Globes tribute to his pets, Rourke owned five chihuahuas: Loki, Jaws, Ruby Baby, La Negra and Bella Loca.^[50] About a month later, on February 18, 2009, Loki died in Rourke's arms at the age of 18.^[56]

Filmography[link]

Career Awards[link]

Critical Acclaim[link]

Only two films of Mickey Rourke’s are in the IMDb Top 250. Sin City is #85 and The Wrestler is #78. According to Rotten Tomatoes, Mickey’s most “fresh” film is The Wrestler and most "rotten" film is Wild Orchid.

Rotten Tomatoes[link]

Mickey Rourke films which rated as "fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes.

Metacritic[link]

Mickey Rourke films which rate "fresh" on Metacritic.

Previous collaborations[link]

During his career, Rourke worked with directors including Steven Spielberg, Lawrence Kasdan, Francis Ford Coppola, Barry Levinson, Stuart Rosenberg, Nicolas Roeg, Michael Cimino, Adrian Lyne, Alan Parker, Mike Hodges, Barbet Schroeder, Walter Hill, Tsui Hark, Jonas Åkerlund, Wong Kar-wai, Tony Scott, Robert Rodriguez and John Madden, as well as actors-turned-directors Sean Penn, Vincent Gallo and Steve Buscemi. Rourke also starred in the films which also stars popular actors including Kim Basinger, Jean Claude Van Damme, Helena Bonham Carter, Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Tupac Shakur, Bruce Willis, Benicio del Toro, Alicia Silverstone, Anthony Hopkins, Jack Nicholson, Willem Dafoe, Johnny Depp, Denzel Washington, Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Robert De Niro and so on. Rourke worked with actor Christopher Walken 5 times. They starred together in the films Heaven's Gate, Homeboy, Man on Fire, Domino and voice acting in video game True Crime: New York City (2005).

Christopher Walken stated to the Film Comment on August, 1992 that destiny to make Homeboy with Mickey Rourke:

Other works[link]

Mickey Rourke made his stage debut in a revival of Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge. Rourke also lent his voice to the video games Driv3r (2004) as Jericho and True Crime: New York City (2005) as Terrence "Terry" Higgins, which was the his fifth and last work with actor Christopher Walken. He also appeared in a Japanese TV commercial for Suntory Reserve (early 90s) and a commercial for Daihatsu and Lark (cigarette). More recently, in 2009, Rourke voiced the character of Dick Marcinko for the biographical video game Rogue Warrior, which was released on December 1, 2009.^[58] Ironically, Rourke's portrayal of Marcinko was a source of humorous praise from a few critics (although many others criticized Rourke's role to the same degree that they did every other aspect of the game).

Rourke starred in a music video, "Hero." He played a gangster in this Enrique Iglesias music video. Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt also made an appearance in this clip. Rourke also provided the mid-song rap on the David Bowie song "Shining Star (Makin' My Love)" on his album Never Let Me Down (1987).

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mickey Rourke

• Mickey Rourke at the Internet Movie Database
• Mickey Rourke at Rotten Tomatoes
• Professional boxing record for Mickey Rourke from BoxRec
• Ebert, Roger (1987-02-10). "A day on location with Rourke's "Barfly"". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19870210/PEOPLE/812229998. 
• Pierce, Rabin, and Tobias, Leonard, Nathan, and Scott (2009-02-20). "Primer: Mickey Rourke". The Onion A.V. Club. http://www.avclub.com/articles/primer-mickey-rourke,24108/. 
• Dialogus.net
• "Mickey Rourke". Charlie Rose. New York: WNET. http://www.charlierose.com/guest/view/6562. Retrieved 2011-11-26. 

George Washington
1st President of the United States
In office April 30, 1789[nb] – March 4, 1797
Vice President	John Adams
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	John Adams
Senior Officer of the Army
In office July 13, 1798 – December 14, 1799
Appointed by	John Adams
Preceded by	James Wilkinson
Succeeded by	Alexander Hamilton
Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army
In office June 15, 1775 – December 23, 1783
Appointed by	Continental Congress
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Henry Knox (United States Army)
Delegate to the Second Continental Congress from Virginia
In office May 10, 1775 – June 15, 1775
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Thomas Jefferson
Delegate to the First Continental Congress from Virginia
In office September 5, 1774 – October 26, 1774
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	(1732-02-22)February 22, 1732 Westmoreland County Virginia Colony British America
Died	December 14, 1799(1799-12-14) (aged 67) Mount Vernon Plantation Commonwealth of Virginia United States
Political party	Independent
Spouse(s)	Martha Dandridge Custis
Profession	Planter Officer
Religion	Deism[1] Episcopal[2]
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Great Britain United States
Service/branch	Virginia provincial militia Continental Army United States Army
Years of service	Militia: 1752–1758 Continental Army: 1775–1783 Army: 1798–1799
Rank	Lieutenant general General of the Armies (posthumous: 1976)
Commands	Virginia Colony's regiment Continental Army United States Army
Battles/wars	French and Indian War  • Battle of Jumonville Glen  • Battle of Fort Necessity  • Braddock Expedition  • Battle of the Monongahela  • Forbes Expedition American Revolutionary War  • Boston campaign  • New York and New Jersey campaign  • Philadelphia campaign  • Yorktown campaign
Awards	Congressional Gold Medal Thanks of Congress
^ March 4 is the official start of the first presidential term. April 6 is when Congress counted the votes of the Electoral College and certified a president. April 30 is when Washington was sworn in.

George Washington (February 22, 1732 [O.S. February 11, 1731] – December 14, 1799) was the first President of the United States of America, serving from 1789 to 1797, and the dominant military and political leader of the United States from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of the Constitution in 1787. Washington became the first president, by unanimous choice, and oversaw the creation of a strong, well-financed national government that maintained neutrality in the wars raging in Europe, suppressed rebellion, and won acceptance among Americans of all types. His leadership style established many forms and rituals of government that have been used since, such as using a cabinet system and delivering an inaugural address. Washington is universally regarded as the "Father of his country."^[3][4][5]

Washington was born into the provincial gentry of the Colonial Virginia slave society;^[6] his wealthy planter family owned tobacco plantations and slaves. After both his father and older brother died when he was young, Washington became personally and professionally attached to the powerful William Fairfax, who promoted his career as a surveyor and soldier. Washington quickly became a senior officer in the colonial forces during the first stages of the French and Indian War. Chosen by the Second Continental Congress in 1775 to be commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, Washington managed to force the British out of Boston in 1776, but was defeated and almost captured later that year when he lost New York City. After crossing the Delaware River in the dead of winter, he defeated the British in two battles, retook New Jersey and restored momentum to the Patriot cause. Because of his strategy, Revolutionary forces captured two major British armies at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781. Historians laud Washington for his selection and supervision of his generals, encouragement of morale and ability to hold together the army, coordination with the state governors and state militia units, relations with Congress and attention to supplies, logistics, and training. In battle, however, Washington was repeatedly outmaneuvered by British generals with larger armies. After victory had been finalized in 1783, Washington resigned rather than seize power, proving his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to American republicanism. He retired from the presidency in 1797 and returned to his home, Mount Vernon, and his domestic life where he managed a variety of enterprises. He freed all his slaves by his final 1799 will.

Dissatisfied with the weaknesses of Articles of Confederation, in 1787 Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention that drafted the United States Constitution. Elected as the first President of the United States in 1789, he attempted to bring rival factions together to unify the nation. He supported Alexander Hamilton's programs to pay off all state and national debt, to implement an effective tax system and to create a national bank (despite opposition from Thomas Jefferson). Washington proclaimed the United States neutral in the wars raging in Europe after 1793. He avoided war with Great Britain and guaranteed a decade of peace and profitable trade by securing the Jay Treaty in 1795, despite intense opposition from the Jeffersonians. Although never officially joining the Federalist Party, he supported its programs. Washington's "Farewell Address" was an influential primer on republican virtue and a warning against partisanship, sectionalism, and involvement in foreign wars.

Washington had a vision of a great and powerful nation that would be built on republican lines using federal power. He sought to use the national government to preserve liberty, improve infrastructure, open the western lands, promote commerce, found a permanent capital, reduce regional tensions and promote a spirit of American nationalism.^[7] At his death, Washington was hailed as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen".^[8] The Federalists made him the symbol of their party but for many years, the Jeffersonians continued to distrust his influence and delayed building the Washington Monument. As the leader of the first successful revolution against a colonial empire in world history, Washington became an international icon for liberation and nationalism, especially in France and Latin America.^[9] He is consistently ranked among the top three presidents of the United States, according to polls of both scholars and the general public.

Early life (1732–1753)[link]

The first child of Augustine Washington (1694–1743) and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington (1708–1789), George Washington was born on their Pope's Creek Estate near present-day Colonial Beach in Westmoreland County, Virginia. According to the Julian calendar and Annunciation Style of enumerating years, then in use in the British Empire, Washington was born on February 11, 1731; according to the Gregorian calendar, implemented in the British Empire in 1752, according to the provisions of the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, the date was February 22, 1732.^{[10][11][Note 1]} Washington's ancestors were from Sulgrave, England; his great-grandfather, John Washington, had immigrated to Virginia in 1657.^[12] George's father Augustine was a slave-owning tobacco planter who later tried his hand in iron-mining ventures.^[13] In George's youth, the Washingtons were moderately prosperous members of the Virginia gentry, of "middling rank" rather than one of the leading planter families.^[14] At this time, Virginia and other southern colonies had become a slave society, in which slaveholders formed the ruling class and the economy was based on slave labor.^[6]

Six of George's siblings reached maturity, including two older half-brothers, Lawrence and Augustine, from his father's first marriage to Jane Butler Washington, and four full siblings, Samuel, Elizabeth (Betty), John Augustine and Charles. Three siblings died before becoming adults: his full sister Mildred died when she was about one,^[15] his half-brother Butler died while an infant,^[16] and his half-sister Jane died at the age of 12, when George was about 2.^[15] George's father died when George was 11 years old, after which George's half-brother Lawrence became a surrogate father and role model. William Fairfax, Lawrence's father-in-law and cousin of Virginia's largest landowner, Thomas, Lord Fairfax, was also a formative influence.

Washington spent much of his boyhood at Ferry Farm in Stafford County near Fredericksburg. Lawrence Washington inherited another family property from his father, a plantation on the Potomac River which he later named Mount Vernon. George inherited Ferry Farm upon his father's death, and eventually acquired Mount Vernon after Lawrence's death.^[17]

The death of his father prevented Washington from crossing the Atlantic to receive the rest of his education at England's Appleby School, as his older brothers had done. He received the equivalent of an elementary school education from a variety of tutors,^[18] and also a school run by an Anglican clergyman in or near Fredericksburg.^[19] Talk of securing an appointment in the Royal Navy for him when he was 15 was dropped when his mother learned how hard that would be on him.^[20] Thanks to Lawrence's connection to the powerful Fairfax family, at age 17 in 1749, Washington was appointed official surveyor for Culpeper County, a well-paid position which enabled him to purchase land in the Shenandoah Valley, the first of his many land acquisitions in western Virginia. Thanks also to Lawrence's involvement in the Ohio Company, a land investment company funded by Virginia investors, and Lawrence's position as commander of the Virginia militia, Washington came to the notice of the new lieutenant governor of Virginia, Robert Dinwiddie. Washington was hard to miss: At exactly six feet, he towered over most of his contemporaries.^[21]

In 1751, Washington travelled to Barbados with Lawrence, who was suffering from tuberculosis, with the hope that the climate would be beneficial to Lawrence's health. Washington contracted smallpox during the trip, which left his face slightly scarred, but immunized him against future exposures to the dreaded disease.^[22] Lawrence's health did not improve; he returned to Mount Vernon, where he died in 1752.^[23] Lawrence's position as Adjutant General (militia leader) of Virginia was divided into four offices after his death. Washington was appointed by Governor Dinwiddie as one of the four district adjutants in February 1753, with the rank of major in the Virginia militia.^[24] Washington also joined the Freemasons fraternal association in Fredericksburg at this time.^[25]

French and Indian War (or 'Seven Years War', 1754–1758)[link]

Washington's map, accompanying his Journal to the Ohio (1753–1754)

In 1753, the French began expanding their military control into the "Ohio Country", a territory also claimed by the British colonies of Virginia and Pennsylvania. These competing claims led to a war in the colonies called the French and Indian War (1754–62), and contributed to the start of the global Seven Years' War (1756–63). Washington was at the center of its beginning. The Ohio Company was one vehicle through which British investors planned to expand into the territory, opening new settlements and building trading posts for the Indian trade. Governor Dinwiddie received orders from the British government to warn the French of British claims, and sent Major Washington in late 1753 to deliver a letter informing the French of those claims and asking them to leave.^[26] Washington also met with Tanacharison (also called "Half-King") and other Iroquois leaders allied to Virginia at Logstown to secure their support in case of conflict with the French; Washington and Tanacharison became friends and allies. Washington delivered the letter to the local French commander, who politely refused to leave.^[27]

Governor Dinwiddie sent Washington back to the Ohio Country to protect an Ohio Company group building a fort at present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but before he reached the area, a French force drove out the company's crew and began construction of Fort Duquesne. A small detachment of French troops led by Joseph Coulon de Jumonville, was discovered by Tanacharison and a few warriors east of present-day Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Along with their Mingo allies, Washington and some of his militia unit then ambushed the French. What exactly happened during and after the battle is a matter of some controversy, but the immediate outcome was that Jumonville was injured in the initial attack and then was killed - whether tomahawked by Tanacharison in cold blood or somehow shot by another onlooker with a musket as the injured man sat with Washington is not completely clear.^[28][29] The French responded by attacking and capturing Washington at Fort Necessity in July 1754.^[30] However, he was allowed to return with his troops to Virginia. Historian Joseph Ellis concludes that the episode demonstrated Washington's bravery, initiative, inexperience and impetuosity.^[31] These events had international consequences; the French accused Washington of assassinating Jumonville, who they claimed was on a diplomatic mission.^[31] Both France and Great Britain were ready to fight for control of the region and both sent troops to North America in 1755; war was formally declared in 1756.^[32]

Braddock disaster 1755[link]

In 1755, Washington was the senior American aide to British General Edward Braddock on the ill-fated Braddock expedition. This was the largest British expedition to the colonies, and was intended to expel the French from the Ohio Country. The French and their Indian allies ambushed Braddock, who was mortally wounded in the Battle of the Monongahela. After suffering devastating casualties, the British retreated in disarray; however, Washington rode back and forth across the battlefield, rallying the remnants of the British and Virginian forces to an organized retreat.^[33]

Commander of Virginia Regiment[link]

Governor Dinwiddie rewarded Washington in 1755 with a commission as "Colonel of the Virginia Regiment and Commander in Chief of all forces now raised in the defense of His Majesty's Colony" and gave him the task of defending Virginia's frontier. The Virginia Regiment was the first full-time American military unit in the colonies (as opposed to part-time militias and the British regular units). Washington was ordered to "act defensively or offensively" as he thought best.^[34] In command of a thousand soldiers, Washington was a disciplinarian who emphasized training. He led his men in brutal campaigns against the Indians in the west; in 10 months units of his regiment fought 20 battles, and lost a third of its men. Washington's strenuous efforts meant that Virginia's frontier population suffered less than that of other colonies; Ellis concludes "it was his only unqualified success" in the war.^[35][36]

In 1758, Washington participated in the Forbes Expedition to capture Fort Duquesne. He was embarrassed by a friendly fire episode in which his unit and another British unit thought the other was the French enemy and opened fire, with 14 dead and 26 wounded in the mishap. Washington was not involved in any other major fighting on the expedition, and the British scored a major strategic victory, gaining control of the Ohio Valley, when the French abandoned the fort. Following the expedition, Washington retired from his Virginia Regiment commission in December 1758. He did not return to military life until the outbreak of the revolution in 1775.^[37]

Lessons learned[link]

Although Washington never gained the commission in the British army he yearned for, in these years the young man gained valuable military, political, and leadership skills.^[38][39] He closely observed British military tactics, gaining a keen insight into their strengths and weaknesses that proved invaluable during the Revolution. He demonstrated his toughness and courage in the most difficult situations, including disasters and retreats. He developed a command presence—given his size, strength, stamina, and bravery in battle, he appeared to soldiers to be a natural leader and they followed him without question.^[40][41] Washington learned to organize, train, drill, and discipline his companies and regiments. From his observations, readings and conversations with professional officers, he learned the basics of battlefield tactics, as well as a good understanding of problems of organization and logistics.^[42] He gained an understanding of overall strategy, especially in locating strategic geographical points.^[43] Historian Ron Chernow is of the opinion that his frustrations in dealing with government officials during this conflict led him to advocate the advantages of a strong national government and a vigorous executive agency that could get results;^[38] other historians tend to ascribe Washington's position on government to his later American Revolutionary War service.^{[Note 2]} He developed a very negative idea of the value of militia, who seemed too unreliable, too undisciplined, and too short-term compared to regulars.^[44] On the other hand, his experience was limited to command of at most 1000 men, and came only in remote frontier conditions that were far removed from the urban situations he faced during the Revolution at Boston, New York, Trenton and Philadelphia.^[45]

Between the wars: Mount Vernon (1759–1774)[link]

A mezzotint of Martha Washington, based on a 1757 portrait by Wollaston

On January 6, 1759, Washington married the wealthy widow Martha Dandridge Custis, then 28 years old. Surviving letters suggest that he may have been in love at the time with Sally Fairfax, the wife of a friend.^[46] Nevertheless, George and Martha made a compatible marriage, because Martha was intelligent, gracious, and experienced in managing a planter's estate.^[47] Together the two raised her two children from her previous marriage, John Parke Custis and Martha Parke Custis, affectionately called "Jackie" and "Patsy" by the family. Later the Washingtons raised two of Mrs. Washington's grandchildren, Eleanor Parke Custis and George Washington Parke Custis. George and Martha never had any children together – his earlier bout with smallpox in 1751 may have made him sterile.^[48] Washington may not have been able to admit to his own sterility while privately he grieved over not having his own children.^[49][50] The newlywed couple moved to Mount Vernon, near Alexandria, where he took up the life of a planter and political figure.

Washington's marriage to Martha greatly increased his property holdings and social standing, and made him one of Virginia's wealthiest men. He acquired one-third of the 18,000-acre (73 km²) Custis estate upon his marriage, worth approximately $100,000, and managed the remainder on behalf of Martha's children, for whom he sincerely cared.^[51]

In 1754, Lieutenant Governor Dinwiddie had promised land bounties to the soldiers and officers who volunteered to serve during the French and Indian War.^[52] Governor Norborne Berkeley finally fulfilled Dinwiddie's promise in 1769–1770,^[52][53] with Washington subsequently receiving title to 23,200 acres (94 km²) near where the Kanawha River flows into the Ohio River, in what is now western West Virginia.^[54] He also frequently bought additional land in his own name. By 1775, Washington had doubled the size of Mount Vernon to 6,500 acres (26 km²), and had increased its slave population to over 100. As a respected military hero and large landowner, he held local office and was elected to the Virginia provincial legislature, the House of Burgesses, beginning in 1758.^[55]

Washington lived an aristocratic lifestyle—fox hunting was a favorite leisure activity.^[56] He also enjoyed going to dances and parties, in addition to the theater, races, and cockfights. Washington also was known to play cards, backgammon, and billiards.^[57] Like most Virginia planters, he imported luxuries and other goods from England and paid for them by exporting his tobacco crop.^[58]

Washington enlarged the house at Mount Vernon after his marriage

Washington began to pull himself out of debt in the mid 1760s by diversifying his previously tobacco-centric business interests into other ventures^[58] and paying more attention to his affairs.^[59] In 1766, he started switching Mount Vernon's primary cash crop away from tobacco to wheat, a crop that could be processed and then sold in various forms in the colonies, and further diversified operations to include flour milling, fishing, horse breeding, spinning, weaving and (in the 1790s) whiskey production.^[58] Patsy Custis's death in 1773 from epilepsy enabled Washington to pay off his British creditors, since half of her inheritance passed to him.^[60]

A successful planter, he was a leader in the social elite in Virginia. From 1768 to 1775, he invited some 2000 guests to his Mount Vernon estate, mostly those he considered "people of rank". As for people not of high social status, his advice was to "treat them civilly" but "keep them at a proper distance, for they will grow upon familiarity, in proportion as you sink in authority".^[61] In 1769, he became more politically active, presenting the Virginia Assembly with legislation to ban the importation of goods from Great Britain.^[62]

American Revolution (1775–1787)[link]

Although he expressed opposition to the 1765 Stamp Act, the first direct tax on the colonies, he did not take a leading role in the growing colonial resistance until protests of the Townshend Acts (enacted in 1767) became widespread. In May 1769, Washington introduced a proposal, drafted by his friend George Mason, calling for Virginia to boycott English goods until the Acts were repealed.^[63] Parliament repealed the Townshend Acts in 1770. However, Washington regarded the passage of the Intolerable Acts in 1774 as "an Invasion of our Rights and Privileges".^[64] In July 1774, he chaired the meeting at which the "Fairfax Resolves" were adopted, which called for the convening of a Continental Congress, among other things. In August, Washington attended the First Virginia Convention, where he was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress.^[65]

Commander in chief[link]

General George Washington at Trenton by John Trumbull,Yale University Art Gallery (1792)

After the Battles of Lexington and Concord near Boston in April 1775, the colonies went to war. Washington appeared at the Second Continental Congress in a military uniform, signaling that he was prepared for war.^[66] Washington had the prestige, military experience, charisma and military bearing of a military leader and was known as a strong patriot. Virginia, the largest colony, deserved recognition, and New England—where the fighting began—realized it needed Southern support. Washington did not explicitly seek the office of commander and said that he was not equal to it, but there was no serious competition.^[67] Congress created the Continental Army on June 14, 1775. Nominated by John Adams of Massachusetts, Washington was then appointed Major General and Commander-in-chief.^[68]

Washington had three roles during the war. In 1775–77, and again in 1781 he led his men against the main British forces. Although he lost many of his battles, he never surrendered his army during the war, and he continued to fight the British relentlessly until the war's end. He plotted the overall strategy of the war, in cooperation with Congress.^[69]

Second, he was charged with organizing and training the army. He recruited regulars and assigned Baron and General Friedrich von Steuben, a veteran of the Prussian general staff, to train them. The war effort and getting supplies to the troops were under the purview of Congress,^[70] but Washington pressured the Congress to provide the essentials.^[71] In June 1776, Congress' first attempt at running the war effort was established with the committee known as "Board of War and Ordnance", succeeded by the Board of War in July 1777, a committee which eventually included members of the military.^[70] The command structure of the Americans' armed forces was a hodgepodge of Congressional appointees (and Congress sometimes made those appointments without Washington's input) with state-appointments filling the lower ranks and of all of the militia-officers.^[72] The results of his general staff were mixed, as some of his favorites (like John Sullivan) never mastered the art of command. Eventually he found capable officers, like General Nathaniel Greene, and his chief-of-staff Alexander Hamilton. The American officers never equalled their opponents in tactics and maneuver, and consequently they lost most of the pitched battles. The great successes, at Boston (1776), Saratoga (1777) and Yorktown (1781), came from trapping the British far from base with much larger numbers of troops.^[69]

Third, and most important, Washington was the embodiment of armed resistance to the Crown—the representative man of the Revolution. His enormous stature and political skills kept Congress, the army, the French, the militias, and the states all pointed toward a common goal. By voluntarily stepping down and disbanding his army when the war was won, he permanently established the principle of civilian supremacy in military affairs. And yet his constant reiteration of the point that well-disciplined professional soldiers counted for twice as much as erratic amateurs helped overcome the ideological distrust of a standing army.^[73]

Victory at Boston[link]

Washington assumed command of the Continental Army in the field at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in July 1775, during the ongoing siege of Boston. Realizing his army's desperate shortage of gunpowder, Washington asked for new sources. American troops raided British arsenals, including some in the Caribbean, and some manufacturing was attempted. They obtained a barely adequate supply (about 2.5 million pounds) by the end of 1776, mostly from France.^[74] Washington reorganized the army during the long standoff, and forced the British to withdraw by putting artillery on Dorchester Heights overlooking the city. The British evacuated Boston in March 1776 and Washington moved his army to New York City.^[75]

Although highly disparaging toward most of the Patriots, British newspapers routinely praised Washington's personal character and qualities as a military commander. These articles were bold, as Washington was an enemy general who commanded an army in a cause that many Britons believed would ruin the empire.^[76]

Defeat at New York City and Fabian tactics[link]

In August 1776, British General William Howe launched a massive naval and land campaign designed to seize New York. The Continental Army under Washington engaged the enemy for the first time as an army of the newly independent United States at the Battle of Long Island, the largest battle of the entire war. The Americans were heavily outnumbered, many men deserted, and Washington was badly beaten. Subsequently, Washington was forced to retreat across the East River at night. He did so without loss of life or materiel.^[77] Washington retreated north from the city to avoid encirclement, enabling Howe to take the offensive and capture Fort Washington on November 16 with high Continental casualties. Washington then retreated across New Jersey; the future of the Continental Army was in doubt due to expiring enlistments and the string of losses.^[78] On the night of December 25, 1776, Washington staged a comeback with a surprise attack on a Hessian outpost in western New Jersey. He led his army across the Delaware River to capture nearly 1,000 Hessians in Trenton, New Jersey. Washington followed up his victory at Trenton with another over British regulars at Princeton in early January. The British retreated back to New York City and its environs, which they held until the peace treaty of 1783. Washington's victories wrecked the British carrot-and-stick strategy of showing overwhelming force then offering generous terms. The Americans would not negotiate for anything short of independence.^[79] These victories alone were not enough to ensure ultimate Patriot victory, however, since many soldiers did not reenlist or deserted during the harsh winter. Washington and Congress reorganized the army with increased rewards for staying and punishment for desertion, which raised troop numbers effectively for subsequent battles.^[80]

Historians debate whether or not Washington preferred a Fabian strategy^{[Note 3]} to harass the British with quick, sharp attacks followed by a retreat so the larger British army could not catch him, or whether he preferred to fight major battles.^{[Note 4]} While his southern commander Greene in 1780–81 did use Fabian tactics, Washington did so only in fall 1776 to spring 1777, after losing New York City and seeing much of his army melt away. Trenton and Princeton were Fabian examples. By summer 1777, however, Washington had rebuilt his strength and his confidence; he stopped using raids and went for large-scale confrontations, as at Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth and Yorktown.^[81]

Washington and Lafayette look over the troops at Valley Forge

1777 campaigns[link]

In the late summer of 1777, the British under John Burgoyne sent a major invasion army south from Quebec, with the intention of splitting off rebellious New England. General Howe in New York took his army south to Philadelphia instead of going up the Hudson River to join with Burgoyne near Albany. It was a major strategic mistake for the British, and Washington rushed to Philadelphia to engage Howe, while closely following the action in upstate New York. In pitched battles that were too complex for his relatively inexperienced men, Washington was defeated. At the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, Howe outmaneuvered Washington, and marched into the American capital at Philadelphia unopposed on September 26. Washington's army unsuccessfully attacked the British garrison at Germantown in early October. Meanwhile, Burgoyne, out of reach from help from Howe, was trapped and forced to surrender his entire army at Saratoga, New York.^[82] It was a major turning point militarily and diplomatically. France responded to Burgoyne's defeat by entering the war, openly allying with America and turning the Revolutionary War into a major worldwide war. Washington's loss of Philadelphia prompted some members of Congress to discuss removing Washington from command. This attempt failed after Washington's supporters rallied behind him.^[83]

Valley Forge[link]

Washington's army of 11,000^[84] went into winter quarters at Valley Forge north of Philadelphia in December 1777. Over the next six months, the deaths in camp numbered in the thousands (the majority being from disease),^[85] with historians' death toll estimates ranging from 2000^[85] to 2500,^[86][87] to over 3000 men.^[88] The next spring, however, the army emerged from Valley Forge in good order, thanks in part to a full-scale training program supervised by General von Steuben.^[89] The British evacuated Philadelphia to New York in 1778,^[90] shadowed by Washington. Washington attacked them at Monmouth, fighting to an effective draw in one of the war's largest battles.^[91] Afterwards, the British continued to head towards New York, and Washington moved his army outside of New York.^[90]

Victory at Yorktown[link]

The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown October 19, 1781 by John Trumbull, Yale University Art Gallery (1787- ca. 1828)

General George Washington Resigning His Commission by John Trumbull, Capitol Rotunda (commissioned 1817)

In the summer of 1779 at Washington's direction, General John Sullivan carried out a scorched earth campaign that destroyed at least 40 Iroquois villages in central and upstate New York; the Indians were British allies who had been raiding American settlements on the frontier.^[92] In July 1780, 5,000 veteran French troops led by General Comte Donatien de Rochambeau arrived at Newport, Rhode Island to aid in the war effort.^[93] The Continental Army having been funded by $20,000 in French gold, Washington delivered the final blow to the British in 1781, after a French naval victory allowed American and French forces to trap a British army in Virginia. The surrender at Yorktown on October 17, 1781, marked the end of major fighting in continental North America.^[94]

Demobilization[link]

Washington could not know that after Yorktown, the British would not reopen hostilities. They still had 26,000 troops occupying New York City, Charleston and Savannah, together with a powerful fleet. The French army and navy departed, so the Americans were on their own in 1782–83. The treasury was empty, and the unpaid soldiers were growing restive, almost to the point of mutiny or possible coup d'état. Washington dispelled unrest among officers by suppressing the Newburgh Conspiracy in March 1783, and Congress came up with the promise of a five-year bonus.^[95]

By the Treaty of Paris (signed that September), Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States. Washington disbanded his army and, on November 2, gave an eloquent farewell address to his soldiers.^[96]

On November 25, the British evacuated New York City, and Washington and the governor took possession. At Fraunces Tavern on December 4, Washington formally bade his officers farewell and on December 23, 1783, he resigned his commission as commander-in-chief. Historian Gordon Wood concludes that the greatest act in his life was his resignation as commander of the armies—an act that stunned aristocratic Europe.^[97] King George III called Washington "the greatest character of the age" because of this.^[98]

Constitutional Convention (1787)[link]

Washington's retirement to Mount Vernon was short-lived. He made an exploratory trip to the western frontier in 1784,^[68] was persuaded to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, and was unanimously elected president of the Convention. He participated little in the debates (though he did vote for or against the various articles), but his high prestige maintained collegiality and kept the delegates at their labors. The delegates designed the presidency with Washington in mind, and allowed him to define the office once elected.^[99] After the Convention, his support convinced many to vote for ratification; the new Constitution was ratified by all thirteen states.^[100]

Presidency (1789–1797)[link]

George Washington by Rembrandt Peale, De Young Museum (ca. 1850)

The Electoral College elected Washington unanimously as the first president in 1789,^{[Note 5]} and again in the 1792 election; he remains the only president to have received 100 percent of the electoral votes.^{[Note 6]} John Adams, who received the next highest vote total, was elected Vice President. At his inauguration, Washington took the oath of office as the first President of the United States of America on April 30, 1789, on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City.^[102]

The 1st United States Congress voted to pay Washington a salary of $25,000 a year—a large sum in 1789. Washington, already wealthy, declined the salary, since he valued his image as a selfless public servant. At the urging of Congress, however, he ultimately accepted the payment, to avoid setting a precedent whereby the presidency would be perceived as limited only to independently wealthy individuals who could serve without any salary.^[103] The president, aware that everything he did set a precedent, attended carefully to the pomp and ceremony of office, making sure that the titles and trappings were suitably republican and never emulated European royal courts. To that end, he preferred the title "Mr. President" to the more majestic names suggested.^[104]

Washington proved an able administrator. An excellent delegator and judge of talent and character, he talked regularly with department heads and listened to their advice before making a final decision.^[105] In handling routine tasks, he was "systematic, orderly, energetic, solicitous of the opinion of others ... but decisive, intent upon general goals and the consistency of particular actions with them."^[106]

Washington reluctantly served a second term. He refused to run for a third, establishing the customary policy of a maximum of two terms for a president.^[107]

Domestic issues[link]

Washington was not a member of any political party and hoped that they would not be formed, fearing conflict that would undermine republicanism.^[108] His closest advisors formed two factions, setting the framework for the future First Party System. Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton had bold plans to establish the national credit and build a financially powerful nation, and formed the basis of the Federalist Party. Secretary of the State Thomas Jefferson, founder of the Jeffersonian Republicans, strenuously opposed Hamilton's agenda, but Washington typically favored Hamilton over Jefferson, and it was Hamilton's agenda that went into effect. Jefferson's political actions, his support of Philip Freneau's National Gazette,^[109] and his attempt to undermine Hamilton, nearly led George Washington to dismiss Jefferson from his cabinet.^[110] Though Jefferson left the cabinet voluntarily, Washington never forgave him, and never spoke to him again.^[110]

The Residence Act of 1790, which Washington signed, authorized the President to select the specific location of the permanent seat of the government, which would be located along the Potomac River. The Act authorized the President to appoint three commissioners to survey and acquire property for this seat. Washington personally oversaw this effort throughout his term in office. In 1791, the commissioners named the permanent seat of government "The City of Washington in the Territory of Columbia" to honor Washington. In 1800, the Territory of Columbia became the District of Columbia when the federal government moved to the site according to the provisions of the Residence Act.^[111]

In 1791, Congress imposed an excise tax on distilled spirits, which led to protests in frontier districts, especially Pennsylvania. By 1794, after Washington ordered the protesters to appear in U.S. district court, the protests turned into full-scale defiance of federal authority known as the Whiskey Rebellion. The federal army was too small to be used, so Washington invoked the Militia Act of 1792 to summon militias from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey.^[112] The governors sent the troops and Washington took command, marching into the rebellious districts. The rebels dispersed and there was no fighting, as Washington's forceful action proved the new government could protect itself. These events marked the first time under the new constitution that the federal government used strong military force to exert authority over the states and citizens.^[113]

Foreign affairs[link]

In February 1793 a major war broke out between conservative Great Britain and its allies and revolutionary France, launching an era of large-scale warfare that engulfed Europe until 1815. Washington, with cabinet approval, proclaimed American neutrality. The revolutionary government of France sent diplomat Edmond-Charles Genêt, called "Citizen Genêt," to America. Genêt was welcomed with great enthusiasm and propagandized the case for France in the French war against Great Britain, and for this purpose promoted a network of new Democratic Societies in major cities. He issued French letters of marque and reprisal to French ships manned by American sailors so they could capture British merchant ships. Washington, warning and mistrustful of the influence of Illuminism that had been so strong in the French Revolution (as recounted by John Robison and Abbé Augustin Barruel) and its Reign of Terror, demanded the French government recall Genêt, and denounced the societies.^[114]

Hamilton and Washington designed the Jay Treaty to normalize trade relations with Great Britain, remove them from western forts, and resolve financial debts left over from the Revolution.^[115] John Jay negotiated and signed the treaty on November 19, 1794. The Jeffersonians supported France and strongly attacked the treaty. Washington's strong support mobilized public opinion and proved decisive in securing ratification in the Senate by the necessary two-thirds majority.^[116] The British agreed to depart from their forts around the Great Lakes, subsequently the United States-Canadian boundary had to be re-adjusted, numerous pre-Revolutionary debts were liquidated, and the British opened their West Indies colonies to American trade. Most importantly, the treaty delayed war with Great Britain and instead brought a decade of prosperous trade with Great Britain. The treaty angered the French and became a central issue in many political debates.^[117] Relations with France deteriorated after the treaty was signed, leaving his successor, John Adams, with the prospect of war.^[118][119]

Farewell Address[link]

Washington's Farewell Address (September 19, 1796)

Washington's Farewell Address (issued as a public letter in 1796) was one of the most influential statements of republicanism. Drafted primarily by Washington himself, with help from Hamilton, it gives advice on the necessity and importance of national union, the value of the Constitution and the rule of law, the evils of political parties, and the proper virtues of a republican people. He called morality "a necessary spring of popular government". He said, "Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."^[120]

Washington's public political address warned against foreign influence in domestic affairs and American meddling in European affairs. He warned against bitter partisanship in domestic politics and called for men to move beyond partisanship and serve the common good. He warned against "permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world",^[121] saying the United States must concentrate primarily on American interests. He counseled friendship and commerce with all nations, but warned against involvement in European wars and entering into long-term "entangling" alliances. The address quickly set American values regarding foreign affairs.^[122]

Retirement (1797–1799)[link]

After retiring from the presidency in March 1797, Washington returned to Mount Vernon with a profound sense of relief. He devoted much time to his plantations and other business interests, including his distillery which produced its first batch of spirits in February 1797.^[123] As Chernow (2010) explains, his plantation operations were at best marginally profitable. The lands out west yielded little income because they were under attack by Indians and the squatters living there refused to pay him rent. Most Americans assumed he was rich because of the well-known "glorified façade of wealth and grandeur" at Mount Vernon.^[124] Historians estimate his estate was worth about $1 million in 1799 dollars, equivalent to about $18 million in 2009 purchasing power.^[125]

By 1798, relations with France had deteriorated to the point that war seemed imminent, and on July 4, 1798, President Adams offered Washington a commission as lieutenant general and Commander-in-chief of the armies raised or to be raised for service in a prospective war. He reluctantly accepted, and served as the senior officer of the United States Army between July 13, 1798, and December 14, 1799. He participated in the planning for a Provisional Army to meet any emergency that might arise, but avoided involvement in details as much as possible; he delegated most of the work, including leadership of the army, to Hamilton.^[126][127]

Death[link]

Washington's tomb at Mount Vernon, Virginia

On Thursday, December 12, 1799, Washington spent several hours inspecting his plantation on horseback, in snow, hail and freezing rain—later that evening eating his supper without changing from his wet clothes. That Friday he awoke with a severe sore throat (either quinsy or acute epiglottitis) and became increasingly hoarse as the day progressed. Sometime around 3 a.m. that Saturday morning, he awoke his wife and said he felt ill. Following common medical practice at the time, he was bled—initially by an employee and later again by physicians.

"A vein was opened, but no relief afforded. Couriers were dispatched to Dr. Craik, the family, and Drs. Dick and Brown, the consulting physicians, all of whom came with speed. The proper remedies were administered, but without producing their healing effects; while the patient, yielding to the anxious looks of all around him, waived his usual objections to medicines, and took those which were prescribed without hesitation or remark."^[128]

Washington died at home around 10  p.m. on Saturday, December 14, 1799, aged 67. The last words in his diary were "'Tis well."^{[Note 7]}

Throughout the world, men and women were saddened by Washington's death. Napoleon ordered 10 days of mourning throughout France; in the United States, thousands wore mourning clothes for months.^[129] To protect their privacy, Martha Washington burned the correspondence between her husband and her following his death. Only a total of five letters between the couple are known to have survived, two letters from Martha to George and three from him to Martha.^[130][131]

On December 18, 1799, a funeral was held at Mount Vernon, where his body was interred.^[132] Congress passed a joint resolution to construct a marble monument in the United States Capitol for his body, supported by Martha. In December 1800, the United States House passed an appropriations bill for $200,000 to build the mausoleum, which was to be a pyramid that had a base 100 feet (30 m) square. Southern opposition to the plan defeated the measure because they felt it was best to have his body remain at Mount Vernon.^[133]

In 1831, for the centennial of his birth, a new tomb was constructed to receive his remains. That year, an unsuccessful attempt was made to steal the body of Washington.^[134] Despite this, a joint Congressional committee in early 1832 debated the removal of Washington's body from Mount Vernon to a crypt in the Capitol, built by Charles Bulfinch in the 1820s. Southern opposition was intense, antagonized by an ever-growing rift between North and South. Congressman Wiley Thompson of Georgia expressed the fear of Southerners when he said:

Remove the remains of our venerated Washington from their association with the remains of his consort and his ancestors, from Mount Vernon and from his native State, and deposit them in this capitol, and then let a severance of the Union occur, and behold the remains of Washington on a shore foreign to his native soil.^[133]

His remains were moved on October 7, 1837 to the new tomb constructed at Mount Vernon, presented by John Struthers of Philadelphia.^[135] After the ceremony, the inner vault's door was closed and the key was thrown into the Potomac.^[136]

Legacy[link]

The Constable-Hamilton Portrait by Gilbert Stuart, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas (1797)

Congressman Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee, a Revolutionary War comrade, famously eulogized Washington:^[137]

First in war—first in peace—and first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and enduring scenes of private life; pious, just, humane, temperate, and sincere; uniform, dignified, and commanding, his example was as edifying to all around him as were the effects of that example lasting. To his equals he was condescending, to his inferiors kind, and to the dear object of his affections exemplarily tender; correct throughout, vice shuddered in his presence, and virtue always felt his fostering hand; the purity of his private character gave effulgence to his public virtues. His last scene comported with the whole tenor of his life—although in extreme pain, not a sigh, not a groan escaped him; and with undisturbed serenity he closed his well-spent life. Such was the man America has lost—such was the man for whom our nation mourns.

Lee's words set the standard by which Washington's overwhelming reputation was impressed upon the American memory. Washington set many precedents for the national government, and the presidency in particular, and was called the "Father of His Country" as early as 1778.^{[Note 8][138][139][140]} Washington's Birthday (celebrated on Presidents' Day), is a federal holiday in the United States.^[141]

During the United States Bicentennial year, George Washington was posthumously appointed to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States by the congressional joint resolution Public Law 94-479 passed on January 19, 1976, with an effective appointment date of July 4, 1976.^[68] This restored Washington's position as the highest-ranking military officer in U.S. history.^{[Note 9]}

Cherry tree[link]

Apocryphal stories about Washington's childhood include a claim that he skipped a silver dollar across the Potomac River at Mount Vernon, and that he chopped down his father's cherry tree and admitted the deed when questioned: "I can't tell a lie, Pa." The anecdote was first reported by biographer Parson Weems, who after Washington's death interviewed people who knew him as a child. The Weems version was very widely reprinted throughout the 19th century, for example in McGuffey Readers. Moralistic adults wanted children to learn moral lessons from the past from history, especially as taught by great national heroes like Washington. After 1890 however, historians insisted on scientific research methods to validate every story, and there was no evidence for this anecdote apart from Weems' report. Joseph Rodman in 1904 noted that Weems plagiarized other Washington tales from published fiction set in England. No one has found an alternative source for the cherry tree story, thus Weems' credibility is questioned.^[142][143]

Monuments and memorials[link]

Washington Monument

Starting with victory in their Revolution, there were many proposals to build a monument to Washington. After his death, Congress authorized a suitable memorial in the national capital, but the decision was reversed when the Republicans took control of Congress in 1801. The Republicans were dismayed that Washington had become the symbol of the Federalist Party; furthermore, the values of Republicanism seemed hostile to the idea of building monuments to powerful men.^[144] Further political squabbling, along with the North-South division on the Civil War, blocked the completion of the Washington Monument until the late 19th century. By that time, Washington had the image of a national hero who could be celebrated by both North and South, and memorials to him were no longer controversial.^[145] Predating the obelisk on the National Mall by several decades, the first public memorial to Washington was built by the citizens of Boonsboro, Maryland, in 1827.^[146]

Today, Washington's face and image are often used as national symbols of the United States.^[147] He appears on contemporary currency, including the one-dollar bill and the quarter coin, and on U.S. postage stamps. Along with appearing on the first postage stamps issued by the U.S. Post Office in 1847,^[148] Washington, together with Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, and Lincoln, is depicted in stone at the Mount Rushmore Memorial. The Washington Monument, one of the best known American landmarks, was built in his honor. The George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia, was constructed between 1922 and 1932 with voluntary contributions from all 52 local governing bodies of the Freemasons in the United States.^[149][150]

Lieutenant General George Washington by Clark Mills, Washington Circle, Washington, D.C. (1860)

Many places and entities have been named in honor of Washington. Washington's name became that of the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., one of two national capitals across the globe to be named after an American president (the other is Monrovia, Liberia). The state of Washington is the only state to be named after a United States President.^[151] George Washington University and Washington University in St. Louis were named for him, as was Washington and Lee University (once Washington Academy), which was renamed due to Washington's large endowment in 1796. Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland (established by Maryland state charter in 1782) was supported by Washington during his lifetime with a 50 guineas pledge,^[152] and with service on the college's Board of Visitors and Governors until 1789 (when Washington was elected President).^[153] According to the 1993 US Census, Washington is the 17th most common street name in the United States,^[154] and the only person's name so honored.^{[Note 10]}

The Confederate Seal prominently featured George Washington on horseback,^[155] in the same position as a statue of him in Richmond, Virginia.^[156]