New York's 21 Club was a Prohibition-era speakeasy.

A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition (1920–1933, longer in some states). During this time, the sale, manufacture, and transportation (bootlegging) of alcoholic beverages was illegal throughout the United States.

Etymology[link]

The term "speakeasy" might have originated in Pennsylvania in 1888, when the Brooks High-License Act raised the state's fee for a saloon license from $50 to $500. The number of licensed bars promptly plummeted, but some bars continued to operate illegally. Kate Hester had run a saloon for years in McKeesport, just outside of Pittsburgh. She refused to pay the new license fee and wanted to keep from drawing attention to her illegal business. When her customers got too rowdy, she would hush them by whispering, "Speak easy, boys! Speak easy!"

Unlicensed saloons in Pennsylvania are known as “speak-easies.”^[1]

History[link]

Speakeasies were numerous and popular during the Prohibition years. Some of them were operated by people who were part of organized crime. Even though police and agents of the Bureau of Prohibition would often raid them and arrest their owners and patrons, they were so profitable that they continued to flourish.

Blind pigs and blind tigers[link]

The term "blind pig" (or "blind tiger") originated in the United States in the 19th century; it was applied to lower-class establishments that sold alcoholic beverages illegally. The operator of an establishment (such as a saloon or bar) would charge customers to see an attraction (such as an animal) and then serve a "complimentary" alcoholic beverage, thus circumventing the law.

"In desperate cases it has to betake itself to the exhibition of Greenland pigs and other curious animals, charging 25 cents for a sight of the pig and throwing in a gin cocktail gratuitously."^[2]

"[They] are in a mysterious place called a ‘blind tiger,’ drinking the very bad whiskey for which Prohibition is indirectly responsible."^[3]

A speakeasy was usually a higher-class establishment that offered food and entertainment. In large cities, some speakeasies even required a coat and tie for men, and evening dress for women. A blind pig was usually a dive where only beer and liquor were offered.

Blind pigs continue to exist in the United States. Alcoholic beverages for on-site or off-site consumption are sold illegally from homes.

Gangsters[link]

The era of Prohibition saw the growth of organized crime in the United States.

Gangsters such as Dutch Schultz, Al Capone, and Lucky Luciano made fortunes by supplying illegal beer and liquor to speakeasies across the country.

Some speakeasies were used as homes and offices by gangsters, who adopted an extravagant and easily identifiable lifestyle. Successful gangsters could be identified by their fashionable silk suits, expensive jewelry, and guns.

Bootlegging[link]

The term “bootlegging” came into use in the 1880s, when it referred to the practice of hiding flasks of illegal liquor inside boots.

Bootlegging was widespread in the United States during Prohibition. Even though the Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages, the law was widely disobeyed by the public and even by government officials.

During Prohibition, the production of illegal beer and whiskey quickly expanded across the country. Bootleggers made large profits by distributing these products to speakeasies and other consumers. Bootlegging became an organized business run by crime families and gangsters, (e.g. Al Capone).

Locations[link]

The Mayflower Club was considered the swankiest speakeasy in Washington, DC. It offered liquor and gambling.

In many rural towns, small speakeasies and blind pigs were operated by local business owners as a way of making extra money. These family secrets were often kept even after Prohibition ended. For example, in 2007 secret underground rooms thought to have been a speakeasy were found by renovators on the grounds of the Cyber Cafe West in Binghamton, New York.^[4]

See also[link]

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Kahn, Gordon, and Al Hirschfeld. The Speakeasies of 1932. New York: Glenn Young Books, (1932, rev. 2003). ISBN 1-55783-518-7
• Loretta Britten, Paul Mathiess, ed. Our American Century Jazz Age: The 20’s. 1998. Time Life Books. New York: Bishop Books Inc., 1969. ISBN 0-7835-5509-1
• Streissguth, Thomas. The Dry Years. The Roaring Twenties. Encyclopedia. 2007 ed. Facts On File, Inc. 2007. ISBN 0-8160-6423-7

External links[link]

• Galperina, Marina. "The Museum of the American Gangster Opens Doors of Former Speakeasy in March." February 19, 2010. Animal New York. 25 March 2010.

Ennio Morricone
Morricone at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
Background information
Also known as	Maestro
Born	(1928-11-10) November 10, 1928 (age 83)
Origin	Rome, Italy
Genres	Film music, classical music, pop music, jazz, lounge music, easy listening
Occupations	Composer, orchestrator, music director, conductor, trumpeter
Years active	1946–present
Associated acts	Bruno Nicolai, Alessandro Alessandroni, Mina, Yo-Yo Ma, Mireille Mathieu, Joan Baez, Andrea Bocelli, Roger Waters, Sarah Brightman, Amii Stewart, Paul Anka, Milva, Gianni Morandi, Dalida, Catherine Spaak, Pet Shop Boys, Hayley Westenra, and others
Website	http://www.enniomorricone.it

Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, Italian pronunciation: [ˈɛnnjo morriˈkoːne], (born November 10, 1928) is an Italian composer and conductor, who has written music for more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years.^[1] His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces. Morricone is most famous for his work in the Spaghetti Westerns directed by his friend Sergio Leone, including A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) but his career includes a wide range of composition genres making him one of the film world's most versatile artists. He is considered as one of the most influential film music composers of the 20th century.

Born in Rome, Italy, Morricone took up the trumpet as a child and attended the National Academy of Santa Cecilia to take lessons on the instrument at the age of nine. He formally entered a conservatory at the age of 12, enrolling in a four-year harmony programme. He received his trumpet diploma in 1946 and started working professionally, composing the music to "Il Mattino" ("The Morning"). Morricone soon gained popularity by writing his first background music for radio dramas and quickly moved into film.^[2]

In the 1950s he received the "Diploma in Instrumentation for Band" (fanfare) where he won a diploma in Composition under the composer Goffredo Petrassi. In 1955, Morricone started to ghost write and arrange music for other, already established film composers. Morricone soon came to the attention of his former school friend Sergio Leone, who hired Morricone to compose the music to some of his best known films. Together they created a distinctive score to accompany Leone's different version of the Western, A Fistful of Dollars.

In the 80s and 90s, Morricone continued to write the music for Leone's later films, including Once Upon a Time in America (1984). He also composed the music to Joffé's The Mission (1986), De Palma's The Untouchables (1987) and Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso (1988). His more recent compositions include the scores for Malèna (2000), Fateless (2005), and Baaria - La porta del vento (2009).

Morricone has received two Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, five BAFTAs during 1979–1992, seven David di Donatello, eight Nastro d'Argento, and the Polar Music Prize in 2010. In 2007, he received the Academy Honorary Award "for his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music" and has been nominated for a further five Oscars in the category of Best Original Score during 1979–2001, but has never won competitively.

Biography[link]

Early career[link]

Ennio Morricone was born in Rome, the son of Libera and Mario Morricone, a jazz trumpeter.^[3] Morricone wrote his first compositions when he was six years old and was encouraged to develop his natural talents.^[4] Compelled to take up the trumpet, he attended the National Academy of Santa Cecilia to take lessons on the instrument at the age of nine. Morricone formally entered the conservatory in 1940 at the age of 12, enrolling in a four-year harmony program. According to various reports, he completed it in either two years or six months (date approximate).^[5] He studied the trumpet, composition, choral music, and choral direction under Goffredo Petrassi, who deeply influenced him and to whom Morricone has dedicated concert pieces.

These were the difficult years of World War II in the heavily bombed "open city"; the composer remarked that what he mostly remembered of those years was the hunger. His wartime experiences influenced many of his scores for films set in that period.

After he graduated, he continued to work in classical composition and arrangement. In 1946, Morricone received his trumpet diploma and in the same year he composed "Il Mattino" ("The Morning") for voice and piano on a text by Fukuko, first in a group of 7 "youth" Lieder. Other serious compositions are "Imitazione" (1947) for voice and piano on a text by Giacomo Leopardi and "Intimità" for voice and piano on a text by Olinto Dini.

In the early 1950s, Morricone began writing his first background music for radio dramas. Nonetheless he continued composing classical pieces as "Distacco I e Distacco II" for voice and piano on a text by Ranieri Gnoli, "Verrà la Morte" for contralto and piano on a text by Cesare Pavese, "Oboe Sommerso" for baritone and five instruments on a text by Salvatore Quasimodo.^[6]

Although the composer had received the "Diploma in Instrumentation for Band" (fanfare) in 1952, his studies concluded in 1954, obtaining a diploma in Composition under the composer Goffredo Petrassi. In 1955, Morricone started to write or arrange music for films credited to other already well-known composers (ghost writing). He occasionally adopted Anglicized pseudonyms, such as Dan Savio and Leo Nichols.

Morricone wrote more works in the climate of the Italian avant-garde. A few of these compositions have been made available on CD, such as "Ut", his trumpet concerto dedicated to the soloist Mauro Maur, one of his favorite musicians; some have yet to be premiered. From the mid-sixties and onwards, he was part of Gruppo di Improvvisazione di Nuova Consonanza, a group of composers who performed and recorded avant garde free improvisations, even scoring a few films during the 1970s.

Leone film scores[link]

Well-versed in a variety of musical idioms from his RCA experience, Morricone began composing film scores in the early 1960s.^[5] Though his first films were undistinguished, Morricone's arrangement of an American folk song intrigued director and former schoolmate Sergio Leone. Leone hired Morricone, and together they created a distinctive score to accompany Leone's different version of the Western, A Fistful of Dollars (1964).^[5] As budget strictures limited Morricone's access to a full orchestra, he used gunshots, cracking whips, whistle, voices, guimbarde (jaw harp), trumpets, and the new Fender electric guitar, instead of orchestral arrangements of Western standards à la John Ford. Morricone used his special effects to punctuate and comically tweak the action—cluing in the audience to the taciturn man's ironic stance.^[5] Though sonically bizarre for a movie score, Morricone's music was viscerally true to Leone's vision.

	The Good, The Bad and The Ugly main theme noicon From The Good, the Bad and the Ugly film score
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As memorable as Leone's close-ups, harsh violence, and black comedy, Morricone's work helped to expand the musical possibilities of film scoring.^[5] Morricone was initially billed on the film as Dan Savio.^[5]

Morricone composed music for over 40 Westerns (the last was North Star (1996)), most of them Spaghetti Westerns. He scored Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns, from A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and including For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), as well as later films such as A Fistful of Dynamite (1971), My Name Is Nobody (1973), and A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe (1975). The collaboration with Leone is considered one of the exemplary collaborations between a director and a composer.

With the score of A Fistful of Dollars, Morricone began his 10-year collaboration with his childhood friend Alessandro Alessandroni and his Cantori Moderni. Alessandroni provided the whistling and the twanging guitar on the film scores, while his Cantori Moderni were a flexible troupe of modern singers. Morricone specifically exploited the solo soprano of the group, Edda Dell'Orso, at the height of her powers—"an extraordinary voice at my disposal".

In addition, Morricone composed music for many other, not so popular Spaghetti Westerns, including Duello nel Texas (1963), Le pistole non discutono (1964), A Pistol for Ringo (1965), The Return of Ringo (1965), Navajo Joe (1966), The Big Gundown, (1966), Face to Face (1967), Death Rides a Horse (1967), The Hellbenders (1967), A Bullet for the General (1967), The Mercenary (1968), Tepepa (1968), The Great Silence (1968), Guns for San Sebastian (1968), …And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars (1968), The Five Man Army (1969), Queimada! (1969), Vamos a matar, compañeros (1970), Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970), Sonny and Jed (1972), and Buddy Goes West (1981).

Notable film scores[link]

	The Mission main theme - Gabriel's Oboe noicon From The Mission film score
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Most of Morricone's film scores of the 1960s were composed outside the Spaghetti Western genre, while still using Alessandroni's team. Their music included the themes for Il Malamondo (1964), Slalom (1965), The Battle of Algiers (1965), and Listen, Let's Make Love (1967). In 1968, Morricone reduced his work outside the movie business and wrote scores for 20 films in the same year. The scores included psychedelic accompaniment for Mario Bava's superhero romp Danger: Diabolik (1968). The next year marked the start of a series of evocative scores for Dario Argento's stylized thrillers, including The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1969), The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971), and Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1974).^[5] In 1970, Morricone wrote the score for Violent City. That same year, he received his first Nastro d'Argento for the music in Metti una sera a cena (Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, 1969) and his second only a year later for Sacco e Vanzetti (Giuliano Montaldo, 1971), in which he had made a memorable collaboration with the legendary American folk singer and activist Joan Baez. In 1973, he scored a theme for the crime film Revolver (1973). Morricone composed the score for John Carpenter's science-fiction/horror movie The Thing (1982)^[7] as well as Brian De Palma's war drama Casualties of War (1989).^[8]

Morricone has worked for television, from a single title piece to variety shows and documentaries to TV series, including the US TV Western The Men From Shiloh (1970), Moses (1974) and Marco Polo (1982). One notable composition, "Chi Mai" was used in the films, Maddalena (1971) and Le Professionnel (1981) as well as the TV series The Life and Times of David Lloyd George (1981). It was a surprise hit in the UK, almost topping the charts. He wrote the score for the Mafia television series La piovra seasons 2 to 10 from 1985 to 2001, including the themes "Droga e sangue" ("Drugs and Blood"), "La morale", and "L'immorale".^[9] Morricone worked as the conductor of seasons 3 to 5 of the series. He also worked as the music supervisor for the television project La bibbia ("The Bible"). In the late 1990s, he collaborated with his son, Andrea, on the Ultimo crime dramas. Their collaboration yielded the BAFTA-winning Nuovo cinema Paradiso. In 2003, Ennio Morricone scored another epic, for Japanese television, called Musashi and was the Taiga drama about Miyamoto Musashi, Japan's legendary warrior. A part of his "applied music" is now applied to Italian television films.

Concerts and live orchestrations[link]

Since 2001, Morricone has been on a world tour, the latter part sponsored by Giorgio Armani, with the Orchestra Roma Sinfonietta, touring London (Barbican 2001; 75th birthday Concerto, Royal Albert Hall 2003), Paris, Verona, and Tokyo. Morricone performed his classic film scores at the Munich Philharmonie in 2005 and Hammersmith Apollo Theatre in London, UK, on 2006-12-01 and 2006-12-02.

Ennio Morricone at the United Nations Headquarters

He made his North American concert debut on January 29, 2007 Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City and four days later at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The previous evening, Morricone had already presented at the United Nations a concert comprising some of his film themes, as well as the cantata Voci dal silenzio to welcome the new Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. A Los Angeles Times review bemoaned the poor acoustics and opined of Morricone: "His stick technique is adequate, but his charisma as a conductor is zero." Morricone, though, has said: "Conducting has never been important to me. If the audience comes for my gestures, they had better stay outside."

On December 12, 2007, Morricone conducted the Roma Sinfonietta at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, presenting a selection of his own works. Together with the Roma Sinfonietta and the Belfast Philharmonic Choir, Morricone performed at the Opening Concerts of the Belfast Festival at Queen's, in the Waterfront Hall on October 17 and 18, 2008. Morricone and Roma Sinfonietta also held a concert at the Belgrade Arena (Belgrade, Serbia) on February 14, 2009.

On April 10, 2010, Morricone conducted a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London with the Roma Sinfonietta and (as in all of his previous London concerts) the Crouch End Festival Chorus. On August 27, 2010, he conducted a concert in Hungary. Two other concerts took place in Verona and Sofia (Bulgaria) on 11 and 17 September 2010.^[10]

Recent works[link]

Morricone provided the string arrangements on Morrissey's "Dear God Please Help Me" from the album Ringleader of the Tormentors in 2006.^[11]

Quentin Tarantino originally wanted Morricone to compose the soundtrack for his most recent film, Inglourious Basterds. However, Morricone refused because of the sped-up production schedule of the film.^[12][13][14] Tarantino did use several Morricone tracks from previous films in the soundtrack.

Morricone instead wrote the music for Baaria - La porta del vento, the most recent movie by Giuseppe Tornatore. The composer is also writing music for Tornatore's upcoming movie Leningrad.

In spring and summer 2010, Morricone worked with Hayley Westenra for a collaboration on her album Paradiso.^[15] The album features new songs written by Morricone, as well as some of his best known film compositions of the last 50 years.^[16][17] Hayley recorded the album with Morricone's orchestra in Rome during the summer of 2010.^[18][19][20]

Public reputation[link]

	"Se telefonando" noicon Sample from "Se telefonando".
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In 1956, Morricone started to support his family by playing in a jazz band and arranging pop songs for the Italian broadcasting service RAI.^[5] He was hired by RAI in 1958, but quit his job on his first day at work when he was told that broadcasting of music composed by employees was forbidden by a company rule. Subsequently, Morricone became a top studio arranger at RCA, working with Renato Rascel, Rita Pavone, and Mario Lanza.^[5] A particular success was one of his own songs, "Se telefonando".^[21][22]

Performed by Mina, it was a standout track of Studio Uno 66, the fifth-biggest-selling album of the year 1966 in Italy.^[23] Morricone's sophisticated arrangement of "Se telefonando" was a combination of melodic trumpet lines, Hal Blaine–style drumming, a string set, a '60s Europop female choir, and intensive subsonic-sounding trombones. The Italian Hitparade #7 song had eight transitions of tonality building tension throughout the chorus.^[21][22]

During the following decades, the song was covered by several performers in Italy and abroad—most notably by Françoise Hardy and Iva Zanicchi (1966), Delta V (2005), Vanessa and the O's (2007), and Neil Hannon (2008).^[24] In the reader's poll conducted by the la Repubblica newspaper to celebrate Mina's 70th anniversary in 2010, 30,000 voters picked the track as the best song ever recorded by Mina.^[25] Throughout the '60s Morricone composed songs for other artists including Milva, Gianni Morandi, Paul Anka, Amii Stewart, and Mireille Mathieu.

Personal life[link]

On 13 October 1956, he married Maria Travia and had his first son, Marco, in 1957. Travia has written lyrics to complement her husband's pieces. Her works include the Latin texts for The Mission. They have three sons and a daughter, in order of birth: Marco, Alessandra, the conductor and film composer Andrea (Andrew), and Giovanni (a filmmaker^[26] who lives in New York City).

Influence and modern references[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2011)

Morricone at the 2009 Venice film festival.

Morricone's influence also extends into the realm of pop music. Hugo Montenegro had a hit with a version of the main theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in both the United Kingdom and the United States. This was followed by his album of Morricone's music in 1968.

Aside from his music having been sampled by everyone from rappers (Jay-Z) to electronic outfits (the Orb), Morricone wrote "Se Telefonando", which became Italy's fifth biggest-selling record of 1966 and has since been re-recorded by Françoise Hardy, among many others, and scored the strings for "Dear God, Please Help Me" on Morrissey's 2006 "Ringleader of the Tormentors" album.

Morricone's film music was also recorded by many artists. John Zorn recorded an album of Morricone's music, The Big Gundown, with Keith Rosenberg in the mid-1980s. Lyricists and poets have helped convert some of his melodies into a songbook.

Morricone collaborated with world music artists, like Portuguese fado singer Dulce Pontes (in 2003 with Focus, an album praised by Paulo Coelho and where his songbook can be sampled) and virtuoso cellist Yo-Yo Ma (in 2004), who both recorded albums of Morricone classics with the Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra and Morricone himself conducting.

In 1990 the American singer Amii Stewart, best known for the 1979 disco hit "Knock On Wood", recorded a tribute album entitled Pearls - Amii Stewart Sings Ennio Morricone for the RCA label, including a selection of the composer's best known songs. Since the mid 1980s Stewart resides in Italy, the Pearls album features Rome's Philharmonic Orchestra and was co-produced by Morricone himself.

The 2003 Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2 makes extensive use of several Morricone pieces from several 1960s film scores. The 2009 film Inglourious Basterds also uses many Morricone pieces, as well as sharing "Il Mercenario (Ripresa)" with Kill Bill.

Metallica uses Morricone's The Ecstasy of Gold as an intro at their concerts (shock jocks Opie and Anthony also use the song at the start of their XM Satellite Radio and CBS Radio shows.) The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra also played it on Metallica's Symphonic rock album S&M. Ramones used the theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as a concert intro. The theme from A Fistful Of Dollars is also used as a concert intro by The Mars Volta.

His influence extends from Michael Nyman to Anna Calvi to Muse.^[27] He even has his own tribute band, a large group which started in Australia, touring as The Spaghetti Western Orchestra.

Morricone is mentioned by Myles, a musician/scorer (played by Jack Black in The Holiday), as creator of magical sounds that formed a character as much as lines of music in his films. This played out in a scene at a video rental store between Black and actress Kate Winslett.

In 2007, the tribute album We All Love Ennio Morricone was released. It features performances by various artists, including Sarah Brightman, Andrea Bocelli, Celine Dion, Bruce Springsteen and Metallica.

On their 2008 album "Red of Tooth and Claw" the independent rock band, Murder by Death, composed and included a song as a theme/tribute to Morricone entitled "Theme (for Ennio Morricone)."

British band Muse cites Morricone as an influence for the songs "City of Delusion", "Hoodoo", and "Knights of Cydonia" on their album Black Holes and Revelations.^{[citation needed]}. The band has recently started playing the song "Man With A Harmonica" live played by Chris Wolstenholme, as an intro to "Knights of Cydonia".^[28]

In January 2010, tenor Donald Braswell II released his album "We Fall and We Rise Again" on which he presented his tribute to Ennio Morricone with his original composition entitled "Ennio".

The score for The Thing 2011 prequel film composed by Marco Beltrami was inspired and uses several elements from Morricone's original soundtrack from the 1982 film of the same name.

Discography[link]

Ennio Morricone has sold over 50 million records worldwide,^[29][30] including 6.5 million copies in France^[31] and more than two million albums in Korea.^[32]

Top worldwide film grosses[link]

Ennio Morricone has been involved with eight movies grossing over $25 million at the box office:^[33]

Other successful movies with Morricone's work are Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 (2003, 2004) and Inglourious Basterds (2009), though the tracks used are sampled from older pictures.

Awards[link]

He received his first Academy Award nomination in 1979, for the score to Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978).^[34] He was later nominated for a further two awards; in 1986 for The Mission^[34] and in 1987 for The Untouchables.^[34] He later nominated for the score to Bugsy (Barry Levinson) (1991). His last nomination was for Malèna (2000).

Morricone and Alex North are the only composers to receive the Honorary Oscar since the award's introduction in 1928.^[35] North was nominated for fifteen Oscars, but like Morricone, he never won competitively.

Morricone received an honorary Academy Award on February 25, 2007, presented by Clint Eastwood, "for his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music." With the statuette came a standing ovation. Not only nominated five times, but also he received a lifetime achievement Oscar, five Baftas and two Golden Globes.^[36] In conjunction with the honor, Morricone released a tribute album, We All Love Ennio Morricone, that featured as its centerpiece Celine Dion's rendition of "I Knew I Loved You" (based on "Deborah's Theme" from Once Upon a Time in America), which she performed at the ceremony. Behind-the-scenes studio production and recording footage of "I Knew I Loved You" can be viewed in the debut episode of the QuincyJones.com Podcast.^[37] The lyric, as with Morricone's Love Affair, had been penned by Oscar-winning husband-and-wife duo Marilyn and Alan Bergman. Morricone's acceptance speech was in his native Italian tongue and was interpreted by Clint Eastwood, who stood to his left. Eastwood and Morricone had in fact met two days earlier—for the first time in 40 years—at a reception.

List of prizes and awards[link]

• 1965 – Nastro d'Argento for A Fistful of Dollars
• 1967 – Diapason d'Or
• 1969 – Premio Spoleto Cinema
• 1970 – Nastro d'argento for Metti una sera a cena
• 1971 – Nastro d'argento for Sacco e Vanzetti
• 1972 – Cork Film International for La califfa
• 1979 – Academy Awards nomination for Days of Heaven
• 1979 – Premio Vittorio de Sica
• 1981 – Premio della critica discografica for Il prato
• 1984 – Premio Zurlini
• 1985 – Nastro d'argento and BAFTA for Once Upon A Time In America
• 1986 – Academy Awards Nomination, BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards for The Mission
• 1986 – Premio Vittorio de Sica
• 1988 – Academy Awards nomination, Nastro d'argento, BAFTA and Grammy Awards for The Untouchables
• 1988 – David di Donatello for Gli occhiali d'oro
• 1989 – David di Donatello for Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
• 1989 – Ninth Annual Ace Winner for Il Giorno prima
• 1989 – Pardo d'Oro alla carriera Locarno Film Festival
• 1990 – BAFTA, Prix Fondation Sacem del XLIII Cannes Film Festival and David di Donatello for Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
• 1991 – David di Donatello for Stanno tutti bene
• 1992 – Academy Award nomination for Bugsy
• 1992 – Pentagramma d'oro
• 1992 – Premio Michelangelo
• 1992 – Grolla d'oro alla carriera (Saint Vincent)
• 1993 – David di Donatello and Efebo d'Argento for Jonas che visse nella balena
• 1993 – Globo d'oro Stampa estera in Italia
• 1993 – Gran Premio SACEM audiovisivi
• 1994 – ASCAP Golden Soundtrack Award (Los Angeles)
• 1995 – Premio Rota
• 1995 – Golden Lion Honorary Award by the Venice Film Festival
• 1996 – Premio citta' di Roma
• 1996 – Premio Cappelli
• 1996 – Premio Accademia di Santa Cecilia
• 1997 – Premio Flaiano
• 1998 – Columbus Prize
• 1999 – Erich Wolfgang Korngold Internationaler Preis für Film
• 1999 – Exsquibbidles Film Academy lifetime achievement award
• 2000 – Golden Globe for The Legend of 1900 (1998)
• 2000 – David di Donatello and Nastro d'argento for Canone Inverso
• 2000 – Academy Awards nomination for Malèna
• 2000 – Nastro d'argento for Malèna
• 2001 – Mikeldi de Honor at "Zinebi – International Festival of Documentary and Short Films" of Bilbao
• 2002 – Honorary Degree by the "Seconda Università" of Rome
• 2003 – Golden Eagle Award by the Russian National Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences of Russia for 72 Meters (film)
• 2003 – Honorary Senator of the Filmscoring Class of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München
• 2006 – Grand Officer OMRI, nominated by Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
• 2007 – Honorary Academy Award for career achievement
• 2007 – The Film & TV Music Award for Lifetime Achievement
• 2007 – David di Donatello and Nastro d'argento for La sconosciuta
• 2008 – Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental, performed by Bruce Springsteen
• 2008 – Knight of the Legion of Honour
• 2009 – Medal of Merits for Macedonia^[38]
• 2009 – America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation
• 2010 – Polar Music Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of the Arts

Sources[link]

• Horace, B. Music from the Movies, film music journal double issue 45/46, 2005: ISSN 0967-8131
• Miceli, Sergio. Morricone, la musica, il cinema. Milan: Mucchi/Ricordi, 1994: ISBN 88-7592-398-1
• Miceli, Sergio. "Morricone, Ennio". The Nesw Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
• Poppi, R., M. Pecorari. Dizionario del cinema italiano. I film vol. 3. Dal 1960 al 1969. Gremese, 1993: ISBN 88-7605-593-2
• Poppi, R., M. Pecorari. Dizionario del cinema italiano. I film vol. 4. Dal 1970 al 1979* A/L. Gremese, 1996: ISBN 88-7605-935-0
• Poppi, R., M. Pecorari. Dizionario del cinema italiano. I film vol. 4. Dal 1970 al 1979** M/Z. Gremese, 1996: ISBN 88-7605-969-5
• Poppi, R., M. Pecorari. Dizionario del cinema italiano. I film vol. 5. Dal 1980 al 1989* A/L. Gremese, 2000: ISBN 88-7742-423-0
• Poppi, R., M. Pecorari. Dizionario del cinema italiano. I film vol. 5. Dal 1980 al 1989** M/Z. Gremese, 2000: ISBN 88-7742-429-X

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Lhassa, Anne, and Jean Lhassa: Ennio Morricone: biographie. Les Planches. Lausanne: Favre; [Paris]: [diff. Inter-forum], 1989. ISBN 2-8289-0418-0,
• Wagner, Thorsten. "Improvisation als 'weiteste Ausdehnung des Begriffs der aleatorischen Musik': Franco Evangelisti und die Improvisationsgruppe Nuova Consonanza". In ...hin zu einer neuen Welt: Notate zu Franco Evangelisti, edited by Harald Muenz.48-60, 2002. Saarbrücken: Pfau-Verlag. ISBN 3-89727-177-X.
• Webb, Michael D. Italian 20th Century Music: The Quest for Modernity. London: Kahn & Averill. ISBN 978-1-871082-89-0

External links[link]

	Book: Ennio Morricone
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ennio Morricone

Paul Francis Tompkins^[1] (born c. 1968),^[1][2] best known as Paul F. Tompkins, is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is known for his work in television on such programs as Mr. Show with Bob and David, Real Time With Bill Maher and Best Week Ever,^[2][3][4] later renamed Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins.^[1][5]

He is also the host of The Pod F. Tompkast, which was ranked #1 by Rolling Stone on their list of "The 10 Best Comedy Podcasts of the Moment" in 2011.^[6]

Early life and career[link]

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,^[2][7][8] In 1986 Tompkins first performed comedy at 17 years of age at The Comedy Works in Philadelphia (a club now located in Bristol, Pennsylvania) where he performed as half of a sketch comedy duo with the late Rick Roman.^{[8][9][10][11]} Tompkins attended Temple University however he dropped-out^[9] and left for Los Angeles, California in 1994.^{[8][9][11][12]}

Tompkins met actor Jay Johnston in L.A. through their mutual friend, actor and director Adam McKay.^[9] McKay and Tompkins had become friends in Philadelphia, where they had both started to perform stand-up at around the same time.^[4][9][13] McKay later moved to Chicago and met Johnston; Johnston moved to L.A. at around the same time as Tompkins and McKay introduced the two.^[4] Tompkins and Johnston went on to create a live sketch comedy show called "The Skates" that was seen by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross and helped get them hired to work on Mr. Show with Bob and David in 1996.^[4][8][11]

Career[link]

Live comedic performance[link]

Tompkins' comedy career has included stand-up, sketch comedy and a variety of other live performances.

Tompkins stand-up comedy performances are of a storytelling and observationalist style.^{[3][14][15][16]} His shows often consist of extended riffs and long anecdotes.^[2][5] Tompkins deals topics of the bizarre and the absurd^[2][3] — such as a rant about peanut brittle^[5][17], a discussion about cake versus pie,^[17] and smashed coins^[15] — in addition to recounting stories about his own life experiences and family.^{[2][13][14][17]} His comedic style has been described as alternative comedy;^[8][17][18] Tompkins has stated that he is not bothered by the label and that he likes the term.^[19]

Tompkins is known for his style of dress during his live comedic performances, always performing in suit and tie,^[5][13] sometimes in pinstripes and with a bowtie;^[14][20] his look has been described by some in the press as "dapper".^{[14][15][17][21]} Tompkins has described his look as "foppish" and "just this side of Cedric the Entertainer."^[17]

Tompkins is based in Los Angeles and performs regularly in the city.^[13][18] Since 2002 he has performed a monthly show called The Paul F. Tompkins Show at Largo, an L.A. nightclub and cabaret.^[2][22][23] His show has featured such guests such as Fiona Apple, Jack Black, Dave Foley, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Aimee Mann and Weird Al Yankovic.^[2] Since its inception in 2005, Tompkins has taken part in the Thrilling Adventure Hour, a staged production in the style of old time radio that is also held monthly at Largo.^[24][25][26] The show began podcasting in January 2011; in October of that same year the show's podcasts moved to the Nerdist Industries podcast network created by Chris Hardwick.^[27] Tompkins is a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (UCB) Los Angeles.^[28] His comedy album "Impersonal" was recorded live at the UCB Theatre.^[29] He also performs monthly at the "Dead Authors" show at UCB Theatre in support of the nonprofit organization 826LA;^[30][31] Tompkins plays the role of H.G. Wells who serves as the host of the show.^[30]

Tompkins has toured in the US and Canada^[32] and prefers to perform in independent venues, rather than conventional comedy clubs.^[33][34] Starting in 2009 he embarked on his "Tompkins 300" tour;^[7][21][32] Tompkins had been preparing for his one-hour Comedy Central special You Should Have Told Me at the Laughing Skull Lounge theatre in Atlanta, Georgia — a small theatre that seats about 74 people.^{[7][21][35][36]} In order to fill the seats for the his recording of his special, Tompkins required about 280 people in the audience over the course of 4 nights for the recording of his show.^[7][21][34] Tompkins decided to announce on Twitter that he needed 300 people to fill the seats each night;^[7][21][34] Bob Kerr, a Canadian comedian, saw the Twitter post and asked if Tompkins would like to perform in Toronto.^[7][21][34] Tompkins advised Kerr that if he was able to get 300 people to state that they would definitely see his show he would come to Toronto.^[7][21][34] Kerr then started a Facebook group called “I Wanna See Paul F. Tompkins in Toronto” and managed to get 300 people to join^[7][21][34] In October of that same year Tompkins performed at the The Rivoli theatre in Toronto,^[7][34] the same theatre in which the sketch comedy show The Kids in the Hall was filmed.^[21][37] Facebook groups were subsequently started in other North American cities^[21] and in 2010 he stated that he had stopped promoting his shows on the radio.^[38] In 2011 he said that the Facebook 300 groups had become his main method of booking comedy shows.^[2]

Tompkins wrote and performed in his one-man show, Driven to Drink which aired on HBO in 1998.^[3][9][12] He appeared on 6 episodes of Late Night with Conan O'Brien between 1998 and 2008^[7][9][12] as well as 2 episodes of Conan in 2011 and 2012.^[9] He has recorded two comedy albums: "Impersonal" in 2007^[4][10][29] and "Freak Wharf" in 2009.^[31] His stand-up appearances on the Comedy Central network include being featured in episodes of Comedy Central Presents in 2003 and 2007,^[9][31] hosting an episode of Live at Gotham in 2009,^[9][31] performing on John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show in 2010,^[9][31] and recording two original one-hour comedy specials — You Should Have Told Me which aired in 2010^[9][17][39] and Paul F. Tompkins: Laboring Under Delusions in 2012.^[9][17][39]

Acting and writing[link]

Tompkins wrote for and performed on Mr. Show with Bob and David from 1995 to 1998; the show's writers, including Tompkins, were nominated for an Emmy Award in 1998 for "Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program".^[3][40]

Tompkins' work with Mr. Show's creators Bob Odenkirk and David Cross also led to his recurring role on the Tenacious D TV series.^[8][13] Tompkins played the character of a nightclub manager who is duped into reading Tenacious D’s ridiculous introductions during their open mic performances.^[8] He revived the role in the comedic band's film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny released in 2006.^[9]

Longtime friend Adam McKay consulted Tompkins regarding the screenplay for Talladega Nights.^[8] Tompkins also played the MC of a cat show in McKay's Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.^[13][12][41]

Tompkins has appeared on television programs including NewsRadio, Frasier, Weeds, The Sarah Silverman Program, Pushing Daisies, Community and Curb Your Enthusiasm.^{[2][4][5][7][9]} Tompkins played the role of Prescott in P.T. Anderson's film There Will Be Blood (2007);^[4][5] Anderson had previously cast Tompkins in a small role in the 1999 film Magnolia after watching Tompkins perform at Largo.^[4][5][12] Tompkins also played FBI Agent Anthony D’Angelo in Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! (2009).^[7]

Tompkins wrote for Real Time with Bill Maher in 2003 and 2009, in addition to being a show correspondent in the show's first season.^[9][12][13] In 2011 Tompkins was asked to write humorous recaps of American Idol episodes for New York magazine’s online blog Vulture.^[2][42][43]

Tompkins has expressed in interviews that he dislikes writing (particularly writing for others), preferring instead to perform in front of a camera.^[8][10]

Voice acting[link]

Tomkins has done voice work for many animated television series including Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, King of the Hill and Bob's Burgers.^[9] He lent his voice to a character in an unaired 2007 episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force titled "Boston" that was supposed to be the premiere episode of the show's fifth season, but it was pulled by Turner Broadcasting System to avoid further controversy surrounding the 2007 Boston bomb scare.^[44] Tompkins later appeared in an episode during the show's 7th season. He was also the voice of one of the thugs in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 2010 computer animated film Tangled.^[9] Tompkins was the voice of Benton Criswell, a character in MTV series Super Adventure Team which featured marionettes in the style of the 1964 series Thunderbirds; the role was credited under the stage name Francis Mt. Pleasant. He was also the voice of a puppet in ads for the Ford Focus.^[39]

Political and social commentary[link]

Tompkins has appeared on several television programs devoted to discussing politics, popular culture and current events, however he says he does not consider himself to be a political comic.^[45]

Tompkins was a contributor to the "Us People's Weekly Entertainment" segment of The Daily Show in 1998.^[7][9][13] In 2003 he was a writer and correspondent Real Time with Bill Maher in the show's first season^[12][13] and wrote again for the show in 2009.^[9] He appeared on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn in 2004.^[9][31] He was a pop culture analyst on VH1's Best Week Ever from the show's launch in 2004;^[1][46] the show was was retooled and relaunched as Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins with Tompkins as host in 2008.^[1][5][46] From 2006 to 2008 he was a regular guest on Countdown with Keith Olbermann.^[4][5][10] In 2008 he appeared on Lewis Black's Root of All Evil^[31][47] and took part in a panel on Larry King Live in an episode titled "Politics & Humor".^[9]

Tompkins has appeared in documentaries such as Jamie Kennedy's Heckler (2007) and Doug Benson's Super High Me (2007);^[9] he also appears in The Bitter Buddha, the yet-to-be-released documentary about the career of actor and comedian Eddie Pepitone.^[9][48]

Podcasts, webcasts and radio[link]

In 2010 Tompkins launched his podcast called The Pod F. Tompkast.^[31][49] The podcast is a mixture of Tompkins discussing various topics, clips from his live show at Largo, and segments where Tompkins voices a variety of celebrities speaking with one another.^{[6][31][50][51]} Comedian Jen Kirkman is a regular contributer on the show.^[6][18][50]

The Thrilling Adventure Hour comedy show at Largo began podcasting in January 2011; in October of that same year the show's podcasts moved to the Nerdist Industries podcast network created by Chris Hardwick.^[52]

Dead Authors, a live show that Tompkins hosts at the UCB Theatre in Los Angeles, also began podcasting in September of 2011.^[53]

In May of 2012 Tompkins started a weekly web series called Speakeasy. Hosted by the Break Media site MadeMan.com, the series features Tompkins interviewing various male guests in the entertainment industry, such as Ty Burrell, Nathan Fillion, Zach Galifianakis, Chris Hardwick, Oscar Nunez and Weird Al Yankovic.^[54][55][56] The interviews are conducted as casual conversations between Tompkins and his guest over cocktails at various bars in the L.A. area.^[54][55][56]

Tompkins has appeared several times as a guest, and one time as a guest host, on Comedy Bang Bang (formerly Comedy Death-Ray Radio),^[4][21][18] a weekly audio podcast hosted by Scott Aukerman, a comedian who also wrote for Mr. Show with Bob and David.^[57][58] The show's format mixes conversation between the host and guests, occasionally including game segments and interspersed with comedy music recordings by artists like Weird Al Yankovic, The Lonely Island and Flight of the Conchords. Some guests play characters or impersonate certain celebrities, sometimes for the entirety of the episode; Paul F. Tompkins has impersonated celebrities such as rapper Ice-T, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and Buddy Valastro from the reality television series Cake Boss.^[18]

In addition to Aukerman's Comedy Bang Bang, Tompkins regularly appears on the podcasts of other fellow comedians such as WTF with Marc Maron,^[18] Jimmy Pardo's Never Not Funny,^[43] Jessica Chaffin and Jamie Denbo's Ronna and Beverly podcast,^[18], the Superego podcast with Jeremy Carter and Matt Gourley,^[59] Tompkins has also been a regular guest on the radio show and podcast The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling.^[18][43]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

• Jack Frost (1998)
• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
• Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006)
• Super High Me (2007)
• There Will Be Blood (2007)
• The Informant! (2009)
• Tangled (2010)

Television[link]

• Mr. Show with Bob and David (1996 to 1998)
• Tenacious D (1997)
• The Daily Show (1998)
• Super Adventure Team (1998)
• NewsRadio (1999)
• Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (1999)
• DAG (2000 to 2001)
• Comedy Central Presents: Paul F. Tompkins (2003)
• Frasier (2003)
• Real Time with Bill Maher (2003)
• Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn (2004)
• King of the Hill (2005)
• Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show (2005)
• Too Late with Adam Carolla (2005)
• Countdown with Keith Olbermann from (2006 to 2008)
• Comedy Central Presents: Paul F. Tompkins 2 (2007)
• The Sarah Silverman Program (2007)
• Weeds (2007)
• Best Week Ever (later known as Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins) (2008)
• Larry King Live (2008)
• Lewis Black's Root of All Evil (2008)
• Pushing Daisies (2008)
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2010)
• Community (2010)
• Nick Swardson's Pretend Time (2010)
• True Jackson, VP (2010)
• Regular Show (2010 to 2011)
• The Life & Times of Tim (2010 to 2012)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (2011)
• Talking Dead (2011)
• Bob's Burgers (2011 to 2012)
• Key & Peele (2012)

Discography[link]

• 2007 Impersonal (Released on AST Records)
• 2007 Comedy Death-Ray (Compilation released on Comedy Central Records)
• 2009 Freak Wharf (Released on AST Records)
• 2010 Sir, You Have Fooled Me Twice (EP) (Released on AST Records)
• 2010 You Should Have Told Me (DVD) (Released on AST Records)
• 2012 Laboring Under Delusions (DVD) (Released on Comedy Central Records)

Podcast and radio appearances[link]

• Never Not Funny, guest (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011)
• The Sound of Young America, guest (2006 and 2007)
• The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling, guest (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011)
• Comedy Bang Bang, guest, guest host (2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012)
• WTF with Marc Maron, guest (2009 and 2011)
• Kevin Pollak's Chat Show, guest (2009)
• Doug Loves Movies, guest (2010, 2011 and 2012)
• The Superego Podcast, guest (2010, 2011 and 2012)
• The Pod F. Tompkast, host (2010 to present)
• The Nerdist Podcast, guest (2010)
• The Dead Authors Podcast, host (as H.G. Wells) (2011 to present)
• The Thrilling Adventure Hour podcast, cast member (2011 to present)
• The Anytime Show with Dominic Dierkes, guest (2011)
• Ronna and Beverly, guest (2011)
• The Todd Glass Show, guest (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Paul F. Tompkins

• Official website
• Paul F. Tompkins at the Internet Movie Database
• The Pod F. Tompkast

"Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic performing live in concert during his 2010 tour
Background information
Birth name	Alfred Matthew Yankovic
Also known as	"Weird Al" Yankovic
Born	(1959-10-23) October 23, 1959 (age 52)[1] Downey, California
Origin	Lynwood, California, United States
Genres	Parody, comedy, polka
Occupations	Record producer, satirist, parodist, singer-songwriter, musician, director, producer, actor
Instruments	Vocals, accordion, keyboards, theremin
Years active	1976–present
Labels	RCA, Capitol, Scotti Brothers, Volcano
Associated acts	Dr. Demento
Website	weirdal.com

Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic (pronunciation: /ˈjæŋkəvɪk/;^[2] born October 23, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts. Since his first-aired comedy song in 1976, he has sold more than 12 million albums (as of 2007),^[3] recorded more than 150 parody and original songs,^[4][5][6] and has performed more than 1,000 live shows.^[7] His works have earned him three Grammy Awards among nine nominations, four gold records, and six platinum records in the United States. Yankovic's first top ten Billboard album (Straight Outta Lynwood) and single ("White & Nerdy") were both released in 2006, nearly three decades into his career.

Yankovic's success comes in part from his effective use of music video to further parody popular culture, the song's original artist, and the original music videos themselves, scene-for-scene in some cases. He directed later videos himself and went on to direct for other artists including Ben Folds, Hanson, Black Crowes, and The Presidents of the United States of America. In addition to recording his albums, Yankovic wrote and starred in the film, UHF, and television show, The Weird Al Show. He has also made guest appearances on many television shows, in addition to starring in Al TV specials on MTV.^[1]