Henry Liddell, in an 1891 portrait by Sir Hubert von Herkomer.

Henry George Liddell ( /ˈlɪdəl/; 6 February 1811 – 18 January 1898) was Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, dean (1855–91) of Christ Church, Oxford, headmaster (1846–55) of Westminster School^[1] (where a house is now named after him), author of A History of Rome (1857), and co-author (with Robert Scott) of the monumental work A Greek-English Lexicon,^[2] which is still used by students of Greek. Lewis Carroll wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland for Henry Liddell's daughter Alice.

Biography[link]

Caricature of Rev. Henry Liddell by 'Ape' from Vanity Fair (1875)

Liddell received his education at Charterhouse and Christ Church, Oxford. He gained a double first degree in 1833, then became a college tutor, and was ordained in 1838.

Liddell was Headmaster of Westminster School from 1846 to 1855. Meanwhile his life work, the great Lexicon (based on the German work of Franz Passow), which he and Robert Scott began as early as 1834, had made good progress, and the first edition of Liddell and Scott's Lexicon appeared in 1843. It immediately became the standard Greek-English dictionary, with the 8th edition published in 1897.

As Headmaster of Westminster Liddell enjoyed a period of great success, followed by trouble due to the outbreak of fever and cholera in the school. In 1855 he accepted the deanery of Christ Church, Oxford. In the same year he brought out his History of Ancient Rome and took a very active part in the first Oxford University Commission. His tall figure, fine presence and aristocratic mien were for many years associated with all that was characteristic of Oxford life. Coming just at the transition period when the "old Christ Church," which Pusey strove so hard to preserve, was inevitably becoming broader and more liberal, it was chiefly due to Liddell that necessary changes were effected with the minimum of friction. In 1859 Liddell welcomed the then Prince of Wales when he matriculated at Christ Church, being the first holder of that title who had matriculated since Henry V. While he was Dean of Christ Church, he arranged for the building of a new choir school and classrooms for the staff and pupils of Christ Church Cathedral School on its present site. Before then the school was housed within Christ Church itself.

In conjunction with Sir Henry Acland, Liddell did much to encourage the study of art at Oxford, and his taste and judgment gained him the admiration and friendship of Ruskin. In 1891, owing to advancing years, he resigned the deanery. The last years of his life were spent at Ascot, where he died on 18 January 1898.

Dean Liddell married in July 1846 Miss Lorina Reeve (d. 1910), by whom he had a numerous family.

Parents and grandparents[link]

His father was Henry Liddell, Rector of Easington (1787–1872), the younger son of Sir Henry Liddell, 5th Baronet (1749–1791) and the former Elizabeth Steele. His father's elder brother, Sir Thomas Liddell, 6th Baronet (1775–1855), was raised to the Peerage as Baron Ravensworth in 1821.

His mother was the former Charlotte Lyon (1785–1871), a daughter of Thomas Lyon (1741–1796) (who was the youngest son of the 8th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne) and the former Mary Wren (died 1811).

Marriage and children[link]

On 2 July 1846, Henry married Lorina Reeve (3 March 1826 – 25 June 1910). They were parents of ten children:

• Edward Harry Liddell (6 September 1847 – 14 June 1911).
• Lorina Charlotte Liddell (11 May 1849 – 29 October 1930).
• James Arthur Charles Liddell (28 December 1850 – 27 November 1853).
• Alice Pleasance Liddell (4 May 1852 – 16 November 1934), for whom the children's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was originally told.
• Edith Mary Liddell (Spring, 1854 – 26 June 1876).
• Rhoda Caroline Anne Liddell (1859 – 19 May 1949).
• Albert Edward Arthur Liddell (1863 – 28 May 1863).
• Violet Constance Liddell (10 March 1864 – 9 December 1927).
• Sir Frederick Francis Liddell (7 June 1865 – 19 March 1950): First Parliamentary Counsel and Ecclesiastical Commissioner.
• Lionel Charles Liddell (22 May 1868 – 21 March 1942).

See also[link]

References[link]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links[link]

Media related to Henry George Liddell at Wikimedia Commons

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Henry George Liddell

• A genealogical profile from thePeerage.com
• Two portraits, National Portrait Gallery

Eric Liddell

Personal information
Full name	Eric Henry Liddell
Nationality	Scottish
Born	(1902-01-16)16 January 1902 Tianjin(Tientsin), Great Qing (China)
Died	21 February 1945(1945-02-21) (aged 43) Weihsien Internment Camp, China
Sport
Country	Scotland, Britain
Sport	Athletics & Rugby Union (7 tests)
Event(s)	100m, 200m, 400m
Club	Edinburgh University
Medal record Men's athletics Competitor for  Great Britain Olympic Games Gold 1924 Paris 400 metres Bronze 1924 Paris 200 metres

Eric Henry Liddell ( /ˈlɪdəl/; 16 January 1902 – 21 February 1945) was a Scottish athlete, rugby union international player, and missionary.

Liddell was the winner of the men's 400 metres at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Liddell's Olympic training and racing, and the religious convictions that influenced him, are depicted in the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire, in which he is portrayed by fellow Scot Ian Charleson.

Early life[link]

Eric Liddell, often called the "Flying Scotsman" after the record breaking locomotive, was born in Tianjin (formerly transliterated as Tientsin) (Chinese 天津) in North China, the second son of the Rev. and Mrs. James Dunlop Liddell, who were Scottish missionaries with the London Missionary Society. Liddell was born in 1902 and went to school in China until the age of five. At the age of six, he and his brother Robert, eight years old, were enrolled in Eltham College, Mottingham, a boarding school in England for the sons of missionaries. Their parents and sister Jenny returned to China. During the boys' time at Eltham, their parents, sister and new brother Ernest came home on furlough two or three times and were able to be together as a family, mainly living in Edinburgh.

At Eltham, Liddell was an outstanding sportsman, being awarded the Blackheath Cup as the best athlete of his year, playing for the First XI and the First XV by the age of 15, later becoming captain of both the cricket and rugby union teams. His headmaster described him as being "entirely without vanity".^{[citation needed]}

Liddell became well known for being the fastest runner in Scotland while at Eltham College. Newspapers carried stories of his feats at track meets, and many articles stated that he was a potential Olympic winner.

Liddell was chosen to speak for Glasgow Students' Evangelical Union because he was a strong Christian. The GSEU hoped that he would draw large crowds to hear the Gospel. The GSEU would send out a group of eight to ten men to an area where they would stay with the local population. It was Liddell's job to be the lead speaker and to evangelise the men of Scotland.

University of Edinburgh[link]

In 1921, Liddell joined his brother Robby at the University of Edinburgh to study Pure Science. Athletics and rugby played a large part in his university life. He ran in the 100 yards and 220 yards races for Edinburgh University and played rugby for the University club, from which he gained a place in the backline of a strong Scottish national rugby union team. In 1922 and 1923, he played in seven out of eight Five Nations matches along with A. L. Gracie. In 1923 he won the AAA Championships in athletics in the 100 (setting a British record of 9.7 seconds that would not be broken for 35 years) and 220 yards (21.6 seconds). He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree after the Paris Olympiad in 1924.

Eltham College's sports centre was named "Eric Liddell Sports Centre" in his memory.

Paris Olympics[link]

The Olympics were hosted by the city of Paris. A devout Christian, Liddell refused to run in a heat held on Sunday (the Christian Sabbath) and was forced to withdraw from the 100-metres race, his best event. The schedule had been published several months earlier, and his decision was made well before the Games. Liddell spent the intervening months training for the 400 metres, though his best pre-Olympics time of 49.6 seconds, set in winning the 1924 AAA championship 440 yards,^[1] was modest by international standards. When the day of the Olympic 400 metres race came, Liddell went to the starting blocks, where an American Olympic Team masseur slipped a piece of paper into his hand with a quotation from 1 Samuel 2:30: "Those who honor me I will honor."

The pipe band of the 51st Highland Brigade played outside the stadium for the hour before he ran. The 400 metres had been considered a middle-distance event in which runners raced round the first bend and coasted through the back leg. Inspired by the Biblical message and the pipe music, and deprived of a view of the other runners because he drew the outside lane, Liddell raced the whole of the first 200 metres to be well clear of the favoured Americans.^[2] With little option but to then treat the race as a complete sprint, he continued to race round the final bend. He was challenged all the way down the home straight but held on to take the win. He broke the existing Olympic and world records with a time of 47.6 seconds.^[3] It was controversially ratified as a world record, despite it being 0.2 seconds slower than the record for the greater distance of 440 yards.^[4]

A few days earlier Liddell had competed in the 200 metre finals, for which he received the bronze medal behind Americans Jackson Scholz and Charles Paddock, beating British rival and teammate Harold Abrahams, who had also competed that day in the long jump and finished in sixth place. ^[2] This was the second and last race in which these two runners met.

His performance in the 400 metres in Paris stood as a European record for 12 years, until beaten by another British athlete, Godfrey Brown, at the Berlin Olympics in 1936.

After the Olympics and graduation from Edinburgh University, Liddell continued to compete. His refusal to compete on Sunday meant he had also missed the Olympic 4 x 400 relay, in which Britain finished third.^[2] Shortly after the Games, his final leg in the 4 x 400 metres race in a British Empire vs. USA contest helped secure the victory over the gold-medal winning Americans.^[5] A year later, in 1925, at the Scottish Amateur Athletics Association (SAAA) meeting in Hampden Park in Glasgow, he equalled his Scottish championship record of 10.0 seconds in the 100, won the 220 yard contest in 22.2 seconds, won the 440 yard contest in 47.7, and participated in a winning relay team. He was only the fourth athlete to have won all three sprints at the SAAA, achieving this feat in 1924 and 1925. These were his final races on British soil.^[2]

Because of his birth and death in China, some of that country's Olympic literature lists Liddell as China's first Olympic champion.^[6]

Service in China[link]

Monument to Eric Liddell on the grounds of the former Weihsien Internment Camp

Liddell returned to Northern China to serve as a missionary, like his parents, from 1925 to 1943 – first in Tianjin and later in the town of Xiaozhang (Simplified Chinese 肖张镇),^[7] Zaoqiang County, Hengshui, Hebei province, an extremely poor area that had suffered during the country's civil wars and had become a particularly treacherous battleground with the invading Japanese.^[8]

During his time in China as a missionary, Liddell continued to compete sporadically, including wins over members of the 1928 French and Japanese Olympic teams in the 200 and 400 metres at the South Manchurian Railway celebrations in China in 1928 and a victory at the 1930 North China championship. He returned to Scotland only twice, in 1932 and again in 1939. On one occasion he was asked if he ever regretted his decision to leave behind the fame and glory of athletics. Liddell responded, "It's natural for a chap to think over all that sometimes, but I'm glad I'm at the work I'm engaged in now. A fellow's life counts for far more at this than the other."^[8]

Liddell's first job as a missionary was as a teacher at an Anglo-Chinese College (grades 1–12) for wealthy Chinese students. It was believed that by teaching the children of the wealthy, they would become influential figures in China and promote Christian values. Liddell used his athletic experience to train boys in a number of different sports. One of his many responsibilities was that of superintendent of the Sunday school at Union Church where his father was pastor. Liddell lived at 38 Chongqing Dao (formerly known as Cambridge Road) in Tianjin, where a plaque commemorates his former residence. He also helped build the Minyuan Stadium in Tianjin. He suggested that it be copied exactly from Chelsea's football ground, where he had competed and was said to be his favourite running venue.^{[citation needed]}

During his first furlough from missionary work in 1932, he was ordained a minister of religion. On his return to China he married Florence Mackenzie of Canadian missionary parentage in Tianjin in 1934. Liddell courted his future wife by taking her for lunch to the famous Kiesling restaurant, which is still open in Tianjin. The couple had three daughters, Patricia, Heather and Maureen, the last of whom he would not live to see. The school where Liddell taught is still in use today. One of his daughters visited Tianjin in 1991 and presented the headmaster of the school with one of the medals that Eric had won for athletics.^{[citation needed]}

In 1941 life in China had become so dangerous because of Japanese aggressiveness that the British government advised British nationals to leave. Florence and the children left for Canada to stay with her family when Liddell accepted a position at a rural mission station in Shaochang, which served the poor. He joined his brother, Rob, who was a doctor there. The station was severely short of help and the missionaries there were exhausted. A constant stream of locals came at all hours for medical treatment. Liddell arrived at the station in time to relieve his brother, who was ill and needing to go on furlough. Liddell suffered many hardships himself at the mission.

As fighting between the Chinese Eighth Route Army and invading Japanese^[9] reached Shaochang, the Japanese took over the mission station and Liddell returned to Tianjin. In 1943, he was interned at the Weihsien Internment Camp (in the modern city of Weifang) with the members of the China Inland Mission, Chefoo (now known as Yantai) School, and many others. Liddell became a leader and organiser at the camp, but food, medicine and other supplies were scarce. There were many cliques in the camp and when some rich businessmen managed to smuggle in some eggs, Liddell shamed them into sharing them. While fellow missionaries formed cliques, moralised and acted selfishly, Liddell busied himself by helping the elderly, teaching at the camp school Bible classes, arranging games and by teaching science to the children, who referred to him as Uncle Eric.^[10]

It was also claimed that one Sunday Liddell refereed a hockey match to stop fighting amongst the players, as he was trusted not to take sides. One of his fellow internees, Norman Cliff, later wrote a book about his experiences in the camp called "The Courtyard of the Happy Way" (Chinese 樂道院, also translated as "The Campus of Loving Truth").,^[11] which detailed the remarkable characters in the camp. Cliff described Liddell as "the finest Christian gentleman it has been my pleasure to meet. In all the time in the camp, I never heard him say a bad word about anybody". Langdon Gilkey, who also survived the camp and became a prominent theologian in his native America, said of Liddell: "Often in an evening I would see him bent over a chessboard or a model boat, or directing some sort of square dance – absorbed, weary and interested, pouring all of himself into this effort to capture the imagination of these penned-up youths. He was overflowing with good humour and love for life, and with enthusiasm and charm. It is rare indeed that a person has the good fortune to meet a saint, but he came as close to it as anyone I have ever known."^[8]

Death[link]

In his last letter to his wife, written on the day he died, Liddell wrote of suffering a nervous breakdown due to overwork, but in actuality he was suffering from an inoperable brain tumour; overwork and malnourishment may have hastened his death. He died on 21 February 1945, five months before liberation. He was greatly mourned not only at the Weihsien Internment Camp but also in Scotland. Langdon Gilkey was later to write, "The entire camp, especially its youth, was stunned for days, so great was the vacuum that Eric's death had left." According to a fellow missionary, Liddell's last words were, "It's complete surrender", in reference to how he had given his life to his God.^[12]

In 2008 Chinese authorities revealed that Liddell had refused an opportunity to leave the camp and instead gave his place to a pregnant woman. Apparently, the Japanese made a deal with the British, with Churchill's approval, for prisoner exchange.^[2] This information was released near the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics by the Chinese government and apparently news of this act of sacrifice came as a surprise even to his family members.

Fifty-six years after the 1924 Paris Olympics, Scotsman Allan Wells won the 100 metre sprint at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. When asked after the victory if he had run the race for Harold Abrahams, the last 100 metre Olympic winner from Britain (in 1924) who had died two years previous, Wells replied, "No, … I would prefer to dedicate this to Eric Liddell"^[13]

Eric Liddell was the most popular athlete Scotland has ever produced, according to the public voting for the first inductees for the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.^[14][15]

Memorial[link]

Memorial plaque at Edinburgh University

Liddell was buried in the garden behind the Japanese officers' quarters, his grave marked by a small wooden cross. The site was forgotten until it was rediscovered in 1989, in the grounds of what is now Weifeng Middle School^[2] in Shandong Province, north-east China, about six hours' drive from Beijing. Its rediscovery was largely the result of the determination of Charles Walker, an engineer working in Hong Kong, who felt one of Scotland's great heroes was in danger of being forgotten, and decided to search for the grave. The task wasn't easy. Since Liddell's death, place names had changed, documents lost and witnesses were difficult to find.^{[citation needed]}

In 1991 a memorial headstone, made from Isle of Mull granite and carved by a mason in Tobermory, was unveiled at the former camp site in Weifang, erected by Edinburgh University. A few simple words taken from the Book of Isaiah 40:31 formed the inscription: "They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary." The city of Weifang, as part of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the internment camp in 2005, commemorated Liddell by laying a wreath at the headstone marking his grave.

A living memorial, the Eric Liddell Centre, an Edinburgh, Scotland based charity, was set up in 1980 to honour Eric’s beliefs in community service whilst he lived and studied in Edinburgh. The charity was started by local residents dedicated to inspiring, empowering, and supporting people of all ages, cultures and abilities, as an expression of compassionate Christian values. It continues to flourish today, running two caring programmes along with office rental space for other, small charities and room/hall hire for various local groups.

As of 2009, Liddell is honoured with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on 22 February.^[16]

[edit] Chariots of Fire

The 1981 film Chariots of Fire chronicles and contrasts the lives and viewpoints of Liddell and Harold Abrahams. One inaccuracy surrounds Liddell's refusal to race in the 100-metre event at the 1924 Paris Summer Olympics. The film portrays Liddell as finding out that one of the heats was to be held on a Sunday as he boards the boat that will take the British Olympic team across the English Channel to Paris. In reality, the schedule and Liddell's decision were known several months in advance, though his refusal to participate remains significant. (Liddell had also been selected to run as a member of the 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams at the Olympics but also declined these spots as their heats, too, were to be run on a Sunday.)^{[citation needed]}

One scene in the film depicts Liddell falling early in a 440 yard race in a Scotland–France dual meet and making up a 20-yard deficit to win; the actual race was during a Triangular Contest meet between Scotland, England and Ireland at Stoke-on-Trent in England in July 1923. Liddell was knocked to the ground several strides into the race. He hesitated, got up and pursued his opponents, 20 yards ahead. He caught the leaders shortly before the finish line and collapsed after crossing the tape.^{[citation needed]} This scene was filmed at Goldenacre stadium in Edinburgh, the playing fields of George Heriot's School in Edinburgh. Other scenes filmed in Edinburgh include:

• Other International race meet in pouring rain, filmed at Inverleith stadium, playing fields of Daniel Stewart's & Melville College in Edinburgh.
• Preaching in church on the day of the 100m Olympic final, filmed in Broughton St. Mary's Parish Church in Bellevue Crescent, Edinburgh.
• Eric's chat to his sister with Edinburgh skyline behind, at Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, below East end of Salisbury Crags.
• Harold Abrahams and girlfriend in restaurant, filmed in The Cafe Royal Restaurant in West Register Street, Edinburgh.

Liddell's unorthodox running style as portrayed in the film, with his head back and his mouth wide open, is also said to be accurate. At an athletics championship in Glasgow, a visitor watching the 440 yard final in which Liddell was a long way behind the leaders at the start of the last lap (of a 220 yard track) remarked to a Glasgow native that Liddell would be hard put to win the race. The Glaswegian merely replied, "His head's no' back yet." Liddell then threw his head back and with mouth wide open caught and passed his opponents to win the race.^{[citation needed]} In the 1945 report of his death The Guardian wrote "He is remembered among lovers of athletics as probably the ugliest runner who ever won an Olympic championship. When he appeared in the heats of the 400m at Paris in 1924 his huge sprawling stride, his head thrown back and his arms clawing the air, moved the Americans and other sophisticated experts to ribald laughter." Rival Harold Abrahams said in response to criticism of Liddell's style: "People may shout their heads off about his appalling style. Well, let them. He gets there."^[2]

See also[link]

Saints portal

• List of Scotland rugby union footballers killed in the World Wars
• Protestant missions in China 1807–1953

Archives[link]

• Papers relating to Liddell's life as a missionary are held at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. [1]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

Videography[link]

• Chariots of Fire (1981 Feature Film)
• The Story of Eric Liddell (2004 Documentary)
• Eric Liddell: Champion of Conviction (2007 Documentary)
• Torchlighters: The Eric Liddell Story (2007 Animation)

External links[link]

• Eric Liddell The Eric Liddell Centre, Edinburgh
• Biography on the Eric Liddell Sports Centre
• Statistics from scrum.com
• Commonwealth War Graves database entry

v t e Protestant missions to China Background Christianity · Protestantism · Chinese history · Missions timeline · Christianity in China · Nestorians · Jesuits · Protestants People Robert Morrison · Hunter Corbett · Gladys Aylward · Pearl Buck · Thomas Cochrane, 1866-1953 · Jonathan Goforth · Karl Gützlaff · Eric Liddell · Robert S. Maclay · Lottie Moon · Gideon Nye · Timothy Richard · Cambridge Seven · Hudson Taylor · (more missionaries) Missionary agencies CIM · LMS · ABCFM · CMS · M.E.M · US Presbyterian Mission · (more agencies) Impact Chinese Bible · Medical missions in China · Manchurian revival · Chinese Colleges · Chinese Hymnody · Chinese Roman Type · Minnan Roman Type · Foochow Roman Type · Anti-Footbinding · Anti-Opium Pivotal events Taiping Rebellion · First Opium War · Second Opium War · Unequal treaty · Yangzhou riot · Tianjin Massacre · Kucheng Massacre · Boxer Crisis · Xinhai Revolution · Chinese Civil War · WWII · People's Republic Chinese protestants Feng Yuxiang · Liang Fa · Keuh Agong · Samuel Lamb · Sun Yat-sen · Wang Mingdao · Xi Shengmo · John Sung · Allen Yuan

Records
Preceded by Beauchamp Day	European Record Holder Men's 400m 12 July 1924 – 6 August 1936	Succeeded by Godfrey Brown

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).