A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated to being used as a site for the creation and production of motion pictures, and television productions. Originally they were within the union Studio zone, often in the San Fernando Valley foothills.

Movie ranches first came into use in Southern California for location shooting in the 1920s when westerns had become increasingly popular. Hollywood based studios found it difficult to recreate the wide expanses of the old West on sound stages, or in studio back lots. Other large scale themed productions also needing large outdoor settings, such as battle scenes for war films, also needed undeveloped areas and began using the countryside and movie ranches in the region near their Hollywood studios.

History

To achieve greater scope, productions would conduct location shooting in yonder parts of California, Arizona, and Nevada, but the expense of travel for production staff eventually created a full blown dispute between workers and the studios. Finally, the studios agreed to pay union workers extra if they worked out of town. The definition of out of town specifically referred to a distance of greater than from the studio, or beyond the studio zone.

To solve this problem, many movie studios invested in large tracts of undeveloped rural land, in many cases existing ranches, located closer to Hollywood. In most cases, the ranches were located just within the perimeter, specifically in the Simi Hills in the western San Fernando Valley, the Santa Monica Mountains, and the Canyon Country area of the Greater Los Angeles Area. The natural California landscape proved a suitable stand-in for western locations, and other settings.

As a result of the post-war (WWII) era suburban development raising property values and resulting the urban sprawl of Los Angeles, most of these movie ranches have since been sold and subdivided. However, a few of these have survived as Regional Parks, and are still in use for filming. Movie ranches have gradually moved to other regions, notably New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas.

Below is a partial listing of some of the famous classic Southern California movie ranches from the first half of the 20th century, with some other and newer locations also.

The classic Movie Ranches

Iverson Movie Ranch

The Iverson family ranch, in the Simi Hills on Santa Susana Pass above Chatsworth, California, first allowed for a movie to be shot on their property in 1912, which was very likely a western called The Squaw Man. This began a long association of the ranch with Hollywood. Buster Keaton's Three Ages, The Flying Deuces, The Fighting Seabees and Lives of a Bengal Lancer are just a few of the productions that filmed here. The rocky terrain and narrow, winding roads frequently turned up in Republic serials of the 1940s.

By 1962, the ownership of the ranch was divided, with Joe Iverson, an African safari hunter married to Eva Iverson, owning the lower portion of the ranch and Aaron Iverson, a farmer married to Bessie Iverson, owning the upper part. Approximately 3000 movies were filmed at the ranch during its heyday. The long running TV Western The Virginian filmed on location during these years. In 1966, the State of California began construction on the Simi Valley Freeway which cut the Iverson ranch in half. This freeway ended the use of the ranch as a viable movie location because of the high sound levels caused by traffic. Part of the ranch remains as parkland on both sides of Redmesa and fronting on Santa Susana Pass. This includes the famous "Garden of the Gods" in which many famous rock formations, seen in most old westerns and many classics, are accessible to the public. The old Iverson homestead remains as a private residence on Iverson Lane.

In 1982, Joe Iverson sold the lower Iverson ranch to Robert G. Sherman, who almost immediately began subdividing the property. The upper Iverson is also no longer open to the public, as it is now a gated community.

The location of the ranch was in the northwest corner of Chatsworth, California and was roughly where Topanga Canyon Boulevard currently exits from the 118.

LINKS:

Iverson Movie Ranch: History, vintage Photos.

Iverson Movie Ranch: Filmography.

Monogram Ranch - Melody Ranch

Originally known as 'Placeritos Ranch', the ranch was commonly referred to as the 'Monogram Ranch', and renamed 'Melody Ranch' when Gene Autry purchased the property. It is located in lower Placerita Canyon near Newhall, California in the Sierra Pelona Mountains just north of the San Gabriel Mountains. Ernie Hickson was the original owner from 1936 until his death in 1952, and built-reconstructed all the original sets on the ranch. A year later in 1937 Monogram Pictures signed a long term lease with Hickson for 'Placeritos Ranch', with terms that the ranch being renamed 'Monogram Ranch.' Gene Autry purchased the property in 1953, renaming it after his film "Melody Ranch". A brush fire destroyed most of the western sets on the ranch in 1962, and Autry sold , most of Melody Ranch. The remaining property was purchased by the Veluzats in 1990 for the new 'Melody Ranch Studios' movie ranch.

The Melody Ranch follows in the tradition of early silent film shoots which were done in Placerita Canyon dating back to 1926. Tom Mix silent film westerns were shot in the canyon at that time. In 1931, Monogram Pictures took out a five year lease on a parcel of land in central Placerita Canyon. The location of the western town that was constructed there was just east of what is now the junction of the Route 14 Antelope Valley Freeway and Placerita Canyon Road, on what is today part of Disney's Golden Oak Ranch (see below) near Placerita Canyon State Park. In 1935, as a result of a Monogram-Republic merger, the 'Placerita Canyon Ranch' became owned by the newly formed Republic Pictures. In 1936, when the lease wound up, the entire town was relocated and rebuilt a few miles to the north at Ernie Hickson's 'Placeritos Ranch' in lower Placerita Canyon near the junction of Oak Creek Road and Placerita Canyon Road, renamed 'Monogram Ranch,' leased by again independent Monogram Pictures in 1937.

Gene Autry, actor, cowboy singer, and producer, purchased the 'Monogram Ranch' property from the Hickson heirs in 1953, renaming it after his film 'Melody Ranch'. Autry sold of the property, most of the original ranch. From 1940 to 1956 many radio listeners tuned in Sunday afternoons to hear CBS program "Gene Autry's Melody Ranch." A decade after Gene Autry purchased 'Melody Ranch,' a brushfire swept through in August 1962, destroying most of the original standing sets. However, the devastated landscape did prove useful for productions such as Combat!. A complete adobe ranch survived at the northeast section of the ranch.

In 1990, after his famous horse 'Champion,' who lived in retirement there died, Autry put the remaining ranch up for sale. It was purchased by Rene and Andre Veluzat to recreate an active movie ranch for location shooting. The Veluzats have a complex of sound stages, western sets, prop shop, and the backlots, now known as the 'Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio' and 'Melody Ranch Studios.'

The ranch has Museum open year-round; and one weekend a year the entire ranch is open to the public during the Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival, held at the end of April.

Melody Ranch Links:

Melody Ranch: historical sets and filming photos

IMDB: Melody Ranch; Cinema & TV Filmography.

"Movie Magic in Placerita Canyon" Melody Ranch history website

contemporary 'Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio' website

www.melodyranchstudio. Melody Ranch Studio Museum

===Paramount Movie Ranch=== In 1927, Paramount Studios purchased a ranch on Malibu Creek in the Santa Monica Mountains, between Malibu, California and the San Fernando Valley. The studio built numerous large-scale sets on the ranch, including a huge replica of early San Francisco and an Old West town. It posed as Tombstone, Arizona and Dodge City, Kansas, as well as and Tom Sawyer's Missouri, 13th century China, and many other locales and eras around the world.

It is now Paramount Ranch Park in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Since then, the older sets have been removed, but there is a western town at the location for visitors to view. This remaining set of buildings continued to be used in filming, notably for the Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman television series and the short lived HBO series Carnivàle.

The Paramount Movie Ranch was also was the home of the original Renaissance Faire from 1966 to 1989, and continues to be the home of the Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest, held each May.

Paramount Movie Ranch Links:

National Park Service: 'Paramount Ranch'

Paramount Ranch visitor guide

IMDB: Paramount Movie Ranch: Cinema & TV Filmography.

Paramount Movie Ranch: filming history

Paramount Ranch history website

Corriganville Movie Ranch

In about 1937, Ray "Crash" Corrigan invested in a property on the eastern Santa Susana Pass in California's Simi Valley and Santa Susana Mountains, developing his 'Ray Corrigan Ranch' into the 'Corriganville Movie Ranch.' Most of the Range Busters film series were shot here, as well as features, such as "Fort Apache" (1948) "Bullets and Saddles" (1943), and "Saddle Mountain Roundup" (1941).

Corrigan opened the ranch to the public in 1949. In 1966, Corriganville became 'Hopetown' when it was purchased by Bob Hope. It is now part of the Simi Valley Park system, open to the public as the Corriganville Regional Park. Corriganville Regional Park.

LINKS:

Ray 'Crash' Corrigan; bio & photos at Corriganville.

Corriganville Regional Park.

Famous Players-Lasky Movie Ranch - Ahmanson 'Lasky Mesa' Ranch

The location of the Famous Players-Lasky Movie Ranch was in the area known as Lasky Mesa in the southern Simi Hills, in eastern Ventura County, above Hidden Hills and West Hills in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California.

" The Lasky company has acquired a 4,000-acre ranch in the great San Fernando valley of which they have built a large two-story Spanish casa which is to be used in The Rose of the Ranch" which has just been started. The new ground is to be used for big scenes and where a large location is needed. A stock farm is to be maintained on the ranch. It is planned to use 500 people in the story. There will be 150 people transported through Southern California for the mission scenes. The studio will be used for the largest scene ever set up, the whole state and ground space being utilized. " The Moving Picture World, October 10, 1914.

This area is noted for a filming location history of many important movies, including, The Thundering Herd (Famous Players-Lasky Co. 1925), Gone with the Wind (Selznick 1939) and They Died with Their Boots On, "Santa Fe Trail" (Warner Bros. 1940), and many others.

In 1963, the Ahmanson family's Home Savings and Loan purchased the property and adjacent land. Home Savings and Loan was the parent company of Ahmanson Land Company, and so the ranch became known as the Ahmanson Ranch. Washington Mutual Bank (WAMU) took over ownership of Home Savings and proceeded with the development plans for the ranch.

The public advocacy for undeveloped open space pressure was very strong, and development was halted further by new groundwater tests showing migrating contamination of the aquifer with toxic substances from the adjacent Rocketdyne Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) experimental Nuclear Reactor and Rocket Engine Test Facility. The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the State of California purchased the land for public regional park. It Lasky Movie Ranch is now part of the very large Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, with various trails to the Lasky Mesa locale. :See Also:

Lasky Mesa in the Movies

Comprehensive Lasky Mesa Filmography

Vintage Lasky Mesa film sets & setting photos

20th Century Fox Movie Ranch

Located near Malibu, in Calabasas, the 20th Century Fox Movie Ranch (aka: Century Movie Ranch & Fox Movie Ranch) was first purchased in 1946 by 20th Century Fox Studios. From 1956-1957, 20th Century Fox productions filmed their first television series there: My Friend Flicka for CBS television.

The Century Movie Ranch was the main filming location with outdoor sets for the original MASH (film) and subsequent M*A*S*H (TV series). It was used as a location in dozens of films, including a number of the Tarzan movies, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, the original Planet of the Apes film and subsequent television series.

The Fox Movie Ranch property was purchased and preserved in the new state park, Malibu Creek State Park, opened to the public in 1976. Productions have continued to be filmed there since that time.

Spahn Movie Ranch

The Spahn Movie Ranch is a property located on Santa Susana Pass in the Simi Hills above Chatsworth, California.

The Spahn Movie Ranch, once owned by silent film actor William S. Hart, was used to film many westerns, particularly from the 1940s to the 1960s, including Duel in the Sun, and episodes of television's Bonanza and The Lone Ranger. A western town set was located at the ranch.

The Spahn Ranch was once home for the infamous Manson Family. A 1970 mountain wildfire destroyed the film set and the residential structures.

The Spahn Movie Ranch is now part of the Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park.

LINKS:

Santa Susana Pass State Historical Park

Republic Pictures Ranch - Walt Disney Golden Oak Ranch

The former Republic Pictures Movie Ranch off Soledad Canyon became the Walt Disney Golden Oak Ranch in 1959. The ranch is located in central Placerita Canyon near Newhall, California in the northern San Gabriel Mountains foothills. It was named for the Gold discovery of Francisco Lopez in wild onion roots under the "Oak of the Golden Dream", in present day Placerita Canyon State Park. The Ranch was still being used for occasional filming, when Walt Disney took an interest in the property. In 1959, driven by concern that the ranches of other movie studios were gradually being sub-divided, Walt Disney purchased the ranch. During the next five years, the Walt Disney Studios also bought additional land which enlarged the property to .

The Walt Disney Company worked closely with the State of California when a portion of the western border of the ranch was purchased for the Antelope Valley Freeway. This construction was carefully planned so that it didn't intrude into the film settings. In 2009 the Disney Company announced expanding the studio complex, with master planning and environmental impact studies commencing. Golden Oak Ranch is located in Newhall, California.

Big Sky Movie Ranch

Big Sky Ranch is a Movie ranch located in Simi Valley, California. It has been widely used for the filming of Western television and film productions. Some of the past television episodes and productions filmed there include: Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, Highway to Heaven, Father Murphy, The Thorn Birds (TV miniseries), Jericho (TV Series) and Carnivàle.

A more complete list of productions can be found at the Internet Movie Database

Big Sky Ranch is one of the oldest and largest Movie Ranches still in operation in Southern California. The Ranch has been host to countless feature films, television shows, television commercials, music videos, photo shoots and special events over the past fifty years. Big Sky Ranch is a private Movie Ranch located within the Los Angeles 30 Mile Studio Zone. The land was originally owned by J. Paul Getty. The ranch is extremely diverse with hills, valleys, and secluded meadows making it a perfect location for filming. Big Sky Ranch was host to many television series and motion pictures over the years making it one of the most historic movie ranches in the Los Angeles Studio Zone.

Big Sky Movie Ranch

Big Sky Ranch at The Internet Movie Database

Big Sky Ranch at Bonanza: Scenery of The Ponderosa

Other original locations

Bell Moving Picture Ranch

The Bell Moving Picture Ranch, renamed the Bell Location Ranch, is off the Santa Susana Pass in the Simi Hills above the Spahn Movie Ranch site and Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park. Many of the television westerns used the ranch including: "Gunsmoke", "Zorro", "The Monroes", "How the West Was Won", "Dundee and the Culhane", "The Big Valley", and "Have Gun Will Travel". Even "McCloud" used the western street and surrounding area for an episode with Dennis Weaver.

LINK: Bell Location Ranch: History & vintage Photos

Columbia Ranch – Warner Brothers Ranch

Formerly known as the Columbia Ranch and now the "Warner Brothers Ranch", this backlot in Burbank, California served as the filming location for many well-known TV shows, such as I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched and The Partridge Family, as well as numerous feature films, such as High Noon, The Wild One, 3:10 to Yuma and Cat Ballou. Columbia Pictures purchased the original lot in 1934 as additional space to its Sunset Gower location, when the studio was in need for more space and a true backlot. By 1965 the Ranch consisted of 6 main sound stages and numerous large standing sets.

It is commonly believed, though not the case that Leave It to Beaver was filmed here. The Waltons was originally filmed on the Warner Bros. main lot where the main house facade was located until it burned down in late 1991. A recreation of the Walton house was built on the Warner Bros. Ranch lot, utilizing the woodland set occasionally used in the original Fantasy Island series, and as of October, 2009 the facade remains and is sometimes used in other Warner Bros. productions.

Pioneertown

Pioneertown, California, in the Morongo Basin region of Southern California's Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California. The town started as a live-in Old West motion picture set on a movie ranch, built in the 1940s. The movie set was designed to also provide a place for the actors to live, while having their homes used as part of the movie set. A number of Westerns and early television shows were filmed in Pioneertown, including The Cisco Kid and Edgar Buchanan's Judge Roy Bean. Roy Rogers, Dick Curtis, and Russell Hayden were among the original developers and investors, and Gene Autry frequently taped his show at the six-lane Pioneer Bowl bowling alley.

RKO 'Encino Ranch'

The RKO Pictures 'Encino Ranch' was located in present day Encino in the San Fernando Valley, California. It was near the Los Angeles River and the west of the current Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area on Burbank Boulevard. RKO sold the Encino Ranch in 1954, and the 'Encino Village' subdivision was built there with homes designed by architect Martin Stern, Jr.. The movie ranch included a New York street and western town sets. Movies filmed here include "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946) and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1939).

Apacheland Movie Ranch

Located in the Superstition Mountains in central Arizona, and intended to be the "Western Movie Capitol of the World", construction on the Apacheland Studio 'western town' began on February 12, 1959 by Superstition Mountain Enterprises and associates. By June 1960 Apacheland Studio was open for business and filmed its first TV western Stagecoach West and full length movie The Purple Hills.

Actors such as Elvis Presley, Jason Robards, Stella Stevens, Ronald Reagan, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood and Audie Murphy filmed western television shows and movies, such as Gambler II, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Death Valley Days, Blind Justice, Charro!, Have Gun, Will Travel and Ballad of Cable Hogue at the western movie studio for some or all of the filming.

The last full length movie to be filmed was the 1994 HBO movie Blind Justice with Armand Assante, Elizabeth Shue and Jack Black.

On May 29, 1969, a suspicious fire destroyed most of the ranch. Only 7 buildings survived. The sets were soon rebuilt but then almost 35 years later on February 14, 2004, 2 days after its 45th anniversary, another suspicious fire destroyed most of the Apacheland. On October 16, 2004 Apacheland closed its doors to the public permanently. The cause of both fires remain a mystery.

Will Rogers State Historic Park

The former estate of American humorist Will Rogers: with his historic residence, equestrian ranch, and regulation polo field; are now within the Will Rogers State Historic Park beside Rustic Canyon in Pacific Palisades. While not dedicated to location shoots in his era or now, the property has been used for movie, TV, and print ad filming since his death.

Located in the Santa Monica Mountains in western Los Angeles, the property was given to the state for the in 1944, is and open to the public. Extensive restoration is underway. The park link to the

LINKS:

www.parks.ca.gov Will Rogers State Historical Park

Newer Movie Ranches

J.W. Eaves Movie Ranch

Located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the J.W. Eaves Movie Ranch was opened in the early 1960s with their first production being the CBS television series Empire in 1962. Over 250 other productions have filmed here over the years including The Cheyenne Social Club, Chisum, Easy Rider and Young Guns II.

The Eaves Ranch is open to the public. J.W.Eaves at Monument Gallery

For the last eleven years, the Eaves ranch has been home to the Thirsty Ear roots music festival.

Skywalker Ranch

The Skywalker Ranch is not a movie ranch in the traditional sense, but rather is the location of the production facilities for George Lucas and Lucasfilm. Few productions have used this area for location shooting. Based in secluded but open land near Nicasio in Northern California, the property encompasses over , of which all but remain undeveloped in Marin County.

Southfork Ranch

Southfork Ranch is a working ranch in Dallas, Texas that is used for some location filming. Notably, it was the backdrop for the 1980s prime time soap Dallas.

Circle M City

Circle M City, in Sanford, North Carolina, is the set for the Christian movie Cowboy Trail. Backing up to of land, this town features a church that seats 50 people, a mercantile, bank, saloon, livery, jail, costumes, and horses, and family events.

Sable Ranch

A ranch in Santa Clarita, featuring lakes, a western town, a hacienda, barn, fields, and a train. The large field enables the construction of large sets and has been used by numerous film and television series including The A-Team and more recently 24 and Wipeout.

See also

Studio zone

History of cinema

Cinema & Film

Sound stage

Backlot

Location shooting

Role of the Vasquez Rocks in entertainment

References

External links

Columbia Ranch history website

Corriganville history website

Iverson Movie Ranch history website

Golden Ranch

nps.gov-SMMNRA: Maps

The Old Corral - Homepage

Santa Fe movie ranch

Official Apacheland Movie Ranch website

Panoramic and aerial views of the Iverson Movie Ranch 1955 and before.

Category:Film production Category:Scenic design Category:Western films Category:Western (genre) television series Category:Cinema of the United States Category:Ranches Category:San Fernando Valley Category:Simi Valley, California Category:History of Los Angeles County, California Category:History of Ventura County, California Category:Western (genre)

de:Movie ranch

alt	A mid-twenties African American man wearing a sequined military jacket and dark sunglasses. He is walking while waving his right hand, which is adorned with a white glove. His left hand is bare.
background	solo_singer
birth name	Michael Joseph Jackson
alias	Michael Joe Jackson
birth date	August 29, 1958
birth place	Gary, Indiana, U.S.
death date	June 25, 2009
death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
instrument	Vocals
genre	R&B;, pop, rock, soul, dance, funk, disco, New jack swing
occupation	Singer-songwriter, record producer, composer, musician, dancer, choreographer, actor, businessman, philanthropist
years active	1964–2009
label	Motown, Epic, Legacy
associated acts	The Jackson 5
relatives	Janet Jackson (sister), Paris Jackson (daughter)
website	130pxMichael Jackson's signature }}

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5, then the Jacksons in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.

In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style have influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B;, pop and rock artists.

Jackson's 1982 album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was also inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world of pop and rock 'n' roll. Some of his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which have made him the most-awarded recording artist in the history of popular music.

Life and career

Early life and The Jackson 5 (1958–1975)

Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children in an African American working-class family who lived in a small 3-room house in Gary, Indiana, an industrial city near Chicago. His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovah's Witness, and his father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, was a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B; band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy. A sixth brother, Brandon, died shortly after birth.

Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe. In 1980, Jackson won three awards at the American Music Awards for his solo efforts: Favorite Soul/R&B; Album, Favorite Soul/R&B; Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B; Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". That year, he also won Billboard Year-End for Top Black Artist and Top Black Album and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance, also for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". Jackson again won at the American Music Awards in 1981 for Favorite Soul/R&B; Album and Favorite Soul/R&B; Male Artist. Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.

Thriller and Motown 25 (1982–83)

In 1982, Jackson contributed the song "Someone In the Dark" to the storybook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; the record won a Grammy for Best Recording for Children in 1984. In the same year he won another seven Grammys and eight American Music Awards (including the Award of Merit, the youngest artist to win it), making him the most awarded in one night for both award shows. The album topped the Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to have seven Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It," and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." Thriller was certified for 29 million shipments by the RIAA, giving it Double Diamond status in the United States. The album won also another Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical in 1984, awarding Bruce Swedien for his work. Thanks to the Bad album, Bruce Swedien and Humberto Gatica won one Grammy in 1988 for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and Michael Jackson won one Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Leave Me Alone" in 1989. HIStory received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. However, the sales for Invincible were lower than those of his previous releases, due in part to a lack of promotion, no supporting world tour and the label dispute. The album also came out at a bad time for the music industry in general. Jackson rehearsed in Los Angeles in the weeks leading up to the tour under the direction of choreographer Kenny Ortega. Most of these rehearsals took place at the Staples Center, which was owned by AEG. With Thriller, Christopher Connelly of Rolling Stone commented that Jackson developed his long association with the subliminal theme of paranoia and darker imagery. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted this is evident on the songs "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". In "Billie Jean", Jackson sings about an obsessive fan who alleges he has fathered a child of hers. In "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" he argues against gossip and the media. "Beat It" decried gang violence in an homage to West Side Story, and was Jackson's first successful rock cross-over piece, according to Huey. He also observed that the title track "Thriller" began Jackson's interest with the theme of the supernatural, a topic he revisited in subsequent years. In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the charity anthem "We Are the World"; humanitarian themes later became a recurring theme in his lyrics and public persona.

In Bad, Jackson's concept of the predatory lover can be seen on the rock song "Dirty Diana". The lead single "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a traditional love ballad, while "Man in the Mirror" is an anthemic ballad of confession and resolution. "Smooth Criminal" was an evocation of bloody assault, rape and likely murder. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that Dangerous presents Jackson as a very paradoxical individual. He comments the album is more diverse than his previous Bad, as it appeals to an urban audience while also attracting the middle class with anthems like "Heal the World". The first half of the record is dedicated to new jack swing, including songs like "Jam" and "Remember the Time". The album is Jackson's first where social ills become a primary theme; "Why You Wanna Trip on Me", for example, protests against world hunger, AIDS, homelessness and drugs. Dangerous contains sexually charged efforts such as the multifaceted love song, "In the Closet". The title track continues the theme of the predatory lover and compulsive desire. The second half includes introspective, pop-gospel anthems such as "Will You Be There", "Heal the World" and "Keep the Faith"; these songs show Jackson opening up about various personal struggles and worries. In the ballad "Gone Too Soon", Jackson gives tribute to his friend Ryan White and the plight of those with AIDS.

HIStory creates an atmosphere of paranoia. Its content focuses on the hardships and public struggles Jackson went through just prior to its production. In the new jack swing-funk-rock efforts "Scream" and "Tabloid Junkie", along with the R&B; ballad "You Are Not Alone", Jackson retaliates against the injustice and isolation he feels, and directs much of his anger at the media. In the introspective ballad "Stranger in Moscow", Jackson laments over his "fall from grace", while songs like "Earth Song", "Childhood", "Little Susie" and "Smile" are all operatic pop pieces. In the track "D.S.", Jackson launched a verbal attack against Tom Sneddon. He describes Sneddon as an antisocial, white supremacist who wanted to "get my ass, dead or alive". Of the song, Sneddon said, "I have not—shall we say—done him the honor of listening to it, but I've been told that it ends with the sound of a gunshot". Invincible found Jackson working heavily with producer Rodney Jerkins. It is a record made up of urban soul like "Cry" and "The Lost Children", ballads such as "Speechless", "Break of Dawn" and "Butterflies" and mixes hip-hop, pop and R&B; in "2000 Watts", "Heartbreaker" and "Invincible".

Vocal style

Jackson sang from childhood, and over time his voice and vocal style changed noticeably. Between 1971 and 1975, Jackson's voice descended from boy soprano to high tenor. Jackson first used a technique called the "vocal hiccup" in 1973, starting with the song "It's Too Late to Change the Time" from The Jackson 5's G.I.T.: Get It Together album. Jackson did not use the hiccup technique— somewhat like a gulping for air or gasping— fully until the recording of Off the Wall: it can be seen in full force in the "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" promotional video. With the arrival of Off the Wall in the late 1970s, Jackson's abilities as a vocalist were well regarded. At the time, Rolling Stone compared his vocals to the "breathless, dreamy stutter" of Stevie Wonder. Their analysis was also that "Jackson's feathery-timbred tenor is extraordinarily beautiful. It slides smoothly into a startling falsetto that's used very daringly". 1982 saw the release of Thriller, and Rolling Stone was of the opinion that Jackson was then singing in a "fully adult voice" that was "tinged by sadness".

A distinctive deliberate mispronunciation of "come on", used frequently by Jackson, occasionally spelled "cha'mone" or "shamone", is also a staple in impressions and caricatures of him. The turn of the 1990s saw the release of the introspective album Dangerous. The New York Times noted that on some tracks, "he gulps for breath, his voice quivers with anxiety or drops to a desperate whisper, hissing through clenched teeth" and he had a "wretched tone". When singing of brotherhood or self-esteem the musician would return to "smooth" vocals. When commenting on Invincible, Rolling Stone were of the opinion that—at the age of 43—Jackson still performed "exquisitely voiced rhythm tracks and vibrating vocal harmonies". Nelson George summed up Jackson's vocals by stating "The grace, the aggression, the growling, the natural boyishness, the falsetto, the smoothness—that combination of elements mark him as a major vocalist".

Music videos and choreography

Referred to as the King of Music Videos, Steve Huey of Allmusic observed how Jackson transformed the music video into an art form and a promotional tool through complex story lines, dance routines, special effects and famous cameo appearances; simultaneously breaking down racial barriers. Before Thriller, Jackson struggled to receive coverage on MTV, allegedly because he was African American. Pressure from CBS Records persuaded MTV to start showing "Billie Jean" and later "Beat It", leading to a lengthy partnership with Jackson, also helping other black music artists gain recognition. MTV employees deny any racism in their coverage, or pressure to change their stance. MTV maintains that they played rock music, regardless of race. The popularity of his videos on MTV helped to put the relatively young channel "on the map"; MTV's focus shifted in favor of pop and R&B.; His performance on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever changed the scope of live stage show; "That Jackson lip-synced 'Billie Jean' is, in itself, not extraordinary, but the fact that it did not change the impact of the performance is extraordinary; whether the performance was live or lip-synced made no difference to the audience" thus creating an era in which artists re-create the spectacle of music video imagery on stage. Short films like Thriller largely remained unique to Jackson, while the group dance sequence in "Beat It" has frequently been imitated. The choreography in Thriller has become a part of global pop culture, replicated everywhere from Indian films to prisons in the Philippines. The Thriller short film marked an increase in scale for music videos, and has been named the most successful music video ever by the Guinness World Records.

In the 19-minute music video for "Bad"—directed by Martin Scorsese—Jackson began using sexual imagery and choreography not previously seen in his work. He occasionally grabbed or touched his chest, torso and crotch. When asked by Oprah in the 1993 interview about why he grabbed his crotch, he replied, "I think it happens subliminally" and he described it as something that was not planned, but rather, as something that was compelled by the music. "Bad" garnered a mixed reception from both fans and critics; Time magazine described it as "infamous". The video also featured Wesley Snipes; in the future Jackson's videos would often feature famous cameo roles.

}} ;Bibliography

George, Nelson (2004). Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection booklet. Sony BMG.

Further reading

External links

Michael Jackson Live: Best Pics – slideshow by Life magazine

Michael Jackson at MTV

FBI file on Michael Jackson

Category:1958 births Category:2009 deaths Category:African American dancers Category:African American male singers Category:African American record producers Category:African American singer-songwriters Category:American beatboxers Category:American businesspeople Category:American child singers Category:American choreographers Category:American dance musicians Category:American dancers Category:American disco musicians Category:American male singers Category:American boogie musicians Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American rock singers Category:American soul singers Category:American tenors Category:American vegetarians Category:Boy sopranos Category:Brit Award winners Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Category:Drug-related deaths in California Category:English-language singers Category:Epic Records artists Category:Expatriates in Bahrain Category:Former Jehovah's Witnesses Category:Grammy Award winners Michael Jackson Category:Manslaughter victims Category:Motown artists Category:Musicians from Indiana Category:People from Gary, Indiana Category:People from Santa Barbara County, California Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Songwriters from Indiana Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Michael Jackson Category:World Music Awards winners Category:People charged with child sexual abuse Category:Grammy Legend Award

af:Michael Jackson als:Michael Jackson am:ማይክል ጃክሰን ar:مايكل جاكسون an:Michael Jackson roa-rup:Michael Jackson az:Maykl Cekson bn:মাইকেল জ্যাকসন zh-min-nan:Michael Jackson be:Майкл Джэксан be-x-old:Майкл Джэксан bcl:Michael Jackson bg:Майкъл Джаксън bar:Michael Jackson bo:མའེ་ཁོའོ་ཅས་ཁ་ཤུན། bs:Michael Jackson br:Michael Jackson ca:Michael Jackson ceb:Michael Jackson cs:Michael Jackson cbk-zam:Michael Jackson cy:Michael Jackson da:Michael Jackson de:Michael Jackson et:Michael Jackson el:Μάικλ Τζάκσον eml:Michael Jackson es:Michael Jackson eo:Michael Jackson eu:Michael Jackson fa:مایکل جکسون fo:Michael Jackson fr:Michael Jackson fy:Michael Jackson ga:Michael Jackson gv:Michael Jackson gl:Michael Jackson gan:麥可·傑克遜 glk:مایکل جکسون gu:માઇકલ જેકસન hak:Michael Jackson ko:마이클 잭슨 hy:Մայքլ Ջեքսոն hi:माइकल जैक्सन hsb:Michael Jackson hr:Michael Jackson io:Michael Jackson ilo:Michael Jackson id:Michael Jackson ia:Michael Jackson ie:Michael Jackson zu:Michael Jackson is:Michael Jackson it:Michael Jackson he:מייקל ג'קסון jv:Michael Jackson kn:ಮೈಖೇಲ್ ಜ್ಯಾಕ್ಸನ್ ka:მაიკლ ჯექსონი kk:Майкл Джексон rw:Michael Jackson sw:Michael Jackson kv:Джексон Майкл Джозеф ht:Michael Jackson ku:Michael Jackson lad:Michael Jackson la:Michael Jackson lv:Maikls Džeksons lb:Michael Jackson lt:Michael Jackson li:Michael Jackson lmo:Michael Jackson hu:Michael Jackson mk:Мајкл Џексон mg:Michael Jackson ml:മൈക്ക്‌ൾ ജാക്സൺ mt:Michael Jackson mr:मायकेल जॅक्सन arz:مايكل چاكسون mzn:مایکل جکسون ms:Michael Jackson mn:Майкл Жэксон my:မိုက်ကယ်လ် ဂျက်ဆင် nah:Michael Jackson nl:Michael Jackson nds-nl:Michael Jackson ne:माइकल ज्याक्सन new:माइकल ज्याक्सन ja:マイケル・ジャクソン no:Michael Jackson nn:Michael Jackson nov:Michael Jackson oc:Michael Jackson mhr:Джексон, Майкл uz:Michael Jackson pag:Michael Jackson pnb:مائیکل جیکسن pap:Michael Jackson ps:مايکل جېکسن pms:Michael Jackson tpi:Michael Jackson nds:Michael Jackson (Singer) pl:Michael Jackson pt:Michael Jackson kaa:Michael Jackson ro:Michael Jackson qu:Michael Jackson ru:Джексон, Майкл sah:Майкл Джексон se:Michael Jackson sco:Michael Jackson sq:Michael Jackson scn:Michael Jackson si:මයිකල් ජැක්සන් simple:Michael Jackson sk:Michael Jackson sl:Michael Jackson szl:Michael Jackson so:Michael Jackson ckb:مایکڵ جاکسن sr:Мајкл Џексон sh:Michael Jackson su:Michael Jackson fi:Michael Jackson sv:Michael Jackson tl:Michael Jackson ta:மைக்கல் ஜாக்சன் tt:Майкл Джексон te:మైకల్ జాక్సన్ th:ไมเคิล แจ็กสัน tg:Майкл Ҷексон tr:Michael Jackson uk:Майкл Джексон ur:مائیکل جیکسن ug:مايكېل جېكسۇن vi:Michael Jackson vls:Michael Jackson (zanger) war:Michael Jackson wuu:米口 积克森 yi:מייקל זשעקסאן yo:Michael Jackson zh-yue:米高積臣 diq:Michael Jackson bat-smg:Maiklos Džeksuons zh:迈克尔·杰克逊

Chad Mark Reed AM (born 15 March 1982, in Kurri Kurri, Australia) is an Australian motocross and supercross racer. He is a multi-time supercross and motocross champion. He was taught from a young age as being capable of competing at the sports most elite level. He has proven to be the most consistent supercross/motocross racer in the 2000-2009 decade. He has since ascended the international ranks of the sport to become Australia's most successful motocross racer.

Amateur career

After a few years of honing his skills on 80s, Chad’s amateur career really started to take off in 1997 when he took the top spot at the Australian Junior Championship aboard a Suzuki Australia-backed RM125. The following year, he was offered a spot on the Factory Suzuki team, where he piloted his RM250 to win several rounds of the Australian Motocross Championship, but was unable to compete in the Supercross Series because he was not yet sixteen years old.

Australian career

2010 Reed raced the first round of the 2010 Super X series held at Energy Australia Stadium, Newcastle on a Honda sponsored by Vodafone. Reed won the event beating Americans Josh Hansen and Justin Brayton who finished in second and third respectively.

2009 Chad Reed, aboard his new Monster Energy Kawasaki KX-450F, won 4 out of the 7 rounds of the series. Reed won the championship by beating Daniel Reardon by 23 points. This is Reed's fourth Australian Supercross Championship.

2008 In 2008 Reed was responsible for developing and partially funding the new Australian Supercross Championships, dubbed Super-X. He also competed in the series and dominated all but one race to take the Australasian Supercross Championship. Reed won 6 out of the 7 races.

2007 Reed revisited his home in Australia to race the Raymond Terrace, round 4, of the Australian Motocross series. He beat Daniel Reardon with a 1-1 performance, providing Reardon with international notoriety for holding Reed off for a significant portion of the races.

1998-2000 Reed formally began his professional career in Australia in 1998. He emerged from the Australian junior ranks to compete in the then-premier 250cc class, bypassing the traditional stepping stone of 125cc racing. Reed was immediately competitive in both motocross and supercross, winning the Australian 250cc Supercross Championship in 1999 and 2000.

International career

2011 After racing & winning the first round of Super X in Newcastle, Australia in October, Reed returned to the USA to test various bikes and teams searching for a suitable 2011 team structure. Reed embraced social media using Twitter to publish hints as to the likely brand of bike and apparel that he will be using in the 2011 AMA Supercross series. Failing negotiations with established teams, Reed decided to create his own team, TwoTwo Motorsports, aboard a Honda CRF450R, with support from Honda, Bel Ray, Shift and many other sponsors. The 2011 season had been a 5 way battle between Reed, Ryan Villopoto, James Stewart, Jr., Ryan Dungey and Trey Canard. It came down to the final race in las vegas between Ryan Villopoto, Reed, and Ryan Dungey. Reed won the las vegas race but lost the championship by 4 points to Ryan Villopoto. Reed was presented with the "2011 Rock Hard - Ride Hard Bret Michaels Supercross Award." at Vegas for his great work starting a new team and still finishing 2nd in the championship.

2010 For the 2010 season, Reed joined new team mate Ryan Villopoto riding the KX-450F for the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team. Reed failed to finish during the round one final due to a collision with another racer's footpeg, breaking spokes in his front wheel. During round two he collided with James Stewart, Jr. in the final, breaking his hand resulting in another DNF. Reed returned to race round 13 of the supercross series, and despite having a bad start, Reed finished fourth. Chad Reed withdrew from competition stating he has Epstein Barr Virus. In an open letter published on his website Reed admits that becoming a new dad and also the death of his close personal friend Andrew McFarlane may be reasons people look to for his poor performance.

2009 Reed joined team Rockstar Makita Suzuki for the 2009 season. Reed battled hard with his rival James Stewart, Jr. during the 2009 AMA supercross championship, narrowly losing the title to Stewart by 4 points. Chad won 3 races in this season.

Reed elected to race the 2009 motocross season after a 2 year hiatus. He won the AMA Motocross Championship at round ten, out of the 12 round series. He also won the Monster Energy Triple Crown Championship during the motocross season. He won 5 out of the 12 races in this season.

2008 In 2008 Reed won 9 out of 14 races in the AMA Supercross season to edge out Kevin Windham and win the AMA Supercross title for the second time. This was a season full of great battles with Reed duking it out against Davi Millsaps, Kevin Windham, and Josh Hill for race wins, with Reed in the end winning the championship by 13 points over Kevin Windham.

2007 For 2007 Reed announced his plans to leave the factory Yamaha team to form his own private team, similar to Jeremy McGrath in the past. Obtaining support from Yamaha, The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Thor and Nike, even brought in McGrath's former team manager Larry Brooks to spearhead the new effort, dubbed L&M; Racing. Reed took 1 win for the season and finished 2nd in the title chase to James Stewart, Jr..

2006 In 2006 Reed was again very competitive despite suffering a level three shoulder separation in mid-season which hampered his ability to compete to his highest ability. Going into the final event of the season, Reed and Carmichael were tied for the points lead, making the 2006 season the closest AMA Supercross championship in history. Reed took third place that night to Carmichael's second, narrowly losing the 2006 AMA Supercross title to Carmichael by only two points. Reed won 2 races that season.

Reed was in 2nd in the AMA Nationals until he had to withdraw from the Nationals after the Millville round, citing the recurrent shoulder injury.

2005 2005 marked the much anticipated entry of James Stewart to the 250cc class alongside Reed and Carmichael. Each scored multiple wins making for an exciting season but again it was Carmichael winning the championship with 7 wins over Reed in 2nd with 5 wins and Stewart in 3rd with 3 wins.

2004 In 2004 Reed won the 2004 AMA 250cc Supercross series, battling with Kevin Windham, Michael Byrne and Tim Ferry with Chad earning 10 victories for the season.

Reed finished 2nd to Carmichael in that year's motocross season.

2003 Reed moved to the 250cc class in 2003 riding for Factory Yamaha. In his rookie 250cc supercross season Chad finished second to chief rival Ricky Carmichael, losing the title by only 7 points to Carmichael despite winning 8 races to Carmichael's 7.

Reed finished his first 250cc motocross season a distant third behind Carmichael and Kevin Windham.

2002 Reed moved to the USA in 2002 and picked up a ride with Yamaha of Troy. Reed won all but two supercross races that season to win the 125cc East Coast Supercross championship.

Reed won his first and only 125cc National victory at Mount Morris, PA, and finishing the season third behind James Stewart Jr. and Branden Jesseman.

2001 Reed traveled to Europe in 2001 to compete in the FIM World 250ccc Motocross Championships, riding for Jan DeGroot's factory Kawasaki team. Reed was a revelation aboard his KX250, winning the Grand Prix of Lierop (Netherlands) and eventually finishing the year second to multi-time World Champion Mickaël Pichon. He is the first Australian to win a world 250cc GP race.

Sponsorships

In November 2010, Reed announced the formation of his own race team called TwoTwo Motorsports. He recruited a number of industry stalwarts to help with the operation and will ride a Honda CRF450 with technical support from ProCircuit. He announced a sponsorship from Bel-Ray oils and Shift clothing. Honda (2010–present) , Kawasaki (2000–2001,2009–2010), Suzuki (1999–2000,2008–09), Yamaha (2001–2008)

Fox Racing, Shift, Alpinestars, Pro Circuit, Bel-ray Oils

Major Titles

1997 Australian Junior Motocross Champion

1999 Australian Supercross Champion

2000 Australian Supercross Champion

2002 AMA East Coast Lites SX Champion

2003 U.S Open Champion

2003 FIM World Supercross Champion

2004 U.S Open Champion

2004 AMA Supercross Champion

2005 X-Games Supermoto- Bronze Medal

2007 King of Bercy Supercross Champion

2008 AMA/FIM World Supercross Champion

2008 Australian Supercross Champion

2009 Monster Energy Triple Crown MX Champion

2009 AMA National Motocross Champion

2009 AMA Athlete of the Year

2009 Australian Supercross Champion

Honours

On 13 June 2011, Reed was named a Member of the Order of Australia for service to motorsports as a professional supercross motorcycle rider at national and international levels, and to the community.

References

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:People from New South Wales Category:Australian motorcycle racers Category:Motocross riders Category:AMA National Motocross Champions Category:Members of the Order of Australia Category:Recipients of the Centenary Medal

it:Chad Reed fi:Chad Reed sv:Chad Reed File:file:///Users/Jason/Desktop/chad%20reedx-large.jpg

Birth name	Bristol Sheeran Marie Palin
Name	Bristol Palin
Birth date	October 18, 1990Wasilla, Alaska, U.S.
Residence	Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.
Parents	Sarah PalinTodd Palin
Relatives	Track, Willow, Piper, Trig
Partner	Levi Johnston (2005–2009, 2010)
Children	Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston (b. 2008)
Alma mater	Juneau-Douglas High SchoolWest Anchorage High SchoolWasilla High School - (High school diploma, 2009)
Occupation	Spokesperson
Nationality	American }}

Bristol Sheeran Marie Palin (born October 18, 1990) is the second child and oldest daughter of former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd.

After Palin became a single mother at age 18, she began to publicly advocate sexual abstinence for unmarried teens, and is now a paid speaker on the subject of teen pregnancy.

She competed in the fall 2010 season of Dancing with the Stars, where she received lower scores from the judges than some other contestants but was voted through week after week by fans. She reached the finals, finishing in third place.

Early life and education

Palin was born and raised in Wasilla, Alaska. She was named "Bristol" after the Bristol Inn where her mother had been employed; Bristol, Connecticut, the headquarters city of ESPN, where her mother had hoped to work as a sportscaster; and the Bristol Bay region of Alaska, where her father grew up.

Beginning in 2005, Bristol attended Juneau-Douglas High School and began dating Levi Johnston. In 2008, she briefly lived in Anchorage with her aunt and uncle and attended West Anchorage High School. She returned to Wasilla and graduated from Wasilla High School in May 2009.

Career

Abstinence spokesperson

In May 2009, at age 18, Palin started working with the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy to inform young people about the negative consequences of teenage pregnancy. She invited fellow teen moms Maci Bookout and Farrah Abraham to join her in this work. Bill Albert, the campaign's spokesman, said that working with Palin made sense, because "she's had the highest-profile teen pregnancy of the year." Several interviews and pictorials for similar organizations followed. Also in May 2009 Palin was named a Teen Abstinence Ambassador for the Candie’s Foundation, a teen pregnancy prevention organization that is a division of the Candie's clothing brand. In April 2011 it was reported that Palin was paid more than $262,000 by the foundation for her work in 2009. Her duties as a paid spokeswoman involved attending town hall meetings and giving interviews on morning talk shows. On Good Morning America, she stated, "Regardless of what I did personally, abstinence is the only 100% foolproof way you can prevent pregnancy." Before Palin became an abstinence spokeswoman, she told Fox News that abstinence is "not realistic at all", but that she would like it to become more accepted among people her age. Several weeks later, she stated that that quote had been "taken out of context."

Her role as a spokesperson has been controversial. Bonnie Fuller, former editor-in-chief of YM, has questioned whether the net effect of Palin's presentations has glamorized rather than discouraged teen pregnancy, noting that the "picture perfect" imagery of a People magazine spread seemed to make her "the poster girl for teen momhood." On an episode of The Colbert Report, Meghan McCain stated her support for sex education and criticized Palin's sexual abstinence campaign, saying it was "not realistic for this generation." Former MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann declared Palin his "Worst Person in the World" for her advocacy, to which Palin replied "Accusing me of hypocrisy is by now, an old canard... Parents warn their children about the mistakes they made so they are not repeated. Former gang members travel to schools to educate teenagers about the risks of gang life. Recovered addicts lecture to others about the risks of alcohol and drug abuse. And yes, a teen mother talks about the benefits of preventing teen pregnancy."

Palin works on the speakers' circuit asking between $15,000 and $30,000 for each appearance. She has signed with Single Source Speakers and is listed on their website as available for conferences, fundraisers, special events and holidays, as well as women's, youth, abstinence and pro-life programs.

In January 2011 she was invited to speak at Sexual Responsibility Week at Washington University in St. Louis, but students protested the high fee she was to be paid out of student-generated funds and her appearance was cancelled.

Business venture

In September 2009, Palin formed BSMP, a lobbying, public relations and political consulting services firm. While the initial focus will be working with Candie's Foundation, BSMP plans to work with additional clients.

Memoir

On June 21, 2011, Palin released a memoir entitled "Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far", in which she candidly discusses aspects of her personal life, including tensions with the McCain family and losing her virginity. The memoir has received mixed reviews from critics and customers, many of them criticizing her for releasing a memoir at only 20 years old. While some praised her decision to release the memoir, many argue that it is just part of an ongoing publicity stunt.

Television

The Secret Life of the American Teenager

Palin appeared in an episode of the ABC Family network series, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, playing a friend of the fictional character Amy, a 15 year old who is dealing with an unexpected pregnancy. She filmed the scenes in Los Angeles in March 2010; the episode aired on July 5, 2010. "I like doing speaking engagements and stuff like that," she told E!. "I don't think I'll be doing any more acting in the future."

Dancing with the Stars

Palin joined the Fall 2010 season of Dancing with the Stars (DWTS), partnered with professional Mark Ballas, who is a two time champion on the show, having won with Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi in season 6, and with Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson in season 8.

Her long run on the show despite her frequently lower scores from the judges, attracted media attention and speculation. Questions were raised about the integrity of the public voting process including allegations of fraudulent online voting using multiple e-mail addresses. Executives at ABC and the show's executive producer, Conrad Green, stated that "checks and balances" in the system, including IP address verification, prevent such voting practices, and that "[t]here's nothing in the voting that looks dissimilar to previous seasons." Nonetheless, Green speculated that Palin may have received votes for political reasons by backers of her mother in the Tea Party movement, and support from older viewers who had maternal feelings toward her due to her youth and lack of prior experience. Palin herself credited her success to the support of her fans who were tuning in each week to see her improvement.

Palin's success on the show attracted other negative attention, including death threats against her. In one instance, suspicious white powder was received by the show. The powder turned out to be harmless, but as a result, security on the show was tightened.

Palin and her partner finished in third place. Prior to the final show, Palin stated that winning "would be like a big middle finger out there to all the people out there who hate my mom and hate me." Following the competition, she remarked that she was happy with her third place finish, that prayer and faith had helped her, and that she had grown as a person.

Due to her dancing rehearsal schedule, she said she forgot to mail in her absentee ballot for the November 2010 general election.

Sarah Palin's Alaska

Bristol made an appearance on the TLC travelogue/documentary Sarah Palin's Alaska, helping on a commercial halibut fishing boat. During the airing of the first episode, Bristol posted defensive comments on Facebook against posters who criticized the Palin family. Some of Bristol's comments included profanity , for which she later issued an apology.

Music video

While still competing on DWTS, Palin appeared in a music video for an Alaskan symphony rock band, Static Cycle. The video was shot at the Ice Museum in Chena Hot Springs, Alaska, with Palin dressed in a fur hat and coat and played a mother-nature-type role of melting the ice.

Personal life

2008 Republican National Convention and pregnancy announcement

When Sarah Palin was chosen as John McCain's vice presidential running mate in late August 2008, his advisers already knew of Bristol's pregnancy, which they believed would be a political liability. On September 1, the opening day of the 2008 Republican National Convention, it was publicly announced that Palin was pregnant and engaged to Johnston, the father of her unborn child. Palin's entire family, along with Johnston, appeared at the convention. McCain's advisers reportedly thought a wedding between Johnston and Palin would boost the waning popularity of the McCain-Palin ticket. Johnston denied claims that he was being pressured into a shotgun wedding, stating, "We were planning on getting married a long time ago with or without the kid. That was the plan from the start."

Motherhood

Palin and Johnston's son, Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, was born in 2008. She denied claims that her mother's pro life views influenced her decision to give birth to and raise her child, stating, "It doesn't matter what my mom's views are on it. It was my decision."

Palin and Johnston broke off their engagement in March 2009. In November 2009, a custody and child support case was filed in a local Alaska court. Palin asked the court to use pseudonyms for herself and Johnston to keep the normally public proceedings private, arguing that the media attention would not be good for the child. Johnston argued for open proceedings, saying he wanted the case to be decided on the merits, and that he did "not feel protected against Sarah Palin in a closed proceeding." In December 2009, on Tripp's first birthday, the judge ruled in favor of Johnston, and it was publicly announced that the pair had been battling for legal custody. Palin, who wished to win full custody rights and child support consistent with Johnston's income, stated that Johnston had "exercised sporadic visitation rights" and "wants the rights for his own self-promotion". Johnston sought shared custody and lower child support payments. In February 2010 a judge ruled that Johnston had to pay back child support, with a hearing set to determine the amount of ongoing support payments.

That month, Palin and her son began living in a condo she had purchased in Anchorage, where she was working at a dermatologist's office and taking business courses at a community college. In July 2010, Palin and Johnston announced that they had reunited and were again engaged, but less than three weeks later, they ended their second engagement. In August 2010 she moved out of the condo and returned to her parents' home, and the couple reached an agreement giving primary custody to Palin and visitation rights and child support responsibility to Johnston. In December 2010, Palin purchased a five-bedroom house in Maricopa, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, for $172,000 in cash, according to Pinal County property records.

References

External links

Category:1990 births Category:Living people Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Native American descent Category:People from Wasilla, Alaska Category:People associated with the United States presidential election, 2008 Category:Palin family Category:Sarah Palin