Just Married is a 2003 American romantic comedy film directed by Shawn Levy and written by Sam Harper starring Ashton Kutcher and the late Brittany Murphy.^[1] In its opening week, the film was number one, making $17 million at the box office. It stayed in the top 10 for four weeks.

Plot[link]

The film starts off with Tom and Sarah in the airport. A few months earlier, Tom Leezak (Ashton Kutcher) and Sarah McNerney (Brittany Murphy) meet up when Tom accidentally hits Sarah with a football. A few months later, despite opposition from Sarah's rich, uptight family they get married. However they each have a secret that they want to keep from each other: Tom doesn't want Sarah to know that he accidentally killed her dog and Sarah doesn't want Tom to know she slept with Peter Prentiss (Christian Kane). Tom and Sarah decide to honeymoon at a classy hotel at the foot of the Alps. On their way there, they attempt to join the mile high club, but fail when the captain turns on the fasten seat belt sign and they are forced to go back to their seats.

They arrive at the hotel and discover that Tom's friend Kyle left them a present: the Thunderstick A-200, which is a sex toy. Tom tries to plug the toy in the socket, but the plug isn't built for a European outlet and he shuts down the entire village's electricity when he tries to force it in. The newlyweds leave the hotel after Tom has a heated argument with the hotel owner. While trying to find another hotel they crash and get buried under a heap of snow, but they are able to climb out in the morning. Eventually, they get a ride from a truck driver and end up staying at a pensione in Venice. The pensione turns out to be very bad, and they soon check out after Tom discovers a cockroach on his neck while the couple are attempting to make love.

The couple manage to secure a nice hotel with the financial help of Sarah's father, who demands that Tom pay the money back as soon as he can. The next day they go sightseeing in Venice, but Tom quickly gets bored and the couple decide to split up for the day: Tom going to the bar to watch sports and his wife continuing to see Venice. Sarah realizes that Peter is staying at her hotel. This prompts her to initiate a conversation with Tom in which he reveals that he accidentally killed her dog and she reveals she slept with Peter Prentiss. The couple storm out of the hotel and each go their separate ways: Tom going to the bar, where he meets a girl, and Sarah going sightseeing again, where she meets Peter. The girl begins to flirt with Tom and the two end up dancing. When Tom realizes she wants to have sex with him, he makes an excuse and escapes through the toilet window. He goes back to the hotel, only to find out that Sarah is with Peter. This prompts him to go back to the bar, where he meets the girl again, and the girl clearly wants to have sex with him. Tom tries to think of a clever way to get out of this and agrees to walk with the girl to her hotel. Except the girl tricks Tom into revealing his hotel, and in a desperate attempt to go to bed with him, falsely says she's at the same hotel. She tricks Tom again at the hotel and says she's lost her key and needs to call the front desk, Tom all the while trying to avoid this situation. Once in Tom and Sarah's room, the girl rips off her top and bra and tries to have sex with Tom. Tom is doing everything possible to get away. And, as she is mounting him and trying to make out with him, Tom blurts out that he's on his honeymoon, and the girl finally leaves.

Peter convinces Sarah to go with him for a drink, promising her a ride home. He eventually takes her home and kisses her, but she slaps him and tells him that she's on her honeymoon. Tom sees the kiss but does not see her slap him and assumes that Sarah is having a relationship with Peter. This prompts him to initiate an argument with Sarah, during which she finds a bra that the girl who Tom was with left behind. Sarah throws an ashtray at Tom, hitting him in the head, enraging him. Peter bursts in the room tells Sarah to run away with him to Seattle. Tom equips himself with a fire poker and starts shouting at Peter, breaking things in the process. Peter runs away from the scene, asking the maître d' to call the police. Tom chases Peter out of the hotel where Tom gets arrested, and he and Sarah end up in a prison cell. Peter bails them out and this time the couple, angry at each other, decide to go home to Los Angeles.

The film switches to the present, where Sarah has moved out and Tom wants to get back with her. Upon receiving advice from his father (Raymond J. Barry), Tom attempts to break into Sarah's family's household to tell her that he loves her, but gives up after unsuccessfully trying to ram the gate with a Dodge Challenger after unsuccessfully trying to convince her family to open it. However Sarah opens the gate herself after seeing Tom make a romantic speech to the camera and the two rush out to proclaim their love for each other. Sarah's family also finally accepts Tom with her father telling her to go to him after she opens the gate. The film ends with the couple recounting events from the honeymoon and Sarah's family finally approving of their marriage.

Cast[link]

• Ashton Kutcher as Tom Leezak
• Brittany Murphy as Sarah Leezak
• Christian Kane as Peter Prentiss
• David Moscow as Kyle
• Monét Mazur as Lauren
• David Rasche as Mr. McNerney
• Veronica Cartwright as Mrs. McNerney aka Pussy
• Thad Luckinbill as Willie McNerney
• David Agranov as Paul McNerney
• Taran Killam as Dickie McNerney
• Raymond J. Barry as Mr. Leezak
• Valeria Andrews as Wendy
• Karen Strassman as Additional Voices

Release[link]

Critical reception[link]

Just Married was released to overwhelmingly negative reviews with a score of 19% "Rotten" from Rotten Tomatoes.^[2] Two out of five stars from MSN,^[3] and 28 out of 100 from Metacritic.^[4]

The film was nominated for three Razzie Awards including Worst Actor (Ashton Kutcher), Worst Supporting Actress (Brittany Murphy) and Worst Screen Couple (Kutcher and Murphy).

Box office[link]

Just Married was successful at the box office. On a modest budget of $18 million, the film went on to gross $56,127,162 domestically and earned an additional $45,437,773 in foreign box office receipts, giving it a total worldwide gross of $101,564,935.^[5]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Just Married at the Internet Movie Database
• Just Married at AllRovi
• Just Married at Rotten Tomatoes
• Just Married at Metacritic
• Just Married at Box Office Mojo
• Just Married at MSN

Look up just in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Just may refer to:

• "Just" (song), a song by Radiohead
• Just! (series), a series of short-story collections for children by Andy Griffiths
• Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST)
• Just, a 1998 album by Dave Lindholm
• Justice, the idea or act of being just or fair

People with the surname[link]

• Aleksandar Just (1872-1937), Croatian physicist and inventor
• Carl Just (1897–1990), Norwegian journalist
• Cassià Maria Just (1926–2008), Catalan abbot
• Ernest Everett Just (1883–1941), American biologist
• Florian Just (born 1982), German pairs skater
• Gustav Just (1921–2011), East German writer and editor
• Jesper Just (born 1974), Danish artist
• Joe Just (1916-2003), American baseball player
• John Just (1797–1852), English archaeologist and botanist
• John Augustus Just (1854—1908), German-born American chemist and inventor
• Karsten Just (born 1968), East German sprinter
• Klaus Just (born 1964), West German sprinter
• Marcel Just, American psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist
• Myron Just (born 1941), American politician and farmer from North Dakota
• Paul Just (born 1964), German-born Canadian pole vaulter
• Theodore Just (1886–1937), British athlete
• Ward Just (born 1935), American writer

See also[link]

• List of people known as the Just
• All pages beginning with "Just"
• Saint-Just (disambiguation)

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

Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher, September 2008
Born	Christopher Ashton Kutcher (1978-02-07) February 7, 1978 (age 34) Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Occupation	Actor, producer, former fashion model, comedian, television host
Years active	1998–present
Spouse	Demi Moore (m. 2005–present; divorce filed)

Christopher Ashton Kutcher (/ˈkʊtʃər/; born February 7, 1978),^[1] best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model, and comedian, known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show. He also created, produced and hosted Punk'd, and played lead roles in the Hollywood films Dude, Where's My Car?, Just Married, The Butterfly Effect, The Guardian, and What Happens in Vegas. He is also the producer and co-creator of the supernatural TV show Room 401 and the reality TV show Beauty and the Geek. Kutcher currently co-stars in the hit CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men as the character Walden Schmidt.

Early life[link]

Kutcher was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He is the son of Diane (née Finnegan), a Procter & Gamble employee, and Larry M. Kutcher, a factory worker.^[2][3] His father is of Bohemian (Czech) descent and his mother is of Irish, German, and Bohemian ancestry.^[4][5] Kutcher was raised in a conservative Roman Catholic family,^[6] with an older sister, Tausha, and a fraternal twin, Michael, who had a heart transplant when the brothers were young children. Kutcher's twin brother also has cerebral palsy and is a spokesperson for the advocacy organization Reaching for the Stars.^[7]

Kutcher's brother's cardiomyopathy caused his home life to become increasingly stressful. He has stated that "I didn't want to come home and find more bad news about my brother" and "kept myself so busy that I didn't allow myself to feel".^[8] Kutcher stated that during adolescence, he contemplated committing suicide. At thirteen, he attempted to jump from a Cedar Rapids hospital balcony, with his father intervening in the incident.^[9] Kutcher attended Washington High School in Cedar Rapids for his freshman year, before his family moved to Homestead, Iowa, where he attended Clear Creek Amana High School. During high school, he developed a passion for acting and appeared in school plays.^[10] However, Kutcher's home life worsened as his parents divorced when he was sixteen. During his senior year, he broke into his high school at midnight with his cousin in an attempt to steal money; he was arrested leaving the scene. Kutcher was convicted of third-degree burglary and sentenced to three years' probation and 180 hours of community service. Kutcher stated that although the experience "straightened him out", he lost his girlfriend and anticipated college scholarships, and he was ostracized at school and in his community.^[10]

Kutcher enrolled at the University of Iowa in August 1996, where his planned major was biochemical engineering, motivated by the desire to find a cure for his brother's heart ailment.^[3] At college, Kutcher was kicked out of his apartment for being too "noisy" and "wild".^[11] Kutcher stated, "I thought I knew everything but I didn't have a clue. I was partying, and I woke up many mornings not knowing what I had done the night before. I played way too hard. I am amazed I am not dead."^[12] To earn money for his tuition, Kutcher worked as a college summer hire in the cereal department for the General Mills plant in Cedar Rapids, and sometimes donated blood for money.^[13] During his time at UI he was approached by a scout at a bar called "The Airliner" in Iowa City and was recruited to enter the "Fresh Faces of Iowa" modeling competition. After placing first, he dropped out of college and won a trip to New York City to the International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) Convention. Following his stay in New York City, Kutcher returned to Cedar Rapids before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.^[11]

Career[link]

Modeling career[link]

After participating as a modeling contestant in an IMTA competition (losing to Josh Duhamel) in 1998, Kutcher signed with the Next modeling agency in New York, appeared in ads for Calvin Klein, and modeled in Paris and Milan.^{[citation needed]}

Television and film career[link]

Kutcher with Two and a Half Men co-star Jon Cryer in September 2011

After some success in modeling, Kutcher moved to Los Angeles and, after his first audition,^{[citation needed]} was cast as Michael Kelso in the television series That '70s Show, which debuted in 1998 and ended in 2006. Kutcher was cast in a series of film roles; although he auditioned but was not cast for the role of Danny Walker in Pearl Harbor (2001) (the role went to Josh Hartnett), he starred in several comedy films, including Dude, Where's My Car? (2000), Just Married (2003), and Guess Who (2005). He appeared in the 2003 family film, Cheaper By The Dozen, playing a self-obsessed actor. His 2004 film The Butterfly Effect was a dramatic role for Kutcher, playing a conflicted young man who time travels; the film received mixed to negative reviews, but was a box office success.^[10]

In 2003, Kutcher produced and starred in his own series, MTV's Punk'd, as the host. The series involved hidden camera tricks performed on celebrities. Kutcher is also an executive producer of the reality television shows Beauty and the Geek, Adventures in Hollyhood (based around the rap group Three 6 Mafia), The Real Wedding Crashers, and the game show Opportunity Knocks. Many of his production credits, including Punk'd, come through Katalyst Films, a production company he runs with partner Jason Goldberg.^[14] In 2006, People magazine ranked him third in its annual list of "The Sexiest Men Alive".^[15]

Because of scheduling conflicts with the filming of The Guardian, Kutcher was forced not to renew his contract for the eighth and final season of That 70s Show, although he did appear in the first four episodes of it (credited as a special guest star) and returned for the series finale.^[10]

Kutcher produced and starred in the 2010 action comedy, Killers, in which he played a hitman.^[16]

In May 2011, Kutcher was announced as Charlie Sheen's replacement on the series Two and a Half Men.^[17] Kutcher's contract was for one year and was believed to be worth nearly $20 million.^[18] His debut as the character Walden Schmidt, entitled "Nice to Meet You, Walden Schmidt", was seen by 28.7 million people on September 19, 2011. The Nielsen ratings company reported that figure was more than any episode in the show's first eight seasons, when Sheen starred in it.^[19][20]

Other work[link]

Kutcher was part of the management team for Ooma, a tech start-up launched in September 2007. Ooma is in the Voice over Internet Protocol business and Kutcher's role was as Creative Director. He spearheaded a marketing campaign and produced viral videos to promote this service. Kutcher also created an interactive arm of Katalyst called Katalyst Media, with his partner from Katalyst Films, Jason Goldberg. Their first site was the animated cartoon Blah Girls. Ooma revamped its sales and marketing strategy with a new management team in the summer of 2008, replacing Kutcher as their creative director. Rich Buchanan, from Sling Media, became Ooma's Chief Marketing Officer.

Kutcher appears in advertisements for Nikon cameras.

On March 23, 2011, Kutcher launched his own Twitter client with UberMedia, called A.plus. While the app was initially available exclusively for desktop computers with Adobe Air installed, it eventually became available on mobile platforms, for iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry. In order to download on one of the 3 mobile platforms, users must first have the UberSocial client installed on their device, and then proceed to the device's browser to download A.plus.^[21][22]

In July 2011, Brazilian fashion label Colcci hired Kutcher and Alessandra Ambrosio to feature in a denim advertisement.^[23]

Personal life[link]

Kutcher and Moore, September 2008

In 2003, Kutcher began dating actress Demi Moore. Moore and Kutcher married on September 24, 2005,^[24] in a private ceremony conducted by a Rabbi of the Kabbalah Center; the wedding was attended by about 150 close friends and family of the couple, including Bruce Willis, Moore's ex-husband.^[25] In October 2010, Kutcher and Moore met with co-director of the Kabbalah Center Rabbi Yehuda Berg in Israel.^[26] On November 17, 2011, Moore released a statement announcing her intention to divorce Kutcher.^[27] The announcement followed weeks of media speculation about the state of the couple's marriage.^[28]

Kutcher has invested in an Italian restaurant, Dolce^[10] (other owners include Danny Masterson and Wilmer Valderrama) and a Japanese-themed restaurant named Geisha House located in Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York.

Kutcher is a self-described fiscal conservative and social liberal.^[29] He is a student of Kabbalah; his No Strings Attached co-star, Natalie Portman, stated in 2011 that Kutcher "has taught me more about Judaism than I think I have ever learned from anyone else".^[30]

On September 17, 2008, Kutcher was named the assistant coach for the freshman football team at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. However, he was unable to return in 2009 because he was filming Spread.^[31][32]

In February 2011, Kutcher sold his Hollywood Hills home, which he originally bought in 2004.^[33]

In April 2012, Ashton Kutcher became the 500th paying customer to sign up to ride Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo.^[34]

Twitter presence[link]

On April 16, 2009, Kutcher became the first user of Twitter to have more than 1,000,000 followers,^[35] beating CNN in the "Million followers contest".^[36][37][38] Kutcher announced via Twitter that he would be donating $100,000 to a charity to fight malaria. However, there have been several reports that Twitter manipulated the contest's results by preventing users from "unfollowing" Kutcher or CNN.^[39]

Controversy[link]

In April 2011, Kutcher and wife Demi Moore began a public service announcement campaign claiming that "Real Men" do not engage the services of child prostitutes who are the victims of human trafficking.^[40] Kutcher's claims that 100,000 to 300,000 American children were sold into sexual slavery were criticized by newspaper the Village Voice, which gave evidence refuting the claims. Kutcher represented a study referring to minors 'at risk' for sexual exploitation as referring to children actually being prostituted. Experts estimate the true numbers to be in the hundreds, not the hundreds of thousands.^[41] Kutcher reacted to the criticism by accusing the Village Voice of promoting child prostitution and using Twitter to request that Village Voice advertisers including American Airlines, Disney, the City of Seattle, and Domino's Pizza withdraw their advertising from publications owned by the parent company of the Village Voice.^[42][43]

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

As a producer[link]

Awards[link]

• Young Artist Award
  • 1999 – Best Performance in a TV Series – Young Ensemble for That '70 Show (shared with Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, Mila Kunis, Wilmer Valderrama and Danny Masterson)- Nominated
• Kid's Choice Awards
  • 2004 – Favorite Movie Actor for Just Married, My Boss's Daughter and Cheaper by the Dozen – Nominated
  • 2004 – Favorite Television Actor for That '70s Show and Punk'd – Winner
  • 2005 – Favorite TV Actor for That '70s Show and Punk'd – Nominated
  • 2006 – Favorite TV Actor for That '70s Show – Nominated
  • 2007 – Favorite Voice in a Cartoon for Open Season – Nominated
• People's Choice Awards
  • 2010 – Favorite Web Celeb – Winner
• Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award
  • 2000 – Sierra Award Best Male Newcomer for Dude, Where's My Car? – Nominated
• MTV Movie Awards
  • 2001 – Breakthrough Male Performance for Dude, Where's My Car? – Nominated
  • 2011 – Best Comedic Performance for No Strings Attached – Nominated
• Teen Choice Awards
  • 2003 – Choice Reality Hunk for Punk'd – Winner
  • 2003 – Choice TV Reality/Variety Host for Punk'd- Winner
  • 2003 – Choice TV Actor – Comedy for That '70s Show – Winner
  • 2004 – Choice TV Personality – Winner
  • 2004 – Choice Reality/Variety TV Star – Male for Punk'd – Winner
  • 2004 – Choice TV Actor – Comedy for That '70s Show – Winner
  • 2004 – Choice Movie Hissy Fit for Cheaper by the Dozen – Nominated
  • 2004 – Choice Movie Liplock Cheaper by the Dozen (shared with Piper Perabo) – Nominated
  • 2005 – Choice: TV Male Personality for Punk'd – Winner
  • 2005 – Choice TV Actor: Comedy for That '70s Show – Winner
  • 2005 – Choice Movie Actor: Comedy for Guess Who and A Lot Like Love – Nominated
  • 2005 – Choice Movie Rockstar Moment for A Lot Like Love – Winner
  • 2007 – Choice Movie Actor: Drama for The Guardian – Nominated
  • 2008 – Choice: Movie Actor Romantic Comedy for What Happens In Vegas – Winner
  • 2010 – Choice: Movie Actor Romantic Comedy for Valentine's Day – Winner
  • 2011 – Choice: Movie Actor Romantic Comedy for No Strings Attached – Winner
  • 2012 - Choice TV Actor: Comedy for Two and a Half Men - Pending
• Golden Raspberry Awards
  • 2003 – Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple for Just Married (shared with Brittany Murphy) and My boss's Daughter (shared with Tara Reid) – Nominated
  • 2004 – Razzie Award for Worst Actor for Cheaper By The Dozen, Just Married and My Boss's Daughter – Nominated
  • 2010 – Razzie Award for Worst Actor for Killers – Winner

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ashton Kutcher

• Ashton Kutcher at the Internet Movie Database
• Ashton Kutcher at AllRovi
• Ashton Kutcher at People.com
• Ashton Kutcher on Twitter

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. One of the most popular and successful country and Western singers of his era, for most of his nearly four-decade career, Robbins was rarely far from the country music charts, and several of his songs also became pop hits.

Biography[link]

Robbins was born in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona. He was reared in a difficult family situation. His father took odd jobs to support the family of ten children. His father's drinking led to divorce in 1937. Among his warmer memories of his childhood, Robbins recalled having listened to stories of the American West told by his maternal grandfather, Texas Bob Heckle. Robbins left the troubled home at the age of 17 to serve in the United States Navy as an LCT coxswain during World War II. He was stationed in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific. To pass the time during the war, he learned to play the guitar, started writing songs, and came to love Hawaiian music.

After his discharge from the military in 1945, he began to play at local venues in Phoenix, then moved on to host his own show on KTYL. He thereafter had his own television show on KPHO-TV in Phoenix. After Little Jimmy Dickens made a guest appearance on Robbins' TV show, Dickens got Robbins a record deal with Columbia Records. Robbins became known for his appearances at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.

In addition to his recordings and performances, Robbins was an avid race car driver, competing in 35 career NASCAR races with six top 10 finishes,^[2] including the 1973 Firecracker 400.^[3] In 1967, Robbins played himself in the car racing film Hell on Wheels.^[4] Robbins was partial to Dodges, and owned and raced Chargers and then a 1978 Dodge Magnum. His last race was in a Junior Johnson-built 1982 Buick Regal in the Atlanta Journal 500 on November 7, 1982, the month before he died. In 1983, NASCAR honored Robbins by naming the annual race at Nashville the Marty Robbins 420. He was also the driver of the 60th Indianapolis 500 Buick Century pace car in 1976.

He ran many of the big super speedway races including Talladega Superspeedway in 1972, when he stunned the competition by turning laps that were 15 mph faster than his qualifying time. Apparently, in his motel room, Robbins had knocked the NASCAR-mandated restrictors out of his carburetor. After the race, NASCAR tried to give him the Rookie of the Race award, but Robbins would not accept it, admitting he was illegal because he "just wanted to see what it was like to run up front for once."

Robbins was awarded an honorary degree by Northern Arizona University.

On September 27, 1948, Robbins married Marizona Baldwin (September 11, 1930–July 10, 2001) to whom he dedicated his song "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife". They had two children, a son Ronny (born 1949) and daughter Janet (born 1959), who also followed a singing career in Los Angeles, California.

Robbins later portrayed a musician in the 1982 Clint Eastwood film Honkytonk Man. Robbins died a few weeks before the film's release in December 1982 of complications following cardiac surgery. At the time of his death, Robbins lived in Brentwood in Williamson County, outside Nashville. He was interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville. The city of El Paso, Texas later honored Robbins by naming a park and a recreational center after him. Marty's twin sister Mamie Ellen Robinson Minotto died on March 14, 2004, when she was part way through writing a book about her brother "Some Memories: Growing up with Marty Robbins" as remembered by Mamie Minotto, as told to Andrew Means. It was published in January 2007.

Music and honors[link]

Robbins' 1957 recording of "A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[5] His musical accomplishments include the Grammy Award for his 1959 hit and signature song "El Paso", taken from his album Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs. "El Paso" was the first song to hit No. 1 on the pop chart in the 1960s. It was followed up, successfully, by "Don't Worry", which reached No. 3 on the pop chart in 1961, becoming his third, and last, Top 10 pop hit. "El Paso" was followed by two sequels: "Feleena" and "El Paso City", both of which continued the story featured in the original song. Also in 1961, Robbins wrote the words and music and recorded "I Told the Brook," a ballad later recorded by Billy Thorpe.

He won the Grammy Award for the Best Country & Western Recording 1961, for his follow-up album More Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, and was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1970, for "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife". Robbins was named Artist of the Decade (1960–69) by the Academy of Country Music, was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982, and was given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998 for his song "El Paso".

Robbins was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975. For his contribution to the recording industry, Robbins has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6666 Hollywood Blvd.

Robbins has been honored by many bands, including the Grateful Dead who covered "El Paso". The Who's 2006 album Endless Wire includes the song "God Speaks of Marty Robbins". The song's composer, Pete Townshend, explained that the song is about God deciding to create the universe just so he can hear some music, "and most of all, one of his best creations, Marty Robbins."^[6] The Beasts of Bourbon released a song called "The Day Marty Robbins Died" on their 1984 debut album The Axeman's Jazz. Johnny Cash recorded a version of "Big Iron" as part of his American Recordings series, which is included in the Cash Unearthed box set. Both Frankie Laine and Elvis Presley, among others, recorded versions of Robbins' song "You Gave Me a Mountain", with Laine's recording reaching the pop and adult contemporary charts in 1969.

Robbins performed and recorded several songs by longtime songwriter Coleman Harwell, most notably "Thanks But No Thanks" in 1964; Robbins and his producers employed the top sessions musicians and singers including the Jordanaires to record Harwell's songs. Harwell is the nephew of former Nashville Tennessean newspaper editor Coleman Harwell.

When Robbins was recording his 1961 hit "Don't Worry", session guitarist Grady Martin accidentally created the electric guitar "fuzz" effect -- his guitar was run through a faulty channel in a mixing console. Marty decided to keep it in the final version. The song reached No. 1 on the country chart, and No. 3 on the pop chart.

Robbins' song "Big Iron", originally released on his 1959 album Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, gained renewed popularity following its use in the video game Fallout: New Vegas.

NASCAR[link]

Marty loved NASCAR racing and as he had the funds to do so, he raced occasionally. His cars were built and maintained by Cotton Owens. Marty Robbins ran typically at Talladega Superspeedway, Daytona International Speedway, and many other tracks. In 1983, one year after Robbins' death, NASCAR named the Nashville Fair Grounds race the Marty Robbins 420 in honor of him. Robbins typically ran either #42 or #22. He typically ran Dodge Daytonas or Fords. His final racecar, a 1978 Dodge Magnum, was superbly restored and donated to the Talledega Museum by his family, and was displayed there from 1983 to 2008. The car is now in private hands in Southern California and raced on the Vintage NASCAR club circuit.

Discography[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• IMDb Bio Retrieved on 2008-01-25
• Pruett, Barbara J. "Marty Robbins: Fast Cars and Country Music". Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. 2007. ISBN 0-8108-6036-8
• Diekman, Diane "Twentieth Century Drifter: The Life of Marty Robbins" (Music in American Life). 2012.
• "Fallout: New Vegas" Big Iron is used on Radio New Vegas
• Marty Robbins can also be heard in Silent Hill Downpour.

External links[link]

• Official Marty Robbins Web site
• Robbins page at Country Music Hall of Fame
• Robbins page at Western Music Association
• Robbins page at Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
• Robbins bio by Hank Davis at Allmusic
• Robbins page by Gaylen Duskey at NASCAR
• The short film Country Style USA Recruitment: Episode 8 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• The short film Country Style USA Recruitment: Episode 34 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]

Sunidhi Chauhan
Sunidhi Chauhan at the launch of Indian Idol 6.
Background information
Birth name	Nidhi Chauhan
Born	(1983-08-14) 14 August 1983 (age 28) New Delhi, India
Genres	playback singing, Indipop
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocalist
Years active	1996–present

Sunidhi Chauhan (born Nidhi Chauhan^[1] on 14 August 1983) is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi film songs in Bollywood. She has also recorded songs for Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bhojpuri, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati films .^[2]

Chauhan began to sing at the age of four^[3] and was discovered by a local TV anchor.^[4] She won recognition through a televised singing contest, Meri Awaz Suno, which she won, and made her entrance into playback singing with the Hindi film Shastra.^[4]

Her breakthrough was Ram Gopal Varma's film Mast, in which she sang the hit song, "Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi."^[4] She has been nominated for fourteen Filmfare Awards, winning it on three occasions. She has won two Star Screen Awards, two IIFA Awards and one Zee Cine Award.

Early career[link]

Sunidhi Chauhan family hail from Uttar Pradesh. She started her singing career as a child, giving her first performance at the age of four, in a local temple in Delhi.^[3] Thereafter, she began to participate in, and sing for, competitions and local gatherings. When local TV anchor, Tabassum, spotted her talent, her family shifted to Mumbai in a bid to further develop the young singer's skills, and Chauhan became the lead singer in Kalyanji's 'Little Wonders' troupe.^[4]

Recognition first met her in 1996, through the music show Meri Aawaz Suno — the first such televised contest in India — which was broadcast through the Indian national television channel, Doordarshan. She won the competition and bagged the top prize of recording an album, Aira Ghaira Nathu Khaira, with HMV.^[4]

Unluckily for Chauhan, Aira Ghaira Nathu Khaira was promoted as a children's album and failed to get the recognition it deserved.^[4] In 2002, Chauhan herself observed this in an interview:

"My first song and the contest did not help me much. Nothing happened for a while. But by then, I had made up my mind that I will pursue singing as a career."^[5]

Chauhan stepped into the world of playback singing with the 1996 Bollywood film, Shastra,^[2][4] after Aadesh Srivastava asked her to lend her voice to the song "Larki Deewaani Dekho, Ladka Deewaana."^[5] She followed it with work in films like Gang, Veergati, Dahek, Bade Dilwala, Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat and Samar. By the age of nineteen, Chauhan had already lent her voice to over 350 songs.^[5]

Breakthrough and later work[link]

Chauhan's breakthrough was Ram Gopal Varma's Mast, in which she sang the hit song, "Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi" and three others, including the title song.^[4] In an interview, while speaking of Mast, she said:

"Whatever I am today, I owe to Mast. I met Sandeep Chowta through Sonu Nigam, and fifteen days later, Mast was in my lap. I was only sixteen then."^[5]

In February 2007, as part of its marketing campaign and launch of Windows Vista in India, Microsoft hired Sunidhi Chauhan to sing the "Windows Vista Song"^[2] titled "Wow is Now". This song features English and Hindi lyrics proclaiming the many 'glamorous' features of the Windows Vista operating system.

Chauhan sung for the Hindi-dubbed version of Disney's movie, High School Musical^[2] — songs which were sung by Vanessa Anne Hudgens in the English version. Moreover, she was the singer of the English language song "Reach Out" at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Asian Games at Doha, Qatar.^[2]

2008 was a highly successful year for the young singer, as she went on to deliver a huge number of superhit songs like "Chhaliya" (Tashan), "Rock Mahi," "Lucky Boy," "Desi Girl" (Dostana), "Dance Pe Chance" (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi), and "Race Saanson Ki" (Race), and which resulted in her winning the "Kelvinator GR8! FLO Women Award 2009" for her contribution to music.^[6][7]

In April 2010, Chauhan joined Anu Malik and Salim Merchant as a judge on the fifth season of the immensely popular singing talent show, Indian Idol 5. She will also be judging the sixth season of Indian Idol alongside Anu Malik and Salim Merchant.

Due to her high pitch voice and outstanding stage performances Sunidhi got "Chevrolet GIMA (Global Indian Music Awards) of Best Live Performer- Female"

Sunidhi Chauhan also joined Pitbull, John Ledend, K'Naan and Alicia Keys in the Western Union's World Of Betters to raise fund. Sunidhi sang two English songs, "Call me" and "Valentine". She moved the money to disadvantaged girls of Mumbai to help them discover their inner beauty

Collaborations[link]

Chauhan has collaborated with Indian singers such as Alka Yagnik, Shaan and Udit Narayan. She is known for her popular pairing with Sukhwinder Singh (in films such as Omkara and Aaja Nachle). She is most often paired with singer Sonu Nigam and with the female playback singer Shreya Ghoshal, whom critic's view as a stiff competitor of Chauhan.^[8] She had done a duet with Pakistani singer Faakhir Mehmood for album Mantra, She has also colaborated with Enrique Iglesias, on a song titled as "Heartbeat (India Mix)" which was included on Iglesias' album Euphoria (Special Indian Edition).

Lyricists she has worked with include Jaideep Sahni, Irshad Kamil, Gulzar, Sameer, Prasoon Joshi, Swanand Kirkire, Javed Akhtar and Anand Bakshi;^{[9][unreliable source?]} and the music directors include Vandemataram Srinivas, Bappi Lahiri, A. R. Rahman, Ilaiyaraja, Yuvan, Himesh Reshammiya, Anu Malik, Jatin Lalit, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Pritam Chakraborty, Rajesh Roshan, Nadeem-Shravan, Anand-Milind, Vishal-Shekhar, M. M. Keeravani and others.^[5][9]

Chauhan is one of the few female singers of the present generation who have lent there voice for most of the leading actressess in the Hindi entertainment industry, among those include Madhuri Dixit, Kajol, Aishwarya Rai, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukerji, Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Konkona Sen Sharma. She has also sung for actresses of yester year cinema, such as Rekha.^[10] She was the main singer who lent voice for the comebacks of two leading Bollywood actresses; Kajol, in the movie (Fanaa), and Madhuri Dixit (Aaja Nachle).^[10]

In 2011, Chauhan got her breakthrough in international pop world by collaborating with international pop star Enrique for Hindi version of song Heartbeat and becomes first Indian female singer for an international collaboration.

Special appearances[link]

In October 2008, Chauhan appeared on a special episode of the singing contest, Star Voice of India, alongside composer Ashu Dhruv, to promote their film, Drona.^[11]

She was a guest RJ for India's Radio City 91.1 FM's new morning show, Musical-e-Azam^[12] where, over her week-long stint, she interviewed the likes of Kunal Ganjawala, Daler Mehendi, Sukhwindar, Adnan Sami and Gulzar.

She also appeared on the Femina Miss India 2011 contest and X-factor India to promote her song HEARTBEAT, a song in collaboration with the international pop star Enrique Iglesias in his album Euphoria.

Personal life[link]

Chauhan was born in Delhi. Her father is a minor theatre personality who pushed her into the music industry from a young age. She has a younger sister, Suneha.^[13]

Chauhan, who believes herself to be "the most versatile singer today," attributes her success to her parents and Indian singer Sonu Nigam.^[2] She has cited Sadma (1983) as her favourite film; gymnastics and cricket as her favourite sports; and Akshaye Khanna and Madhuri Dixit as her favourite actors.^[14] Chauhan also loves western music and cites Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson as her inspirations. She has noted that one of her ambitions is to achieve global fame like they did.^[4] She is known for her admiration of international divas Celine Dion and Whitney Houston.

After entering the film industry, Chauhan upgraded her wardrobe and lost twelve kilos by jogging and working out.^[5] In an early interview, she revealed a "secret dream" of seeing herself as a Bollywood actress, saying, "I have many acting offers too, but I don't want to rush it. Frankly, I would like to do just one or two films to fulfill that secret dream of seeing myself as an actress. But my life is singing and my aim is to keep singing better."^[5]

In 2002, at the age of 18, Chauhan ran away with director and choreographer Bobby Khan, after working on the music video for "Pehla Nasha."^[15] It was reported that the couple married in a secretly arranged ceremony, attended only by very close friends and vigilantly watched over by security.

Chauhan was initially happy with the marriage. In an interview, she said:

"My in-laws don't make me feel I am 'married'. I don't feel I have stepped into a new house. I am so comfortable. And Bobby is a darling. I am very, very happy."^[5]

On the downside, the marriage caused a rift between the young singer and her parents, who considered the union unsuitable and consequently disowned her.^[16] However, Chauhan and Khan separated a year later, bringing about a reconciliation between the estranged parents and daughter.^[17] Chauhan, who lived with mentor, actor and TV anchor, Annu Kapoor and his wife Arunita during the separation, filed for divorce the same year, citing that she had realized she and Khan "wanted different things from life."

On April 27, 2012, Sunidhi Chauhan tied the knot childhood friend and music composer Hitesh Sonik at a low profile wedding ceremony in Mumbai, but the reception the couple threw saw some colleagues from the industry in attendance. Asha Bhonsle, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Smita Thackeray, Alka Yagnik, Konkona Sen Sharma were spotted at the reception.

^[18]

Filmography[link]

• Ehsaas - A Feeling (Released November 30, 2001) (Special Appearance)
• Bhoot (Special Appearance in Promotional Song Bhoot Hoon Main)
• Bas Ek Pal (Special Appearance in Promotional Song Dheeme Dheeme with singer K.K.)

Awards and honors[link]

Other Awards and Honors

2009: Kelvinator GR8! FLO Women Award

2010: Chevrolet GIMA (Global Indian Music Awards) of Best Live Performer- Female

2010: Best Visualized Song Track (Female) - Udi - Aishwarya Rai Bachchan & Sunidhi Chauhan

2010: Big Star Entertainment Award for Singer of The Decade- Sunidhi Chauhan

2011: Massal Award for Best International Female Vocalist Award- Sunidhi Chauhan

Kannada Film[link]

• Mungaru Male. Director Yograj Bhat

References[link]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/music/news-and-interviews/Sunidhi-Chauhans-I-do-date-set/articleshow/12822801.cms

External links[link]

• Official website
• Sunidhi Chauhan at the Internet Movie Database