name	Polly Bergen
birth name	Nellie Paulina Burgin
birth date	July 14, 1930
birth place	Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
occupation	Actress, singer, entrepreneur
years active	1949–present
spouse	2 children }}

Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930) is an American actress, singer, and entrepreneur.

Career

Bergen appeared in many film roles, most notably in the original ''Cape Fear'' (1962) opposite Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum. She had roles in three Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedy films in the early 1950s: ''At War with the Army'', ''That's My Boy'', and ''The Stooge''.

Bergen portrayed the first female President of the United States in the 1964 comedy ''Kisses for My President'', co-starring Fred MacMurray as her "First Gentleman."

Later roles included Mrs. Vernon-Williams in ''Cry-Baby'', a 1990 John Waters film.

Bergen received an Emmy award for her portrayal of singer Helen Morgan in a May 1957 episode of the television series ''Playhouse 90'' on CBS. Sylvia Sidney played her mother on the episode. Signed to Columbia Records, she also enjoyed a successful recording career during this era.

She was a regular panelist on the CBS game show ''To Tell the Truth'' during its original run. She also appeared on the NBC interview program ''Here's Hollywood''.

In 1963, Bergen co-starred with Doris Day and James Garner in the film comedy ''Move Over, Darling''. Garner's character marries hers when he believes his long-lost wife (Day) to be deceased, only to have her turn up. The script initially was in production starring Marilyn Monroe and Dean Martin under the name ''Something's Got to Give'', but after Monroe died, Martin declined to begin again with a new leading lady. Bergen took over the role of Bianca, in which Cyd Charisse had originally been cast.

Bergen earned an Emmy nomination for her role as Rhoda Henry, wife of Capt. Victor "Pug" Henry (played by Mitchum) in two ABC miniseries: ''The Winds of War'' and ''War and Remembrance'', its sequel.

She starred in a 2001 Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's ''Follies'' at the Belasco Theater and received a Tony Award nomination as Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

She also appeared as Fran Felstein on HBO's ''The Sopranos'', the former mistress of Tony Soprano's father, and former acquaintance of John F. Kennedy.

From 2007 to 2010, Bergen had a guest role in ''Desperate Housewives'' as Lynette Scavo's mother, Stella Wingfield, which earned her an Emmy Award nomination.

Bergen became a semi-regular cast member of 2006's ''Commander-in-Chief'' as the mother of Mackenzie Allen, the President of the United States, played by Geena Davis. Bergen herself had once played the first female President of the United States as President Leslie McCloud in the 1964 film ''Kisses for My President''.

Another of her recent appearances came in CBS' Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation ''Candles on Bay Street'' (2006), in which she played the assistant to a husband-and-wife team of veterinarians. In the 1950s, she was also known as "The Pepsi Cola Girl," having done a series of commercials for that product.

Personal life

Bergen was born in Knoxville in eastern Tennessee, the daughter of Lucy (née Lawhorn) and William Hugh Burgin, a construction engineer. "Bill Bergen," as he was later known, had singing talent and appeared with his daughter in several episodes of her 18-episode NBC comedy/variety show, ''The Polly Bergen Show'', which aired in the 1957-1958 television season.

In 1965, Bergen created the Polly Bergen Company cosmetics line. She has also created lines of jewelry and shoe brands, and has authored three books on beauty.

Bergen converted to Judaism after having married Hollywood talent agent Freddie Fields, with whom she had one biological child and two adopted children. She had previously been a Southern Baptist.

She had two other marriages that ended in divorce. When not working, Bergen lives in Connecticut. Her third marriage, to Jeffery Endervelt, ended in divorce in 1990.

Bergen is the aunt of television producer Wendy Riche.

Filmography

Television

''The Blue Angel'' (1954) (canceled after a few weeks)

''Appointment with Adventure'' (1955, CBS)

''The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse'' (host from 1954–1955)

''To Tell the Truth'' (panelist from 1956–1961)

''The Polly Bergen Show'' (NBC, 1957–1958)

''The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom''

''Death Cruise'' (1974)

''Murder on Flight 502'' (1975)

''Not for Women Only'' (host from 1976–1977)

''79 Park Avenue'' (1977) (miniseries)

''Teleton'' (1977)

''How to Pick Up Girls!'' (1978)

''The Million Dollar Face'' (1981)

''Born Beautiful'' (1982)

''The Winds of War'' (1983) (miniseries)

''Velvet'' (1984)

''Addicted to His Love'' (1988)

''War and Remembrance'' (1988) (miniseries)

''She Was Marked for Murder'' (1988)

''The Haunting of Sarah Hardy'' (1989)

''My Brother's Wife'' (1989)

''Steel Magnolias'' (1990) (unsold pilot)

''Baby Talk'' (1991–1992)

''Lightning Field'' (1991)

''Lady Against the Odds'' (1992)

''Arly Hanks'' (1993) (unsold pilot)

''Perry Mason: The Case of the Skin-Deep Scandal'' (1993)

''Leave of Absence'' (1994)

''The Surrogate'' (1995)

''In the Blink of an Eye'' (1996)

''For Hope'' (1996)

''The Sopranos'' (''"In Camelot"'') (2004)

''Early Bird'' (2005)

''Commander in Chief'' (2005–2006)

''Candles on Bay Street'' (2006)

''Desperate Housewives'' (2007–)

''The Dark Knight'' (2007)

Film

''Champion'' (1949)

''Across the Rio Grande'' (1949)

''At War with the Army'' (1950)

''That's My Boy'' (1951)

''Warpath'' (1951)

''The Stooge'' (1952)

''Cry of the Hunted'' (1953)

''Arena'' (1953)

''Half a Hero'' (1953)

''Escape from Fort Bravo'' (1953)

"Fast Company" (1953)

''The Long Gray Line'' (1955)

''Cape Fear'' (1962)

''Belle Sommers'' (1962)

''The Caretakers'' (1963)

''Move Over, Darling'' (1963)

''Kisses for My President'' (1964)

''A Guide for the Married Man'' (1967)

''Making Mr. Right'' (1987)

''Mother, Mother'' (1989) (short subject)

''Cry-Baby'' (1990)

''Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored'' (1995)

''Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde'' (1995)

''Paradise, Texas'' (2005)

''A Very Serious Person'' (2006)

''Struck By Lightning'' (2012)

Discography

Albums

1957 ''Bergen Sings Morgan'' — The Billboard 200 — ''10''

1957 ''The Party's Over'' — The Billboard 200 — ''20''

1958 " All Alone by the Telephone" Columbia

1959 "My Heart Sings" Columbia

1960 "Do Re Mi" Columbia

Singles

1958 ''Come Prima'' — Billboard Hot 100 — ''67''

References

External links

Polly Bergen – Madame President

Category:1930 births Category:American entertainment industry businesspeople Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American Jews Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:American women in business Category:Former Baptists Category:Converts to Judaism from Baptist denominations Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish singers Category:Jubilee Records artists Category:Living people Category:People from Connecticut Category:People from Knoxville, Tennessee Category:People from Richmond, Indiana Category:RCA Victor artists

de:Polly Bergen fr:Polly Bergen it:Polly Bergen pl:Polly Bergen pt:Polly Bergen ru:Полли Берген fi:Polly Bergen sv:Polly Bergen tl:Polly Bergen

Official name	Bergen
Settlement type	City
Pushpin map	Norway
Image shield	Bergen komm.svg
Dot map caption	Location of Bergen in Norway
Coordinates region	NO
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	Norway
Subdivision type1	Municipality
Subdivision name1	Bergen
Subdivision type2	County
Subdivision name2	Hordaland
Subdivision type3	District
Subdivision name3	Western Norway
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Gunnar Bakke
Established title	Established
Established date	1070
Area total km2	465
Area urban km2	94.03
Area metro km2	2755
Population as of	2011
Population total	00}}

|| , || ) / * 100 round 3}}% || style="font-size: 75%"|Statistics Norway - Population per 1 April 2011 and population changes during 1st quarter of 2011. Hordaland. |population_density_km2 = auto |population_metro = 00}} || , || ) / * 100 round 3}}% || style="font-size: 75%"|Statistics Norway - Population per 1 April 2011 and population changes during 1st quarter of 2011. Hordaland. |population_density_metro_km2 = auto |population_urban = 00}} || , || ) / * 100 round 3}}% || style="font-size: 75%"|Statistics Norway - Minor growth in urban settlements |population_density_urban_km2 = auto | population_demonym = Bergenser | demographics_type1 = Ethnic groups | demographics1_footnotes = | demographics1_title1 = Norwegians | demographics1_info1 = 87.6% | demographics1_title2 = Poles | demographics1_info2 = 1.3% | demographics1_title3 = Iraqis | demographics1_info3 = 0.6% | demographics1_title4 = Vietnamese | demographics1_info4 = 0.4% | demographics1_title5 = Chilean | demographics1_info5 = 0.4% |timezone = CET |utc_offset = +1 |timezone_DST = CEST |utc_offset_DST = +2 |twin1 = Asmara |twin1_country = Eritrea |twin2 = Gothenburg |twin2_country = Sweden |twin3 = Newcastle upon Tyne |twin3_country = United Kingdom |twin4 = Seattle |twin4_country = United States |twin5 = Turku |twin5_country = Finland |twin6 = Aarhus |twin6_country = Denmark |coordinates_display = display=inline,title | latd = 60 | latm = 23 | lats = 22 | latNS=N | longd = 5 | longm = 19 |longs = 48 |longEW=E |postal_code = 0301 |website = http://www.bergen.kommune.no }}

Bergen () is the second largest city in Norway with a population of 00}} as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of 00}} as of , .

Bergen is located in the county of Hordaland on the south-western coast of Norway. It is an important cultural hub in its region, recognized as the unofficial capital of Western Norway and sometimes also referred to as the Atlantic coast capital of Norway. The city was one of nine European cities honoured with the title of European Capital of Culture in the Millennium year.

History

The city of Bergen, traditionally thought to have been founded by king Olav Kyrre, son of Harald Hardråde in 1070 AD, four years after the Viking Age ended. Modern research has, however, discovered that a trading settlement was established already during the 1020s or 1030s. It is considered to have replaced Trondheim as Norway's capital in 1217, and that Oslo became the ''de jure'' capital in 1299. Towards the end of the 13th century, Bergen became one of the Hanseatic League's most important bureau cities.

The main reason for Bergen's importance was the trade with dried cod from the northern Norwegian coast, which started around 1100. By the late 14th century, Bergen had established itself as the centre of the trade in Norway. The Hanseatic merchants lived in their own separate quarter of town, where Middle Saxon was used, enjoying exclusive rights to trade with the northern fishermen that each summer sailed to Bergen. Today, Bergen's old quayside, Bryggen is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Site.

The city has throughout its history been plagued with numerous great city fires. In 1198, the Bagler-faction set fire on the city in connection with a battle against the Birkebeiner faction during the civil war. In 1248, ''Holmen'' and ''Sverresborg'' burned, and 11 churches were destroyed. In 1413 another fire struck the city, and 14 churches were destroyed. In 1428 the city was plundered by pirates on a mission for the Hanseatic League, the same who was responsible for burning down Munkeliv Abbey in 1455. In 1476, ''Bryggen'' burned down in a fire started by a drunk trader. In 1582, another fire hit the city centre and ''Strandsiden''. In 1675, 105 buildings burned down in ''Øvregaten''. In 1686 a new great fire hit ''Strandsiden'', destroying 231 city blocks and 218 boathouses. The greatest fire to date happened in 1702 when 90 percent of the city was burned to ashes. In 1751, there was a great fire at ''Vågsbunnen''. In 1756, a new fire at ''Strandsiden'' burned down 1,500 buildings, and further great fires hit ''Strandsiden'' in 1771 and 1901. In 1916, 300 buildings burned down in the city centre, and in 1955 parts of ''Bryggen'' burned down.

In 1349, the Black Death was inadvertently brought to Norway by the crew of an English ship arriving in Bergen. In the 15th century, the city was several times attacked by the Victual Brothers, and in 1429 they succeeded in burning the royal castle and much of the city. In 1536, the King of the country was able to force the Saxon merchants to become Norwegian citizens, or else to return home, heralding a decline in the Saxon influence. In 1665, the city's harbour was the site of the Battle of Vågen, between English ships on the one side and Dutch ships supported by the city's garrison on the other.

Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, Bergen remained one of the largest cities in Scandinavia, and was Norway's biggest city until the 1830s, when the capital city of Oslo became the largest. Bergen retained its monopoly of trade with Northern Norway until 1789.

During World War II, Bergen was occupied on the first day of the German invasion on 9 April 1940, after a brief fight between German ships and the Norwegian coastal artillery. On 20 April 1944, during the German occupation, the Dutch cargo ship ''Voorbode'' anchored off the Bergenhus Fortress, loaded with over 120 tons of explosives, blew up, killing at least 150 people and damaging historic buildings. The city was subject to some Allied bombing raids, aiming at German naval installations in the harbour. Some of these caused Norwegian civilian casualties numbering about 100.

Bergen was separated from Hordaland as a county of its own in 1831. It was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipality of Bergen landdistrikt was merged with Bergen on 1 January 1877. The rural municipality of Årstad was merged with Bergen on 1 July 1915. The rural municipalities of Arna, Fana, Laksevåg, and Åsane were merged with Bergen on 1 January 1972. The city lost its status as a separate county on the same date. Bergen is now a municipality in Norway, in the county of Hordaland.

In 1972, Bergen was unified with the neighbouring municipalities, of Arna, Fana, Laksevåg, and Åsane, abolishing its county status and setting its present boundaries.

Toponymy

The Old Norse forms of the name were ''Bergvin'' and ''Bjørgvin'' (and in Icelandic and Faroese the city is still called ''Björgvin''). The first element is ''berg'' (n) or ''bjørg'' (f), which translates to ''mountain''. The last element is ''vin'' (f), which means a new settlement where there used to be a pasture or meadow. The full meaning is then 'the meadow among the mountains'. A suitable name: Bergen is often called 'the city among the seven mountains'. It was the playwright Ludvig Holberg who felt so inspired by the seven hills of Rome, that he decided that his home town must be blessed with a corresponding seven mountains - and locals still argue which seven they are.

In 1918, there was a campaign to reintroduce the Norse form ''Bjørgvin'' as the name of the city. This was turned down - but as a compromise the name of the diocese was changed to ''Bjørgvin bispedømme''.

Geography

Bergen municipality occupies the majority of the Bergen peninsula in mid-western Hordaland. It is sheltered from the North Sea by the islands Askøy, Holsnøy (the municipality of Meland) and Sotra (the municipalities of Fjell and Sund).

The municipality covers an area of 465 km². The population is 256,580 making the population density 551 people per km². The population of the main urban area is 220,418. The municipality also contains eight minor urban settlements with a total population of 17,213, with Indre Arna, situated in the borough Arna, being the largest with a population of 6,151 as of 1 January 2007.

Bergen's city centre is situated among a group of mountains known collectively as ''de syv fjell'' (the seven mountains), including the mountains Ulriken, Fløyen, Løvstakken and Damsgårdsfjellet, as well as three of the following: Lyderhorn, Sandviksfjellet, Blåmanen, Rundemanen, and Askøyfjellet. The first to name them "the seven mountains" might have been Ludvig Holberg, inspired by the seven hills of Rome. These seven mountains are, however, only a few of the mountains located within the borders of the Bergen municipality. Gullfjellet is the highest mountain in Bergen, at 987 metres above sea level.

Bergen borders the municipalities Meland, Lindås and Osterøy to the north, Vaksdal and Samnanger to the east, Os and Austevoll to the south, and Sund, Fjell and Askøy to the west.

Climate

Bergen features a temperate oceanic climate with relatively mild winters and cool summers. Despite being so far north, Bergen's weather is relatively mild. In the winter, Bergen is one of the warmest cities in Norway, thanks to the Gulf Stream. The city is located further north than Saint Petersburg, yet winters are much warmer in Bergen than St. Petersburg.

Bergen experiences plentiful rainfall, with annual precipitation measuring on average. This is because the city is surrounded by mountains that cause moist North Atlantic air to undergo orographic lift, which yields abundant rainfall. Rain fell every day between 29 October 2006 and 21 January 2007, 85 consecutive days. In Bergen, precipitation is plentiful and heavy rain can happen at any time of the year. The highest temperature ever recorded was 31.8 °C, a record that dates back to 1947. The lowest ever recorded is −16.3 °C, in 1987.

The high precipitation is often used in the marketing of the city, and figures to a degree on postcards sold in the city. For some time there were umbrella vending machines in the city, but these did not turn out to be a success.

Climate change

In recent years, precipitation and winds have increased in the city. In late 2005, heavy rains caused floods and several landslides, the worst of which killed three people on 14 September. Some indications are that due to climate change, severe storms causing landslides and floods will become more powerful in the area and in surrounding counties in coming years. As a response, the municipality created a special 24-man rescue unit within the fire department in 2005, to respond to future slides and other natural disasters, and neighbourhoods considered at risk of slides were surveyed in 2006. As of October 2007, the prediction has been supported by over 480 landslides in Hordaland county from the spring of 2006 to the summer of 2007. Most of the slides hit roads however none of them caused damage to cars, buildings, or people, until October 2007, when a large rock dislodged and killed the driver of a car. Another concern is the risk of rising sea levels. Already today, Bryggen is regularly flooded at extreme tide, and it is feared that as sea levels rise, floods will become a major problem in Bergen. Floods may in the future reach the old fire station in Olav Kyrres Gate, as well as the railroad tracks leading out of the city. It has therefore been suggested by among others Stiftelsen Bryggen, the foundation responsible for preserving the UNESCO site, that a sea wall, built so that it could be raised and lowered as demanded by the tides, be built outside the harbour to protect the city.

Another effect of recent years' weather conditions in the area is that Norwegians increasingly believe that climate change is a threat.

Demographics

Ethnic Norwegians make up 88.8% of Bergen's residents. Of these, 2.1% were first or second generation immigrants with Western backgrounds and 6.6% were first or second generation immigrants with non-Western backgrounds. The population growth with 4,549 persons in 2009, which is a growth rate of 1,8%. 96% of the population live in urban areas. As of 2002, the average gross income for men above the age of 17 is 426,000 NOK, the average gross income for women above the age of 17 is 238,000 NOK, with the total average gross income being 330,000 NOK. In 2007, there were 104.6 men for every 100 women in the age group of 20-39. 22.8% of the population were under 17 years of age, while 4.5% were 80 and above.

Religion

Registered in Bergen for 2010 are more than 7,300 Catholics (up from 408 in 1951), 4,947 members of Protestant Free churches, 2,707 Muslims, 816 Hindus, 255 (up from 175 in 2009) Russian Orthodox and 147 (up from 98 in 2009) Oriental Orthodox. The Church of Norway made up the majority of the population and there are also many other Protestant Free Churches. There is one Catholic Church and one Mosque. There is no Orthodox Church in Bergen, but one is planned because the Orthodox community is on of the fastest growing religious communities in Bergen. The Holy Epiphany Parish of Russian Orthodox Church has been active in the city since 2004. Whereas more than 7.3% and 42,516 are Muslims in Oslo, the figures are just 1.0% and 2,533 in Bergen (actual numbers are likely higher). Bergen has a relatively low percentage of Muslims, in relation to many European cities, for example London and Malmö with 8.5% and 20.6% Muslims respectively.

style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;"

style="background:#efefef;"	Religion	Members	Percent
Church of Norway	201,006	79.74%
Non-Religious	>style="text-align:right;"| 13.55%
Saint Paul Catholic Church, Bergen	Saint Paul Catholic Church	>style="text-align:right;"| 2.84%
Protestantism	Protestant Free churches	>style="text-align:right;"| 1.92%
Islam	>style="text-align:right;"| 1.05%
Hinduism	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.31%
Russian Orthodox Christianity	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.09%
Oriental Orthodox Christianity	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.05%

! Year	! 1876	! 1951	! 1976	! 2004	! 2008
	20	408	1,112	4,044	7,300
Percent	0.0%	0.3%	0.5%	1.7%	2.9%

! Year	! 2006	! 2010
Muslims in Bergen	1,892	2,707
Percent	0.7%	1.0%

Churches

The churches of the Established Church (the Church of Norway) in Bergen are St Olav's Cathedral Church (Bergen Domkirken, or Cathedral), St Mary's Church (Mariakirken, currently closed for renovation), St John's Church (Johanneskirken), Holy Trinity Church (Nykirken, or New Church), Holy Cross Church (Korskirken), and St George's Church (Jurgenkirken, chapel of the leper hospital), together with the Nonneseter Abbey Chapel. There are also small churches of various other minority denominations, plus St Paul's Roman Catholic Church.

Immigration

style="background:#efefef;"	Countries	Population
Total	260,392
EU/EEA, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand	241,390
Asia, Africa, Latin America, Oceania except Australia and New Zealand, and Europe except the European Union	EU/EEA	19,002

The immigrant population (those with two foreign born parents) in Bergen, includes 23,682 individuals with backgrounds from 164 countries representing 9.56% of the city's population (2008). Of these, 40.8% have background from Europe, 36.0% from Asia, 12.4% from Africa, 7.8% from Latin America, 2.5% from North America and 0.5% from Oceania. The immigrant population in Bergen in the period 1993–2008 increased by 119.7%, while the ethnic Norwegian population has grown by 8.1% during the same period. The national average is 138.0% and 4.2%. The immigrant population has thus accounted for 43.6% of Bergen's population growth and 60.8% of Norway's population growth during the period 1993–2008, compared with 84.5% in Oslo.

The immigrant population in Bergen has changed a lot since 1970. As of 1 January 1986, there were 2,870 persons with non-Western immigrant background in Bergen. In 2006, this figure had increased to 14,630, so the non-Western immigrant population in Bergen was five times higher than in 1986. This is a slightly slower growth than the national average, which has sextupled during the same period. Also in relation to the total population in Bergen, the proportion of non-Western increased significantly. In 1986, the proportion of the total population in the municipality of non-Western background was 3.6%. In January 2006, persons with non-Western immigrant background accounted for 6 percent of the population in Bergen. The share of Western immigrants has remained stable at around 2% in the period. The number of Poles in Bergen rose from 697 in 2006 to 3,128 in 2010.

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style="background:#efefef;"	Country of origin	Population (2001)	Percent of total population (2001)
Total	230,948	100.0%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 93.5%
Immigrants	14,795	>style="text-align:right;"| 6.4%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.4%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.4%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.3%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.3%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.3%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.2%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.2%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.2%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.2%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.2%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.1%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.1%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.1%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.1%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.1%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.1%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.1%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.0%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.0%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.0%
Other countries	>style="text-align:right;"| 1.7%
style="background:#efefef;">Country of origin	Population (2011)	Percent of total population (2011)
Total	260,392	100.0%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 87.6%
Immigrants	32,038	>style="text-align:right;"| 12.3%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 1.3%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.6%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.4%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.4%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.4%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.4%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.4%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.4%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.3%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.3%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.3%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.2%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.2%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.2%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.2%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.2%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.2%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.2%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.2%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.2%
	>style="text-align:right;"| 0.1%
Other countries	>style="text-align:right;"| 4.2%

History of the Jews in Bergen

The first Jewish family settled in Bergen in 1857, but just about 150 of around 2,000 Jews in Norway settled in Bergen between 1851 and 1945. A congregation was established. Herschel Rabinowitz, the brother to Moritz Rabinowitz said in 1936 that "Bergen would never have a significant Jewish population". Eight years later, he was arrested and murdered in Auschwitz. The Jewish congregation in Bergen was removed after the Holocaust in Norway. In all, 20 Jews from Bergen were deported to Auschwitz and killed by the winter of 1942–1943. Ten of them lived in the Møhlenpris area, including the 29-year-old store employee Harry Hirsch Scheer. Each year, held the torch from Møhlenpris school on 26 November, the date for the deportation with D/S Donau.

Urban areas

According to Statistics Norway there are nine urban areas in the municipality. The largest, Bergen urban area, covers or just 20% of the municipality. The population density is 2,422 p/km².

Population as of 1 January 2009:

Bergen urban area – 227,752

Indre Arna – 6,296

Fanahammeren – 3,613

Ytre Arna – 2,522

Hylkje – 2,195

Espeland – 2,049

Nordvik – 431

Krokeidet – 337

Flesland – 335

Cityscape

The city centre of Bergen is located west in the municipality, facing the fjord of Byfjorden. It is situated among a group of mountains known as the Seven Mountains, although the number is a matter of definition. From here, the urban area of Bergen extends to the north, west and south, and to its east is a large mountain massif. Outside of the city centre and the surrounding neighbourhoods (i.e. Årstad, inner Laksevåg and Sandviken), the majority of the population lives in relatively sparsely populated residential areas that have been built since the 1950s. While some are dominated by apartment buildings and modern terraced houses (e.g. Fyllingsdalen), others are dominated by single-family homes.

The oldest part of Bergen is the area around the bay of Vågen in the city centre. Originally centred on the eastern side of the bay, Bergen eventually expanded west and southwards. Few buildings from the oldest period remain, the most significant being St Mary's Church from the 12th century. For several hundred years, the extent of the city remained almost constant. The population was stagnant, and the city limits were narrow. In 1702, 7/8 of the city burned. Most of the old buildings of Bergen, including Bryggen (which was rebuilt in a medieval style), were built after the fire. The fire marked a transition from tar covered houses, as well as the remaining log houses, to painted and some brick-covered wooden buildings. The last half of the 19th century was a period of rapid expansion and modernisation of the city. The fire of 1855 west of Torgallmenningen led to the development of regularly sized city blocks in this area of the city centre. The city limits were expanded in 1876, and Nygård, Møhlenpris and Sandviken were urbanised with large-scale construction of city blocks housing both the poor and the wealthy. Their architecture is influenced by a variety of styles; historicism, classicism and Art Nouveau. The wealthy built villas between Møhlenpris and Nygård, and on the side of Fløyen, had also been added to Bergen in 1876. Simultaneously, an urbanisation process was taking place in Solheimsviken in Årstad, at the time outside of Bergen municipality, centred around the large industrial activity in the area. The workers' homes in this area were poorly built, and little remains after large-scale redevelopment in the 1960s-1980s. After Årstad became a part of Bergen in 1916, a development plan was applied to the new area. Few city blocks akin to those in Nygård and Møhlenpris were planned. Many of the worker class built their own homes, and many small, detached apartment buildings were built. After World War II, Bergen had again run short on land to build on, and, contrary to the original plans, many large apartment buildings were built in Landås in the 1950s and 1960s. Bergen acquired Fyllingsdalen from Fana municipality in 1955. Like similar areas in Oslo (e.g. Lambertseter), Fyllingsdalen was developed into a modern suburb with large apartment buildings, mid-rises, and some single-family homes, in the 1960s and 1970s. Similar developments took place outside of Bergen's city limits, for example in Loddefjord.

At the same time as planned city expansion took place inside Bergen, its extra-municipal suburbs too grew rapidly. Wealthy citizens of Bergen had been living in Fana since the 19th century, but as the city expanded it became more convenient to settle in the municipality. Similar processes took place in Åsane and Laksevåg. Most of the homes in these areas are detached row houses, single family homes or small apartment buildings. Since the surrounding municipalities were merged with Bergen in 1972, expansion has continued in largely the same manner, although the municipality encourages condensing near commercial centres, future Bergen Light Rail stations, and elsewhere.

As part of the modernisation wave of the 1950s and 1960s, and due to damages caused by World War II, the city government ambitiously developed redevelopment plans for many areas in central Bergen. The plans involved demolition of several neighbourhoods of wooden houses, namely Nordnes, Marken, and Stølen. None of the plans were carried out in their original form, the Marken and Stølen redevelopment plans discarded entirely and that of Nordnes only carried out in the area that had been most damaged by war. The city council of Bergen had in 1964 voted to demolish the enterity of Marken, however, the decision proved to be strongly controversial and the decision was reversed in 1974. Bryggen was under threat of being wholly or partly demolished after the fire of 1955, when a large number of the buildings burned to the ground. Instead of being demolished, the remaining buildings were eventually restored and accompanied by reconstructions of some of the burned buildings. Demolition of old buildings and occasionally whole city blocks is still taking place, the most recent major example being the razing of Jonsvollskvartalet at Nøstet.

Administration

Post	Mayor
Body	The City of Bergen
Insignia	Bergen komm.svg
Insigniasize	130px
Insigniacaption	Seal of the City of Bergen
Incumbent	Gunnar Bakke
Incumbentsince	October 2007
Appointer	Herman Friele
Termlength	2 years
Formation	17th century
Succession	Currently unknown
Website	}}

Since 2000, the city of Bergen is governed by a city government (''byråd'') based on the principle of parliamentarism. The government consists of 6 government members called commissioners, and is appointed by the city council, the supreme authority of the city. Since the local elections of 2007, the city has been ruled by a right-wing coalition of the Progress Party, the Christian Democratic Party and the Conservative Party, each with two commissioners. The Progress Party member Gunnar Bakke is mayor, while conservative Monica Mæland is the leader of the city government, the most powerful political position in Bergen.

2007 elections

colspan="2"	Bergen city council 2007–2011
	18 (0)
Norwegian Labour Party	Labour Party	16 (+1)
Progress Party (Norway)	Progress Party	14 (+2)
Socialist Left Party (Norway)	Socialist Left Party	5 (–3)
Christian Democratic Party (Norway)	Christian Democratic Party	4 (0)
Liberal Party (Norway)	Liberal Party	4 (+2)
Red Electoral Alliance	3 (–1)
Centre Party (Norway)	Centre Party	2 (+1)
Pensioners' Party (Norway)	Pensioners' Party	1 (–2)
Total	67

The 2007 city council elections were held on 10 September. The Socialist Left Party (SV) and the Pensioners Party (PP) ended up as the losers of the election, SV going from 11.6% of the votes in the 2003 elections to 7.1%, and PP losing 2.9% ending up at 1.2%. The Liberal Party more than doubled, going from 2.7% to 5.8%. The Conservative Party lost 1.1% of the votes, ending up at 26.3%, while the Progress Party got 20.2% of the votes, a gain of 3% since the 2003 elections. The Christian Democratic Party gained 0.2%, ending up at 6.3%. The Red Electoral Alliance lost 1.4%, ending up at 4.5%, while the Centre Party gained 1.2%, ending up at 2.8%. Finally, the Labour Party continued being the second largest party in the city, gaining 1% and ending up at 23.9%.

Boroughs

Bergen is divided into 8 boroughs, as seen on the map to the left. Going clockwise, starting north, the boroughs are Åsane, Arna, Fana, Ytrebygda, Fyllingsdalen, Laksevåg, Årstad and Bergenhus. The city centre is located in Bergenhus. Parts of Fana (= the fens), Ytrebygda, Åsane (= the hills) and Arna are not part of the Bergen urban area, explaining why the municipality has approximately 20,000 more inhabitants than the urban area. The separate borough administrations were closed 30 June 2004, but were re-established 1 January 2008.

!Borough	!Population	!%	!Area (km2)	!%	!Density(/km2)
style="text-align:left;"	12,546	4.9	102.44	22.0	126
	37,851	14.8	26.58	5.7	4.336
	37,821	14.8	159.70	34.3	251
	28,760	11.2	18.84	4.0	1.638
	38,033	14.8	32.72	7.0	1.261
	25,326	9.9	39.61	8.5	655
style="text-align:left;"	36,667	14.3	14.78	3.2	4.329
	39,186	15.3	71.01	15.2	569
	410
	256,600	100	465.68	100	576

The following acreage figures in the table include fresh water and uninhabited mountain areas. ¹ 1 The borough Bergenhus is ², the rest is water and uninhabited mountain areas. ² 2 The borough Årstad is ², the rest is water and uninhabited mountain areas.

Education

Higher education

Bergen has one university, the University of Bergen, and one university college, Bergen University College, with a total of 22,000 students and 3,600 staff. With approximately 16,000 students and 3,000 staff, the University of Bergen () is the third largest university in Norway, after the University of Oslo and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Although it was founded as late as 1946, academic activity had been taking place at Bergen Museum since 1825. The university's academic profile focuses on marine research and co-operation with developing countries. In 2002, the university was awarded three national centres of excellence in climate research, petroleum research and medieval studies. In December 2004, billionaire Trond Mohn donated 250 million NOK to the University as research funding. In addition, he has given the university several individual gifts of 50 million NOK.

Bergen University College (Norwegian: ''Høgskolen i Bergen'') is one of 24 state-owned university colleges in Norway. As of 2007, it has approximately 6,000 students and 600 staff. The university college offers studies directed towards specific professions. The college is organised in 3 faculties: the Faculty of Education, the Faculty of Engineering, and the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences. The Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (Norwegian: ''Norges Handelshøyskole'') is a leading school of business and economics in Norway. Finn E. Kydland, the most recent (2004) of three Norwegian laureates of the Economy Nobel Prize, has studied and lectured at the school. The school has approximately 2,700 students and 350 staff. As the result of a resolution passed by the Norwegian Storting in 1917, the school was founded in 1936 as the first business school in Norway. As of 2007, the school's MSc programme is ranked by the Financial Times as the 36th best in Europe.

The Bergen School of Architecture (''Bergen Arkitekt Skole''), founded in 1986 by architect Svein Hatløy, has alternative programs, with graduates like ''3RW arkitekter'' and Tommie Wilhemsen.

The Bergen National Academy of the Arts (''Kunsthøgskolen i Bergen'', approximately 300 students and 100 staff) is one of the two independent institutions of higher learning in the visual arts and design in Norway. Students can take a three-year Bachelor degree and a two-year Master degree in the following areas: Visual Art, Interior Architecture, Furniture Design, Room Design, Visual Communications, Photography, Printmaking, Ceramics and Textiles.

The Naval Academy (''Sjøkrigsskolen'') of the Royal Norwegian Navy is located at Laksevåg in Bergen.

Primary and secondary education

There are 64 elementary schools, 18 lower secondary schools and 20 upper secondary schools in Bergen, as well as 11 combined elementary/lower secondary schools.

Bergen Katedralskole () is believed to have been founded in 1153 by Pope Adrian IV (then known as ''Nicholas Breakspear''), thus making it Bergen's oldest school and one of the oldest schools in Norway. The school moved to its present location in 1840, and the old building was left mostly unused until the School Museum of Bergen moved into the building in 2003. Since 1972, the school is a regular upper secondary school (similar to a high school in the United States and the United Kingdom).

In 2006, Bergen Handelsgymnasium, an upper secondary school in Bergen, was chosen as a finalist in the The Holberg Prize School Project.

Research

The University of Bergen and Haukeland University Hospital are by far the largest research institutions in Bergen.

The Chr. Michelsen Institute (''Christian Michelsens Institutt''), founded in 1930, is located in Bergen. With an annual turnover of 56 million NOK, it is one of Scandinavia's largest independent research institutes on human rights and development issues. The aim of CMI is to inform and influence policy on international development issues.

The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (Norwegian: ''Havforskningsinstituttet''), formerly known as ''Norwegian Fisheries Investigations'' (Norwegian: ''Norske Fiskeriundersøgelser'') has been located in Bergen since 1900. The primary responsibility of the institute is to provide advice to national authorities, society and industry regarding questions related to the ecosystems of the Barents Sea, the Norwegian Sea, the North Sea and the Norwegian coastal zone and in the field of aquaculture. The institute has a staff of 700, making it the largest marine research institution in Norway.

UNIFOB AS is a non-profit research organisation affiliated with the University of Bergen. Unifob conducts research and associated activities across all the scientific fields covered by the university departments, including Petroleum, Health, Computational Science, Marine Molecular Biology.

Economy

Bergen's inter-municipal harbour is by far Norway's largest port and one of Europe's largest ports, according to the inter-municipal company Port of Bergen.

In August 2004, ''Time'' magazine named the city one of Europe's 14 "secret capitals" where Bergen's capital reign is acknowledged within maritime businesses and activities such as aquaculture and marine research, with the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) (the second-largest in Europe) as the leading institution. Bergen is the main base for the Royal Norwegian Navy (at Haakonsvern) and its international airport Flesland is the main heliport for the huge Norwegian North Sea oil and gas industry, from where thousands of offshore workers commute to their work places onboard oil and gas rigs and platforms.

The headquarters of TV 2 Norway's largest commercial television channel are located in Bergen.

One of Norway's largest shopping malls, Lagunen Storsenter, is located in Fana in Bergen, with a turnover of 2 540 million Norwegian kroner, and 5.2 million visitors every year.

Tourism is an important income source for the city. The hotels in the city may be full at times, due to the increasing number of tourists and conferences. Prior to the Rolling Stones concert in September 2006, many hotels were already fully-booked several months in advance. Bergen is recognised as the unofficial capital of the region known as Western Norway, and recognised and marketed as the gateway city to the world famous fjords of Norway and for that reason it has become Norway's largest - and one of Europe's largest - cruise ship ports of call.

Transportation

Bergen has an international airport, Bergen Airport, Flesland, with direct flights to several European cities. The Bergensbanen railway line runs east to Voss, Geilo, Hønefoss and Oslo. The E39 road passes through the city, connecting to Trondheim and Stavanger. The E16 road to Oslo passes through the Lærdalstunnelen, the longest road tunnel in the world. Bergen was the first city in Northern Europe to introduce a ring of toll roads entirely surrounding the city, making entering the city centre by car impossible without paying the toll. The toll road system, established to fund new roads and motorways, opened 2 January 1986.thumb|left|''MS Midnatsol'' of The Coastal Express, Hurtigruten The toll was collected by both toll plazas and an electronic toll collection system. In the early 2000s, the electronic toll collection system AutoPASS was introduced, replacing both the remaining toll plazas and the existing but dated electronic toll collection system.

Public transportation is provided by the transportation company Tide, the result of a merger between ''Gaia'' and ''HSD''. Among the fleet of buses are 8 trolleybuses (two of which are dual-mode buses). Local train transport to Arna is provided by Norges Statsbaner. There is a funicular (Fløibanen) and an aerial tramway (Ulriksbanen). The city's tram system was closed in 1965, although a museum line still operates on Møhlenpris. The first stage of a modern light rail system was opened 22 June 2010, and connects the city centre with Nesttun. Express buses go to all larger destinations in Norway.

The Norwegian coastal steamer service Hurtigruten originates in Bergen, running north to Trondheim, Bodø, Tromsø and Kirkenes. Passenger catamarans run from Bergen south to Haugesund and Stavanger, and north to Sognefjorden and Nordfjord. Car ferries connect to Hanstholm and Hirtshals in Denmark. The ferries to Lerwick, Scrabster, Tórshavn on the Faroe Islands, and Seyðisfjörður in Iceland are not operative anymore. The service from Newcastle in the United Kingdom, once provided by such ships as the ''Leda'', was cancelled after 1 September 2008.

Culture and sports

Bergen is an important cultural centre in its region and in Norway, maybe best known for hosting the annual Bergen International Festival (''Festspillene i Bergen''). The city is home to the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, which was founded in 1765 and is one of the world's oldest orchestral institutions. The orchestra performs regularly at the 1,500 seat Grieg Hall. The city is also home of the Bergen Woodwind Quintet, which is made up primarily of principal winds of the Bergen Philharmonic. Bergen was a European Capital of Culture in 2000. Other main cultural events include ''Borealis'', ''Nattjazz'', ''Lost Weekend Festivalen'' and ''Bergenfest'' (formerly ''Ole Blues''). There are numerous amateur bands in Bergen and the surrounding communities performing regularly throughout the city. They generally fall within two distinct categories: brass bands, following the British band tradition, and ''Janitsjar'' or wind bands, which include both woodwind and brass instruments. Both of these types of bands tend to be quite competitive, and the Grieg Hall in Bergen is home to the annual Norwegian Brass Band Championships, which takes place in late winter.

A third category, perhaps unique to Bergen, are the ''Buekorps'', a prominent feature in the Constitution Day celebrations in the city. ''Buekorps'' parade in the streets with wooden sticks shaped as guns or crossbows, sabres and even halberds, to a military snare sounded by several drummers. The performers are usually boys between 7 and 21 years of age, but older veterans can be seen. In recent times there are buekorps for girls and for both girls and boys as well. Buekorps are regarded with warmth by some, whilst others dislike them due to their militarised appearance or the dominant sound of the drumming.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s several pop, rock and black metal artists from Bergen became famous, at home as well as abroad. Many of these were connected to the small record label ''Tellé Records''. In the domestic press this became known as the Bergen Wave.

Bergen has a small but thriving scene for contemporary art, most notably centred around BIT Teatergarasjen, Bergen Kunsthall, United Sardines Factory (USF) and Bergen Center for Electronic Arts (BEK).

With circulations of 87,076 and 30,719 in 2006, ''Bergens Tidende'' and ''Bergensavisen'' are the two largest newspapers in Bergen. ''Bergens Tidende'' has won three European Newspaper Awards, in 2006 for ''best designed regional newspaper'', in 2004 for ''best designed weekly newspaper'', and in 2002 for ''best designed regional newspaper''. The city is also the home of several smaller newspapers and publications, including ''Fanaposten'' (circulation of 4,062), a local newspaper for Fana, Bygdanytt in Arna, and the Christian newspaper Dagen (circulation of 8,936).

Football

Bergen has two professional football teams, Brann and Løv-Ham. Brann plays in Tippeligaen, Norway's top football division, while Løv-Ham plays in the first division. Despite Løv-Ham playing in the 2nd highest level in Norwegian football, Brann is the only club to draw any considerable interest from the public. The first Løv-Ham supporter group, Selskapsløvene () was created as recently as December 2005. Brann play their matches at Brann Stadion, with a capacity of 17,824 as of June 2007, while Løv-Ham played their matches at Krohnsminde kunstgressbane until 2008, with a capacity of 3000, but an attendance record of 1051 in the league. They now play their games at Varden Amfi in Fyllingsdalen.

Although Brann is one of the largest teams in Norway, the team has had limited success in the Premier League and the cup. They have won the cup six times, most recently in 2004. Brann won the Premier League in 1961/62 and then in 1963. The 1963 title was directly followed by the relegation of the team into the Second Division (today known as ''Adeccoligaen'', the second highest level of Norwegian football). The team has won several silver and bronze medals since, but did not win the league again until the 2007 season.

Dialect

''Bergensk'', or the ''Bergen dialect'', is the dialect of Norwegian spoken in Bergen. It is easy for Norwegians to recognise, as it is very easily distinguished from the other dialects in Hordaland. Like almost all Norwegian dialects, Bergensk cannot be said to be either Bokmål or Nynorsk. While the vocabulary shows many traits of both Bokmål and Nynorsk, it has many characteristics that are not covered by either of the two official written languages.

Foreigners, such as the Low German speaking merchants of the Hanseatic League who lived in Bergen in the period from about 1350 to 1750, have had a profound impact on the dialect. Bergen being the major Norwegian city during the Dano-Norwegian union from 1536 to 1814 led to Bergensk absorbing more of the Danish than other Norwegian dialects. Many, but not all, influences from these languages since spread from Bergen to parts of or the whole of Norway.

The female grammatical gender disappeared from Bergensk in the 16th century, probably as a result of influences from Danish, making the city's dialect one of the very few in Norway with only two grammatical genders. All others, excepting sociolects in other Norwegian cities, have three. The ''R''s are uvular trills, as in French, which probably spread to Bergen (and Kristiansand) some time in the 18th century, overtaking the alveolar trill in the time span of 2 to 3 generations. Owing to an improved literacy rate, Bergensk was influenced by riksmål and bokmål in the 19th and 20th centuries. This led to large parts of the German-inspired vocabulary disappearing and pronunciations shifting slightly towards East Norwegian.

Notable residents

International relations

Each year Bergen donates the Christmas Tree seen in Newcastle's Haymarket as a sign of the ongoing friendship between the sister cities. The Nordic friendship cities of Bergen, Gothenburg, Turku and Aarhus arranges inter Nordic camp schools each year by inviting school classes, 10 grade level from each of the other cities on school camps. Bergen received a totem pole as a gift of friendship from the city of Seattle on the city's 900 anniversary in 1970. It is now placed in the Nordnes park and gazes out over the sea towards the friendship city far to the west.

Sister Cities

Asmara, Eritrea Gothenburg, Sweden Lübeck, Germany (since 1996 - Friendship Treaty) Málaga, Spain Newcastle, United Kingdom (since 1968) Quebec, Canada Rostock, Germany (since 1965) Seattle, United States(since 1967) Turku, Finland (since 1946) Aarhus, Denmark

References

Notes

External links

Municipality website in Norwegian and English

Bergen Guide

Category:Cities and towns in Norway Category:Populated coastal places in Norway Category:1070 establishments Category:Populated places established in the 11th century Category:Port cities and towns in Norway Category:Port cities and towns of the North Sea Category:Viking Age populated places Category:European Capitals of Culture Category:Folk museums

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name	Rex Reed
birthname	Rex Taylor Reed
birth date	October 02, 1938
birth place	Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
occupation	Film critic
years active	1967–present
website	}}

Rex Taylor Reed (born October 2, 1938) is an American film critic and former co-host of the syndicated television show ''At the Movies''. He currently writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for ''The New York Observer''.

Life and career

Reed was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the son of Jewell (née Smith) and James M. Reed, an oil company supervisor.

He has also acted occasionally, as in the movie version of Gore Vidal's ''Myra Breckinridge.'' Reed has also appeared in the films ''Inchon!'' and ''Superman'' (as himself). Reed was also a regular on the TV show ''The Gong Show'' in the late '70s. Reed also served on the jury at the 21st Berlin International Film Festival in 1971. He has also guest voiced as himself on the animated series ''The Critic''.

Rex Reed appears in the 2009 documentary ''For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism'' explaining how important film critics were in the 1970s, and complaining about the proliferation of unqualified critical voices on the Internet.

Reed is good friends with gossip columnist Liz Smith. He is a member of New York Film Critics Circle and, because his reviews appear on the Internet, he is a member of New York Film Critics Online.

He lives at the famed Dakota apartment building, in New York City.

Controversies

Marisa Tomei Academy Awards rumor

After Jack Palance presented the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress to Marisa Tomei in 1992, Reed started a rumour that Palance had erroneously called out the wrong name because he was unable to read the printing on the card inside the envelope, became confused or was too "drunk" or "stoned" to announce the winner properly. By 1997 Reed was espousing on television his claim that a "massive cover-up" was underway to prevent the public from finding out about the mistake.

Critic Roger Ebert commented on his website that "Not only is the rumor untrue, it is unfair to Marisa Tomei, and Rex Reed owes her an apology." The Academy has stated that if such a mistake had occurred, representatives from Price Waterhouse would have stepped onstage to correct it.

Arrest

In February 2000, Reed was arrested for shoplifting after leaving a Tower Records, in Manhattan, with CDs by Mel Tormé, Peggy Lee, and Carmen McRae in his jacket pockets. Reed, who had just purchased two other CDs, says he forgot about the other three CDs and his offer to pay for them was refused. The charges were later dropped. According to Reed, several days after the arrest Peggy Lee sent him her entire catalog of CDs, because "she was so thrilled I wanted one of her CDs enough to put myself through so much hell."

''Oldboy'' review

In a 2005 review of the South Korean movie ''Oldboy'', Reed wrote: "What else can you expect from a nation weaned on kimchi, a mixture of raw garlic and cabbage buried underground until it rots, dug up from the grave and then served in earthenware pots sold at the Seoul airport as souvenirs?" The ''Village Voice'', which stated that "online forums erupted in protest" at the review, then mocked Reed by imagining him applying similar logic to films from other countries.

Bibliography

References

External links

Rex Reed's ''New York Observer'' movie review archive

New York Film Critics Circle biography

Category:1938 births Category:American film critics Category:Film theorists Category:Living people Category:Louisiana State University alumni Category:People from Fort Worth, Texas

name	Ira Gershwin
background	non_performing_personnel
birth name	Israel Gershowitz
alias	Israel GershvinArthur Francis
born	December 06, 1896New York City, USA
died	August 17, 1983Beverly Hills, California, USA
genre	PopularClassical
occupation	Lyricist
years active	1910s-1980s
spouse	Leonore Strunsky }}

Ira Gershwin (December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century.

With George he wrote more than a dozen Broadway shows, featuring songs such as "I Got Rhythm", "Embraceable You", "The Man I Love" and "Someone to Watch Over Me", and the opera ''Porgy and Bess''.

The success the brothers had with their collaborative works has often overshadowed the creative role that Ira played. However, his mastery of songwriting continued after the early death of George. He wrote additional hit songs with composers Jerome Kern ("Long Ago (and Far Away)"), Kurt Weill and Harold Arlen.

His critically acclaimed book ''Lyrics on Several Occasions'' of 1959, an amalgam of autobiography and annotated anthology, is an important source for studying the art of the lyricist in the golden age of American popular song.

Biography

Gershwin was born Israel Gershovitz in New York City to Morris (Moishe) and Rose Gershovitz who changed the family name to Gershvin well before their children rose to fame (it was not spelled "Gershwin" until later). Shy in his youth, he spent much of his time at home reading, but from grammar school through college, he played a prominent part in several school newspapers and magazines. He graduated from Townsend Harris High School in 1914, where he met Yip Harburg. He attended the City College of New York but dropped out.

While his younger brother began composing and "plugging" in Tin Pan Alley from the age of eighteen, Ira worked as a cashier in his father's Turkish baths. It was not until 1921 that Ira became involved in the music business. Alex Aarons signed Ira to write the music for his next show, ''Two Little Girls in Blue'' (written under the pseudonym "Arthur Francis"), ultimately produced by Abraham Erlanger, with co-composers Vincent Youmans and Paul Lannin. Gershwin's lyrics were well received and allowed him to successfully enter the theatre world with just one show.

It was not until 1924 that Ira and George Gershwin teamed up to write the music for their first Broadway hit ''Lady, Be Good!''. Once the brothers joined together, their combined talents became one of the most influential forces in the history of American Musical Theatre. "When the Gershwins teamed up to write songs for ''Lady, Be Good'', the American musical found its native idiom". Together, they wrote the music for more than twelve shows and four films. Some of their more famous works include "The Man I Love", "Fascinating Rhythm", "Someone to Watch Over Me", "I Got Rhythm", and "They Can't Take That Away from Me". Their partnership continued until George's sudden death from a brain tumor in 1937. Following his brother's death, Ira waited nearly three years before writing again.

After this interlude, he teamed up with such accomplished composers as Jerome Kern (''Cover Girl''); Kurt Weill (''Where Do We Go from Here?'' and ''Lady in the Dark''); and Harold Arlen (''Life Begins at 8:40''; ''A Star Is Born''). Over the next fourteen years, Gershwin continued to write the lyrics for many film scores and a few Broadway shows. But the failure of ''Park Avenue'' in 1946, a "smart" show about divorce, co-written with composer Arthur Schwartz, was his farewell to Broadway. As he wrote at the time, "Am reading a couple of stories for possible musicalization (if there is such a word) but I hope I don't like them as I think I deserve a long rest." In 1947, he took eleven songs George had written but never used, provided them with new lyrics, and incorporated them into the Betty Grable film ''The Shocking Miss Pilgrim'' and he later wrote comic lyrics for Billy Wilder's movie ''Kiss Me, Stupid''--although most critics believe his final major work was for the 1954 Judy Garland film, ''A Star Is Born'').

American singer, pianist, musical historian Michael Feinstein worked for Gershwin in the lyricist's latter years, helping him with his archive. Several lost musical treasures were unearthed during this period, and Feinstein performed some of the material.

Awards and honors

Three of Gershwin's songs ("They Can't Take That Away From Me" (1937), "Long Ago and Far Away" (1944) and "The Man That Got Away" (1954)) were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, though none won.

Gershwin, along with George S Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, was a recipient of the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for ''Of Thee I Sing''.

The George and Ira Gershwin Lifetime Musical Achievement Award was established in 1988 by UCLA to honor the brothers for their contribution to music and for their gift to UCLA of the fight song "Strike Up the Band for UCLA". Past winners have included Angela Lansbury (1988), Ray Charles (1991), Mel Tormé (1994), Bernadette Peters (1995), Frank Sinatra (2000), Stevie Wonder (2002), k.d. lang (2003), James Taylor (2004), Babyface (2005), Burt Bacharach (2006), Quincy Jones (2007), Lionel Richie (2008) and Julie Andrews (2009).

Legacy

Ira Gershwin was a joyous listener to the sounds of the modern world. "He had a sharp eye and ear for the minutae of living." He noted in a diary: "Heard in a day: An elevator's purr, telephone's ring, telephone's buzz, a baby's moans, a shout of delight, a screech from a 'flat wheel', hoarse honks, a hoarse voice, a tinkle, a match scratch on sandpaper, a deep resounding boom of dynamiting in the impending subway, iron hooks on the gutter."

In 1987, Ira's widow, Leonore Gershwin, established the Ira Gershwin Literacy Center at University Settlement, a century-old institution at 185 Eldridge Street on the Lower East Side, New York City. The Center is designed to give English-language programs to primarily Hispanic and Chinese Americans. Ira and his younger brother George spent many after-school hours at the Settlement.

The George and Ira Gershwin Collection is at the Library of Congress Music Division. The Edward Jablonski and Lawrence D. Stewart Gershwin Collection at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin holds a number of Ira's manuscripts and other material.

In 2007, the Library of Congress named its Prize for Popular Song after him and his brother George. Recognizing the profound and positive effect of popular music on the world's culture, the prize will be given annually to a composer or performer whose lifetime contributions exemplify the standard of excellence associated with the Gershwins. On March 1, 2007, the Library of Congress announced that Paul Simon, one of America's most respected songwriters and musicians, was the first recipient of the annual Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The second Gershwin Prize for Popular Song was awarded to Stevie Wonder by U.S. President Barack Obama on February 25, 2009.

Personal life

He married Leonore (née Strunsky) in 1926. He died in Beverly Hills, California, on August 17, 1983 at the age of 86. He is interred at Westchester Hills Cemetery, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.

Notable songs

"But Not For Me"

"Embraceable You"

"I Can't Get Started"

"I Got Rhythm"

"Nice Work if You Can Get It"

"The Man I Love"

"They Can't Take That Away From Me"

"Someone to Watch Over Me"

"'S Wonderful"

"The Man That Got Away"

"Strike Up the Band"

References

Sources

External links

Library of Congress Gershwin collection

Ira Gershwin Collection at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin

Official Gershwin site

Gershwin fan site

Category:American musical theatre librettists Category:American musical theatre lyricists Category:American Theatre Hall of Fame inductees Category:Burials at Westchester Hills Cemetery Category:City College of New York alumni Category:Congressional Gold Medal recipients Category:Jewish American composers and songwriters Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from New York City Category:1896 births Category:1983 deaths

da:Ira Gershwin de:Ira Gershwin es:Ira Gershwin eu:Ira Gershwin fr:Ira Gershwin it:Ira Gershwin he:איירה גרשווין nl:Ira Gershwin ja:アイラ・ガーシュウィン pt:Ira Gershwin ru:Гершвин, Айра fi:Ira Gershwin sv:Ira Gershwin th:ไอรา เกิร์ชวิน

name	T.I.
background	solo_singer
birth name	Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr.
alias	T.I.P., TIP Harris
birth date	September 25, 1980
Birth place	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
instrument	Keyboards, sampler
genre	Hip hop, Southern hip hop, Atlanta hip hop
occupation	Rapper, songwriter, record producer, actor
years active	2001–present
label	Grand Hustle, Atlantic
associated acts	P$C, Young Dro, B.o.B, Rick Ross
website	}}

Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. (born September 25, 1980), better known by his stage name T.I. or T.I.P., is an American recording artist, film & music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Grand Hustle Records.

T.I. has released seven studio albums (''I'm Serious'', ''Trap Muzik'', ''Urban Legend'', ''King'', ''T.I. vs. T.I.P.'', ''Paper Trail'', and ''No Mercy'') with latter five being highly successful on the commercial market. He has released such successful singles as "Bring Em Out", "What You Know", "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)", "Swagga Like Us" (featuring Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne), "Whatever You Like", "Live Your Life" (featuring Rihanna), "Dead and Gone" (featuring Justin Timberlake), "Got Your Back" (featuring Keri Hilson) and "That's All She Wrote" (featuring Eminem). He has served two stints in county jail, twice for probation violations and a federal prison bid for a U.S. federal weapons charge. While currently serving 11 months in prison he released his seventh studio album, ''No Mercy''. T.I. has also had successful acting career, starring in the films ''Takers'' and ''ATL''.

Biography

1980–2000: Early life and career beginnings

T.I. was born Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. on September 25, 1980, in Riverdale, Georgia, the son of the late Clifford "Buddy" Harris Sr. and Violeta Morgan. He was raised by his grandparents in Bankhead, Atlanta, Georgia. His father lived in New York and he would often go up there to visit him. His father suffered from Alzheimer's and later died from the disease. T.I. began rapping at age nine. He attended Douglass High School, but later dropped out. As a teenager, he was a drug dealer. He was once known as Rubber Band Man, a reference to the custom of wearing rubber bands around the wrist to denote wealth in terms of drugs or money. By age 14, he had been arrested several times. He was nicknamed "Tip" after his paternal great-grandfather. Kawan "KP" Prather, a record executive, discovered and signed T.I. when he was a teenager. Upon signing with Arista Records subsidiary LaFace Records in 2001, he shortened his name to T.I. out of respect for label mate Q-Tip.

2001–02: ''I'm Serious''

T.I. released his debut album, ''I'm Serious'', in October 2001 through Arista Records. The album spawned the eponymous single, which featured Jamaican reggae entertainer Beenie Man. His debut single, "I'm Serious," was released on June 26, 2001. The single received little airplay and failed to chart. The album included guests appearances from Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes (who called him "the Jay-Z of the South"), Jazze Pha, Too Short, Bone Crusher, Lil Jon, Pastor Troy, P$C and YoungBloodZ. The album featured production from The Neptunes, DJ Toomp, Madvac, and The Grand Hustle Team. Despite the album's guests appearances and production team, the album peaked at number 98 and only sold 163,000 copies in the United States. Critics pointed to the fact that many of the tracks sounded the same and that a few were blatant rip-offs. Other critics commented saying, "T.I. claims to be the king of the South, but fails to show and prove. He does, however, have potential. If his talent ever matches his confidence, he may be headed for stardom."

Due to the poor commercial reception of the album, T.I. was dropped from Arista Records. He then formed Grand Hustle Entertainment and started releasing several mixtapes with the assistance of DJ Drama. He resurfaced in the summer of 2003 with fellow Atlanta rapper and former label-mate Bone Crusher's song "Never Scared." His mixtapes and mainstream exposure from "Never Scared" eventually recaptured major label attention and he signed a joint venture deal with Atlantic Records.

2003–05: ''Trap Muzik'' and ''Urban Legend''

T.I. released his second album ''Trap Muzik'' on August 19, 2003 through Grand Hustle Records; it debuted at number four and sold 109,000 copies in its first week. It spawned the singles "24s", "Be Easy", "Rubberband Man", and "Let's Get Away". The album featured guest appearances by 8Ball & MJG, Jazze Pha, Bun B and Macboney and was produced by Jazze Pha, Kanye West, David Banner, Madvac and DJ Toomp. In March 2004, a warrant was issued for T.I.'s arrest after he violated his probation of a 1997 drug conviction. He was sentenced to three years in prison. While imprisoned in Cobb County, Georgia, he filmed an unauthorized music video. One month later, he was allowed a work release program.

T.I. was on probation stemming from a 1998 conviction for violating a state controlled substances act and for giving false information. After being released on probation, he earned a litany of probation violations in several counties around Georgia for offenses ranging from possession of a firearm to possession of marijuana. In 2006, after appearing in an Atlanta court on (May 10) and having charges that he threatened a man outside a strip club last year dropped for lack of evidence, T.I. was arrested on an outstanding probation violation warrant from Florida. The warrant claimed that T.I. did not complete the required number of community service hours he was sentenced for a 2003 assault of a female sheriff deputy at University Mall in Tampa. T.I. was detained by several mall Security Guards at the time of the incident. According to WSB-TV Atlanta, the rapper’s attorney said that the problem was nothing more than a "technical matter" between Georgia and Florida. The confusion arose because T.I. was also sentenced to community service in Georgia for driving with a suspended license, for which he did complete 75 hours of community service in his home state. The rapper was released on bail shortly after being arrested, and was expected to surrender to Florida state authorities the following week to resolve the matter.

T.I. released his third studio album, ''Urban Legend'', in November 2004. It debuted at number seven on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 193,000 copies in its first week. The album's official lead single, "Bring Em Out", was released in January 2005 and became his first top ten hit, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, while the second single "U Don't Know Me" peaked at number twenty-three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. His third single "ASAP" reached number 75 on the U.S. charts, number 18 on the U.S. R&B;/Hip-Hop charts and number 14 on the Rap chart. T.I. created a video for "ASAP"/"Motivation". However, "Motivation" only made it to number 62 on the U.S. R&B;/Hip-Hop singles chart. He was featured in Destiny's Child's 2004 single "Soldier" along with Lil Wayne, peaking at number three on the U.S. Hot 100 and the U.S. R&B; Charts.

In 2006, T.I. received two Grammy Award nominations for Best Song Collaboration ("Soldier" w/ Destiny's Child & Lil Wayne) and Best Rap Solo Performance for "U Don't Know Me" at The 48th Grammy Awards. That same year he won Rap Artist of the Year, Rap Album Of The Year, Rap Album Artist Of The Year, Rap Song Artist of the Year and Video Clip Artist of the Year on the Billboard Music Award and Best Male Hip-Hop Artist on the BET Awards.

2006–07: ''King'', ''T.I. vs. T.I.P.'' and federal weapons charges

T.I.'s fourth album, ''King'', debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart in the first half of 2006, selling 522,000 copies in its first week. T.I. released "Front Back" and "Ride with Me" as a promotional singles prior to the release of the album. The singles garnered little attention, but helped to promote not only the album, but also ''ATL.'' The album also included the singles, "What You Know," "Why You Wanna," and "Live in the Sky," plus a remix of "Top Back." ''King'' earned numerous awards and nominations including a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album. He was also featured in the single "Shoulder Lean" by Young Dro reaching the top ten on the U.S. Hot 100 and #1 on the U.S. Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Tracks.

"What You Know" won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance and was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 49th Grammy Awards. Also that year, T.I. collaborated with Justin Timberlake for "My Love," which proved to be a worldwide hit, and won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration with Justin Timberlake at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards and also won Best Male Hip-Hop Artist at the BET Awards for the second straight time. He then served as a featured performer on "We Takin' Over" by DJ Khaled also featuring Akon, Fat Joe, Rick Ross, Birdman and Lil Wayne.

T.I. released his fifth album, ''T.I. vs. T.I.P.'', on July 3, 2007. The first single from the album was "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)," which was produced by Mannie Fresh and was released to radio stations on April 17, 2007. The second single, "You Know What It Is" featuring Wyclef Jean, was released June 12, 2007. ''T.I. vs. T.I.P.'' sold 468,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 and the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It was T.I.'s second chart-topper in a row: ''King'' opened at number one on the Billboard 200 with 522,000 copies in late March 2006. The album included guest performances by Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Wyclef Jean, Nelly, and Eminem, and production by Eminem, Jeff Bass, Mannie Fresh, Grand Hustle, The Runners, Just Blaze, Wyclef Jean and Danja. Absent from this album's production lineup were T.I.'s longtime producer DJ Toomp and The Neptunes. In October 2007, T.I. released his third single, "Hurt," featuring Busta Rhymes and Alfamega.

On October 13, 2007, federal authorities arrested T.I. four hours before the BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta. He was charged with two felonies — possession of three unregistered machine guns and two silencers, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. The arrest was made in the parking lot of a downtown shopping center, which a witness identified as the Walgreens drug store at the corner of North and Piedmont Avenues. T.I. was arrested after allegedly trying to purchase the guns from a "cooperating witness" with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. According to federal officials, the witness had been cooperating with authorities a few days prior to the T.I. arrest, when the cooperating witness was arrested on charges of trying to purchase guns from a federal agent. The witness had been working as T.I.'s bodyguard since July, authorities said. T.I. walked out of the Atlanta United States District Court after appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman on October 26, 2007. Judge Alan J. Baverman required T.I. post a $3 million bond, $2 million in cash and $1 million in equity on property he owns. The rapper was required to remain at home except for medical appointments and court appearances. The only people allowed to live with him were his girlfriend and children. Visitors were required to be approved by the court.

2008–09: ''Paper Trail'' and prison sentence

T.I.'s suppression hearing was scheduled for February 19, 2008. The performer later pleaded guilty to U.S. federal weapons charges. He was sentenced to an undefined prison sentence, a year of house arrest and 1,500 hours of community service. In an interview with MTV about serving prison time, T.I. stated, "Presumably, while I'm there, I'll be able to strategize my comeback." He went on to say that he would not "just be sitting still doing nothing". At that time T.I. collaborated with Mariah Carey on the "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" remix, peaking at number 58 on the U.S. Hot 100 and number 36 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs.

While under house arrest, T.I. began writing lyrics down on paper for his following album. The first promotional single from the album, "No Matter What," was released in April 2008. The music video was released on June 2008 on MTV's FN Premieres. The second promotional single was "Swing Ya Rag" which was produced by and featured Swizz Beatz. The official lead single was "Whatever You Like," was released on July 2008, and became his most successful single of his career so far, breaking the record for the highest jump to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, jumping from number 71 to number one. Also becoming T.I.'s first solo number one on the chart. While "Whatever You Like" was number one, "Weird Al" Yankovic did a parody of T.I.'s song called "Whatever You Like", the same title as the song by T.I. He released his sixth album, ''Paper Trail'', in September 2008. The title of the album refers to the lyrics he had written down on paper. Like many other rappers, T.I. abandoned this style of rapping after his debut album ''I'm Serious'' by just memorizing lyrics. His representative explain that T.I. wanted to "take more time to really put something down [this time]". The album debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 selling 568,000 copies in the United States.

The second single from the album, "Swagga Like Us", featuring Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne, debuted and peaked at number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. With the third single "Live Your Life" featuring Rihanna, T.I. broke his own record on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 when it jumped from number 80 to the number one. The fourth single "Dead and Gone", featuring Justin Timberlake, peaked at number two for five weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, eventually going on to be nominated during the 52nd Grammy Awards for both "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration" and "Best Rap Song". During the 51st Grammy Awards, he was nominated for four Grammy Awards, eventually winning Best Rap Performance by a Duo Or a Group for "Swagga Like Us". "Remember Me", featuring Mary J. Blige, was released digitally on July 7, 2009. It was the planned first single off the re-release of T.I.'s sixth studio album, "Paper Trail", but the re-release was eventually shelved. The single peaked at number 29 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. On October 6, "Hell of a Life" was released digitally and went on to peak at number 54 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2009, T.I. appeared as himself on an episode of ''Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List''. On the episode, he took the comedienne to Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in LA and gave her a lesson on how to "swagger."

On November 21, 2008, T.I. testified in the murder trial of a member of his entourage and a close friend, Philant Johnson (1980–2006), who was murdered in a shooting that occurred after a post-concert party at a club. T.I. has dedicated several songs to Johnson, from the single version of "Live in the Sky" to his more recent hit "Dead and Gone" where Johnson's grave can be seen in the video.

On March 27, 2009, U.S. District Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr. sentenced T.I. to one year and one day in prison and ordered to pay $100,300 for federal weapons charges; T.I. had his sentence reduced from a maximum 10 years and a $250,000 fine with a plea bargain. On May 26, 2009, T.I. began serving his sentence in Forrest City, Arkansas. Two days prior to being imprisoned, T.I. performed a farewell concert at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. T.I. was released from FCC Forrest City on December 22, 2009 and was moved into a halfway house in Atlanta. T.I. had the Federal Bureau of Prisons ID 59458-019 and was released from CCM Atlanta on March 26, 2010. After his release from prison, he was subjected to an audit of his finances, drug counseling, DNA testing, and random searches of his property.

2010–present: ''No Mercy'' and drug charges

On March 26, 2010, T.I. was released from the halfway house. He was in the studio working on his seventh studio album titled ''King Uncaged''. Jim Jonsin, the producer who previously worked with him on his single, "Whatever You Like" and R&B; singer Trey Songz, were scheduled to work on the project.

T.I. made his first public appearance since prison, stepping out with then fiancée Tameka "Tiny" Cottle in support of her Alzheimer's research fundraiser "For the Love of Our Fathers" at Atlanta's Opera venue. "I am very well, very happy to be seen," said T.I., who joined Cottle onstage at the end of the benefit. T.I. released a new street single titled "I'm Back" on March 8, 2010. The single peaked at #44 on Billboard's Hot 100 charts. Around this time, he made a featured guest appearance on Diddy-Dirty Money's single "Hello Good Morning" where the single peaked at #27 in US and charted internationally in eight other countries.

He also made a guest appearance on Larry King Live on May 13 to discuss with Larry King about his nine-month prison term on federal gun charges and other topics. T.I. released a promotional soundtrack single entitled, "Yeah Ya Know (Takers)" on May 24. It peaked at #44 on Billboard Hot 100 and #68 on Canadian Hot 100. T.I. released another promotional single entitled; "Got Your Back" which featured American R&B; singer Keri Hilson and it peaked at number 38 in the US. Later, T.I. made more featured single appearances such as Jamie Foxx's single "Winner" featuring Justin Timberlake and Drake's single "Fancy" which it featured Swizz Beatz. Both singles made an impact on the Billboard charts peaking at the top 50.

T.I. released a mixtape entitled "Fuck a Mixtape"; the move was somewhat controversial, due to its title with many feeling he was insulting the Mixtape format. T.I. has addressed the issue by stating that it was a response to all the people who told him to just focus on an album and not on a mixtape. T.I. further defended his decision to release a mixtape by saying:

{{bquote|"I already have 60, 70 songs. A lot of these songs are period pieces that speak volumes to what's going on right now. If I hold onto them next year or the year after, they'll be dated, because my life will be in another direction. If I'm not gonna put it on the album — and they all can't make the album — then they might as well have another platform to present it to the world".}}

On September 1, T.I. and his wife Tiny were arrested on drug charges in Los Angeles. The arrest for drug charges led to T.I. being sentenced on October 15, 2010 to 11 months in prison for violating the terms of his probation, specifically for possessing ecstasy, testing positive for opiates and associating with a convicted felon. On October 25, the drug charges against T.I. were dropped.

T.I. changed the title of his seventh studio album and renamed it ''No Mercy'' due to his new prison sentencing. He then released the first single from the newly titled album, "Get Back Up" featuring Chris Brown on the same day that he was sentenced back to prison for violating the terms of his probation. "Get Back Up" peaked at #70 in the US. On November 1, T.I. reported back to the Forrest City Federal Facility to serve his 11-month sentence. His date of release is September 29, 2011.

''No Mercy'' was released on December 7, 2010. The album peaked at #4 in the US and it sold over 159,000 copies in its first week. RIAA certified ''No Mercy'' Gold with over 500,000 copies sold. His second and last single off the album "That's All She Wrote" featuring Eminem was released on December 19 and it peaked at #18 in the US.

T.I. was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Rap Solo Performance for "I'm Back" and Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group (Fancy with Drake and Swizz Beatz) at the 53rd Grammy Awards. He was also nominated for a Soul Train Music Award for Best Hip Hop Song of the Year for "Got Your Back" and he earned three BET Hip Hop Awards nominations for Hustler of the Year, Made You Look Award, and Best Club Banger for "Hello Good Morning" w/Diddy-Dirty Money.

In early June 2011, T.I. said in a letter: "I’ll be releasing a record in the near future (couple of weeks tops) to hold y’all over til I get back in action." On June 30, 2011, a new song was released onto T.I.'s official website and on his official YouTube channel - titled "We Don't Get Down Like Y'all", which features fellow Grand Hustle rapper B.o.B on the hook. While commenting on the song, T.I. said in another letter; "It's a song that I did soon after my release last time. What inspired me to write this record was the differences in how we do us and how they do them suddenly became incredibly evident in just a very short period of time." Currently it is not available to buy except from Atlantic Records's online store.

Other ventures

Acting career

In 2006 T.I. starred in his first film, ''ATL''. The other cast members included Lauren London, Antwan Patton, Evan Ross, Mykelti Williamson, Jason Weaver, and Keith David. The movie was written by Tina Gordon Chism and Antwone Fisher, produced by Timothy M. Bourne, Tionne Watkins, and Will Smith, and directed by Christopher Robinson. T.I. played the character Rashad Swann, an orphaned 17-year-old senior in high school. In its opening weekend, the film grossed a total of $11.5 million, ranking third in the United States box office, and went on to gross $21.2 million.

He also appeared in ''American Gangster'' as Stevie Lucas, Drug Kingpin Frank Lucas' nephew.

T.I. starred in the crime heist film ''Takers'' (originally called Bone Deep) as Ghost. The film was directed by John Luessenhop and was produced by William Packer, Michael Ealy, Tom Lassally, Jason Geter, Gary Gilbert and T.I. himself. The film was released on August 27, 2010 through Grand Hustle Films and Rainforest Films distributed by Screen Gems. The film also includes Chris Brown, Idris Elba, Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Hayden Christensen, and Zoe Saldana. ''Takers'' debuted at number one at the American box office at 20.5 million in its opening weekend.

Music and film producing

T.I. was co-executive producer of B.G.'s upcoming album and making beats for artists like Mariah Carey, Cassidy, Rick Ross, Maino, B.o.B, Yung Joc, Young Dro, and himself. He also executive produced the soundtrack to the film ''Hustle & Flow'' and released the collection through his record label.

T.I. also a songwriter. He has credits from Diddy, Dr. Dre, and Bow Wow.

T.I. launched his film company, Grand Hustle Films. Late 2007, T.I. linked up with Los Angeles-based production company 828 Entertainment to executive produce a new reality show titled ''Life on Mars'' which chronicles the life of young prodigy music producer LaMar "MARS" Edwards. T.I. partnered 828 Entertainment with his company Grand Hustle Records to produce a slate of both television and film projects. He also created a reality show on MTV called "T.I.'s Road to Redemption".

Community work

In addition to helping with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, T.I. worked with troubled youths at Paulding Detention Center in Atlanta, provided scholarships for single parent families at Boys and Girls Clubs, and headlined the Boost Mobile Rockcorps concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall, which featured such performers as Fat Joe, Slim Thug, and Kanye West, and was held exclusively for community service volunteers. As part of his community service time, T.I. has come to a number of middle-grade and high schools in Georgia, where he speaks with the students in an assembly holding a positive message, while maintaining a philathropic view about morals and growing up in the same areas as himself. In June 2005, The Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes Foundation, named for the deceased member of multi-platinum female group TLC, and Atlanta's V-103 honored T.I. with the 2005 Lisa Lopes Award for groundbreaking achievements in music and community service which was court ordered. With this steady list of growing accomplishments T.I. is being recognized as the "Jay-Z of the South," according to Pharrell Williams of multi-platinum production team The Neptunes.

T.I.'s night club, Club Crucial, hosted a giveaway of 200 bicycles to neighborhood children in the Boys and Girls Club with V-103 announcer Greg Street.

Business ventures

Forbes Magazine announced its first ever Hip-Hop Cash Kings list early 2007 with list of the top 20 hip-hop earning artists for the previous business year. T.I. was listed on their list three times.

T.I. opened his own nightclub, ''Club Crucial'' in Bankhead, Atlanta. It is considered one of the most popular clubs in Atlanta and features full entertainment centers with large flat screen TVs, pool rooms, VIP rooms, food, etc. Celebrities such as Monica, Big Boi, Mike Epps, Shawty Lo make appearances there. The club also hosts weekly events such as Monday night ''Open Mic Night'', ''Free Fridays'', and ''Celebrity Saturdays'' where local hip-hop artists are known to come perform their songs at the club.

Chevrolet secured an endorsement deal with T.I. earlier in 2007 to promote their line of cars, with a focus on the new Impala. Due to his arrest for federal gun charges, he was on the verge of losing his deal with the company.

T.I. had an endorsement with a social networking website focusing on the hip-hop culture named ''StreetCred''. The website was founded in 2007 by investment banker Rocky Williform. Celebrities such as Diddy, Lil Kim, and Jeezy had accounts on the website. As of 2008, the website was temporarily shut down until further notice.

On June 29, T.I. was named Global Creative Consultant of Rémy Martin Cognac. ''XXL Magazine'' revealed that the partnership will include collaborative projects and a focus on continuing the philanthropic works of his K.I.N.G. Foundation. He also announced on Chelsea Lately that he will be releasing his own signature brand of the liquor.

T.I. lost his endorsement deal with Axe body spray after his arrest for drug possession.

Controversy

Ludacris

A dispute with Ludacris started when T.I. saw Disturbing tha Peace rapper I-20's video. In the video, a man wearing a shirt which said "Trap House" was being beaten. T.I. mistook the logo to refer to "Trap Muzik". Former G-Unit artist Young Buck asked fellow Southern rappers T.I. and Ludacris to appear on his new record on the track "Stomp". T.I. recorded a verse which contained a line that Young Buck considered to be an underhanded snub towards Ludacris: ''"Me gettin' beat down?/That's ludicrous/"''. Young Buck spoke to Ludacris about the verse, to maintain his neutrality in the controversy. Ludacris then recorded the verse that can be found on the album. T.I's record company wanted Ludacris to change his verse before they sanctioned it but Ludacris refused and T.I. was therefore replaced by Game on the album version.

On June 24, 2007 at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood, California, T.I. was involved in a brawl. During a luncheon held by Kevin Liles of Warner Music Group (parent company of T.I.'s label, Atlantic Records), the MC got into a fight with Ludacris' manager Chaka Zulu. According to witnesses, T.I. punched Zulu in the face and choked him and a brief melee ensued.

T.I. brought home the award for Best Hip-Hop Artist at the BET Awards, and took the opportunity to apologize for his scuffle with Disturbing tha Peace executive Chaka Zulu earlier in the week. While accepting his award, he expressed regret over the situation. "They say it's a fine line between brilliance and insanity," he said, in an apparent reference to his troublesome alter ego, T.I.P. During the broadcast, cameras showed his onetime rival Ludacris smiling in the audience. The audience stood up and applauded T.I.

The two rappers have since resolved the dispute and have collaborated on two songs: "Wish You Would" on Ludacris's sixth studio album, ''Theater of the Mind'', and "On Top of the World" on T.I.'s sixth studio album, ''Paper Trail''. The original version of the latter had Kanye West.

Lil' Flip

According to AllHipHop, T.I. and Lil' Flip had an altercation in Lil' Flip's neighborhood, the Cloverland section of Houston. It has been said that T.I. went there to create a DVD exposing Lil' Flip to be a fraud. When T.I. went to Cloverland with his entourage, he was met by Flip and his people. Then it was said a fight broke out with one of the members of Lil Flip's entourage started swinging on T.I. until one of T.I.'s bodyguards started shooting. The same day T.I. went on a Houston, Texas radio station talking about the altercation. He revealed that he had the tape and he was going to release it with an upcoming mixtape, but that did not happen because James Prince stopped him from distributing the tape. It is unknown whether T.I. still has the tape or not. The feud was squashed by Rap-a-Lot's Prince after having them sit down and resolve their feud. The feud was documented by the Houston Press.

Shawty Lo

In 2008, T.I. was involved in a highly publicized feud with Shawty Lo. The feud was characterized by Shawty Lo's track Dunn Dunn, and T.I.'s reply in What Up, What's Haapnin. The song Dunn Dunn appears to question T.I.'s roots in Bankhead. The music video for What Up, What's Haapnin was shot in Shawty Lo's housing project Bowen Homes, an apparent insult towards Shawty Lo. In an interview, T.I. insisted that his song No Matter What was only partially aimed at Shawty Lo.

The feud reached its climax at the November 2008 ''Dirty Awards'' where the entourages of both artists clashed during the ceremony, forcing it to be shut down. Two incidents forced police to use pepper-spray and evacuate the audience.

The feud was publicly squashed on March 7, 2009, when Shawty Lo and T.I. appeared on-stage together at Club Crucial in Bankhead, for T.I.'s farewell concert. After this performance, T.I. gave an interview to MTV, in which he stated that the feud with Shawty Lo was exaggerated by the media, and was not a 'beef'.

Personal life

Family

T.I. has been in a relationship with former Xscape member Tameka "Tiny" Cottle since 2001. The couple married on July 30, 2010 in Miami Beach, Florida. Together, they have two sons: Clifford "King" Joseph Harris III, born August 25, 2004, and Major Philant Harris, born May 16, 2008. Their daughter Lelah Amore Harris was stillborn on March 22, 2007, six months into a complicated pregnancy.

In addition, T.I. has two sons with ex-girlfriend Lashon Dixon: Domani Uriah, born in 2000, and Messiah Ya'Majesty, born in 2001. T.I. also has a daughter named Deyjah Imani, born in 2001, from another relationship.

Through his marriage to Cottle, T.I. has one stepdaughter, Zonnique Pullins, born in 1996 to Cottle and Zonnie Zebo Pullins.

Rescue of suicidal man

T.I. has been praised for helping a twenty-four year old suicidal man in Atlanta named Joshua Starks, convincing the man not to go through with jumping from a 22-story building. On October 13, 2010, T.I. reportedly heard about the situation on the radio and drove to the scene at Atlanta's 400 Colony Square Building. He drove to the site, and asked the police if he could help Starks. T.I. then talked to the man, and convinced him not to jump. Afterwards, T.I. stated "For one, I'm not taking any credit. I didn't do it... I could've just as well came down there and it could have been resolved in another way. The fact of the matter is that God put me in a position to help, and I can't take any credit for that."

Discography

2001: ''I'm Serious''

2003: ''Trap Muzik''

2004: ''Urban Legend''

2006: ''King''

2007: ''T.I. vs. T.I.P.''

2008: ''Paper Trail''

2010: ''No Mercy''

Filmography

colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;"	Film
! Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
2006		Rashad Swann	Main Role
2007		Stevie Lucas	Minor Role
2008	''For Sale''	Omar Burgess	Main Role
2010	''Takers''	Ghost	Main Role and Executive Producer. Debuted at #1 at the American box office.
Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	! Notes
	2005	''The O.C.''	Himself	"The Return of the Nana" (season 2, episode 21)
2008		Himself
	''T.I.'s Road to Redemption''	Himself	Starred in all episodes
''Behind the Music''	Himself	Aired on October 8, 2009.
	2010	''VH1 Storytellers''	Himself	Aired December 10, 2010

See also

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of awards and nominations received by T.I.

References

External links

T.I. at MTV

[ T.I.] at Allmusic

Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century actors Category:21st-century American criminals Category:Actors from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:African American film actors Category:African American rappers Category:African American record producers Category:African American songwriters Category:American people convicted of assault Category:American prisoners and detainees Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:People convicted of drug offenses Category:Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Category:Pseudonymous rappers Category:Rappers from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)

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