company name	Sears, Roebuck and Co.
company logo
company type	Subsidiary
foundation	Chicago, Illinois, U.S. (1886)
founder	Richard Warren SearsAlvah C. Roebuck
location	Hoffman Estates, Illinois, U.S.
locations	2,248 (2010)
area served	United States & Canada
industry	Retail
products	Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, appliances, housewares, tools, and electronics
revenue	US$ 22.937 billion (2010)}}

| parent = Sears Holdings Corporation | homepage = Sears.com }} Sears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century. Formerly a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Sears merged with Kmart in early 2005, creating the Sears Holdings Corporation.

From its mail order beginnings, the company grew to become the largest retailer in the United States by the mid-20th century, and its catalogs became famous. Competition and changes in the demographics of its customer base challenged the company after World War II as its rural and inner city strongholds shrank and the suburban markets grew. Eventually its catalog program was largely discontinued.

History

Richard Warren Sears was a railroad station agent in North Redwood, Minnesota when he received an impressive shipment of watches from a Chicago jeweler which were unwanted by a local jeweler. Sears purchased them, then sold the watches for a considerable profit to other station agents, then ordered more for resale. Soon he started a business selling watches through mail order catalogs. The next year, he moved to Chicago, Illinois where he met Alvah C. Roebuck, who joined him in the business. In 1893, the corporate name became Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Mail order catalog

Richard Sears knew that farmers often brought their crops to town, where they could be sold and shipped. Before the Sears catalog, farmers typically bought supplies (often at high prices) from local general stores. Sears took advantage of this by publishing his catalog with clearly stated prices, so that consumers could know what he was selling and at what price, and order and obtain them conveniently. The catalog business grew quickly.

The first Sears catalog was published in 1888. By 1894, the Sears catalog had grown to 322 pages, featuring sewing machines, bicycles, sporting goods, automobiles (produced from 1905–1915 by Lincoln Motor Car Works of Chicago, not related to the current Ford Motor Company brand of the same name) and a host of other new items.

Organizing the company so it could handle orders on an economical and efficient basis, Chicago clothing manufacturer Julius Rosenwald became a part-owner in 1895. Alvah Roebuck resigned soon after due to ill health, but the company retained his name. By the following year, dolls, refrigerators, stoves and groceries had been added to the catalog.

Sears, Roebuck and Co. soon developed a reputation for quality products and customer satisfaction. By 1895, the company was producing a 532-page catalog with the largest variety of items that anybody at the time could have thought of. Sales were greater than $400,000 in 1893 and more than $750,000 two years later.

In 1906 Sears opened its catalog plant and the Sears Merchandise Building Tower. Also, by that time, the Sears catalog had become known in the industry as "the Consumers' Bible". In 1933, Sears, Roebuck and Co. produced the first of its famous Christmas catalogs known as the "Sears Wishbook", a catalog featuring toys and gifts, separate from the annual Christmas Catalog. The catalog also entered the language, particularly of rural dwellers, as a euphemism for toilet paper. In the days of outhouses and no readily available toilet paper, the pages of the mass-mailed catalog were used as toilet paper.

Alvah Roebuck returned to the organization during the Great Depression, and worked as a spokesperson until his death in 1948. Part of the reason Roebuck left Sears in 1895 was due to the stress the business placed upon him, and he later took some delight in pointing out his longevity versus the much shorter life of Richard Sears. In the 1970s, the name "Roebuck" was dropped from the trade name of the stores, though not from the official corporate name.

Retail stores

The first Sears retail store opened in Chicago on February 2, 1925 in the Merchandise building (in a portion of the company's headquarters at Homan Avenue and Arthington Street). This store included an optical shop and a soda fountain. The first freestanding retail store opened October 5, 1925 in Evansville, Indiana. During the summer of 1928 three more Chicago department stores opened, one on the north side at Lawrence and Winchester, a second on the south side at 79th and Kenwood, and the third at 62nd and Western. In 1929 Sears took over the department store business of Becker-Ryan Company. In 1933 Sears tore down the old Becker-Ryan Company store in Englewood, and built the first windowless department store, inspired by the 1932 Chicago World's Fair.

From the 1920s to the 1950s, Sears built many urban department stores. Starting in the 1950s, the company expanded into suburban markets, and malls in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1959, it had formed the Homart Development Company for developing malls. Many of the company's stores have undergone major renovations or replacement since the 1980s. The company was the largest retailer in the US until the early 1980s, but had dropped significantly in rankings by the time it merged with Kmart.

Shop Your Way Rewards

Shop Your Way Rewards is the rewards program of all the Sears Holding Brands. It was started by Kmart as Kmart Smart Rewards as a pilot program. One year after the Smart Rewards Program was started the name and program was changed to Shop Your Way Rewards. During the test part of the program it was limited to certain Sears and Kmart stores. After the test of the program was considered a success by Sears marketing team, it was introduced to all Sears Holding Brands including Sears, The Great Indoors, Sears Grand, Kmart, Lands End, and My Gofer. The program has four tiers. The tiers are Member, VIP Silver, VIP Gold, VIP Platinum, and VIP Executive. To reach the VIP levels of the program customers must meet a certain spending qualification criteria. Potential members may enroll in the rewards program at any Sears Holdings run outlet or online. Shopyourway Rewards has since replaced the former Craftsman Club Rewards program.

Diversification

Sears began to diversify in the 1930s, adding Allstate Insurance Company in 1931 and placing Allstate representatives in its stores in 1934. Over the decades it established major national brands, such as Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard, Silvertone, Supertone, and Toughskins. The company became a conglomerate during the mid-20th century, adding Dean Witter and Coldwell Banker real estate in 1981, starting Prodigy as a joint venture with IBM in 1984, and introducing the Discover credit card in 1985. In March 2009, Sears purchased the social search engine Delver.

Divestiture and Sears Grand

In the 1990s the company began divesting itself of many non-retail entities, which were detrimental to the company's bottom line. Sears spun off its financial services arm which included brokerage business Dean Witter Reynolds and Discover Card. It sold its mall building subsidiary Homart to General Growth Properties in 1995. Sears later acquired hardware chain Orchard Supply Hardware in 1996 and started home improvement store The Great Indoors in 1997.

In 1993, Sears stopped production of its general merchandise catalog because of sinking sales and profits. Sears Holdings continues to produce specialty catalogs and reintroduced a smaller version of the Holiday Wish Book in 2007.

In 2003, Sears sold its retail credit card operation to Citibank. The remaining card operations were sold to JPMorgan Chase in August 2005.

In 2003, Sears opened a new concept store called Sears Grand. Sears Grand stores carry everything that a regular Sears carries, plus health and beauty, toys, baby care, cleaning supplies, home decor, pet food, cards and party supplies, books, magazines, electronics, music, movies, and an edited assortment of groceries. Sears Grand stores are about 175,000 to 225,000 square feet (16,300 to 19,500 m²). The first Sears Grand store (and still the largest at 225,000 sq ft) opened at Jordan Landing in West Jordan, Utah in 2003.

Merger with Kmart

On November 17, 2004, Kmart announced its intentions to purchase Sears. As a part of the merger, the Kmart Holdings Corporation would change its name to Sears Holdings Corporation. The new corporation announced that it would continue to operate stores under both the Sears and Kmart brands.

In 2005, the company began renovating some Kmart stores and converting them to the ''Sears Essentials'' format, only to change them later to ''Sears Grands''.

Sears as a hedge fund

It has been speculated that Sears management is interested in more purchases beyond the Kmart takeover of Sears and that investor Edward Lampert is interested in the company becoming an investment company more than a retailer. Some of many possible targets are other companies that the management believes have low stock prices relative to company value. Some mentioned are Safeway, The Home Depot, and Anheuser–Busch. ''The Washington Post'', in an article dated March 11, 2007, described the current Sears as a hedge fund with money being diverted from the maintenance and improvement of stores to non-retail financial investments. A former executive is quoted as saying the company faces an "uncertain future". A third of pre-tax income in the third quarter of 2006 was generated by financial trades, followed by a poor fourth quarter in same.

Subsidiaries

Current

Sears Department Store is a chain of department stores that are located in shopping malls; they carry clothing, jewelry, home appliances, hardware, lawn and garden supplies, lawn mowers, paint, sporting goods, automobile repair, office supplies, electronics and school supplies. Sears stores are usually multi-level. There are 926 full-size Sears stores in the United States. There are also 301 Sears locations in Canada and 66 in Mexico. The largest Sears Department Store is located at the Toronto Eaton Centre in Canada.

Sears Hardware Stores are chains of small hardware stores usually located in small towns that are far away from a larger Sears department store. They carry Sears' complete line of Craftsman tools. Sears Hardware Stores also carry other items one would find in hardware stores (such as paint, electrical wiring, water heaters, and tractor-mowers), but under Sears branding. Many of these "Hardware" stores have been changed over to Sears Appliance & Hardware Stores, but there are still many of the original ones left, usually in smaller markets.

Sears Grand is a chain of hypermarkets typically located away from shopping malls (with the exception of Gurnee Mills, Gurnee, Illinois). Many Sears Grand locations are retrofit remodels of existing Kmart supercenter stores. They carry everything a Sears department store carries, plus health and beauty products, a pharmacy, toys, baby care, cleaning supplies, home décor, pet food, cards and party supplies, books, magazines, music, Little Caesars Pizza Station, movies, and a selection of groceries which is limited mostly to dry goods. Sears Grand stores range from 165,000 to 210,000 square feet (15,300 to 19,500 m²). The first Sears Grand opened at Jordan Landing in West Jordan, Utah in 2003. At , the Jordan Landing store is currently the largest in the chain.

Sears Essentials is a chain of discount stores that are common retrofit remodels of existing Kmart stores. Their product lines are similar to that of Sears Grand stores. Current locations include: Elmhurst, IL (reverting to a Kmart), East Ridge, TN (now closed from a recent flood), Bethlehem, PA, Lakeland, FL, West Palm Beach, FL, San Clemente, CA, Corona, CA, San Diego, CA, Tewksbury, MA, and Peoria, AZ.

Sears Appliance & Hardware is a chain of hardware stores that carry the whole line of Sears hardware and are usually free-standing. More than 110 Sears Appliance & Hardware stores averaging serve customers nationwide. Stores were expanded to include Sears' full line of appliances in 2005.

Sears Optical is a chain of off-mall optical shops which carries all the same products and services as the optical department at regular Sears stores.

Sears Hometown Stores(formerly known as Sears Authorized Dealer Stores) is part of the retail operation of Sears Holdings Corporation and is a small store version of Sears full-line department stores. Sears Hometown Stores provides a bricks-and-mortar, standalone store front through two owner operated formats. Sears Traditional Hometown Store established in 1993 is the locally owned and operated store and Sears Home Appliance Showroom established in 2007 is the leader in home appliance shopping. The stores are located away from shopping malls and meet customers' needs in local communities across the United States and Puerto Rico. Both formats carry the national power of Sears' brands, products, and services combined with an entrepreneurial spirit to serve customers in predominantly rural and some metro communities and the new name was adopted in 2009.

Sears Outlet is an outlet version of Sears department stores located in various retail locations across the United States. The stores carry new, one-of-a-kind, out of carton, discontinued, used, scratched and dented merchandise at 20–60% off regular retail price. While a wide variety of products are available, appliances make up a large majority of available merchandise. Sears Outlet stores were once known as Sears Surplus.

Sears Parts & Repair Center, also known as Sears Service Center and Sears Home Central, is a chain of service centers that typically sell parts for lawn & garden equipment and appliances and also feature a carry-in point for customers to bring-in merchandise which needs to be repaired, either in or out of warranty. Sears has started closing many of these as more of its service and repair business is home-based.

The Great Indoors is a chain of free-standing home decor stores that carry high-end home appliances, bedding, and kitchen and bath fixtures. The Great Indoors also offers custom kitchen and bathroom design services. The Great Indoors stores are 130,000 square feet (12,000 m²) on average.

Lands' End, aside from supplying its clothing line to Sears stores, also has 16 stores operated by Sears Holdings that carry only Lands' End clothing. These stores are located in outlet malls and regular malls.

Orchard Supply Hardware is a chain of free-standing hardware stores that carry home repair, hardware products and lawn and garden supplies. Orchard Supply Hardware stores are 40,000 square feet (4,000 m²). There are currently 88 stores, all of them in California. Sears now owns 80.1% of the chain, and revealed intentions in May 2005 to spin it off. Richard Karn of ''Home Improvement'' fame was a spokesman for the chain.

A&E; Factory Service is the newest name for Sears' longstanding on-site repair service, servicing larger items such as home appliances, electronics, and garden equipment. The A&E; brand name was purchased from Montgomery Ward, which used it for their home service unit, and is a joint venture held by Whirlpool and Sears Holdings. A&E; Factory Service is a network of mobile service vans with a long history of performing appliance repairs.

Former

National Tire and Battery & National Tire Warehouse (NTW) (NTB) is an American brand of auto service centers. It was formerly owned by Sears until it was spun off in 2003. Sears created the brand in 1997 by consolidating the Tire America (TA) and National Tire Warehouse (NTW) brands, adding the "B" to include its DieHard brand of batteries. Sears sold the brand, which consisted mostly of stores set apart from its name brand stores, in 2003 to TBC Corporation. A Sears spokesman said "Because of the separate branding and the lack of proximity to our retail operations, we weren't able to drive growth like a TBC could". The chain of 226 stores was reported to have brought in $425 million in revenue and $60 million in profit in 2002. Sears Brand Central was an electronics store. The appliances departments in Sears are now known and referred to internally as Brand Central, although they are not marketed to consumers as such, except for a few locations in Puerto Rico.

Sears Catalog Sales Stores were located in small towns. These stores were very small, even smaller than Sears' current Hometown Dealer stores. At catalog stores, some items could be ordered from the floor, such as appliances; other items could be ordered from catalogs at the store. These stores were often placed in rural markets which were far from full-line Sears stores, allowing for customers to purchase Sears products more easily. These stores were closed in 1993 when Sears closed its catalog business.

Sears Authorized Catalog Sales Merchant was an independent business person who provided many of the same services as the Sears Catalog Sales Store.

Sears Appliance Stores were small stores that displayed and sold (at Retail Store prices) appliances, carpeting, etc. and, in addition, provided a catalog sales department through which catalog items could be ordered.

Sears Rent-a-Car was a car rental chain formed in a joint venture with Budget. It was sold to Avis in 2002.

Sears HomeLife was a chain of furniture stores owned by Sears. The concept was introduced at a mall in Fresno, California in 1989, followed by a stand-alone store in Madison, Wisconsin. Sears sold the stores to Citicorp Venture in 1999, who changed the chain's name to just "HomeLife". They opened many locations inside large Sears stores or near the store depending on space available. HomeLife closed its last stores in 2001. In Puerto Rico, a few HomeLife locations are still present. Sears Neighborhood was a chain similar to Sears Hometown stores, except that Neighborhood stores were located in urban markets. These stores were also independently owned and operated. The concept was introduced in Atlanta in 1998, and another similar store was located in Cincinnati. The Neighborhood stores closed in the early 2000s.

Past and present store brands

Allstate – Automobile parts and insurance

Celestial Star – Diamond Jewelry

Challenge Records

Cheryl Tiegs – Clothing Coldspot – Appliances, refrigerators

Companion – Tools

Conqueror Records

'''Covington - Clothing

Craftsman – Tools

Craftsman Professional – Top of the line Sears tools

Dashmate Automobile Radios & Tape players

David Bradley – Farm Machinery

Dean Witter Reynolds - financial service, brokerage

Diehard – Batteries

Discover – Credit card

Dunlap – Economy line of tools

Easy Living – Interior paint, primers, and painting accessories.

Economy – iceboxes, fountain pens, sewing machine cabinets, gasoline engines, portable saw rigs, variety of farm equipment, cream separator Evolv – A do it yourself line of tools marketed with eco friendly green packaging

Gold Bond – Mens & Boys footwear

Goolagong - clothing

Harmony House – Interior Decorating Products

Hearthside – Rug looms & quilting frames

Hercules – work clothing, appliances, insurance (Hercules Life Insurance Company, owned by Sears), sewage systems, letterman's jackets, fire extinguishers, heavy-duty coveralls, and home heating systems.

Homart – Heating and Cooling systems, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, kitchen cabinets, building supplies

J. C. Higgins – Sporting Goods, camping Kenmore – Appliances

Kromedge – Sawblades, Dadoes, Moldering Heads, Router Bits

Penske – Automotive testing tools

Permanex – Blow-molded Polyethylene Tool Storage Cases, gas cans

Pilgrim – Clothing Roebucks – Clothing

Sears Brand – Various items from all departments

Sears Video Arcade - Sears's own version of Atari in the early 1980s; discontinued in favor of the actual Atari systems

Silvertone – Stereos, Televisions, Musical Instruments

Silvertone Records

Supertone Records

Ted Williams Brand – Sporting Goods

Toughskins – Clothing

Tower – Cameras, photo supplies, office equipment

Weatherbeater – Exterior paint, primers, and accessories.

Employee relations

Sears has struggled with employee relations. One notable example being the shift in 1992 from an hourly wage based on longevity, to a base wage (usually anywhere from $3.50 to $6 per hour) and commissions ranging from 1% to 11%. This new base wage, often constituting a substantial (up to 40%) cut in pay, was done "to be successful in this highly competitive environment."

In early October 2007 Sears cut commission rates for employees in select departments to anywhere from 1% to 4% but equalized the base wage across all Home Improvement and Electronics departments. This cut was furthered in late 2009 to a 1% commission rate on selected "base items" in the electronics departments of Stores. Appliances, vacuums, and mattresses are the only departments left where wages are based solely on commission sales. The jewelry department associates receive a low base salary with 1% commission on their sales. This model does not apply to all stores. Many stores now simply pay an hourly wage in the fine jewelry department, with no sales-based commission. In early 2008 Sears also converted Lands' End from commission to a straight hourly wage. Stores that feature a 'Lands' End Shop' are based on an hourly wage and a 3% commission on all catalog/internet sales placed from within their store. Associates receive an associate discount. 20% off on clothing, shoes, and jewelry. They also receive 10% off on everything else in the store, including Great Price items. Any associate orders done through the Lands' End Internal site receive 30% off with the associates paying a $6 fee for shipping and handling of any size order. The domain ''sears.com'' attracted at least 240 million visitors annually by 2011 according to a Compete.com survey. Sears saw profits drop 13% during the fourth quarter of 2010 but still has total assets of $26.05 billion as of the first quarter of 2011.

Properties

Sears Tower

Sears made history in 1974 when it completed the 110-story Sears Tower in Chicago. The tower became the world's tallest building upon its completion, a title it held until the completion of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur in 1996. It remains the tallest building in the United States.

Seeking to spread its operations out in a business park, Sears left in 1993 and subsequently sold the tower, moving to Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Even though its naming rights to the building expired in 2003 it remained the Sears Tower through early 2009. In March 2009 London-based insurer Willis Group Holdings, Ltd., purchased the building's naming rights and announced plans to make a name change later that year. The official renaming as the ''Willis Tower'' took place on Thursday, July 16, 2009, during a public ceremony hosted by Willis Group Holdings.

New headquarters

Sears moved to the new Prairie Stone Business Park in Hoffman Estates, Illinois between 1993 and 1995. The office park has a focus on technology and sustainability, featuring an extensive landscaping plan that uses native prairie plants wherever possible, and a system of several express bus routes coordinated with Pace to encourage public transportation use with a future stop on the Metra STAR Line. Despite these services, the remote location of Prairie Stone means that it is much less well served by public transportation than the centrally-located Sears Tower.

Sears Centre Arena

Recently opened is the 25% Sears owned Sears Centre Arena. Ryan Companies owns the remaining 75%, and other offices and hotels are being developed on the Prairie Stone campus.

See also

Sears Canada

Sears Mexico

Sears plc, former U.K. company

References

External links

Avenue Queue: One long wait inspired career shift MIT News February 6, 2008

Information about Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Official website of the Original Sears Tower

Sears, Roebuck and Co. Official Website

Sears2go - official mobile site

The Official History of Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Category:Companies based in Cook County, Illinois Category:Hoffman Estates, Illinois Category:Companies established in 1886 Category:Department stores of the United States Category:Mail-order retailers Category:Sears Holdings Corporation Category:Former components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average

de:Sears es:Sears Roebuck and Company eo:Sears fr:Sears, Roebuck and Company ko:시어스 id:Sears, Roebuck and Company mk:Sears nl:Sears (warenhuisketen) pt:Sears, Roebuck and Company ru:Сирс, Робак и Компания fi:Sears, Roebuck and Company

name	Vanessa Hudgens
background	solo_singer
birth name	Vanessa Anne Hudgens
alias
birth date	December 14, 1988
birth place	Salinas, California, United States
genre	Pop, dance
occupation	Actress, singer
years active	2002–present
label	Hollywood
website	VanessaHudgensOfficial.com }}

Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer, who is best known for her portrayal of the character Gabriella Montez in the ''High School Musical'' series. She also earned critical acclaim for her role in the 2009 film ''Bandslam''.

As an actress, Hudgens has appeared in several television programs including ''Quintuplets'', ''Still Standing'', ''The Brothers García'', ''Drake & Josh'', and ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody''. She made her screen debut in the 2003 drama ''Thirteen'' as Noel. She got her first starring role in the 2004 science-fiction-adventure ''Thunderbirds'' as Tintin.

Hudgens' debut album ''V'' was released on September 26, 2006. The album entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number twenty four, and was later certified Gold. Hudgens released her second album, ''Identified'', on July 1, 2008 in the U.S.

Hudgens' fame has also been marked by scandal caused by the release of private, self-taken nude photographs of herself on the Internet without her permission on several occasions. Since a third and anonymous release of these images, the FBI is now investigating these leaked photos in an attempt to find the source in connection with similar investigations regarding such hackings around altogether about 50 Hollywood celebrities.

Early life

Hudgens was born in Salinas, California, and lived all over the West Coast — from Oregon to Southern California — with her parents, Gina (née Guangco), who held a succession of office jobs, and Gregory Hudgens, a firefighter. She was raised as a Roman Catholic and has a younger sister, Stella Hudgens, who is also an actress. Hudgens is of mixed cultural background, as her father is of Irish and Native American descent, and her mother, a native of Manila, is of Chinese-Filipino-Spanish descent. Two of her grandparents were musicians.

Starting at the age of eight, Hudgens performed in musical theater as a singer, and appeared in local productions of ''Carousel'', ''The Wizard of Oz'', ''The King and I'', ''The Music Man'', and ''Cinderella'', among others. Two years after her career in stage plays and musicals, she started auditioning for commercials and television shows, and her family moved to Los Angeles after she won a role in a television commercial. Her acting career started at the age of 15, and she briefly attended Orange County High School of the Arts, followed by homeschooling with tutors.

Acting career

In 2003, Hudgens played a minor role in the independent drama film ''Thirteen'', where she plays Noel, a friend of a lead character (Tracy, played by Evan Rachel Wood). The film was critically successful, receiving generally favorable reviews, and its receipts surpassed its $4 million budget. Hudgens subsequently landed a role in the 2004 science fiction-adventure film ''Thunderbirds'' as Tintin. Unfortunately, the film was commercially and critically unsuccessful, and received heavy criticism through the Internet prior to its release.

In late 2005 Hudgens appeared in television shows such as ''Quintuplets'', ''Still Standing'', ''The Brothers García'', ''Drake & Josh'', and ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody''.

In late 2005 she landed her breakout role of shy and meek Gabriella Montez in ''High School Musical'', opposite to Zac Efron. Her performance received numerous nominations and awards. With the success of the film, the ''BBC'' predicted that Hudgens would be a "household name" in the US.

In 2007, Hudgens reprised her role as Gabriella Montez in the sequel of ''High School Musical'', ''High School Musical 2''. Virginia Heffernan of ''TV Review'' described Hudgens in her performance in the movie as "matte" as she "glows like a proper ingénue".

Hudgens reprised her role as Gabriella Montez in ''High School Musical 3: Senior Year''. Her performance in the film made her win favorite movie actress in the 2009 Kids Choice Awards.

Post-''High School Musical'', Hudgens remarked that she will focus in her acting and films, while "taking a break" from her music career as a solo artist. She played a supporting role in a musical comedy ''Bandslam'', which was released theatrically on August 14, 2009. Hudgens plays "Sa5m", a 15-year-old awkward freshman with untapped talents. Although ''Bandslam'' was commercially unsuccessful, Hudgens's performance received praise from critics. David Waddington of the ''North Wales Pioneer'' noted that Hudgens "outshines the rest of the cast, failing to fit in with the outcast narrative and making the inevitable climactic ending all the more expected," and Philip French of ''The Guardian'' compared her acting to Thandie Newton and Dorothy Parker.

Hudgens performed a musical number with other artists during the 81st Academy Awards. Hudgens later provided voice roles in an episode of Robot Chicken. Hudgens' involvement in ''Beastly'', a film based on Alex Flinn's novel of the same name, was announced in early 2009. She played one of the main characters in the film as Linda Taylor, described by Hudgens as the "beauty" of the story but not the stereotypical beauty everyone thinks of. Along with ''Beastly'' co-star, Alex Pettyfer, Hudgens was recognized as ''ShoWest'' stars of Tomorrow. Hudgens was later cast in an action film directed by Zack Snyder, ''Sucker Punch,'' playing Blondie, an institutionalized girl in an asylum, which was released in March 2011.

After so many years, Hudgens returned to theater productions wherein she starred in the musical ''Rent'' as Mimi. The stage production ran from August 6–8, 2010 at the Hollywood Bowl. Her involvement in the production drew negative comments, but director Neil Patrick Harris defended his decision with casting Hudgens by saying, "Vanessa [Hudgens] is awesome. She's a friend. I asked her to come in and sing to make sure she had the chops for it. And she was very committed and seemed great."

In October 2010, it was announced that Hudgens will be joining the sequel to the 2008 film ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' alongside Dwayne Johnson and Josh Hutcherson, playing Hutcherson's love interest. In April 2011, it was reported that she would star in an indie film, ''Gimme Shelter'' with Brendan Fraser, written and directed by Ron Krauss.

Music career

Hudgens received a recording contract with Hollywood Records. On September 2006 her debut album entitled ''V'' was released. It charted on the ''Billboard'' 200 at number twenty-four, and was certified Gold on February 27, 2007. Her first single, "Come Back to Me" became her highest-charting single. Her second single was "Say OK". ''Billboard'' readers chose "V" as the seventh best album of the year. Hudgens was named Female Breakout Singer of the year at the 2007 Teen Choice Awards.

Hudgens also participated in the nationwide ''High School Musical: The Concert'' tour in fall 2006, performing the songs from the soundtrack album as well as the three songs from her debut album. She sang the duet "Still There For Me" with Corbin Bleu for his debut album.

In December 2007, she sang to George Bush, who was then the president of the U.S., and his family, at The National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. with other singers at a Christmas event.

Her second album, ''Identified,'' which received generally favorable reviews, was released on July 1, 2008, debuting at #23 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album's lead single was "Sneakernight", which was a moderate commercial success, peaking at #88 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #94 on the Australian Singles Chart. Hudgens's ''Identified Summer Tour'' began on August 1, 2008 and ended on September 9 of the same year.

Image and personal life

Her height is . ''Us Weekly'' said Hudgens and her ''High School Musical'' series co-star Zac Efron "met in 2005 while making the first ''High School Musical'' flick, and became a romantic item about two years later." The two were paired together during the audition process and got the part because of their chemistry. The two ended their relationship in December 2010.

In 2006, Hudgens's earnings were estimated to be $2 million. Hudgens was included in ''Forbes'' richest list in early 2007, and the ''Forbes'' article noted that she was included in ''Young Hollywood's Top Earning-Stars''. On December 12, 2008, Hudgens was ranked #20 in the list of ''Forbes'' "High Earners Under 30", having reported to have an estimated earnings of $3 million in 2008. She was number 62 at ''FHM''s Sexiest Women in the World of 2008 and number 42 in the 2009 list. Hudgens is also featured in ''Maxim''s lists. She was included in ''People'' annual "100 Most Beautiful People" 2008 and 2009 lists.

Hudgens was represented by William Morris Agency but she signed on to Creative Artists Agency in 2011. Hudgens also promotes Neutrogena and was the 2008 featured celebrity for Sears' back-to school campaign. She was a spokesperson for Mark Ecko products. But in late 2009, she ended the 2-year contract with Ecko products. Hudgens regularly volunteers for charitable activities, including those for Best Buddies International, Lollipop Theater Network, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. Hudgens is also featured in ''A Very Special Christmas Vol.7'' disc which benefits the Special Olympics. Hudgens is also part of the "Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C): Change The Odds" along with other Hollywood stars including Zac Efron, Dakota Fanning, Kristen Bell, and others.

On September 6, 2007, photos of Hudgens appeared online, one showing her posing in lingerie and another showing her nude. A statement from her publicist claims that the photo was taken privately and it was unfortunate that they were released on the Internet. Hudgens later apologized, saying that she was "embarrassed over the situation" and regretted having "taken [those] photos." Hudgens subsequently released a statement indicating that she declined to comment further on the scandal. ''OK!'' magazine speculated that Hudgens would be dropped from ''High School Musical 3'' as a result of the images. The Walt Disney Company denied the reports, saying, "Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment. We hope she's learned a valuable lesson."

In August 2009, a new set of pictures showing Hudgens topless emerged on the Internet. Hudgens's representatives did not comment, though her lawyers requested the removal of the pictures from the Internet. In late 2009, Hudgens sued "www.moejackson.com" for posting nude 'self-portrait photographs' of her taken on a mobile phone in a private home. Hudgens later commented on the photos' impact on her career in the October issue of ''Allure'' with, "Whenever anybody asks me, would I do nudity in a film, if I say that it's something I'm not comfortable with, they're like, 'Bullshit, you've already done it.' If anything, it makes it more embarrassing, because that was a private thing. It's screwed up that someone screwed me over like that. At least some people are learning from my mistake." According to ''Us Weekly'', further pictures were released on the internet March 15, 2011 as well as a nude video. Some of the released images involved another female celebrity, Alexa Nikolas, the 18-year old star of ''Zoey 101''.

Brian Schall sued Hudgens in 2007 for an alleged "breach of contract"; according to the suit, Schall claims he advanced costs and expenses on Hudgens's behalf for her songwriting and recording career. Schall claims Hudgens owed him $150,000 after helping her earn more than $5 million for her music career. Hudgens argues that she was underage to sign her contract in October 2005 as she was just 16 then. She subsequently disaffirmed it on October 9, 2008. Papers filed in court by her lawyer say California's Family Code "provides that the contract of a minor is voidable and may be disaffirmed before (age 18) or within a reasonable time afterward." In 2008, Hudgens was sued by Johnny Vieira, who claims he was owed a share of Hudgens' advances, royalties and merchandising revenue in exchange for his management services. Vieira accuses Hudgens of abandoning her talent team as soon as she became a commercial name in the ''High School Musical'' era. In early May 2009, the case was settled.

Filmography

+ Theatrical films	! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2003		Noel
2004			Main character
2008	''High School Musical 3: Senior Year''	Gabriella Montez	Lead role, Disney Channel Original Movie
2009	''Bandslam''	Sa5m
2011
2011		Blondie
2012	''Journey 2: The Mysterious Island''	Kailani	Post-Production
2012		Apple	Post-Production

+ Television films	! Year	! Title	! Role	! Channel
2006	''High School Musical''	Gabriella Montez	Disney Channel
2007	''High School Musical 2''	Gabriella Montez	Disney Channel

+ Television	! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2002		Tiffany	"Still Rocking" (Season 1: Episode 4)
2002	''Robbery Homicide Division''	Nicole	"Had" (Season 1: Episode 10)
2003	''The Brothers Garcia''	Lindsay	"New Tunes" (Season 4: Episode 37)
2005	''Quintuplets''	Carmen	"The Coconut Kapow" (Season 1: Episode 22)
2006	''Drake & Josh''	Rebecca	"Little Sibling" (Season 3: Episode 13)
2006	''The Suite Life of Zack and Cody''	Corrie	Season 2Recurring role
2009	''Robot Chicken''	Lara Lor-Van/Butterbear/Erin Esurance	"Especially the Animal Keith Crofford" (Season 4: Episode 19)

Discography

''V'' (2006)

''Identified'' (2008)

Theatre

''Rent'' – Mimi Marquez (Hollywood Bowl, 2010)

Awards and nominations

Year !! Award !! Category !! Result !! Link
2006		"Best Actress – Television"
2006	Teen Choice Awards	"Choice TV Chemistry" (shared with Zac Efron)
2006	Teen Choice Awards	"Choice TV Breakout Star"
2007	Teen Choice Awards	"Choice Music: Breakout Artist – Female"
2007	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries, or Special (Comedy or Drama) – Leading Young Actress
	2008	Teen Choice Awards	"Choice Hottie"
2009	Kids Choice Awards	"Favorite Movie Actress"
2009	MTV Movie Awards	"Breakthrough Female Performance"
2009	MTV Movie Awards	"Best Kiss" (shared with Zac Efron)
2009	Teen Choice Awards	"Choice Movie Actress: Music/Dance"
2009	Teen Choice Awards	"Choice Movie: Liplock" (shared with Zac Efron)
2009	Teen Choice Awards	"Choice Hottie"
2010	ShoWest	"Female Star Of Tomorrow"
2011	People's Choice Awards	"Favorite Movie Star Under 25"
2011	Teen Choice Awards	"Red Carpet Fashion Icon - Female"
2011	Teen Choice Awards	"Choice Movie: Liplock" (shared with Alex Pettyfer)

References

External links

Category:1988 births Category:Actors from California Category:American actors of Asian descent Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American musicians of Asian descent Category:American musicians of Chinese descent Category:American musicians of Filipino descent Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:American people of Chinese descent Category:American people of Filipino descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Native American descent Category:American people of Spanish descent Category:American pop singers Category:American television actors Category:English-language singers Category:Hollywood Records artists Category:Musicians from California Category:Living people Category:People from Salinas, California

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colour	#ffaa44
name	Hank Hill
birthdate	March 19, 1961 I death March 19, 2011
portrayer	Mike Judge
creator	Mike Judge
gender	Male
first	Pilot
last	To Sirloin With Love
location of birth	The Bronx, New York (Yankee Stadium)
occupation	Asst. Manager at Strickland Propane, Mega lo Mart Propane salesman, back to Asst. Manager at Strickland Propane, former Jeans West salesman, former tractor salesman
fullname	Henry Rutherford Hill
nickname	Hank, Ol' Top
family	Cotton Hill (deceased father)Tilly Hill (mother)Didi Hill (stepmother)Hank Hill (GH or "Good Hank") (half-brother)Junichiro (half-brother)Dusty Hill (cousin)Rita (cousin)Luanne Platter (niece)
spouse	Peggy Hill
children	Bobby Hill (son)
religion	Methodist }}

Henry Rutherford "Hank" Hill is a fictional character in the animated series ''King of the Hill''. Hank lives in Arlen, Texas and works at the fictional Strickland Propane selling propane and propane accessories. Hank's voice is provided by series creator Mike Judge. ''The Economist'' named Hank Hill as one of the wisest people on television. Hank also has a very small Country career with his song "Peggy", a cover of fellow Texan Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue".

Character Biography

Hank is a Texan who has difficulty accepting change. He was born in New York, NY (at 3:07 am, measuring 7 lbs 5 oz and 19.5 in) and is a white male and sells propane and propane accessories as an assistant manager at Strickland Propane. He approaches his job with such dedication that when the phone rings in the middle of the night, he often starts into the Strickland slogan, "Strickland Propane, taste the meat, not the heat," before catching himself. He also refuses to miss a day of work for anything, including sickness and injury, as shown in the episode called "Hank's Back" where he refused to go on Worker's Compensation after injuring his back on the job. He was briefly promoted to manager when Buck Strickland's wife/ex-wife ("Miz Liz") temporarily took over Strickland Propane. Hank was also briefly promoted to manager by Buck Strickland while helping Buck rebuild a house for Habitat for Humanity as part of Buck's community service after a drunk driving conviction. He was then demoted after blurting out "I love you" to Strickland. Unlike Strickland's business enemy, M. F. Thatherton (and Strickland himself), Hank believes that selling propane through honesty and hard work is what life is all about. Hank won the Propane Salesman of the Year Award for three years. Hank idolizes Buck, who calls Hank "Ol' Top," and keeps a somewhat idyllic picture of him, even though he recognizes his boss's many shortcomings (excessive gambling, alcoholism, womanizing, and a general lack of principles). Hank must frequently clean up his boss's unsavory "situations": bailing him out of jail, facilitating his vices, and performing suspicious errands. In one episode he went as far as covering up Strickland's illegal price fixing agreement with the other local propane providers to keep him from being arrested. While Hank has a decidedly chauvinistic attachment to Buck Strickland, in the Season 5 episode "The Buck Stops Here" after rescuing Bobby and Buck from the grasp of violent gamblers in Arkansas, he slows his truck down just long enough to let one of the gamblers punch Buck in the face, and a smirk on his face implies he enjoyed this small catharsis against his boss.

Hank suffers from a fictional genetic disorder called Diminished Gluteal Syndrome (DGS). His essentially non-existent buttocks fail to provide him enough cushioning when seated, causing stress on his spine and forcing him to wear an "orthogluteal" prosthesis in at least one of the episodes. In addition, Hank broke his ankle playing High School football with 1 minute to go in the Texas state championship game and Arlen went on to lose the game. After merciless taunting from the winning team for 20 years following the loss, Arlen challenges them to a rematch. In preparing for the rematch Hank breaks his nose and has to have plastic surgery to repair it. Prior to the plastic surgery, one of Hank's nostrils was larger than the other one and Bill referred to this as "Hank's only imperfection". Hank fears losing once again and uses concern over re-injuring his nose as an excuse not to play, but finally changes his mind and joins his team at the end of the fourth quarter, pulling out a dramatic last-second victory.

He only has one child, Bobby Hill, but would have had more if not for his "narrow urethra," a continual joke throughout the series. Early in the series he often says of Bobby, "That boy ain't right." And in one episode Peggy says "Bobby isn't a girl," to which Hank responds "No Peggy, I don't think we have to worry about that anymore." Although Hank is often perplexed and irritated by Bobby's eccentricities, he clearly loves his son, even though he's reluctant and uncomfortable to say it to his face. He even feigns an interest in Bobby's passions such as comedy and theatre. Hank is relieved when Kahn tells him that he caught Bobby and Connie taking their clothes off since, up until that time, Hank was unsure of Bobby's interest in girls. In the first episode of the series, Peggy prompts inexpressive Hank to tell his son that he loves him—after he finally manages to do so, Bobby says that he thought he was just a "big disappointment," which Hank immediately rejects, earnestly (if, to the viewer, implausibly) declaring that Bobby is the one thing in town that's never disappointed him.

According to the episode "Yankee Hankie," Hank proudly believed he was born in Texas to Tillie Mae Hill and Cotton Lyndal Hill but finds (to his disgust) that he was actually born in New York City. His mother told him she gave birth to Hank in the women's restroom at Yankee Stadium during Cotton's failed attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro during a rare American visit. Hank was sad to learn of his true birthplace after having thought of himself as a native Texan for over forty years but eventually came to accept his heritage when he realized that many of the Alamo heroes were not from Texas either. Hank, who previously thought he was an only child, finds out he has a Japanese half brother named Junichiro in the episode "Returning Japanese". This is due to an affair his father had with his Japanese nurse while recovering from leg injuries in post-World War II Japan. Also, in the episode "Hank Gets Dusted", Hank is shown to be the cousin of ZZ Top bassist and vocalist Dusty Hill. Cotton was also revealed to have slept with many women before and after that, meaning he likely has several other bastard brothers and sisters. However any of these relatives are never confirmed in the series.

Hank was on the high school football team (as were Bill, Boomhauer, and team towel manager Dale). He was a running back and led the league in rushing (his record remains unbroken). He had a promising career until he snapped his ankle in the state championship (although this cost Arlen the game, he is still celebrated for "taking them to State"). This incident exacerbated Hank's already-restrained emotionality, as he regarded it as punishment from God for hot-dogging (doing a celebratory dance) after earlier scoring a touchdown, thus explaining his fear of showing joy. After graduating from high school, he went on to work as a salesman at Jeans West, a clothing retailer, until Buck Strickland found that he was a good salesman and hired him at Strickland Propane, where Buck taught him everything about propane and propane accessories. According to his neighbor, Dale, he also had a brief stint as a tractor salesman.

Hank drives a red Ford Super Duty, which replaced his original truck, a red Ford Ranger after it was destroyed by a train (although on its "last legs," Hank was determined to keep his beloved vehicle as long as mechanically possible). He gives great love and affection to his lawn and his Bloodhound, Ladybird. In several episodes it is implied that Hank spends more time with his dog and lawn than Peggy and Bobby. When Hank mourns over the fact that his lawn is sub-par compared to his neighbor's, he remarks, "I put so much work into this, my sweat, blood, tears, all the tender feelings I should have given my family." In another episode, Peggy is bitter at Hank for forgetting her birthday but throwing a special one for Ladybird. Hank's idol is Outlaw Country singer Willie Nelson, and he also plays an acoustic guitar named Betsy in his Bluegrass band. Hank is a fan of Country and Bluegrass music. Occasionally, he will listen to Southern Rock music and in one episode, remarks that he likes this "Zamfir fellow," a joke towards Gheorghe Zamfir (even believing his music was better than The Beatles). In another, he had also shown approval towards Doo-wop.

Hank is an Eagle Scout. Hank is naive, closed-minded and afraid of taking risks, but generally a good person. Although he dislikes change and novel situations, he can adapt to them quite well, quickly mastering unfamiliar social milieus. He can be pushed too far on occasion, usually by his neighbors Bill and Dale. A running joke throughout the series is an angry Hank yelling "I'm gonna kick your ass," a threat which, when he makes good on it, he acts out literally, and rarely if ever harms anyone. Hank's honesty and naivete often get him in unpredictable and troublesome situations. Ultimately, Hank cares for the people around him, particularly his family and friends and is always out to do what is right. Whenever Hank has to lie or speak reluctantly about something, he turns his head or looks around the room.

Personality

Unusual for an animated show, much of the humour of the show relies on Hank being a reserved, relatively introverted man, who struggles to show emotion, or to cope with advances in the modern world. He is uncomfortable with intimacy and sexuality (as demonstrated by the running joke throughout the series, in which Hank is extremely averse and overreacts to physical contact or anything involving sexuality regarding his niece, Luanne), but he has a healthy relationship with his wife, as well as the rest of his family. He believes passionately in hard work, honesty, and tradition; and is a proud Texan and American, to the point of occasionally struggling to suppress mild xenophobia. He is, however, a highly respected authority among his friends and family, who often seek his help and advice, knowing that he will always advocate doing the right thing in the right way.

Hank is against charcoal, butane (which he refers to as a "bastard gas") and the use of propane alternatives (such as electric water-heaters, heaters, stoves and ovens.) Hank believes that propane is the best source of fuel and is known to try to “convert” people to propane use. When niece Luanne Platter uses charcoal on burgers at a barbecue (Peggy and Bobby find them delicious and eat them all), Peggy and Bobby are horrified to learn that they enjoy charcoal grilling.

Hank is often regarded as a Southern redneck who has difficulty accepting change. Everybody looks to Hank when they have any seemingly useless or dull work that needs to be done. When his dog Ladybird attacked a black repairman (voiced by Bernie Mac) working on their heating system, he was accused of being racist, and it was later proven that he is not. He refuses to let mechanics touch his truck, feeling that he can accomplish anything without help. Hank has briefly worked at Mega-Lo Mart as a propane salesman trainee after Mega-Lo Mart drove Strickland Propane out of business. Hank's reserved nature probably resulted from years of verbal abuse from his father Cotton Hill. However, if sufficiently provoked, Hank has proven not to be a pushover, often ending disputes with his self-popularized quote "I'm going to kick your ass." He is also staunchly pro-Texas. In the episode "Texas City Twister," in which a tornado has torn off all his clothes, he is given the choice of covering himself with the Texas flag or a potted cactus. With barely a thought, he chooses the cactus, thereby sparing the flag.

He is for the most part a staunch conservative (he once said dreamily that he missed voting for Ronald Reagan.) He was initially a huge fan of George W. Bush, but had second thoughts about voting for him because of his weak handshake, and when asked if he would vote for "the other guy," presumably Al Gore, he said "I don't know." He is a Republican, but admires some old-school Democrats such as fellow Texan Lyndon B. Johnson. His purebred Georgia bloodhound Ladybird is named after Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of President Johnson, and Hank has made mention that the bloodhound's mom helped track down James Earl Ray, assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after an attempted prison escape. In one episode, Bobby chose to do a school report on his favorite president, Josiah Bartlet of the dramatic TV series ''The West Wing''. When Hank discovered this, seemingly going against his admiration of people despite their political persuasions, he scolded Bobby, not because Bartlet is a fictional character but because Bartlet is a liberal. He then had Bobby do his report on Reagan. However, Hank also shows deference to Jimmy Carter when they meet and greatly respects former Democratic Texas Governor Ann Richards (although he displays great respect for, and deference to, all authority figures, but the respect was most likely the result of Hank's great liking of Texas culture and history as mentioned throughout the show).

In nearly every episode, Hank and his friends Dale, Bill and Boomhauer will stand about in the alley behind Hank's house, drinking Alamo beer and discussing the events of the day. When consensus is reached and at breaks in the conversation, they will give short words of agreement, such as "yup" or "mm-hmm." He considers his wife his best friend and feels that physically punishing children is wrong; he is verbally strict, but not directly abusive. In the episode "Sleight of Hank," it was revealed that Hank has a huge dislike for magicians after seeing David Copperfield make the Statue of Liberty disappear. He has shown to have chiroptophobia, the fear of bats. When surprised, he reacts with a "BWAAAAAH!". This was used in the title of the episode "Mutual of Omabwah", and "Bwah My Nose".

Political parties aside, he is very conservative and old-fashioned, being largely ignorant of new trends; several episodes involve him dealing with things like yoga, boy bands, etc. Hank is portrayed as having traditional family values and he is shown to be uncomfortable with hiring a woman to work at Strickland because she was believed to be too attractive, even though she was overqualified; instead, he hired a man for shallowly expressing a fondness for the Dallas Cowboys and a blatantly fraudulent adoration for propane. The man was later revealed to be a completely unreliable drug addict. His old-fashioned ways extend to a suspicion of new technology. He does however, eventually get a cellphone and briefly becomes addicted to a computer game whose main character is modeled on him. In the episode Jumpin' Crack Bass, Hank made the comment, "Not my president! I voted for Dole!", referencing the 1996 election.

Still, he does share a few progressive values. One of them is his discovery of organic meat in the episode "Raise the Steaks". He even goes as far as to defend hippies, something he seemed somewhat ashamed to do; nevertheless, he agreed with them on natural food. He has also been shown to have fairly moderate views on issues like gay rights and other religions (except perhaps Buddhism). Hank has some environmental leanings (though he distances himself from the movement at large), once lamenting about air pollution in Houston, opposing the building of McMansions, and running for city council on a platform of removing low-flow toilets because they waste more water than they save. Despite his apparent naivety to general things, he has been shown to be very clever in various scenarios. These include tricking a crooked lawyer attempting to sue Strickland into making it appear as though he is the one who injured his plaintiff and forcing a veterinarian who was shaking him down on costly and unnecessary treatments for a soldier's cat to approve the cat's file (Hank told the vet's customers about a completely inefficient imaging machine the vet couldn't afford). Hank also got the see-no-evil parents of a youngster who was bullying him to exert discipline by having Bobby behave exactly like their son toward them.

Hank can be gullible, as for 25 years he bought vehicles at sticker price from Tom Hammond's dealership. He has also been tricked because of his relative ignorance concerning drugs or subcultures. Hence he once mistakenly bought vials of crack believing they were fishing bait and in a time of stress took a hit of marijuana because he thought it was a cigarette. He once introduced a woman named Tammy Duvall (voiced by Renee Zellweger), who later turned out to be a prostitute, to several business associates. This led her former pimp, Alabaster Jones (voiced by Snoop Dogg), to believe he was her new pimp, a role he was forced to act out to rid her of him.

In "Be True to Your Fool", a flashback reveals that shortly after Hank graduated from high school with his three best friends, Dale Gribble, Bill Dauterive, and Jeff Boomhauer, Bill enlisted in the United States Army -- a night of celebratory drinking led them to a punk bar, where the then-formidable Bill saved a drunken Hank from a beating. In gratitude, Hank stumbled off to a tattoo parlor and paid to have Bill's name inked onto his chest before passing out. Only Boomhauer was with Hank, and, unable to persuade the proprietor to ignore Hank's purchase, convinced him to put the tattoo in a less conspicuous place, the back of Hank's head; Hank had completely forgotten that night, but was reminded of it while undergoing treatment for head lice in the present (an affliction caused by an absurd scheme of Bill's). He had the name removed out of disgust, but eventually had a jailhouse tattoo of it put on to show Bill that the two were still friends.

Hank thinks very highly of Texas. He thinks that Texas is superior to all other states in the U.S or at least Hollywood. This is sort of satirical on the stereotype or at least exaggeration of Texan's state pride. In the episode "Returning Japanese Part 1", Hank says "Peggy, I've already chosen the country for our summer vacation, America. And the state, Texas. And the town, Denton. I don't care what their police did to that cyclist. It's still a great town." That was his response to Peggy's ideas for their summer vacation. Later in the episode, he also says to his father Cotton, "Dad, there is no other place I'd rather be" after Cotton said, "Hank, you work at a gas station; fuel this thing up and fly me back to Texas!"

See also

Peggy Hill

Bobby Hill

Propane (and propane accessories)

References

External links

Category:King of the Hill characters Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1997 Category:Fictional salespeople Category:Fictional sportspeople Category:Fictional American people of English descent Category:Fictional Republicans (United States) Category:Fictional players of American football Category:Fictional characters from Texas Category:Fictional characters from New York City Category:Internet memes fr:Hank Hill ru:Хэнк Хилл (Царь горы) simple:Hank Hill

Width	200
Number	4
Position	Quarterback
Birth date	October 10, 1969
Birth place	Gulfport, Mississippi
Heightft	6
Heightin	2
Weight	222
Highschool	Hancock North Central
College	Southern Mississippi
Draftyear	1991
Draftround	2
Draftpick	33
Debutyear	1991
Debutteam	Atlanta Falcons
Finalyear	2010
Finalteam	Minnesota Vikings
Teams	Atlanta Falcons () Green Bay Packers (–) New York Jets () Minnesota Vikings (–)
Highlights	Rated #20 NFL Player of all-time by NFL.com as of 2009 season 11× Pro Bowl selection (1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009) 3× First-team All-Pro selection (1995, 1996, 1997) 3× Second-team All-Pro selection (2001, 2002, 2007) 3× AP NFL MVP (1995–1997) 5× NFC Player of the Year (1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2007) 2× NFC Champion (1996, 1997) Super Bowl champion (XXXI) NFL 1990s All-Decade Team Career achievements, honors, records and statistics
Statweek	17
Statseason	2010
Statlabel1	TD–INT
Statvalue1	508–336
Statlabel2	Yards
Statvalue2	71,838
Statlabel3	QB Rating
Statvalue3	86.0
Nfl	FAV540222 }}

Brett Lorenzo Favre (; born October 10, 1969) is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers. He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons (1991), Green Bay Packers (1992–2007), New York Jets (2008) and Minnesota Vikings (2009–2010). Favre is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 70,000 yards, over 500 touchdowns, over 300 interceptions, and over 10,000 pass attempts. He officially retired on January 17, 2011.

Favre started at the quarterback position for the University of Southern Mississippi for four years before being selected in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft by Atlanta (33rd overall). He was traded to Green Bay on February 10, 1992, for the 19th pick in the 1992 NFL Draft.

Favre became the Packers' starting quarterback in the fourth game of the 1992 season, and started every game through the 2007 season. He was traded to the New York Jets and started at quarterback for the 2008 season before signing with the Vikings on August 18, 2009 as their starting quarterback. He made an NFL record 297 consecutive starts (321 including playoffs).

He is the only player to win the AP Most Valuable Player three consecutive times (1995–97). He has led teams to eight division championships (1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009), five NFC Championship Games (1995, 1996, 1997, 2007, 2009), and two Super Bowl appearances (Super Bowl XXXI, Super Bowl XXXII), winning one (Super Bowl XXXI).

He holds many NFL records, including most career touchdown passes, most career passing yards, most career pass completions, most career pass attempts, most career interceptions thrown, most consecutive starts, most consecutive starts by a QB, most career victories as a starting quarterback, most sacked, and most fumbles. He is often referred to by his nickname ''"The Gunslinger"''.

Early years

Favre was born in Gulfport, Mississippi to Irvin (b. January 5, 1945 in Pass Christian, Mississippi – d. December 21, 2003 in Kiln, Mississippi) and Bonita (b. September 27, 1944 in Pass Christian, Mississippi) Favre, and raised in the small town of Kiln. Both his parents were schoolteachers in the Hancock County School District. He is of French and Choctaw ancestry; one of his paternal grandparents was a Native American affiliated with the Choctaw. He was the second of four children and attended Hancock North Central High School where he played baseball and football. Favre started for the Hancock North Central baseball team as an eighth-grader and earned five varsity letters. He played quarterback, lineman, strong safety, placekicker and punter in a primarily option, run-oriented offense coached by his father, Irvin Favre, who was the head coach of the team.

Irvin Favre said he knew his son had a great arm but also knew that the school was blessed with good running backs. As a result, in the three years Brett was on the team, his father ran the wishbone, a run-oriented offense. Favre rarely threw more than five passes in a game.

College career

After high school, Southern Mississippi offered Favre a scholarship (the only one he received). Southern Miss wanted him to play defensive back, but Favre wanted to play quarterback instead. Favre began his freshman year as the seventh-string quarterback and took over the starting position in the second half of the third game of the year against Tulane on September 19, 1987. Favre, despite suffering a hangover from the night before and vomiting during warm-ups, led the Golden Eagles to a come-from-behind victory with two touchdown passes. Favre started ten games during his freshman year and won six of them.

In his junior season, Favre led the Golden Eagles to an upset of Florida State (then ranked sixth in the nation) on September 2, 1989. Favre capped a six-and-a-half-minute drive with the game-winning touchdown pass with 23 seconds remaining.

On July 14, 1990, before the start of Favre's senior year at Southern Miss, he was involved in a near-fatal car accident. When going around a bend a few tenths of a mile from his parents' house, Favre lost control of his car, which flipped three times and came to rest against a tree. It was only after one of his brothers smashed a car window with a golf club that Favre could be evacuated to the hospital. In the ambulance, his mother was sitting with him. "All I kept asking [her] was 'Will I be able to play football again?'" Favre recalled later. Doctors would later remove of Favre's small intestine. Six weeks after this incident, on September 8, Favre led Southern Miss to a comeback victory over Alabama. Alabama coach Gene Stallings said, "You can call it a miracle or a legend or whatever you want to. I just know that on that day, Brett Favre was larger than life."

Favre continues to hold various Southern Miss football records. As of the end of the 2010 season, he held the career individual record in the following categories: most plays, most total yards gained, most passing yards gained, most completions made, and most passing attempts made. He had held the record for the most touchdowns scored (52), but it was later tied by quarterback Lee Roberts, who played for the school from 1995–98. Favre had 15 games over his career where he compiled more than 200 passing yards, making him the fourth all–time school leader in that category. Of those 15 games, five were 300-yard games, the most compiled by any of the school's quarterbacks. Additionally, he was the seasonal leader in total passing and total offense in all four of his seasons at Southern Miss.

Favre earned a teaching degree with an emphasis in special education from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons (1991)

Favre was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round, 33rd overall in the 1991 NFL Draft. On July 19, 1991, Favre agreed to a three-year, $1.4 million contract with a reported signing bonus of $350,000. Atlanta coach Jerry Glanville did not approve of the drafting of Favre, saying it would take a plane crash for him to put Favre into the game. Favre's first pass in an NFL regular season game resulted in an interception returned for a touchdown. He only attempted four passes in his career at Atlanta, was intercepted twice, and completed none of them. Brett took one other snap, which resulted in a sack for an eleven yard loss.

The Green Bay Packers general manager Ron Wolf traded a first-round pick (19th overall, which would be used for Tony Smith) for Favre during the following offseason. Wolf, while an assistant to the general manager of the New York Jets, had intended to take Favre in the 1991 NFL draft, but Favre was taken by the Falcons on the previous pick.

According to the ''Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel'' and other sources, during the physical after the trade, Favre was diagnosed with avascular necrosis of the hip, the same degenerative condition that ended Bo Jackson's football career, and doctors recommended his physical be failed, which would nullify the trade. Wolf overruled them.

Green Bay Packers (1992–2007)

Brett Favre played 16 seasons in Green Bay. During his time in Green Bay, Favre was the first NFL player to win three consecutive AP MVP awards. The only player to win four AP MVP Awards is Peyton Manning. He helped the Packers appear in two Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl XXXI. Favre also started every Green Bay Packers game from September 20, 1992 to January 20, 2008.

Beginnings (1992–1994)

In the second game of the 1992 season, the Packers played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers were leading 17–0 at halftime when head coach Mike Holmgren benched starting quarterback Don Majkowski and Favre played the second half. On his first regular season play as a Packer, Favre threw a pass that was deflected and caught by himself. Favre was tackled and the completion went for −7 yards. The Packers lost the game 31–3, chalking up only 106 yards passing.

In the third game of the 1992 season, Majkowski injured a ligament in his ankle against the Cincinnati Bengals, an injury severe enough that he would be out for four weeks. Favre replaced Majkowski for the remainder of the contest. Favre fumbled four times during the course of the game, a performance poor enough that the crowd chanted for Favre to be removed in favor of another Packers backup quarterback at the time, Ty Detmer. However, down 23–17 with 1:07 left in the game, the Packers started an offensive series on their own 8 yard line. Still at the quarterback position, Favre completed a 42 yard pass to Sterling Sharpe. Three plays later, Favre threw the game–winning touchdown pass to Kitrick Taylor with 13 seconds remaining.

The next week's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers began the longest consecutive starts streak for a quarterback in NFL history. The game ended in a 17–3 victory and his passer rating was 144.6. During the season, Favre helped put together a six-game winning streak for the Packers, the longest winning streak for the club since 1965. They ended 9–7 that season, missing the playoffs on their last game. Favre finished his first season as a Packer with 3,227 yards and a quarterback rating of 85.3, helping him to his first Pro Bowl.

The following season Favre helped the Packers to their first playoff berth since 1982 and was named to his second Pro Bowl. After the season Favre became a free agent. General manager Ron Wolf negotiated Favre into a five-year, $19 million contract.

The Packers finished the 1994 season 9–7, advancing them to the playoffs in back to back years, a feat they had not accomplished since the Vince Lombardi era.

MVPs and Super Bowl seasons (1995–1997)

In 1995, Favre won the first of his three AP MVP awards. Favre led the Packers to an 11–5 record, Green Bay's best record in nearly thirty years. Favre passed for a career high of 4,413 yards, 38 touchdowns, and recorded a quarterback rating of 99.5, which was the highest of his career until he recorded a rating of 107.2 during the 2009 season. The Packers advanced to the NFC Championship Game after upsetting the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Game. The Packers lost the NFC Championship game to the Dallas Cowboys, marking the third year in a row the Packers season was ended by the Cowboys in the playoffs. Favre helped the Packers advance farther in the playoffs than any other Packer team since 1967, the season the Packers won Super Bowl II.

While being treated for various injuries, Brett Favre developed an addiction to vicodin, which became publicly known when he suffered a seizure during a hospital visit. Amid an NFL investigation, he went public to avoid any rumors about his condition. In May 1996, he went into treatment and remained in rehabilitation for 46 days. Had he chosen not to go, the NFL would have imposed a $900,000 fine. Favre led the Packers to their best season in 30 years in the 1996 season, winning his second consecutive MVP award in the process. The Packers led the NFL in points scored as well as fewest points scored against. Green Bay tied the Denver Broncos for the NFL's best regular season record, 13–3, defeated the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field in the playoffs. The Packers advanced to Super Bowl XXXI at the Louisiana Superdome, a short drive from Favre's hometown.

In Super Bowl XXXI, Favre completed 14 of 27 passes for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns. On the second play of the game, Favre threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to receiver Andre Rison. Favre also completed an 81-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman in the second quarter (then a Super Bowl record). Favre rushed for 12 yards and another touchdown, as the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI over the New England Patriots, 35–21. In their 19 games of the season, the Packers had a turnover ratio of plus 24, and outscored their opponents 100–48 in the playoffs.

Favre and the Packers continued their dominance of the NFC during the next season. Favre was named AP co-MVP of the league along with Detroit Lions' running back Barry Sanders, his third straight award. Also, Green Bay advanced through the playoffs to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row. After being heavily favored by 13 points, the Packers lost to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII by the score of 31–24 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, ending the NFC's 13-year Super Bowl winning streak. Favre completed 25 of 42 passes for 256 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 1 interception and 1 fumble in the losing effort.

Mid-career (1998–2002)

The Packers lost to the San Francisco 49ers in a wild card playoff game in 1998. Favre had rallied the team with a touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman with 1:56 remaining in the game to put the Packers up 27–23. However, Steve Young responded with a touchdown of his own to Terrell Owens with three seconds remaining to end the Packers season. Favre and the Packers failed for the first time since 1994 to at least reach the NFC championship game.

In the regular season finale of 2001, Favre was the target of minor controversy when, in a game against the New York Giants at Giants Stadium, he was sacked by the Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. It was Strahan's lone sack of the game and gave him the NFL's single–season sack record of 22.5, which topped Mark Gastineau's record of 22 set in 1984. Some analysts, such as Mike Freeman of ''The New York Times'', expressed the opinion that Favre allowed himself to be sacked in order to allow Strahan to set the record.

On March 1, 2001, Favre signed a "lifetime" contract extension, which technically was a 10-year contract extension worth around $100 million.

Favre and the Packers continued posting positive results through the next few seasons. Through the 2004 season, the Packers had the longest streak of non-losing seasons (13) in the NFL, despite an 8–8 record under coach Ray Rhodes, a 9–7 season under coach Mike Sherman, and no playoff berths in either 1999 or 2000. The streak ended in 2005, with the Packers finishing 4–12 overall.

Later career & personal tragedies (2003–2006)

One day after his father died of a heart attack or stroke, Favre decided to play in a December 22, 2003, ''Monday Night Football'' game against the Oakland Raiders. The Packers traveled to Oakland where Favre passed for four touchdowns in the first half and 399 total yards in a 41–7 victory over the Raiders on international television (even receiving applause from "Raider Nation"). He completed 73.3% of his passes and finished the game with a passer rating of 154.9 – the highest of Favre's career and just 3.4 points shy of perfect. Afterwards, Favre said, "I knew that my dad would have wanted me to play. I love him so much and I love this game. It's meant a great deal to me, to my dad, to my family, and I didn't expect this kind of performance. But I know he was watching tonight." He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. He then went to his father's funeral in Pass Christian, Mississippi. Favre won an ESPY Award for his ''Monday Night Football'' performance.

A notable game in the 2004 season in which Favre and the Packers finished 10–6 was against the New York Giants. During the game, Favre suffered a concussion. He did not receive medical clearance to re-enter the game. Despite the concussion, Favre threw a 28-yard touchdown to Javon Walker on a fourth down play. Afterwards it was reported that Favre did not remember throwing the touchdown pass.

After the death of his father, a series of events related to Favre's family were reported in the media. In October 2004, ten months after the death of Favre's father, his brother-in-law, Casey Tynes, was killed in an all-terrain vehicle accident on Favre's Mississippi property.

Soon after in 2004, Favre's wife, Deanna Favre, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Following aggressive treatment through 2004, she recovered. She created The Deanna Favre Hope Foundation which supports breast cancer education and women's breast imaging and diagnosis services for all women, including those who are medically underserved.

In late August 2005, Favre's family suffered another setback: Hurricane Katrina blew through Mississippi, destroying his family's home there; however, none of his family members were injured. Brett and Deanna's property in Hattiesburg, Mississippi was also extensively damaged by the storm. Favre elected to continue to play in the 2005 season.

For the 2005 season, the Packers, despite throwing for over 3,000 yards for a record 14th consecutive time, Favre had a below average season with only 20 touchdown passes and a league-leading 29 interceptions. The loss of guards Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle to free agency along with key injuries to Javon Walker, Ahman Green, Bubba Franks, among others, hampered Favre and the team. His passer rating was 70.9, 31st in the NFL and the worst single season rating of his career. After the disappointing season, many speculated that Favre would retire. However, on April 26, 2006, Favre announced that he would remain with the team for the 2006 season. Despite earlier comments that the 2006 season would be his last, Favre announced in a press conference on May 6, 2006, that he had not ruled out the possibility of returning beyond the 2006 season.

In the 2006 season, Favre suffered his first career shutout against the Chicago Bears. Later in the season, the New England Patriots shut out the Packers in a game where he was injured before halftime and could not complete the game. On September 24, 2006, he became just the second quarterback in NFL history to record 400 touchdown passes (Dan Marino being the first). He connected with rookie wide receiver Greg Jennings on a 5-yard pass that Jennings turned into a 75-yard touchdown play during a win against the Detroit Lions. He also became the first player ever to complete 5,000 passes in his career. On December 31, 2006, the Packers played their last game of the season, winning 26–7 against the Chicago Bears. It was his 22nd career win versus the Bears, moving him to an all-time record of 22–8.

Milestone season (2007)

On February 26, 2007, Brett Favre underwent minor arthroscopic ankle surgery in Green Bay, Wisconsin to remove a buildup of bone spurs in his left ankle.

Favre began the 2007 season trailing in a number of career NFL passing records. On September 16, 2007, Favre and the Packers defeated the New York Giants to give Favre his record setting 149th win, passing John Elway. On September 30, Favre threw a 16 yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings in a game against the Vikings. This was his 421st NFL touchdown pass, and set a new all time record, surpassing Dan Marino's 420.

On November 4, 2007, after the Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 33–22, Favre became only the 3rd quarterback to have defeated all thirty-one other current NFL teams. He joined Peyton Manning and Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to do this, just the week after the two of them achieved the accomplishment. On Thanksgiving 2007, Favre led the Packers to a 37–26 win over the Lions, and brought the Packers to a 10–1 record. He won the Galloping Gobbler award, given by the broadcasters at Fox to the game MVP. Favre threw three touchdown passes for his 63rd career game with at least three touchdowns, surpassing Marino's former record of 62.

Favre led the Packers to a 13–3 regular season record, the NFC North championship, and the second seed in the NFC playoffs. Prior to the Packers' playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks, Favre stated his desire to continue playing football for another season. In the Divisional Playoffs, Favre threw three touchdowns as the Packers cruised to a 42–20 victory over the Seahawks at a snowy Lambeau Field. The Packers' season ended the following week when they suffered a 23–20 overtime loss in the NFC Championship Game to the eventual Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. Negotiating sub-zero temperatures, Favre amassed 236 passing yards and two touchdowns, but also threw an interception in overtime that set up the Giants' game-winning field goal. Favre's 90-yard touchdown pass to Donald Driver in the second quarter was the longest pass in Packers playoff history, and it extended Favre's NFL record for consecutive postseason games with a touchdown pass to 18. Favre stated after the game that he would make a decision more quickly than he has in the past regarding whether he would return for another season.

Favre's milestone 2007 season culminated with his selection to the 2008 Pro Bowl as the starting quarterback for the NFC, but an ankle injury forced him to withdraw.

Retirements and returns (2008)

Beginning near the end of the 2006 season, word began to surface that Favre was considering retirement. In fact, playing in Soldier Field against the arch-rival Bears in the season finale, Favre was given a standing ovation in the closing seconds of the Packer victory as a show of respect from Chicago fans to their longtime nemesis. Moments later at the postgame interview, he gave a tearful interview with an NBC Sports correspondent, where he admitted his future was still questionable. However, after much debate, he returned for 2007, during which his future was once again in doubt and an oft-discussed topic, with many in the media speculating that if the Packers made the Super Bowl, Favre would indeed retire and hand the reins to the unproven but talented Aaron Rodgers, who was drafted two years earlier as Favre's heir-apparent. Ultimately, the Packers fell in the NFC Championship to the New York Giants (who in turn upset the heavily favored New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII).

On March 4, 2008, Favre formally announced his retirement. Although Favre stated that he had been willing to play another year, he felt that another season would only be successful if he led his team to another Super Bowl victory. He added the chances for a Super Bowl win were small, and that he wasn't up for the challenge. At his press conference, Favre openly wept about leaving the NFL. He stated that his decision, regardless of what was being said in the media, had nothing to do with what the Packers did or didn't do. He said, seemingly contradictory to Cook's statements, that his decision to retire was based on the fact that he didn't want to play anymore. He said during the conference, "I know I can play, but I don't think I want to. And that's really what it comes down to."

On July 2, 2008, it was reported that Favre was in contact with the Packers about a possible return to the team. On July 11, 2008, Favre sent a letter to the Packers asking for his unconditional release to allow him to play for another NFL team. Packers general manager Ted Thompson announced he would not grant Favre an unconditional release and reaffirmed the organization's commitment to Aaron Rodgers as its new quarterback. Complicating matters was Favre's unique contract giving him the leverage to void any potential trade by not reporting to the camp of the team he might be traded to if the Packers elect to go that route.

Favre spoke publicly for the first time about his potential comeback in a July 14, 2008, interview with Greta Van Susteren on the Fox News Channel's ''On the Record with Greta Van Susteren''. In the interview, Favre said he was "guilty of retiring early," that he was "never fully committed" to retirement, and that he was pressured by the Packers to make a decision before the NFL Draft and the start of the free agent signing period. Favre disputed the notion that he doesn't want to play for Green Bay and said that while he understands the organization has decided to move on, they should now allow him to do the same. He made clear that he would not return to the Packers as a backup and reiterated his desire to be released rather than traded, which would allow him the freedom to play for a competitive team. Favre also accused the Packers of being dishonest, wishing the team would have been straightforward with him and the public.

In the second part of the interview, which aired on July 15, Favre expressed his frustration with Packer management, spoke of his sympathy for successor Aaron Rodgers' predicament, and affirmed he is 100 percent committed to playing football in 2008.

FOXSports.com's Jay Glazer reported on July 16, 2008, that the Packers filed tampering charges against the Minnesota Vikings with the league office, alleging improper communication between Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and Favre, although one source suggested that Favre may have been in contact with Vikings head coach Brad Childress. After an investigation, Commissioner Roger Goodell ruled there had been no violation of tampering rules.

Favre formally filed for reinstatement with the NFL on July 29, 2008, and his petition was granted by Commissioner Goodell, effective August 4, 2008. Favre then flew to Green Bay to report to Packers training camp. After a lengthy meeting with head coach Mike McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson, however, both sides agreed it was time for Favre and the organization to part ways. McCarthy sensed Favre was not in "the right mind-set" to resume playing for the Packers, while Favre felt that his relationship with Packer management had deteriorated to the point that a return to the team would be untenable.

New York Jets (2008)

After negotiations with both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets, the Packers traded Favre to the Jets on August 7, 2008, in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2009 draft with performance escalation. Favre's season with the Jets started well; in week four of the 2008 season, he threw six touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals, a personal best and one fewer than the NFL record. This performance led to him being selected as the FedEx Air Player of the Week. By Week 12, the Jets had compiled an 8–3 record, including a win over the previously undefeated Tennessee Titans. However, the Jets lost four of the last five games of the season, including the final game against the Miami Dolphins, who had acquired Chad Pennington after he was released from the Jets to make room for Favre. In those five games, Favre threw eight interceptions and only two touchdown passes, bringing his season total to twenty-two of each. Favre had complained of shoulder pain and had an MRI performed on December 29, 2008, which revealed a torn biceps tendon in his right shoulder. After the 2008 season had ended, in mid January 2009, Favre told Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum, "it may be time to look in a different direction" regarding the quarterback position. On February 11, 2009, Favre informed the Jets that he was retiring after 18 seasons. He remained property of the New York Jets organization, until April 28, 2009, when the Jets released Favre from his contract, thus allowing him to sign anywhere he wanted. By May 2009, he was officially cut from the Jets Reserve/Retired list. In September 2009, Favre again made Jets news, as the NFL learned that the Jets were aware that Favre injured his arm in the eleventh game of the 2008 season, and fined the Jets $125,000 for not reporting the injury in any of the Jets' five final games.

Minnesota Vikings (2009–2010)

Favre officially signed with the Minnesota Vikings on August 18, 2009. He would go on to have a landmark season in which he surpassed former Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall for consecutive starts at one position, with 291., became the first quarterback in NFL history to defeat every one of the league's 32 franchises since the NFL first expanded to 32 franchises in 2002., surpassed Dan Marino's previous record for four-touchdown games, and was named to his 11th Pro Bowl. The Vikings finished 12-4 and advanced to the NFC Championship game, ultimately losing in overtime to the eventual Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. Despite the loss, Favre set playoff records for pass completions and passing yards previously held by Joe Montana.

On Tuesday, August 3, 2010, NBC Sports reported the confirmation of Brett Favre returning to the Minnesota Vikings, however he repeatedly mentioned that the 2010 season would be his final season. An announcement was given on August 17, 2010 confirming his return to the team. That season, Brett Favre achieved two milestones. He threw for his 500th touchdown and 70,000th yard against the New York Jets. On December 2, 2010, in a game against the Buffalo Bills, Favre was hit by Bills linebacker Arthur Moats while making a throw, causing him to sustain a sprain of the AC joint in his right shoulder. Favre missed the rest of the game and was replaced by Tarvaris Jackson who led the Vikings to victory despite throwing three interceptions.

On December 13, 2010, due to his sprained shoulder, Brett Favre was marked inactive for the game against the New York Giants ending his consecutive regular season start streak at 297. Favre started a total of 321 games including post-season appearances. On December 20, 2010 while playing the Chicago Bears outside at TCF Bank Stadium due to the collapse of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Favre sustained a concussion after being sacked by Bears defensive end Corey Wootton. This would be his final appearance in an NFL game.

On January 2, 2011, Favre was unable to play against the Detroit Lions in the final game of the regular NFL season due to his inability to pass NFL-mandated post-concussion tests. In a press conference immediately following the game, Favre announced his intention to retire from professional football.

On January 17, 2011, Favre officially filed his retirement papers with the NFL.

Career achievements

Honors and awards

3× Associated Press Most Valuable Player (MVP) (1995, 1996, and 1997; the last shared with Barry Sanders). 11× Pro Bowl selection. 6× First- or Second-team All-Pro selection. Named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team.

Records and milestones

Favre owns a number of NFL records. Favre also owns a number of team records, having printed his name into almost every passing category in the annals of Green Bay Packers history.

Favre is the only quarterback to have led a team to victory over all thirty-two teams in the league since the NFL expanded to 32 franchises in 2002.

Favre is one of four quarterbacks to lead the league in touchdown passes four times. The others are Johnny Unitas, Len Dawson, and Steve Young.

Consecutive starts streak

Since first being named the starter of the Green Bay Packers before playing the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 27, 1992, Brett Favre had never missed a game spanning over eighteen and one half consecutive seasons. He holds the record for the most consecutive starts by any player in the NFL with 297, and is one of only six quarterbacks to have started over 100 consecutive games in NFL history. He failed to finish a game due to injury on only eight occasions since taking control of the Packers as quarterback.

Since the beginning of Favre's consecutive starts streak, 238 other quarterbacks have started in the NFL, seventeen of them being back-ups to Favre at one point. Among the former backups who started a game during his streak include: Don Majkowski (1992), Ty Detmer (1992–1995), Mark Brunell (1993–1994), Doug Pederson (1996–1998, 2001–2004), Steve Bono (1997), Rick Mirer (1998), Matt Hasselbeck (1999–2000), Aaron Brooks (1999), Danny Wuerffel (2000), Henry Burris (2001), J.T. O'Sullivan (2004), Aaron Rodgers (2005–2007), Kellen Clemens (2008), and Tarvaris Jackson (2009–2010), with three veteran backups having never started another NFL game: Jim McMahon (1995–1996), T.J. Rubley (1995), and Sage Rosenfels (2009). Seven other quarterbacks were back-ups to Favre but did not start a game during the streak which includes: Craig Nall (2002–2005, 2007), Ingle Martin (2006), Brett Ratliff (2008), Erik Ainge (2008), Rhett Bomar (2010), and R.J. Archer (2010), with one backup having started since the streak ended: Joe Webb (2010). Five other quarterbacks were training camp and/or practice squad participants with Favre but failed to make the final roster including Kurt Warner (1994), Jay Barker (1995), Ronnie McAda (1997), Eric Crouch (2003-2004) and John David Booty (2009).

The consecutive starts streak is widely considered one of the most notable streaks in sports, so much so that the Pro Football Hall of Fame has as an exhibit displaying the jersey Favre wore during his record breaking 117th consecutive start as a quarterback, and a section of their website devoted to what the Hall of Fame calls an "Iron Man".

In 2009, Favre surpassed Jim Marshall for starts at any position with his record-breaking 271st start as a quarterback as the Vikings played the Lions. His streak ended at 297, with the last start in the streak coming on December 5, 2010. Favre was unable to start the Vikings' December 13 game against the New York Giants due to a shoulder injury, despite the game being delayed for a day because of the collapse of the Metrodome roof.

Statistics

Brett Favre's professional statistics:

1991 Atlanta Falcons season1992 Green Bay Packers season1993 Green Bay Packers season1994 Green Bay Packers season1995 Green Bay Packers season1996 Green Bay Packers season1997 Green Bay Packers season1998 Green Bay Packers season1999 Green Bay Packers season2000 Green Bay Packers season2001 Green Bay Packers season2002 Green Bay Packers season2003 Green Bay Packers season2004 Green Bay Packers season2005 Green Bay Packers season2006 Green Bay Packers season2007 Green Bay Packers season2008 New York Jets season2009 Minnesota Vikings season2010 Minnesota Vikings season !colspan="2"

Regular Season	Passing	Rushing
!YEAR	!TEAM	!GP	!GS	!CMP	!ATT	!CMP%	!YDS	!TD	!INT	!LNG	!20+	!40+	!SK	!SKY	!YPA	!YPG	!TD%	!INT%	!RATE	!W	!L	!ATT	!YDS	!AVG	!TD	!LNG	!1ST
1991	ATL||	2	0	0	4	0.0	0	0	2	—	0	0	1	11	0.0	0.0	0.0	50.0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
1992	GB||	15	13	302	471	64.1	3,227	18	13	76T	30	9	34	208	6.9	215.1	3.8	2.8	85.3	8	5	47	198	4.2	1	19	11
1993	GB||	16	16	318	522	60.9	3,303	19	24	66T	37	5	30	199	6.3	206.4	3.6	4.6	72.2	9	7	58	216	3.7	1	27	13
1994	GB||	16	16	363	582	62.4	3,882	33	14	49	44	4	31	188	6.7	242.6	5.7	2.4	90.7	9	7	42	202	4.8	2	36T	14
1995	GB||	16	16	359	570	63.0	4,413	38	13	99T	59	5	33	217	7.7	275.8	6.7	2.3	99.5	11	5	39	181	4.6	3	40	17
1996	GB||	16	16	325	543	59.9	3,899	39	13	80T	49	11	40	241	7.2	243.7	7.2	2.4	95.8	13	3	49	136	2.8	2	23	18
1997	GB||	16	16	304	513	59.3	3,867	35	16	74	61	9	25	176	7.5	241.7	6.8	3.1	92.6	13	3	58	187	3.2	1	16	16
1998	GB||	16	16	347	551	63.0	4,212	31	23	84T	47	9	38	223	7.6	263.2	5.6	4.2	87.8	11	5	40	133	3.3	1	35	13
1999	GB||	16	16	341	595	57.3	4,091	22	23	74T	52	11	35	223	6.9	255.7	3.7	3.9	74.7	8	8	28	142	5.1	0	20	11
2000	GB||	16	16	338	580	58.3	3,812	20	16	67T	41	7	33	236	6.6	238.2	3.4	2.8	78.0	9	7	27	108	4.0	0	18	7
2001	GB||	16	16	314	510	61.6	3,921	32	15	67T	53	13	22	151	7.7	245.1	6.3	2.9	94.1	12	4	38	56	1.5	1	14	5
2002	GB||	16	16	341	551	61.9	3,658	27	16	85T	39	7	26	188	6.6	228.6	4.9	2.9	85.6	12	4	25	73	2.9	0	17	6
2003	GB||	16	16	308	471	65.4	3,361	32	21	66T	42	7	19	137	7.1	210.1	6.8	4.5	90.4	10	6	18	15	0.8	0	7	3
2004	GB||	16	16	346	540	64.1	4,088	30	17	79T	50	12	12	93	7.6	255.5	5.6	3.1	92.4	10	6	16	36	2.3	0	17	2
2005	GB||	16	16	372	607	61.3	3,881	20	29	59	40	7	24	170	6.4	242.6	3.3	4.8	70.9	4	12	18	62	3.4	0	20	4
2006	GB||	16	16	343	613	56.0	3,885	18	18	82T	49	8	21	134	6.3	242.8	2.9	2.9	72.7	8	8	23	29	1.3	1	14	4
2007	GB||	16	16	356	535	66.5	4,155	28	15	82T	49	16	15	93	7.8	259.7	5.2	2.8	95.7	13	3	29	12	0.4	0	21	3
2008	NYJ||	16	16	343	522	65.7	3,472	22	22	56T	40	7	30	213	6.7	217.0	4.2	4.2	81.0	9	7	21	43	2.0	1	27	4
2009	MIN||	16	16	363	531	68.4	4,202	33	7	63	48	11	34	247	7.9	259.1	5.8	1.4	107.2	12	4	9	7	0.8	0	4	1
2010	MIN||	13	13	217	358	60.6	2,509	11	19	53T	38	1	22	139	7.0	193.0	3.1	5.3	69.9	5	8	17	8	0.5	0	10	1
20 Seasons||	302	298	6,300	10,169	62.0	71,838	508	336	99	872	161	525	3,487	7.1	237.9	5.0	3.3	86.0	186	112	602	1,844	3.1	14	40	153

Personal life

Favre married Deanna Tynes on July 14, 1996. Together, they have two daughters, Brittany (born 1989) and Breleigh (born 1999). A grandson, Parker Brett, was born to Brittany on April 2, 2010. The NFL has stated that it knew of no other grandfathers among current NFL players.

Favre's mother, Bonita, helps manage his holdings in agriculture and real estate, handle his endorsements and appearances and oversee his charity work. Brett and Bonita Favre released a book in 2004 titled ''Favre'' (ISBN 978-1-59071-036-4) which discusses their personal family and Green Bay Packers family, including the ''Monday Night Football'' game that followed the death of Brett's father Irvin Favre.

Favre established the Brett Favre Fourward Foundation in 1996. In conjunction with his annual golf tournament, celebrity softball game and fundraising dinners, the foundation has donated more than $2 million to charities in his home state of Mississippi as well as to those in his adopted state of Wisconsin.

The Favre family also owns and operates the Brett Favre's Steakhouse, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Favre made a cameo appearance in the 1998 romantic comedy film ''There's Something About Mary'' as Cameron Diaz's character's love interest.

Favre is a spokesperson for many products, including Snapper Inc., Wrangler Jeans and Sears. In the Sears ads, Favre pokes fun at himself for his constant waffling between retirement and continuing his playing career by debating whether or not to buy a plasma screen TV, saying "I'll take it... Nah, I don't know". In another ad he has a conversation with a Blue Crew associate who says of the TV, "some guys just can't make up their minds" to which Favre replies "Yeah, I hate those guys." In a Hyundai commercial with a similar theme, he accepts the 2020 NFL MVP award, with fully gray hair, saying "When you're playing at 50, and you're older than the fans, coaches, and owners, well... I should probably retire after this... But I don't know."

Allegations of misconduct

On October 8, 2010, the NFL began investigating Favre for allegedly sexting and leaving inappropriate voice messages for Jets "Gameday host" Jenn Sterger during the 2008 season. The investigation was in response to the voicemail recordings and photos posted by the website Deadspin the day before. In late October 2010, Favre was rumored to have admitted to NFL officials investigating the allegations that he indeed left the voicemail messages on Jenn Sterger's phone, but denied sending photos. On December 29, 2010, Favre was found not to be in violation of the NFL's personal conduct policy, but was fined $50,000 for failing to cooperate with the investigation.

Favre was temporarily banned by the NFL from drinking alcohol after he admitted he was addicted to Vicodin and spent 46 days at a drug rehab clinic before the 1996 season.

Notes and references

External links

Minnesota Vikings bio

Brett Favre Video on NFL.com

Brett Favre Video on ESPN Video Archive

Brett Favre Video & Audio on Boston.com

Brett Favre Video on FoxSports Video Archive

Brett Favre: The NFL's Greatest Gunslinger – slideshow by ''Life magazine''

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players Category:American football quarterbacks Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American people of Choctaw descent Category:American people of French descent Category:Atlanta Falcons players Category:Green Bay Packers players Category:Minnesota Vikings players Category:National Conference Pro Bowl players Category:Native American sportspeople Category:New York Jets players Category:People from Gulfport, Mississippi Category:People from Hancock County, Mississippi Category:People from Hattiesburg, Mississippi Category:Players of American football from Mississippi Category:Southern Miss Golden Eagles football players

ca:Brett Favre da:Brett Favre de:Brett Favre es:Brett Favre fr:Brett Favre hi:ब्रैट फार्व it:Brett Favre he:ברט פארב lv:Brets Farvs hu:Brett Favre nl:Brett Favre ja:ブレット・ファーヴ no:Brett Favre pt:Brett Favre ru:Фарв, Бретт simple:Brett Favre fi:Brett Favre sv:Brett Favre

birth name	Stanley Martin Lieber
birth place	New York City, US
nationality	American
area	Writer, editor, publisher, producer, actor, reality show host
write	y
edit	y
publish	y
signature	Stan Lee sig.jpg|90px
notable works	Spider-ManFantastic FourX-MenAvengersHulkIron ManThorDaredevilDoctor Strange
awards	Jack Kirby Hall of Fame
sortkey	Lee, Stan
subcat	American
yob	1922
mob	12
dob	28
years active	1938- Present }}

Stan Lee (born December 28, 1922) is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

In collaboration with several artists, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, and many other fictional characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. In addition, he headed the first major successful challenge to the industry's censorship organization, the Comics Code Authority, and forced it to reform its policies. Lee subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

He was inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1995.

Biography

Early life and career

Stan Lee was born Stanley Martin Lieber in New York City on December 28, 1922, in the apartment of his Romanian-born Jewish immigrant parents, Celia (née Solomon) and Jack Lieber, at the corner of West 98th Street and West End Avenue in Manhattan. His father, trained as a dress cutter, worked only sporadically after the Great Depression, and the family moved further uptown to Fort Washington Avenue, in Washington Heights, Manhattan. When Lee was nearly 9, his only sibling, brother Larry Lieber, was born. He said in 2006 that as a child he was influenced by books and movies, particularly those with Errol Flynn playing heroic roles. By the time Lee was in his teens, the family was living in a one-bedroom apartment at 1720 University Avenue in The Bronx. Lee described it as "a third-floor apartment facing out back", with him and his brother sharing a bedroom and his parents using a foldout couch.

Lee attended DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx, where his family had moved next. A voracious reader who enjoyed writing as a teen, he has said that as a youth he worked such part-time jobs as writing obituaries for a news service and press releases for the National Tuberculosis Center; delivering sandwiches for the Jack May pharmacy to offices in Rockefeller Center; working as an office boy for a trouser manufacturer; ushering at the Rivoli Theater on Broadway; and selling subscriptions to the ''New York Herald Tribune'' newspaper. He graduated high school early, at age 16½ in 1939, and joined the WPA Federal Theatre Project. With the help of his uncle, Robbie Solomon, Lee that same year became an assistant at the new Timely Comics division of pulp magazine and comic-book publisher Martin Goodman's company. Timely, by the 1960s, would evolve into Marvel Comics. Lee, whose cousin Jean was Goodman's wife, was formally hired by Timely editor Joe Simon.

His duties were prosaic at first. "In those days [the artists] dipped the pen in ink, [so] I had to make sure the inkwells were filled", Lee recalled in 2009. "I went down and got them their lunch, I did proofreading, I erased the pencils from the finished pages for them". Marshaling his childhood ambition to be a writer, young Stanley Lieber made his comic-book debut with the text filler "Captain America Foils the Traitor's Revenge" in ''Captain America Comics'' #3 (May 1941), using the pseudonym "Stan Lee", which years later he would adopt as his legal name. Lee later explained in his autobiography and numerous other sources that he had intended to save his given name for more literary work. This initial story also introduced Captain America's trademark ricocheting shield-toss, which immediately became one of the character's signatures.

He graduated from writing filler to actual comics with a backup feature, "'Headline' Hunter, Foreign Correspondent", two issues later. Lee's first superhero co-creation was the Destroyer, in ''Mystic Comics'' #6 (Aug 1941). Other characters he created during this period fans and historians call the Golden Age of comics include Jack Frost, debuting in ''USA Comics'' #1 (Aug. 1941), and Father Time, debuting in ''Captain America Comics'' #6 (Aug. 1941).

When Simon and his creative partner Jack Kirby left late in 1941, following a dispute with Goodman, the 30-year-old publisher installed Lee, just under 19 years old, as interim editor. The youngster showed a knack for the business that led him to remain as the comic-book division's editor-in-chief, as well as art director for much of that time, until 1972, when he would succeed Goodman as publisher.

Lee entered the United States Army in early 1942 and served stateside in the Signal Corps, writing manuals, training films, and slogans, and occasionally cartooning. His military classification, he says, was "playwright"; he adds that only nine men in the U.S. Army were given that title. Vincent Fago, editor of Timely's "animation comics" section, which put out humor and funny animal comics, filled in until Lee returned from his World War II military service in 1945 and rented the top floor of a brownstone in the East 90s in Manhattan.

He married Joan Clayton Boocock on December 5, 1947, and in 1949, the couple bought a two-story, three-bedroom home at 1084 West Broadway in Woodmere, New York, on Long Island, living there through 1952. By this time, the couple had daughter Joan Celia "J.C." Lee, born in 1950; another child, Jan Lee, died three days after delivery in 1953. Lee by this time had bought a home at 226 Richards Lane in the Long Island town of Hewlett Harbor, New York, where he and his family lived from 1952 to 1980, including the 1960s period when Lee and his artist collaborators would revolutionize comic books.

In the mid-1950s, by which time the company was now generally known as Atlas Comics, Lee wrote stories in a variety of genres including romance, Westerns, humor, science fiction, medieval adventure, horror and suspense. By the end of the decade, Lee had become dissatisfied with his career and considered quitting the field. thumb|''The Fantastic Four'' No.1 (November 1961). Cover art by Jack Kirby (penciller) and an unconfirmed inker.

Marvel revolution

In the late 1950s, DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz revived the superhero archetype and experienced a significant success with its updated version of the Flash, and later with super-team the Justice League of America. In response, publisher Martin Goodman assigned Lee to create a new superhero team. Lee's wife urged him to experiment with stories he preferred, since he was planning on changing careers and had nothing to lose.

Lee acted on that advice, giving his superheroes a flawed humanity, a change from the ideal archetypes that were typically written for pre-teens. His heroes could have bad tempers, melancholy fits, vanity, greed, etc. They bickered amongst themselves, worried about paying their bills and impressing girlfriends, got bored or even were sometimes physically ill. Before him, most superheroes were idealistically perfect people with no serious, lasting problems.

The first superhero group Lee and artist Jack Kirby created was the Fantastic Four. The team's immediate popularity led Lee and Marvel's illustrators to produce a cavalcade of new titles. With Kirby primarily, Lee created the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and the X-Men; with Bill Everett, Daredevil; and with Steve Ditko, Doctor Strange and Marvel's most successful character, Spider-Man.

Comics historian Peter Sanderson wrote that in the 1960s:

Stan Lee's Marvel revolution extended beyond the characters and storylines to the way in which comic books engaged the readership and built a sense of community between fans and creators. Lee introduced the practice of including a credit panel on the splash page of each story, naming not just the writer and penciller but also the inker and letterer. Regular news about Marvel staff members and upcoming storylines was presented on the Bullpen Bulletins page, which (like the letter columns that appeared in each title) was written in a friendly, chatty style. Throughout the 1960s, Lee scripted, art-directed, and edited most of Marvel's series, moderated the letters pages, wrote a monthly column called "Stan's Soapbox," and wrote endless promotional copy, often signing off with his trademark phrase "Excelsior!" (which is also the New York state motto). To maintain his taxing workload, yet still meet deadlines, he used a system that was used previously by various comic-book studios, but due to Lee's success with it, became known as the "Marvel Method" or "Marvel style" of comic-book creation. Typically, Lee would brainstorm a story with the artist and then prepare a brief synopsis rather than a full script. Based on the synopsis, the artist would fill the allotted number of pages by determining and drawing the panel-to-panel storytelling. After the artist turned in penciled pages, Lee would write the word balloons and captions, and then oversee the lettering and coloring. In effect, the artists were co-plotters, whose collaborative first drafts Lee built upon.

Because of this system, the exact division of creative credits on Lee's comics has been disputed, especially in cases of comics drawn by Kirby and Ditko. Similarly, Lee shares co-creator credit with Kirby on the two ''Fantastic Four'' films, while also sharing the same credit with Ditko with the ''Spider-Man'' feature film series.

In 1971, Lee indirectly reformed the Comics Code. The US Department of Health, Education and Welfare asked Lee to write a story about the dangers of drugs and Lee wrote a story in which Spider-Man's best friend becomes addicted to pills. The three-part story was slated to be published in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #96–98, but the Comics Code Authority refused it because it depicted drug use; the story context was considered irrelevant. With his publisher's approval, Lee published the comics without the CCA seal. The comics sold well and Marvel won praise for its socially conscious efforts. The CCA subsequently loosened the Code to permit negative depictions of drugs, among other new freedoms.

Lee also supported using comic books to provide some measure of social commentary about the real world, often dealing with racism and bigotry. "Stan's Soapbox", besides promoting an upcoming comic book project, also addressed issues of discrimination, intolerance, or prejudice. In addition, Lee took to using sophisticated vocabulary for the stories' dialogue to encourage readers to learn new words. Lee has justified this by saying: "If a kid has to go to a dictionary, that's not the worst thing that could happen."

Later career

In later years, Lee became a figurehead and public face for Marvel Comics. He made appearances at comic book conventions around America, lecturing at colleges and participating in panel discussions, and by now owning a vacation home on Cutler Lane in Remsenburg, New York and, from 1975 to 1980, a two-bedroom condominium on the 14th floor of 220 East 63rd Street in Manhattan. He moved to California in 1981 to develop Marvel's TV and movie properties. He has been an executive producer for, and has made cameo appearances in Marvel film adaptations and other movies. He and his wife bought a home in West Hollywood, California previously owned by comedian Jack Benny's radio announcer, Don Wilson. Lee was briefly president of the entire company, but soon stepped down to become publisher instead, finding that being president was too much about numbers and finance and not enough about the creative process he enjoyed.

Peter Paul and Lee began to start a new Internet-based superhero creation, production and marketing studio, Stan Lee Media, in 1998. It grew to 165 people and went public, but near the end of 2000, investigators discovered illegal stock manipulation by Paul and corporate officer Stephan Gordon. Stan Lee Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2001. Paul was extradited to the U.S. from Brazil, and pleaded guilty to violating SEC Rule 10b-5 in connection with trading of his stock in Stan Lee Media. Lee was never implicated in the scheme.

Some of the Stan Lee Media projects included the animated Web series ''The 7th Portal'' where he voiced the character Izayus; ''The Drifter''; and ''The Accuser''. The ''7th Portal'' characters were licensed to an interactive 3-D film attraction in four Paramount theme parks.

In the 2000s, Lee did his first work for DC Comics, launching the ''Just Imagine...'' series, in which Lee reimagined the DC superheroes Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the Flash.

Lee created the risqué animated superhero series ''Stripperella'' for Spike TV. In 2004 he announced a superhero program that would feature Ringo Starr, the former Beatle, as the lead character. Additionally, in August of that year, Lee announced the launch of Stan Lee's Sunday Comics, hosted by Komikwerks.com, where monthly subscribers could read a new, updated comic and "Stan's Soapbox" every Sunday. The column has not been updated since February 15, 2005.

In 2005, Lee, Gill Champion and Arthur Lieberman formed POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment to develop film, television and video game properties. POW! president and CEO Champion said in 2005 that Lee was creating a new superhero, Foreverman, for a Paramount Pictures movie, in tandem with producer Robert Evans and Idiom Films, with Peter Briggs hired to collaborate with Lee on the screenplay.

In 2006, Marvel commemorated Lee's 65 years with the company by publishing a series of one-shot comics starring Lee himself meeting and interacting with many of his co-creations, including Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, the Thing, Silver Surfer and Doctor Doom. These comics also featured short pieces by such comics creators as Joss Whedon and Fred Hembeck, as well as reprints of classic Lee-written adventures.

In 2007, POW! started a series of direct-to-DVD animated films under the ''Stan Lee Presents'' banner. Each film focuses on a new superhero, created by Stan Lee for the series. The first two releases were ''Mosaic'' and ''The Condor''. In June of that year, Walt Disney Studios entered into an exclusive multi-year first-look deal with POW! Entertainment.

On March 15, 2007, Stan Lee Media's new president, Jim Nesfield, filed a lawsuit against Marvel Entertainment for $5 billion, claiming that the company is co-owner of the characters that Lee created for Marvel. On June 9, 2007, Stan Lee Media sued Lee; his newer company, POW! Entertainment; POW! subsidiary QED Entertainment; and other former Stan Lee Media staff at POW!

In 2008, Lee wrote humorous captions for the political fumetti book ''Stan Lee Presents Election Daze: What Are They Really Saying?''. In April of that year, at the New York Comic Con, Viz Media announced that Lee and Hiroyuki Takei were collaborating on the manga ''Karakuridôji Ultimo'', from parent company Shueisha. That same month, Brighton Partners and Rainmaker Animation announced a partnership POW! to produce a CGI film series, ''Legion of 5''. That same month, Virgin Comics announced Lee would create a line of superhero comics for that company. He is also working on a TV adaptation of the novel ''Hero''. He wrote the foreword to the 2010 non-fiction e-book memoir ''Skyscraperman'' by skyscraper fire-safety advocate Dan Goodwin, who had climbed skyscrapers dressed as Spider-Man.

In 2009, he and the Japanese company Bones produced its first manga feature, ''Heroman'', serialized in Square Enix's ''Monthly Shōnen Gangan''; the feature was adapted to anime in April 2010.

In October 2010, Guardian Media Entertainment, a partnership of Lee, SLG Entertainment and NHL Enterprises, created hockey-themed superheroes called "Guardians" for each of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League. The venture includes a graphic novel.

Lee made a guest appearance as himself in the season-seven episode "Bottom's Up" of the TV series ''Entourage''. He is set to guest-star in season five of ''Eureka''.

In 2011, Lee was writing a superhero comic-book adaptation of ''Romeo and Juliet'', titled ''Romeo and Juliet: The War in Mid-2011'', as well as a live-action musical, ''The Yin and Yang Battle of Tao''.

Interests

Lee's favorite authors include Stephen King, H. G. Wells, Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Harlan Ellison. He also likes movies starring Bruce Lee (no relation).

Legacy

Awards and honors

Lee has received several awards for his work, including being inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1995.

On November 17, 2008, Stan Lee was awarded the National Medal of Arts. The County of Los Angeles declared October 2, 2009 Stan Lee Day. The City of Long Beach declared October 2, 2009 ''Stan Lee Day''. Lee won the Comic-Con Icon Award 2009 at Scream Awards.

Lee received the 2,428th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 4, 2011.

Stan Lee Foundation

The Stan Lee Foundation was founded in 2010 to focus on literacy, education and the arts. Its stated goals include supporting programs and ideas that improve access to literacy resources, as well as promoting diversity, national literacy, culture and the arts.

Action figure

At the 2007 Comic-Con International, Marvel Legends introduced a Stan Lee action figure. The body beneath the figure's removable cloth wardrobe is a re-used mold of a previously released Spider-Man action figure, with only minor changes.

Fictional portrayals

Stan Lee and his collaborator Jack Kirby appear as themselves in ''The Fantastic Four'' No.10 (January 1963), the first of several appearances within the fictional Marvel Universe. The two are depicted as similar to their real-world counterparts, creating comic books based on the "real" adventures of the Fantastic Four.

Kirby later portrayed himself, Lee, production executive Sol Brodsky, and Lee's secretary Flo Steinberg as superheroes in ''What If #11'', "What If the Marvel Bullpen Had Become the Fantastic Four?", in which Lee played the part of Mister Fantastic. Lee has also made numerous cameo appearances in many Marvel titles, appearing in audiences and crowds at many characters' ceremonies and parties, and hosting an old-soldiers reunion in ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' No.100 (July 1972). Lee appeared, unnamed, as the priest at Luke Cage and Jessica Jones' wedding in ''New Avengers Annual'' #1. He pays his respects to Karen Page at her funeral in the ''Daredevil'' "Guardian Devil" story arc, and appears in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (June 1977).

In Marvel's July 1997 "Flashback" event, a top-hatted caricature of Lee as a ringmaster introduced stories which detailed events in Marvel characters' lives before they became superheroes, in special "-1" editions of many Marvel titles. The "ringmaster" depiction of Lee was originally from ''Generation X'' No.17 (July 1996), where the character narrated a story set primarily in an abandoned circus. Though the story itself was written by Scott Lobdell, the narration by "Ringmaster Stan" was written by Lee himself, and the character was drawn in that issue by Chris Bachalo. Bachalo's depiction of "Ringmaster Stan" was later used in the heading of a short-lived revival of the "Stan's Soapbox" column, which evolved into a question & answer format.

In his given name of Stanley Lieber, Stan Lee appears briefly in Paul Malmont's 2006 novel ''The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril''.

Lee and other comics creators are mentioned in Michael Chabon's 2000 novel about the comics industry ''The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay''.

On one of the last pages of ''Truth: Red, White, and Black'', Lee appears in a real photograph among other celebrities on a wall of the Bradley home.

In ''Stan Lee Meets Superheroes'', Stan Lee comes in to contact with some of his favorite creations. The series was written by Lee himself.

The appearance of Dr. Dunstan in the manga series ''Karakuri Dôji Ultimo'' is based on Lee.

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby appear as professors in ''Marvel Adventures Spider-Man'' #19.

Film and television appearances

Marvel film properties

Lee has had cameo appearances in many films based on Marvel properties: In the TV-movie ''The Trial of the Incredible Hulk'' (1989), Lee's first appearance in a Marvel movie or TV project is as a jury foreman in the trial of Dr. David Banner.

In ''X-Men'' (2000), Lee appears as a hotdog stand vendor on the beach when Senator Kelly emerges naked onshore after escaping from Magneto.

In ''Spider-Man'' (2002), he appeared during Spider-Man's first battle with the Green Goblin, pulling a little girl away from falling debris. In the DVD's deleted scenes, Lee has an expanded cameo in which he plays a street vendor who tries to sell Peter Parker a pair of sunglasses "just like the X-Men wear."

In ''Daredevil'' (2003), as a child, Matt Murdock stops Lee from crossing the street and getting hit by a bus.

In ''Hulk'' (2003), he appears walking alongside former TV-series Hulk Lou Ferrigno in an early scene, both as security guards at Bruce Banner's lab. It was his first speaking role in a film based on one of his characters.

In ''Spider-Man 2'' (2004), Lee again pulls an innocent person away from danger during Spider-Man's first battle with Doctor Octopus. In a hidden scene shown in the bloopers section, Stan has another cameo, where he says "Look, Spider-man stole that child sneakers" but he messes up the last word.

In ''Fantastic Four'' (2005), Lee appears for the first time as a character from the comics, in a role credited as Willie Lumpkin, the mail carrier who greets the Fantastic Four as they enter the Baxter Building.

In ''X-Men: The Last Stand'' (2006), Lee and Chris Claremont appear as two of Jean Grey's neighbors in the opening scenes set 20 years ago. Lee, credited as "Waterhose man," is watering the lawn when Jean telekinetically redirects the water from the hose into the air.

In ''Spider-Man 3'' (2007), Lee appears in a credited role as "Man in Times Square". He stands next to Peter Parker, both of them reading a news bulletin about Spider-Man, and commenting to Peter that, "You know, I guess one person can make a difference". He then says his catch phrase, "'Nuff said."

In ''Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer'' (2007), Lee appears as himself at Reed Richards' and Susan Storm's first wedding, being turned away by a security guard for not being on the guest list. In ''Fantastic Four Annual'' No.3 (1965), in which the couple married, Lee and Jack Kirby are similarly turned away.

In ''Iron Man'' (2008), Lee (credited as "Himself") appears at a gala cavorting with three blond women, where Tony Stark mistakes him for Hugh Hefner. In the theatrical release of the film, Stark simply greets Lee as "Hef" and moves on without seeing Lee's face; another version of the scene was filmed where Stark realizes his mistake, but Lee graciously responds, "That's okay, I get this all the time."

In ''The Incredible Hulk'' (2008), Lee appears as a hapless citizen who accidentally ingests a soft drink mixed with Bruce Banner's blood, leading to the discovery of Dr. Banner's location in a bottling plant in Brazil.

In ''Iron Man 2'' (2010), during the Stark Expo, Lee, wearing suspenders and a red shirt and black and purple tie, is greeted by Tony Stark as "Larry King".

In ''Thor'' (2011), Lee appears among many people at the site where Thor's hammer Mjolnir lands on earth. He tears the back off his pickup truck in an attempt to pull Mjolnir out of the ground with a chain and causes everyone to laugh by asking, "Did it work?".

In ''Captain America: The First Avenger'' (2011), Lee is again used as comic relief, this time portraying a general in World War II. When Captain America/Steve Rogers is queued to a stage to receive an award, a man goes on stage to tell the presenter that Rogers will not be attending. The general mistakes the man for Rogers, commenting, "I thought he'd be taller." Lee said in April 2011, "Marvel Studios has upgraded my cameo for the Captain America movie! They’ve given me one more word of dialogue than originally planned! In ''The Avengers'' (2012), Lee will have a cameo unless the filmmakers "shoot it on the moon". In ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (2012), Lee is scheduled to have a cameo in an action scene where he plays a librarian oblivious to the fight between Spider-Man and the Lizard happening behind him.

Warner/DC properties

In the original broadcast airing of the ''Superman: The Animated Series'' episode "Apokolips... Now! Part 2", an animated Stan Lee was visible mourning the death of Daniel "Terrible" Turpin, a character based on Marvel Comics Universe co-creator and Marvel main artist Jack Kirby. The scene also included such Marvel characters as the Thing, Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Nick Fury, Johnny Storm, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and Peter Parker, Jack Kirby DC characters as Big Barda, Scott Free, Orion, Kamandi, comics artists Bruce Timm, Alex Ross and his father Norman Ross, and TV producers and writers Glen Murakami, Dan Riba, Paul Dini, Alan Burnett and Mark Evanier. This shot appeared in the completed episode and was aired on February 7, 1998 in WB Kids, but was later modified to remove the likeness of Marvel characters in the Superman: The Animated Volume 3 DVD box set.

Advertising

Dr.Pepper television advertisements with Thor tie-in.

Other film, TV, and video

He appeared as Dr. Lee in the ''Eureka'' episode titled "Glimpse".

He is the host of the 2010 History Channel documentary series ''Stan Lee's Superhumans''.

Lee makes a cameo appearance as the "Three Stooges Wedding Guest" in the 2004 Disney film ''The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement''.

Lee hosted and judged contestants in the SyFy series ''Who Wants to Be a Superhero?''

Lee appears with director Kevin Smith and 2000s Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada in the DVD program ''Marvel Then & Now: An Evening with Stan Lee and Joe Quesada, hosted by Kevin Smith''.

One of Lee's earliest contributions to animation based on Marvel properties was narrating the 1980s ''Incredible Hulk'' animated series, always beginning his narration with a self-introduction and ending with "This is Stan Lee saying, ''Excelsior''!" Lee had previously narrated the "Seven Little Superheroes" episode of ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'', which the ''Hulk'' series was paired with for broadcast.

Lee did the narration for the original 1989 X-Men animated series pilot titled ''X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men''.

Lee was interviewed on the History Channel Show ''Superhuman'' by Daniel Browning Smith, who held several Guinness Records for extreme flexibility due to having Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a genetic condition affecting collagen formation. Smith had created his own comic book to display his own struggles as an outcast for his flexibility, and legitimately surprised Lee with a quick demonstration of his talent.

In the animated series ''Jim Henson's Muppet Babies'', Lee plays himself in a live-action scene of the "Comic Capers" episode.

Lee was an executive producer of the 1990s animated TV series ''Spider-Man''. He appeared as himself in animated form in the series finale episode titled "Farewell, Spider-Man". Spider-Man is transported by Madame Web into the "real" world where he is a fictional character. He meets Lee and the two swing around until Spider-Man drops him off on top of a building; Madame Web appears and brings Spider-Man back to his homeworld. Realizing he is stuck on a roof, Lee muses, hoping the Fantastic Four will show up and lend a hand.

He also voices the character "Frank Elson" in an episode of ''Spider-Man: The New Animated Series'' series broadcast by MTV in 2003, and titled "Mind Games" (Parts 1 & 2, originally aired on August 15 & 22, 2003).

He voiced a loading dock worker named Stan on ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' in the episode "Blueprints".

Lee has an extensive cameo in the Kevin Smith film ''Mallrats''. He once again plays himself, this time visiting "the" mall to sign books at a comic store. Later, he takes on the role of a sage-like character, giving Jason Lee's character, Brodie Bruce (a longtime fan of Lee's), advice on his love life. He also recorded interviews with Smith for the non-fiction video ''Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters, and Marvels'' (2002).

Lee appeared as himself in an extended self-parodying sketch on the episode "Tapping a Hero" of ''Robot Chicken''.

Lee appears as himself in writer-director Larry Cohen's ''The Ambulance'' (1990), in which Eric Roberts plays an aspiring comics artist.

In ''The Simpsons'' episode "I Am Furious Yellow" (April 28, 2002), Lee voices the animated Stan Lee, who is a prolonged visitor to Comic Book Guy's store. He asks if Comic Book Guy is the stalker of Lynda Carter – the star of the 1970s show ''Wonder Woman'' – and shows signs of dementia, such as breaking a customer's toy Batmobile by trying to cram a Thing action figure into it (claiming that he "made it better"), hiding DC comics behind Marvel comics, and believing that he is the Hulk (and fails trying to become the Hulk, while Comic Book Guy comments he couldn't even change into Bill Bixby). Lee also appeared on the commentary track along with other ''Simpsons'' writers and directors on the episode for ''The Simpsons'' Season 13 boxset released in 2010. In a later Simpsons episode, "Worst Episode Ever", Lee's picture is seen next to several others on the wall behind the register, under the heading "Banned for life".

Lee also appears as himself in the Mark Hamill-directed ''Comic Book: The Movie'' (2004), a direct-to-video mockumentary primarily filmed at the 2002 San Diego Comic-Con.

Lee also made an appearance on December 21, 2006, on the NBC game show ''Identity''.

Lee appeared as himself in episode 3.16 of ''The Big Bang Theory''. Lee appears in the manga and anime series of ''Heroman'' as a regular at a diner. He is voiced by Atsushi Ii in the Japanese anime. Lee voices the Mayor of Superhero City in the ''Super Hero Squad Show''. He plays a bus driver in the 16th episode of the first season of ''Heroes''. Lee appeared as himself in the 5th episode of the seventh season of the HBO series ''Entourage''.

Lee appeared as himself on "The Excelsior Acquisition" episode of ''The Big Bang Theory''.

Lee appears in the October 7, 2010, episode of ''Nikita'', "The Guardian", as Hank Excelsior, a witness to a bank robbery.

Lee helped host the documentary ''Stan Lee's Superhumans''.

Lee was interviewed in the 2011 documentary ''Superheroes''.

Lee is scheduled to appear on X Japan's music video "Born to be Free".

Video games

Lee narrates the 2000 video game ''Spider-Man'', the 2001 sequel ''Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro'' and 2010's ''Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions''.

Lee plays a senator named after himself in ''Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2''.

Bibliography

Lee's comics work includes:

DC

''Just Imagine Stan Lee creating'':

*''Aquaman'' (with Scott McDaniel) (2002)

*''Batman'' (with Joe Kubert) (2001)

*''Catwoman'' (with Chris Bachalo) (2002)

*''Crisis'' (with John Cassaday) (2002)

*''Flash'' (with Kevin Maguire) (2002)

*''Green Lantern'' (with Dave Gibbons) (2001)

*''JLA'' (with Jerry Ordway) (2002)

*''Robin'' (with John Byrne) (2001)

*''Sandman'' (with Walt Simonson) (2002)

*''Secret Files and Origins'' (2002)

*''Shazam!'' (with Gary Frank) (2001)

*''Superman'' (with John Buscema) (2001)

*''Wonder Woman'' (with Jim Lee) (2001)

Marvel

''Amazing Spider-Man'' #1–100, 105–110, 116–118, 200 (1962–80)

''Avengers'' #1–35 (1963–66)

''Captain America'' #100–141 (1968–71)

''Daredevil'', vol. 1, #1–9, 11–50, 53 (1964–69)

''Daredevil'', vol. 2, No.20 (backup story) (2001)

''Fantastic Four'' #1–114, 120–125 (1961–72); No.296 (1986)

''The Incredible Hulk'' #1-6, 102-120 (1962–1969)

''Journey into Mystery'' (Thor) #97–125 (1963–66)

''Ravage 2099'' #1–7 (1992–93)

''Savage She-Hulk'' No.1 (1980)

''Sgt. Fury'' #1–28 (1963–66)

''Silver Surfer'' #1–18 (1968–70)

''Solarman'' #1–2 (1989–90)

''Strange Tales'' (diverse stories): #9, 11, 74, 89, 90–100 (1951–62); (Human Torch): #101–109, 112–133; (Human Torch and Doctor Strange): #110–111, 115–134 (1962–65); (Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Dr. Strange features): #135–147, 150–157 (1965–67)

''Tales to Astonish'' (diverse stories): #1, 6, 12–13, 15–17, 24–33 (1956–62); Ant-Man/Giant Man: #35-69 (1962–65) (Incredible Hulk: #59-101 (1964–1968); Sub-Mariner: #70-101 (1965–68)

''Tales of Suspense'' (diverse stories): #7, 9, 16, 22, 27, 29–30 (1959–62); (Iron Man and Captain America): #39–99 (1963–68)

''Thor'' #126–192, 200 (1966–72), 385 (1987)

''What If'' (Fantastic Four) No.200 (2011)

''X-Men'' vol. 1 #1-19 (1963–66)

See also

Characters created by Stan Lee

List of American comics creators

List of American Jews

List of Eisner Award winners

List of Harvey Award winners

List of Jewish American authors

List of Marvel Comics people

List of science fiction authors

List of pseudonyms

References

Further reading

Lee, Stan, ''Origins of Marvel Comics'' (Simon and Schuster, 1974; Marvel Entertainment Group, 1997 reissue, ISBN 0-7851-0551-4)

McLaughlin, Jeff, ed. ''Stan Lee: Conversations'' (University Press of Mississippi, 2007), ISBN 978-1578069859

Ro, Ronin. ''Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and the American Comic Book Revolution'' (Bloomsbury USA, 2005 reissue) ISBN 1-58234-566-X

Raphael, Jordan, and Spurgeon, Tom. ''Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book'' (Chicago Review Press, 2003) ISBN 1-55652-506-0

Simon, Joe, with Jim Simon. ''The Comic Book Makers'' (Crestwood/II, 1990) ISBN 1-887591-35-4; reissued (Vanguard Productions, 2003) ISBN 1-887591-35-4

External links

POW! Entertainment (official site)

Stan Lee's Fan Site

McCave, Joseph. "SDCC 2009: Stan Lee Talks 'Time Jumper'!" FearNet.com, July 27, 2009

Framingham, Mass. "Myth and the Hero's Journey: Big Screen Blockbusters – Star Wars, Spider-Man Tell Timeless Tales", ''Daily News'' (May 5, 2002), by Chris Bergeron

Archive of "Fast Chat: Stan Lee". ''Newsday'', April 1, 2007. Online version March 31, 2007.

Stan Lee at ComiCon in Seattle

Stan Lee at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators

Audio/video

Audio of Merry Marvel Marching Society record, including voice of Stan Lee

Stan Lee telling his life story at Web of Stories

Comic Geek Speak: Episode 83 – Stan Lee interview podcast, December 12, 2005

Mahalo Daily with Veronica Belmont: "MD044 – Stan Lee Interview", January 28, 2008

Stan Lee receives 1st New York comics legend award April 17, 2008

"Authors@Google: Stan Lee", ''Authors@Google'', "AtGoogleTalks", ''YouTube'', July 18, 2008. (Video podcast)

(Radio broadcast)

Category:American film actors Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:American voice actors Category:American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Category:Golden Age comics creators Category:Jewish American writers Category:Living people Category:People from Washington Heights, Manhattan Category:United States Army soldiers Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:American people of Romanian descent Category:Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees Category:Jack Kirby Hall of Fame inductees Category:Pseudonymous writers Category:1922 births

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