St. Vladimir the Great

William the Conqueror

King John I of Portugal

Leonardo da Vinci

Queen Elizabeth I of England

Alexander Hamilton

Jack London

Colonel T.E. Lawrence

Sir Alec Guinness

Eva Perón

Larry Ellison, Oracle Corp.

Paul Nurse

Steve Jobs, Apple Inc.

In common law, legitimacy is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children. Analogously, illegitimacy is the status of a child born to unmarried parents; contemporary usage of the term illegitimate child is infrequent, even in legal usage, example euphemisms are extramarital child and love child. The concept of legitimacy was formerly of great consequence, in that only a legitimate child could inherit the estate of the father. In the United States, in the early 1970s, a series of Supreme Court decisions abolished most common-law disabilities imposed upon bastardy (illegitimate-child status), as violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.^[2]

In April 2009, the National Center for Health Statistics announced that nearly 40 percent of American infants born in 2007 were borne by an unwed mother; that of 4.3 million children, 1.7 million were born to unmarried parents, a 25 percent increase from 2002.^[3] In Europe, there is a like increment in the number of extramarital children; in Bulgaria, France, Scotland, Wales, Slovenia, and Sweden, more than 50 percent of the children born in 2007 were extramarital. In parts of England, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria and the Czech Republic more than 50 percent of first-born children were born extramaritally.^[4]

History[link]

In many societies, law has denied persons of illegitimate birth the same rights of inheritance as those of legitimate birth, and in some societies, even the same civil rights.^[which?] In the United Kingdom and the United States, as late as the 1960s and in certain social strata even up to today, illegitimacy has carried social stigma.^{[by whom?]} In previous centuries unwed mothers were forced by social pressure to give their children up for adoption. In other cases illegitimate children have been reared by grandparents or married relatives as the "sisters", "brothers" or "cousins" of the unwed mothers.^[5]

In social and sometimes legal terms, the child so born was called a "bastard". In polite society, terms such as "natural child" were preferred. In most national jurisdictions, the status of a child as a legitimate or illegitimate heir could be changed - in either direction - under the civil law: A legislative act could deprive a child of legitimacy (as in the cases of the sons of Edward IV of England); conversely, a marriage between the previously unmarried parents, usually within a specified time, such as a year, could retroactively legitimate a child's birth.

Annulment of a marriage does not impose the status of illegitimacy upon children born to a couple during their putative marriage, i.e., between their marriage ceremony and the legal annulment of their marriage. For example, canon 1137 of the Roman Catholic Church's Code of Canon Law specifically affirms the legitimacy of a child born to a marriage that is declared null following the child's birth.

Fathers of illegitimate children often did not incur comparable censure or legal responsibility, due to social attitudes about sex, the nature of sexual reproduction, and the difficulty of determining paternity with certainty. In the ancient Latin phrase, "Mater semper certa est" ("The mother is always certain"), while the father is not.

Illegitimacy has affected not only the illegitimate individuals themselves. The stress that such circumstances of birth once regularly visited upon families, is illustrated in the case of Albert Einstein and his wife-to-be, Mileva Marić, who—when she became pregnant with the first of their three children, Lieserl—felt compelled to maintain separate domiciles in different cities.

Some persons of illegitimate birth have been driven to excel in their endeavors, for good or ill, by a desire to overcome the social stigma and disadvantage that attached to illegitimacy. Nora Titone, in her book My Thoughts Be Bloody, recounts how the shame and ambition of actor Junius Brutus Booth's two illegitimate actor sons, Edwin and John Wilkes Booth, spurred them to strive, as rivals, for achievement and acclaim—Edwin, a Unionist, and John Wilkes, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln.^[6]

Similarly, T. E. Lawrence's biographer Flora Armitage writes about his illegitimacy: "The effect on [T.E.] Lawrence of this discovery was profound; it added to the romantic urge for heroic conduct—the dream of the Sangreal—the seed of ambition, the desire for honor and distinction: the redemption of the blood from its taint."^[7] Another biographer, John E. Mack, writes in a similar vein: "[H]is mother required of him that he redeem her fallen state by his own special achievements, by being a person of unusual value who accomplishes great deeds, preferably religious and ideally on an heroic scale. Lawrence did his best to fulfill heroic deeds. But he was plagued, especially after the events of the war activated his inner conflicts, by a deep sense of failure. Having been deceived as a child he was later to feel that he himself was a deceiver—that he had deceived the Arabs..."^[8] "Mrs. Lawrence's original hope that her sons would provide her personal redemption by becoming Christian missionaries was fulfilled only by [Lawrence's brother] Robert."^[9] Mack elaborates further: "Part of his creativity and originality lies in his 'irregularity,' in his capacity to remain outside conventional ways of thinking, a tendency which... derives, at least in part, from his illegitimacy. Lawrence's capacity for invention and his ability to see unusual or humorous relationships in familiar situations come also... from his illegitimacy. He was not limited to established or 'legitimate' solutions or ways of doing things, and thus his mind was open to a wider range of possibilities and opportunities. [At the same time] Lawrence's illegitimacy had important social consequences and placed limitations upon him, which rankled him deeply... At times he felt socially isolated when erstwhile friends shunned him upon learning of his background. Lawrence's delight in making fun of regular officers and other segments of 'regular' society... derived... at least in part from his inner view of his own irregular situation. His fickleness about names for himself [he changed his name twice to distance himself from his "Lawrence of Arabia" persona] is directly related... to his view of his parents and to his identification with them [his father had changed his name after running off with T.E. Lawrence's future mother]."^[10]

By the final third of the 20th century, in the United States, all the states had adopted uniform laws that codified the responsibility of both parents to provide support and care for a child, regardless of the parents' marital status, and gave illegitimate as well as adopted persons the same rights to inherit their parents' property as anyone else. In the early 1970s, a series of Supreme Court decisions abolished most, if not all, of the common-law disabilities of bastardy, as being violations of the equal-protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.^[11] Generally speaking, in the United States, "illegitimacy" has been supplanted by the phrase "born out of wedlock."

A contribution to the decline of the concept of illegitimacy had been made by increased ease of obtaining divorce. Prior to this, the mother and father of many children had been unable to marry each other because one or the other was already legally bound, by civil or canon law, in a non-viable earlier marriage that did not admit of divorce. Their only recourse, often, had been to wait for the death of the earlier spouse(s). Thus Polish political and military leader Józef Piłsudski (1867–1935) was unable to marry his second wife, Aleksandra, until his first wife, Maria, died in 1921; by which time Piłsudski and Aleksandra had two out-of-wedlock daughters.^{[citation needed]}

Illegitimacy has for centuries provided a motif and plot element to works of fiction by prominent authors, including William Shakespeare, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Fielding, Voltaire, Jane Austen, Alexandre Dumas, père, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Anthony Trollope, Alexandre Dumas, fils, George Eliot, Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Thomas Hardy, C.S. Forester, Marcel Pagnol, Grace Metalious,John Irving and George R. R. Martin.^{[citation needed]}

Famous people[link]

Famous persons of extramarital birth have included:

• Confucius (ca. 551–479 BCE) – Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period.^[12]
• St. Vladimir the Great – Grand Prince of Kiev (980–1015) who converted Kievan Rus' (predecessor state of modern Russia, Ukraine and Belarus) to Christianity in 988. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate the feast day of St. Vladimir on 15 July.^[13]
• William the Conqueror (1028–87)
• King Joao I of Portugal (1358–1433)
• Leone Battista Alberti (1404–72)
• Antoine, bastard of Burgundy (1421–1504)
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) – Italian painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, writer.
• Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466–1536) – Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, theologian.
• Ferdinand Columbus (1488–1539)
• Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533–1603) – declared illegitimate by the Second Succession Act, considered as such by both the Church of England and Roman Catholic Church
• Jean le Rond d'Alembert (1717–83)
• Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804) – a founding father of the American republic, military officer, political philosopher, and economist. The first Secretary of the Treasury for the United States and creator of its financial system.
• James Smithson (1764 – 27 June 1829) – British mineralogist and chemist whose bequest helped found the U.S. national museum, the Smithsonian Institution.
• Ivan Pnin – in an 1802 petition to Tsar Alexander I, famously deplored the status of illegitimate children in the Russian Empire.^[14]
• Vasily Zhukovsky
• Howard Staunton
• Alexander Herzen
• Jenny Lind
• Alexandre Dumas, fils (1824 – 95), author of The Lady of the Camellias and The Illegitimate Son
• Edwin Booth
• Helena Modjeska
• Sir Henry Morton Stanley
• Sarah Bernhardt
• Ramsay MacDonald
• Edward Gordon Craig
• Jack London
• Sergio Osmeña
• Guillaume Apollinaire
• Colonel T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") – British author and co-organizer of the Arab revolt against the Turks in World War I.
• Stefan Banach
• Willy Brandt
• Sir Alec Guinness
• Eva Perón
• Charles Manson – American criminal who led Manson Family
• Larry Ellison – American business magnate, co-founder and chief executive officer of Oracle Corporation, a major enterprise software company. He was born to an unwed 19-year-old mother. In 2011 he was the world's fifth-richest person,^[15] with a personal wealth of $39.5 billion.^[16]
• Paul Nurse – Nobel laureate
• Steve Jobs – co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple Inc., born to an unmarried graduate student who placed him for adoption with Paul and Clara Jobs. His first daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs was also an illegitimate child, born to Jobs and his former girlfriend.

Current trends[link]

Despite the decreasing legal relevance of illegitimacy, an important exception may be found in the nationality laws of many countries, which discriminate against illegitimate children in the application of jus sanguinis, particularly in cases where the child's connection to the country lies only through the father. This is true of the United States,^[17] and its constitutionality was upheld by the Supreme Court in Nguyen v. INS.^[18]

Legitimacy also continues to be relevant to hereditary titles: only legitimate children are admitted to the line of succession. However, some monarchs such as Elizabeth I of England succeeded to the throne despite the controversial status of their legitimacy, due to special provisions.

In USA, most births to teenagers (86% in 2007) are nonmarital, 60% of births to women 20–24 and nearly one-third of births to women 25–29 were nonmarital in 2007.^[1] Teenagers accounted for just 23% of nonmarital births in 2007, down steeply from 50% in 1970.^[1]

The proportion of children born outside marriage is rising in all EU countries, the USA, and Australia.^[19] In Europe, besides the low levels of fertility rates and the delay of motherhood, another factor that now characterizes fertility is the growing percentage of live births outside marriage. In the EU, this phenomenon has been on the rise in recent years in almost every country and in seven countries, mostly in northern Europe, it already accounts for the majority of live births.^[20]

In Europe, the average has risen from one out of four in 1997 to one out of three children born outside wedlock. Nowadays, national figures in Europe range from 5% in Greece and 9% in Cyprus to 58% in Estonia and 64% in Iceland. In Britain the rate increased to 44% (2006) and further to 46 % (2009);^[21] in Ireland the percentage increased to 33.2% (2006).^[22] In the USA, the percentage born extramaritally increased 21% during 2002–2007, reaching an historic peak in 2007, at 1,714,643 (or nearly 4 in 10 U.S. births).^[1] The percentage of first-born children born outside wedlock is considerably higher (by roughly 10% for the EU), as it often occurs that a marriage takes place after the first baby has arrived.

In Latin America, out-of-wedlock births are also common: in 2007 the rate in Mexico was 38%; in the Dominican Republic, 63%; in Paraguay, 70%; in El Salvador, 73%.^[23]

In 2009, 41% of children born in the USA were born to unmarried mothers (up from 5% a half-century ago). That includes 73% of non-Hispanic black children, 53% of Hispanic children and 29% of non-Hispanic white children.^[24][25]

See also[link]

• Bastard (Law of England and Wales)
• Defect of Birth
• Edna Gladney
• Illegitimacy in fiction
• Legitimacy law in England and Wales
• Marks of distinction
• Non-paternity event
• Unintended pregnancy

Notes[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "Changing Patterns of Nonmarital Childbearing in the United States". CDC/National Center for Health Statistics. May 13, 2009. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db18.htm. Retrieved September 24, 2011. 
2. ^ "US Supreme Court Cases from Justia & Oyez". http://supreme.justia.com/constitution/amendment-14/90-illegitimacy.html. Retrieved 19 July 2011. 
3. ^ Ravitz, Jessica (April 8, 2009). "Out-of-wedlock births hit record high". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/04/08/out.of.wedlock.births/index.html?iref=t2test_livingwed. Retrieved Oct. 19, 2009. 
4. ^ "Population changes - 1st quarter of 2010" (Press release). Czech Statistical Office. 14 June 2010. http://www.czso.cz/eng/csu.nsf/informace/aoby061410.doc. Retrieved 2010-07-02.  "From the first order children, more than a half of children were born outside marriage."
5. ^ On the 4 March 2011 Charlie Rose TV interview program, British Nobel laureate Paul Nurse told such a story of "shame": he was reared by his grandparents as the supposed younger brother of his now-deceased biological mother, and has never learned who his biological father was.
6. ^ Nora Titone. My Thoughts Be Bloody: The Bitter Rivalry Between Edwin and John Wilkes Booth That Led to an American Tragedy. New York: Simon and Schuster; 2010 [cited September 24, 2011]. ISBN 978-1-4165-8605-0.
7. ^ Flora Armitage, The Desert and the Stars: A Biography of Lawrence of Arabia, p. 42.
8. ^ John E. Mack, A Prince of Our Disorder: The Life of T.E. Lawrence, 1976, p. 28.
9. ^ John E. Mack, A Prince of Our Disorder: The Life of T.E. Lawrence, 1976, p. 32.
10. ^ John E. Mack, A Prince of Our Disorder: The Life of T.E. Lawrence, 1976, pp. 28–29.
11. ^ "Illigitimacy". Justia.com. http://supreme.justia.com/constitution/amendment-14/90-illegitimacy.html. Retrieved 2009-10-19. 
12. ^ Confucius: His Life and Thought, By Shigeki Kaizuka. http://books.google.com/books?id=wcbuFDI5cX8C&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
13. ^ "St. Vladimir the Great". Catholic Encyclopedia. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15497a.htm. 
14. ^ Links.jstor.org, Samuel C. Ramer, "The Traditional and the Modern in the Writings of Ivan Pnin," Slavic Review, vol. 34, no. 3 (Sept. 1975), pp. 539-59.
15. ^ "Forbes top 10 richest people in the world". Reuters.com. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/09/us-billionaires-top-idUSTRE7287C720110309?pageNumber=2. Retrieved 2012-05-14. 
16. ^ "Larry Ellison". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/profile/larry-ellison. 
17. ^ "Instructions for N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship". U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/n-600instr.pdf. Retrieved 1 October 2010. 
18. ^ Tuan Anh Nguyen et al. v. Immigration and Naturalization Service, 533 U.S. 53 (2001).
19. ^ "Share of births outside marriage and teenage births". OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour, and Social Affairs. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/38/6/40278615.pdf. Retrieved Oct. 19, 2009. 
20. ^ "Fertility Statistics". European Commission Eurostat: Your key to European Statistics. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Fertility_statistics. Retrieved Jan. 20, 2010. 
21. ^ Population Trends, UK Office for National Statistics, No. 138: Winter, 2009, http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/Pop-trends-winter09.pdf, retrieved 23 February 2010  (provisional figures for first half of 2009)
22. ^ "Live births outside marriage - Share of all live births (%)". European Commission Eurostat: Your key to European Statistics. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tps00018&plugin=1. Retrieved Oct 19., 2009. 
23. ^ "Illegitimate Nation: An Examination of Out-of-Wedlock Births Among Immigrants and Natives". http://www.cis.org/illegitimate_nation.html. 
24. ^ "National Vital Statistics Reports, Volume 59, Number 3, December 21, 2010". http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_03.pdf?loc=interstitialskip. 
25. ^ "Our view on kids: When unwed births hit 41%, it's just not right". USA Today. 25 January 2011. http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2011-01-25-editorial25_ST_N.htm. 

References[link]

• Flora Armitage, The Desert and the Stars: a Biography of Lawrence of Arabia, illustrated with photographs, New York, Henry Holt and Company, 1955.
• Shirley Foster Hartley, Illegitimacy, University of California Press, 1975.
• Alysa Levene, Thomas Nutt & Samantha Williams, eds. Illegitimacy in Britain, 1700–1920. Palgrave Macmillan; 2005 [cited 24 September 2011]. ISBN 978-1-4039-9065-5.
• John E. Mack. A Prince of Our Disorder: The Life of T. E. Lawrence. Harvard University Press; 1998 [cited September 24, 2011]. ISBN 978-0-674-70494-7.
• Jenny Teichman. Illegitimacy: an examination of bastardy. Cornell University Press; 1982 [cited September 24, 2011]. ISBN 978-0-8014-1491-6.
• Nora Titone. My thoughts be bloody: the bitter rivalry between Edwin and John Wilkes Booth that led to an American tragedy. New York: Simon and Schuster; 2010 [cited September 24, 2011]. ISBN 978-1-4165-8605-0.

External links[link]

• Bastard – article on the wiki-version of the Encyclopædia Britannica eleventh edition on the history of the legal situation of “bastard” children.

Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom, starring Ray Romano and Patricia Heaton. It originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996 to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff. The main characters on the show are also loosely based on Romano's and Rosenthal's real-life family members.

The show reruns in syndication on different channels such as TBS, TV Land, and in most TV markets on local stations.^[1] From 2000 to 2007, KingWorld distributed the show for off-network syndication. In 2008, CBS Television Distribution took over King World's distribution, although its logo is retained on TBS. CBS only owns American syndication rights; ancillary rights are controlled by HBO and Warner Bros. Television (WBTV distributes the series outside the US in conjunction with HBO; while HBO Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video own DVD rights worldwide).

Show background[link]

The show revolves around the life of Italian-American Raymond Barone, a newspaper sportswriter for Newsday living with his family in Lynbrook, Long Island, New York. Whiny and flippant, Raymond does not take many things seriously, making jokes in nearly every situation, no matter how troubling or problematic, and constantly avoiding any sort of real responsibility.

Raymond and his wife Debra live with Ally and their identical twin sons Michael and Geoffrey (originally Gregory and Matthew in the pilot). The Barone children, played by real-life siblings, are regular characters but not a major focus. Raymond's parents, Marie and Frank, and brother Robert live across the street, and frequently make their presence known to the frustration of Raymond and Debra. Debra's frequent complaints about Raymond's family are a running joke. Out of the three unwanted visitors, Debra is particularly put off by Marie — an insulting, controlling and manipulative, though loving, woman who constantly criticizes and antagonizes Debra and coddles Ray, clearly favoring him over Robert, whose impending birth (as was established in the episode "Good Girls") drove her into marriage.

Raymond often finds himself in the middle of all the problems and arguments and proves himself incapable of taking any sort of stand, especially if there is the chance that it will bring down the wrath of his mother on him. His biggest nemesis is his brother Robert, who is insecure and jealous of Raymond for being the favorite son, as well as Raymond's relative success in both his professional and family life. Robert and Raymond are frequently seen fighting like children and picking on each other.

Raymond and Robert's father, Frank, is a very crass and obnoxious person, constantly making insulting and sarcastic remarks to everyone with whom he comes into contact. Largely an absentee father when the boys were growing up, Frank does not like to show his feelings, although, in an effort to make the character a bit more sympathetic, throughout the years several episodes were crafted to show that he actually does love his family. Frank is the only one who has the nerve to criticize Marie and often comes to Debra's defense from Marie's jibes.

Raymond and Debra constantly have marital disagreements, with Raymond preferring to watch sports television instead of talking with Debra about important matters. Like his father, Raymond works full time, leaving all the child-rearing responsibilities to Debra, and he has to be bullied into helping with any work around the house. A recurring theme on the show has them having a long interaction each night while in bed before going to sleep.

The Barones are established to be an amoral family of liars, as according to Marie in the episode "The Ball", "that's what holds us all together."

Cast and characters[link]

Characters[link]

• Raymond "Ray" Barone (Ray Romano) is a sportswriter for Newsday. He lives in Lynbrook, Long Island with his wife, Debra, and their three children Alexandra ("Ally"), Geoffrey, and Michael. His parents Frank and Marie and brother Robert live across the street. Raymond's character is loosely based on the real-life Romano, as he is the father of twin boys and a girl. Ray is emotionally unable to take any sort of stand on anything, especially if it brings him to any sort of conflict with his mother—the exception is when he protests about sex or some trivial matter. Raymond's mother favors him over Robert.

• Debra Barone (Patricia Heaton) is Raymond's wife, and the mother of Ally, Michael and Geoffrey. As a housewife, Debra claims she is frequently overworked, under-appreciated and stressed out; major reasons for this are not only because she has to deal with all the housework and her three rambunctious children with almost no assistance or support from Raymond—especially where his mother is concerned—but also because she must constantly put up with Raymond's intrusive family members. However on frequent occasions this frustration boils over and vented, primarily towards Raymond.
• Robert Barone (Brad Garrett) is Raymond's older brother and the son of Frank and Marie. Standing at 6' 8" 1/2, he is the tallest Barone, and has several quirks, the biggest being a nervous habit of touching food to his chin before eating it, once referred to as "crazy chin." Robert is a very caring uncle and still cares for Raymond, but is often jealous of the attention that Raymond receives from their mother, to the exclusion of his every achievement. Robert has been a New York City police officer for over 20 years, and attains the rank of lieutenant by the end of the series. His height, appearance and demeanor are the source of much humor. However, despite his huge size, Robert is a very skilled dancer.

• Marie Barone (Doris Roberts) is Raymond's mother, the wife of Frank, and the matriarch of the Barone family. Intrusive, controlling, manipulative and over-nurturing (at least with Raymond), she is a housewife who excels in cooking, cleaning, and other things dealing with keeping a good home and family. Marie and Frank live across the street from Raymond and Debra in Lynbrook, Long Island, New York which often irritates the latter couple.

• Francis "Frank" Barone (Peter Boyle) is Raymond's father and Marie's husband, a retired bookkeeper, and registered real estate agent, with a stubborn masculine personality. A war veteran, Frank served in the Korean War, which he frequently brings up, to the annoyance of everyone, especially his sons. He is a member of the Order of the Caribou Lodge, and was named Man of the Year by his lodge.

• Amy McDougall/Barone (Monica Horan) becomes Robert Barone's second wife (in season 7), and is the best friend of Debra, who introduces her to Robert. A recurring character for the first six seasons of the series, Amy became a main character (and Monica Horan was added to the main cast introductions) in season seven. Many issues cause Amy and Robert to break up in the first six seasons, with one being caused by Raymond. Quite often, Amy apologizes to someone even if she did not do anything wrong. She was born to very religious parents who, according to Amy, "wouldn't yell if they were on fire." (In real life, Horan is the wife of creator/executive producer Philip Rosenthal.)

• Alexandra "Ally" Barone (Madylin Sweeten), is the daughter of Raymond and Debra. She is the oldest of the Barone children. She is not seen much, even though she is credited as the main cast. She is said to be a better cook than her mother, and maybe someday her grandmother. (In real life Sawyer and Sullivan are real brothers to Madylin Sweeten.)

• Geoffrey Barone (Sawyer Sweeten) and Michael Barone (Sullivan Sweeten) are twin sons of Raymond and Debra. Their original names (in the pilot) were Gregory and Matthew. (In real life Sawyer and Sullivan are real brothers to Madylin Sweeten.)

Episodes[link]

DVD releases[link]

HBO Home Video has released the Complete Series of Everybody Loves Raymond on DVD in Regions 1, 2 and 4. Region 4 Complete Box Set was released on August 13, 2008. In Australia, the first five seasons were re-released in 2006 in slimmer packaging (originals were wide spine cases). Also some were released with a cardboard slip cover. Also, in North America, the first two seasons were each re-released in 2010 in standard keep cases with cardboard slipcovers in a double-season pack. It is unknown whether or not they will be sold individually like this. Also, in 2012, the sixth and seventh season two-pack was reissued in the keep case packaging. It is also unknown whether or not the remaining seasons will be reissued in the slimmer packaging.

International broadcasters[link]

• Australia: the Seven Network, originally as a summer filler; Network Ten later began airing it; in 2011, regular re-runs air on Eleven and on cable network TV1 (previously on FOX Classics)
• Austria: ATV
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: RTRS, RTVUSK, TVSA, Fox Life and others
• Bulgaria: the first seasons on Kanal 1, repeated on bTV; repeats currently broadcast on BTV Comedy & Fox Life
• Canada: the first seasons aired on Global
• Chile: Sony Entertainment Television
• Croatia: NOVA TV and RTL 2
• Denmark: TV3+
• Germany: Pro7 and Kabel1, followed by Comedy Central Germany; now on TNT Serie
• Greece: Cine+ and later on Alpha TV
• India: Star World;^[2] since 2010, Big CBS, a branch of the CBS network in India
• Ireland: Comedy Central
• Israel: Channel 3 (late 1990s to 2005); reruns on Channel 2, and also in channel 14 (yes stars comedy) on YES broadcasts
• Italy: Comedy Central
• Latin America: Sony Entertainment Television channel
• Latvia: the first three seasons on TV3, SET Latvia, TV6
• Republic of Macedonia: Sitel TV
• Malaysia: NTV7
• Netherlands: reruns on RTL5 (A local version of the show called "Iedereen is gek op Jack" (Everybody Is Fond of Jack) starring Jeroen van Koningsbrugge and Linda de Mol is broadcast on RTL 4 since February 2011)
• New Zealand: TV3
• Norway: TV2; currently on TV3
• Pakistan: Star World
• Poland: Comedy Central Polska (when Comedy Central Family launched it moved to that channel)
• Portugal: SIC Comédia (until the channel was canceled by TV Cabo); SIC Mulher; now airs on SET
• Serbia: TV Avala and RTV BK Telecom; currently by Fox Life Serbia
• Slovenia: Kanal A
• South Africa: originally on SABC 3, and M-Net Series purchased rebroadcast rights and aired re-runs
• Spain: La Sexta
• Sweden: TV3 (Sweden) and Comedy Central
• Switzerland: SF zwei (German region) and on RSI La 1 (Italian region)
• Turkey: CNBC-e and the subscription-based channel ComedyMax
• United Kingdom: Channel 4 and Comedy Central

Russian version and documentary[link]

In 2009, series creator/producer Philip Rosenthal traveled to Russia to adapt the show for local audiences. His experience was documented by a film crew and released as the documentary feature "Exporting Raymond".^[3] The Russian version is titled (Russian) Воронины^[4] (Voroniny, by family name of main character).^[5]

Foreign adaptations[link]

The original American version of the show has been dubbed then broadcast in Poland under the title Wszyscy kochają Romana (Everybody Loves Roman).^[6] It was picked up by TVN and premiered on September 2, 2011. However, due to low ratings (less than 2 million viewers a week), the station put the show on hiatus after 4 episodes.^[7]

Series creator Philip Rosenthal created the documentary Exporting Raymond, about his trip to Russia to serve as a consultant in an effort to adapt the format of the show for the Russian audience.

In Egypt a sitcom of 30 episodes called el bab fl bab(close doors) aired in the month of Ramadan is an adaptation of Everybody Loves Raymond as released by the show producer.

An Dutch remake, called Iedereen is gek op Jack (Everybody likes Jack) premiered in 2011. The second season started airing in March 2012.

Reception[link]

American television ratings[link]

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. All times mentioned in this section were Eastern & Pacific

The series finale scored a 20.2 household rating, 32.94 million viewers^[8] (29% of all viewers at the time) and an 11.2 rating among adults 18–49. At 8pm, Everybody Loves Raymond: The Last Laugh averaged a 15.3 household rating, 24.52 million viewers and a 7.5 among adults 18–49. Throughout the latter six seasons of the show, Everybody Loves Raymond maintained its position on the top ten rankings.

The highest average rating for the series is in italic text.

Awards[link]

Emmy Awards:

• Outstanding Comedy Series (2003, 2005) 2 wins
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Ray Romano (2002)
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Patricia Heaton (2000–01) 2 wins
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Brad Garrett (2002–03, 2005) 3 wins
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Doris Roberts (2001–03, 2005) 4 wins
• Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for "Baggage" Tucker Cawley (2003)

Screen Actors Guild:

• Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2003)

Writers Guild of America:

• Episodic Comedy Phil Rosenthal for: "Italy", parts I and II (2002)

Nominations[link]

Emmy Awards:

• Outstanding Comedy Series (1999–2005) 7 nominations
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Ray Romano (1999–2003, 2005) 6 nominations
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Patricia Heaton (1999–2005) 7 nominations
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Brad Garrett (2000, 2002–05) 5 nominations
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Peter Boyle (1999–2005) 7 nominations
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Doris Roberts (1999–2005) 7 nominations
• Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, 3 nominations: Will Mackenzie "Robert's Date" (1999), Will Mackenzie "The Christmas Picture" (2000), Gary Halvorson "Finale" (2005)
• Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, 6 nominations: Philip Rosenthal and Ray Romano "Bad Moon Rising" (2000), Philip Rosenthal "The Angry Family" (2002), Jennifer Crittenden "Marie's Sculpture" (2002), Tucker Cawley "Baggage" (2003), Mike Royce "Counselling" (2003), Philip Rosenthal, Ray Romano, Lew Schneider, Steve Skrovan, Jeremy Stevens, Aaron Shure, Mike Royce, Leslie Caveny, Tom Caltabiano "Finale" (2005)

Golden Globe Awards:

• Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series-Comedy Ray Romano (2000–01) 2 nominations

Screen Actors Guild:

• Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1999–2000, 2002–06) 6 nominations
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Ray Romano (2000, 2002–05) 5 nominations
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Brad Garrett (2004)
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Peter Boyle (2002, 2004) 2 nominations
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Patricia Heaton (2002–2006) 5 nominations
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Doris Roberts (2004–05) 2 nominations

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Official website from CBS
• Everybody Loves Raymond at the Internet Movie Database
• Everybody Loves Raymond at TV.com

Vince McMahon
Born	Vincent Kennedy McMahon (1945-08-24) August 24, 1945 (age 66) Pinehurst, North Carolina, United States
Other names	Vince McMahon, Jr.
Alma mater	East Carolina University
Occupation	Chairman and CEO, WWE
Salary	$1.1 million[1]
Net worth	US$1.1 billion (2000)[2] $700 million (2001)[3]
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	248 pounds (112 kg)[4]
Title	Chairman (1980–present) President (1980–1993) CEO (1980–1993; 2009–present)
Spouse	Linda McMahon (m. 1966) «start: (1966-08-26)»"Marriage: Linda McMahon to Vince McMahon" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Vince_McMahon)
Children	Shane McMahon (born 1970) Stephanie McMahon-Levesque (born 1976)
Parents	Vincent James McMahon Vicky H. Askew
Website
WWE Corporate Bio

Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon (born August 24, 1945)^[5] is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE. Upon acquiring World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), McMahon's WWE became the sole remaining major American professional wrestling promotion (until the national expansion of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and Ring of Honor).

As an on-camera character, he can appear on all WWE brands (though the majority of the time, he appears on Raw). McMahon plays a character known by the ring name Mr. McMahon, based on his real life persona. In the world of WWE, he is a two-time world champion, having won the WWF Championship and ECW World Championship. He was also the winner of the 1999 Royal Rumble.

Vince is the husband of Linda McMahon, with whom he ran WWE from its establishment in 1980 until she resigned as the CEO in September 2009.^[6]

Early life[link]

McMahon was born on August 24, 1945 in Pinehurst, North Carolina. McMahon's father, Vincent James McMahon, had left the family while McMahon was still a baby. McMahon did not meet his father until age 12. Vince spent the majority of his childhood living with his mother and a string of stepfathers.^[7] According to an interview with Playboy, he attended and graduated, in 1964, from Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Virginia. McMahon claimed that one of his stepfathers, Leo Lupton, used to beat his mother and would attack him as well when he tried to protect her.^[8] He said, "It is unfortunate that he died before I could kill him. I would have enjoyed that."^[8] In his early life, McMahon also overcame dyslexia.^[9][10]

Business career[link]

World Wide Wrestling Federation: 1971–79[link]

McMahon first met the promoter for Capitol Wrestling Corporation, his father Vincent J. McMahon's company, at the age of 12. At that point, McMahon became interested in following his father's professional wrestling footsteps and often accompanied him on trips to Madison Square Garden. McMahon also wanted to be a wrestler but his father would not let him, explaining that promoters did not appear on the show and should stay apart from their wrestlers.^{[citation needed]}

In 1968, McMahon graduated from East Carolina University^[11] with a business degree and after a nondescript career as a traveling salesman, he was eager to assume a managerial role in his father’s World Wide Wrestling Federation promotion (although the elder McMahon was not thrilled with the idea of his son entering the business).^{[citation needed]} In 1969, McMahon made his debut as an in-ring announcer for the WWWF's All-Star Wrestling.^[12] In 1971, he was assigned to a small territory in Maine, where he promoted his first card. He later became the play-by-play announcer for television matches after he replaced Ray Morgan in 1971, a role he would regularly maintain until November 1997.

Throughout the 1970s, McMahon became the prominent force in his father's company, and over the next decade, Vince assisted his father in tripling TV syndication.^{[citation needed]} He pushed for the renaming of the company to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The young McMahon was also behind the Muhammad Ali versus Antonio Inoki match of 1976.^{[citation needed]} In 1979, Vince purchased the Cape Cod Coliseum, where he promoted hockey games and concerts in addition to pro wrestling, as he began to prove that he was capable of running the WWF after his father’s retirement.^{[citation needed]} By 1980, McMahon had become chairman of the company,^[13] and Titan Sports was incorporated; in 1982, a 37-year old McMahon led Titan’s acquisition of the Capitol Wrestling Co. from his ailing father (who died in May 1984), as he and his wife Linda took control of the World Wrestling Federation.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment: 1982–present[link]

1980s wrestling boom[link]

At the time of his purchase of the WWF, professional wrestling was a business run by regional offices. The various promoters shared an understanding that they would not invade each other’s territories, as this practice had gone on undeterred for decades.^{[citation needed]} McMahon had a different vision of what the industry could become. In 1963, the WWF split from the National Wrestling Alliance, which was the governing body for all the regional territories across the country and as far away as Japan.

He began expanding the company nationally by promoting in areas outside of the company's Northeast U.S. stomping grounds and by signing talent from other companies, such as the American Wrestling Association (AWA). In 1984, he recruited Hulk Hogan to be the WWF’s charismatic new megastar, and the two quickly drew the ire of industry peers as the promotion began traveling and broadcasting into rival territories. Nevertheless, McMahon (who still also fronted as the WWF’s squeaky clean babyface announcer) created The Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection by incorporating pop music stars into wrestling storylines. As a result, the WWF was able to expand its fanbase into a national mainstream audience as the promotion was featured heavily on MTV programming. On March 31, 1985, he promoted the first WrestleMania to be held at Madison Square Garden while airing on closed circuit TV throughout the U.S. WrestleMania was an undisputed success. As a result, the WWF thus stood head and shoulders above all its competition, and Hulk Hogan soon became a full-fledged pop-culture icon and child role model.^{[citation needed]}

During the late 1980s, McMahon shaped the WWF into a unique sports entertainment brand that reached out to family audiences while attracting fans who had never before paid attention to pro wrestling. By directing his storylines towards highly-publicized supercards, McMahon initiated a brand-new revenue stream by promoting these events live on PPV television, a concept that would completely revolutionize event programming for all sports while catapulting the WWF into a multi-million dollar empire.^{[citation needed]} In 1987, McMahon reportedly drew 93,173 fans to the Pontiac Silverdome (which was called the "biggest crowd in Sports entertainment history") for WrestleMania III, which featured the main event of Hulk Hogan versus André the Giant.^[14]

1990s Attitude Era[link]

After several years struggling behind Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling (WCW), McMahon cemented his place as the industry’s preeminent promoter in the late 1990s, when he initiated an entirely new brand strategy that would eventually return the WWF to prominence. Sensing a public shift towards a more hardened and cynical fan base, McMahon redirected storylines towards a more adult-oriented model. The concept became known as "WWF Attitude", and McMahon personally commenced the new era when he manipulated the WWF Championship away from Bret Hart at Survivor Series in what is now known as the "Montreal Screwjob."^[15] From then on, McMahon, who for years had downplayed his ownership of the WWF and was thus better known as merely an affable announcer and foil to heel color commentators, immersed himself into WWF storylines as the evil “Mr. McMahon,” who later began a feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin, who challenged the boss’s authority. As a result, the WWF suddenly found itself back in the midst of national pop-culture, drawing millions of viewers for its weekly Monday Night Raw broadcasts, which ranked among the highest-rated shows on cable television.^[14]

Other business dealings[link]

In the early 1980s, McMahon briefly promoted ice hockey in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. His Cape Cod Buccaneers played at the Cape Cod Coliseum and were founding members of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League, an AA circuit. Historically, the ACHL is considered a forgotten link between the rough and tumble loops of the 1970s like the NAHL, lampooned in the classic movie Slap Shot, and today's more credible East Coast Hockey League.^{[citation needed]} In October 1999, McMahon led the WWF in an initial public offering of company stock. On March 23, 2001, he purchased the fading WCW for $5 million. Three days later, his “victory speech” was simulcast on both WWF Raw and WCW Nitro.

In 2000, McMahon again ventured outside the world of professional wrestling by launching the XFL. The league eventually began in February 2001 with McMahon making an appearance at the first game. The league, however, quickly folded after lack of publicity.^[16] In the summer of 2003, McMahon acquired Extreme Championship Wrestling in bankruptcy court, leaving McMahon and the WWF as the only major wrestling promotion left in North America.

In 2010, McMahon announced plans to launch a brand new cable network by summer 2011.^[17][18][19]

Professional wrestling[link]

Mr. McMahon is the on-screen character of Vince McMahon, with the gimmick of being an often egotistical and conniving boss. The character was spawned from the real-life hatred many wrestling fans had for McMahon following the Montreal Screwjob, at the 1997 Survivor Series.^[15]

Several other gimmicks have become integral parts of McMahon's on-camera persona, such as his throaty exclamation of "You're fired!", and his "power walk"—an over-exaggerated strut toward the ring, swinging his arms and bobbing his head from side to side in a cocky manner. According to Jim Cornette, the power walk was inspired by one of McMahon's favorite wrestlers as a child, Dr. Jerry Graham. The Fabulous Moolah, however, claims in her autobiography that "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers was the inspiration for the walk.^[20] McMahon has occasionally dropped his character performance upon real-life events affecting WWE, such as the death of Owen Hart at Over the Edge in 1999, the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the death of Chris Benoit.

United States Wrestling Association: 1993[link]

While the Mr. McMahon character marked the first time that McMahon had been portrayed as a villain in WWF, in 1993, McMahon was engaged in a feud with Jerry Lawler as part of a cross-promotion between the WWF and the United States Wrestling Association (USWA). As part of the angle, McMahon sent various WWF wrestlers to Memphis in order to dethrone Lawler as the "king of professional wrestling." This angle also proved to be the first time that McMahon would physically interject himself into matches, as he would occasionally trip Lawler or throw punches at him while seated at ringside. During the angle, McMahon was never directly acknowledged as the owner of the WWF (back in 1993, McMahon was only portrayed as the head announcer on television) and the feud between Lawler and McMahon was not acknowledged on WWF television, as the two continued to provide commentary together (along with Savage) for the television show Superstars. The feud between Lawler and McMahon would also help build towards Lawler's match against Hart at SummerSlam in 1993.^[21] The peak of the angle came with Tatanka defeating Lawler to win the Unified World Championship with McMahon gloating at Lawler while wearing the championship belt.^[22] This storyline came to an abrupt end when Lawler was accused of raping a young girl in Memphis, and he was dropped from the WWF. He returned shortly afterward, however, as the girl later stated that the rape accusations were lies.^[23]

Montreal (1997)[link]

At Survivor Series in 1997, Bret Hart defended his WWF Championship against long-time rival Shawn Michaels in the main event. McMahon had previously opted to be a play-by-play announcer instead of acting as the owner on-screen. In the weeks heading into Survivor Series, McMahon had entered into a rivalry with Hart. During the match, Michaels applied Hart's own signature submission maneuver The Sharpshooter on Hart. Hart refused to submit. McMahon, however, got up and ordered the referee to ring the bell thus screwing Hart out of the title and making Michaels the champion. This incident was subsequently dubbed the "Montreal Screwjob".^[15]

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Mr. McMahon: 1997–1999[link]

In December 1997 on Raw is War, the night after D-Generation X: In Your House, McMahon talked about the behavior and attitude of Stone Cold Steve Austin, such as Austin having assaulted WWF Official Commissioner Slaughter, and how he has attacked WWF announcers such as Jim Ross and McMahon himself. Mr. McMahon demanded that Austin defend his Intercontinental championship against The Rock in a rematch. As in the previous match, Stone Cold used his pickup truck as a weapon against The Rock and the Nation of Domination gang. Austin decided to forfeit the title to The Rock but, instead, Austin gave The Rock a Stone Cold Stunner and knocked McMahon off the ring ropes.

On the March 30 episode of Raw is War, the night after Austin won the WWF Title at WrestleMania XIV, McMahon presented him with a new title belt and warned Austin that he did not approve of his rebellious nature. In April 1998, it appeared Austin and McMahon were going to battle out their differences in an actual match, but the match was declared a no contest when Dude Love made an appearance. This led to a match between Love and Austin at Unforgiven, where Mr. McMahon would sit at ringside during the title match. Dude Love won the match by disqualification when Austin hit McMahon with a chair. In a rematch at In Your House: Over The Edge for the WWF Championship, Austin managed to retain the title despite McMahon acting as the referee and his "Corporate Stooges" (Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson) as timekeeper and ring announcer, respectively.

McMahon ordered the WWF Championship to be defended in a 14-man tournament named Deadly Games at Survivor Series in 1998. McMahon made sure that Mankind reached the finals because Mankind had visited McMahon in hospital after McMahon was sent to the hospital by the Undertaker and Kane.^[24] He also awarded Mankind the WWF Hardcore Championship due to his status as a hardcore wrestling legend. Originally, McMahon was acting as he if he was helping out Mankind during the match. At one point, The Rock turned his attention to McMahon. McMahon turned on Mankind after a screwjob, however, as The Rock had caught Mankind in the Sharpshooter. Mankind had not submitted but McMahon ordered the referee to ring the bell, thus giving The Rock the WWF Championship. This was an homage to the "Montreal Screwjob" that occurred one year earlier.^[24] McMahon referred to The Rock as the "Corporate Champion" thus forming the Corporation with his son Shane and The Rock.^[25] At Rock Bottom: In Your House, Mankind defeated The Rock to win the WWF Championship after The Rock passed out to the Mandible Claw. McMahon, however, screwed Mankind once again by reversing the decision and returning the belt to his chosen champion, The Rock.^[26] McMahon went on to participate in a "Corporate Rumble" on the January 11, 1999 episode of Raw as an unscheduled participant, but he was eliminated by Chyna.

McMahon restarted a long-running feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin when, in December 1998, he made Austin face the Undertaker in a Buried Alive match with the Royal Rumble qualification on the line. Austin defeated the Undertaker with help from Kane. McMahon had put up $100,000 to anyone who could eliminate Austin from the Royal Rumble match.^[27] At Royal Rumble, with help from the Rock, McMahon won the match and earned a title match at WrestleMania XV against the WWF Champion The Rock. He turned down his spot, however, and WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels awarded it to Austin.^[28] Austin decided to put his title shot on the line against McMahon so he could get a chance to fight Vince at In Your House: St. Valentine's Day Massacre in a steel cage match. During the match, Big Show—a future member of the Corporation—interrupted, making his WWF debut. He threw Austin through the side of the cage thus giving him the victory.^[25][29]

The Corporation started a feud with The Undertaker's new faction the "Ministry of Darkness," which led to a storyline introducing McMahon's daughter Stephanie. Stephanie played an "innocent sweet girl" who was kidnapped by The Ministry twice. The first time she was kidnapped, she was found by Ken Shamrock on behalf of McMahon in a basement of the stadium. The second time she was kidnapped, The Undertaker attempted to marry her whilst she was forcefully tied to the Ministry's crucifix, but she was saved by Stone Cold Steve Austin. This angle saw a brief friendship develop between McMahon and Austin, cooling their long running feud. A previously unknown character was developed as a result called the "Higher Power", invented by Shane McMahon and The Undertaker. McMahon, however, was later revealed as the "Higher Power" on the June 7 episode of Raw, reigniting his feud with WWF Champion Austin. McMahon's son Shane merged the Corporation with Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness to form the Corporate Ministry. McMahon would become a member of the stable The Union which existed for a brief time, during May 1999. As a result of McMahon being the "Higher Power", Austin was given 50% shares of the WWF by Linda and Stephanie McMahon out of their kayfabe disgust at him.

At King of the Ring, Vince and Shane defeated Austin in a handicap ladder match to regain control of the WWF.^[30] While CEO, Austin had scheduled a WWF Title match, to be shown on Raw after King Of The Ring. During the match, Austin defeated the Undertaker once again to become the WWF Champion. At Fully Loaded, Austin was again scheduled for a match against The Undertaker. If Austin lost, he would be banned from wrestling for the WWF Championship again; if he won, Vince McMahon would be banned from appearing on WWF TV. Austin defeated The Undertaker, and McMahon was banned from WWF TV.^[31]

McMahon returned as a face in the fall of 1999 and won the WWF Championship in a match against Triple H, thanks to outside interference from Austin on the September 16 episode of SmackDown!. However He decided had to vacated the title during the following Monday's Raw is War because he is not allowed on WWF TV because of the stipulations of the Fully loaded 1999 contract he signed. However Steve Austin reinstated him in return for a WWF title shot. Over the next few months McMahon and Triple H feuded, with the linchpin of the feud being Triple H's storyline marriage to Stephanie McMahon. The feud culminated at Armageddon in 1999; McMahon faced Triple H in a No Holds Barred match which McMahon lost. Afterward, Stephanie turned on him.^[32]

McMahon-Helmsley Era: 2000–01[link]

McMahon returned to WWF television on the March 13, 2000 episode of Raw is War helping The Rock win his WWF title shot back from the Big Show, He also attacked Shane McMahon and Triple H.^[33] Two weeks later, McMahon and The Rock defeated Shane McMahon and The Big Show in a tag team match with help from special guest referee Mankind.^[33] At WrestleMania 2000, Triple H defended the WWF Championship in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match in which each competitor had a McMahon in his corner. Triple H had his wife Stephanie McMahon who was also the WWF Women's Champion in his corner, The Rock had Vince McMahon in his corner, Mick Foley had Linda McMahon in his corner, and Big Show had Shane in his corner. After Big Show and Foley were eliminated, Triple H and The Rock were left. Although Vince was in The Rock's corner, he turned on The Rock after hitting him with a chair turning heel for the first time since his feud with Steve Austin, which helped Triple H win the match and retain his title.^[34] This would officially begin the McMahon-Helmsley Era.

At King of the Ring, McMahon, Shane, and WWF Champion Triple H took on the Brothers of Destruction (Undertaker and Kane) and The Rock in a six-man tag team match for the WWF Championship. The stipulation of this match was that whoever made the scoring pinfall would become the WWF Champion. McMahon was pinned by The Rock which gave Rock the WWF Championship and his team, the victory.^[35] On the December 18 episode of Raw, McMahon faced Kurt Angle in a non-title match which was fought to no contest when Mick Foley interfered and attacked both men. After the match, both men beat Foley and McMahon fired him.^[33] McMahon and Stephanie then aligned together against Shane. At WrestleMania X-Seven, McMahon lost to Shane after Linda—who had been emotionally abused to the point of a nervous breakdown; the breakdown left her helpless as Vince began a public extramarital affair with Trish Stratus; finally, she was heavily sedated, in the storyline—hit Vince with a low blow.^[36][37] On the same night, McMahon formed an alliance with Stone Cold Steve Austin, helping him defeat The Rock to gain another WWF Championship. It also marked the second time he would screw the Rock over at WrestleMania. The two, along with Triple H, formed an alliance which saw Austin and Triple H and they put the Rock out of action after a kayfabe brutal assault and kayfabe suspension(this was done so the Rock could go and film The Scorpion King), Austin and Triple H held all three major WWF titles (Austin's WWF Championship, the Intercontinental Championship which Triple H won, and the Tag Team Championship) at the same time. The alliance was short lived, due to an injury to Triple H and a business venture by McMahon.

The Invasion: 2001–2005[link]

McMahon purchased long-time rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in March 2001 from AOL Time Warner and signed many wrestlers from the organization. This marked the beginning of the Invasion storyline, in which the former WCW wrestlers regularly fought matches against the WWF wrestlers. On the July 9, 2001 episode of Raw, some extremists as well as several former ECW wrestlers on the WWF roster, joined with the WCW wrestlers to form The Alliance. Stone Cold Steve Austin joined the Alliance, along with Shane and Stephanie McMahon. Vince McMahon led Team WWF. At Survivor Series, Team WWF defeated Team Alliance in a Survivor Series elimination match to pick up the victory for WWF and end the Invasion storyline.^[38] Following the collapse of The Alliance, McMahon created the "Vince McMahon Kiss My Ass Club", also known as the "Mr. McMahon Kiss My Ass Club", which consisted of various WWE individuals being ordered to kiss his ass in the middle of the ring, usually with the threat of suspension or firing if they refused. The club was originally proclaimed closed by The Rock after McMahon was forced to kiss Rikishi's ass on an episode of SmackDown!;^[39] however, the club segment has resurfaced several times over the years. The gimmick has also spawned its own Internet based cartoon entitled "Mr. McMahon's Kiss My Ass Club – The WWE's Most Valuable Asset." The cartoon series, produced by Animax Entertainment, debuted on WWE.com on November 22, 2006. The cartoon was later canceled as part of a settlement between WWE and Cartoon Network due to the show's similarities with Cartoon Network's show Assy McGee.^[40] To date there have been 6 members and 5 who have escaped membership and they are: Stone Cold Steve Austin(saved himself), Trish Stratus(saved by The Rock), Zach Gowen(saved himself), Triple H(saved himself), & Marty Jannetty(saved by Shawn Michaels).

Kiss My Ass Club Members

The Undertaker, McMahon, Brock Lesnar, and Sable on SmackDown!

In November 2001, Ric Flair returned to WWF after an eight year hiatus declaring himself the co-owner of the WWF, which infuriated McMahon. The two faced each other at the January 2002 Royal Rumble in a Street Fight which Flair won.^[43] Due to their status as co-owners, McMahon became the owner of SmackDown! while Flair became the owner of Raw. However, on the June 10, 2002 episode of Raw, McMahon defeated Flair to end the rivalry and become the sole owner of WWE.^[44]

On the February 13, 2003 episode of SmackDown!, McMahon tried to derail the return of Hulk Hogan after a five-month hiatus but was knocked out by Hogan and received an Atomic Legdrop.^[45] At No Way Out, McMahon interfered in Hogan's match with The Rock. Hogan had originally won the match as he hit The Rock with an Atomic Legdrop but the lights went out. When the lights came back on, McMahon came to the ringside to distract Hogan. Sylvain Grenier, the referee, gave The Rock a chair, which he then hit Hogan with. He ended the match with a Rock Bottom to defeat Hogan.^[46] This led to McMahon facing Hogan in a match at WrestleMania XIX, which McMahon lost in a Street Fight.^[47] McMahon then banned Hogan from the ring but Hogan returned under the gimmick of "Mr. America". McMahon tried to prove that Mr. America was Hogan under a mask but failed at these attempts. Hogan later quit WWE and at which point McMahon claimed that he had discovered Mr. America was Hulk Hogan and "fired" him.^[48]

McMahon asked his daughter Stephanie to resign as SmackDown! General Manager on the October 2, 2003 episode of SmackDown!. Stephanie, however, refused to resign and this set up an "I Quit" match between the two.^[49] At No Mercy, McMahon defeated Stephanie in an "I Quit" match when Linda threw in the towel.^[50] Later that night, he helped Brock Lesnar retain the WWE Championship against The Undertaker in a Biker Chain match.^[51] This started a rivalry between McMahon and Undertaker. At Survivor Series, McMahon defeated Undertaker in a Buried Alive match with help from Kane.^[52]

McMahon began a feud with Eric Bischoff in late 2005, when he decided that Bischoff was not doing a good job as General Manager of Raw. He started "The Trial of Eric Bischoff" where McMahon served as the judge. Bischoff ended up losing the trial; McMahon "fired" him, and put him in a garbage truck before it drove away. Bischoff stayed gone for months. Almost a year later on Raw in late 2006, Bischoff was brought out by McMahon's executive assistant Jonathan Coachman so that he could announce the completion of his book Controversy Creates Cash. Bischoff began blasting remarks at McMahon, saying that he was fired "unceremoniously" as the Raw General Manager, that there would be no McMahon if not for Bischoff's over-the-top rebellious ideas, and that D-Generation X was nothing but a rip off of the New World Order.

Feuds with D-Generation X and Donald Trump: 2005–07[link]

McMahon as the ECW World Champion in 2007

On the December 26, 2005 episode of Raw, Vince personally reviewed Bret Hart's DVD. Shawn Michaels came out and he also started talking about Hart. McMahon replied, "I screwed Bret Hart. Shawn, don't make me screw you".^[15][53] At the 2006 Royal Rumble, when Michaels was among the final six remaining participants after eliminating Shelton Benjamin, McMahon's entrance theme music distracted Michaels, allowing Shane McMahon to eliminate him.^[54] On the February 27, 2006 episode of Raw, Michaels was knocked unconscious by Shane. When Michaels' former Rockers tag team partner Marty Jannetty came to the rescue of Michaels, he was forced to join McMahon's "Kiss My Ass Club".^[55] On the March 18 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, Michaels faced Shane in a Street Fight. McMahon screwed Michaels while Shane had Michaels in the Sharpshooter. Michaels had not submitted, but McMahon ordered the referee to ring the bell, giving Shane the victory (another Montreal Screwjob reference).^[15][56] At WrestleMania 22, Vince McMahon faced Michaels in a No Holds Barred match. Despite interference from the Spirit Squad and Shane, McMahon was unable to beat Michaels.^[57] At Backlash, Vince McMahon and his son Shane defeated Michaels and "God" (characterized by a spotlight) in a No Holds Barred match.^[58]

On the May 15, 2006 episode of Raw, Triple H hit Shane with a sledgehammer meant for Michaels.^[59] The next week on Raw, Triple H had another chance to hit Michaels with the object but he instead whacked the Spirit Squad.^[60] For a few weeks, McMahon ignored Michaels and began a rivalry with Triple H by forcing him to join "Kiss My Ass Club" (Triple H hit McMahon with a Pedigree instead of joining the club) and pitting him in a gauntlet handicap match against the Spirit Squad.^[61][62] Michaels, however, saved Triple H and the two reformed D-Generation X (DX). This led to a feud between the McMahons and DX, throughout the following summer.^[63] At SummerSlam in 2006, the McMahons lost to DX in a tag team match despite interference by Umaga, Big Show, Finlay, Mr. Kennedy, and William Regal.^[64] The McMahons also allied themselves with the ECW World Champion Big Show.^[63] At Unforgiven, the McMahons teamed up with The Big Show in a Hell in a Cell match to take on DX. Despite their 3-on-2 advantage, the McMahons lost again to DX thus ending the rivalry.^[65]

In January 2007, McMahon started a feud with Donald Trump, which was featured on major media outlets. Originally Trump wanted to fight McMahon himself but they came to a deal: both men would pick a representative who would fight at WrestleMania 23 in a Hair vs. Hair match. The man whose representative lost the match would have his head shaved bald. After the contract signing on Raw, Trump pushed McMahon over the table in the ring onto his head after McMahon provoked Trump with several finger pokes to the shoulders. Later at a press conference, McMahon, during a photo opportunity, offered a shake of hands with Trump but retracted his hand as Trump put out his. McMahon went on to fiddle with Trump's tie and flick Trump's nose. This angered Trump as he then slapped McMahon across the face. McMahon was then restrained from retaliating by Trump's bodyguards and Bobby Lashley, Trump's representative.^[66] At WrestleMania 23, McMahon's representative (Umaga) lost the match.^[67] As a result, McMahon's hair was shaved bald by Trump and Lashley with the help of Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was the special guest referee of the "Battle of the Billionaires" match.^[67]

McMahon then began a rivalry with Lashley over his ECW Championship. At Backlash, McMahon pinned Lashley in a 3-on-1 handicap match teaming up with his son Shane and Umaga to win the ECW Championship.^[68][69] At Judgment Day, McMahon defended his ECW Championship against Lashley again in a 3-on-1 handicap match. Lashley won the match as he pinned Shane after a Dominator but McMahon said that he was still the champion because Lashley could only be champion if he could beat him.^[70] McMahon finally lost the ECW Championship to Lashley at One Night Stand in a Street Fight despite interference by Shane and Umaga.^[71]

Numerous incidents: 2007–09[link]

On June 11, 2007, WWE aired a segment at the end of Raw that featured McMahon entering a limousine moments before it exploded. The show went off-air shortly after, and WWE.com reported the angle within minutes as though it were a legitimate occurrence, proclaiming that McMahon was "presumed dead".^[72] Although this was the fate of the fictional "Mr. McMahon" character, no harm came to the actual person, the "presumed death" of McMahon was part of a storyline.^[73] WWE later acknowledged to CNBC that he was not truly dead.^[74]

The June 25, 2007 episode of Raw was scheduled to be a three-hour memorial to "Mr. McMahon". However, due to the actual death of Chris Benoit, the show opened with McMahon standing in an empty arena, acknowledging that his reported death was only of his character as part of a storyline.^[75] This was followed by a tribute to Benoit that filled the three-hour timeslot.^[76] His last appearance on WWE television until August 6, 2007 was the next night on ECW on Sci Fi in which after acknowledging that a tribute to Benoit had aired the previous night, he announced that there would be no further mention of Benoit due to the circumstances becoming apparent, and that the ECW show would be dedicated to those that had been affected by the Benoit murders. On the August 6 show, McMahon said that he faked his death to see what people really thought of him, with Stephanie accused of faking mourning while checking her father's last will and testament to see how it would benefit her.

Vince McMahon commands Hornswoggle to join his "Kiss My Ass Club" in 2008

The "Mr. McMahon" character officially returned on the August 6 episode of Monday Night Raw. He talked about many subjects, including an investigation by the United States Congress and owing money to the IRS. McMahon also declared a battle royal to determine a new Raw General Manager, which was won by William Regal. At the end of Raw, Jonathan Coachman informed McMahon of a (storyline) paternity suit regarding an illegitimate long-lost child,^[77] who was revealed in the following weeks as being a male member of the WWE roster. On the September 3 episode of Raw, McMahon appeared and was confronted by his family. They were interrupted by Mr. Kennedy who claimed to be McMahon's "illegitimate son", but he was also interrupted by a lawyer claiming Kennedy was not McMahon's son and that the real son would be revealed the following week on Raw.^[78] His illegitimate son was finally revealed on September 10 on Raw to be Hornswoggle.^[79] In February 2008, after months of "tough love" antics towards Hornswoggle, John "Bradshaw" Layfield revealed that Hornswoggle was not McMahon's son and that he was actually Finlay's son. It turned out that the scam was thought up by Shane, Stephanie and Linda McMahon, along with Finlay.

McMahon, at the Hall of Fame, introducing Stone Cold Steve Austin.

On the June 2 episode of Raw, McMahon announced that starting the following week, he would give away US$1,000,000 live on Raw. Fans were able to register online, and each week, randomly selected fans would receive a part of the $1,000,000. McMahon's Million Dollar Mania lasted just three weeks and was suspended after the 3-hour Draft episode of Raw on June 23. After giving away $500,000, explosions tore apart the Raw stage, which fell and collapsed on top of McMahon. On June 30, Shane addressed the WWE audience before Raw, informing the fans that his family had chosen to keep his father’s condition private. In addition, he also urged the WWE to stand together during what he described as a "turbulent time". The McMahons made several requests to the wrestlers for solidarity, before finally appointing Mike Adamle as the new general manager of Raw in order to restore order to the brand.

Return, feuds with Randy Orton and Bret Hart (2009–10)[link]

On the January 5, 2009, episode of Raw, Chris Jericho would tell Stephanie McMahon that McMahon would be returning to Raw soon.^[80] The following week, Jericho was (kayfabe) fired from WWE by Stephanie. On January 19, 2009, episode of Raw, McMahon returned, as a face, and supported his daughter's decision on Jericho, but Stephanie would rehire him. Randy Orton would then come out and assault McMahon after harassing Stephanie. McMahon would return on the March 30 Raw with his son, Shane, and son-in-law Triple H to confront Orton. The night following WrestleMania XXV, McMahon appeared on Raw to announce that Orton would not be receive another championship opportunity at Backlash but would compete in a 6-man tag team match with his Legacy stablemates to face the team of Triple H, Shane McMahon and himself. Raw General Manager Vickie Guerrero would make the match for the WWE Championship. Orton then challenge McMahon to a match that night, which saw Legacy assault him, with Orton also hitting the RKO. After being assisted by Triple H, Shane and a returning Batista, McMahon announced that Batista would replace him in match at Backlash.

On the June 15 episode of Raw, McMahon announced that he had sold the Raw brand to businessman Donald Trump, though the following week, during the Trump is Raw show, McMahon would buy the brand back from Trump. On the June 29 episode of Raw, McMahon would announce that every week, a celebrity guest host would control Raw for the night. McMahon would then make appearances on the SmackDown brand, putting Theodore Long in probation for his actions.

On August 24, episode of Raw, McMahon had a birthday bash which was later interrupted by The Legacy, and competed in a 6-man tag team match with his long-time rival team DX, in which they won after the interference of John Cena. He continued to appear on SmackDown, making occasional matches and reminding Long that he is still on probation. On the November 16 episode of Raw McMahon was called out by guest host Roddy Piper, who wanted a match with McMahon that night in Madison Square Garden. McMahon would decline the challenge announce his "retirement" from in ring competition.^[81]

On the January 4, 2010 episode of Raw, McMahon confronted special guest host Bret "The Hitman" Hart for the (televised) first time since the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997, with the intention of burying the hatchet from the above mentioned Montreal Screwjob. The two appeared to finally bury the hatchet, but after shaking hands, Vince kicked Hart in the groin and left the arena to a loud chorus of boos and the crowd chanting "You screwed Bret! You screwed Bret!".^[81] A match was then booked between the two at Wrestlemania XXVI, which saw Hart defeat McMahon in a No Holds Barred Lumberjack match. After WrestleMania it was announced that McMahon would no longer appear on WWE television as his character Mr. McMahon, making official his retirement from in-ring competition.^[82] On the May 31 episode of Raw, McMahon returned to congratulate Hart on becoming the new Raw General Manager. On the June 22 episode of Raw, McMahon fired Hart for not dealing with NXT season one rookies, known as The Nexus. That same night he announced the new General Manager would be anonymous and make decisions via email, which would be read out by Michael Cole. The General Manager's first decision was McMahon to be the guest referee for a WWE Championship match that night between John Cena and Sheamus. The match was interrupted by The Nexus who then attacked McMahon.

Part-time appearances (2010–2011)[link]

McMahon made an appearance on the November 1 episode of Raw, where it was revealed that he had fallen into a coma because of the attack by The Nexus. During the segment, McMahon woke up from his coma and his doctor (played by Freddie Prinze, Jr.) told him what had happened since he had been in a coma. The segment ended with Stephanie McMahon waking up, dreaming the whole thing.

McMahon would return to the WWE on the February 7, 2011, episode of Raw, were he announced that the guest host for WrestleMania XXVII would be revealed the following week, with the person being The Rock. On the May 2 episode of Raw, McMahon appeared on a birthday celebration themed Raw to wish The Rock a happy birthday. On the June 6 episode of WWE Tough Enough, McMahon would announce the winner of the show with Stone Cold Steve Austin. McMahon would also make an appearance on the June 6 episode of Raw, being interrupted by R-Truth, The Miz, Alex Riley and John Cena. McMahon would make the main event of the night to be Cena and Riley going against Truth and Miz in a tag team match with Steve Austin as the guest referee.

McMahon returned on the July 4 episode of Raw as a heel, addressing the suspension of CM Punk following comments made by Punk the week before. Cena would convince McMahon to reinstate Punk and make the WWE Championship match at Money in the Bank official again. However, McMahon would tell Cena that if he were to lose the title at the pay-per-view, he would personally go to the ring and fire Cena. The following week on Raw, McMahon would try and get Punk to sign a new contract with the WWE, but Punk would tear the contract up, saying he is still leaving after his match at the pay-per-view.

At the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, McMahon told John Laurinaitis to end the match while Cena had Punk in the STF, trying to duplicate the Montreal Screwjob (otherwise known as the Chicago Screwjob), but Cena knocked out Laurinaitis before he could get to the bell. After Punk had defeated Cena, McMahon then ordered Alberto Del Rio, Raw's Money in the Bank ladder match winner to cash in and challenge Punk for the title. Del Rio got attacked by Punk before he could cash in. Punk then fled through the crowd with the WWE Championship.

At the end of the July 18, 2011 broadcast of Raw, Triple H returned on behalf of WWE's board of directors to relieve Mr. McMahon of his duties as WWE Chairman. This was followed by the announcement that he had been assigned to take over as Chief Operating Officer of WWE.^[83]

McMahon returned on the October 10 broadcast of Raw, relieving Triple H of his duties of running Raw, due to the Board of Directors labeling Triple H as a financial catastrophe, and as a result of the no confidence vote by a majority of the WWE employees the previous week. He then declared that no member of his family could run Raw due to conflict of interest. He subsequently named John Laurinaitis as interim general manager.^[84]

Other media[link]

In 2001, McMahon was interviewed by Playboy and performed an interview with his son Shane for the second issue of the magazine that year. In March 2006, (at age 60) McMahon was featured on the cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine. On August 22, 2006, a two-disc DVD set showcasing McMahon's career was released. The DVD is simply titled McMahon. The box art symbolizes the blurred reality between Vince McMahon the person and Mr. McMahon the character. McMahon features a profiling of the Mr. McMahon character, such as the rivalries with wrestlers, on-screen firings, and antics. In addition, the DVD features the profiling of Vince's business life, such as acquiring WCW and ECW and the demise of the XFL. McMahon's top nine matches of his professional wrestling career are also included in McMahon.

Personal life[link]

Family[link]

McMahon married Linda McMahon on August 26, 1966 in New Bern, North Carolina. The two met in church when Linda was 13 and Vince was 16. At that time McMahon was known as Vince Lupton, using his stepfather's surname. They were introduced by Vince's mother, Vicky H. Lupton (now Vicky Askew). They have two children, Shane and Stephanie, both of whom have spent time in the WWF/E both onscreen and behind the scenes. Shane left the company as of January 1, 2010; while Stephanie continues to be active in a backstage role.

McMahon has six grandchildren: Declan James and Kenyon Jesse McMahon and a grandson born in 2010, sons of Shane and his wife Marissa; and Aurora Rose, Murphy Claire & Vaughn Evelyn Levesque, daughters of Stephanie and her husband Paul "Triple H" Levesque.^[85]