Leon Garfield (14 July 1921 – 2 June 1996) was a British writer of fiction. He is best known for his historical novels for children, though he also wrote for adults. He wrote more than thirty books, and scripted Shakespeare: The Animated Tales for television.

Life[link]

Garfield attended Brighton grammar school (1932-1938) and went on to study art at Regent Street Polytechnic, but his studies were interrupted first by lack of funds for fees, then by the outbreak of World War II.^[1] He married Lena Leah Davies in April, 1941, at Golders Green synagogue but they separated after only a few months.^[1] For his service in the war he joined the British Army Medical Corps. While posted in Belgium he met Vivien Alcock, then an ambulance driver, who would go on to become his second wife (in 1948) and a well-known children's author. She would also greatly influence Garfield's writing, giving him suggestions for his writing, including the original idea for Smith.^[2] After the war Garfield worked as a biochemical laboratory technician at the Whittington Hospital in Islington, writing in his spare time until the 1960s, when he was successful enough to write full time.^[3] In 1964, the couple adopted a baby girl, called Jane after Jane Austen, a favourite writer of both parents.^[4]

His first book, the pirate novel Jack Holborn, was submitted to Constable as an adult novel; but an editor saw its potential as a children’s novel and persuaded him to adapt it for a younger audience.^[5] In this form it was published in 1964. His second, Devil-in-the-Fog (1966), won the first ever Guardian Award and was serialised for television, as were several of his other books (see below). The book was another in a series of adventure stories, set typically in the late eighteenth century, with a character of humble origins (in this case a boy from a family of travelling actors) pushed into the midst of a threatening intrigue. Smith (1967), which won the Phoenix Award for children's literature in 1987, follows a similar pattern, with the eponymous hero, a young pickpocket, accepted into a wealthy household. So too does Black Jack (1968), in which a young apprentice is forced by accident and his conscience to accompany a murderous criminal. In 1970, Garfield's work started to move in new directions: The God Beneath the Sea, a re-telling of Greek myths co-written by Garfield and Edward Blishen and illustrated by Charles Keeping, won the Carnegie Medal for children's literature and was followed by a sequel, The Golden Shadow (1973); The Drummer Boy (1970) was another adventure story, but concerned more with a central moral problem, and apparently aimed at somewhat older readers, a trend continued in The Prisoners of September (1975), The Pleasure Garden (1976) and The Confidence Man (1978); The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris (1972) was a black comedy, in which two boys decide to test the plausibility of the story of Romulus and Remus with one of the boys' baby sister; most notable at the time was a series of linked long short stories about apprentices, published separately between 1976 and 1978, and then as a collection, The Apprentices. The more adult themed books of the mid seventies met with a mixed reception; and Garfield returned to the model of his earlier books with John Diamond, which won the Whitbread Award for best children's book in 1980, and The December Rose (1986). He also in 1980 wrote a completion to the unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Dickens, who had been a major influence on his own style.

He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1985. On June 2, 1996 he died of cancer at the Whittington Hospital, where he had once worked.^[1]

Themes, influences, style[link]

Garfield's novels for children all have a historical setting. In the early novels this is mostly the late eighteenth century, from John Diamond on, it is the nineteenth century.^[6] But they are not novels about historical events, which are rarely depicted, or social conditions, which provide only the starting point for the personal stories of the characters.^[7] In the few novels where Garfield handles actual events, he writes from the limited and subjective viewpoint of his characters.^[8]

The historical books owe much to Dickens^[9] and Stevenson.^[10] The latter's Treasure Island clearly provided a model for Jack Holborn, with its shifting alliances of manipulative characters in pursuit of a treasure; and Garfield also acknowledges the brothers from Stevenson's The Master of Ballantrae as an inspiration for the book.^[11] Beyond these specific debts, Garfield shares Stevenson's fondness for binding a relatively conservative hero to a more forceful personality outside of conventional morality.^[12] Another recurring plot form (most evident in Smith and The December Rose), in which an outcast is integrated into a supporting household, owes more to Dickens.^[13] Garfield also shares with Dickens a strong preference for an urban setting, generally London.

Garfield's father had broken contact with him when he divorced his Jewish wife;^[14] and Garfield scholar Roni Natov sees this difficult relationship as a major influence on his work, giving particular significance to the fathers and father figures in the novels.^[15] This view is partly supported by Garfield's own commentary.^[16]

Film and television[link]

Many of Garfield's books have been adapted for film or television: Devil-in-the-Fog was televised in 1968;^[17] Smith in 1970;^[18] The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris was made into a 6 part BBC serial in 1979;^[19] Black Jack was made into a feature film by Ken Loach in the same year; John Diamond was made into a BBC television series in 1981;^[20] Jack Holborn was made into the German Christmas mini-series Jack Holborn by ZDF in 1982; The Ghost Downstairs was televised in 1982;^[21] "Mr Corbett's Ghost" was made into a television film with Paul Scofield and John Huston in 1987.^[22] In addition Garfield himself wrote the script for the 1986 television serial, The December Rose, afterwards adapting it as a novel,^[23] and for Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1992 and 1994), a well regarded Russian animation of Shakespeare, commissioned by the Welsh Channel Four, S4C; for this he was awarded the 1995 Sam Wanamaker Award.

Books by Leon Garfield (selected)[link]

• Jack Holborn 1964
• Devil-in-the-Fog 1966
• Smith 1967
• Black Jack 1968
• The Drummer Boy 1970
• The God Beneath the Sea 1970 (with Edward Blishen)
• The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris 1971
• The Ghost Downstairs 1972
• The Prisoners of September 1975
• The Pleasure Garden 1976
• The Confidence Man 1978
• The Apprentices 1978
• John Diamond 1980
• The Wedding Ghost 1985
• The December Rose 1986
• The Empty Sleeve 1988
• Blewcoat Boy 1988

References[link]

• H. Carpenter and M. Prichard, The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature (Oxford: OUP, 1984)
• B. Copson, ‘Garfield, Leon (1921-1996) Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (OUP), Sept 2004; online edition Jan 2007
• R. Natov, Leon Garfield (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994)
• J.R. Townsend, Written for Children (London: Penguin, ed. 3 1987)

External links[link]

NYT Obituary by W. Grimes,"Leon Garfield, 74, Children's Historical Novelist", June 9, 1996 [2]

Notes[link]

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2011)

Leon Thomas III
Background information
Birth name	Leon G. Thomas III[1]
Also known as	Leon Thomas
Born	(1993-08-01) August 1, 1993 (age 18)[2] Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres	R&B, pop
Occupations	Actor, musician, dancer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, drums, bass, sax, beatbox
Years active	2003–present
Associated acts	Victoria Justice, Ariana Grande

Leon G. Thomas III (born August 1, 1993) is an American actor,^[3] singer, songwriter, musician and dancer who plays the role of Andre Harris on the Nickelodeon series Victorious. He will be debuting an album in 2012.^{[citation needed]} On Youtube he currently has his own channel known as "leonthomasmusic".

Early life[link]

Thomas was born in Brooklyn, to Jayon Anthony.^[1][4]

Broadway[link]

He made his Broadway debut at age 10^[1] in 2003 as Young Simba in the Broadway production of The Lion King. In 2004, he appeared as Jackie Thibodeaux in the original Broadway cast of Tony Kushner's Caroline or Change. He also toured with the company during its five-month run in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Thomas has performed in the Broadway productions The Lion King, Caroline, or Change, and The Color Purple.^[5]

Music career[link]

Leon Thomas III is working on an upcoming EP, titled Metro Hearts which is slated to be released on July 1, 2012.^[6] And, he has revealed that the EP will consist of his cover of Kings of Leon's hit single "Use Somebody" and a duet with his Victorious co-star, Ariana Grande.^[7][8]

Television[link]

In 2007, Thomas appeared in the film August Rush as Arthur performing the song "La Bamba" and was the singing voice for Tyrone in The Backyardigans. Thomas has also guest starred on Jack's Big Music Show and Just Jordan. He also appeared as Harper in iCarly Saves TV and was featured on The Naked Brothers Band Christmas Special. He is a main character on Victorious, playing Andre Harris, which premiered on Nickelodeon on March 27, 2010. He also appeared as himself in the True Jackson, VP February 5, 2011, season 2 episode. He also appeared as Andre in the iCarly and Victorious crossover, "iParty with Victorious".

Filmography[link]

Broadway[link]

• The Lion King
• Caroline or Change
• The Color Purple

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Leon Thomas III at the Internet Movie Database
• Leon Thomas III on Twitter

v t e Victorious Quotes · Schneider's Bakery · Characters Creator Dan Schneider Episodes Season 1 • Season 2  • Season 3 Music Soundtrack Victorious Singles "Make It Shine"  • "Freak the Freak Out"  • "Beggin' on Your Knees"  • "Best Friend's Brother"  • "Leave It All To Shine"  • "All I Want Is Everything"  • "You're The Reason"  • "It's Not Christmas Without You"  • "Countdown"  • "Take a Hint"  • "Make It In America" Other songs "Give It Up" Related iCarly • Schneider's Bakery • Nickelodeon • "iParty with Victorious"

Amos Leon Thomas Jr (October 4, 1937 – May 8, 1999) was an American avant garde jazz singer from East St. Louis, Illinois.

Thomas studied music at Tennessee State University. In the 1960s he was a vocalist for Count Basie and others.

In 1969, he released his first solo album for the prestigious Flying Dutchman label. However he made an earlier album which is still unreleased even now.

He was largely forgotten until a resurgence of interest in soul jazz. Several of his tracks have been sampled in hip-hop and downtempo records.

He changed his name to Leone in 1974 because of an interest he had in numerology at the time. He did not legally change his name and he reverted back to Leon shortly thereafter.

Thomas is best known for his work with Pharoah Sanders, particularly the 1969 song "The Creator Has a Master Plan" from Sanders' Karma album. Thomas's most distinctive device was that he often broke out into yodeling in the middle of a vocal. This style has influenced singers James Moody, Tim Buckley and Bobby McFerrin, among others. He said in an interview that he developed this style after he fell and broke his teeth before an important show.

Thomas toured and recorded as a member of the band Santana in 1973.^[1]

Thomas died of heart failure on May 8, 1999.

Discography[link]

This section requires expansion.

As leader[link]

• Spirits Known And Unknown (Flying Dutchman, 1969)
• The Leon Thomas Album (Flying Dutchman, 1970)
• Blues and the Soulful Truth (Flying Dutchman, 1972)
• Full Circle (Flying Dutchman, 1973)
• Gold Sunrise on Magic Mountain (live) (Flying Dutchman, 1971)
• Live in Berlin with Oliver Nelson (Flying Dutchman, 1971)
• The Leon Thomas Blues Band (Portrait, 1988)
• Facets (compilation) (Flying Dutchman)
• Anthology (compilation) (Soul Brother Records)
• A Piece of Cake (Palcoscenico Records)

As sideman[link]

With Pharoah Sanders

• Karma (1969)
• Jewels of Thought (1969)
• Iphizo Zam (1973)
• Shukuru (1983)
• Oh Lord, Let Me Do No Wrong (1987)

[edit] With Santana

• Welcome (1973)
• Lotus (1974)

[edit] With Archie Shepp

• Kwanza (1974)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Leon Thomas on JazzSupreme
• Yahoo Bio
• Another bio

Andrew Garfield
Garfield at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International.
Born	Andrew Russell Garfield (1983-08-20) 20 August 1983 (age 28) Los Angeles, California
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2004–present

Andrew Russell Garfield^[1] (born 20 August 1983) is an American-English^[2][3][4] actor. His early roles include the films Lions for Lambs, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and Boy A, which garnered him the 2007 BAFTA Television Award for "Best Actor". Garfield achieved wider recognition and critical acclaim for his role as Eduardo Saverin in the 2010 film The Social Network, a role which earned him Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations. Garfield is a dual citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom.^[5] He will portray the title character in the 2012 superhero film The Amazing Spider-Man, a reboot of the Spider-Man film series.

Early life[link]

Garfield was born in Los Angeles, the son of a British mother from Essex and an American father from California.^[6][7] His family moved to England when he was three years old.^[6] Garfield is Jewish^[8] and was raised in a "middle class home".^[8] His parents ran a small interior design business; his father, Richard, later became head coach of the Guildford City Swimming Club, and his mother is a teaching assistant at a nursery school. He also has an older brother who is a doctor.^[9][10] Garfield was raised in Surrey, England and was a gymnast during his early years.^[7][10] He attended Priory Preparatory School in Banstead and later City of London Freemen's School in nearby Ashtead, before training at the Central School of Speech and Drama, from which he graduated in 2004.^[10][11]

Career[link]

Garfield at the Toronto International Film Festival, September 11, 2010

Garfield started taking acting classes in Guildford when he was twelve, and appeared in a youth theatre production of Bugsy Malone.^[9] He also joined a small youth theatre workshop group in Epsom, and began working primarily as a stage actor. In 2004, he won a MEN Theatre Award for his performance in Kes at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre (where he also played Romeo the year after), and won the outstanding newcomer award at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2006.^[12]

Garfield made his British television debut in 2005, appearing in the Channel 4 teenage drama Sugar Rush.^[12] In Summer 2007, he grabbed public attention when he appeared in the third series of Doctor Who, in the episodes "Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks". In October 2007, he was named one of Variety's "10 Actors to Watch",^[13] and in November 2007, appeared in the ensemble drama Lions for Lambs, playing an American university student. Also that month, he starred in the Channel 4 drama Boy A, for which he won the 2008 BAFTA for Best Actor. In 2008, he had a minor role in the film The Other Boleyn Girl,^[13] and was named one of the shooting stars at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Garfield appeared in Vogue's December 2009 issue, modeling alongside Lily Cole, in a photographed retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Also that year, Garfield had a supporting role in the Terry Gilliam film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus^[8] and the Red Riding television trilogy. In 2010 he co-starred in the British film based on the novel by Japanese-born British author Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go,^[14] as well as in David Fincher's The Social Network, alongside Brenda Song, Justin Timberlake and Jesse Eisenberg, about the founders of Facebook. For the film, he received two BAFTA award nominations (for "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" and the "BAFTA Rising Star"). On 14 December 2010, The Social Network received six nominations for the 68th annual Golden Globe Awards, four of which it won, including Best Motion Picture-Drama, on 16 December 2011. Garfield was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role.^[15]

On 5 January 2010 Garfield appeared briefly as Terry Gilliam's assistant in the Arcade Fire webcast pre-show at Madison Square Garden. On 12 September 2010, he co-presented at the 2010 MTV VMAs with Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake.^[16]

In March 2012, Andrew made his Broadway debut as Biff Loman in the revival of Death of a Salesman, directed by Tony winner Mike Nichols at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The production also stars Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman and Tony Award nominee Linda Emond.^[17] Garfield has been nominated for a Tony Award as a best featured actor in a play for the role.^[18]

Garfield has been chosen to play Spider-Man opposite Emma Stone in Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man.^[19][20][21] Filming began in December 2010, and the film's release date is scheduled for July 3 2012. He also said that he wants Spider-Man to be in the sequel of The Avengers (2012 film).

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]