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The Canadian Press on King Street

The Canadian Press (often abbreviated as CP), known in French as La Presse Canadienne (PC), is a national news agency headquartered in Toronto. It was established in 1917 as a vehicle to permit Canadian newspapers of the day to exchange their news and information. For most of its history, The Canadian Press has been a private, not-for-profit cooperative, owned and operated by its member newspapers. In mid-2010, however, it announced plans to become a for-profit business owned by three media companies once certain conditions are met.^[1]

On November 26, 2010, Torstar Corporation, The Globe and Mail and Square Victoria Communications Group announced they have invested in a new for-profit entity, Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., to take over the operations of the Canadian Press.^[1]

Over the years, The Canadian Press and its affiliates have adapted to reflect changes in the media industry, technological change and the growing appetite for rapid news updates. It currently offers a wide variety of text, audio, photographic and graphic content to websites, radio, television, and commercial clients in addition to newspapers and its long-standing ally, The Associated Press (AP), a global news service based in the United States.

History[link]

Created by an act of Parliament and by means of an annual financial grant from the government from 1917 to 1924, the news co-operative was formed to help newspapers cover and distribute news across the vast country. Previously, Canada had regional news associations but no national wire service.

Initially operating as a distribution network, its first editorial staff came on board during World War I to report on the efforts of Canadian soldiers overseas. With the arrival of television and radio, The Canadian Press created a subsidiary, Broadcast News, to deliver text specifically written for broadcasters, as well as the production of newscasts and audio clips. The Canadian Press operates in both English and French, Canada's official languages; the French Service was established in 1951 and is named La Presse Canadienne (abbreviated as PC). The Canadian Press has a staff of more than 250 journalists in its bureaus across Canada, as well as a correspondent in Washington, D.C. The news agency operated a bureau in London, England, until 2004, and has had reporters covering the Canadian mission in Afghanistan since 2002.^[2]

Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. is the entity which "will take over the operations of the Canadian Press" according to a November 26, 2010 article in the Toronto Star.^[1] The new board met for the first time on Monday, November 29, 2010 to review the operations of the Canadian Press.^[1]

Operation[link]

This section mainly consists of lists. The information may be better understood by either replacing or supporting with prose. You can help by consulting the relevant guideline and making appropriate changes or additions. Editing help is available. (September 2011)

In addition to providing news to newspapers, TV and radio, The Canadian Press provides online news and photos. It introduced this online breaking news service in 1996 and now its multimedia content is published by most major Canadian news websites. The Canadian Press launched breaking news video in 2007, with clips produced specifically for websites and wireless services.

On June 30, 2007, CanWest left The Canadian Press cooperative.^[3]

In September 2007, The Canadian Press launched a rebranding campaign in an effort to stay competitive, notably in the wake of the pullout by the CanWest Global's newspaper, television and online news outlets (see below). All of its services, including radio networks Broadcast News and Nouvelles télé-radio, were rolled into a single brand: The Canadian Press. The change marked the end of the familiar (CP) service logo.^[4]

The Canadian Press also operates the largest online editorial archive of news pictures shot by photojournalists. It was the first in Canada to develop this online archive in 1996 and now it is home to over two million digital images with hundreds of images added each day. These photos appear in newspapers, books and magazines, and online.

Through a longstanding partnership, The Canadian Press is the exclusive distributor of The Associated Press (AP) and Associated Press Television News (APTN) material in Canada. The AP is the exclusive distributor of The Canadian Press in the United States and worldwide.

In addition to news and information, The Canadian Press publishes the Stylebook and Caps and Spelling book, which are considered the chief style guides for Canadian journalists, public relations professionals, editors and writers of all disciplines.

Through an alliance with The Canadian Press since 2004, Marketwire is the only news release distributor with exclusive access to send press releases and PR photos on behalf of clients over the same Canadian Press Wire Network used to deliver Canadian Press news copy directly into the editorial systems of more than 600 newspapers, radio and TV stations and websites across Canada.

On March 11, 2009, Sun Media announced that it would also be pulling out of the cooperative.^[5]

In July 2010, a tentative deal was struck between The Canadian Press's three largest stakeholders, CTVglobemedia, Torstar and Gesca, to transform the newswire from a co-operative into a for-profit entity.^[6]

On November 26, 2010, Torstar Corporation, The Globe and Mail and Square Victoria Communications Group announced they have invested in a new for-profit entity, Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., to take over the operations of the Canadian Press. The change in the ownership structure from a non-profit co-operative to a for-private business will allow the company to cover its pension needs and take advantage of future business opportunities, Phillip Crawley, publisher of The Globe and Mail, said in a interview, November 26, 2010. Canadian Press had a serious pension shortfall, which was, in 2010, valued at $34.4 million.^[1]

See also[link]

• Canadian Press Cable Service
• CNW Group
• Quoi de Neuf

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Canadian Press Official Website
• Marketwire

The Canadian
The westbound Canadian near Jasper, Alberta
Overview
Service type	Intercity rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Western Canada, Northern Ontario
Current operator(s)	Via Rail Canada
Former operator(s)	Canadian National, Canadian Pacific
Route
Start	Toronto, Ontario
No. of intermediate stops	65 (55 on request only)
End	Vancouver, British Columbia
Distance travelled	4,466 km (2,775 mi)
Average journey time	Westbound: 3 days 11 hours 42 minutes[1] Eastbound: 3 days 14 hours[2]
Service frequency	3 trains a week
On-board services
Class(es)	Economy, Sleeper Touring[3]
Disabled access	yes
Seating arrangements	Coach seating[3]
Sleeping arrangements	Berths, Bedrooms for one, two, three and four[3]
Catering facilities	Dining Car, Skyline Cafe (peak season only), take out, bar[4]
Observation facilities	Skyline car, Park Car
Baggage facilities	Checked baggage available at selected stations
Technical
Gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s)	GO, CN, CP, BNSF[5]
Timetable number(s)	1,2
Route map Legend Via Rail – Canadian route Legend Distance Station 0 Toronto (Union Station) 143 km (89 mi) Washago 241 km (150 mi) Parry Sound 422 km (260 mi) Sudbury Junction 444 km (280 mi) Capreol 493 km (310 mi) Laforest 494 km (310 mi) McKee's Camp 521 km (320 mi) Felix 527 km (330 mi) Ruel 547 km (340 mi) Westree 583 km (360 mi) Gogama 683 km (420 mi) Foleyet 739 km (460 mi) Elsas 859 km (530 mi) Oba 921 km (570 mi) Hornepayne 989 km (610 mi) Hillsport 1,046 km (650 mi) Caramat 1,084 km (670 mi) Longlac 1,133 km (700 mi) Nakina 1,222 km (760 mi) Auden 1,265 km (790 mi) Ferland 1,273 km (790 mi) Mud River 1,314 km (820 mi) Armstrong 1,348 km (840 mi) Collins 1,401 km (870 mi) Allanwater Bridge 1,421 km (880 mi) Flindt Landing 1,440 km (890 mi) Savant Lake 1,537 km (960 mi) Sioux Lookout 1,621 km (1,000 mi) Richan 1,652 km (1,000 mi) Red Lake Road 1,682 km (1,000 mi) Canyon 1,720 km (1,100 mi) Farlane 1,735 km (1,100 mi) Redditt 1,758 km (1,100 mi) Minaki 1,780 km (1,100 mi) Ottermere 1,784 km (1,100 mi) Malachi 1,788 km (1,100 mi) Copeland's Landing 1,796 km (1,100 mi) Rice Lake, Ontario Ontario/Manitoba border 1,801 km (1,100 mi) Winnitoba, Manitoba 1,806 km (1,100 mi) Ophir 1,826 km (1,100 mi) Brereton Lake 1,854 km (1,200 mi) Elma 1,943 km (1,200 mi) Winnipeg (Union Station) 2,032 km (1,300 mi) Portage la Prairie 2,173 km (1,400 mi) Rivers, Manitoba Manitoba/Saskatchewan border 2,394 km (1,500 mi) Melville 2,602 km (1,600 mi) Watrous 2,702 km (1,700 mi) Saskatoon 2,792 km (1,700 mi) Biggar 2,885 km (1,800 mi) Unity, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan/Alberta border 3,017 km (1,900 mi) Wainwright, Alberta 3,089 km (1,900 mi) Viking 3,221 km (2,000 mi) Edmonton 3,331 km (2,100 mi) Evansburg 3,430 km (2,100 mi) Edson 3,518 km (2,200 mi) Hinton 3,600 km (2,200 mi) Jasper, Alberta Alberta/British Columbia border 3,721 km (2,300 mi) Valemount, British Columbia 3,814 km (2,400 mi) Blue River 3,923 km (2,400 mi) Clearwater 4,038 km (2,500 mi) Kamloops North 4,117 km (2,600 mi) Ashcroft 4,240 km (2,600 mi) Boston Bar 4,305 km (2,700 mi) Hope 4,355 km (2,700 mi) Chilliwack 4,380 km (2,700 mi) Abbotsford 4,466 km (2,800 mi) Vancouver (Pacific Central Station) Route for No. 1 (Toronto-Vancouver)

The Canadian is a Canadian transcontinental passenger train originally operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway between 1955 and 1978. It is currently operated as an Inter-city rail service by Via Rail Canada (as the Canadian) with service between Union Station in Toronto, Ontario and Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, British Columbia. Since 1990, the train has followed a completely different route from Canadian Pacific's Canadian, using Canadian National's more northerly main line, which goes through Saskatoon and Edmonton rather than through Regina and Calgary. It is also much slower than the Canadian Pacific version of the train, and no longer serves Montreal or Ottawa, as it did until 1990. Before 1955, the name "The Canadian" had been used on CPR's overnight Montreal / Chicago trains.

Canadian Pacific[link]

In the years following World War II, passenger trains on the CPR consisted of a mixture of prewar heavyweight and pre- and post-war lightweight cars, even on their flagship transcontinental The Dominion and its eastern extension, The Atlantic Limited. While these cars were serviceable, American trains of the early 1950s, such as the California Zephyr, had already adopted streamlined all-stainless steel consists featuring domed observation cars. Following an evaluation in 1949 of the dome cars featured on the General Motors / Pullman Standard demonstrator Train of Tomorrow, CPR management, including then Vice President Norris Crump, resolved to upgrade their rolling stock. In 1953, CPR placed an order for 155 stainless steel cars with the Budd Company of Philadelphia that included 18 rear-end dome cars (Park series), 18 Skyline mid-train dome cars, 30 coaches, 18 dining cars and 71 sleeping cars (Manor and Chateau series). A subsequent order for 18 baggage-crew dormitory cars brought the final to total to 173 cars, sufficient for establishing an entirely new transcontinental service and partially re-equippiping The Dominion. The interior design of these new cars was contracted to the Philadelphia architectural firm Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson (a company known for its industrial designs on other prominent passenger trains such as the Pioneer Zephyr), and the resulting furnishings and pastel-shaded colour schemes were widely acclaimed. After deciding to name the Park series dome cars after famous Canadian parks, leading Canadian artists, including members of the Group of Seven, were commissioned to paint suitable murals for these cars. When the decision was made to add budget sleeping cars, the Budd order was supplemented by 22 existing heavyweight sleepers that CPR refurbished in its own Angus Shops, each fitted out with Budd-style stainless steel cladding. To complement the new rolling stock, the CPR ordered General Motors Diesel FP9 locomotives to supplement an existing fleet of FP7s. Although these F-units remained the preferred power for the train, it was occasionally pulled by a variety of motive power, including Montreal Locomotive Works FPA-2s, and, as late as 1959, steam locomotives.

CPR christened their new flagship train The Canadian and service began on April 24, 1955. Although CPR competitor Canadian National Railways began its own new transcontinental service, the Super Continental, on the same day, CPR was able to boast honestly that The Canadian was "The first and only all-stainless steel 'dome' stream-liner in Canada" — it was not until 1964 that the CNR acquired dome cars. CPR operated the train in two sections east of Sudbury, Ontario. The section operating between Montreal and Vancouver (also serving Ottawa) was known as train 1 westbound and train 2 eastbound, with a connecting section to or from Toronto splitting or joining at Sudbury (this section was known as train 11 westbound, and train 12 eastbound). Matching its streamlined appearance, The Canadian's 71 hour westbound schedule was 16 hours faster than that of The Dominion.

Although initially successful, passenger train ridership began to decline in Canada during the 1960s. Facing competition from airlines and increased automobile usage following construction of the Trans-Canada Highway, the CPR cancelled The Dominion in 1966, and petitioned the government to discontinue The Canadian in 1970. Although this petition was denied, CPR during the 1970s attempted to remove itself from the passenger service market. The Canadian was operated at reduced levels, with the government subsidizing 80 percent of its losses.

Old (red) and new (blue) route maps of The Canadian

Via Rail[link]

The Canadian in Calgary, 1982

The federal Crown corporation Via Rail Canada formally assumed responsibility for CPR's passenger services on October 29, 1978, although the Via identity was not assumed by the trains themselves until the following summer. Following the takeover by Via, the Canadian became the company's premier transcontinental train, and initially operated over its old CPR route. It was supplemented by the former CN Super Continental, which operated over the parallel, but more northerly, CN route. The Canadian continued to be operated in two sections east of Sudbury and provided daily service west to Vancouver and east to Toronto and Montreal.

In the aftermath of the deep budget cuts made to Via Rail on January 15, 1990, the Super Continental service was abolished and the Canadian was moved from the CPR route to the Super Continental's CN route. This maintained transcontinental service and allowed Via to operate its government-mandated service to small communities along the line. Service was also reduced to 3 days per week. Today, Via Rail continues to operate the Canadian using the CN route with rebuilt ex-CPR Budd passenger equipment.

Route[link]

Starting from Vancouver, the Canadian begins at Pacific Central Station. It follows along the CN track to New Westminster, then crosses the New Westminster Bridge. The Canadian then goes on the east track and goes directly to Gifford. It then recrosses the Fraser River, switching to the CP track and continues all the way to Basque (near Lytton). It is here that both the CP and CN are on the same side of the river and have crossovers to access each other's tracks and here where the eastbound Canadian transfers from the CP onto the CN line. Shortly thereafter the CN line crosses back over to the west/north side of the Thompson River for the rest of the way to Kamloops. Actually the Canadian stops at the CN station, which is in North Kamloops, across the river from downtown Kamloops. The Canadian continues east on the CN to Toronto, making stops at Edmonton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. Going west the Canadian does not switch to the CP track in Kamloops; instead it stays on the CN tracks all the way into Vancouver. Two of the highlights of the CN route include the ride through Painted Canyon in which the train clings about 200 feet (61 m) above the Thompson River and the crossing of CN's 800-foot (240 m) steel-arched bridge over the Fraser River and the CP mainine at Cisco.

Gallery[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Canadian

• 

  The Canadian picking up a canoeist in central Ontario

• 

  At Jasper, Alberta.

• 

  The Skyline dome car.

• 

  Dining car interior on the Canadian (2005)

References[link]

• Classic Trains, Spring 2005, Kalmbach Publishing, ISSN 1527-0718 pg. 58–69

External links[link]

• Via Rail's Official Site

Stephen George Watkins (born 23 March 1959) is a former English cricketer who played one first-class and one List A match for Worcestershire in 1983.

Watkins' solitary first-class appearance came against Oxford University in the middle of June 1983. Watkins, batting at two, had quite a successful match, scoring 77 and 28.^[1] Nevertheless, he never played first-class cricket again, and his only other game in major cricket was a John Player Special League match against Kent in early August, in which he made 24.^[2]

He left Worcestershire after the 1983 season, but later played minor counties cricket for Wales Minor Counties and Herefordshire.^[3]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Player profile: Stephen Watkins from CricketArchive
• Player profile: Stephen Watkins from ESPNcricinfo

Keanu Reeves
Reeves at The Lake House London premiere, September 2006
Born	Keanu Charles Reeves (1964-09-02) September 2, 1964 (age 47) Beirut, Lebanon
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1985–present
Parents	Patricia Bond Samuel Nowlin Reeves, Jr.

Keanu Charles Reeves ( /keɪˈɑːnuː/ kay-AH-noo; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian film actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his role in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure as well as Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix. He has worked under major directors, such as Stephen Frears (in the 1988 period drama Dangerous Liaisons); Gus Van Sant (in the 1991 independent film My Own Private Idaho); and Bernardo Bertolucci (in the 1993 film Little Buddha). Referring to his 1991 film releases, The New York Times’ critic, Janet Maslin, praised Reeves’ versatility, saying that he “displays considerable discipline and range. He moves easily between the buttoned-down demeanor that suits a police procedural story and the loose-jointed manner of his comic roles.”^[1] A repeated theme in roles he has portrayed is that of saving the world, including the characters of Ted Logan, Buddha, Neo, Johnny Mnemonic, John Constantine and Klaatu.

In addition to his film roles, Reeves has also performed in theatre. His performance in the title role in a Manitoba Theatre Centre production of Hamlet was praised by Roger Lewis, the Sunday Times, who declared Reeves " … one of the top three Hamlets I have seen, for a simple reason: he is Hamlet."^{[citation needed]} On January 31, 2005, Reeves received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Early life[link]

Reeves was born in Beirut, Lebanon, the son of Patricia Bond (née Taylor), a costume designer/performer, and Samuel Nowlin Reeves, Jr., a geologist. His mother was English and his father was a Hawaiian-born American of English, Irish, Portuguese, Hawaiian, and Chinese descent.^[2][3][4] Reeves's mother was working in Beirut when she met his father. Reeves' father worked as an unskilled laborer and earned his GED while imprisoned in Hawaii for selling heroin at Hilo International Airport.^[5] He abandoned his wife and family when Reeves was three years old, and Reeves does not currently have any relationship with him.^[5]

Reeves moved around the world frequently as a child and he lived with various stepfathers. After his parents divorced in 1966, his mother became a costume designer and moved the family to Sydney, Australia^[6] and then to New York City. There she met and married Paul Aaron, a Broadway and Hollywood director. The couple moved to Toronto; they divorced in 1971. Reeves' mother married Robert Miller, a rock promoter, in 1976; the couple divorced in 1980. She subsequently married her fourth husband, Jack Bond, a hairdresser, a marriage that broke up in 1994. Grandparents and nannies babysat Reeves and his sisters, and Reeves grew up primarily in Toronto. Within a span of five years, he attended four different high schools, including the Etobicoke School of the Arts, from which he was later expelled. Reeves stated he was expelled "I was just a little too rambunctious and shot my mouth off once too often. I was not generally the most well-oiled machine in the school." ^[7]

Reeves excelled more in hockey than in academics, as his educational development was challenged by dyslexia. He was a successful goalie at one of his high schools (De La Salle College "Oaklands"). While Reeves dreamed of becoming an Olympic hockey player for Canada, an injury ended his hopes for a hockey career. After leaving De La Salle College, he attended an anarchistic free school (Avondale Alternative), which allowed him to obtain an education while working as an actor; he later dropped out, never obtaining his high school diploma.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2011, on the BBC program The One Show, he spoke of his English ancestry, via his mother, mentioning his happy watching of The Two Ronnies comedy show amongst others when younger, and how his mother imparted English manners that he still has today.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

1980s[link]

Reeves began his acting career at the age of nine, appearing in a theatre production of Damn Yankees. At 15, he played Mercutio in a stage production of Romeo and Juliet at the Leah Posluns Theatre. Reeves made his screen acting debut in a CBC Television comedy series entitled Hangin' In. Throughout the early 1980s, he appeared in commercials (including one for Coca-Cola), short films including the NFB drama One Step Away^[8] and stage work such as Brad Fraser's cult hit Wolfboy in Toronto. In 1984, he was a correspondent for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation TV youth program Going Great.^[9]

Reeves' first studio movie appearance was in the Rob Lowe ice hockey film Youngblood, in which he played a Québécois goalie. Shortly after the movie's release, Reeves drove to Los Angeles in his 1969 Volvo. His ex-stepfather Paul Aaron, a stage and television director, had convinced Erwin Stoff to be Reeves' manager and agent before he even arrived in Los Angeles. Stoff has remained Reeves' manager, and has co-produced many of his films. After a few minor roles, Reeves received a more sizable role in the 1986 drama film River's Edge, which depicted how a murder affected a group of teens. Following this film's critical success, he spent the late 1980s appearing in a number of movies aimed at teenage audiences, including Permanent Record, and the unexpectedly successful 1989 comedy, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, which, along with its 1991 sequel, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, typecast Reeves as a spaced-out teen. Much of his portrayal in the press and much of the response to his acting in the early 1990s still mentioned his portrayal of the airheaded Ted.

1990s[link]

Reeves' interacting with the press at the Berlin Film Festival

During the early 1990s, Reeves started to break out of his teen-film period. He appeared in high-budget action films like Point Break, for which he won MTV's "Most Desirable Male" award in 1992. He was also involved in various lower-budget independent films, including the well-received 1991 film, My Own Private Idaho with his close friend, the late River Phoenix. In 1994, Reeves' career reached a new high as a result of his starring role in the action film Speed. His casting in the film was controversial since, except for Point Break, he was primarily known for comedies and indie dramas. He had never been the sole headliner on a film. The summer action film had a fairly large budget and was helmed by novice cinematographer-turned-director Jan de Bont. The unexpected international success of the film made Reeves and co-star Sandra Bullock into A-List stars.

Reeves' career choices after Speed were eclectic: despite his successes, Reeves continued to accept supporting roles and appear in experimental films. He scored a hit with a romantic lead role in A Walk in the Clouds. He made news by refusing to take part in Speed 2: Cruise Control and choosing to play the title role in a 1995 Manitoba Theatre Centre production of Hamlet in Winnipeg, Manitoba.^[10] Roger Lewis, the Sunday Times critic, wrote, "He quite embodied the innocence, the splendid fury, the animal grace of the leaps and bounds, the emotional violence, that form the Prince of Denmark... He is one of the top three Hamlets I have seen, for a simple reason: he is Hamlet."^[11]

Reeves promoting The Day the Earth Stood Still in Mexico in 2008.

Reeves' other choices after A Walk in the Clouds, however, failed with critics and audiences. Big-budget films such as the sci-fi action film Johnny Mnemonic and the action-thriller Chain Reaction were critically panned and failed at the box office, while indie films like Feeling Minnesota were also critical failures. Reeves started to climb out of his career low after starring in the horror/drama The Devil's Advocate alongside Al Pacino and Charlize Theron. Reeves deferred his salary for The Devil's Advocate so that Pacino would be cast, as he would do later for the less successful The Replacements, guaranteeing the casting of Gene Hackman. The Devil's Advocate did well at the box office, received good reviews, and proved that Reeves could play a grown-up with a career, although many critics felt that his poor performance detracted from an otherwise enjoyable movie. The 1999 science fiction-action hit The Matrix, a film in which Reeves had a starring role, was a box office success and attracted positive reviews.^{[citation needed]}

2000s[link]

In between the first Matrix film and its sequels, Reeves received positive reviews for his portrayal of an abusive husband in The Gift. Aside from The Gift, Reeves appeared in several films that received mostly negative reviews and unimpressive box office grosses, including The Watcher, Sweet November and The Replacements. However, the two Matrix sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, Something's Gotta Give, and the 2005 horror-action film, Constantine, proved to be box office successes and brought Reeves back into the public spotlight.

His appearance in the 2006 film, A Scanner Darkly, based on the dystopian science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick, received favorable reviews, but The Lake House, his romantic outing with Sandra Bullock, did not do well at the box office. He went on to play the lead character in two 2008 films, Street Kings and The Day the Earth Stood Still. In February 2009 The Private Life of Pippa Lee was presented at Berlinale.^{[citation needed]}

2010s[link]

Reeves started filming the surrealist romantic comedy Henry's Crime in December 2009, with filming wrapped up in early 2010. After this he started working as producer and star on the science-fiction space drama Passengers, written by Jon Spaihts.^[12]

In January 2009, it was revealed that Reeves will star in the live-action film adaptation of the anime series Cowboy Bebop,^[13][14] slated for release in 2011. Other upcoming projects include the samurai film 47 Ronin, Chef – story by Reeves and written by Steven Knight, and a modern retelling of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, scripted by Justin Haythe and titled Jekyll. Nicolas Winding Refn was in negotiations to direct but was eventually replaced by Dennis Iliadis and produced by Universal Pictures.^[15]

In April 2011, Reeves confirmed that a third installment of the Bill & Ted movie series was underway.^[16]

Personal life and other interests[link]

Reeves' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

For nearly a decade following his initial rise to stardom, Reeves preferred to live in rental houses and hotels. He was a long-term resident of the Chateau Marmont. Reeves bought his first house in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles around 2003. He also has an apartment on Central Park West in New York City.^{[citation needed]}

He is a U.S. citizen through his American father, and also holds Canadian citizenship by naturalization; he grew up as a Canadian and identifies as such.^{[citation needed]} Due to April 2003 changes in the law, he is entitled to British citizenship through his English mother.

Reeves has never married.^[17] In December 1999, his girlfriend, Jennifer Syme, gave birth to a stillborn daughter, Ava Archer Syme-Reeves. Syme died in 2001, a sole driver involved in an automobile wreck, while partying in Los Angeles.^[18]

Reeves was sued unsuccessfully in 2008 in Los Angeles Superior Court for $711,974^[19] by paparazzo Alison Silva for allegedly hitting and injuring him with his Porsche after visiting a relative at a Los Angeles medical facility.^[20][21] The paparazzo's lawsuit took a year and a half to make it to trial, during which time Silva continued to attack Reeves and demand payment. At the trial, all 12 jurors rejected the suit needing only an hour of deliberation to reach their verdict. With the lawsuit rejected, Reeves was cleared of all the charges.^[22]

Reeves is an atheist. ^[23][24]

In 2010, photos of a sad-looking Keanu Reeves eating a sandwich while alone led to the spread of the "Keanu is Sad/Sad Keanu" Internet meme and the declaration of June 15 as "Unofficial Cheer-up Keanu Day" by a Facebook fanpage.^[25]

Music[link]

Reeves played bass guitar in the grunge band Dogstar during the 1990s. In the 2000s, he performed with the band Becky.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• "Keanu Reeves Articles & Interviews Archive, 1987 – 2010". http://www.whoaisnotme.net/articles/articles.htm. Retrieved January 9, 2010. 
• Papp, Adrienne (April 18, 2008). "Tempest in Tibet". LA2DAY. http://la2day.com/talk/tempest_in_tibet. Retrieved May 13, 2008. 
• "Pondering the mysterious Keanu Reeves". CNN. November 5, 2003. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080430121543/http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Movies/11/05/sprj.caf03.film.keanureeves.ap/. Retrieved May 10, 2008. 
• "Seven magazine interview with Keanu Reeves". Seven magazine. http://www.se7enmagazine.org/film/film_27.htm. Retrieved May 10, 2008. 
• Bystedt, Karen Hardy (September 1988). The New Breed: Actors Coming of Age. Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 978-0-8050-0774-9. 
• Chin, Ong Song (May 15, 2003). "A Man of Many Faces". Straits Times (Singapore). 
• Fleming, Michael (April 2006). "Playboy Interview: Keanu Reeves". Playboy: 49–52, 140–141. 
• Howell, Peter (May 4, 2003). "Reeves Reloaded". Toronto Star. 
• Makela, Bob (August 5, 2000). "Keanu Reeves: All the right moves". USA Weekend. http://www.usaweekend.com/00_issues/000806/000806keanu.html. Retrieved May 10, 2008. ^{[dead link]}
• Roman, Shari (February 1, 1988). "Keanu Reeves – Hawaiian Punk". Details. 
• Shnayerson, Michael (August 1995). "The Wild One". Vanity Fair. 

External links[link]

• Keanu Reeves at the Internet Movie Database
• Keanu Reeves at People.com

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Keanu Reeves

Cab Calloway
Photographed by William Gottlieb, 1947
Background information
Birth name	Cabell Calloway III
Born	(1907-12-25)December 25, 1907 Rochester, New York, US
Died	November 18, 1994(1994-11-18) (aged 86) Hockessin, Delaware, US
Genres	Jazz, blues
Occupations	Bandleader, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1930–1994
Associated acts	The Cab Calloway Orchestra
Website	www.cabcalloway.com

Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer.

Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the United States' most popular African American big bands from the start of the 1930s through the late 1940s. Calloway's band featured performers including trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, New Orleans guitar ace Danny Barker, and bassist Milt Hinton. Calloway continued to perform until his death in 1994 at the age of 86.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Cab Calloway was born in a middle-class family in Rochester, New York, on Christmas Day in 1907. He lived there until moving to Baltimore, Maryland in 1918. His father, Cabell Calloway II, was a lawyer and his mother, Martha Eulalia Reed, was a teacher and church organist. When Cab was young, he enjoyed singing in church.^[1] His parents recognized their son's musical talent and he began private voice lessons in 1922. He continued to study music and voice throughout his formal schooling. Despite his parents' and vocal teachers' disapproval of jazz, Calloway began frequenting and eventually performing in many of Baltimore's jazz clubs, where he was mentored by drummer Chick Webb and pianist Johnny Jones.

After graduating from Frederick Douglass High School Calloway joined his older sister, Blanche, in a touring production of the popular black musical revue Plantation Days. (Blanche Calloway herself would become an accomplished bandleader before her brother, and he would often credit her as his inspiration for entering show business.) Calloway attended Lincoln University (a historically black university) in Pennsylvania, but left in 1930 without graduating.

When the tour ended in Chicago in the fall, Calloway decided to remain in Chicago with his sister, who had an established career as a jazz singer in that city. His parents had hopes of their son becoming a lawyer like his father, so Calloway enrolled in Crane College. His main interest, however, was in singing and entertaining, and he spent most of his nights at the Dreamland Ballroom, the Sunset Cafe, and the Club Berlin, performing as a drummer, singer and MC.

At the Sunset Cafe he met and performed with Louis Armstrong who taught him to sing in the "scat" style.

Success[link]

The Cotton Club was the premier jazz venue in the country, and Calloway and his orchestra (he had taken over a brilliant but failing band called "The Missourians" in 1930) were hired as a replacement for the Duke Ellington Orchestra while they were touring. Calloway quickly proved so popular that his band became the "co-house" band with Ellington's, and his group began touring nationwide when not playing the Cotton Club. Their popularity was greatly enhanced by the twice-weekly live national radio broadcasts on NBC at the Cotton Club. Calloway also appeared on Walter Winchell's radio program and with Bing Crosby in his show at New York's Paramount Theatre. As a result of these appearances, Calloway, together with Ellington, broke the major broadcast network color barrier.^{[citation needed]}

Like other bands fronted by a singing bandleader, Calloway initially gave ample soloist space to its lead members and, through the varied arrangements of Walter 'Foots' Thomas, provided much more in the way of musical interest. Many of his records were "vocal specialities" with Calloway's vocal taking up the majority of the record.

In 1931 he recorded his most famous song, "Minnie the Moocher". That song, along with "St. James Infirmary Blues" and "The Old Man Of The Mountain," were performed for the Betty Boop animated shorts Minnie the Moocher, Snow White and The Old Man of the Mountain, respectively. Through rotoscoping, Calloway not only gave his voice to these cartoons, but his dance steps as well. He took advantage of this and timed his concerts in some communities with the release of the films in order to make the most of the attention. As a result of the success of "Minnie the Moocher," he became identified with its chorus, gaining the nickname "The Hi De Ho Man". He also performed in a series of short films for Paramount in the 1930s. (Calloway and Ellington were featured on film more than any other jazz orchestras of the era.) In these films, Calloway can be seen performing a gliding backstep dance move, the precursor to Michael Jackson's "moonwalk"—Calloway said fifty years later, "it was called The Buzz back then."^[2] The 1933 film, International House featured Calloway performing his classic song, "Reefer Man," a tune about a man who favors marijuana cigarettes.^[3]

Calloway made his "first proper Hollywood movie appearance" opposite Al Jolson in The Singing Kid in 1936. He sang a number of duets with Jolson, and the film included Calloway's band and cast of twenty-two Cotton Club dancers from New York.^[4] According to music historian Arthur Knight, the film aimed in part "to both erase and celebrate boundaries and differences, including most emphatically the color line." He also notes that "when Calloway begins singing in his characteristic style – in which the words are tools for exploring rhythm and stretching melody – it becomes clear that American culture is changing around Jolson and with (and through) Calloway. . ."^[5][6]:watch

Calloway's was one of the most popular American jazz bands of the 1930s, recording prolifically for Brunswick and the ARC dime store labels (Banner, Cameo, Conqueror, Perfect, Melotone, Banner, Oriole, etc.) from 1930–1932, when he signed with Victor for a year. He was back on Brunswick in late 1934 through 1936, when he signed with manager Irving Mills's short-lived Variety in 1937, and stayed with Mills when the label collapsed and the sessions were continued on Vocalion through 1939, and then OKeh through 1942. After the recording ban due to the 1942-44 musicians' strike ended, he continued to record prolifically.

Calloway's vocal style is a blend of hot scat singing and improvisation coupled with a very traditional vaudeville-like singing style. Many of his ballads are devoid of tone bending jazz styling.

In 1941 Calloway fired Dizzy Gillespie from his orchestra after an onstage fracas erupted when Calloway was hit with spitballs. He wrongly accused Gillespie, who stabbed Calloway in the leg with a small knife.^[7]

In 1943 Calloway appeared in the high-profile 20th Century Fox musical film, Stormy Weather.