White Motor Company

Industry	Automotive
Fate	Acquired
Successor(s)	Volvo AV
Founded	1900
Founder(s)	Thomas White
Defunct	1980
Headquarters	Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Products	Vehicles Automotive parts

White Motor Company was an American automobile and truck manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the company was based in Cleveland, Ohio.

History[link]

Advertisement for the White Sewing Machine Company's 1905 model

About 1898, Thomas H. White purchased a Locomobile steam car and found the only thing reliable about its boiler was its unreliability. His son, Rollin, set out to improve on its design. Rollin White developed a form of water tube steam generator which consisted of a series of stacked coils with two novel features: the first, and most fundamental, was that the coils were all joined at the top of the unit, which allowed water to flow through only when pumped, allowing control of the steam generation; the second was pulling steam from the lowest coil, closest to the fire, which allowed for the control of steam temperature. This second point was critical because the White steamer operated with superheated steam to take advantage of steam's unique properties at higher temperatures.

White steamer[link]

Rollin H. White patented his new design and offered it to, among others, Locomobile. Finally, he persuaded his father, founder of the White Sewing Machine Company, to allow the use of a corner in one of his sewing machine buildings to build a complete automobile.

White's brother Windsor, who was a management talent, joined the business venture, followed by their brother Walter, who became instrumental in the sales, promotion and distribution of the product. The first group of fifty cars was completed in October 1900, but none were offered to the public until April 1901 so the design could be thoroughly tested. Since the cars were being offered by the automobile department of the sewing machine company, White could not afford to diminish the reputation of the parent company by the introduction of a new and untested product. The White steamer was a success from the very beginning as a result of this careful approach.

It became necessary in 1905 to separate the automobile department from its parent company to accommodate the growth of the business and to physically separate them, as a fire in the paint department of one could ruin both operations. On July 4, 1905, a racing steam car named "Whistling Billy" and driven by Webb Jay set a record of 73.75 mph (118.66 kph) on the Morris Park Racecourse.

1909 White touring car at the Petersen Automotive Museum

In 1909, president-elect William Howard Taft selected a 40 hp (30 kW) White Model M 7-seat tourer as the first official automobile of the President of the United States. This generated favorable press for the new White Motor Company.^[1]

The last steam car was built in January 1911 as the company transition to gasoline powered vehicles.

Gasoline models[link]

The growth of the White companies' manufacturing facility was considerable. This meant, among other things, they had to pay particular attention to the marketplace as inefficient manufacturing and/or a slacking in sales would be magnified by costs. As the White steamer was an excellent automobile, it was also a unique technology, and this made it vulnerable in a market that was accepting the internal combustion engine as the standard. In response to this, White canvassed existing gas manufacturers and licensed the rights to the Delahaye design for the "gas car", showing a chassis at an English auto show in December 1908.

White tractors[link]

White built their last steam cars for the 1910 model year, though they continued to show them in their catalogues as late as 1912. Rollin at that time became more interested in agricultural tractors, and developed some designs for tractors derived from standard White truck parts. When the White Company was not interested in producing tractors, Rollin set out to develop his own designs and, with brother Clarence, eventually founded Cleveland Motor Plow, which later became Cletrac tractor. In the early 1920s, Rollin briefly produced the Rollin car to diversify the tractor company, but found it could not compete in cost versus price against much larger manufacturers.

White was successful with their heavy machines, which saw service around the world during World War I. White remained in the truck industry for decades.

Today, only about 150 White steam cars are known to remain from the 10,000 or so made. White produced more steam cars than any other maker, even the more famous Stanley.

Truck manufacturing[link]

This truck served the Chicago Fire Department from 1930 to 1941.

White Motor Company ended car production after World War I and began producing trucks. The company soon sold 10 percent of all trucks made in the United States, and White trucks and buses became known for quality. Although White produced all sizes of trucks from light delivery to semi, the decision was made after World War II to produce only large trucks. White acquired several truck companies during this time: Sterling, Autocar, Diamond T, and REO. White also agreed to sell Consolidated Freightways trucks through its own dealers.^[2] White produced trucks under the Autocar nameplate following its acquisition. Diamond T and REO Motor Car Company became the Diamond REO division, which was discontinued in the 1970s.

A White semi performed a major role in the 1949 James Cagney film, "White Heat". This era was probably the peak of White Motor market penetration, with the substantial gasoline engined tractors moving a large part of the tractor trailer market.

White designed and (with other companies) produced the M3 Scout Car, the standard United States Army reconnaissance vehicle at the start of World War II. White also built the later M2 and M3 half-tracks.

In 1967, White started the Western Star division to sell trucks on the west coast.

Two 'red jammers' at the Prince of Wales Hotel.

White buses[link]

In the 1930s, White produced 500 of their small Model 706 buses specifically designed to carry passengers through the major National Parks of the western United States. The distinctive vehicles, with roll-back canvas convertible tops, were the product of noted industrial designer Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, and originally operated in seven National Parks. Today, Glacier National Park operates 33 of their original 35 buses, where they are referred to as "Red Jammers", and 8 (of an original 98) have been restored for renewed service in Yellowstone National Park. Glacier National Park's 33 buses were refurbished by Ford Motor Company in 2000-2002, while Yellowstone National Park's eight buses were refurbished by the Transglobal Company of Livonia, Michigan in 2007. Glacier has kept one bus in original condition. Yellowstone has five White buses in original condition, two model 706's and three older units as well. In addition, Gettysburg National Battlefield operates two of Yellowstone's original buses.

Company culture[link]

1910 White touring car

White railcar in the collection of the Railtown 1897 State Historic Park

During the time brothers Walter and Windsor White ran the company, it was a nice place to work. The company had a library branch, a store which sold necessities at a low cost, sports teams, and concerts by orchestras and jazz bands, as well as musical performances by the workers, many of whom were immigrants from Slovenia and Poland. The company also had picnics at Euclid Beach Park. People wanted to work at White, and sons followed their fathers. Executives visited the plant often.

After Walter White died from a traffic accident, management changed and so did the firm's culture. Employees started one of the country's first automobile unions. The Great Depression caused a drop in sales, forcing White to merge with Studebaker. However, White soon became independent again.

In 1935, Robert Fager Black became president, but workers were still unhappy, and they went on strike. Black tried talking to the workers who were striking, and he even got baseball equipment for them and let them play while on strike, so they would have something to do. The workers soon realized the old White was back and went back to work.

Black learned people's names, visited the plant frequently, and asked customers if they were happy with what they purchased. Anyone could visit his office.

Black brought the company back to where it had once been by World War II, during which the company supplied the military with much of its equipment. When husbands went to serve, wives took their jobs, and the work force totaled over 4000. Black provided the services the company had at one time, and he also made sure employees could get to work with carpools.

Black retired in 1956, still beloved by employees.^[2]

Demise[link]

1962 "Pullin' Green" tractor in Patchogue, New York.

In 1953, White purchased the Autocar Company. From the 1950s until 1975, White Motors distributed Freightliner trucks under an agreement with Freightliner's parent, Consolidated Freightways Inc. White manufactured trucks under its own brands—White, Autocar, and Western Star—as well, leading to the company becoming known as the "Big Four" through to the mid-1970s. The Sterling nameplate, unused by White as long as the company owned it, went to Freightliner after the companies' split; it is currently used by Freightliner's parent company, the Daimler Group.^{[citation needed]}

Sales dropped during the 1960s, and White tried merging with White Consolidated Industries, the company that once made sewing machines; the federal government blocked this deal. The company opened plants in Virginia and Utah, since they did not have unions, but this did not help. Semon E. "Bunkie" Knudsen, former president of Ford Motor Company, made the company successful for a time, but the decline continued. Later, the federal government approved a merger with White Consolidated, which feared being hurt by White Motor's troubles. Mergers with Daimler and Renault were also considered.^[2]

By 1980, White was insolvent. Volvo AB acquired the U.S. assets of the company in 1981, while two energy-related companies based in Calgary, Alberta, Bow Valley Resource Services, and NovaCorp, an Alberta corporation, purchased the Canadian assets, including the Kelowna, British Columbia, plant, and the Western Star nameplate and product range.

Volvo produced trucks as White and Autocar through the 1980s, while Western Star continued independently in Canada and the United States, although Volvo-White–produced high cab over engine models were purchased and rebadged Western Star for sale in the Canadian market through the early 1990s.

Volvo purchased GMC's heavy truck business in 1987 and merged it with White, creating the White-GMC brand. Western Star was sold to Australian entrepreneur Terry Peabody in 1990. Subsequently, Western Star was resold by Peabody to DaimlerChrysler AG and merged with its Freightliner subsidiary. Volvo dropped any reference to White, and is now Volvo Trucks North America. Autocar remained a part of Volvo until 2000, when the trademark was withdrawn from the market, and was subsequently sold to Grand Vehicle Works together with the Xpeditor low cab forward heavy duty product, which remains in production to this day under the Autocar badge, the last vestige of what was once America's leading commercial vehicle producer.

A former White subsidiary, White Farm Equipment, produced farm tractors until 2001. As of 2006, the only products made under the White name is a series of corn planters (made by AGCO) and garden tractors (made by MTD Products).

More information about White Motor Company can be found in Oliver Heritage Magazine.

Products[link]

See also[link]

• List of automobile manufacturers
• White armored car
• White Farm Equipment
• White Sewing Machine Company
• White-Westinghouse

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (October 2009)

• Steamcar history
• "American Truck & Bus Spotter's Guide: 1920-1985," by Tad Burness
• "White Trucks of the 1950s At Work" by Barry R. Bertram
• "White Trucks of the 1960s At Work" by Barry R. Bertram

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: White Motor Company vehicles

• White Truck Pictures - Barraclou.com
• White Truck Pictures - Hank's Truck Pictures
• 1945 advertisement for White Buses
• Cletrac and Oliver Tractors

v t e Trucking industry in the United States Regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Regulations Commercial driver's license Hours of service Federal Bridge Gross Weight Formula Electronic on-board recorder Motor carrier safety rating Motor Carrier Act of 1980 International Registration Plan National Network Manufacturers Truck manufacturers Autocar Brockway Freightliner Ford Motor Company International Kenworth Mack Peterbilt Sterling Volvo Western Star White General Motors Truck & Coach Division Engine manufacturers Caterpillar Cummins Detroit Diesel Mack MaxxForce Mercedes-Benz PACCAR Volvo Trailer manufacturers Fruehauf Corporation Great Dane Limited Hyundai Translead Lufkin Trailers Trail King Industries Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company Wabash National Monon Trailers Motor carriers Truckload carriers Celadon Covenant England J.B. Hunt PAM Transport Schneider Swift USA Truck Werner Knight FFE Transportation Less than Truckload (LTL) ABF Con-way Pitt Ohio Express FedEx Freight UPS Freight YRCW Third Party Logistic Providers Access America Transport CaseStack C. H. Robinson Worldwide Freightquote.com TheFreightRateCo.com Parcel carriers DHL Express FedEx OnTrac UPS United States Postal Service Moving companies Allied Atlas Bekins Gentle Giant Moving Company Graebel Global Mayflower North American PODS United Shleppers Moving & Storage Truck stops Bosselman Dixie Travel Plaza Iowa 80 Love's Pilot Flying J Road Ranger Roady's T/A & Petro Town Pump People Reginald Denny Jimmy Hoffa Fred Smith John B. Hunt Kelly Reno Iyman Faris Larry Walters Keith Jesperson Organizations Teamsters Union Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Dial-a-truck American Trucking Associations FJ Managenent SmartWay Transport Partnership Glossary Glossary of trucking industry terms in the United States Popular culture Film Black Dog Convoy Duel F.I.S.T. The Gang's All Here Joy Ride Maximum Overdrive Over The Top Smokey and the Bandit (series) They Drive by Night White Line Fever Trucker Television B.J. and the Bear Ice Road Truckers Movin' On Trick My Truck American Loggers American Trucker Music "Convoy" "Papa Loved Mama" "Six Days on the Road" "Teddy Bear" "Phantom 309" "Giddyup Go" "Drive-By Truckers" "The White Knight" "East Bound and Down" "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)" "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses" "Girl on the Billboard" Radio Road Dog Trucking (Dave Nemo) America's Trucking Network Red Eye (Bill Mack Dale Sommers) Other The Rolling Memorial Citizens' band radio

Betty June King QC is an Australian jurist. She is currently a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria having previously served as a judge in the County Court of Victoria. She served as a member of the National Crime Authority in the 1990s.

Education[link]

King attended high school at University High School.^[1] She later studied law at Melbourne University until 1973, graduating in 1974.^[2][3][4][5]

Early legal career[link]

After completing her articles, she joined the Victorian Bar in 1975 at the age of 24, becoming only the twenty-fourth female barrister.^[3][5]

King was in 1986 the first female Prosecutor in Victoria, later becoming the first female Commonwealth prosecutor.^[3][5]

In 1992 King was one of the first Victorian women to be promoted to Queen's Counsel.^[6]

During the late 1990s King was a member of the National Crime Authority at one point acting as chair of the authority.^[3]

Judicial career[link]

County Court[link]

In 2000 King was appointed a judge of the County Court, serving until her appointment as an associate judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2005.^{[1][7][8][9][10]}

Supreme Court[link]

King was sworn in as a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria on 21 June 2005.

Melbourne gangland trials[link]

King presided over the prominent cases involving Melbourne criminal figure Carl Williams and his associates arising from the Melbourne gangland killings.^[1][11] In 2008 King ruled that the Underbelly television series could not be shown in the state of Victoria during Williams' murder trial.^[12][13][14] During the trial of Evangelos Goussis for the murder of Lewis Moran she banned a proposed television showdown on Today Tonight between Judy Moran and Williams' mother. While instructing the jury during Goussis' trial she referred to herself as the "queen of banning things".^[15]

Public statements[link]

In May 2010 she spoke out against prominent defendants, their family members, and judges being treated as celebrities. King claimed to have had a Wikipedia article about her deleted.^[16][17] In 2008 a fake Facebook profile bearing her name was removed after a complaint.^[16][18]

References[link]

Jay Leno
Leno in July 2008
Birth name	James Douglas Muir Leno
Born	(1950-04-28) April 28, 1950 (age 62)[1] New Rochelle, New York, U.S.[1]
Medium	Television, Film, Stand up
Nationality	American
Years active	1973–present
Genres	Observational comedy, Political satire
Subject(s)	American culture, Everyday life
Influences	Johnny Carson, Robert Klein, Alan King, George Carlin,[2] Don Rickles, Bob Newhart, Rodney Dangerfield
Influenced	Dennis Miller[3]
Spouse	Mavis Leno (1980–present)
Notable works and roles	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (host, 1992–2009, 2010–) The Jay Leno Show (host, 2009–2010)
Signature
Website	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series 1995 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno /ˈlɛnoʊ/ (born April 28, 1950)^[1] is an American stand-up comedian and television host.

From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time, UTC-5), also on NBC. After The Jay Leno Show was canceled in January 2010 amid a host controversy, Leno returned to host The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 1, 2010.^[4]

Early life[link]

James "Jay" Leno was born in New Rochelle, New York, in 1950. His mother, Catherine (née Muir; 1911–1993), a homemaker, was born in Greenock, Scotland, and came to the United States at age 11. Leno's father, Angelo (1910–1994), who worked as an insurance salesman, was born in New York to immigrants from Flumeri, Italy.^[5] Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and although his high school guidance counselor recommended that he drop out of school, he later obtained a Bachelor's degree in speech therapy from Emerson College, where he started a comedy club in 1973.^[6] Leno's siblings include his late older brother, Patrick, who was a Vietnam veteran^[7] and a lawyer.^[6]

Career[link]

During the 1970s, Leno appeared in minor roles in several television series and films, first in the 1976 episode "J.J. in Trouble" of Good Times and the same year in the pilot of Holmes & Yo-Yo. After an uncredited appearance in the 1977 film Fun with Dick and Jane, he played more prominent parts in 1978 in American Hot Wax and Silver Bears. Other films and television series from that period include Almost Heaven (1978), "Going Nowhere" (1979) from One Day at a Time, Americathon (1979), Polyester (1981), "The Wild One" (1981) from Alice, "Feminine Mistake" (1979) and "Do the Carmine" (1983) from Laverne & Shirley.

[edit] The Tonight Show

Leno in 1993, shortly after becoming host of The Tonight Show

Starting in 1987, Leno was a regular substitute host for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. In 1992, he replaced Carson as host^[8] amid controversy with David Letterman, who had been hosting Late Night with David Letterman since 1982 (aired after The Tonight Show), who many had expected to be Carson's successor. The story of this turbulent transition was later turned into a book and a movie. Leno continued to perform as a stand-up comedian throughout his tenure on The Tonight Show.

In 2004, Leno signed a contract extension with NBC which would keep him as host of The Tonight Show until 2009.^[9] Later in 2004, Conan O'Brien signed a contract with NBC under which O'Brien would become the host of The Tonight Show in 2009, replacing Leno at that time.^[10]

During the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, Leno was accused of violating WGA guidelines by writing his own monologue for The Tonight Show. While NBC and Leno claim there were private meetings with the WGA where there was a secret agreement allowing this, the WGA denied such a meeting.^[11] Leno answered questions in front of the Writers Guild of America, West trial committee in February 2009 and June 2009, and when the WGAW published its list of strike-breakers on 11 August 2009, Leno was not on the list.^[12][13]

In 1998, Leno competed in a tag-team match at the WCW's "Road Wild" pay-per-view . In 2001, he voiced The Crimson Chin, a superhero in the Nickelodeon animated series The Fairly OddParents and continues to do so today.

Leno said in 2008 that he was saving all of his income from The Tonight Show and living solely off his income from stand-up comedy.^[14]

On April 23, 2009, Leno checked himself into a hospital with an undisclosed illness.^[15] He was released the following day and returned to work on Monday, April 27. The two subsequently cancelled Tonight Show episodes for April 23 and April 24 were Leno's first in 17 years as host.^[16][17] Initially, the illness that caused the absence was not disclosed, but later Leno told People magazine that the ailment was exhaustion.^[17][18]

Michael Jackson trial[link]

In the 2005 trial of Michael Jackson over allegations of child molestation, Leno appeared as a defense witness (many celebrity defense witnesses had been expected, but Leno was one of the few whose testimony was actually needed). In his testimony regarding a call by the accuser, Leno testified that he never called the police, that no money was asked for, and there was no coaching — but that the calls seemed unusual and scripted.^[19]

Leno in 2006.

As a result, Leno was initially not allowed to continue telling jokes about Jackson or the case, which had been a fixture of The Tonight Show's opening monologue in particular. But he and his show's writers used a legal loophole by having Leno briefly step aside while stand-in comedians took the stage and told jokes about the trial. Stand-ins included Roseanne Barr, Drew Carey, Brad Garrett, and Dennis Miller among others.^[20]

[edit] Succession by Conan O'Brien and The Jay Leno Show

Because Leno's show continued to lead all late-night programming in the Nielsen ratings, the pending expiration of Leno's contract led to speculation about whether he would become a late-night host for another network after his commitment to NBC expired.^[21] Leno left The Tonight Show on Friday May 29, 2009,^[22][23] and Conan O'Brien took over on June 1, 2009.

On December 8, 2008, it was reported that Leno would remain on NBC and move to a new hour-long show at 10 p.m. Eastern Time (9 p.m. Central Time) five nights a week.^[24] This show follows a similar format to The Tonight Show, tapes at the same lot, and retains many of Leno's most popular segments. Late Night host Conan O'Brien was his successor on The Tonight Show.^[25]

Jay Leno's new show, titled The Jay Leno Show, debuted on September 14, 2009. It was announced at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that it would feature one or two celebrities, the occasional musical guest, and keep the popular "Headlines" segments, which would air near the end of the show. First guests included Jerry Seinfeld, Oprah Winfrey (via satellite), and a short sit-down with Kanye West discussing his controversy at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.^[26]

[edit] Timeslot conflict and return to The Tonight Show

Wikinews has related news: US TV host Conan O'Brien rejects NBC's offer to switch his show's time slot

In their new roles, neither O'Brien nor Leno succeeded in delivering the viewing audiences the network anticipated. On January 7, 2010, multiple media outlets reported that beginning March 1, 2010, Jay Leno would move from his 10pm weeknight time slot to 11:35pm, due to a combination of pressure from local affiliates whose newscasts were suffering, and both Leno's and O'Brien's poor ratings.^[27][28] Leno's show would be shortened from an hour to 30 minutes. All NBC late night programming would be preempted by the 2010 Winter Olympics between February 15 and February 26. This would move The Tonight Show to 12:05am, a post-midnight timeslot for the first time in its history. O'Brien's contract stipulated that NBC could move the show back to 12:05 a.m. without penalty (a clause put in primarily to accommodate sports preemptions).^[29]

On January 10, NBC confirmed that they would move Jay Leno out of primetime as of February 12 and intended to move him to late night as soon as possible.^[30][31] TMZ reported that O'Brien was given no advance notice of this change, and that NBC offered him two choices: an hour-long 12:05am time slot, or the option to leave the network.^[32] On January 12, O'Brien issued a press release that stated he would not continue with Tonight if it moved to a 12:05am time slot,^[33] saying, "I believe that delaying The Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t The Tonight Show."

On January 21, it was announced that NBC had struck a deal with O'Brien. It was decided that O'Brien would leave The Tonight Show. The deal was made that O'Brien would receive a $33 million payout and that his staff of almost 200 would receive $12 million in the departure. O'Brien's final episode aired on Friday, January 22.^[34][35][36] Leno returned as host of The Tonight Show following the 2010 Winter Olympics on March 1, 2010.

On July 1, 2010, Variety reported that total viewership for Jay Leno's Tonight Show had dropped from 5 million to 4 million for the second quarter of 2010, compared to the same period in 2009. Although this represented the lowest second-quarter ratings for the show since 1992, Tonight was still the most-watched late night program, ahead of ABC's Nightline (3.7 million) and David Letterman's Late Show (3.3 million).^[37] Ratings over the following summer, when compared to the same period in 2009 with O'Brien hosting The Tonight Show (including O'Brien's highly rated debut), showed that while total viewership was 12% higher for Leno, viewership in the important "adults aged 18–49" demographic was 23% lower.^[38] NBC ratings specialist Tom Bierbaum commented that due to the host being out of late night television for a period of time and the subsequent 2010 Tonight Show conflict, Leno's ratings fall was "not a surprise at all".^[39]

Public image[link]

Criticism of Leno[link]

Leno on The Tonight Show in 2005

Leno has faced heated criticism and some negative publicity for his perceived role in the 2010 Tonight Show timeslot conflict.^[40][41] Critics have pointed to a 2004 Tonight Show clip, wherein Leno claimed he would allow O'Brien to take over without incident.^[41][42] At the time, Leno stated he didn't want O'Brien to leave for a competing network, adding, "I'll be 59 when [the switch occurs], that's five years from now. There's really only one person who could have done this into his 60s, and that was Johnny Carson; I think it's fair to say I'm no Johnny Carson."^[42] Leno also described The Tonight Show as a dynasty, saying "you hold it and hand it off to the next person. And I don't want to see all the fighting..." At the end of the segment, he said, "Conan, it's yours! See you in five years, buddy!"^[43]

Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt was among the first celebrities to openly voice disappointment with Leno, saying, "Comedians who don't like Jay Leno now, and I'm one of them, we're not like, 'Jay Leno sucks;' it's that we're so hurt and disappointed that one of the best comedians of our generation... willfully has shut the switch off."^[44] Rosie O'Donnell has been among O'Brien's most vocal and vehement supporters,^[45][46] calling Leno a "bully" and his recent actions "classless and kind of career-defining."^[47]

Bill Zehme, the co-author of Leno's autobiography Leading with My Chin, told the Los Angeles Times: "The thing Leno should do is walk, period. He's got everything to lose in terms of public popularity by going back. People will look at him differently. He'll be viewed as the bad guy."^[48]

Support for Leno[link]

NBC Sports head executive and former Saturday Night Live producer Dick Ebersol spoke out against all who had recently mocked Leno, calling them "chicken-hearted and gutless."^[49]

Jeff Gaspin also defended Leno: "This has definitely crossed the line. Jay Leno is the consummate professional and one of the hardest-working people in television. It's a shame that he's being pulled into this."^[48]

Paul Reiser and Jerry Seinfeld are two of the number of celebrities to have voiced support for Leno.^[50][51]

Responding to the mounting criticism, Leno claimed that NBC had assured him that O'Brien was willing to accept the proposed arrangement and then would not let either host out of his contract.^[52] Leno also said that the situation was "all business."^[52] He appeared on the January 28 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in an attempt to repair some of the damage done to his public image.^[53][54]

Personal life[link]

Leno with President Barack Obama in March 2009

Leno has been married since 1980 to Mavis Leno; they have no children.^[55]

He is known for his prominent jaw, which has been described as mandibular prognathism.^[56] In the book Leading with My Chin he stated that he is aware of surgery that could reset his mandible, but does not wish to endure a prolonged healing period with his jaws wired shut.

Leno is dyslexic.^[6] He claims to sleep only four to five hours each night.^[57] Leno does not drink or smoke, nor does he gamble.^[58] He spends most of his free time visiting car collections or working in his private garage.^[58]

Leno reportedly earns $32 million each year;^[59] his total net worth is unknown, but has been estimated to be at least $150 million.^[60]

Charity[link]

In 2001, along with his wife, he donated $100,000 to the Feminist Majority's campaign to stop gender apartheid in Afghanistan, to educate the public regarding the plight of women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Mavis Leno is on the board of the Feminist Majority.^[61][62]

In 2009, he donated $100,000 to a scholarship fund at Salem State College in honor of Lennie Sogoloff. Mr. Sogoloff gave Leno his start at his jazz club, Lennie's-on-the-Turnpike.^[63]

Love Ride[link]

Since 1985 Jay Leno has been the grand marshal for the Love Ride, a motorcycle charity event which since its founding in 1984 has raised nearly $14 million dollars for charities benefiting muscular dystrophy research and, in 2011, Autism Speaks.^{[citation needed]}

Leno arriving at the 45th Primetime Emmy Awards in his Hispano-Suiza Aero^[64]

Vehicle collection[link]

Leno owns approximately 100 vehicles, not including about 90 motorcycles.^[65] He also has a website called "Jay Leno's Garage," which contains video clips and photos of his automobiles in detail.^[66]

He has a regular column in Popular Mechanics which showcases his car collection and gives advice about various automotive topics, including restoration and unique models, such as his jet-powered motorcycle and solar-powered hybrid. Leno also writes occasional "Motormouth" articles for The Sunday Times,^[67] reviewing high-end sports cars and giving his humorous take on automotive matters.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jay Leno

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jay Leno

• Official Tonight Show with Jay Leno web site
• Jay Leno's Car Collection
• Jay Leno's Columns at Octane magazine
• The New York Times on Leno's affiliation with McPherson College
• Live performance videos from the Tonight Show
• Jay Leno at the Internet Movie Database

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2010)

Pearl White
Pearl White, c. 1916
Born	Pearl Fay White (1889-03-04)March 4, 1889 Green Ridge, Missouri, U.S.
Died	August 4, 1938(1938-08-04) (aged 49) Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1910–1924
Spouse	Victor Sutherland (m. 1907–1914) «start: (1907)–end+1: (1915)»"Marriage: Victor Sutherland to Pearl White" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Pearl_White) Wallace McCutcheon, Jr. (m. 1919–1920) «start: (1919)–end+1: (1921)»"Marriage: Wallace McCutcheon, Jr. to Pearl White" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Pearl_White)

Pearl Fay White (March 4, 1889 – August 4, 1938) was an American film actress, the so-called "Stunt Queen" of silent films, most notably in The Perils of Pauline.

Early life[link]

White was born in New Jersey and lived on a farm with her four brothers and sisters. Her parents, Edgar and Inez White,^[1] moved to Springfield, Missouri, where she grew up with an interest in the theater. She began performing with the Diemer Theater Company, located on Commercial Street, while in her second year of high school. In 1907, at age 18, she went on the road with the Trousedale Stock Company, working evening shows while keeping her day job to help support her family. She was soon able to join the company full time, touring through the American Midwest. That year she married fellow actor Victor Sutherland, but they soon separated and eventually divorced.

White played minor roles for several years, when she was spotted by the Powers Film Company in New York. She claimed she had also performed in Cuba for a time under the name Miss Mazee, singing American songs in a dance hall. Her travels as a singer took her to South America, where she performed in casinos and dance halls. In 1910, White had trouble with her throat, and her voice began to fail from the nightly theatrical performances. She made her debut in films that year, starring in a series of one-reel dramas and comedies for the Powers Film Company in the Bronx, New York.

Career rise[link]

In 1910, White was offered a role by Pathé Frères in The Girl From Arizona, the French company's first American film produced at their new studio in Bound Brook, New Jersey. She then worked at Lubin Studios and several other of the independents, until the Crystal Film Company in Manhattan gave her top billing in a number of short films.

In 1914, Pathé director Louis J. Gasnier offered her the starring role in The Perils of Pauline, a film based on a story by playwright Charles W. Goddard. The film was one where "Pauline" was the central character in a story involving considerable action, which the athletic Pearl White proved ideally suited for. The Perils of Pauline consisted of twenty episodes. A box-office success, the movie made White a major celebrity, and she was soon earning the then astronomical sum of $3,000 a week. She followed this with an even bigger box-office winner, The Exploits of Elaine.

Pictures, August 1922, Pearl White on the cover

Terreur, 1924

The grave of Pearl White.

Flying airplanes, racing cars, swimming across rivers, and doing other similar feats, White made four more successful serials on the same theme. She did much of her own stunt work and she suffered injuries that would force her to use a stunt double in her later films.

Personal life and later years[link]

Pearl White was a wealthy young woman when in 1919 she met and married World War I veteran Major Wallace McCutcheon, Jr. (1880–1928), an actor, director, and cinematographer. However, the marriage failed and they divorced in 1921. Two years later, White made her last American film.

Influenced by the French friends from Pathé Studios, White was drawn to the artistic gathering in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris. While living there, she made her last film for her friend, Belgian-born director Edward José, who had directed her in several serials. Silent films could be made in any country, and as White was a recognizable star worldwide, she was offered many roles in France. Instead, she chose to perform on stage in a Montmartre production "Tu Perds la Boule" (You Lost the Ball). In 1925 she accepted an offer to star with comedian Max Wall in the "London Review" at the Lyceum Theatre in London.

White's childhood poverty made her frugal with money. A shrewd businesswoman, she invested in a successful Parisian nightclub, a Biarritz resort hotel/casino, plus a profitable stable of thoroughbred race horses. Living in a fashionable town house in the exclusive Parisian suburb of Passy, she also owned a villa in Rambouillet. She became involved with Theodore Cossika, a Greek businessman who shared her love of travel. Together they purchased a home near Cairo, Egypt, and White travelled with him throughout the Middle East and the Orient. White then returned to France. She made just one more film, Terror (1924).

She starred in several popular stage reviews at the Montmartre Music Hall in Paris, and was in a London revue with George Carney. She then retired from performing.

Alcoholism and death[link]

Over the years, White's alcohol use had increased, possibly in response to the chronic pain of injuries from her film stunts. She had to be hospitalized in 1933, which led to an addiction to the drugs used to ease her suffering. Her last years were spent in an alcoholic haze, and she died of cirrhosis at age 49 on August 4, 1938 in the American Hospital in the Paris suburb of Neuilly, France. She was buried in the Cimetière de Passy.

Legacy[link]

Pearl White's place in film history is important in both the evolution of cinema genres and the role of women. The Perils of Pauline is only known to exist in a reduced nine-reel version released in Europe in 1916, but The Exploits of Elaine survives and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. All of her films were made at East Coast studios, and it is believed White never visited Hollywood, which would nevertheless honor her contributions with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The 1947 Paramount Pictures film The Perils of Pauline, starring Betty Hutton, was a fictionalized biography of Pearl White.

Filmography[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Menefee, David W. (2004). The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era. Connecticut: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-98259-9. 
• Lahue, Kalton C. (1971). Ladies in Distress. New York: A. S. Barnes and Co.. ISBN 0-498-07634-2. 
• Fletcher, Adelle Whitely (February 1921). "Reconsidering Pearl". Motion Picture Magazine. 

External links[link]

Biography portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pearl White

• Pearl White - Biography on (re)Search my Trash
• Pearl White at the Internet Movie Database
• Pearl White at AllRovi
• Pearl White at the TCM Movie Database
• Literature