A butler in the White House Butler's Pantry.

A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its appearance.^[1] A butler is usually male,^[2] and in charge of male servants, while a housekeeper is usually a woman, and in charge of female servants. Traditionally, male servants (such as footmen) were better paid and therefore rarer and of higher status than female servants. The butler, as the senior male servant, has the highest servant status.

In modern houses where the butler is the most senior worker, titles such as majordomo, butler administrator, house manager, manservant, staff manager, chief of staff, staff captain, estate manager and head of household staff are sometimes given. The precise duties of the employee will vary to some extent in line with the title given, but perhaps more importantly in line with the requirements of the individual employer. In the grandest homes or when the employer owns more than one residence, there is sometimes an estate manager of higher rank than the butler.

Background[link]

The word "butler" derives from the Old French bouteleur (cup bearer), from bouteille, (bottle), and ultimately from Latin. The role of the butler, for centuries, has been that of the chief steward of a household, the attendant entrusted with the care and serving of wine and other bottled beverages which in ancient times might have represented a considerable portion of the household's assets.

In Britain, the butler was originally a middle ranking member of the staff of a grand household. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the butler gradually became the usually senior male member of a household's staff in the very grandest households, though there was sometimes a steward who ran the outside estate and financial affairs, rather than just the household, and who was senior to the butler in social status into the 19th century. Butlers used to always be attired in a special uniform, distinct from the livery of junior servants, but today a butler is more likely to wear a business suit or business casual clothing and appear in uniform only on special occasions.

A Silverman or Silver Butler has expertise and professional knowledge of the management, secure storage, use and cleaning of all silverware, associated tableware and other paraphernalia for use at military and other special functions. See also Silver (household).

Origin and history[link]

The modern role of the butler has evolved from earlier roles that were generally concerned with the care and serving of alcoholic beverages.

Ancient through medieval eras[link]

From ancient through medieval times, alcoholic beverages were chiefly stored first in earthenware vessels, then later in wooden barrels, rather than in glass bottles; these containers would have been an important part of a household's possessions. The care of these assets was therefore generally reserved for trusted slaves, although the job could also go to free persons because of heredity-based class lines or the inheritance of trades.

The biblical book of Genesis contains a reference to a role precursive to modern butlers. The early Hebrew Joseph interpreted a dream of Pharaoh's שקה (shaqah) (literally "to give to drink"), which is most often translated into English as "chief butler" or "chief cup-bearer".^[3]

In ancient Greece and Rome, it was nearly always slaves who were charged with the care and service of wine, while during the Medieval Era the pincerna, usually a serf, filled the role within the noble court. The English word "butler" itself derives from the Middle English word boteler (and several other forms), from Old French bouteillier ("bottle bearer"), and before that from Medieval Latin butticula. "Butticula", in turn, came down to English as "butt" from the Latin buttis, meaning a large cask. The modern English "butler" thus relates both to bottles and casks.

Eventually the European butler emerged as a middle-ranking member of the servants of a great house, in charge of the buttery (originally a storeroom for "butts" of liquor, although the term later came to mean a general storeroom or pantry).^[4] While this is so for household butlers, those with the same title but in service to the Crown enjoyed a position of administrative power and were only minimally involved with various stores.

In a large house, the butler (centre-left) is traditionally head over a full array of household servants. This is the servant staff at the Stonehouse Hill of Massachusetts, the estate of F. Lothrop Ames, 1914.

Elizabethan through Victorian eras[link]

The Steward of the Elizabethan era was more akin to the butler that later emerged.^[5] Gradually, throughout the 19th century and particularly the Victorian era, as the number of butlers and other domestic servants greatly increased in various countries (including America), the butler became a senior male servant of a household's staff. By this time he was in charge of the more modern wine cellar, the "buttery" or pantry (from French pan from Latin panis, bread) as it came to be called, which supplied bread, butter, cheese, and other basic provisions, and the ewery, which contained napkins and basins for washing and shaving.^[6] In the very grandest households there was sometimes an Estate Steward or other senior steward who oversaw the butler and his duties.^[7] Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, a manual published in Britain in 1861, reported:

The number of the male domestics in a family varies according to the wealth and position of the master, from the owner of the ducal mansion, with a retinue of attendants, at the head of which is the chamberlain and house-steward, to the occupier of the humbler house, where a single footman, or even the odd man-of-all-work, is the only male retainer. The majority of gentlemen's establishments probably comprise a servant out of livery, or butler, a footman, and coachman, or coachman and groom, where the horses exceed two or three.^[8]

Glanusk Park in Powys County, U.K., in 1891. The residence had 17 servants in residence. The largest stately houses could have 40 or more.

Butlers were head of a strict service hierarchy and therein held a position of power and respect. They were more managerial than "hands on"—more so than serving, they officiated in service. For example, although the butler was at the door to greet and announce the arrival of a formal guest, the door was actually opened by a footman, who would receive the guest's hat and coat. Even though the butler helped his employer into his coat, this had been handed to him by a footman. However, even the highest-ranking butler would "pitch in" when necessary, such as during a staff shortage, to ensure that the household ran smoothly, although some evidence suggests this was so even during normal times.^[9]

The household itself was generally divided into areas of responsibility. The butler was in charge of the dining room, the wine cellar, pantry, and sometimes the entire main floor. Directly under the butler was the first footman (or head footman), who was also deputy butler or under-butler that would fill in as butler during the butler's illness or absence. The footman—there were frequently numerous young men in the role within a household—performed a range of duties including serving meals, attending doors, carrying or moving heavy items, and they often doubled as valets. Valets themselves performed a variety of personal duties for their employer. Butlers engaged and directed all these junior staff and each reported directly to him. The housekeeper was in charge of the house as a whole and its appearance. In a household without an official head housekeeper, female servants and kitchen staff were also directly under the butler's management, while in smaller households, the butler usually doubled as valet. Employers and their children and guests addressed the butler by last name alone; fellow servants, retainers, and tradespersons as "Mr. [Surname]".

Butlers were typically hired by the master of the house but usually reported to its lady. Beeton in her manual suggested a GBP 25 - 50 (USD 2,675 - 5,350) per-year salary for butlers; room and board and livery clothing were additional benefits, and tipping known as vails, were common.^[10] The few butlers who were married had to make separate housing arrangements for their families, as did all other servants within the hierarchy.

Butlers in early America[link]

From the beginning of slavery in America, in the early 17th century, African Americans were put to task as domestic servants. Some eventually became butlers. Gary Puckrein, a social historian, argues that those used in particularly affluent homes authentically internalised the sorts of "refined" norms and personal attributes that would reflect highly upon the social stature of their masters or mistresses. One of the first books written and published through a commercial U.S. publisher by an African American was by a butler named Robert Roberts. The book, The House Servant's Directory,^[11] first published in 1827, is essentially a manual for butlers and waiters, and is called by Puckrein "the most remarkable book by an African American in antebellum America". The book generated such interest that a second edition was published in 1828, and a third in 1843.^[12]

European indentured servants formed a corps of domestic workers from which butlers were eventually drawn. Although not the victims of institutionalised slavery, many of them had not volunteered for domestic service, but were forced into it by indebtedness or coercion. As with African American slaves, they could rise in domestic service, and their happiness or misery depended greatly on the disposition of their masters.

The modern butler[link]

Beginning around the early 1920s (following World War I), employment in domestic service occupations began a sharp overall decline in western European countries, and even more markedly in the United States. Even so, there were still around 30,000 butlers employed in Britain by World War II. As few as one-hundred were estimated to remain by the mid-1980s.^[13] Social historian Barry Higman argues that a high number of domestic workers within a society correlates with a high level of socio-economic inequality. Conversely, as a society undergoes levelling among its social classes, the number employed in domestic service declines.^[14]

Following varied shifts and changes accompanying accelerated globalisation beginning in the late 1980s, overall global demand for butlers since the turn of the millennium has risen dramatically. According to Charles MacPherson, vice chairman of the International Guild of Professional Butlers, the proximate cause is that the number of millionaires and billionaires has increased in recent years, and such people are finding that they desire assistance in managing their households. MacPherson emphasises that the number of wealthy people in China have increased particularly, creating in that country a high demand for professional butlers who have been trained in the European butlering tradition.^[15] There is also increasing demand for such butlers in other Asian countries, India, and the petroleum-rich Middle East.^[16][17]

Higman additionally argues that the inequality/equality levels of societies are a major determinant of the nature of the domestic servant/employer relationship.^[18] As the 21st century approached, many butlers began carrying out an increasing number of duties formerly reserved for more junior household servants. Butlers today may be called upon to do whatever household and personal duties their employers deem fitting, in the goal of freeing their employers to carry out their own personal and professional affairs. Professional butler and author Steven M. Ferry states that the image of tray-wielding butlers who specialise in serving tables and decanting wine is now anachronistic, and that employers may well be more interested in a butler who is capable of managing a full array of household affairs—from providing the traditional dinner service, to acting as valet, to managing high-tech systems and multiple homes with complexes of staff. Whilst in truly grand houses the modern butler may still function exclusively as a top-ranked household affairs manager,^[19] in lesser homes, such as those of dual-income middle-class professionals,^[17] they perform a full array of household and personal assistant duties,^[20] including mundane housekeeping.^[21] Butlers today may also be situated within corporate settings, embassies, cruise ships, yachts, or within their own small "Rent-a-Butler" business or similar agency.^[22]

Along with these changes of scope and context, butlering attire has changed. Whereas butlers have traditionally worn a special uniform that separated them from junior servants, and although this is still often the case, butlers today may adorn more casual clothing geared for climate, while exchanging it for formal business attire only upon special service occasions. There are cultural distinctivenesses, as well. In the United States, butlers may frequently don a polo shirt and slacks, while in Bali they typically wear sarongs.^[23]

In 2007, the number of butlers in Britain had risen to an estimated 5,000.^[24]

Training[link]

Butlers traditionally learned their position while progressing their way up the service ladder. For example, in the documentary The Authenticity of Gosford Park, retired butler Arthur Inch (born 1915) describes starting as a hall boy.^[25] Whilst this is still often the case, numerous private butlering schools exist today, such as The British Butler Institute, the International Institute of Modern Butlers, the Guild of Professional English Butlers, and The International Guild of Butlers & Household Managers; top graduates can start at US$50,000-60,000 (£25,350-30,400).^[26] Additionally, major up-market hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton offer traditional butler training, while some hotels have trained a sort of pseudo-butler for service in defined areas such as "technology butlers", who fix guests' computers and other electronic devices, and "bath butlers" who draw custom baths.^[27][28][29]

Starkey International distinguishes between the "British butler" prototype and its American counterpart, often dubbed the "household manager". Starkey states that they train and promote the latter, believing that Americans do not have the "servant mentality" that is part of the British Butler tradition. They stress that their American-style butlers and valets are educated and certified,^[30] although some students, numerous former Starkey employees, and several wealthy clients have criticised the programme and its owner.^[31] Magnums Butlers, a school based in Australia, conducts training after the British model at sites in Asia and the Pacific, Australia, the United Kingdom and the Middle East.^[32] The International Institute of Modern Butlers provides on-site training in various places around the world as well as via correspondence. In 2007, City & Guilds, the U.K.'s largest awarder of vocational credentials, introduced a diploma programme for butlers.^[33]

In addition to formal training, a few books have been published recently to assist butlers in their duties, including Arthur Inch's and Arlene Hirst's 2003 Dinner is Served. Moreover, websites, as well as a news publication, Modern Butlers' Journal, help butlers to network and keep abreast of developments within their field.

Ferry argues that what he calls a "butler mindset" is beneficial to all people within all professions. He states that an attitude of devoted service to others, deference, and the keeping of confidences can help all people succeed.

Gender and butlering[link]

Butlers have traditionally been male, and this remains the norm. Probably the first mention of a female butler is in the 1892 book Interludes being Two Essays, a Story, and Some Verses by Horace Smith. In it Smith quotes a certain Sydney Smith who had apparently run into lean times:

A man servant was too expensive, so I caught up a little garden girl, made like a milestone, christened her Bunch, put a napkin in her hand, and made her my butler. The girls taught her to read, Mrs. Sydney to wait, and I undertook her morals. Bunch became the best butler in the country.^[34]

Today, female butlers are sometimes preferred,^[35] especially for work within Middle and Far Eastern families where it may be religiously problematic for males to work closely with females in a household.^[36] Western female celebrities may also prefer a female butler,^[37] as may households where the wife is driving the decision to hire a butler.^[17] In 2004, Buckingham Palace announced it was actively recruiting females for the position.^[38] Despite these trends, the Ivor Spencer School asserts that female butlers are not easily placed, on the whole.

In ancient times, the roles precursive to butlering were reserved for chattel or those confined within heredity-based class structures. With the advent of the medieval era, butlering became an opportunity for social advancement—even more so during Victorian times. Although still based upon various antecedent roles as manifested during different eras, butlering today has frequently taken over many of the roles formerly reserved for lower ranking domestic servants. At the same time it has become a potentially lucrative career option.^[39]

Historically important butlers[link]

• Paul Burrell, butler to Diana, Princess of Wales
• Ivor Spencer, toastmaster and etiquette specialist, head of the Ivor Spencer International School for Butler Administrators/Personal Assistants and Estate Managers
• Leslie Bartlett, butler, toastmaster and founder of The London School of British Butlers.

Alonzo Fields[link]

Alonzo Fields

Page from Alonzo Fields's personal papers. This one describes his conduction of a service-event that resulted in Truman's decision to enter the Korean War.

By nature of their position and its requisite staunch discretion, it is exceptional when a butler achieves historical importance. One butler who did is Alonzo Fields (1899–1993), who served as a White House butler for twenty-one years, all but his first year as chief butler, under presidents Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower. After his retirement in 1960, Fields published My 21 Years in the White House, in which he wove together his private papers and cryptic journals, written while serving, with his recollections. Although restrained, his memoir nonetheless provides a uniquely intimate primary source account of the U.S. presidents he served, several who came to trust Fields as a close personal friend. Fields reports, for example, that he was present when Roosevelt was first informed of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and that Roosevelt "broke down completely" during that moment, and also emoted racial slurs against the Japanese before gaining control. Truman was especially close with Fields and even related with him as an emotional confidant at times, and the two at one point sat together for a portrait.

When Fields began his tenure at the White House, senators from the U.S. South frequently addressed him with the racially condescending term "boy", and an obvious racial hierarchy existed between white and black White House house staff, with whites dominating. Whilst the attitudes of most southern U.S. senators would not begin to change until the advent of U.S. Civil Rights Movement, Roosevelt took it upon himself to remove racial tensions among the house staff by making it all black.^[40][41][42]

More than a decade after Fields's death in 1994, his story was cast into a one-man theatrical performance, Looking Over the President's Shoulder.^[43][44] Historians, such as David McCullough in his 2003 biography Truman, continue to consult Fields's memoirs when constructing accounts of the presidents he served.^[45]

Surname[link]

As a surname, “Butler” was originated by Theobald le Botiller FitzWalter (Lord of Preston). Lord FitzWalter accompanied King John to Ireland to help secure Norman areas. When men whom Walter led killed Dermot MacCarthy, prince of Desmond, Walter was granted land holdings of Baggotrath, County Dublin, and the Stein River lands around what is now Trinity College Dublin. He was also given an important fief, on which Walter both founded an abbey and established his Irish seat. Upon returning to England, King John endowed Walter with the hereditary office "Butler to the Lord of Ireland" in 1177; some evidence indicates that he was also dubbed "Butler of Ireland". As such, he had the right to pour the King's wine. This title can be defined as Governor by today's standards. His son, Theobalde Butler, was the first to hold the name and pass it to his descendants. Walter's grandson was James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde.^[46] Kilkenny Castle was the main seat of the Butler family.

In visual art[link]

Heads of Six of Hogarth's Servants

Butlers have been occasionally depicted in visual art. A famous painting, Heads of Six of Hogarth's Servants (c. 1758), is unique among such works. In it, the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth depicted his household servants, each surrounding the butler. In showing the group in a close-knit assemblage rather than in the performance of their routine household duties, Hogarth sought to humanise and dignify them in a manner akin to wealthy-class members, who were the normal subjects of such portraits. Whilst this was a subversive act that certainly raised many eyebrows in his day—Hogarth conspicuously displayed the work in his estate home in full view of guests—at the same time he had painted his servants' facial expressions to convey the sincerity and deference expected of servant-class members.^[47]

In contemporary art, "The Butler's in Love" series by U.S. artist Mark Stock is especially poignant. In the series, Stock portrays the butler as sick with love, but the possibility of fulfillment is hopeless: the love is a forbidden love, perhaps felt for the lady of the house, and so it must be suffered alone in silent hiddenness. In addition to the ongoing mannerisms and facial expressions of the butler, a seated lady once-appearing in a curtained room and a recurring lipstick-stained absinthe glass over which the butler obsesses provide the interpretive clues. In selecting a butler as his subject, Stock sought to provide a "universal character", a pathos-laden figuration that could be widely related to and that could depict the universality of loneliness felt by someone who can only look in from the outside. Stock began the series in 1985 to express his difficult feelings during a personal experience of unrequited love. One of the paintings was inspiration for a 3-D short film, "The Butler's in Love" by actor/director David Arquette, shot in 2008 at San Francisco's historic Westerfield Mansion.^[48][49][50]

In fiction[link]

The real-life modern butler attempts to be discreet and unobtrusive, friendly but not familiar, keenly anticipative of the needs of his or her employer, and graceful and precise in execution of duty. The butler of fiction, by contrast, often tends to be larger-than-life and has become a plot device in literature and a traditional role in the performing arts. Butlers may provide comic relief with wry comments, clues as to the perpetrators of various crimes and are represented as at least as intelligent and moral, or even more so, than their “betters”. They are often portrayed as being serious and expressionless and in the case that the wealthy hero be an orphan—such as Batman, Chrono Crusade's Satella Harvenheit, or Tomb Raider's Lara Croft—be a father figure to said hero. Regardless of the genre in which they are cast, butlers in fiction almost invariably follow the "British butler" model and are given an appropriate-sounding surname. The fictional butler tends to be given a typical Anglo-Celtic surname and have an English accent. The Asian, African American, or Caribbean houseboy is a variant, but even these major-domos are based on the British icon.

Today, butlers are usually portrayed as being refined and well-spoken. However, in 19th century fiction such as Dracula, butlers generally spoke with a strong Cockney or other regional accent.

"The butler" is integral to the plot of countless potboilers and melodramas, whether or not the character has been given a name. Butlers figure so prominently in period pieces and whodunits that they can be considered stock characters in film and theatre where a catchphrase is "the butler did it!"

The best-known fictional manservant, and the prototype of the quintessential British butler, is himself not a butler at all. Reginald Jeeves, the iconic creation of author P. G. Wodehouse is a "gentleman's gentleman" and general factotum. Probably the best-known fictional butlers are Alfred from the Batman comic and films; Hudson of Upstairs, Downstairs television fame; and, Crichton from J. M. Barrie's The Admirable Crichton. Lesser-knowns include Mr. Belvedere from the novel Belvedere, which was adapted into a feature film with sequels and later a television series; Lurch, from the television series The Addams Family, based on Charles Addams' The New Yorker cartoons; Beach, from the Wodehouse series about Blandings Castle; Niles, the butler at the Sheffield house in American sitcom The Nanny, and Benson from the two series Soap and Benson.

Not all fictional butlers portray the "butler stereotype", however. Alan Bates, who played the butler Jennings in the film Gosford Park, was coached in brooding detail by Arthur Inch, a longtime real-life butler.^[51] Mr. Stevens, the butler played by Anthony Hopkins in the film Remains of the Day, was also acted with remarkable realism. A female butler, Sarah Stevens, is the principal character in Linda Howard's 2002 Dying to Please, a murder/romance novel. Howard gives detailed and generally accurate descriptions of butlering in the work.^[52]

In Eoin Colfer's successful Artemis Fowl series, first released in 2001, the term "Butler" took on a more family tradition. Following the fictional butler stereotype, Domovoi Butler (manservant to master Fowl) inherits the term "butler" from his family's last name. Not surprisingly, the Butler family have served as actual servants and bodyguards to important figures throughout history in the Colfer's fictional world; all of which attended Madame Ko's Bodyguard Academy.

Examples[link]

• Mr. Stevens, the protagonist of Kazuo Ishiguro's Booker Prize winning novel, The Remains of the Day and movie of the same name.
• Angus Hudson, from the television show Upstairs, Downstairs.
• Edmund Blackadder, butler to Prince George the Prince Regent, in the TV Series Blackadder the Third.
• Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler from Batman is a well known fictional butler.
• Benson DuBois, the Tate butler in the hit 1970's sitcom, Soap
• Geoffrey Butler, the butler for the Banks Family on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
• James La Croix, the butler of Montgomery Mason appearing in the sitcom Home, James.
• Nestor, the butler of Marlinspike Hall appearing in The Adventures of Tintin.
• Niles the butler in the TV Series The Nanny.
• Wadsworth, the protagonist in the movie Clue.
• Sebastian Michaelis, a demon disguised as an extremely handsome man bound by contract to his young British master, Ciel Phantomhive, in the Black Butler Manga and Anime series.
  • Also from the same series is Claude Faustus. Like Sebastian, he is a demon bound by contract to his master, Alois Trancy.
• Sebastian Beach, from the Blandings Castle stories by P. G. Wodehouse, of intimidating majesty but nonetheless a good soul who frequently co-conspires with the clever Gally Threepwood.
• Butler, the butler for Prince Salde Canarl Shellbrick III off of the puzzle game Puyo Puyo Fever 2.
• Smithers, Veronica Lodge's fictional butler.
• Domovoi Butler, butler (and bodyguard) in the Artemis Fowl series novels by Eoin Colfer.
• Spencer, butler in Power Rangers Operation Overdrive
• Pickering, a bullying, slave-driving butler who was the regular villain of the piece in No Tears for Molly from Tammy, a British comic which ran from 1971 to 1984.
• Hugh Edgar, butler, The Edwardian Country House, 2002 British historical recreation TV series
• Cadbury, butler to Richie Rich
• Higgins, from the sitcom Our Man Higgins and the radio comedy on which it was based, It's Higgins, Sir, which revolve around his character
• Underling, the butler in the 2006 Broadway Musical The Drowsy Chaperone
• The titular protagonist of Hayate the Combat Butler
• Butler Seo / Johann Seo, butler-turned-lover to Lady Kang Hae Na of My Fair Lady
• Mr Carson, butler to the Crawley family in Downton Abbey

See also[link]

• Housekeeper
• Valet
• Domestic worker
• Silverman
• Household

References[link]

1. ^ Post, Emily (2007). Emily Post's Etiquette. Echo Library. ISBN 1-4068-1215-3. 
2. ^ http://www.butlersguild.com/index.php?subject=5
3. ^ Genesis 39-40.
4. ^ This was most likely from a loss of the original Latin meaning and the mistaken belief that buttery related to "butter".
5. ^ Lord Montague's Book of Rules and Orders, 1595.
6. ^ Nancy Scanlon (2006). "The Development of the Kitchen in the English Country House 1315–1864". Journal of Culinary Science and Technology 4 (2/3): 79–92. 
7. ^ Beeton, Isabella (1861) (2000). Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management. Oxford University Press. pp. 393. ISBN 0-19-283345-6. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=89404824. 
8. ^ Beeton (1861), 393.
9. ^ Carrolyn Steedman, "The servant’s labour: the business of life, England, 1760–1820", Social History, Vol. 29 No. 1, (Feb., 2004).
10. ^ D. Marshall, "The Domestic Servants of the Eighteenth Century", Economica, No. 25, (Apr., 1929), pp. 15–40. Available online with subscription.
11. ^ http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_05.cfm
12. ^ Gary Puckrein (Oct/Nov 98). "The Science of Service". American Visions 13 (5). 
13. ^ J. Lee (1988). "Steady, Jeeves—you've got company!". U.S. News & World Report 104 (17). 
14. ^ Higman, Barry (2002). Domestic Service in Australia. Melbourne University Publishing. ISBN 0-522-85011-1. 
15. ^ Scott Simon (10 Feb 2007). "By Jeeves, We're Having a Butler Shortage—Interview with Charles MacPherson" (Streaming Audio). Weekend Edition Saturday. NPR News. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7338550. Retrieved 2007-08-13.  Also see Sheelah Kolhatka, "Inside the Billionaire Service Industry". The Atlantic, Sept 2006, 97-101. Archived by WebCite.
16. ^ See for example Chadha, Monica. "Royal tips for Indian butlers", BBC News, 17 Feb 2003. Available online. Archived by WebCite.
17. ^ ^{a b c} "Butlers: A Jeeves of my very own", The Daily Telegraph, 15 Nov 2007. Available online. Archived by WebCite.
18. ^ Higman (2002).
19. ^ Ferry, Steven M. Butlers & Household Managers: 21st Century Professionals. BookSurge Publishing. pp. 14. ISBN 1-59109-306-6. 
20. ^ William Loeffler (15 April 2007). "The butler does it". The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Lifestyle. 
21. ^ James Woodford (October 5, 2002). "Move over, Jeeves, a new breed of butler is working her way up". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2007-08-13. http://www.webcitation.org/5R4MfrgUq.  Elizabeth Camille, a butler in Sydney, states, "I still make beds, clean toilets and peg out washing.... It's not all as glamorous as people perceive it to be." Additionally see "Desperately seeking Jeeves", The Globe and Mail (Canada), 20 July 2007. Lynda Reeves, president of the Toronto-based House & Home Media, says that the term "butler" today is just "a pretentious name for a housekeeper".
22. ^ Jones, Harvey. "More money than time? Rent a butler". The Independent (UK), 15 Dec 2001. Available online. Archived by WebCite. Also see http://www.rentabutler.de and http://www.rentabutler.nl/.
23. ^ Patrao, Michael. "The alter ago of Jeeves". The Deccan Herald, 27 July 2007. Available online. Archived by WebCite.
24. ^ Sapstead, David. "Shortage of Butlers Has World's Wealthy Facing a Crisis", New York Sun, 30 May 2007. Available online. Archived by WebCite.
25. ^ The Authenticity of Gosford Park, Documentary featurette in Gosford Park Collector's Edition DVD, Universal Studios, 2002.
26. ^ Simon (10 Feb 2007).
27. ^ Witchel (2000). "At Hotels, the Butlers Are Doing It". New York Times 149 (51486): 2.  Ferry, as quoted in "Desperately seeking Jeeves", The Globe and Mail (Canada), 20 July 2007, was quoted as saying that hotel butlers are not rooted in the European tradition of butlering. He states that some hotels essentially rename their pool attendants as "pool butlers" and this is not a real butler so much as a marketing gimmick.
28. ^ Rouvalis, Cristina. "Butler provides the perfect pampering", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6 May 2007. Available online. Archived by WebCite.
29. ^ Hotels are rated by the International Institute of Modern Butlers according to their butler service offerings, which can range from the one-on-one personalized butler (a 5-Butler rating) to the "pool butler (a 0-Butler rating). See http://www.modernbutlers.com/html/butler-rating-system.html
30. ^ Starkey does lay claim to understanding the British butler tradition; however, her general approach seems to be that American domestic staff are better suited to American families.
31. ^ Joel Warner (9 Aug 2007). "At Your Disservice". Denver Westword News. http://www.westword.com/2007-08-09/news/at-your-disservice.  Archived by WebCite.
32. ^ See Magnums Butlers, accessed 12/31/2007. Archived by WebCite.
33. ^ See http://www.cityandguilds.com/cps/rde/xchg/SID-7D78108B-8F23F7DA/cgonline/hs.xsl/12341.html
34. ^ Smith, Horace; Joel Lehtonen (translator) (1892). Interludes being Two Essays, a Story, and Some Verses. MacMillan & Co. ISBN 1-4069-1965-9. Available online (full text). Archived by WebCite.
35. ^ James Woodford (October 5, 2002). "Move over, Jeeves, a new breed of butler is working her way up". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2007-08-13. http://www.webcitation.org/5R4MfrgUq. 
36. ^ See "Unique Rosewood Ladies Floor could start trend in Saudi, Middle East Hotels", 12 Oct 2007. Available online. Archived by WebCite. Also, for interesting background see Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village. Anchor, 1995. ISBN 0-385-01485-6.
37. ^ See The International Guild of Professional Butlers, accessed 12/31/2007. Archived by WebCite.
38. ^ Milne, Meg. "The Royal butlerettes", The Financial Mail, 31 Oct 2004. Available online. Archived by WebCite.
39. ^ In Loeffler (15 April 2007), Nathalie Laitmon of The Calendar Group in Stamford, Connecticut, states that skilled butlers within the grandest households can make USD 200,000 (GBP 101,500). She states, "The bigger the lifestyle of the family, the more they can earn".
40. ^ Fields, Alonzo. My 21 years in the White House, New York: Coward-McCann, 1960.
41. ^ Sam Stiegler, "When Speaking About Me, 'Don’t Talk too Long and Don’t Tell the Truth': A Biography of Mr. Alonzo Fields (1900–1994), West Medford Afro-American Remembrance Project, 2005. Available online. Archived by WebCite.
42. ^ U.S. News & World Report, "Alonzo Fields diary, Truman's butler", 16 July 2007. Available online. Archived by WebCite.
43. ^ Burlingham Ellis, Caroline. "Review of 'Looking Over the President's Shoulder'", Theatre Mania, 8 Dec 2003. Available online. Archived by WebCite.
44. ^ Bales-Sherrod, Lesli. "Serving up a slice of history", The American Observer, Vol. 9, No. 3, 24 Feb 2004. Available online. Archived by WebCite.
45. ^ McCullough, David. Truman, Simon & Schuster, pp 472, 473, 502, 623, 931. ISBN 0-7432-6029-5.
46. ^ "Butler", Encyclopædia Britannica, 1911 edition. Available online. Also see The Carey Estate BCM/H [n.d.], Berkeley Castle Muniments, U.K. National Archives, available online. Archived by WebCite.; National Archive Record MS 613, f. 21; National Archive Record MS 613, f. 30.
47. ^ Waterfield G., A. French and M. Craske, Eds. (2003). Below stairs, 400 years of servants' portraits. London: National Portrait Gallery. ISBN 1-85514-512-X. 
48. ^ Croft, Karen. "Butlers in Love", Salon, 24 May 2001. Available online: Page 1, Page 2, Archive 1, Archive 2.
49. ^ Stock, Mark. Correspondence with Stephen Ewen, stephenewen.org. Also see http://www.theworldofmarkstock.com.
50. ^ Garchik, Leah. San Francisco Chronicle, 14 May 2008. Available online. Archived by WebCite. Also see http://www.wayfaring.com/waypts/show/32050 for a brief history of the mansion.
51. ^ "The man who got it right for Gosford Park and told Richard E Grant what was wrong", Mid Sussex Times, 2002. Available online. Archived by WebCite. Also see The Authenticity of Gosford Park.
52. ^ For a synopsis of Howard's book, see http://www1.epinions.com/content_64617352836.

• This article incorporates material from the Citizendium article "Butler", which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License but not under the GFDL.
• This article incorporates material from "A Brief History of Butlers and Butlering" by Stephen Ewen, which is licensed under the Creative Common Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Further reading[link]

• Cyrus Redding Every Man His Own Butler. London: Whittaker & Co., 1839 OCLC 25057151

Ant & Dec in 2009

Anthony McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) and Declan Donnelly (born 25 September 1975), known collectively as Ant & Dec, are an English comedy and TV presenting duo from Newcastle upon Tyne, England.^[1] The duo first rose to fame as actors on the children's television show Byker Grove, during which and in their subsequent pop career they were respectively known as PJ & Duncan – the names of the characters they played on the show. Since then, Ant & Dec have had a very successful career as TV presenters, presenting shows such as SMTV Live, Friends Like These, Pop Idol, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, PokerFace, Push the Button, Britain's Got Talent, Red or Black? and Text Santa. They have also returned to acting, starring in a 2002 Tribute to The Likely Lads and the 2006 film Alien Autopsy.

Ant is the taller of the two at 5'8" (1.73 m) and Dec is two inches shorter at 5'6" (1.68 m). It is a running joke that many people do not know who is Ant and who is Dec, even though their appearances differ significantly. To assist with identification, they follow the 180 degree rule; all their TV appearances and publicity photos have Ant on the left and Dec on the right, but even this does not help everyone.

Background[link]

Anthony McPartlin was born on 18 November 1975 and Declan Donnelly was born on 25 September 1975. They met each other while working on the BBC children's drama Byker Grove in 1989. After a shaky start,^[2] they soon became best friends.^[2] They have achieved such popularity as a duo that they are hardly ever seen apart on screen. Indeed, it is reported that they are each insured against the other's death, although the amount is unknown.^[3] Their inseparability has led to them receiving joint nominations for many awards. They are both managed by the James Grant Group

Career[link]

Acting[link]

Although Ant had built some television experience with a brief stint on the children's television series Why Don't You?, which was broadcast on the BBC, Dec was the first of the two to acquire his place on the BBC children's drama Byker Grove. He joined in 1989, playing Duncan. A year later, Ant joined the cast playing PJ. Their friendship began when their storylines collided, creating a friendship off screen as well as on.^[4] Dec also played a stable boy in the adaptation of the novel The Cinder Path in his teenage years.^[5]

Music[link]

After leaving television, the duo turned their hand to pop music. Their first single was a song they performed while part of Byker Grove, entitled "Tonight I'm Free". The single had some success, and the duo went on to record two albums under their character names of PJ & Duncan. Later songs included "Why Me?", "If I Give You My Number", "Eternal Love" "Our Radio Rocks", "U Krazy Katz" and a cover of the The Monkees classic "Stepping Stone". Their most famous hit during this period was the BRIT Award nominated "Let's Get Ready To Rhumble", for which the video was choreographed by Mark Short, who had previously worked with Tina Turner and Peter Andre. For their third album, the duo reinvented themselves under their real names of Ant & Dec. The album featured their signature single "Shout". Their final single release was "Falling", which was the track that subsequently ended their musical career. The track was pulled from the British charts under the instruction of their record label, Telstar Records, after claims of copyright infringement were made, brought about by a pop duo, 'And all because...', who were also managed by Ant and Dec's management team. The duo claimed that Ant & Dec had stolen the song from them and released it without their consent. Subsequently, Telstar Records decided not to renew their existing contract, and they were dropped from the label. During their time, the pair released sixteen singles and three studio albums, however, none of their releases managed to reach number one, with their highest UK chart position being #3. The duo did, however, reach the top ten in Germany and Japan, and even had a number-one single in Germany, with their cover of the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream". Success also struck in other European countries. The duo had a short lived revival in the music industry, releasing a song for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, entitled "We're On The Ball". The track peaked at #3,^[6] being beaten by Will Young and Gareth Gates.

Presenting[link]

Children's television[link]

Ant & Dec got their first presenting job in 1994, while they were still releasing music under the alias of PJ & Duncan. They co-presented a Saturday-morning children's show entitled Gimme 5, which was broadcast on CITV. The show only lasted two series before being dropped from the airwaves.^[7] In 1995, the duo were once again offered a job on CBBC, this time presenting their own series, entitled The Ant & Dec Show. The series was broadcast from 1995 to 1997, and in 1996, Ant & Dec won two BAFTA Awards, one for 'Best Children's Show' and one for 'Best Sketch Comedy Show'.^[8] In 1997, a VHS release, entitled The Ant & Dec Show – Confidential, was made available in shops, and featured an hour of the best bits from three years of the programme, as well as specially recorded sketches and music videos.^[9] In 1998, the duo switched to Channel 4, presenting a early-evening children's show entitled Ant & Dec Unzipped.^[10] This show also won a BAFTA, but was dropped from the airwaves after just one series.^[11] ITV soon signed the duo in August 1998,^[12] and within weeks, were assigned to present ITV1's Saturday morning programmes SMTV Live and CD:UK, alongside old friend Cat Deeley. The duo presented the shows alongside Deeley for three years, before making their permanent departure from children's television in 2001. Two VHS releases, compiling the best bits from both shows, were released in 2000 and 2001 respectively. The pair also starred in the children's TV series Engie Benjy during their time on SMTV.^[13][14]

Primetime[link]

Ant & Dec's first primetime presenting job came in the form of BBC Saturday-night game show Friends Like These, which was first broadcast in 1999. The duo presented four series of the programme between 1999 and 2001.^[15] In 2001, the duo's contract with ITV was renewed for a further three years, following their appearances on SMTV Live and CD:UK, and received their first primetime presenting job on the station, presenting brand new Saturday night reality series Pop Idol. The series was broadcast for two series only, and was replaced in 2004 by The X Factor, to which Kate Thornton was assigned presenting duties.

In 2005, as part of the ITV Network's 50th birthday celebrations, they were back on television fronting Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon, a celebration of some of ITV's most enduring gameshows from the past 50 years.

Ant & Dec also created and presented their own show, entitled Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. The show has so far ran for nine series, broadcast between 2002 and 2009. itv.com confirmed that the show is set to return in 2012 after being off air for three years. During the fourth series, Dec broke his arm, thumb and suffered a concussion whilst completing a challenge for the 'Ant vs. Dec' segment of the show. The incident involved learning how to ride a motorbike and jumping through a ring of fire. During the challenge, Dec failed to pull hard enough on the throttle of the bike, causing it to topple over and sending him flying through the air. The accident caused the pair to miss the Comic Relief charity telethon of 2005. In 2006, the first episode of series five saw the duo abseil down the side of the 22-storey high London Studios, where the show was filmed. Two DVDs, a best-bits book and a board game of the series were released during 2004.

In May 2002, Ant & Dec took the helm of a further reality series, entitled I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. The series has been broadcasting on ITV1 since 2002, and ten series have been broadcast. The duo drew their highest viewing figures to date while presenting the series in February 2004, with nearly 15 million tuning in to watch the climax of the third series. In May 2006, the duo were assigned to present coverage of the charity football match Soccer Aid. The duo were then invited back to present coverage of the second match in September 2007, and have since presented coverage of each yearly match.^[16] In June 2006, the duo announced they had created a new game-show format for ITV1, entitled PokerFace. The show featured members of the public gambling high stakes of money in an attempt to win the ultimate prize. The first series began airing on 10 July 2006, and was aired for seven consecutive nights. The second series was broadcast in early 2007, and saw a move to a prime-time Saturday slot. Ratings for the series fell to below 3.5 million, and the series was subsequently axed in March 2007. A board game of the format was released in 2008.

In April 2007, the duo signed a two-year golden handcuffs deal with ITV, reportedly worth £40 million, securing the duo's career at the station until the end of 2009.^[17] In June 2007, the duo were offered the job of presenters on new ITV reality platform Britain's Got Talent by Simon Cowell. The series features contestants aiming to win £100,000 and spot on the bill at the Royal Variety Performance, while performing and being judged by Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan. The series was highly successful, drawing in nearly 12 million viewers. A second series was broadcast in May 2008, and drew in nearly 14.5 million viewers.^[18] The duo have since returned to present three further series of the show, and have also had a regular feature on the ITV2 spin-off show Britain's Got More Talent.

The pair filmed a series of six episodes for a new American game show, Wanna Bet?, in November 2007. The episodes was broadcast in 2008, but failed to attract enough interest for a second series to be commissioned.^[19] What You Wrote, another format created by the duo, was due to air in Autumn 2008 but was reportedly axed by ITV.^[20] In 2010, the duo debuted a replacement for their previous Saturday-night game show format, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, entitled Ant & Dec's Push the Button. The series was a success, and a second run of the programme was broadcast in 2011.

Ant & Dec have also presented the new game show Red or Black?, a creation of Cowell's, airing live on ITV1. On 24 December 2011, they presented ITV's charity initiative Text Santa with Holly Willoughby.

Other activities[link]

In 2006, a celebration to the show Spitting Image saw Ant and Dec having their own puppets made. They have also been made into cartoon characters on the comedy show 2DTV, and face masks in Avid Merrion's Bo Selecta. Wax works of the duo can also be seen in London's Madame Tussauds.

In April 2008, it was reported that Ant & Dec's production company, Gallowgate Productions, had purchased the rights to Byker Grove and SMTV Live, after the production companies that made them, Zenith Entertainment and Blaze Television, had both gone bankrupt in 2007. According to reports, the duo decided to purchase the rights to stop digital channels showing repeats of the programmes.^[21] On 28 September 2008, it was reported that the pair were attacked by the Taliban whilst in Afghanistan to present a Pride Of Britain Award.^[22] In December 2008, the duo starred in a seasonal advert, their first in seven years, for the supermarket chain Sainsbury's. The duo appeared alongside chef Jamie Oliver.^[23] In March 2009, the duo filmed a short film for inclusion on Comic Relief, which highlighted their story upon visiting a community centre for young carers in the North East. In September 2009, the duo released their official autobiography, entitled "Ooh! What a Lovely Pair. Our Story".^[24] In October 2010, the duo appeared in several Nintendo adverts playing both the Wii^[25] and Nintendo DS.^[26] In 2011, they both appeared on Celebrity Juice on ITV2.

Controversies[link]

In 1997, Welsh pop duo 'And all because...' successfully obtained legal aid and filed legal papers against Ant & Dec, along with their management team, record company and producers for copyright infringement over the song "Falling", and this was subsequently Ant & Dec's last single.

Law firm Olswang were commissioned to investigate the 2005 British Comedy Awards when the producers overturned the voting public's first choice, The Catherine Tate Show in favour of Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway for the People's Choice Award. The incident is also the subject of an investigation by media regulator Ofcom.^[27][28]

Following allegations of fraud in 2007, an investigation by auditors Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu discovered that two shows, Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, had defrauded viewers participating in phone-ins. The programmes were subject to a further investigation by Ofcom which found that between January 2003 and October 2006 Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway had:^[28][29]

• selected competition finalists before the telephone lines were announced as closed
• staggered the selection of competition finalists which meant that viewers entering the competition did not have a fair and equal chance of winning
• selected finalists on the basis of their suitability to be on television and where they lived
• selected an individual already known to the production team to be placed on the shortlist of potential winners and who went on to win the competition

and between September and October 2005, Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon had:

• on six occasions in the Prize Mountain competition, selected winners based on their suitability to be on screen
• failed to account for almost half of the competition entries

One episode of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! was also found to be in breach of Ofcom rules.

The pair were ridiculed for their alleged participation in the fraud on the front cover of the satirical magazine Private Eye.^[30]

On 10 September 2008, Ant & Dec announced that the frauds "will never happen again", insisting that a high-tech system and strict rules will ensure viewers cannot lose out with poorly monitored premium rate phone lines.^[31] On 30 September 2008, it was reported that Ant & Dec were being sued for $30 million by Greek American stand-up comedian and actor ANT for using his name in the United States. The lawsuit, among other things, alleges trademark infringement and fraud.^[32] The suit was dismissed in May of 2010.^[33] In October 2009, Kelly Brook claimed that Ant & Dec had been the cause of her removal as the fourth judge on Britain's Got Talent. She claimed that she was asked to leave the show after she upset the pair.^[34]

Acting[link]

They have, albeit infrequently, returned to acting. They played themselves in the film Love Actually^[35] (in which Bill Nighy's character referred to Dec as "Ant or Dec"). They have returned to their Geordie roots in a one-off tribute to The Likely Lads^[36] and also by returning to Byker Grove for Geoff's funeral.^[37][38]

In 1998, the pair starred in the pantomime Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs at Sunderland's Empire Theatre alongside Donnelly's partner at the time Clare Buckfield. The show was financially unsuccessful, making £20,000 less than it cost to stage, with the duo footing a large share of the shortfall.^[39]

Al Burton, creator of the American gameshow Win Ben Stein's Money, had approached Ant & Dec's talent agency with a proposal for a new reality television show entitled Ant & Dec Get Killed (after the film Penn & Teller Get Killed), in which the two scheme to murder one another, framed with a lighthearted soundtrack and canned laughter. Burton received negative public reaction and narrowly escaped being charged with several accounts of premeditated murder in British courts, and Ant & Dec refused the offer from the talent agency.^[40]

Ant & Dec's most recent acting appearance was in the film Alien Autopsy released in April 2006.^[41] The film gained mixed reviews about the storyline but the pair received generally good reviews for their acting abilities.

Awards[link]

In September 2006, they were voted by the general public as number 7 in a poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars.^[42]

1994

• Brit Award Nomination – Best Song: "Let's Get Ready to Rhumble"^[43]

2006

• British Comedy Awards: Best Comedy Entertainment Personality^[44]
• British Comedy Awards: Best Comedy Entertainment Programme^[45]

2008

• TV Quick & TV Choice Awards: Best Entertainment Show (Saturday Night Takeaway)
• Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards 2008: Favourite Funny Person, Best TV presenters and Best Family TV show (Britain's Got Talent)^[46]

2009

• TV Quick & TV Choice Awards: Best Entertainment Show (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)
• TV Quick & TV Choice Awards:Outstanding Contribution Award^[47]

2010

• British Academy Television Awards: Entertainment Performance (I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!)

2012

• Freesat : Best TV Presenter(s)

National Television Awards[link]

• Ant & Dec have won the National Television Award for Best Entertainment Presenter(s) 11 years running 2001 to 2012.

2001

• National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter (SMTV Live)

2002

• National Television Awards:*Most Popular Entertainment Presenter (Pop Idol)
• National Television Awards: Special Recognition Award

2003

• National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment presenter (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)^[48]
• National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment program (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)
• National Television Awards: Most Popular Reality Programme (I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!)

2004

• National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)
• National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment programme (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)

2005

• National Television Awards:* Most Popular Entertainment presenter (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)

2006

• National Television Awards:* Most Popular Quiz Programme (Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon)^[49]
• National Television Awards:* Most Popular Entertainment presenter (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)

2007

• National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment presenter (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)
• National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment program (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)
• National Television Awards: Most Popular Reality Programme (I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!)

2008

• National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter^[50]

2010

• National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter
• National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Programme (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)

2011

• National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter
• National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Programme (I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!)

2012

• National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter
• National Television Awards: Most Popular Reality Programme (I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!)

List of television appearances[link]

• Why Don't You? (1980s)
• Byker Grove (1989)
• Engie Benjy (2002)
• Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (2002)
• Celebrity Juice (2011)

As presenters[link]

• The Ant & Dec Show (1995–1997)
• Ant & Dec Unzipped (1998)
• SMTV Live (1998–2001)
• CD:UK (1998–2001)
• Friends Like These (1999–2001)
• Slap Bang with Ant & Dec (2001)
• Pop Idol (2001–2003)
• Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (2002–2009, 2012/13)
• I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2002–present)
• Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon (2005)
• Soccer Aid (2006, 2008)
• PokerFace (2006–2007)
• Britain's Got Talent (2007–present)
• Ant & Dec's Christmas Show (26 December 2009)
• Ant & Dec's Push the Button (2010–2011)
• Red or Black? (2011–present)
• Text Santa (24 December 2011)

Film Credits[link]

• Love Actually (as themselves - 2003)
• Alien Autopsy (film) (Main Characters - 2006)

Television advertisements[link]

• Woolworths (Christmas 2001)
• McDonald's (voiceover only, 2002)
• Sainsbury's (Christmas 2008)
• Wii / Nintendo DS (2010/2011)

Television idents[link]

• ITV1 "Celebrities" idents (3 idents, 2002)
• ITV1 "Abstract celebrities" idents (5 idents, 2003)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ant & Dec on Twitter
• Official website
• Speaker's Corner article

v t e Britain's Got Talent Got Talent Series 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 Presenters Ant & Dec · Stephen Mulhern Judges Current Simon Cowell · Amanda Holden · Alesha Dixon · David Walliams Former Kelly Brook · Piers Morgan · Michael McIntyre · David Hasselhoff Guest Louis Walsh · Carmen Electra Winners Paul Potts · George Sampson · Diversity · Spelbound · Jai McDowall · Ashleigh and Pudsey Other notable contestants Series 1 Bessie Cursons · Connie Talbot · Damon Scott · Bar Wizards · Jake Pratt Series 2 Signature · Andrew Johnston · Escala · Faryl Smith · Kate and Gin · Charlie Green · Charlie Wernham Series 3 Susan Boyle · Julian Smith · Aidan Davis · Hollie Steel · Shaheen Jafargholi · Callum Francis · DJ Talent · Flawless · John Farnworth Series 4 Twist and Pulse · Paul Burling · ReConnected · Myles and Connor · Kev Orkian · Stevie Starr · The Cheeky Girls · Matthew Ahmet Series 5 Ronan Parke · Out of the Blue Series 6 Jonathan and Charlotte · Only Boys Aloud · The Loveable Rogues · Ryan O'Shaughnessy  · Molly Rainford · The Zimmers Related articles List of episodes · Discography · SYCOtv · FremantleMedia · talkbackTHAMES · Thames · ITV Category

Tom Cruise
Cruise on MTV Live in December 2008
Born	Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (1962-07-03) July 3, 1962 (age 49) Syracuse, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, producer, writer, director
Years active	1981–present
Height	5 ft 7 in
Religion	Scientology
Spouse	Mimi Rogers (1987–1990) Nicole Kidman (1990–2001) Katie Holmes (2006–present)
Children	Isabella, Connor Cruise and Suri Cruise
Website
TomCruise.com Tom Cruise Facebook Tom Cruise Twitter

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV ( /ˈtɒməs ˈkruːz ˈmeɪpɒθər/; born July 3, 1962), widely known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and has won three Golden Globe Awards for the same movies: Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Jerry Maguire (1996), Magnolia (1999). He started his career with the movie Endless Love. Cruise's first appearance in a major film was in 1981's Taps. His first leading role was in the film Risky Business,^[1] released in August 1983. Cruise played the role of a heroic naval pilot in the popular and successful 1986 film Top Gun, and also secret agent Ethan Hunt in the series of Mission: Impossible action films.

He has starred in a variety of other successful films, including: Rain Man (1988), Days of Thunder (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), Vanilla Sky (2001), Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), Collateral (2004), and War of the Worlds (2005).

Since 2005, Cruise and Paula Wagner have been in charge of the United Artists film studio,^[2] with Cruise as producer and star and Wagner as the chief executive. Cruise is also known for his support of and adherence to the Church of Scientology.^[3]

Early life[link]

Cruise was born in Syracuse, New York,^[4] the son of Mary Lee (née Pfeiffer), a special education teacher, and Thomas Cruise Mapother III (died 1984),^[5] an electrical engineer.^[6] Cruise's surname originates from his great-grandfather, Thomas Cruise O'Mara, who was adopted by a Welsh immigrant and renamed "Thomas Cruise Mapother".^[7][8][9] Cruise is of German, Irish, and English ancestry.^[10] He grew up in near poverty, in a Catholic family dominated by an abusive father whom Cruise has described as "a merchant of chaos".^[11] He was beaten by his father, who Cruise has said was a bully and coward.

He was the kind of person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you. It was a great lesson in my life—how he’d lull you in, make you feel safe and then, bang! For me, it was like, 'There's something wrong with this guy. Don't trust him. Be careful around him.'^[11]

Cruise's family spent part of his childhood in Canada, and Cruise attended Robert Hopkins Public School in Ottawa, Ontario, for grades three, four, and five. The Mapother family then moved to the suburb of Beacon Hill, so Cruise's father could take a position as a defense consultant with the Canadian Armed Forces.^[12] There, Cruise completed grade six at Henry Munro Middle School, part of the Carleton Board of Education,^[13] where he was active in athletics, playing floor hockey almost every night, showing himself to be a ruthless player, and eventually chipping his front tooth. In the game British bulldogs, he then lost his newly capped tooth and hurt his knee.^[14] Henry Munro was also where Cruise became involved in drama, under the tutelage of George Steinburg.^[15] The first play he participated in was called IT, in which Cruise won the co-lead with Michael de Waal, one playing "Evil", the other playing "Good". The play met much acclaim, and toured with five other classmates to various schools around the Ottawa area, even being filmed at the local Ottawa TV station.^[16] Cruise was bullied regularly in the 15 different schools he attended in 12 years.^[11] When Cruise was twelve, his mother left his father, taking Cruise and his sister Lee Anne with her.^[11]

He briefly attended a Franciscan seminary in Cincinnati (on a church scholarship) and aspired to become a Catholic priest.^[17] In his senior year, he played football for the varsity team as a linebacker, but he was cut from the squad after getting caught drinking beer before a game.^{[18] [19]}

Career[link]

Acting[link]

1980s[link]

Cruise in 1989

Cruise first appeared in supporting roles the 1981 films Endless Love and Taps, the latter in which he played a crazed military school student. His first starring role was in the 1983 comedy Losin' It. That same year he appeared in All the Right Moves and Risky Business, which has been described as "A Generation-X classic, and a career-maker for Tom Cruise",^[20] and which along with 1986's Top Gun, cemented his status as a Superstar.

Cruise followed up Top Gun with The Color of Money, which came out the same year, and which paired him with Academy Award-winner Paul Newman. 1988 saw him star in Cocktail, which earned him a nomination for the Razzie Award for Worst Actor. Later that year he starred with Academy Award-winner Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, which won the Academy Award for Best Film and Cruise the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor. Cruise finished the decade by portraying real-life paralyzed Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic in 1989's Born on the Fourth of July, which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor, the People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture Actor, a nomination for BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Cruise's first Best Actor Academy Award nomination.

1990s[link]

In 1994, Cruise starred along with Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas and Christian Slater in Neil Jordan's Interview with the Vampire, a gothic drama/horror film that was based on Anne Rice's best-selling novel. The film was well received, although Rice was initially quite outspoken in her criticism of Cruise having been cast in the film, as Julian Sands was her first choice. Upon seeing the film however, she paid $7,740 for a two-page ad in Daily Variety praising his performance and apologizing for her previous doubts about him.^[21]

In 1996, Cruise appeared as superspy Ethan Hunt in the reboot of Mission: Impossible, which he produced. In 1996, he took on the title role in Jerry Maguire, for which he earned a Golden Globe and his second nomination for an Academy Award. In 1999, Cruise costarred with wife Nicole Kidman in the erotic Stanley Kubrick film Eyes Wide Shut, and played motivational speaker Frank T.J. Mackey in the ensemble film Magnolia, for which he received another Golden Globe and nomination for an Academy Award.

2000s[link]

In 2000, Cruise returned as Ethan Hunt in the second installment of the Mission Impossible films, releasing Mission: Impossible II. The film was directed by Hong Kong director John Woo and branded with his gun fu style, and it continued the series' blockbuster success at the box office, taking in almost $547M in worldwide figures, like its predecessor, being the third highest grossing film of the year. Cruise received an MTV Movie Award as Best Male Performance for this film.^[22] His next five films were major critical and commercial successes.^{[23] [24]} The following year Cruise starred in the romantic thriller Vanilla Sky (2001) with Cameron Diaz and Penélope Cruz. In 2002, Cruise starred in the dystopian science fiction thriller, Minority Report which was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick.

In 2003, he starred in the Edward Zwick's historical drama The Last Samurai, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination as best actor.^[22] In 2005, Cruise worked again with Steven Spielberg in War of the Worlds, which became the fourth highest grossing film of the year with US$591.4 million worldwide. Also in 2005, he won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Movie Star, and the MTV Generation Award.^[22] Cruise was nominated for seven Saturn Awards between 2002 and 2009, winning once.^[22] Nine of the ten films he starred in during the decade made over $100 million at the box office.^[23]