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British officer in the First World War.

A trench coat or trenchcoat is a raincoat made of waterproof heavy-duty cotton drill or poplin, wool gabardine, or leather. It generally has a removable insulated lining, and it is usually knee-length.

History[link]

A lined trench coat being modeled in Eastern Germany, 1953.

The trench coat was developed as an alternative to the heavy serge greatcoats worn by British and French soldiers in the First World War. Invention of the trench coat is claimed by both Burberry and Aquascutum, with Aquascutum's claim dating back to the 1850s. Thomas Burberry, the inventor of gabardine fabric, submitted a design for an army officer's raincoat to the United Kingdom War Office in 1901.^[1][2]

The trench coat became an optional item of dress in the British Army, and was obtained by private purchase by officers and Warrant Officers Class I who were under no obligation to own them.^[3] No other ranks were permitted to wear them. Another optional item was the British Warm, a wool coat similar to the greatcoat that was shorter in length, also worn by British officers and Warrant Officers Class I as an optional piece.

During the First World War, the design of the trenchcoat was modified to include shoulder straps and D-rings. The shoulder straps were for the attachment of epaulettes or other rank insignia; There is a popular myth that the D-ring was for the attachment of hand grenades. The ring was originally for map cases and swords or other equipment to the belt. This latter pattern was dubbed "trench coat" by the soldiers in the front line. Many veterans returning to civilian life kept the coats that became fashionable for both men and women.

During the Second World War, officers of the United Kingdom continued to use the trench coat on the battlefield in inclement weather. Other nations also developed trench coat style jackets, notably the United States and Soviet Union, and other armies of continental Europe such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland (and are often seen in war zone photographs in the 1939-40 era, even worn by troops on the attack), although as the war progressed, in the field shorter "field jackets" became more popular, including garments such as the Denison smock used by British commandos, paratroopers, and snipers and the M1941/M1943 field jackets used by the US Army. These garments were shorter and more practical than the trench coat, and as such they allowed the wearer to be more mobile.^[4]

A typical trench coat by this period was a ten-buttoned, double-breasted long coat made with tan, khaki, beige, or black fabric. Trench coats often have cuff straps on the raglan sleeves, shoulder straps and a belt. The trench coat was typically worn as a windbreaker or as a rain jacket, and not for protection from the cold in winter or snowy conditions.

Post-1945[link]

Trench coats have remained fashionable in the decades following World War II. Their original role as part of an army officer's uniform lent the trench coat a businesslike respectability, whilst fictional heroes as diverse as the Tenth Doctor, Eleventh Doctor, Captain Jack Harkness, Castiel, Columbo, Dick Tracy, Mike Hammer, the Crow, the Phantom, Humphrey Bogart's Rick Blaine from Casablanca^[5], and Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau kept the coat in the public eye. Usually, a fedora or an ushanka (during colder weather) was also worn. In the 1960s, some Mods wore trench coats as fashionable overcoats, as an alternative to the fishtail parka or crombie (clothing).

The heavy metal and Goth fashion trend of black oilcloth dusters are usually referred to as trench coats.^[6] Early media reports of the Columbine High School massacre initially associated the perpetrators (Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold) with members of the "Trenchcoat Mafia," a group of outcasts who allegedly wore conspicuous black Australian oilcloth dusters. Both shooters wore trench coats on the day of the massacre. In the copycat W. R. Myers High School shooting days later, it was rumored the shooter had worn a trench coat. In the wake of these incidents, several schools forbade students to wear trench coats, on the grounds that the long coats could be used to conceal weapons.

See also[link]

• Coat
• Duster
• Trench coats in popular culture

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Foulkes, Nick The Trench Book 2007 Assouline

Christopher Bailey is a lecturer of English at the University of Brighton and is an occasional screenwriter for television.

He wrote the script for the Doctor Who serial Kinda in 1982. This script drew heavily on his own Buddhist faith and incorporated classic Buddhist terms such as dukkha, panna, karuna, devaloka and Mara — indeed, "the Mara" was the name of the villain of the piece.

The strength of his script led to Bailey writing a second story for Doctor Who in 1983. This serial, Snakedance, was a sequel to Kinda. New script editor Eric Saward requested that Bailey devise another story idea, but neither the submitted outline for May Time (later renamed Manwatch) for the show's twenty first season, nor the revised version of the submission for the twenty second, retitled The Children of Seth, were taken further. As a result, the two Mara scripts were Bailey's final broadcast work for both Doctor Who and television in general and he returned to a career in academia. The Children of Seth has since been adapted for audio by Big Finish.

External links[link]

• Christopher Bailey at the Internet Movie Database

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2012)

Mr. Porter
Denaun Porter performing as Eminem's hypeman at Irish music festival Oxegen 2010
Background information
Birth name	Denaun Porter
Also known as	Kon Artis
Born	(1978-12-07) December 7, 1978 (age 33)
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, producer, singer
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Shady, Shaman, My Own Planet
Associated acts	50 Cent, Bad Meets Evil, Busta Rhymes, D12, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Royce da 5'9", Snoop Dogg
Website	myownplanetent.com

Denaun Porter (born December 7, 1978), also known as Denaun and Mr. Porter, is an American rapper and record producer.

Career[link]

Porter was an original member of the Detroit hip hop group D12.

Throughout his career he has both produced and performed vocally, producing songs for many notable artists such as Eminem, Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent (produced the song "P.I.M.P.").^[1]

Denaun is Eminem's current hype man after the death of D12 band member Proof.

Porter was a co-executive producer, with Eminem, for Bad Meets Evil's debut album Hell: The Sequel. He also has a cameo appearance in their music video "Fast Lane" as well as "Forever" by Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem, and "No Love" by Eminem and Lil Wayne.

Denaun is planning to release his debut studio album The Memo in 2012.^[2]

On March 24, 2012, Porter announced through Twitter that he had left D12. He said that he wanted to focus on being a solo artist, but clarified that he holds no animosity toward other members of the group.^[3]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• The Memo (2012)

Collaboration albums[link]

• Devil's Night (with D12) (2001)
• D12 World (with D12) (2004)

Mixtapes[link]

• Po Folks (as Kon Artis) (2003)

Guest appearances[link]

References[link]

Jensen Ackles
Ackles at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International
Born	Jensen Ross Ackles (1978-03-01) March 1, 1978 (age 34) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, director
Years active	1995–present
Spouse	Danneel Harris (m. 2010–present)

Jensen Ross Ackles (born March 1, 1978) is an American actor and director. He is known for his roles in television as Eric Brady in Days of our Lives, which earned him several Daytime Emmy Award nominations, as well as Alec/X5-494 in Dark Angel and Jason Teague in Smallville. Ackles currently stars as Dean Winchester on the CW series Supernatural.

Early life[link]

Ackles was born in Dallas, Texas, the son of Donna Joan (née Shaffer) and Alan Roger Ackles, an actor.^[1] Ackles has a brother, Joshua, who is three years older, and sister, Mackenzie, who is seven years younger. He is of English, Irish and Scottish ancestry.^[2] He had planned to study sports medicine at Texas Tech University and become a physical therapist but instead moved to Los Angeles to start his acting career.^[3]

Career[link]

After modelling on and off since the age of 4, Ackles began to concentrate on an acting career in 1996. He appeared in several guest roles on Mr. Rhodes, Sweet Valley High, and Cybill before joining the cast of the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives as Eric Brady in 1997. He won a 1998 Soap Opera Digest Award for Best Male Newcomer and went on to be nominated three times (in 1998, 1999, and 2000) for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series for his work on Days of our Lives.^[4]

Ackles departed Days of our Lives in 2000 and went on to appear in the mini-series Blonde, about the life of Marilyn Monroe. He also auditioned for the role of the young Clark Kent on Smallville, a role offered to actor Tom Welling instead.^[5] Next he appeared in a guest role on the James Cameron television series Dark Angel on Fox in 2001 as serial killer Ben/X5-493, the "brother" of main character Max/X5-452 (played by Jessica Alba). His character died in the episode, but Ackles returned to the show as a series regular in the second season as Ben's sane clone, Alec/X5-494. He remained with the show until its cancellation in 2002.

Ackles (left) with his Supernatural co-star Jared Padalecki in 2008

Ackles worked steadily throughout 2003. He joined the cast of the WB's hit show Dawson's Creek during its final season, playing CJ, Jen Lindley's lover. Afterward, Ackles filmed several episodes of the unaired series Still Life for Fox before it was abruptly dropped. He also had a small role in the 2004 short film The Plight of Clownana. Ackles was the producer's first choice to play Eliza Dushku's love interest on the second season of Tru Calling,^[6] Ackles turned down the role, which was then offered to Eric Christian Olsen and the character's name was changed to "Jensen" because the producers of Tru Calling liked Ackles' name. Ackles returned to Vancouver (where Dark Angel was filmed) in 2004 to become a regular on Smallville playing the assistant football coach Jason Teague, who was also the newest romantic interest for Lana Lang (played by Kristin Kreuk). He also had a lead role in the 2005 film Devour in which Ackles' father, actor Alan Ackles, also had a role playing the father of Ackles' character, Jake Gray.

Most recently, Ackles joined the cast of the CW horror/drama series Supernatural in 2005, where he stars as Dean Winchester. Dean and his brother Sam (Jared Padalecki) drive throughout the United States hunting paranormal predators, sometimes with their father, (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). The seventh season began broadcast on September 23, 2011.

In the summer of 2007, Ackles took on the role of Priestly in the independent comedy Ten Inch Hero. The film began hitting the film festival circuit in early 2007 and Ackles received high praise for his comedic timing in the role. In February 2009, the film was released on DVD exclusively by Blockbuster Home Video. He also appeared on stage from June 5–10, 2007 with Lou Diamond Phillips in A Few Good Men at Casa Mañana Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas, as Lt. Daniel Kaffee. Ackles received strong praise for his work in this role, which was also his professional theatre debut.

In the summer of 2008, Ackles was cast in the remake of the cult film My Bloody Valentine 3D, which opened nationwide on January 16, 2009.

In summer of 2010, Ackles lent his voice as the Red Hood (Jason Todd) for the animated film, Batman: Under The Red Hood, which was released to DVD and Blu-ray on July 27.

On October 22, 2010, Disney Interactive Studios announced that he would be voicing a character named Gibson in the video game, Tron: Evolution, which was released on December 7, 2010.^[7]

Personal life[link]

After dating actress, model, and gymnast Danneel Harris for three years, and becoming engaged in November 2009,^[8] they married in Dallas, Texas on May 15, 2010.^[9] Ackles considers himself a non-denominational Christian.^[10]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

Video games[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

• Ackles won the 2008 and 2010 Best Actor in a Drama Series Ewwy Award for playing Dean Winchester on Supernatural.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jensen Ackles

• Jensen Ackles at the Internet Movie Database
• Jensen Ackles at AllRovi
• Works by or about Jensen Ackles in libraries (WorldCat catalog)