Coordinates	29°57′53″N90°4′14″N
Name	Skull Gang
Background	group_or_band
Origin	Harlem, New York
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rappers
Label	Skull Gang Entertainment/E1 Music
Associated acts	Jim Jones, Freekey Zekey, Mike Epps, Lil Wayne, Johnta Austin
Url	skull gang website
Current members	Juelz SantanaStarrRichmond RabUnKasaJohn DeppDeniroRiq RoseYung JaHyniefNick HazeBig B'Z

Skull Gang is a rap group formed in 2007 by Harlem rapper Juelz Santana the group is most known for their mixtapes Jim Jones & Skull Gang Present a Tribute to Bad Santa (Starring Mike Epps) & Juelz Santana Presents Skull Gang: Takeover. Skull Gang released their debut album with the help of Juelz Santana entitled Skull Gang on May 5, 2009. The group as a whole is signed to Skull Gang Entertainment/E1 Entertainment. The skull in Skull Gang is an acronym which stands for Street Kids United by Loyalty & Loot.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

{|class="wikitable" !rowspan="1"|Year !rowspan="1"|Title |- |2008 |A Tribute To Bad Santa Starring Mike Epps

Released: November 25, 2008

Label: Splash/Koch

|- |}

Mixtapes

Singles

Solo

{|class="wikitable" !rowspan="2"|Year !rowspan="2"|Song !colspan="3"|Chart positions !rowspan="2"|Album |- !width="40"|U.S. Hot 100 !width="40"|U.S. R&B; !width="40"|U.S. Rap |- |align="center" rowspan="1"|2009 |align="left"|"I Am The Club" (performed by Juelz Santana, UnKasa & Richmond Rabb) |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |align="left" rowspan="1"|Skull Gang |- |}

References

Category:2000s music groups Category:American hip hop groups Category:Musical groups established in 2007 Category:Musical groups from New York

Coordinates	29°57′53″N90°4′14″N
Name	Juelz Santana
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	LaRon Louis James
Born	February 18, 1982New York City, New York, United States
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, record producer, actor
Years active	1999–present
Label	Skull Gang, Def Jam
Associated acts	Skull Gang, The Diplomats, Lil Wayne, Cam'ron, Chris Brown, Lloyd Banks
Url	juelzsantana.defjam.com

LaRon Louis James (born February 18, 1982), better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper, producer and actor. He came to fame following his appearances on Cam'ron's 2002 singles, "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma". In 2003, his debut album From Me to U was released by Def Jam Recordings; his next album What the Game's Been Missing! contained the top-ten single "There It Go (The Whistle Song)".

Early life & career

Santana was born to an African American mother and to a Dominican father. He began rapping at the age of five and at age twelve started duo Draft Pick, which was signed to Priority Records. In 2000, Santana made a guest performance on a track on Cam'ron's album S.D.E. and eventually joined The Diplomats.

==Music career== Had his first daughter Tatayana Harris

2002-2004 (Final Destination, From Me To U)

After the signing of The Diplomats, also known as Dipset, to Roc-a-Fella Records in 2002, there was an influx of mixtapes, features on other artists' records, television and radio interviews, in which Juelz achieved mainstream recognition not previously gained through the various Diplomat mixtapes, and his solo mixtape Final Destination, that was sold in late 2002. After being featured on fellow Diplomat member Cam'ron's two singles, "Hey Ma" and "Oh Boy". Juelz started working on his debut album. In the summer of 2003, Santana released his debut album entitled, From Me to U under Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam; its single "Down/Rain Drops" which didn't reach success and debut single "Dipset (Santana's Town)" reached #70 on the Billboard R&B;/Hip-Hop chart.

What the Game's Been Missing! (2005)

What the Game's Been Missing! followed in 2005 with the singles "Mic Check", "There It Go (The Whistle Song)", "Oh Yes", "Clockwork," "Shottas", and "Make It Work For Ya" Feat. Young_Jeezy Young Jeezy] and Lil Wayne. "There It Go" reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the Hot Rap Tracks charts; "Oh Yes" reached #56 on the Hot 100 and #8 on the Rap charts. "Mic Check" reached 35 in the Billboard Hot 100. Both this album and single "There It Go" were certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.

I Can't Feel My Face, Def Jam Signing & Skull Gang(2006-2009)

Santana began working with Lil Wayne on a collaboration album I Can't Feel My Face in 2006. Mick Boogie, a DJ from Ohio, released a mixtape in late August 2006 titled Blow that contained 12 leaked tracks from the album recording sessions. Recording and production reportedly concluded by summer 2007. Santana told Angie Martinez in an interview on New York City hip-hop station Hot 97 that he blames the delay on the album on fellow Dipset rapper Cam'ron. In April 2008, Santana stated that issues existed over his and Lil Wayne signing to different labels and thus announced plans for various mixtapes to promote "unity and creativity". Santana claimed that Cam'ron blocked collaborations by other artists. XXL magazine brought up the delay of the album release in a February 2009 interview with Santana, who replied that "contractual issues" were to blame and that he was talking to L.A. Reid about releasing this album before his own solo album. In Lil Wayne's album Tha Carter III, Santana appeared on the fifteenth track.

In August 2008, Dipset founder Cam'ron revealed that he had sold Santana's contract to Def Jam Records for $2 million. Despite selling him to the Def Jam label, Santana says he is not mad at Cam. He revealed that he had inked a joint 50/50 joint venture with Def Jam, where he will release his next album Which will feature up and coming rapper slay webb of plainfield,nj Born to Lose, Built to Win. Santana performed on Jim Jones' single "Pop Champagne", which was produced by Ron Browz. "Pop Champagne" peaked at #22 on the Hot 100 and #3 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart; it was also certified Gold by RIAA on February 26, 2009. In May 2009 Skull Gang's debut album was released on Santana's new label, Skull Gang Entertainment, and Koch Records.

Born to Lose, Built to Win & Dipset Reunion(2010-present)

Since 2007, Santana has been recording material for his third album, Born to Lose, Built to Win. Shortly after recording began, Santana released a promo single, "The Second Coming", produced by Just Blaze. After a two year hiatus, he released a new song, "Days of Our Lives", with two accompanying music videos featuring cameos from Skull Gang. In late 2009 he released the first single off Born to Lose, Built to Win, "Mixin' Up the Medicine" featuring Yelawolf. In 2010, he released the second single titled, "Back to the Crib" featuring Chris Brown. In April 2010, Cam'ron and Jim Jones announced they ended their feud. In June 2010, the Dipset reunion began with a teaser titled "Under Construction" and a street single, "Salute" produced by Araabmuzik. The song features Jim Jones, Cam'ron, and Juelz Santana. The remix features new Diplomat artist Vado with a verse added. Since the reunion it is not yet known if or when Juelz will release the album. But it is known that he is working on a new album with The Diplomats. Recently Santana Twits "I will give people that people wants Reagan Era in the studio" so that means that we can wait a new album for 2011.

Juelz Santana recently collaborated with UK rapper's Giggs & Wiley on a track called Bright Lights produced by UK producers Dan Dare & Zdot.

Personal life

Santana maintained a store of his clothing and music near his old neighborhood of 151st and Amsterdam/Broadway on Amsterdam Avenue between 150th and 151st Streets

Legal issues

Santana was arrested outside of his Teaneck, New Jersey home in March 2008. After being pulled over for driving with a suspended license,stating he was driving to Plainfield,NJ to see a close friend Rahjon Ross. After a search of Santana's Bentley police found marijuana, 29 hollow-point bullets, and $19,500 in cash inside a plastic bag filled with Jolly Ranchers .

Discography

;Studio albums

2003: From Me to U

2005: What the Game's Been Missing!

TBA: Born to Lose, Built to Win

;Official mixtapes

2003: Final Destination

2004: Back Like Cooked Crack Pt. 1

2005: Back Like Cooked Crack Pt. 2

2006: Back Like Cooked Crack Pt. 3

2011: Reagan Era

;Collaboration albums

2003: Diplomatic Immunity (with The Diplomats)

2004: Diplomatic Immunity 2 (with The Diplomats)

2009: Skull Gang (with Skull Gang)

2011: Diplomatic Immunity 3 (with The Diplomats)

Filmography

State Property 2 (2005)

Killa Season (2006)

The Project (2011)

References

External links

Official website

Official blog

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:African American rappers Category:American people of Dominican Republic descent Category:The Diplomats members Category:Hispanic and Latino American rappers Category:People from Manhattan Category:People from Teaneck, New Jersey Category:People from Harlem Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Roc-A-Fella Records artists

Coordinates	29°57′53″N90°4′14″N
Caption	During the Paris premiere of Public Enemies in July 2009
Birth date	June 09, 1963
Birth place	Owensboro, Kentucky, U.S.
Birth name	John Christopher Depp II
Spouse	Lori Anne Allison (1983–1986)
Partner	Sherilyn Fenn (1985–1988)Winona Ryder (1989–1993)Kate Moss (1994–1998)Vanessa Paradis (1998–present)
Years active	1984–present
Occupation	Actor, screenwriter, director, producer, musician

John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician known for his portrayals of offbeat, eccentric characters in a wide variety of dramas and fantasy films. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for major roles in recent films.

Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, quickly becoming a teen idol. Turning to film, he was notable as the title character of Edward Scissorhands (1990), and later found box office success in films such as Sleepy Hollow (1999), (2003), and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005).

He has collaborated with director and close friend Tim Burton in seven films, the most recent of which are (2007) and Alice in Wonderland (2010). Depp has gained acclaim for his portrayals of people such as Edward D. Wood, Jr., in Ed Wood, Joseph D. Pistone in Donnie Brasco, Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and George Jung in Blow. More recently, he portrayed the bank robber John Dillinger in Michael Mann's 2009 film Public Enemies.

Films featuring Depp have grossed over $2.6 billion at the United States box office and over $6 billion worldwide. He has been nominated for top awards numerous times; he won the Best Actor Awards from the Golden Globes for his role in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and from the Screen Actors Guild for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Early life

Childhood

Depp was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, the son of Betty Sue Palmer (née Wells), a waitress, and John Christopher Depp, Sr., a civil engineer. He has one brother, Daniel, who is a novelist, and two sisters, Christie (now his personal manager) and Debbie. Depp has French, German, Cherokee, and Irish ancestry.

1980s

With the gift of a guitar from his mother when he was 12, Depp began playing in various garage bands. His first band was in honor of his girlfriend, Meredith. A year after his parents' divorce, Depp dropped out of high school to become a rock musician. As he said on Inside the Actors Studio, he attempted to go back to school two weeks later, but the principal told him to follow his dream of being a musician. He played with The Kids, a band that enjoyed modest local success. The Kids set out together for Los Angeles in pursuit of a record deal, changing their name to Six Gun Method, but the group split up before signing a record deal. Depp subsequently collaborated with the band Rock City Angels and co-wrote their song "Mary", which appeared on Rock City Angels' debut for Geffen Records titled Young Man's Blues.

On December 24, 1983, Depp married Lori Anne Allison, a makeup artist and sister of his band's bass player and singer. During Depp's marriage, his wife worked as a makeup artist while he worked a variety of odd jobs, including a telemarketer for pens. His wife introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage, who advised Depp to pursue an acting career. They divorced in 1985. Depp later dated and was engaged to Sherilyn Fenn (whom he met on the set of the 1985 short film Dummies).

Career

Television

Depp starred in a lead role on the Fox TV television series, 21 Jump Street, which premiered in 1987. Depp accepted this role to work with actor Frederic Forrest, who inspired him. Depp's long time friend Sal Jenco joined the cast as a semi-co-star as the janitor named Blowfish. The series' success turned Depp into a popular teen idol during the late 1980s. He felt "forced into the role of product." Depp decided to appear only in films that he felt were right for him. In 2006, Depp contributed a foreword to , a posthumous biography published by ammobooks.com. Depp paid for most of Thompson's memorial event, complete with fireworks and the shooting of Thompson's ashes by a cannon, in Aspen, Colorado, where Thompson lived.

and goatee similar to the style used in .]]

Critics have described Depp's roles as characters who are "iconic loners." Depp has noted this period of his career was full of "studio defined failures" and films that were "box office poison," but he thought the studios never understood the films and did not do a good job of marketing. but the character became popular with the movie-going public. The film's director, Gore Verbinski, has said that Depp's character closely resembles the actor's personality, but Depp said he modelled the character after Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. Depp was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for the role.

In 2004, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, for playing Scottish author J. M. Barrie in the film Finding Neverland. Depp next starred as Willy Wonka in the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a major success at the box office and earning him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.

Depp returned to the role of Jack Sparrow for the sequel , which opened on July 7, 2006 and grossed $135.5 million in the first three days of its U.S. release, breaking a box office record of the highest weekend tally. The next sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean, , was released May 24, 2007. Depp has said that Sparrow is "definitely a big part of me", and he wants to play the role in further sequels. Depp voiced Sparrow in the video game, . Johnny Depp's swashbuckling sword talents as developed for the character of Jack Sparrow, were highlighted in the documentary film Reclaiming the Blade. Within the film, Swordmaster Bob Anderson shared his experiences working with Depp on the choreography for The Curse of the Black Pearl. Anderson who also trained Errol Flynn, another famous Hollywood pirate, described in the film Depp's ability as an actor to pick up the sword to be, "about as good as you can get."

Depp and Gore Verbinski were executive producers of the album Rogues Gallery, Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys. Depp played the title role of Sweeney Todd in Tim Burton's of , for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Depp thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and praised Tim Burton for his "unwavering trust and support." He portrayed the Mad Hatter in Burton's Alice in Wonderland, and will play Tonto in a future Lone Ranger film. Disney Studios announced a of the Pirates series is in development. At the time, the actor was depressed about films and filmmaking. This part gave him a "chance to stretch out and have some fun"; he said working with Landau "rejuvenated my love for acting".

Depp did not work with Burton again until 2005 in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, in which he played Willy Wonka. Depp modeled the character's hair on Anna Wintour. The film was a box office success and received positive critical reception. Gene Wilder, who played Willy Wonka in the 1971 film, initially criticized this version. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was released in July, followed by Corpse Bride, for which Depp voiced the character Victor Van Dort, in September.

(2007) followed, bringing Depp his second major award win, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy as well as his third nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Burton first gave him an original cast recording of the in 2000. Although not a fan of the musical genre, Depp grew to like the tale's treatment. He cited Peter Lorre in Mad Love (1935) as his main influence for the role, and practiced the songs his character would perform while filming . Although he had performed in musical groups, Depp was initially unsure that he would be able to sustain Stephen Sondheim's lyrics. Depp recorded demos and worked with Bruce Witkin to shape his vocals without a qualified voice coach. In the DVD Reviews section, Entertainment Weekly's Chris Nashawaty gave the film an A minus, stating, "Depp's soaring voice makes you wonder what other tricks he's been hiding... Watching Depp's barber wield his razors... it's hard not to be reminded of Edward Scissorhands frantically shaping hedges into animal topiaries 18 years ago... and all of the twisted beauty we would've missed out on had [Burton and Depp] never met."

In his introduction to Burton on Burton, a book of interviews with the director, Depp called Burton "...a brother, a friend,...and [a] brave soul". The next Depp-Burton collaboration was Alice in Wonderland (2010). Depp played the Mad Hatter alongside Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway and Alan Rickman.

Personal life

.]]

In 1994, Depp was arrested and questioned by police for allegedly causing serious damage to a New York City hotel suite. Since 1998, following a relationship with British supermodel Kate Moss, Depp has had a relationship with Vanessa Paradis, a French actress and singer whom he met while filming The Ninth Gate. He was arrested again in 1999 for brawling with paparazzi outside a restaurant while dining in London with Paradis.

The couple have two children. Daughter Lily-Rose Melody Depp was born May 27, 1999, and son John "Jack" Christopher Depp III was born April 9, 2002. In 2007, his daughter recovered from a serious illness, an E. coli infection that began to cause her kidneys to shut down and resulted in an extended hospital stay. To thank Great Ormond Street Hospital, Depp visited the hospital in November 2007 dressed in his Captain Jack Sparrow outfit and spent 4 hours reading stories to the children. He later donated £1 million (about $2 million) to the hospital in early 2008.

Although Depp has not remarried, he has stated that having children has given him "real foundation, a real strong place to stand in life, in work, in everything." Depp also acquired a vineyard estate in the Plan-de-la-Tour area in 2007.

Depp has 13 tattoos, many of them signifying important persons or events in his life. They include a Native American in profile and a ribbon reading "Wino Forever" (originally "Winona Forever", altered after his breakup with Winona Ryder) on his right biceps, "Lily-Rose" (his daughter's name) over his heart, "Betty Sue" (his mother's name) on his left biceps, and a sparrow flying over water with the word "Jack" (his son's name; the sparrow is flying towards him rather than away from him as it is in Pirates of the Caribbean) on his right forearm.

In 2003, Depp's comments about the United States appeared in Germany's Stern magazine: "America is dumb, is something like a dumb puppy that has big teeth — that can bite and hurt you, aggressive."

On October 8, 2010, Depp made an unannounced appearance at a London Primary School near where he was filming scenes for the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. He turned up dressed as his character Jack Sparrow after receiving a letter from a pupil asking for his help with a class mutiny.

Other interests

Music

As a guitar player, Depp has recorded a solo album, played slide guitar on the Oasis song "Fade In-Out" (from Be Here Now, 1997), as well as on "Fade Away (Warchild Version)" (b-side of the "Don't Go Away" single). He also played acoustic guitar in the movie Chocolat and on the soundtrack to Once Upon a Time in Mexico. He is a friend of The Pogues' Shane MacGowan, and performed on MacGowan's first solo album. He was also a member of P, a group featuring Butthole Surfers singer Gibby Haynes and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. He has appeared in Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' music video "Into the Great Wide Open".

Winemaker and restaurateur

Depp and Paradis grow grapes and have wine making facilities in their vineyard in Plan-de-la-Tour north of Saint-Tropez. Along with Sean Penn, John Malkovich and Mick Hucknall, Depp co-owned the Parisian restaurant-bar Man Ray, located near the Champs-Élysées.

Awards and nominations

Some of the awards that Depp has won include honors from the London Film Critics Circle (1996), Russian Guild of Film Critics (1998), Screen Actors Guild Awards (2004) and a Golden Globe for Best Actor. At the 2008 MTV Movie Awards, he won the award for "Best Villain" for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd and "Best Comedic Performance" for Jack Sparrow. Depp has been nominated for three Academy Awards, in 2004 for , in 2005 for Finding Neverland, and in 2008 for . Depp won his first Golden Globe for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in 2008.

Filmography

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Actor |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1984 | | Glen Lantz | |- | 1985 | Private Resort | Jack Marshall | |- | 1986 | Platoon | Specialist Gator Lerner | |- | rowspan="2" | 1990 | Cry-Baby | Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker | |- | Edward Scissorhands | Edward Scissorhands | Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- | 1991 | | Teen on TV | Cameo (as Oprah Noodlemantra) |- | rowspan="3" | 1993 | What's Eating Gilbert Grape | Gilbert Grape | |- | Benny & Joon | Sam | Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- | Arizona Dream | Axel Blackmar | |- | 1994 | Ed Wood | Edward D. Wood, Jr. | London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor also for Don Juan DeMarcoNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- | rowspan="3" | 1995 | Nick of Time | Gene Watson | |- | Dead Man | William Blake | |- | Don Juan DeMarco | Don Juan/John R. DeMarco | London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor (also for Ed Wood) |- | 1996 | Cannes Man | Himself | |- | rowspan="2" | 1997 | Donnie Brasco | Donnie Brasco/Joseph D. Pistone | Nominated—Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor |- | | Raphael | Nominated—Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival) |- | rowspan="2" | 1998 | Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas | Raoul Duke | playing Hunter S. Thompson |- | L.A. Without a Map | Himself/William Blake | Cameo |- | rowspan="3" | 1999 | Sleepy Hollow | Ichabod Crane | Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor |- | | Spencer Armacost | |- | | Dean Corso | |- | rowspan="2" | 2000 | Chocolat | Roux | Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |- | Before Night Falls | Lt. Victor, Bon Bon | |- | rowspan="3" | 2001 | From Hell | Frederick Abberline | Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor |- | | Cesar | (Limited release) |- | Blow | George Jung | |- | rowspan="2" | 2003 | Once Upon a Time in Mexico | Sheldon Sands | Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture |- | | Captain Jack Sparrow | Empire Award for Best ActorIrish Film Award for Best International ActorScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading RoleNominated—Academy Award for Best ActorNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleNominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated—Saturn Award for Best ActorNominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor |- | rowspan="3"| 2004 | Happily Ever After | L'inconnu | Cameo |- | Finding Neverland | J. M. Barrie | Nominated—Academy Award for Best ActorNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleNominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated—Empire Award for Best ActorNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaNominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorNominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture DramaNominated—Saturn Award for Best ActorNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading RoleNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |- | Secret Window | Mort Rainey | |- | rowspan="3"| 2005 | | John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester | Nominated—British Independent Film Award for Best Actor |- | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | Willy Wonka | Empire Award for Best ActorNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated—Irish Film Award for Best International ActorNominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor |- | Corpse Bride | Victor Van Dort | voice role |- | 2006 | | Captain Jack Sparrow | Empire Award for Best ActorNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated—National Movie Award for Performance – Male |- | rowspan="2"| 2007 | | Captain Jack Sparrow | |- | | Sweeney Todd/Benjamin Barker | Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNational Movie Award for Performance – MaleNominated—Academy Award for Best ActorNominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorNominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor |- | rowspan="2"| 2009 | Public Enemies | John Dillinger | Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama |- | | Tony (1st transformation) | |- | rowspan="2"| 2010 | Alice in Wonderland | Mad Hatter | Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated—MTV Movie Award for Global SuperstarNominated—National Movie Award for Best PerformanceNominated—Teen Choice Award for Best Fantasy Actor |- | | Frank Tupelo/Alexander Pearce | Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- | rowspan="4"| 2011 | Rango | Rango | voice rolepost-production |- | | Paul Kemp | post-production |- | | Captain Jack Sparrow | post production |- | Dark Shadows | Barnabas Collins | filming |}

{| class="wikitable" |+ Producer |- ! Year ! Title ! Notes |- | 2010 | The Rum Diary | post-production |- | 2011 | Hugo Cabret | filming |- | 2004 | King of the Hill | Yogi Victor (voice) | Episode: "Hank's Back" |- | 2009 | SpongeBob SquarePants | Jack Kahuna Laguna (voice) || Episode: "SpongeBob vs. The Big One"

}}

Bilbliography

External links

Category:American expatriates in France Category:American film actors Category:American film directors Category:American film producers Category:American people of Cherokee descent Category:American actors of German descent Category:American television actors Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Actors from Kentucky Category:Actors from Florida Category:American people of Irish descent

Category:People from Owensboro, Kentucky Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:American actors of French descent Category:People of Huguenot descent

Coordinates	29°57′53″N90°4′14″N
Name	Jim Jones
Birth name	James W. Jones
Birth date	May 13, 1931
Birth place	Crete, Indiana, U.S.
Death date	November 18, 1978
Death place	Jonestown, Guyana
Occupation	Leader, Peoples Temple

James Warren "Jim" Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 18, 1978 suicide of more than 900 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana along with the killings of five other people at a nearby airstrip.

Jones was born in Indiana and started the Temple in that state in the 1950s. Jones and the Temple later moved to California, and both gained notoriety with the move of the Temple's headquarters to San Francisco in the mid-1970s.

The greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the events of September 11, 2001, the tragedy at Guyana also ranks among the largest mass murders/mass suicides in history. One of those who died at the nearby airstrip was Leo Ryan, who remains the only Congressman murdered in the line of duty in the history of the United States. to James Thurman Jones (May 31, 1887 – May 29, 1951), a World War I veteran, and Lynetta Putnam (April 16, 1902 – December 11, 1977). He was of Irish and Welsh descent. Economic difficulties during the Great Depression necessitated that Jones' family move to nearby Lynn, Indiana in 1934. Jim Jones and a childhood friend both claimed that Jones' father was associated with the Ku Klux Klan.

Jones was a voracious reader as a child and studied Joseph Stalin, Karl Marx, Mahatma Gandhi and Adolf Hitler carefully, noting each of their strengths and weaknesses. He graduated from Richmond High School early and with honors in December 1948.

Jones married nurse Marceline Baldwin in 1949, and moved to Bloomington, Indiana. Jones' sympathetic statements about communism offended Marceline's grandmother.

Building the Temple

Indiana beginnings

In 1951, Jones became a member of the Communist Party USA, and began attending meetings and rallies in Indianapolis. He became flustered with harassment he received during the McCarthy Hearings, He also became frustrated with what he perceived to be ostracism of open communists in the United States, especially during the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

Jones moved away from the American Communist Party and Maoists when ACP members and Mao Zedong became critical of some of the policies of former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

Integrationist

In 1960, Indianapolis Democratic Mayor Charles Boswell appointed Jones director of the Human Rights Commission. Jones ignored Boswell's advice to keep a low profile, finding new outlets for his views on local radio and television programs.

During this time, Jones also helped to integrate churches, restaurants, the telephone company, the police department, a theater, an amusement park, and the Methodist Hospital. He also set up stings to catch restaurants refusing to serve African American customers When Jones was accidentally placed in the black ward of a hospital after a collapse in 1961, he refused to be moved and began to make the beds, and empty the bed pans of black patients. Political pressures resulting from Jones' actions caused hospital officials to desegregate the wards. and stated: "Integration is a more personal thing with me now. It's a question of my son's future." Jones had long been critical of the United States' opposition to communist leader Kim Il-Sung's 1950 invasion of South Korea, calling it the "war of liberation" and stating that "the south is a living example of all that socialism in the north has overcome." In 1954, he and his wife also adopted Agnes Jones, who was partly of Native American descent. Suzanne Jones was adopted at the age of six in 1959.

Two years later, in 1961, the Joneses became the first white couple in Indiana to adopt a black child, James Warren Jones, Jr. Marceline was once spat upon while she carried Jim Jr.

On his way to Brazil, Jones made his first trip into Guyana. After arriving in Belo Horizonte, the Joneses rented a modest three bedroom home. Jones studied the local economy and receptiveness of racial minorities to his message, though language remained a barrier. Jones was careful not to portray himself as a communist in a foreign territory, and spoke of an apostolic communal lifestyle rather than of Castro or Marx.

After becoming frustrated with the lack of resources in the locale, in mid-1963, the Joneses moved to Rio de Janeiro. There, they worked with the poor in Rio's slums.

Jones was plagued by guilt for leaving behind the Indiana civil rights struggle and possibly losing what he had struggled to build there.

California Eden

After Jones' return to Indiana from Brazil, in 1965, Jones claimed that the world would be engulfed in a nuclear war on July 15, 1967, that would then create a new socialist Eden on earth, and that the Temple must move to Northern California for safety. Jones often mixed those concepts, such as preaching that "If you're born in capitalist America, racist America, fascist America, then you're born in sin. But if you're born in socialism, you're not born in sin."

By the early 1970s, Jones began deriding traditional Christianity as "fly away religion," rejecting the Bible as being white men’s' justification to subordinate women and subjugate people of color and stating that it spoke of a "Sky God" who was no God at all. Jones also began preaching that he was the reincarnation of Jesus of Nazareth, Mahatma Gandhi, Buddha, Vladimir Lenin, and Father Divine. In the documentary Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, former Temple member Hue Fortson, Jr. quoted Jones as saying, "What you need to believe in is what you can see ... If you see me as your friend, I'll be your friend. As you see me as your father, I'll be your father, for those of you that don't have a father ... If you see me as your savior, I'll be your savior. If you see me as your God, I'll be your God." Despite the Temple's fear that the IRS was investigating its religious tax exemption, by 1977 Marceline Jones admitted to the New York Times that, as early as age 18 when he watched his then idol Mao Zedong overthrow the Chinese government, Jim Jones realized that the way to achieve social change through Marxism in the United States was to mobilize people through religion. She stated that "Jim used religion to try to get some people out of the opiate of religion," and had slammed the Bible on the table yelling "I've got to destroy this paper idol!"

Unlike most other figures deemed as cult leaders, Jones was able to gain public support and contact with prominent local and national United States politicians. For example, Jones and Moscone met privately with vice presidential candidate Walter Mondale on his campaign plane days before the 1976 election and Mondale publicly praised the Temple. First Lady Rosalynn Carter also personally met with Jones on multiple occasions, corresponded with him about Cuba, and spoke with him at the grand opening of the San Francisco Democratic Party Headquarters where Jones garnered louder applause than Mrs. Carter.

In September 1976, Willie Brown served as master of ceremonies at a large testimonial dinner for Jones attended by Governor Jerry Brown and Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally and other political figures. At that dinner, while introducing Jones, Willie Brown stated "Let me present to you what you should see every day when you look in the mirror in the early morning hours ... Let me present to you a combination of Martin King, Angela Davis, Albert Einstein ... Chairman Mao." Harvey Milk, who spoke at political rallies at the Temple, and wrote to Jones after a visit to the Temple: "Rev Jim, It may take me many a day to come back down from the high that I reach today. I found something dear today. I found a sense of being that makes up for all the hours and energy placed in a fight. I found what you wanted me to find. I shall be back. For I can never leave."

In his San Francisco Temple apartment, Jones regularly hosted San Francisco radical political figures such as Angela Davis for discussions. He spoke with friend and San Francisco Sun-Reporter publisher Dr. Carlton Goodlett about Jones' remorse regarding not being able to travel to socialist countries such as China and the Soviet Union, speculating that he could be Chief Dairyman of the Soviet Union. After his criticisms caused increased tensions with the Nation of Islam, Jones spoke at a huge rally healing the rift between the two groups in the Los Angeles Convention center attended by many of Jones' closest political acquaintances.

While Jones forged media alliances with key columnists and others at the San Francisco Chronicle and other media outlets, the move to San Francisco also brought increasing media scrutiny. After Chronicle reporter Marshall Kilduff encountered resistance to publishing an expose, he brought his story to New West Magazine. In the summer of 1977, Jones and several hundred Temple members moved to the Temple's "Agricultural Project" in Guyana after they learned of the contents of Kilduff's article to be published in which former Temple members claimed they were physically, emotionally, and sexually abused. Jones named the settlement Jonestown after himself.

Jonestown's formation and operation

Jones had first started building Jonestown in 1974 as a means to create both a "socialist paradise" and a "sanctuary" from the media scrutiny which had started in 1972. Regarding the former goal, Jones purported to establish Jonestown as a benevolent model communist community stating, "I believe we’re the purest communists there are." In that regard, like the restrictive emigration policies of the then Soviet Union, Cuba, North Korea and other communist republics, Jones did not permit members to leave Jonestown.

Religious scholar Mary McCormick Maaga argues that Jones' authority decreased after he moved to the isolated commune, because he was not needed for recruitment and he could not hide his drug addiction from rank and file members. In spite of the allegations prior to Jones' departure to Jonestown, the leader was still respected by some for setting up a racially mixed church which helped the disadvantaged; 68 percent of Jonestown's residents were black.

New children

Jim Jones claimed that he was the biological father of John Victor Stoen, although the birth certificate lists Grace and Timothy Stoen as the parents of the boy. The Temple repeatedly claimed that Jones fathered the child when, in 1971, Temple member Tim Stoen had requested that Jones have sex with Grace Stoen to keep her from defecting. After Grace Stoen later defected in 1976 and began divorce proceedings against Tim Stoen in 1977, in order to avoid potentially giving up the boy in a custody dispute with Grace, Jones ordered Tim to take John to Guyana in February 1977.

After purported father Tim Stoen defected from the Temple in June 1977, the Temple kept John Stoen in Jonestown. The custody dispute over John Stoen would become a linchpin of several battles between the Temple and the Concerned Relatives.

Jim Jones also fathered a son, Jim Jon (Kimo), with Carolyn Louise Moore Layton, a Temple member.

Pressure and waning political support

While most of Jones' political allies broke ties after Jones' departure, some did not. As a show of support, Willie Brown spoke out against enemies at a rally at the Peoples Temple, also attended by Harvey Milk and Art Agnos. Most importantly for Jones and the Temple, Moscone's office shortly thereafter issued a press release saying that Jones had broken no laws. In the Fall of 1977, Tim Stoen and other relatives in Jonestown formed a "Concerned Relatives" group. Stoen traveled to Washington D.C. in January 1978 to visit with Congressmen, including Leo Ryan and State Department officials, and wrote a "white paper" to Congress detailing the dispute and pressing for Congressional correspondence. Stoen's efforts aroused the curiosity of Ryan, who wrote a letter on Stoen's behalf to Guyanese Prime Minister Forbes Burnham.

Amidst growing pressure in the United States to investigate the Temple, on February 19, 1978, Harvey Milk wrote a letter of support for the Peoples Temple to President Jimmy Carter. Therein, Milk wrote that Jones was known "as a man of the highest character." In June 1978, escaped Temple member Deborah Layton provided the group with a further affidavit detailing alleged crimes by the Peoples Temple and substandard living conditions in Jonestown. Jones told Lane he wanted to "pull an Eldridge Cleaver", referring to a fugitive Black Panther who was able to return to the United States after repairing his reputation. Ryan's delegation included relatives of Temple members, Don Harris, an NBC network news reporter, an NBC cameraman and reporters for various newspapers. The group arrived in Georgetown on November 15. The delegation left hurriedly the afternoon of November 18 after Temple member Don Sly attacked Ryan with a knife. The attack was thwarted, bringing the visit to an abrupt end. At that time, Jones made no attempt to prevent their departure.

Port Kaituma Airstrip shootings

As members of Ryan's delegation boarded two planes at the airstrip, Jones' "Red Brigade" armed guards arrived in a tractor-pulled trailer and began shooting at the delegation. The guards killed Congressman Ryan and four others near a twin engine Otter aircraft. At the same time, one of the supposed defectors, Larry Layton, drew a weapon and began firing on members of the party that had already boarded a small Cessna. An NBC cameraman was able to capture footage of the first few seconds of the shooting at the Otter.

Deaths in Jonestown

Later that same day, 909 inhabitants of Jonestown, 303 of them children, died of apparent cyanide poisoning, mostly in and around a pavilion. This resulted in the greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the September 11, 2001 attacks. No video was taken during the mass suicide, though the FBI did recover a 45 minute audio recording of the suicide in progress.

On that tape, Jones tells Temple members that the Soviet Union, with whom the Temple had been negotiating a potential exodus for months, would not take them after the Temple had murdered Ryan and four others at a nearby airstrip. Mass suicide had been previously discussed in simulated events called "White Nights" on a regular basis. During at least one such prior White Night, members drank liquid that Jones falsely told them was poison. However, Jones' son Stephan believes his father may have directed someone else to shoot him. An autopsy of Jones' body also showed levels of the barbiturate Pentobarbital which may have been lethal to humans who had not developed physiological tolerance. Jones' drug usage (including LSD and marijuana) was confirmed by his son, Stephan, and Jones' doctor in San Francisco.

Other issues

On December 13, 1973, Jones was arrested and charged with soliciting a man for sex in a movie theater bathroom known for homosexual activity, in MacArthur Park in Los Angeles. The man was an undercover Los Angeles Police Department vice officer. Jones is on record as later telling his followers that he was "the only true heterosexual", but at least one account exists of his sexual abuse of a male member of his congregation in front of the followers, ostensibly to prove the man's own homosexual tendencies. Jones, however, claimed that he detested engaging in homosexual activity and did so only for the male temple adherents' own good, purportedly to connect them symbolically with him (Jones). Jones had borrowed the term "revolutionary suicide" On the final morning of Ryan's visit, Marceline had taken reporters on a tour of Jonestown.

Found near Marceline Jones' body was a signed and witnessed will leaving all bank accounts "in my name" to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and writing that Suzanne Jones Cartmell should receive no assets.

Stephan, Jim Jr. and Tim Jones

Stephan, Jim Jr., and Tim Jones did not take part in the mass suicide because they were playing with the Peoples Temple basketball team against the Guyanese national team in Georgetown. At the time of events in Jonestown, Stephan and Tim were both nineteen and Jim Jones Jr. was eighteen. Tim's biological family, the Tuppers, which consisted of his three biological sisters, biological brother, and biological mother, all died at Jonestown. Three days before the tragedy, Stephan Jones refused, over the radio, to comply with an order by his father to return the team to Jonestown for Ryan's visit.

During the events at Jonestown, Stephan, Tim, and Jim Jones Jr. drove to the American Embassy in Guyana in an attempt to receive help. The Guyanese soldiers guarding the embassy refused to let them in after hearing about the shootings at the Port Kaituma airstrip. Later, the three returned to the Temple's headquarters in Georgetown to find the bodies of Sharon Amos and her three children. Stephan Jones is now a businessman, and married with three daughters. He appeared in the documentary Jonestown: Paradise Lost which aired on the History Channel and Discovery Channel. He stated he will not watch the documentary and has never grieved for his father. Jim Jones Jr., who lost his wife and unborn child at Jonestown, returned to San Francisco. He remarried and has three sons from this marriage,

Lew, Agnes and Suzanne Jones

Lew and Agnes Jones both died at Jonestown. Agnes Jones was thirty-five years old at the time of her death. Her husband and four children all died at Jonestown. Lew Jones, who was twenty-one years old at the time of his death, died alongside his wife Terry and son Chaeoke. Stephanie Jones had died at age five in a car accident. In a signed note found at the time of her death, Marceline Jones directed that the Jones' funds were to be given to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and specified: "I especially request that none of these are allowed to get into the hands of my adopted daughter, Suzanne Jones Cartmell." Cartmell had two children and died of colon cancer in November 2006.

John Stoen and Kimo

Specific references to Tim Stoen, the father of John Stoen, including the logistics of possibly murdering him, are made on the Temple's final "death tape," as well as a discussion over whether the Temple should include John Stoen among those committing "revolutionary suicide." At Jonestown, John Stoen was found poisoned in Jim Jones' cabin.

Both Jim Jon (Kimo) and his mother, Carolyn Layton, died during the events at Jonestown.

See also

Cult suicide

Doomsday cult

List of people who have claimed to be Jesus

List of Buddha claimants

Notes

References

Bibliography

Chidester, David, Salvation and Suicide: Jim Jones, the People's Temple and Jonestown (Religion in North America), 2nd rev.ed., Indiana University Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0253216328

Klineman, George and Sherman Butler. The Cult That Died. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1980. ISBN 0-399-12540-X.

Layton, Deborah. Seductive Poison. Anchor Books, 1999. ISBN 0-385-48984-6.

Maaga, Mary McCormick. Hearing the voices of Jonestown. Syracuse University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8156-0515-3.

Naipaul, Shiva. Black & White. Hamish Hamilton, London, 1980. ISBN 0-241-10337-1.

External links

The Jonestown Institute

FBI No. Q 042 The "Jonestown Death Tape", Recorded 18 November 1978 (Internet Archive)

Transcript of Jones' final speech, just before the mass suicide

The first part of a series of articles about Jim Jones published in the San Francisco Examiner in 1972.

History Channel Video and Stills

Isaacson, Barry. From Silver Lake to Suicide: One Family's Secret History of the Jonestown Massacre

Mass Suicide at Jonestown: 30 Years Later, Time magazine

Jonestown 30 Years Later photo gallery published Friday, October 17, 2008.

, "Jonestown: The Life And Death Of Peoples Temple", shown on PBS

Jonestown: 25 Years Later How spiritual journey ended in destruction Jim Jones led his flock to death in jungle by Michael Taylor, San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Published Thursday, November 12, 1998.

Utopian nightmare Jonestown: What did we learn? Larry D. Hatfield, of The Examiner staff, Gregory Lewis and Eric Brazil of The Examiner staff and Examiner Librarian Judy Canter contributed to this report. Published Sunday, November 8, 1998.

Jones Captivated S.F.'s Liberal Elite They were late to discover how cunningly he curried favor by Michael Taylor, San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. And [Haunted by Memories of Hell ] by Kevin Fagan, San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Published Thursday, November 12, 1998. Both stories were included in the first of a two-part series.

The End To Innocent Acceptance Of Sects Sharper scrutiny is Jonestown legacy by Don Lattin, San Francisco Chronicle religion writer. And Most Peoples Temple Documents Still Sealed by Michael Taylor and Don Lattin, San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. And Surviving the Heart of Darkness Twenty years later, Jackie Speier remembers how her companions and rum helped her endure the night of the Jonestown massacre by Maitland Zane, San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Published Friday, November 13, 1998. All stories were included in the second part of a two-part series.

Inside Peoples Temple Marshall Kilduff and Phil Tracy, Used by permission of authors for the San Francisco Chronicle. Published Monday, August 1, 1977.

20 Years Later, Jonestown Survivor Confronts Horrors by Michael Taylor, San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Published Monday, November 2, 1998.

20 years after Jonestown, survivors find some peace by Anastasia Hendrix, of The Examiner staff. Published Thursday, November 19, 1998.

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