KTXL, channel 40, is a Fox Broadcasting Company-affiliated television station in Sacramento, California, owned by the Tribune Company. Its studios and offices are located in South Sacramento, and its transmitter is near Walnut Grove, California.

History[link]

The channel 40 frequency in Sacramento was first occupied in September 1953 by KCCC-TV, affiliated with all four television networks: ABC, CBS, NBC and the DuMont Television Network. KCCC's first broadcast was the 1953 World Series. The station became a primary ABC affiliate by 1955, after KCRA-TV and KBET-TV (now KXTV) signed on, respectively taking over NBC and CBS full time; and dropped DuMont after that network folded in 1956. [1] It was the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto area's first television station. However, as a UHF station, it suffered in the ratings because TV sets were not required to have UHF tuning until 1964. Although its fate was sealed when the first VHF stations signed on in the area, it managed to hang on until 1957. The ABC affiliation moved to KOVR after KCCC signed off when an agreement was made between KCCC-TV and KOVR to merge operations and end KCCC programming. The now-silent channel 40 was then sold to a group of broadcasters who would return the station to the air in 1959 as KVUE, broadcasting from studios near the old California state fairgrounds off Stockton Boulevard. The station operated for about six months before falling silent again. This time, the station's license was returned to the Federal Communications Commission.

In the mid-1960s the FCC began to accept bids for a new station on channel 40. Camellia City Telecasters, a group headed by Jack Matranga, former owner and co-founder of KGMS radio in Sacramento, was granted the license. On October 26, 1968, KTXL signed on for the first time, operating as an independent station for nearly the first two decades of its existence. It was then known as TV 40. The station gained a huge advantage early on when its original owner won the local syndicated rights to a massive number of movies, including classic and contemporary films. At one point, it had one of the largest film libraries in the Sacramento area. In addition, KTXL ventured into in-house productions, such as the children's program "Captain Mitch", Horror Movie TV Host Bob Wilkins and "Big Time Wrestling"^[1]. The latter show aired until 1979, and was syndicated to several stations in California, Utah, Alaska and Hawaii. Channel 40 was one of the few stations to hold syndicated rights to the entire Merrie Melodies/Looney Tunes cartoon libraries (up until recently, different companies held different components of the cartoon output).

In 1974, KTXL became the first area station to air a 10pm newscast (originally only five days a week, and later seven days a week—the station's news history is noted below under Newscasts), and in 1977 began a summer tradition by showcasing some of the greatest films ever made in annual "Summer Film Festivals".

In 1981, channel 40 made television history by showing the 1978 movie The Deer Hunter (and later many other movies) uncut and unedited, complete with objectionable material—this kind of policy has been tightened somewhat in succeeding years.

All of this made KTXL one of the leading independent stations in the West. It also attained regional-superstation status via land-microwave relay to nearly every cable system north of the Bay Area, as well as several cable systems in Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Montana.^{[citation needed]}

KTXL has long been known for ending a program or movie before the closing credits, and viewers should know this is not the way these shows/films were intended to be seen.

KTXL started broadcasting from its new 2000-foot "Monster Tower" in October 1985, significantly increasing its signal strength and adding stereo capability. Initially, the station would only turn on the stereo signal during stereo programming. This sometimes resulted in the staff forgetting to turn it on right at the beginning of a stereo program.

In 1986, KTXL became a charter affiliate of the newly-formed Fox Broadcasting Company, and eventually took on the branding as FOX40 from then on. In the following year, Camellia City Telecasters sold KTXL to Renaissance Broadcasting. Currently, the morning and nightly newscasts follow a "Smart News and Analysis" format, while following the lead of many ten o'clock newscasts by reserving its sportscasts for the final segment (in an attempt to lure many viewers to all-night cable sports channels such as ESPN, Comcast Sports Net, and Fox Sports Net for further sports coverage). Most Fox affiliates, since the mid-1990s, have moved their daytime programming lineup away from classic sitcoms and cartoons toward a talk show format. However, for more years until recently, KTXL was among a few stations to be an exception to this: the daytime lineup was still filled with sitcoms to this day, even still holding syndication rights to The Andy Griffith Show after many decades, though many shows from the 1980s and 1990s air, but a few talk shows and reality/court shows were known to fill the lineup. In place of the station's own children's lineup after Captain Mitch's retirement, the station aired Fox Kids until the network eliminated the lineup in 2002.

KTXL, along with NBC-affiliate KCRA-TV, are the only two stations in Sacramento to retain affiliation with the same network from the beginning, unaffected by network swaps in 1995 and 1998.

KTXL became a Tribune-owned station when the company purchased Renaissance Broadcasting in 1997. When the station's new owners took over, they bulk-erased a lot of old locally-produced programming, and threw all the 16 mm film in the dumpster. Most of the film was rescued by collectors though, and some of these promo films (as well as other videotaped openings and promos from throughout KTXL's history) can be seen on YouTube.

Digital television[link]

KTXL installed the first high-power digital TV transmitter in Sacramento operating on Channel 55 in November 1999. On June 12, 2009, turned off its analog signal upon the switch to digital television and moved its digital signal to channel 40, and the tower height was increased to 2,030 feet.

The station became a charter affiliate of parent company Tribune Broadcasting's new digital multicast channel Antenna TV upon its launch on January 1, 2011, it is carried on digital subchannel 40.2.^[2] The network, whose programming consists of classic sitcoms from the 1950s to the 1990s during the afternoon and evening, and movies during the morning and late night hours, debuted on Tribune-owned stations in other markets as well as stations owned by Local TV, LLC on the same date.

News operation[link]

In 1974, KTXL initiated the Sacramento area's first Ten O'Clock News, with Dave Preston as news anchor, Jan Jeffries as weather and news anchor, and Ken Gimblin as sports anchor. When Preston left for unknown reasons, Jeffries was left to do the news with substitute weather anchors. Other news and sports anchors continued the format until 1979, when the news was revived by Pete Wilson as NewsPlus, in a format that went beyond regular newscasts (hence the "Plus" in the show's title). Such anchor teams as Andy Asher and Regina Cambell, and later Lauraine Woodward and Ted Mullins helmed the now-hour-long newscast until KTXL began its Fox affiliation, and evolved into the current format of what is now known as FOX40 News at 10.

In the summer of 2005, KTXL debuted the FOX40 Morning News, which originally ran from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. opposite KMAX's Good Day Sacramento, and the first hour of KQCA's morning newscast. On September 8, 2008, the newscast was reformatted to FOX40 Live and was expanded to 4.5 hours from 4:30 to 9 a.m. The station hired well-known former Sacramento morning radio personality Paul Robins as presenter; and introduced a new news set adorned with flat-screens and an accompanying kitchen set. KTXL joins KCRA and KMAX with 4:30am newscasts.

KTXL now competes at 10:00 p.m. with KOVR and the KCRA-produced half-hour news program on KQCA. Channel 40 tops the ratings in "demos", and often comes in first or second in overall viewership at 10 p.m. On September 8, 2008, longtime KCAL-TV/KCBS-TV Los Angeles anchor-reporter Jaime Garza joined Donna Cordova as co-anchor of the weeknight "FOX40 News at Ten."

On September 14, 2009, KTXL debuted an 11 a.m. midday newscast (which competes against KXTV) and a 5:30 p.m. weeknight newscast to its newscast schedule. For over a decade, Fox, which has no network newscasts aside from its cable news division, has motivated its affiliates and stations to air more local news; the Tribune-owned Fox affiliates (including KTXL) did not yet follow this practice until recently.

On December 18, 2009, KTXL announced the station would begin broadcasting every newscast in high definition within a month. On January 7, KTXL launched its high definition broadcast during its 10 p.m. newscast. Though KTXL was technically the last English-language station in the Sacramento market to launch a high definition newscast, it was the first station to broadcast all local news video in 720p HD.

For its high definition transition, KTXL upgraded its live broadcasting trucks, its satellite truck, studio and field cameras and other equipment to send and receive full high definition video and audio. This is in contrast to two other English stations in town – KCRA and KXTV – who broadcast widescreen, standard definition video during field reports (KOVR also shoots field video in high definition but downconverts much of the field footage to widescreen standard definition). Thus, KTXL is the only station in the market to broadcast all of its local video in true high definition.

Nodar Kumaritashvili crash video controversy[link]

On February 12, 2010, KTXL obtained a video copy of the infamous Nodar Kumaritashvili 2010 Winter Olympic luge accident before several other media outlets and posted the video to its website^[3]. KTXL made the editorial decision to post the video to its website, FOX40.com ahead of several major national and international outlets. The video clip has raised some controversy among editorial board at news organizations and journalism critics as to whether the footage should be broadcast or posted online at all (for a brief period of time, the footage was available on YouTube.com, but was removed several times throughout the day after the International Olympic Committee filed copyright take-down notices). A station staff member told a Seattle newspaper the decision to post the video clip, and leave it on the website, was made after questions arose as to the safety of the luge track, citing fair use of the video^[4]. The station also aired the complete video, though with occasional pauses, over commentary by the station's sports anchor, during its 5:30 p.m. newscast that evening.

The video was later syndicated out under the "FOX40.com" branding to several other Tribune-owned websites.^[5]

News/station presentation[link]

Newscast titles[link]

• The Ten O'Clock News (1974–1979 and 1986–1995)
• Ten O'Clock News Plus (1979–1986)
• FOX40 News (1995–present)

Station slogans[link]

• The Exciting World of TV-40 is Bringing It Home to You (1979–1981)
• Take Off with Forty! (1984–1985)
• TV-40, Go For The Stars (1985–1986)
• Northern California's First Primetime News (1995–2008)
• We Report to You (2008–2010)
• What Matters to You (2010–present)
• Northern California's Breaking News Source (online slogan; 2009–present)

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

On-air staff[link]

(Year person joined KTXL in parentheses)

Current on-air staff[link]

Anchors

(In alphabetical order)

• Teri Cox - weekends at 10 p.m.; also weekday reporter (1989)
• Stefanie Cruz - weeknights at 5:30 and 10 p.m. (2010)
• Bethany Crouch - weekday mornings (4:30-10 a.m.); also reporter (2007)
• Eric Harryman - weeknights at 5:30 and 10 p.m. (2011)
• Paul Robins - weekday mornings (4:30-10 a.m.) (2008)

FOX40 Weather Team

(In order of rank)

• Kristina Werner - Chief Meteorologist; weeknights at 5:30 and 10 p.m. (1999)
• Dennis Shanahan - Meteorologist; weekends at 10 p.m.; also reporter (2008)

Sports Team

(In order of rank)

• Jim Crandell - Sports Director; weeknights at 10 p.m. (1984)
• Mark Demsky - Sports Anchor; weekends at 10 p.m. (2004)

Reporters

(In alphabetical order)

• Chris Biele - general assignment reporter (2010)
• Andria Borba - general assignment reporter (2009)
• Ben Deci - general assignment reporter (2009)
• Elissa Harrington - general assignment reporter (2010)
• Annalee Penny - interactive reporter/producer (2008)
• Rowena Shaddox - Solano County Bureau Chief (2002, on-air 2006)
• Lonnie Wong - general assignment reporter (1980)

Producers Lance Klug Bhavisha Patel Akemi Harrison Mike Tomaselli David Sasaki Jessica Hudgins Kate Eby Natasha Lee Laura Mathison Sarah Casey Charles Bernard Laura Evans

Former on-air staff[link]

• Michelle Franzen - reporter/fill-in anchor (1995–1998; now with NBC NewsChannel in New York)
• Mike Bond - reporter (1989–2005, whereabouts unknown)
• Adam Housley - reporter (1999–2001; now a Los Angeles bureau reporter at Fox News)
• Gary Radnich - sports anchor (now at KRON-TV and KNBR radio in San Francisco)
• Rick Reynolds - reporter (1984–1988; later news director at KOVR from 1991–2001)
• Pete Wilson - NewsPlus creator/co-anchor (1979–1983; later at KGO-TV and KRON-TV in San Francisco; died of heart attack in July 2007)
• Monica Woods - chief meteorologist (1995–1999; now at KXTV)

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

• Ama Daetz - general assignment reporter (2009-2011; now at KGO-TV in San Francisco)
• Mike Stevens - Anchor. Original Co-Anchor with Donna Cordova (1993 - 1996). Went to WGCL in Atlanta, Evening and Mid Day Anchor at Verizon's Fios 1, Regional News Channel in NYC area since 2009.

External links[link]

• Official website
• Official Twitter.com page
• Query the FCC's TV station database for KTXL
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on KTXL-TV

References[link]

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Pete Wilson
Pete Wilson in 1993
36th Governor of California
In office January 7, 1991 – January 4, 1999
Lieutenant	Leo T. McCarthy (1991–1995) Gray Davis (1995–1999)
Preceded by	George Deukmejian
Succeeded by	Gray Davis
United States Senator from California
In office January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1991
Preceded by	Samuel I. Hayakawa
Succeeded by	John F. Seymour
29th Mayor of San Diego
In office January 7, 1971 – January 3, 1983
Preceded by	Francis Earl Curran
Succeeded by	William E. Cleator, Sr. (acting)
Member of the California State Assembly from the 76th district
In office January 3, 1967 – January 7, 1971
Preceded by	Clair Burgener
Succeeded by	Bob Wilson
Personal details
Born	Peter Barton Wilson (1933-08-23) August 23, 1933 (age 78) Lake Forest, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Gayle Edlund Wilson
Alma mater	Yale University University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Profession	Politician
Religion	Presbyterianism
Military service
Service/branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1955–1958
Unit	Infantry commander
Battles/wars	Korean War

Peter Barton “Pete” Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American politician from California. Wilson, a Republican, served as the 36th governor of California (1991–1999), the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that included eight years as a United States Senator (1983–1991), eleven years as Mayor of San Diego (1971–1982) and four years as a California State Assemblyman (1967–1971).

Early life[link]

Peter Barton Wilson was born on August 23, 1933, in Lake Forest, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago. His parents were James Boone Wilson and Margaret Callaghan Wilson.^[1] His father was originally a jewelry salesman who later became a successful advertising executive. The Wilson family moved to St. Louis, Missouri when Pete was in junior high school. There, he attended the St. Louis Country Day School, an exclusive private high school, where he won an award in his senior year for combined scholarship, athletics, and citizenship. In the fall of 1952, Pete Wilson enrolled at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where he received a U.S. Navy (Marine Corps) ROTC scholarship, majored in English, and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree.

After graduating from Yale, Wilson served for three years in the Marine Corps as an infantry officer, eventually becoming a platoon leader. Upon completion of his Marine Corps service, Wilson earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.

In 1962, while working for the Republican gubernatorial candidate Richard M. Nixon, Wilson got to know Herb Klein, one of Nixon's top aides. Klein suggested that Wilson might do well in Southern California politics, so in 1963, Wilson moved to San Diego.

After passing the bar exam on his fourth attempt, Wilson began his practice as a criminal defense attorney in San Diego, but he found such work to be low-paying and personally repugnant. He later commented to the Los Angeles Times, "I realized I couldn't be a criminal defense lawyer - because most of the people who do come to you are guilty." Wilson switched to a more conventional law practice and continued his activity in local politics, working for Barry Goldwater's unsuccessful Presidential campaign in 1964. Wilson's like for politics and managing the day-to-day details of the political process was growing. He put in long hours for the Goldwater campaign, earning the friendship of local Republican boosters so necessary for a political career, and in 1966, at the age of thirty-three, he ran for, and won a seat in the California State Assembly, succeeding Clair Burgener.

Wilson was re-elected to the Assembly in 1968 and 1970, and in 1971 was elected mayor of San Diego.

Mayor of San Diego[link]

As mayor of San Diego, Wilson guided the city as it transformed from a quiet U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps town to an international trade hub. He is credited with amending the city charter to make public safety the first and foremost responsibility of city government, and leading an effort to manage San Diego's dynamic growth and to revitalize the city's downtown area.^{[citation needed]} He substantially cut the property tax rate and imposed a limit on the growth of the city budget.^{[citation needed]} Wilson was largely responsible for the gentrification of the Gaslamp Quarter that transformed it from a drug-infested area to a business friendly and successful downtown.^{[citation needed]} Wilson coined the San Diego slogan that is still widely used today: "San Diego: America's finest city"^{[citation needed]}

United States Senator[link]

Pete Wilson as U.S. Senator

In 1982, Wilson won the Republican primary in California to replace the retiring U.S. Senator S. I. Hayakawa. Wilson's Democratic opponent was the outgoing two-term Governor Jerry Brown. Wilson was known as a fiscal conservative who supported Proposition 13, although Wilson had opposed the measure while mayor of San Diego. However, Brown ran on his gubernatorial record of building the largest state budget surpluses in California history. Both Wilson and Brown were moderate-to-liberal on social issues, including support for abortion rights. The election was expected to be close, with Brown holding a slim lead in most of the polls leading up to Election Day. Wilson hammered away at Brown's appointment of California Chief Justice Rose Bird, using this to portray himself as tougher on crime than Brown was. Brown's late entry into the 1980 Democratic Presidential primary, after promising not to run, was also an issue. President Ronald Reagan made a number of visits to California late in the race to campaign for Wilson. Reagan quipped that the last thing he wanted to see was one of his home state's U.S. Senate seats falling into Democrats' hands, especially to be occupied by the man who succeeded him as Governor. Despite exit polls indicating a narrow Brown victory, Wilson edged him out to win the election. A major contributing factor may also have been a late influx of the Armenian vote in the California Governor's race between George Deukmejian and Tom Bradley.^{[citation needed]} Many of these votes came from Fresno and the Central Valley, which are heavily Republican areas. The Deukmejian voters likely also voted for Wilson for Senator.

President Reagan signing the Civil Liberties Act with Senator Wilson looking on

In 1985, Wilson cast a key vote in favor of President Reagan's budget. Just 32 hours after having surgery to remove his ruptured appendix, Wilson arrived by ambulance at the Capitol Building shortly after midnight and was wheeled onto the Senate floor wearing blue pajamas covered by a brown velour robe. Not only was Wilson able to cast his vote in a firm voice, but he even held a brief press conference during the late-night session in which he jokingly asked reporters, "What are you all doing up this late?"^{[citation needed]}

Convinced by Japanese-American farmers in Central Valley to support redress, Senator Wilson co-sponsored the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. The bill was signed into law by President Reagan.^{[citation needed]}

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he called for early implementation of President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, a national ballistic missile defense system.^{[citation needed]}

Wilson also co-sponsored the Federal Intergovernmental Regulatory Relief Act requiring the federal government to reimburse states for the cost of new federal mandates. A fiscal conservative, he was named the Senate's "Watchdog of the Treasury" for each of his eight years in the nation's capital.^[2]

In 1988, Wilson won the race for the United States Senate against his Democratic opponent, Leo T. McCarthy. After serving two years in the Senate, Wilson announced plans to run for Governor of California. In 1990, he resigned from the Senate after winning the California gubernatorial election.

Governor of California[link]

Pete Wilson was elected Governor of California to succeed outgoing two-term Republican governor George Deukmejian, who chose not to seek a third term in 1990, defeating former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein, who would go on to be elected to Wilson's former U.S. Senate seat two years later. Wilson was sworn in as Governor on January 7, 1991.

As Governor, Wilson's oversaw economic recovery in California, just as the rest of the country was recovering from an economic slump. Inheriting the state's worst economy since the Great Depression, Wilson insisted on strict budget discipline and sought to rehabilitate the state's environment for investment and new job creation. During his term, market-based, unsubsidized health coverage was made available for employees of small businesses. The Wilson administration also introduced anti-fraud measures credited for reducing workers' compensation premiums by as much as 40 percent.^{[citation needed]} Wilson was the driving force behind the 1996 legislation that deregulated the state's energy market, which was the first energy utilities deregulation in the U.S. and aggressively pushed by companies such as Enron^{[citation needed]}

Wilson also enacted education reforms aimed at creating state-wide curriculum standards, reducing class size and replacing social promotion with early remedial education. Wilson promoted standardized testing of all students, increased teacher training, and a longer school year. However, it was Wilson's uncompromising stance on reducing education spending^[3] that led to the budget impasse of 1992, leaving state workers without paychecks from July until September, when the California Supreme Court forced the Governor and the legislature to agree to terms that ended the sixty-three day stand-off.^[4][5][6]

Wilson was re-elected to a second gubernatorial term in 1994, gaining 55 per cent of the vote in his race against Democrat Kathleen Brown, daughter of former California Governor Pat Brown.

Wilson spoke at the funeral services for former First Lady Pat Nixon in 1993 and former President Richard M. Nixon in 1994 at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California. Two years later, Wilson became, to date, the most recent Governor to speak at a California gubernatorial funeral, that of former Governor Pat Brown.

For most of his time as Governor, Wilson reduced per-capita infrastructure spending for California, much as he had done as the Mayor of San Diego.^[7] Many construction projects - most notably highway expansion/improvement projects - were severely hindered or delayed, while other maintenance and construction projects were abandoned completely.^[8]

Term limit laws passed by voters as Proposition 140, and championed by Wilson in 1990, prohibited Wilson from running for re-election to a third term. At the end of his term of office, Wilson left California with a $16 billion budget surplus. He was succeeded by then-lieutenant governor Gray Davis as governor.

Proposition 187[link]

See main article: California Proposition 187 (1994)

As Governor, Wilson was closely associated with California Proposition 187, a 1994 ballot initiative to establish a state-run citizenship screening system and prohibit illegal aliens from using health care, public education, and other social services in the U.S. State of California. Voters passed the proposed law as a referendum in November 1994; it was the first time that a state had passed legislation related to immigration, customarily an issue for federal policies and programs.^[9] The law was challenged in a legal suit and found unconstitutional by a federal court and never went into effect. 

Passage of Proposition 187 reflected state residents' concerns about illegal immigration into the United States and the large Hispanic population in California. Opponents believed the law was discriminatory against immigrants of Hispanic origin; supporters generally insisted that their concerns were economic: that the state could not afford to provide social services for so many illegal residents.^[10][11]

The efforts  behind Proposition 187 had long term negative effects on the California Republican Party statewide. Noting a rapid increase in the Latino participation in California elections, some analysts cite Governor Wilson's and the Republican Party's embrace of Proposition 187 as a cause of the failure of the party to win statewide elections.^[12] Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is the only Republican to win a California gubernatorial, senatorial, or presidential election since 1994, in a unique recall election in 2003. 

Still, since 1995 the following states have had similar ballot initiatives or laws passed: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.^[13]

Policies on crime[link]

Wilson led efforts to enact "tough on crime" measures and signed into law the popular "Three Strikes" (25 years to life for repeat offenders)^[14] As a result of the Three Strikes Law, 4,431 offenders have been sentenced to 25 years to life for strings of crime.^[15] The law required the construction of new prisons, leading some^[who?] to question the role in his stance of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, a lobbying group of prison guards that gave $1.47 million to Wilson's gubernatorial campaigns.^[16]

Wilson also supported resuming the death penalty in California, after a 25-year moratorium, and he signed the death warrant for the execution of child-murderer Robert Alton Harris. Harris was executed in 1992. A total of five people were executed during his administration (the first two in the gas chamber, the latter three by lethal injection).

Energy deregulation and the roots of the California energy crisis[link]

Wilson supported deregulation of the energy industry in California during his administration due to heavy lobbying efforts by Enron.^[17] Nevertheless, during the California energy crisis caused by companies such as Enron, Wilson authored an article titled "What California Must Do" that blamed Gray Davis for not building enough power plants. Wilson defended his record of power plant construction and claimed that between 1985 and 1998, 23 plants were certified and 18 were built in California.^[18]

Presidential campaign (1996)[link]

Pete Wilson announcing his Presidential candidacy

Despite a campaign promise to the people of California not to do so, Wilson also unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for President in the 1996 election, making formal announcements on both coasts.^[19] Wilson announced first in New York City, at Battery Park, with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop. He completed a cross-country tour.

The Wilson campaign had problems from the start. After deciding to run, he almost immediately had throat surgery that kept him from announcing — or even talking — for months. His campaign lasted a month and a day and left him with a million dollars in campaign debt. This debt was paid off in full in a matter of weeks.

Banking, teaching, and corporate advisory career[link]

After leaving office, Wilson spent two years as a managing director of Pacific Capital Group, a merchant bank based in Los Angeles, California. He has served as a director of the Irvine Company, TelePacific, Inc., National Information Consortium Inc., an advisor to Crossflo Systems, and IDT Entertainment. He has been a member of the Board of Advisors of Thomas Weisel Partners, a San Francisco merchant bank. He also served as chairman of the Japan Task Force of the Pacific Council on International Policy, which produced an analysis of Japanese economic and national security prospects over the next decade entitled "Can Japan Come Back?"^[20]

Wilson is currently a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, a conservative think tank located on the campus of Stanford University, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the Richard M. Nixon Foundation, the Donald Bren Foundation, is the founding director of the California Mentor Foundation and is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National World War II Museum. Wilson sits on two prestigious Federal advisory committees, the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee. He currently works as a consultant at the Los Angeles office of Bingham McCutchen LLP, a large, national law firm.^[21]

In 2003, Wilson was co-chair of the campaign of Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace Gray Davis as governor of California.^[22] On September 27, 2007, Wilson endorsed Rudolph Giuliani for U.S. President,^[23] but Giuliani later dropped out of the primary. On February 4, 2008, Wilson endorsed John McCain as a candidate for U.S. President.

In 2007, a statue of Wilson joined Ernest Hahn and Alonzo Horton on the San Diego Walk of Fame.^[24] At the unveiling, Wilson quipped, "Isn't this a great country that anyone can make a perfect horse's ass of himself at any time?" He also said, "View this statue, as I will, as a surrogate recipient of the tribute that's deserved by all of you who shared the dream, who made it come true and gave all the proud neighborhoods of San Diego the vibrant heart they needed."^[25] Two hundred sponsors donated $200,000 to build the statue. Pro-open border Hispanic groups and GLBT groups protested the unveiling.^[26]

On May 23, 2009, Wilson gave the commencement speech and received an honorary degree from the San Diego State College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts.^[27]

In 2009, Wilson became the campaign chairman of the Meg Whitman for Governor Campaign.^[28]

On January 26, 2010, Wilson wrote an opinion piece in the Sacramento Bee accusing the federal government of failure to reimburse California adequately for mandates and other costs such as illegal immigration.^[29]

Honors and awards[link]

During and after Wilson's career, he was awarded numerous awards and honors:

• The Woodrow Wilson Awards for Distinguished Public Service
• The Patriots Award by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society
• An honorary degree from the San Diego State College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts
• The Distinguished Alumnus Award from Boalt Hall, UC Berkeley
• The Bernard E. Witkin Amicus Curiae Award given by the Judicial Council of California

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Pete Wilson's official website
• Pete Wilson at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Campaign literature and videos[link]

• Reaffirming Liberty: Wilson for President Campaign Brochure
• Pete Wilson, Candidate for Governor, 1994 Platform Papers, Speeches and Endorsements

Miscellaneous[link]

• Pete Wilson Biography and Inaugural addresses^{[dead link]}
• Hoover Institution Biography^{[dead link]}
• Cal Voter: Gov. Wilson's Record on Crime
• Undated speech by Pete Wilson on Affirmative Action titled "The Minority-Majority Society"

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Leslie Nielsen
Nielsen in October 2008
Born	Leslie William Nielsen (1926-02-11)11 February 1926 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Died	28 November 2010(2010-11-28) (aged 84) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Cause of death	Pneumonia
Resting place	Evergreen Cemetery, Fort Lauderdale
Nationality	Canadian American
Education	Victoria Composite High School
Alma mater	Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts, Toronto
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1948–2010
Notable work(s)	Forbidden Planet The Poseidon Adventure Airplane! The Naked Gun
Spouse	Monica Boyar (1950–1956) Alisande Ullman (1958–1973) Brooks Oliver (1981–1983) Barbaree Earl (2001–2010)
Relatives	Erik Nielsen (brother) Jean Hersholt (half-uncle)
Signature

Leslie William Nielsen, OC (11 February 1926 – 28 November 2010)^[1] was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian.^[2][3] Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters.^[4] Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Nielsen enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and worked as a disc jockey before receiving a scholarship to Neighborhood Playhouse. Making his television debut in 1948, he quickly expanded to over 50 television appearances two years later. Nielsen made his film debut in 1956, and began collecting roles in dramas, westerns, and romance films from the 1950s to the 1970s. Nielsen's performance in the films Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure received positive reviews as a serious actor, although he is primarily known for his comedic roles.

Although Nielsen's acting career crossed a variety of genres in both television and films, his deadpan delivery in Airplane! marked a turning point in his career, one that would make him, in the words of film critic Roger Ebert, "the Olivier of spoofs."^[5] Nielsen enjoyed further success with The Naked Gun film series, based on an earlier short-lived television series Police Squad! in which he starred. His portrayal of serious characters seemingly oblivious to (and complicit in) their absurd surroundings gave him a reputation as a comedian.^[6] In the final years of his career, Nielsen appeared in multiple spoof and parody films, many of which were met poorly by critics, but performed well in box office and home media releases. Nielsen married four times and had two daughters from his second marriage. He was recognized with a variety of awards throughout his career, and was inducted into the Canada and Hollywood Walks of Fame.

Early life[link]

Nielsen's uncle Jean Hersholt (pictured here in the 1936 film His Brother's Wife) inspired him to become an actor.

Nielsen was born on 11 February 1926 in Regina, Saskatchewan.^[7] His mother, Mabel Elizabeth (née Davies), was a Welsh immigrant from Fulham, London, and his father, Ingvard Eversen Nielsen, was a Danish-born Constable in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.^[8][9][10]

Nielsen had two brothers; his older brother, Erik Nielsen (1924–2008), was Deputy Prime Minister of Canada from 1984 to 1986.^[11] Ingvard was a troubled man who beat his wife and sons, and Leslie longed to escape. As soon as he graduated from high school at 17, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, even though he was legally deaf (he wore hearing aids most of his life).^[12][13]

His half-uncle, Jean Hersholt, was an actor best known for his portrayal of Dr. Christian in the long-running radio series of the same name and the subsequent television series and films.^[14][15] In a 1994 Boston Globe article, Nielsen explained, "I did learn very early that when I would mention my uncle, people would look at me as if I were the biggest liar in the world. Then I would take them home and show them 8-by-10 glossies, and things changed quite drastically. So I began to think that maybe this acting business was not a bad idea, much as I was very shy about it and certainly without courage regarding it. My uncle died not too long after I was in a position to know him. I regret that I had not a chance to know him better."^[14]

Nielsen spent several years living in Fort Norman (now Tulita), Northwest Territories where his father was stationed with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.^[14][16] At the age of 17, following his graduation from Victoria Composite High School in Edmonton, Nielsen enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and was trained as an aerial gunner during the latter part of World War II (but was too young to be fully trained or sent overseas).^[17] He worked briefly as a disc jockey at a Calgary, Alberta radio station, before enrolling at the Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts, Toronto.^[14][18] While studying in Toronto, Nielsen received a scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse. He noted, "I couldn't refuse, but I must say when you come from the land of the snow goose, the moose and wool to New York, you're bringing every ton of hayseed and country bumpkin that you packed. As long as I didn't open my mouth, I felt a certain security. But I always thought I was going to be unmasked: 'OK, pack your stuff.' 'Well, what's the matter?' 'We've discovered you have no talent; we're shipping you back to Canada.'"^[14] He moved to New York City for his scholarship,^[7] studying theater and music at the Neighborhood Playhouse, while performing in summer stock theatre.^[19] Afterward, he attended the Actors Studio,^[20] until making his first television appearance in 1948 on an episode of Studio One, alongside Charlton Heston,^[21] for which he was paid US$75.^[14]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Nielsen's career began in dramatic roles on television during what is known as "Television's Golden Age",^[22] appearing in almost 50 live programs in 1950 alone.^[23] Nielsen reported that for his salary that there "[...] was very little gold, we only got $75 or $100 per show."^[23] His distinctive voice narrated several documentaries and commercials but, with a handful of exceptions, his early work as a dramatic actor was uneventful.^[24] Hal Erickson of Allmovie noted, "...much of Nielsen's early work was undistinguished; he was merely a handsome leading man in an industry overstocked with handsome leading men."^[24] In 1956 he made his feature film debut in the Michael Curtiz-directed musical film The Vagabond King.^[25] In the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Nielsen pointed out that he remembers Curtiz as "a sadist, a charming sadist, but a sadist".^[21] Nielsen would go on to call this film "The Vagabond Turkey".^[26] Though the film was not a box office success, Nielsen caught the eye of producer Nicholas Nayfack who offered him an audition for a role in the science fiction film Forbidden Planet, resulting in Nielsen being signed to a long-term contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).^[21][27]

Nielsen, along with co-star Anne Francis, in his second film, Forbidden Planet (1956). Nielsen: "Supposedly a science fiction version of Shakespeare's The Tempest, it was all about the id, or something like that. Who knows? The Trekkies today regard it as the forerunner of Star Trek. I just had to wear a tight uniform and make eyes at Anne Francis. I was pretty thin back then."^[28]

Forbidden Planet became an instant success,^[29] and roles in other MGM films such as Ransom! (1956), The Opposite Sex (1956) and Hot Summer Night (1957) followed.^[30] In 1957 he won the lead role opposite Debbie Reynolds in the romantic comedy Tammy and the Bachelor, which, as a Chicago Tribune critic wrote in 1998, made people consider Nielsen as both a dramatic actor and a handsome romantic lead.^[31] However, dissatisfied with the quality of the films he was offered, calling the studios "[..] a Tiffany, which had forgotten how to make silver", Nielsen left MGM, but not before auditioning for the role of Messala in the 1959 historical piece Ben-Hur. Stephen Boyd was eventually given the role.^[32][33] After leaving the studios, Nielsen landed the lead role in the Disney miniseries The Swamp Fox, as American Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion.^[34] In a 1988 interview he reflected on the series, stating, "That was a great experience, because the Disney people didn't do their shows like everyone else, knocking out an episode a week. [...] We only had to do an episode a month, and the budgets were extremely high for TV at that time. We had location shooting rather than cheap studio backdrops, and very authentic costumes."^[35] Eight episodes were produced and aired between 1959 and 1961.^[34]