Birutė Marija Filomena Galdikas, OC (born 10 May 1946), is a primatologist, conservationist, ethologist, and author of several books relating to the endangered orangutan, particularly the Bornean orangutan. Well known in the field of modern primatology, Galdikas is recognized as a leading authority on orangutans. Prior to her field study of orangutans, scientists knew little about the species.
Galdikas was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, to Lithuanian parents. She later became a naturalized Canadian and grew up in Toronto, Canada.
In college she studied psychology and biology. In 1966, Galdikas earned her bachelor's degrees in psychology and zoology, jointly awarded by the University of British Columbia and the University of California, Los Angeles, her master's degree in anthropology from UCLA in 1969 and her doctorate in anthropology, also from UCLA, in 1978. It was there, as a graduate student, she first met famed Kenyan paleontologist Louis Leakey and expressed her desire to study orangutans in their natural habitats.
Oscar Baylin Goodman (born July 26, 1939) is an American lawyer and politician. He was the mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada from 1999 to 2011. Mayor Goodman is an Independent and a former member of the Democratic Party.
Goodman was born and raised in Philadelphia, graduating from Haverford College and receiving his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He and his wife Carolyn have four children.
During his career as a defense attorney he represented defendants accused of being some of the leading organized crime figures in Las Vegas, such as Meyer Lansky, Nicky Scarfo, Herbert "Fat Herbie" Blitzstein, Phil Leonetti, former Stardust Casino boss Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal, and Jamiel "Jimmy" Chagra, a 1970s drug trafficker who was acquitted of ordering the murder of Federal Judge John H. Wood, Jr. His most notorious client was reputed Chicago mobster Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro, who was known to have a short and violent temper. In the semi-factual 1995 movie Casino, the character of Nicky Santoro was based on Spilotro and was portrayed by actor Joe Pesci. Goodman had a cameo appearance in the film as himself while defending "Ace Rothstein", which was a character closely based on Lefty Rosenthal and played by Robert DeNiro. Goodman also represented former San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock, who was convicted of accepting illegal campaign contributions and eventually forced to resign. Hedgecock was later cleared of all charges on appeal.