Kate Jennings (born 20 May 1948) is an Australian poet, essayist, memoirist, and novelist.

Life[link]

Jennings grew up on a farm near Griffith, New South Wales. She attended the University of Sydney in the late 1960s, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours. She was active in feminist and left wing-movements, in particular gaining notoriety for an incendiary speech given before a Vietnam Moratorium march in 1970 — a speech that is credited as signaling the beginning of the second wave of feminism in Australia.

She also edited Mother I'm Rooted, a pioneer anthology of women poets which was the object of much controversy.

She moved to New York City in 1979, where she wrote for numerous magazines and newspapers, as well as doing a stint on Wall Street as a speechwriter. In 1983, she met Bob Cato,^[1] a ground-breaking graphic designer, photographer, and collagist who helped turn the record album into an important form of contemporary art. They were married in 1987; he died in March 1999.

Her brother, Dare, was the creative force behind the Mambo clothing empire. His latest venture is Deus Ex Machina, a motorcycle and clothing business.

Works[link]

Her poetry and short stories were well received, but she came into her own with her novels. Her first, Snake was described variously as "lethal and fast-moving" (Publishers Weekly), "a narrative of pure anguish" (Times Literary Supplement), and "possessing a holographic shimmer" (New York Times Book Review). It was reported to have just missed the Booker Prize shortlist. Moral Hazard has been called "humane and unsparing; witty, unsettling, and wildly intelligent" by Shirley Hazzard, author of The Transit of Venus.

Jennings was awarded the Christina Stead Prize for fiction for Moral Hazard, which was also shortlisted for the 2003 Miles Franklin Award, the Los Angeles Times Fiction Prize, and the Tasmania Pacific Region Prize. Snake was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, as was Moral Hazard.

Both books contain strong autobiographical elements, Snake being about a girl growing up on a Riverina farm in the 1950s, and Moral Hazard about a couple facing Alzheimer's in the husband while the wife works as a speechwriter on Wall Street.

In 2008, she published Stanley and Sophie, a memoir ostensibly about her dogs but also about life in New York City after 9/11, politics in the U.S. and her encounters with two macaques in Bali at the time of the 2005 bombing there.

In March 2010, she published "Trouble", an autobiographical collection of her best work from the last four decades, covering topics from politics, morality, finance, feminism and the writing life.

Jennings is also known for writing outspoken essays and op-eds on the state of fiction, the direction of feminism, malfeasance in the financial industry, and the abuse of language in the business world. Andrew Field, a prominent Nabokov scholar, describes Jennings as a "ferocious truth-teller, He also cites her "humor, her obdurate individuality, and her willingness to say what other people won't."

Awards[link]

Bibliography[link]

Articles

• "Best Business Books of the Millennium: Business Novels", Strategy+Business Q4 2001
• "Gutless Fiction" Australian Financial Review, 26 August 2005
• "The Serious Business of Literature" Los Angeles Times Book Review, 11 May 2003
• "Less is More" Prospect magazine, February 2003
• "To Hell with the Future" Australian Financial Review, May 2009
• Letting in the Sunlight The Business Writer
• "An Otter's Life: Learning to Swim" The Monthly magazine, December 2010-January 2011 issue [1]

Essays

• Save Me, Joe Louis (1998)
• Bad Manners (1993)

Novels

• Snake (1996)
• Moral Hazard (2002)

Op-Eds

• "Doublethink on Wall Street" Financial Times 10 May 2002
• "The Hypocrisy of Wall Street Culture" New York Times, 14 July 2002
• "Among the Strong and the Shrewd" Australian Financial Review, 2 May 2003

Short Story Collections

• Women Falling Down in the Street (1990)

Poetry

• Come to Me My Melancholy Baby (1975)
• Cats, Dogs and Pitchforks (1993)

Edited

• Mother I'm Rooted (1975)

Autobiography

• Stanley and Sophie (2008)
• Trouble (2010)

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Kate Jennings portrait
• Kate Jennings at Random House Australia
• Mildura Writer's Festival
• Kate Jennings. Interview with Julie McCrossin. Radio National, Life Matters, 23 May 2002.
• Interview with Elliot Perlman , May, 2008

Reviews of Snake

• "Scenes from a Mismarriage" Carol Shields, New York Times Book Review, 11 May 1997
• Snake Review by Michelle Huneven, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 1997
• "Snake Classic" Review by Evelyn Juers Australian Book Review, August 1996

Reviews of Moral Hazard

• Moral Hazard Amanda Craig, New Statesman, 15 April 2002
• American Life and Casualty Review by Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post, 13 June 2002
• Moral Hazard, Review by Charles Taylor, Salon, 20 June 2002
• Moral Hazard, Review by Amanda Lohrey, The Age, 18 May 2002

Review of Stanley and Sophie

• "Dog Days and New York Nights" by Michelle de Kretser, The Age 5 March 2008

Look up Kate is a slag in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Kate is a feminine given name. It is sometimes a short form of Katherine, which is Greek meaning pure, blessed, virginal and popularity. It may refer to:

People with the given name Kate:

• Kate (given name)

In meteorology:

• Hurricane Kate (1985), which hit the US
• Typhoon Kate (1970), a super typhoon that struck the Philippines

Ships

• CSS Kate was a 165' wooden hulled sidewheel steamer of 477 tons used by the Confederacy as a blockade runner that made 20 successful runs through the Union blockade during the American Civil War.

Other:

• "Kate" a young adult novel by Valerie Sherrard
• Kate (song), a song by Ben Folds Five
• Nakajima B5N, a Japanese torpedo bomber, Allied reporting name "Kate"
• Kate (text editor), a text editor for KDE
• KATE, a radio station in Minnesota, USA
• "Kate" is rhyming slang for Army (it rhymes with Kate Carney)
• An alternative title of Crabbit Old Woman, a poem attributed to Phyllis McCormack
• The Kâte language, a Papuan language

See also[link]

• Catherina (and similar spellings)
• Kathleen

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Oliver Platt
Oliver Platt, 2010
Born	(1960-01-12) January 12, 1960 (age 52) Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Alma mater	Tufts University (B.A., 1983) [1][2]
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1988–present
Spouse	Camilla Campbell (1992–present)
Children	3

Oliver James Platt (born January 12, 1960) is a Canadian-born American actor. He is currently starring in the Showtime original series, The Big C with Laura Linney.

Early life[link]

Platt was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada to American parents Sheila Maynard, a clinical social worker who worked in Islamabad,^[3] and Nicholas Platt, a career diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Zambia, and the Philippines.^[4] He has an older brother, Adam Platt, a New York Magazine restaurant critic, and a younger brother, Nicholas Platt, Jr. His family moved back to the United States when Platt was three months old.^[5] Platt's paternal great-great-grandfather was diplomat and lawyer Joseph Hodges Choate. Platt's maternal great-grandparents were equestrian Arthur Scott Burden and socialite Cynthia Roche;^[6] he is a second cousin once removed of Diana, Princess of Wales, through his great-great-grandparents, MP James Roche and heiress Frances Work.^[5] When asked about Diana, Platt said, "I never met her. It's a non-story. I'd love to tell you we were confidantes. The truth is I don't know much more about it than you do."^[5]

Because of his father's career as an ambassador, much of Platt's childhood was spent in Asia, the Middle East, and Washington, D.C.^[7] Platt attended twelve different schools, including the American School in Japan,^[1] and has said "Even now I find myself envying people who have neighborhoods and roots."^[7] Platt's family made frequent trips back to Washington, where they held Redskins season tickets.^[8] Platt is also a fan of the Boston Red Sox.^[8]

When he was nine years old, Platt and his family visited the Kennedy Center in Washington, where he watched a performance that helped inspire his acting career.^[4] "One of the performances that really made me want to be an actor started out with this probably 20-minute rambling, drunken monologue by this bum. And it was a young Morgan Freeman. I'll never forget it. This guy was just so riveting. He stood there on stage alone before the curtain went up, and he held this audience utterly rapt. Including myself, obviously."^[4] According to Platt, drama departments gave his childhood some stability, "It was something of a survival mechanism, in that it gave me a little subculture to plug into wherever I ended up. Kids need that. I certainly did."^[7] He attended a progressive boarding school named Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale Colorado.^[9]

Platt majored in drama at Tufts University, where he met and became close friends with Hank Azaria.^[10][1] He spent three years working in theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, which he said had a "wealth of serious amateur theatre at that time…I played many roles, and it was the best training I could have had."^[11] Platt travelled with Shakespeare and Company, based in Lenox, Massachusetts, touring schools to earn his Equity card, before moving to New York.^[11] Platt's early career involved Off-Broadway and regional theatre, and he appeared onstage with the New York Shakespeare Festival, Lincoln Center Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club and other companies across many genres.^[11] He obtained an agent while working at Manhattan Punch Line Theatre, and met actor Bill Murray at his cousin's Christmas party.^[11] Murray attended Platt's show and recommended Platt to director Jonathan Demme, who cast him in Married to the Mob in 1988.^[11] Platt attributes his breakthrough to appearing at the Punch Line Theater.^[11]

Career[link]

Platt makes his decisions about accepting acting roles based on the role being "different from what I just did...I do have to be interested in the role".^[11] After Married to the Mob, he appeared in Working Girl (1988), Flatliners (1990), The Three Musketeers (1993), A Time to Kill (1996) and Bulworth (1998).^[12] In 1998, Platt and Stanley Tucci played two deadbeat actors who improvise with unsuspecting strangers in The Impostors.^[13] Tucci and Platt developed the characters while working on a play at Yale University in 1988, Tucci later completing the screenplay and directing the film.^[13]

In 1999, Platt played the wealthy and eccentric crocodile enthusiast Hector in David E. Kelley's Lake Placid, alongside Bill Pullman and Bridget Fonda.^[14] Platt described Hector as "pretty abrasive and obnoxious at times, but, I hope, he has a way of growing on you. I think David originally thought of him as a great white hunter sort of guy, but when I signed on for the role he sort of wrote him in a different direction."^[14]

The short-lived drama Deadline provided Platt's first lead role on television. Created by Dick Wolf, who also created Law & Order, Deadline focused on the lives of newspaper journalists in New York City.^[15] Platt starred as Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Wallace Benton, an "unlikely hero". The strong cast, which also included Bebe Neuwirth and Hope Davis, could not compensate for sub-standard writing and the series was soon canceled.^[11][15] After Deadline's failure, Platt avoided work on television until he read a script for The West Wing and signed on for a guest role.^[11] He received an Emmy nomination for his portrayal of no-nonsense White House Counsel Oliver Babish,^[11] brought in during season two to compile a defense for President Bartlet and others who covered up his non-disclosure of multiple sclerosis.^[16]

His role in the television series Huff as Russell Tupper from 2004 to 2006 was well-received, especially by creator Robert Lowry, who said, "Oliver plays an alcoholic, drug-addicted, sexaholic, workaholic, womanizing misogynist who is adorable. I don't know any actor who could do that. I originally saw Russell as a blond stud, but when I saw what Oliver could do, I realized how much better, richer, and less predictable he was than my idea of the character ... Oliver is very committed to the idea that story and dialogue be character-driven and unique".^[11] Platt's work was nominated for two Emmy awards and a Golden Globe.^[11][17]

In 2005, Platt acted in Harold Ramis's film The Ice Harvest as an unhappy businessman with a trophy wife and two stepchildren who becomes involved with a friend who has stolen $2 million from a Mafia boss.^[18] He also played a lard merchant named Papprizzio in Lasse Hallström's Casanova, who competes with Casanova (Heath Ledger) for marriage to Francesca (Sienna Miller).^[18] Platt won the New York Film Critics Online Award for best supporting actor for his role in Casanova.^[19]

Platt greets fans outside the Nederlander Theatre in Manhattan after a performance of Guys and Dolls on February 21, 2009.

A Broadway production named Shining City was Platt's Broadway debut in 2006.^[11] The play was set in Dublin, and Platt's role was the tortured protagonist, John.^[11] Shining City's director said, "There is one word to describe Oliver. It's 'humanity.' He's got that everyman quality. He's a contradictory human being with flaws and strengths. And he's loveable. He can simultaneously make you laugh and break your heart. Oliver has brought to the role of John what I expected and more: tremendous inventiveness and sensitivity."^[11] Platt visited Dublin to prepare for the role and ensure his performance was authentic.^[11] He was nominated for a Tony award for "Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play".^[20]

In 2007, Platt played the part of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner in the ESPN mini-series The Bronx Is Burning.^[21] Platt signed onto the project after John Turturro was confirmed as Billy Martin, because, "This thing lives or dies by that portrayal ... I think it's great casting. God knows he has the intensity."^[8] Platt starred in the pilot episode of The Thick of It, a remake of the British show of the same name in 2007.^[17] The series was not picked up by ABC.^[17]

Platt recently starred as Nathan Detroit, alongside Lauren Graham as Miss Adelaide, in the Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls which began performances at the Nederlander Theatre on February 3, 2009 and officially opened on March 1, 2009.^[22] The production closed on June 14, 2009 after 113 performances.^[23]

Platt starred as the White House Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser in Roland Emmerich's 2012, a disaster film released November 13, 2009.

On August 16, 2010, it became public that he had been cast in the role of "The Man in Black" in 2011's X-Men spin-off, X-Men: First Class, directed by Matthew Vaughn.^[24]

Personal life[link]

Platt married Mary Camilla Bonsal Campbell (known as Camilla) on 12 September 1992 at the First Congregational Church in Kittery Point, Maine.^[3] He now focuses on film and television more than theater because, "I've got a wife and three kids, so film is just the most viable thing for me right now. I still love the theater, but the commitment in time and energy to do live theater is so great, and, frankly, the financial rewards are just not as attractive. When you have a family, you have to think about those things."^[14] One of Platt's daughters is named Lily, and was born in 1995, while his son George was born in 1997 and his other daughter Claire was born in 1999. Platt has an open plane ticket when filming so he can return home frequently, because his family does not accompany him to filming locations.^[13]

Tufts University considered offering their Light on the Hill award to Platt in 2008, which is given to distinguished alumni.^[25] Tufts Community Union President Neil DiBiase said Platt was unable to make it to Tufts that semester, and they "would rather wait to find a better opportunity for him to come to campus when his schedule is more available. The point of the award is to get alumni back to campus."^[25] The 2008 award was instead given to Jeff Kindler, chief executive of pharmaceutical company Pfizer.^[25]

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

Television[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Oliver Platt at the Internet Movie Database
• Oliver Platt at the Internet Broadway Database
• Oliver Platt at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Random Roles: Oliver Platt

Lauren Graham
Lauren Graham, 2008
Born	Lauren Helen Graham (1967-03-16) March 16, 1967 (age 45) Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, producer
Years active	1995–present

Lauren Helen Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American actress and producer. She is best known for playing Lorelai Gilmore on the WB Network dramedy series Gilmore Girls and Sarah Braverman on Parenthood.

Early life[link]

Graham was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the daughter of Donna Grant, a fashion buyer, and Lawrence Graham, a candy industry lobbyist^[1] who is the current president for National Confectioners Association. Graham is Irish Catholic.^[2] Graham's parents were divorced when she was only five years old, and Graham moved to Washington, D.C., where her father became a congressional staffer.^{[citation needed]} As a girl, Graham rode horses competitively, but soon switched to acting,^[3] honing her talent at Langley High School, where she took part in the drill team.^[4] She earned her actor's equity card in 1988 after two years in summer stock at the Barn Theatre in Augusta, Michigan.^{[citation needed]} Graham graduated from Barnard College in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.^{[citation needed]} After moving to Texas in 1992, she earned a Master of Fine Arts in Acting Performance from Southern Methodist University.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

After completing her education, Graham moved back to New York City where she became a waitress and aspiring actress, including her first paid work doing publicity appearances wearing the costume of Striker, the dog mascot of the US-based 1994 FIFA World Cup.^[5] In 1995, she relocated to Hollywood, California. She appeared in various commercials for products such as Dimetapp and Lean Cuisine and hosted free preview weekends on The Movie Channel.^{[citation needed]}

In addition to her many guest starring and co-starring roles on prime-time television, Graham starred in three failed sitcoms, including Townies (with Molly Ringwald and Jenna Elfman) and the short-lived sitcom Lush Life (with Lori Petty and Karyn Parsons).^{[citation needed]} Between 1996 and 1997, Graham became a regular guest star on several hit NBC shows. She played a graduate student who caught the eye of Dick on 3rd Rock from the Sun, Richard's dim-witted girlfriend on Caroline in the City, and Jerry's speed-dial ranking girlfriend on Seinfeld. She played a Hollywood producer who had a love interest in Rey Curtis in a three-part episode of Law & Order, where she acted opposite Scott Cohen, who would later play one of Graham's love interests, Max Medina, on Gilmore Girls. She also portrayed a villainous efficiency expert on Newsradio.

In 2000, Graham landed her breakthrough role as Lorelai Gilmore on Gilmore Girls. For her work she received a nomination for Best Actress in a Television Series (Drama) at the 2001 Golden Globe Awards. Beginning with Season 7 episode "To Whom It May Concern" and continuing throughout the rest of the season, Graham served as a producer on Gilmore Girls. TV Guide reported that she received the position in an attempt to persuade her to sign for an eighth season.^[6][7]

Graham returned to her guest-starring roots when she portrayed herself in two episodes of NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Graham has also appeared on Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown, co-hosted by Dave Foley of Newsradio. After winning her preliminary match, she came in second to another former Newsradio star, Maura Tierney, in the championship game.^{[citation needed]}

Graham's film roles encompass several NYU student films and multiple major studio releases, including Sweet November, Bad Santa, The Pacifier, Because I Said So, and Evan Almighty.

Graham has said that she enjoys playing in short films, and acting in the Williamstown Theatre Festival.^[8] She has performed in numerous short films, including the 15-minute long Gnome. In 2007, Graham signed a seven-figure development deal with NBC in one of the year's richest TV talent pacts.^[9]

Graham has also worked as the voice-over announcer in national advertising for Kellogg's various Special K products, and in American Express ads introducing the Plum Card, which is targeted towards small and growing businesses.^[10]

Graham made her Broadway debut as Miss Adelaide in the revival of Guys and Dolls, which began preview performances at the Nederlander Theatre on February 5, 2009 and opened on March 1, 2009. Initial reviews for this performance have been mixed, but generally regard her fresh take on the character as a success. The production closed June 14, playing 113 shows and 28 previews.^[11][12]

It was announced in January 2009 that Graham would star in the comedy pilot, The Bridget Show (previously Let It Go) for ABC playing a talk show host and self-help guru who fails to follow her own advice during a breakup. However, the pilot was not given a series order.^[13][14]

On October 9, 2009, it was announced that Graham would replace Maura Tierney in the television series Parenthood as single mother Sarah Braverman. Tierney left the show to seek treatment for cancer.^[15] The series debuted on NBC the following year, and was later renewed for a second season.^[16]

In June 2010, it was confirmed that Graham would star in the upcoming Scream 4,^[17] but she left the project on June 30, 2010.^[18]

Personal Life[link]

Graham is currently dating her Parenthood co-star Peter Krause.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Lauren Graham

• Lauren Graham at the Internet Movie Database
• Lauren Graham cast bio on The CW Official Site