- published: 03 Oct 2009
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A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished.
Although "claimant" is sometimes preferred, the term in itself is not pejorative. The original meaning of the English word pretend, from the French word prétendre (from the Latin praetendo lit. "to stretch out before") means "to put forward, to profess or claim"; this predates today's more common English meaning of "pretend", which is to claim falsely.
The term "pretender" applies not only to claimants with arguably genuine rights to the throne (as the various pretenders of the Wars of the Roses) who regarded the de facto monarch as a usurper, but also to impostors with wholly fabricated claims (as pretenders to Henry VII's throne Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck). People in the latter category often assume the identities of deceased or missing royalty, and are sometimes referred to for clarity as false pretenders or royal impersonators. A Papal pretender is instead called an Antipope.
Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara (Gujarati: ફારોખ બલ્સારા), 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range. As a songwriter, Mercury composed many hits for Queen, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "We Are the Champions". In addition to his work with Queen, he led a solo career, and also occasionally served as a producer and guest musician (piano or vocals) for other artists. He died of bronchopneumonia brought on by AIDS on 24 November 1991, only one day after publicly acknowledging he had the disease.
Mercury was a Parsi born in Zanzibar and grew up there and in India until his mid-teens. He has been referred to as "Britain's first Asian rock star". In 2002, Mercury was placed at number 58 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, in 2006, Time Asia named him one of the most influential Asian heroes of the past 60 years, and he continues to be voted one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music. In 2005, a poll organised by Blender and MTV2 saw Mercury voted the greatest male singer of all time. In 2008, Rolling Stone editors ranked him number 18 on their list of the 100 greatest singers of all time. In 2009, a Classic Rock poll saw him voted the greatest rock singer of all time.Allmusic has characterised Mercury as "one of rock's greatest all-time entertainers", who possessed "one of the greatest voices in all of music".
Actors: Esben Storm (director), John Clayton (actor), Chris Haywood (actor), Esben Storm (writer), John Fox (miscellaneous crew), Shane Briant (actor), David No (actor), Carmel Torcasio (miscellaneous crew), Alex Dimitriades (actor), Peter Hicks (miscellaneous crew), Morgan O'Neill (actor), Tasma Walton (actress), Barry Quin (actor), Sascha Raeburn (actress), Barbi Taylor (producer),
Plot: Killers, revolutionaries, big business, kids, family, God. Romantic subterfuge. Betrayal. Bounty hunters. People trapped in a subterranean world. Set upon by lethal, remote controlled toys. Scary as hell. Frenetic. Heroic. Funny. Tragic. Sci-fi horror. A game called Subterano.
Keywords: decapitation, electrocution, evil-toy, eye-gougingActors: Joseph L. Mankiewicz (writer), Warren Stevens (actor), Jim Gérald (actor), Humphrey Bogart (actor), Bessie Love (actress), Ava Gardner (actress), Valentina Cortese (actress), Rossano Brazzi (actor), Franco Interlenghi (actor), Edmond O'Brien (actor), Bill Fraser (actor), Renato Chiantoni (actor), Marius Goring (actor), Joseph L. Mankiewicz (director), Mario Nascimbene (composer),
Plot: Has-been director Harry Dawes gets a new lease on his career when independently wealthy Kirk Edwards hires him to write and direct a film. They go to Madrid to find Maria Vargas, a dancer who will star in the film. Millionaire Alberto Bravano takes Maria from Kirk. Count Vincenzo Torlato-Favrini takes Maria from Alberto.
Keywords: actress, affair, barefoot, beach, beverly-hills-california, brother-sister-relationship, cemetery, champagne, contessa, countActors: Marie Nademlejnská (actress), Václav Kubásek (writer), Darja Hajská (actress), Alois Dvorský (actor), Ruzena Slemrová (actress), Zita Kabátová (actress), Frantisek Kreuzmann (actor), Josef Príhoda (actor), F.X. Mlejnek (actor), Ota Motycka (actor), Ella Nollová (actress), Gustav Nezval (actor), Milka Balek-Brodská (actress), Bolek Prchal (actor), Josef Mach (writer),
Genres: Comedy,Actors: Marie Nademlejnská (actress), Václav Kubásek (writer), Darja Hajská (actress), Alois Dvorský (actor), Ruzena Slemrová (actress), Zita Kabátová (actress), Frantisek Kreuzmann (actor), Josef Príhoda (actor), F.X. Mlejnek (actor), Ota Motycka (actor), Ella Nollová (actress), Gustav Nezval (actor), Milka Balek-Brodská (actress), Bolek Prchal (actor), Josef Mach (writer),
Genres: Comedy,Actors: Marie Nademlejnská (actress), Václav Kubásek (writer), Darja Hajská (actress), Alois Dvorský (actor), Ruzena Slemrová (actress), Zita Kabátová (actress), Frantisek Kreuzmann (actor), Josef Príhoda (actor), F.X. Mlejnek (actor), Ota Motycka (actor), Ella Nollová (actress), Gustav Nezval (actor), Milka Balek-Brodská (actress), Bolek Prchal (actor), Josef Mach (writer),
Genres: Comedy,Actors: Marie Nademlejnská (actress), Václav Kubásek (writer), Darja Hajská (actress), Alois Dvorský (actor), Ruzena Slemrová (actress), Zita Kabátová (actress), Frantisek Kreuzmann (actor), Josef Príhoda (actor), F.X. Mlejnek (actor), Ota Motycka (actor), Ella Nollová (actress), Gustav Nezval (actor), Milka Balek-Brodská (actress), Bolek Prchal (actor), Josef Mach (writer),
Genres: Comedy,Actors: Marie Nademlejnská (actress), Václav Kubásek (writer), Darja Hajská (actress), Alois Dvorský (actor), Ruzena Slemrová (actress), Zita Kabátová (actress), Frantisek Kreuzmann (actor), Josef Príhoda (actor), F.X. Mlejnek (actor), Ota Motycka (actor), Ella Nollová (actress), Gustav Nezval (actor), Milka Balek-Brodská (actress), Bolek Prchal (actor), Josef Mach (writer),
Genres: Comedy,