Alex North

Alex North (December 4, 1910 – September 8, 1991) was an American composer best known for his many film scores, including A Streetcar Named Desire (one of the first jazz-based film scores), Viva Zapata!, Spartacus, Cleopatra, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. He was the first composer to receive an Honorary Academy Award.

Early life

North was born Isadore Soifer in Chester, Pennsylvania to Russian Jewish parents.

Career

North managed to integrate his modernism into typical film music leitmotif structure, rich with themes. One of these became the famous song, "Unchained Melody". Nominated for fifteen Oscars but unsuccessful each time, North is one of only two film composers to receive the Lifetime Achievement Academy Award, the other being Ennio Morricone. North's frequent collaborator as orchestrator was the avant-garde composer Henry Brant. He won the 1968 Golden Globe award for his music to The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968).

His best-known film scores include A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, Viva Zapata!, The Rainmaker, Spartacus, The Misfits, Cleopatra, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Dragonslayer and Under the Volcano. His music for The Wonderful Country makes use of Mexican and American motifs.

Vans

Vans is an American manufacturer of shoes, based in Cypress, California—the company also produces apparel, and other products such as T-shirts, hoodies, socks, hats, and backpacks. As of August 2013, the brand is active in the actions sports industry and sponsors skateboard, surf, snow, BMX, and motocross teams. Since 1996, the company has also been the primary sponsor of the annual Vans Warped Tour traveling rock festival.

History

Founding

On March 16, 1966, at 704 East Broadway in Anaheim, California, U.S., brothers Paul Van Doren and James Van Doren, Gordon Lee, and Serge D'Elia opened the first Vans store under the name The Van Doren Rubber Company. Paul Van Doren and D'Elia owned the majority of the company, while James Van Doren and Lee each owned a 10 percent stake. The business manufactured shoes and sold them directly to the public. On that first morning, twelve customers purchased Vans deck shoes, which are now known as "Authentic". The company displayed three styles of shoes, which were priced between US$2.49 and US$4.99, but on the opening day, the company had only manufactured display models without any inventory ready to sell—the store rack boxes were actually empty.

Surf

Surf is the wave activity in the area between the shoreline and outer limit of breakers. It may refer to a breaking wave in shallow water, upon the shore, or in the area in which waves break.

Surf may also refer to:

Commercial products

Computers and software

Education

Music

Alexander Gray

Alexander Gray may refer to:

See also

Nathan Fletcher

Nathan Fletcher (born December 31, 1976) is an American politician, businessman, and educator who served two terms in the California State Assembly. He currently serves as a senior director of global strategic initiatives at Qualcomm, Inc. and a Professor of Practice in Political Science at the University of California, San Diego.

Early life and education

Fletcher was born and spent the early years of his life in Carson City, Nevada. His parents divorced when he was 2 years old, and his mother Sherrie moved with him to Smackover, Arkansas. There she met and married Danny Farley, who worked at an International Paper factory. His biological father, Randy Fletcher, a former deputy sheriff, obtained a custody decree in Nevada. Randy Fletcher then drove to Arkansas, where he took Nathan from his mother and returned to Nevada with him. A Nevada judge granted custody to Randy Fletcher with visitation rights for Sherrie. Nathan describes his father as abusive and said this period of his life was "a living hell". When Nathan was 8, Randy Fletcher voluntarily sent Nathan back to live with his mother; he remained with her and Danny Farley for the rest of his childhood. He says that when he talks about his Dad, he is referring to his stepfather Danny Farley, whom he counts as his only father figure. His childhood and family background became an issue during his campaign for mayor, when opponents accused him of dishonesty because of apparent inconsistencies in talking about his father. He had tried to keep the details of his background private, but faced with the accusations he and his mother gave an interview to KPBS in which they explained the apparent contradictions as resulting from the difference between his father and his stepfather.