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Alphonse Mucha

Alfons Maria Mucha (24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), known internationally as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator, and graphic artist. Living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, he was widely known for his distinctly stylized and decorative theatrical posters, particularly those of Sarah Bernhardt. He produced illustrations, advertisements, decorative panels, as well as designs, which became among the best-known images of the period.

In the second part of his career, at the age of 57, he returned to his homeland and devoted himself to a series of twenty monumental symbolist canvases known as The Slav Epic, depicting the history of all the Slavic peoples of the world, which he painted between 1912 and 1926. In 1928, on the 10th anniversary of the independence of Czechoslovakia, he presented the series to the Czech nation. He considered it his most important work.

Early life
Mucha was born on 24 July 1860 in the small town of Ivančice in southern Moravia, then a province of the Austrian Empire (currently a region of the Czech Republic). His family had a very modest income; his father Ondřej was a court usher, and his mother Amálie was a miller's daughter. Alphonse was the eldest of six children, all with names starting with "A".

Alphonse showed an early talent for drawing; a local merchant impressed by his work gave him a gift of paper, at the time a luxury item. In the preschool period, he drew exclusively with his left hand. He had a talent for music: he was an alto singer and violin player. After completing Volksschule, he wanted to continue with his studies, but his family was not able to fund them, as they were already funding the studies of his three step-siblings.

His music teacher sent him to Pavel Křížkovský, choirmaster of St Thomas's Abbey in Brno, to be admitted to the choir and to have his studies funded by the monastery. Křížovský was impressed by his talent, but he was not able to admit and fund him, as he had just admitted another talented young musician, Leoš Janáček.

Křížovský sent him to a choirmaster of the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, who admitted him as a chorister and funded his studies at the gymnasium in Brno, where he received his secondary school education. After his voice broke, he gave up his chorister position, but played as a violinist during masses.

He became devoutly religious, and wrote later, "For me, the notions of painting, going to church, and music are so closely knit that often I cannot decide whether I like church for its music, or music for its place in the mystery which it accompanies." He grew up in an environment of intense Czech nationalism in all the arts, from music to literature and painting. He designed flyers and posters for patriotic rallies.

His singing abilities allowed him to continue his musical education at the Gymnázium Brno in the Moravian capital of Brno, but his true ambition was to become an artist. He found some employment designing theatrical scenery and other decorations. In 1878 he applied to the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, but was rejected and advised to "find a different career". In 1880, at the age of 19, he traveled to Vienna, the political and cultural capital of the Empire, and found employment as an apprentice scenery painter for a company which made sets for Vienna theaters. While in Vienna, he discovered the museums, churches, palaces and especially theaters, for which he received free tickets from his employer. He also discovered Hans Makart, a very prominent academic painter, who created murals for many of the palaces and government buildings in Vienna, and was a master of portraits and historical paintings in grand format. His style turned Mucha in that artistic direction and influenced his later work. He began experimenting with photography, which became an important tool in his later work.

To his misfortune, a terrible fire in 1881 destroyed the Ringtheater, the major client of his firm. Later in 1881, almost without funds, he took a train as far north as his money would take him. He arrived in Mikulov in southern Moravia, and began making portraits, decorative art and lettering for tombstones. His work was appreciated, and he was commissioned by Count Eduard Khuen Belasi, a local landlord and nobleman, to paint a series of murals for his residence at Emmahof Castle, and then at his ancestral home in the Tyrol, Gandegg Castle. The paintings at Emmahof were destroyed by fire in 1948, but his early versions in small format exist (now on display at the museum in Brno). He showed his skill at mythological themes, the female form, and lush vegetal decoration. Belasi, who was also an amateur painter, took Mucha on expeditions to see art in Venice, Florence and Milan, and introduced him to many artists, including the famous Bavarian romantic painter, Wilhelm Kray, who lived in Munich.

Munich
Count Belasi decided to bring Mucha to Munich for formal training, and paid his tuition fees and living expenses at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. He moved there in September 1885. It is not clear how Mucha actually studied at the Munich Academy; there is no record of his being enrolled as a student there. However, he did become friends with a number of notable Slavic artists there, including the Czechs Karel Vítězslav Mašek and Ludek Marold and the Russian Leonid Pasternak, father of the famous poet and novelist Boris Pasternak.

He founded a Czech students' club, and contributed political illustrations to nationalist publications in Prague. In 1886, he received a notable commission for a painting of the Czech patron saints Cyril and Methodius, from a group of Czech emigrants, including some of his relatives, who had founded a Roman Catholic church in the town of Pisek, North Dakota. He was very happy with the artistic environment of Munich: he wrote to friends, "Here I am in my new element, painting. I cross all sorts of currents, but without effort, and even with joy. Here, for the first time, I can find the objectives to reach which used to seem inaccessible." However, he found he could not remain forever in Munich; the Bavarian authorities imposed increasing restrictions upon foreign students and residents. Count Belasi suggested that he travel either to Rome or to Paris. With Belasi's financial support, he decided in 1887 to move to Paris.

Studies and first success in Paris
Mucha moved to Paris in 1888 where he enrolled in the Académie Julian and the following year, 1889, Académie Colarossi. The two schools taught a wide variety of different styles. His first professors at the Académie Julian were Jules Lefebvre who specialized in female nudes and allegorical paintings, and Jean-Paul Laurens, whose specialties were historical and religious paintings in a realistic and dramatic style. At the end of 1889, as he approached the age of thirty, his patron, Count Belasi, decided that Mucha had received enough education and ended his subsidies.

When he arrived in Paris, Mucha found shelter with the help of the large Slavic community. He lived in a boarding house called the Crémerie at 13 rue de la Grande Chaumière, whose owner, Charlotte Caron, was famous for sheltering struggling artists; when needed she accepted paintings or drawings in place of rent. Mucha decided to follow the path of another Czech painter he knew from Munich, Ludek Marold, who had made a successful career as an illustrator for magazines. In 1890 and 1891, he began providing illustrations for the weekly magazine La Vie populaire, which published novels in weekly segments. His illustration for a novel by Guy de Maupassant, called The Useless Beauty, was on the cover of 22 May 1890 edition. He also made illustrations for Le Petit Français Illustré, which published stories for young people in both magazine and book form. For this magazine he provided dramatic scenes of battles and other historic events, including a cover illustration of a scene from the Franco-Prussian War which was on 23 January 1892 edition.

His illustrations began to give him a regular income. He was able to buy a harmonium to continue his musical interests, and his first camera, which used glass-plate negatives. He took pictures of himself and his friends, and also regularly used it to compose his drawings. He became friends with Paul Gauguin, and shared a studio with him for a time when Gauguin returned from Tahiti in the summer of 1893. In late autumn 1894, he also became friends with the playwright August Strindberg, with whom he had a common interest in philosophy and mysticism.

His magazine illustrations led to book illustration; he was commissioned to provide illustrations for Scenes and Episodes of German History by historian Charles Seignobos. Four of his illustrations, including one depicting the death of Frederic Barbarossa, were chosen for display at the 1894 Paris Salon of Artists. He received a medal of honor, his first official recognition.

Mucha added another important client in the early 1890s; the Central Library of Fine Arts, which specialized in the publication of books about art, architecture and the decorative arts. It later launched a new magazine in 1897 called Art et Decoration, which played an early and important role in publicizing the Art Nouveau style. He continued to publish illustrations for his other clients, including illustrating a children's book of poetry by Eugène Manuel, and illustrations for a magazine of the theater arts, called La Costume au théâtre.

Sarah Bernhardt and Gismonda
At the end of 1894 his career took a dramatic and unexpected turn when he began to work for French stage actress Sarah Bernhardt. As Mucha later described it, on 26 December Bernhardt made a telephone call to Maurice de Brunhoff, the manager of the publishing firm Lemercier which printed her theatrical posters, ordering a new poster for the continuation of the play Gismonda. The play, by Victorien Sardou, had already opened with great success on 31 October 1894 at the Théâtre de la Renaissance on the Boulevard Saint-Martin. Bernhardt decided to have a poster made to advertise the prolongation of the theatrical run after the Christmas break, insisting it be ready by 1 January 1895. Because of the holidays, none of the regular Lemercier artists were available.

When Bernhardt called, Mucha happened to be at the publishing house correcting proofs. He already had experience painting Bernhardt; he had made a series of illustrations of her performing in Cleopatra for Le Costume au Théâtre in 1890. When Gismonda opened in October 1894, Mucha had been commissioned by the magazine Le Gaulois to make a series of illustrations of Bernhardt in the role for a special Christmas supplement, which was published at Christmas 1894, for the high price of fifty centimes a copy.

Brunhoff asked Mucha to quickly design the new poster for Bernhardt. The poster was more than life-size; a little more than two meters high, with Bernhardt in the costume of a Byzantine noblewoman, dressed in an orchid headdress and floral stole, and holding a palm branch in the Easter procession near the end of the play. One of the innovative features of the posters was the ornate rainbow-shaped arch behind the head, almost like a halo, which focused attention on her face; this feature appeared in all of his future theater posters. Probably because of a shortage of time, some areas of the background were left blank, without his usual decoration. The only background decoration were the Byzantine mosaic tiles behind her head. The poster featured extremely fine draftsmanship and delicate pastel colors, unlike the typical brightly-colored posters of the time. The top of the poster, with the title, was richly composed and ornamented, and balanced the bottom, where the essential information was given in the shortest possible form: just the name of the theater.

The poster appeared on the streets of Paris on 1 January 1895 and caused an immediate sensation. Bernhardt was pleased by the reaction; she ordered four thousand copies of the poster in 1895 and 1896, and gave Mucha a six-year contract to produce more. With his posters all over the city, Mucha found himself quite suddenly famous.

Following Gismonda, Bernhardt switched to a different printer, F. Champenois, who, like Mucha, was put under contract to work for Bernhardt for six years. Champenois had a large printing house on Boulevard Saint Michel which employed three hundred workers, with twenty steam presses. He gave Mucha a generous monthly salary in exchange for the rights to publish all his works. With his increased income, Mucha was able to move to a three-bedroom apartment with a large studio inside a large historic house at 6 rue du Val-de-Grâce originally built by François Mansart.

Mucha designed posters for each successive Bernhardt play, beginning with a reprise of one of her early great successes, La Dame aux Camelias (September 1896), followed by Lorenzaccio (1896); Medea (1898); La Tosca (1898) and Hamlet (1899). He sometimes worked from photographs of Bernhardt, as he did for La Tosca. In addition to posters, he designed theatrical programs, sets, costumes, and jewelry for Bernhardt. The enterprising Bernhardt set aside a certain number of printed posters of each play to sell to collectors.

Commercial art and posters
The success of the Bernhardt posters brought Mucha commissions for advertising posters. He designed posters for JOB cigarette papers, Ruinart Champagne, Lefèvre-Utile biscuits, Nestlé baby food, Idéal Chocolate, the Beers of the Meuse, Moët-Chandon champagne, Trappestine brandy, and Waverly and Perfect bicycles. With Champenois, he also created a new kind of product, a decorative panel, a poster without text, purely for decoration. They were published in large print runs for a modest price. The first series was The Seasons, published in 1896, depicting four different women in extremely decorative floral settings representing the seasons of the year. In 1897 he produced an individual decorative panel of a young woman in a floral setting, called Reverie, for Champenois. He also designed a calendar with a woman's head surrounded by the signs of the zodiac. The rights were resold to Léon Deschamps, the editor of the arts review La Plume, who brought it out with great success in 1897. The Seasons series was followed by The Flowers, The Arts (1898), The Times of Day (1899), Precious Stones (1900), and The Moon and the Stars (1902). Between 1896 and 1904 Mucha created over one hundred poster designs for Champenois. These were sold in various formats, ranging from expensive versions printed on Japanese paper or vellum, to less expensive versions which combined multiple images, to calendars and postcards.

His posters focused almost entirely on beautiful women in lavish settings with their hair usually curling in arabesque forms and filling the frame. His poster for the railway line between Paris and Monaco-Monte-Carlo (1897) did not show a train or any identifiable scene of Monaco or Monte-Carlo; it showed a beautiful young woman in a kind of reverie, surrounded by swirling floral images, which suggested the turning wheels of a train.

The fame of his posters led to success in the art world; he was invited by Deschamps to show his work in the Salon des Cent exhibition in 1896, and then, in 1897, to have a major retrospective in the same gallery showing 448 works. The magazine La Plume made a special edition devoted to his work, and his exhibition traveled to Vienna, Prague, Munich, Brussels, London, and New York, giving him an international reputation.

1900 Paris Universal Exposition
The Paris Universal Exposition of 1900, famous as the first grand showcase of the Art Nouveau, gave Mucha an opportunity to move in an entirely different direction, toward the large-scale historical paintings which he had admired in Vienna. It also allowed him to express his Czech patriotism. His foreign name had caused much speculation in the French press, which distressed him. Sarah Bernhardt stood up on his behalf, declaring in La France that Mucha was "a Czech from Moravia not only by birth and origin, but also by feeling, by conviction and by patriotism." He applied to the Austrian government and received a commission to create murals for the Pavilion of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Exposition. This pavilion displayed examples of industry, agriculture and culture of these provinces which in 1878, by the Treaty of Berlin, had been taken away from Turkey and put under the tutorship of Austria. The temporary building built for the Exposition had three large halls with two levels, with a ceiling more than twelve meters high, and with natural light from skylights. His experience in theater decoration gave him the ability to paint large-scale paintings in a short period of time.

Mucha's original concept was a group of murals depicting the suffering of the Slavic inhabitants of the region caused by the occupation by foreign powers. The sponsors of the exhibit, the Austrian government, the new occupier of the region, declared that this was a little pessimistic for a World's Fair. He changed his project to depict a future society in the Balkans where Catholic and Orthodox Christians and Muslims lived in harmony together; this was accepted, and he began work. Mucha immediately departed for the Balkans to make sketches of Balkan costumes, ceremonies and architecture which he put into his new work. His decoration included one large allegorical painting, Bosnia Offers Her Products to the Universal Exposition, plus an additional set of murals on three walls, showing the history and cultural development of the region. He did discreetly include some images of the sufferings of the Bosnians under foreign rule which appear in the arched band at the top of the mural. As he had done with his theater work, he often took photographs of posed models, and painted from them, simplifying the forms. While the work depicted dramatic events, the overall impression given by the work was one of serenity and harmony. In addition to the murals, Mucha also designed a menu for the restaurant of the Bosnia Pavilion.

His work appeared in many forms at the Exposition. He designed the posters for the official Austrian participation in the Exposition, the menu for the restaurant at the Bosnian pavilion, and menu for the official opening banquet. He produced displays for the jeweler Georges Fouquet and the perfume maker Houbigant, with statuettes and panels of women depicting the scents of rose, orange blossom, violet and buttercup. His more serious art works, including his drawings for Le Pater, were shown in the Austrian Pavilion and in the Austrian section of the Grand Palais.

His work at the Exposition earned him the title of Knight of the Order of Franz Joseph from the Austrian government, and the Legion of Honour from the French government. During the course of the Exposition, Mucha proposed another unusual project. The French Government planned to take down the Eiffel Tower, built especially for the Exposition, as soon as the Exposition ended. Mucha proposed that, after the Exposition, the top of the tower should be replaced by a sculptural monument to humanity be constructed on the pedestal. The tower proved to be popular with both tourists and Parisians, and the Eiffel Tower remained after the Exhibit ended.

Jewelry and collaboration with Fouquet
Mucha's many interests included jewelry. His 1902 book, Documents Decoratifs, contained plates of elaborate designs for brooches and other pieces, with swirling arabesques and vegetal forms, with incrustations of enamel and colored stones. In 1899 he collaborated with the jeweler Georges Fouquet to make a bracelet for Sarah Bernhardt in the form of a serpent, made of gold and enamel, similar to the costume jewelry Bernhardt wore in Medea. According to Jiri Mucha, this bracelet was created to conceal Bernhardt's arthritic wrist. The spiraling design of the snake is a nod to Mucha's swirling Art Nouveau painting style. The Cascade pendant designed for Fouquet by Mucha (1900) is in the form of a waterfall, composed of gold, enamel, opals, tiny diamonds, paillons, and a barocco or misshapen pearl. After the 1900 Exposition, Fouquet decided to open a new shop at 6 Rue Royale, across the street from the restaurant Maxim's. He asked Mucha to design the interior.

The centerpieces of the design were two peacocks, the traditional symbol of luxury, made of bronze and wood with colored glass decoration. To the side was a shell-shaped fountain, with three gargoyles spouting water into basins, surrounding the statue of a nude woman. The salon was further decorated with carved moldings and stained glass, thin columents with vegetal designs, and a ceiling with molded floral and vegetal elements. It marked a summit of Art Nouveau decoration.

The Salon opened in 1901, just as tastes were beginning to change, moving away from Art Nouveau to more naturalistic patterns. It was taken apart in 1923, and a replaced by a more traditional shop design. Fortunately most of the original decoration was preserved, and was donated in 1914 and 1949 to the Carnavalet Museum in Paris, where it can be seen today.

Documents Decoratifs and teaching
Mucha's next project was a series of seventy-two printed plates of watercolors of designs, titled Documents Decoratifs, which were published in 1902 by the Librarie Centrale des Beaux-arts. They represented ways that floral, vegetal and natural forms could be used in decoration and decorative objects. In about 1900 he had begun to teach at the Academy Colarossi, where he himself had been a student when he first arrived in Paris. His course was precisely described in the catalog: "The object of the Mucha course is to permit the student to have the necessary knowledge for artistic decoration, applied to decorative panels, windows, porcelain, enamels, furniture, jewelry, posters, etc."

Le Pater
Mucha made a considerable income from his theatrical and advertising work, but he wished even more to be recognized as a serious artist and philosopher. He was a devoted Catholic, but also was interested in mysticism. In January 1898 he joined the Paris masonic lodge of the Grand Orient de France. Shortly before the 1900 Exposition, as he wrote in his memoirs, "I had not found any real satisfaction in my old kind of work. I saw that my way was to be found elsewhere,  little bit higher. I sought a way to spread the light which reached further into even the darkest corners. I didn't have to look for very long. The Pater Noster (Lord's Prayer): why not give the words a pictorial expression?". He approached his publisher, Henri Piazza, and proposed the book, in these words: "First a cover page with symbolist ornament; then the same ornament developed in a kind a variation on each line of the prayer; a page explaining each line in a calligraphic form; and a page rendering the idea of each line in the form of an image."

Le Pater was published on 20 December 1899, only 510 copies were printed. The original watercolor paintings of the page were displayed in the Austrian pavilion at the 1900 Exposition. He considered Le Pater to be his printed masterpiece, and referred to it in the New York Sun of 5 January 1900 as a work into which he had "put his soul". Critic Charles Masson, who reviewed it for Art et Decoration, wrote: "There is in that man a visionary; it is the work of an imagination not suspected by those who only know his talent for the agreeable and charming."

American travels and marriage
In March 1904, Mucha sailed for New York and the beginning of his first visit to the United States. His intent was to find funding for his grand project, The Slav Epic, which he had conceived during the 1900 Exposition. He had letters of introduction from Baroness Salomon de Rothschild. When he landed in New York, he was already a celebrity in the United States; his posters had been widely displayed during Sarah Bernhardt's annual American tours since 1896. He rented a studio near Central Park, in New York, made portraits, and gave interviews and lectures. He also made contact with Pan-Slavic organizations. At one Pan-Slavic banquet in New York City, he met Charles Richard Crane, a wealthy businessman and philanthropist, who was a passionate Slavophile. He commissioned Mucha to make a portrait of his daughter in a traditional Slavic style. More importantly, he shared Mucha's enthusiasm for a series of monumental paintings on Slavic history, and he became Mucha's most important patron. When Mucha designed the Czechoslovak bills, he used his portrait of Crane's daughter as the model for Slavia for the 100 koruna bill.

From New York, he wrote to his family in Moravia: "You must have been very surprised by my decision to come to America, perhaps even amazed. But in fact I had been preparing to come here for some time. It had become clear to me that that I would never have time to do the things I wanted to do if I did not get away from the treadmill of Paris, I would be constantly bound to publishers and their whims...in America, I don't expect to find wealth, comfort, or fame for myself, only the opportunity to do some more useful work."

He still had commissions to complete in France, and returned to Paris at the end of May 1904. He finished his commissions and returned to New York in early January 1905, and made four more trips between 1905 and 1910, usually staying for five to six months. In 1906, he returned to New York with his new wife, (Marie/Maria) Chytilová, whom he had married on 10 June 1906, in Prague. He remained in the U.S. until 1909. Their first child, Jaroslava, was born in New York in 1909.

His principal income in the United States came from teaching; he taught illustration and design at the New York School of Applied Design for Women, at the Philadelphia School of Art for five weeks, and became a visiting professor at the Art Institute of Chicago. He rejected most commercial proposals, but accepted one proposal in 1906 to design boxes and a store display for Savon Mucha, a soap bar. In 1908, he undertook one large decoration project, for the interior of the German Theater of New York; he produced three large allegorical murals, in the Art Nouveau style, representing Tragedy, Comedy and Truth. Besides the decoration, he made graphic designs, stage and costume designs.

Artistically, the trip was not a success; portrait painting was not his strong point, and the German Theater closed in 1909, one year after it opened. He made posters for the American actress Mrs. Leslie Carter (known as 'The American Sarah Bernhardt') and the Broadway star Maude Adams, but they were largely echoes of his Bernhardt posters. His finest work in America is often considered to be his portrait of Josephine Crane Bradley, the daughter of his patron, in the character of Slavia, in Slavic costume and surrounded by symbols from Slavic folklore and art. His contact with Crane made possible his most ambitious artistic project, the Slav Epic.

Move to Prague and The Slav Epic (1910–1928)
During his long stay in Paris, Mucha had never given up his dream of being a history painter, and to illustrate accomplishments of the Slavic peoples of Europe. He completed his plans for the Slav Epic in 1908 and 1909, and in February 1910, Charles Crane agreed to fund the project. In 1909, he had been offered a commission to paint murals on the interior of the new city hall of Prague. He made the decision to return to his old country, still then part of the Austrian Empire. He wrote to his wife, "I will be able to do something really good, not just for the art critic but for our Slav souls."

His first project in 1910 was the decoration of the reception room of the mayor of Prague. This quickly became controversial, because local Prague artists resented the work being given to an artist they considered an outsider. A compromise was reached, whereby he decorated the Lord Mayor's Hall, while the other artists decorated the other rooms. He designed and created a series of large-scale murals for the domed ceiling and walls with athletic figures in heroic poses, depicting the contributions of Slavs to European history over the centuries, and the theme of Slavic unity. These paintings on the ceiling and walls were in sharp contrast to his Parisian work, and were designed to send a patriotic message.

The Lord Mayor's Hall was finished in 1911, and Mucha was able to devote his attention to what he considered his most important work; The Slav Epic, a series of large paintings illustrating the achievements of the Slavic peoples over history. The series had twenty paintings, half devoted to the history of the Czechs, and ten to other Slavic peoples (Russians, Poles, Serbs, Hungarians, Bulgarians, and the Balkans, including the Orthodox monasteries of Mount Athos. The canvases were enormous; the finished works measured six by eight meters. To paint them he rented an apartment and a studio in the Zbiroh Castle in western Bohemia, where he lived and worked until 1928.

While living in Paris Mucha had imagined the series as "light shining into the souls of all people with its clear ideals and burning warnings." To prepare the project he traveled to all the Slavic countries, from Russia and Poland to the Balkans, making sketches and taking photographs. He used costumed models and still and motion picture cameras to set the scenes, often encouraging the models to create their own poses. He used egg tempera paint, which, according to his research, was quicker-drying and more luminous, and would last longer.

He created the twenty canvases between 1912 and 1926. He worked throughout the First World War, when the Austrian Empire was at war with France, despite wartime restrictions, which made canvas hard to obtain. He continued his work after the war ended, when the new Czechoslovak Republic was created. The cycle was completed in 1928 in time for the tenth anniversary of the proclamation of the Czechoslovak Republic.

Under the conditions of his contract he donated his work to the city of Prague in 1928. The Slav Epic was shown in Prague twice in his lifetime, in 1919 and 1928. After 1928 it was rolled up and put into storage.

From 1963 until 2012 the series was on display in the chateau in Moravský Krumlov in the South Moravian Region in the Czech Republic. In 2012 the series was put on display at the National Gallery's Veletržní Palace in Prague. In 2021 it was announced that a new, permanent home would be found for the paintings in central Prague, to be completed in 2026.

While he was working on the Slav Epic, he also did work for the Czech government. In 1918, he designed the korun bank note, with the image of Slavia, the daughter of his American patron Charles Crane. He also designed postage stamps for his new country. He declined commercial work, but did make occasional posters for philanthropic and cultural events, such as the Lottery of the Union of Southwestern Moravia, and for Prague cultural events.

Last years and death
In the political turmoil of the 1930s, Mucha's work received little attention in Czechoslovakia. However, in 1936 a major retrospective was held in Paris at the Jeu de Paume museum, with 139 works, including three canvases from the Slav Epic.

Hitler and Nazi Germany began to threaten Czechoslovakia in the 1930s. Mucha began work on a new series, a triptych depicting the Age of Reason, the Age of Wisdom and the Age of Love, which he worked on from 1936 to 1938, but never completed. On 15 March 1939, the German army paraded through Prague, and Hitler, at Prague castle, declared lands of the former Czechoslovakia to be part of the Greater German Reich as the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Mucha's role as a Slav nationalist and Freemason made him a prime target. He was arrested, interrogated for several days, and released. By then his health was broken. He contracted pneumonia and died on 14 July 1939, 10 days short of his 79th birthday and over a month before the outbreak of the Second World War. Though public gatherings were banned, a huge crowd attended his interment in the Slavín Monument of Vyšehrad cemetery, reserved for notable figures in Czech culture.

Legacy
Mucha was and remains widely known for his Art Nouveau work, which frustrated him. According to his son and biographer, Jiří Mucha, he did not think much of Art Nouveau. "What is it, Art Nouveau?" he asked. "...Art can never be new." He took the greatest pride in his work as a history painter.

Although it enjoys great popularity today, at the time of his death Mucha's style was considered outdated. His son, author Jiří Mucha, devoted much of his life to writing about him and bringing attention to his artwork. In his own country, the new authorities were not interested in Mucha. The Slav Epic was rolled and stored for twenty-five years before being shown in Moravský Krumlov. The National Gallery in Prague now displays The Slav Epic, and has a major collection of Mucha's work.

Mucha is also credited with restoring the movement of Czech Freemasonry.

The Mucha Museum, the only museum dedicated to the artist, opened in Prague in 1998.

One of the largest collections of Mucha's works is that of nine-year World No. 1 professional tennis player Ivan Lendl, who started collecting his works upon meeting Jiří Mucha in 1982. His collection was exhibited publicly for the first time in 2013 in Prague.

On 24 July 2010, Google celebrated Alfonse Mucha's 150th Birthday with a doodle.

title: Alphonse Mucha


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Talk:Intuitive understanding

Anyone care to explain why it makes sense to just redirect this to Grok? A reference to Grok seems appropriate enough, but surely the two are not synonyms.

-- Ryguasu

 * I've added some stuff. Hopefully this is interesting enough both to serve as a general introduction and to encourage further development. -- Merphant 11:59 Nov 25, 2002 (UTC)

2008-01-1 Automated pywikipediabot message
--CopyToWiktionaryBot (talk) 01:21, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Intuitive understanding


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Talk:MOS Technology 6507

Correction
correction: the 6507 addresses 8 KB. the 2600 halves that to 4 KB. 13 bits = 8 KB (2^13 = 8192).

 * I fixed up your post a bit. Also, I added the header "Correction". Vmelkon (talk) 01:46, 24 August 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:MOS Technology 6507


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Bill Murray

William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas.

Murray became a national presence on Saturday Night Live from 1977 to 1980, where he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. He established his stardom acting in a string of successful comedy films, including Meatballs (1979), Caddyshack (1980), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989), What About Bob? (1991) and Groundhog Day (1993). He also had supporting roles in Tootsie (1982), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Ed Wood (1994), Kingpin (1996) and Osmosis Jones (2001).

He began his collaboration with director Wes Anderson with Rushmore (1998), which earned him an Independent Spirit Award. He would continue to appear in many of his films, including The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Isle of Dogs (2018) and The French Dispatch (2021). He starred in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation (2003), earning him Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Other notable films roles Broken Flowers (2005), City of Ember (2008), Hyde Park on Hudson (2012), The Monuments Men (2014), Rock the Kasbah (2015) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023).

For his role in the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014), he earned his second Primetime Emmy Award. Murray reprised his original Ghostbusters role of Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024). In 2016, Murray was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Early life
Murray was born on September 21, 1950, in Evanston, Illinois, to Lucille Murray (née Collins; 1921–1988), a mail-room clerk, and Edward Joseph Murray II (1921–1967), a lumber salesman. He was raised in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago.

Murray and his eight siblings grew up in an Irish Catholic family. His paternal grandfather was from County Cork, while his maternal ancestors were from County Galway. Three of his siblings, John Murray, Joel Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray, are also actors. A sister, Nancy, is an Adrian Dominican nun in Michigan; she has traveled the United States in two one-woman programs, portraying Catherine of Siena and Dorothy Stang. His brother Ed Murray died in 2020. Their father died in 1967 at the age of 46 from complications of diabetes when Bill was 17.

As a youth, Murray read children's biographies of American heroes like Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickok and Davy Crockett. He attended St. Joseph's grade school and Loyola Academy. During his teen years, he worked as a golf caddy to fund his education at the Jesuit high school, was the lead singer of a rock band (the Dutch Masters) and took part in high school and community theater. One of his sisters had polio and his mother suffered several miscarriages.

After graduating from Loyola Academy, Murray attended Regis University in Denver, Colorado, taking pre-medical courses, but quickly dropped out and returned to Illinois. In 2007, Regis awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree. On September 21, 1970, his 20th birthday, the police arrested Murray at Chicago's O'Hare Airport for trying to smuggle 10 lbs of cannabis, which he had allegedly intended to sell. It was discovered after Murray joked to the passenger next to him that he had packed a bomb in his luggage. Murray was convicted and sentenced to probation.

1970s: Early work
Second City, National Lampoon

With an invitation from his older brother Brian, Murray got his start at Chicago's The Second City, an improvisational comedy troupe, studying under Del Close. In 1974, he moved to New York City and was recruited by John Belushi as a featured player on The National Lampoon Radio Hour.

Saturday Night Live (1977–1980)

In 1975, the Off-Broadway The National Lampoon Show led to his first television role as a cast member of the ABC variety show Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. That same season, another variety show, NBC's Saturday Night, premiered. Cosell's show lasted just one season, canceled in early 1976. After working in Los Angeles with the "guerrilla video" commune TVTV on several projects, Murray rose to prominence in 1976. He officially joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live for the show's second season, following the departure of Chevy Chase. Murray was with SNL for three seasons from 1977 to 1980. A Rutland Weekend Television sketch Monty Python's Eric Idle brought for his appearance on SNL developed into the mockumentary All You Need Is Cash (1978). Murray appeared as "Bill Murray the K", a send-up of New York radio host Murray the K, in a segment that parodies the Maysles Brothers's documentary The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit. During the first few seasons of SNL, Murray was in a romantic relationship with fellow cast member Gilda Radner.

1980s: Work with Harold Ramis
Murray landed his first starring role with Meatballs (1979). He followed this with a portrayal of Hunter S. Thompson in Where the Buffalo Roam (1980). In the early 1980s, he collaborated with writer-director Harold Ramis and starred in a string of box-office hits, including Caddyshack (1980) and Stripes (1981) and had a role in Tootsie (1982). Murray was the first guest on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman on February 1, 1982. He later appeared on the first episode of the Late Show with David Letterman on August 30, 1993, when the show moved to CBS. On January 31, 2012, 30 years after his first appearance with Letterman, Murray appeared again on his talk show. He appeared as Letterman's final guest when the host retired on May 20, 2015.

Murray began work on a film adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's novel The Razor's Edge. The film, which Murray co-wrote, was his first starring role in a drama. He later agreed with Columbia Pictures to star in Ghostbusters—in a role originally written for John Belushi—to get financing for The Razor's Edge. Ghostbusters became the highest-grossing film of 1984 and, at the time, the highest-grossing comedy ever. The Razor's Edge, which was filmed before Ghostbusters was released, was a box-office flop.

Frustrated over the failure of The Razor's Edge, Murray stepped away from acting for four years to study philosophy and history at Sorbonne University, frequent the Cinémathèque in Paris, and to spend time with his family in their Hudson River Valley home. During that time, his second son, Luke, was born. With the exception of a cameo in Little Shop of Horrors (1986), he made no film appearances, but participated in public readings in Manhattan organized by playwright-director Timothy Mayer and in a stage production of Bertolt Brecht's A Man's a Man. Murray returned to film with Scrooged (1988) and Ghostbusters II (1989).

1990s
Murray made his first and only attempt at directing when he co-directed Quick Change (1990) with producer Howard Franklin. He co-starred in Frank Oz's What About Bob? (1991) alongside Richard Dreyfuss. He starred in Harold Ramis's fantasy comedy Groundhog Day (1993). The Washington Post's Hal Hinson praised Murray's performance: "Murray is a breed unto himself, a sort of gonzo minimalist. And he's never been funnier as a comedian or more in control as an actor than he is here. It's easily his best movie." That same year, he starred in the comedy Mad Dog and Glory alongside Robert De Niro and Uma Thurman. Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote, "The great satisfaction of Mad Dog and Glory is watching Mr. De Niro and Mr. Murray play against type with such invigorating ease."

After the success of Groundhog Day, Murray appeared in a series of well-received supporting roles in films like Tim Burton's Ed Wood (1994) and Peter Farrelly's Kingpin (1996). Also in 1996, he appeared as himself in the Looney Tunes live action comedy Space Jam with Michael Jordan. However, his starring roles in Larger than Life (1996) and The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) were not as successful with critics or audiences. He received much critical praise for his role in Wes Anderson's coming of age comedy Rushmore (1998), opposite Jason Schwartzman and Olivia Williams. Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Murray turns in a thrillingly knowing, unforced performance — an award-worthy high point in a career that continues". Murray received the Best Supporting Actor awards from the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Society of Film Critics, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (tying with Billy Bob Thornton for A Simple Plan). Murray then took on more dramatic roles in Wild Things (1998) and Cradle Will Rock (1999).

2000s
Murray decided to take a turn towards more dramatic roles and experienced a resurgence in his career. In 2000, he portrayed Polonius in Michael Almereyda's Hamlet, based on the play by William Shakespeare. The film starred Ethan Hawke in the title role, as well as Kyle MacLachlan, Julia Stiles, Liev Schreiber and Sam Shepard. The film received mixed reviews. The following year, Murray reunited with Wes Anderson in the family comedy-drama The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) which starred Gene Hackman, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow and Anjelica Huston. In the film, Murray plays Raleigh St. Clair, the meek and mild-mannered neurologist, writer, and husband of Margot Tenenbaum (Paltrow).

In 2003, he starred in his first collaboration with director Sofia Coppola in Lost in Translation opposite Scarlett Johansson. Murray plays an aging movie star on assignment in Tokyo to shoot a Suntory whiskey commercial. Feeling isolated and alone he meets an American woman, Charlotte (Johansson) with whom he sparks an unlikely friendship. Coppola explores the themes of alienation and disconnection against a backdrop of cultural displacement in Japan. The independent drama was an immense critical success and commercial success. Roger Ebert hailed Murray's performance: "Bill Murray has never been better. He doesn't play 'Bill Murray' or any other conventional idea of a movie star, but invents Bob Harris from the inside out, as a man both happy and sad with his life – stuck, but resigned to being stuck." Murray earned numerous accolades, including the Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, and the Independent Spirit Award, as well as Best Actor awards from several film critic organizations. He was considered a favorite to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, but Sean Penn ultimately won the award for his performance in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River. In an interview included on the Lost in Translation DVD, Murray states that it is his favorite film in which he has appeared. He played himself "hiding out" in a local coffee shop in Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes (2003). He voiced Garfield in Garfield: The Movie (2004), which role he reprised in Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006). Murray later said that he only took the role because he was under the mistaken impression that the screenplay, co-written by Joel Cohen, was the work of Joel Coen.

He made his third collaboration with Anderson in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), co-written by Anderson with Noah Baumbach. Murray plays Zissou, an oceanographer-filmmaker based on Jacques Cousteau who is struggling to finish his latest documentary and has to reconcile with his son (Owen Wilson). The film also stars Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Anjelica Huston, Jeff Goldblum and Michael Gambon. The film initially received mixed reviews, although Murray's performance was praised, and was a box office bomb. In the decades since, it has developed a cult following. The following year, Murray reunited with Jim Jarmusch in Broken Flowers (2005). The film revolves around Don Johnston (Murray), who embarks on a journey to four women (Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange and Tilda Swinton), to find out who sent him a mysterious letter. Roger Ebert praised Murray: "No actor is better than Bill Murray at doing nothing at all, and being fascinating while not doing it". That same year, Murray announced that he was taking a hiatus from acting as he had not had the time to relax since his new breakthrough in the late 1990s.

He returned to the big screen for cameos in Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited (2007) and Peter Segal's Get Smart (2008). He played an important role in the post-apocalyptic film City of Ember (2008). Murray starred in the independent film Get Low (2009) alongside Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek. The film is loosely based on a true story about a Tennessee hermit in the 1930s who throws his own funeral party while still alive. Murray and Duvall received critical praise and the film won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. Also in 2009, Murray played himself in the zombie comedy Zombieland starring Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Jesse Eisenberg. Murray voiced Mr. Badger in Anderson's stop-motion film Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009).

2010s
Murray starred in Roger Michell's historical comedy Hyde Park on Hudson (2012), where he played Franklin D. Roosevelt opposite Laura Linney, (Roosevelt's cousin Margaret Suckley) and Olivia Williams (Eleanor Roosevelt). The film focuses on the 1939 visit at the Roosevelts' Hyde Park home by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (Samuel West and Olivia Colman, respectively.) Murray received praise from critics; Roger Ebert wrote, "Bill Murray wouldn't be my first thought for an actor to play President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but he may have been the right choice for Hyde Park on Hudson. The role requires him to show Roosevelt as a sometimes lonely and sad man whose vacation getaway is his mother's family mansion, Springwood, near Hyde Park in upstate New York ... Murray, who has a wider range than we sometimes realize, finds the human core of this FDR and presents it tenderly." Murray received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy nomination for his performance.

Since 2010, Murray has continued to appear in Wes Anderson films, including the coming of age comedy Moonrise Kingdom (2012) which also starred Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton. The film premiered at the 65th Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the Palme d'Or. The film was a box office and critical success. In 2016, the BBC included the film in its list of greatest films of the twenty-first century. Murray made a brief comic turn in Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). The film competed at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival where it received rapturous reviews. The film received 9 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, ultimately receiving 4, for Costume Design, Production Design, Makeup/Hair and Original Score. Murray, along with the cast, won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for his ensemble work.

Murray, along with Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Hugh Bonneville, Jean Dujardin and Bob Balaban, starred in George Clooney's ensemble World War II drama The Monuments Men (2014). The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a modest box office success. Murray starred in the coming of age film St. Vincent (2014) alongside Melissa McCarthy and Naomi Watts. Murray played Vincent, a retired, grumpy, alcoholic Vietnam War veteran, and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance. Peter Bradshaw's mixed review praised Murray: "[He] knows how to shine as the bleary, cynical companion to a younger person dragooned by fate into being both his pupil and his accomplice, and who puts Murray back in touch with his own innocence." He starred as a music manager in Barry Levinson's Rock the Kasbah (2015).

He voiced Baloo in Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book (2016). Murray received praise for his comic performance with Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly describing him at "his wry, what-me-worry comic-relief best". The film was an immense financial hit, and earned a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Murray was nominated for Favorite Animated Movie Voice at the People's Choice Awards; he lost to Ellen DeGeneres who reprised her role in Finding Dory (2016).

There had been speculation that Murray might return to the Ghostbusters franchise for a rumored Ghostbusters 3. Murray once stated, "I'd do it only if my character was killed off in the first reel," and also, "You know, maybe I should just do it. Maybe it'd be fun to do." Eventually, he appeared in both the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot as Martin Heiss, a cynical ghost debunker, which was released on July 15, 2016, and 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife. In 2018, Murray returned to Saturday Night Live portraying Donald Trump's White House's Chief strategist Steve Bannon alongside Fred Armisen as journalist and author Michael Wolff. That year he was also part of Wes Anderson's ensemble cast of the animated film Isle of Dogs, which premiered at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival. He also briefly reprised his role as himself in Zombieland: Double Tap (2018).

Murray was part of the ensemble cast of Jim Jarmusch's zombie-comedy The Dead Don't Die (2019). The film starred Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Selena Gomez, Chloë Sevigny and Steve Buscemi. The film received mixed reviews. However John Nungent of Empire praised its lead performances: "Murray and Driver are two of Jarmusch's favourite muses — the De Niro and DiCaprio to his Scorsese, if you like — and few actors capture that lacksadasical sense of humour quite as well as them, both faces almost Buster Keaton-esque in their deadpan resolve."

2020s
Murray reprised his role in Groundhog Day for an ad which aired during the 2020 Super Bowl. In it, he steals the groundhog and drives him to various places in the orange Jeep Gladiator. Murray reunited with Sofia Coppola for the comedy-drama On the Rocks (2020) opposite Rashida Jones. The film premiered at the 58th New York Film Festival where it received positive reviews, with many critics praising Murray's performance. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that "Murray has seldom been better." It had a limited theatrical release on October 2, 2020, by A24, followed by a digital streaming release on October 23, 2020, on Apple TV+. He received some critical acclaim as well as nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture and the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Murray appeared in a small role in The French Dispatch (2021), reuniting him with Wes Anderson for the 9th time. It was set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 12, 2020, and get a wide release on July 24, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was cancelled and the film was pulled from the schedule on April 3, 2020. The film was rescheduled for release on October 16, 2020, before being pulled from the schedule again on July 23, 2020. It ultimately premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and was released on October 22, 2021.

Murray reprised his role as Peter Venkman in Jason Reitman's Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021). Fellow Ghostbusters cast members also reprised their roles including Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts. The film was a critical and commercial success. In October 2021, Murray joined the cast of the superhero film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He appeared in Peter Farrelly's biographical war comedy-drama film The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022) alongside Zac Efron and Russell Crowe. It debuted at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival where it received mixed reviews. It later debuted on Apple TV+.

Other work
Murray is a partner with his brothers in Murray Bros. Caddy Shack, a restaurant with two locations. In 2001, they opened a location at the World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida. The second location opened in 2018, inside the Crowne Plaza Rosemont Hotel near the O'Hare International Airport.

In 1978, Murray appeared in two at-bats for the Grays Harbor Loggers Minor League Baseball team, credited with one hit and a lifetime batting average of .500.

He founded and was part-owner of the St. Paul Saints, a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. Bill occasionally traveled to Saint Paul, Minnesota to watch the team's games. Murray sold his interest in the Saints in 2023. As part of The Goldklang Group, he owns part of the Charleston RiverDogs, the Hudson Valley Renegades, and the Brockton Rox. He has invested in a number of other minor league teams in the past, including the Utica Blue Sox, the Fort Myers Miracle, the Salt Lake Sting (APSL), the Catskill Cougars, and the Salt Lake City Trappers. In 2012 he was inducted into the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame for his ownership and investment activities in the league.

On his birthday in 2016, Murray, along with his brother Joel, launched an apparel brand called William Murray Golf.

In 2017, Murray recorded a studio album entitled New Worlds featuring singing and literary recitations with classical musicians. The album was released on vinyl, CD and digital through Verve Records.

In 2022, Murray recited poetry and sang with the cellist Jan Vogler, in a recorded production of New Worlds: The Cradle of Civilization, which was released in cinemas.

Public image
Murray's popularity has been such that he holds an iconic status in American popular culture. Murray's eccentric style of comedy, both on-screen and in his personal life, has caused him to be seen as a folk hero to many making him a significant meme in various media including books and the Internet. In 2016 he was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor by the Kennedy Center.

Personal life
Being very detached from the Hollywood scene, Murray does not have an agent or manager and reportedly only fields offers for scripts and roles using a personal telephone number with a voice mailbox that he checks infrequently. This practice has reportedly prevented him from participating in films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Monsters, Inc., The Squid and the Whale, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Little Miss Sunshine. When asked about this practice, however, Murray seemed content with his inaccessibility, stating, "It's not that hard. If you have a good script that's what gets you involved. People say they can't find me. Well, if you can write a good script, that's a lot harder than finding someone. I don't worry about it; it's not my problem."

Murray has homes in Los Angeles; Rancho Santa Fe, California; Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts; Charleston, South Carolina; and Palisades, New York. Between 2008 and 2013, Murray maintained a residence in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan.

In 2007, Murray was pulled over by Swedish police on suspicion of driving a golf cart under the influence of alcohol.

Murray has experienced symptoms of depression. He has claimed that art and music have helped ease past depressive episodes.

He is a student of the teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff.

Murray is the godfather to Wes Anderson's daughter, Freya.

Marriages and children
During the filming of Stripes, Murray married Margaret Kelly on January 25, 1981. Later, they remarried in Chicago for their families. Margaret gave birth to two sons, Homer and Luke. Following Murray's affair with Jennifer Butler, the couple divorced in 1996.

In 1997, he married Butler. Together, they have four sons: Caleb, Jackson, Cooper, and Lincoln. Butler filed for divorce on May 12, 2008, accusing Murray of domestic violence, infidelity, and addictions to sex, marijuana, and alcohol. Their divorce was finalized on June 13, 2008.

Butler died on January 19, 2021.

Chicago sports and other activities

Murray is a fan of several Chicago professional sports teams, especially the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears, and the Chicago Bulls. He was once a guest color commentator for a Cubs game during the 1980s. He was in attendance, along with fellow Cubs fans John Cusack, Eddie Vedder, and Bonnie Hunt, during the Cubs' historic Game Seven victory during the 2016 World Series. Murray is an avid Quinnipiac University basketball fan, where his son served as head of basketball operations, and he is a regular fixture at home games. He cheered courtside for the Illinois Fighting Illini's game against the 2004–2005 Arizona Wildcats in the Regional Final game in Chicago. He is a fixture at home games of those teams when in his native Chicago. After traveling to Florida during the Cubs' playoff run to help "inspire" the team (Murray joked with Cubs slugger Aramis Ramírez he was very ill and needed two home runs to give him the hope to live), he was invited to the champagne party in the Cubs' clubhouse when the team clinched the NL Central in late September 2007, along with fellow actors John Cusack, Bernie Mac, James Belushi, and former Cubs player Ron Santo. Murray appears in Santo's documentary, This Old Cub. In 2006, Murray became the sixth recipient of Baseball Reliquary's annual Hilda Award, established in 2001 "to recognize distinguished service to the game by a fan". He sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during a 2016 World Series game at Wrigley Field.

As a Chicago native, Murray appeared at the 50th annual Chicago Air & Water Show in August 2008. He performed a tandem jump with the U.S. Army Parachute Team Golden Knights. He was the MC for Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival on July 28, 2007, where he dressed in various guises of Clapton as he appeared through the years. He served as MC again in 2010 and once more in 2019.

Murray's son, Luke, is an assistant coach for the UConn Huskies men's basketball team. Murray has attended several of their games, such as during their championship run in the 2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

Religious beliefs
Murray stated in a 1984 interview: "I'm definitely a religious person, but it doesn't have much to do with Catholicism anymore. I don't think about Catholicism as much."

In a 2014 interview, Murray expressed affection for the Traditional Latin Mass and expressed concerns about some of the changes within the Mass of Paul VI: "I'm not sure all those changes were right. I tend to disagree with what they call the new Mass. I think we lost something by losing the Latin. Now if you go to a Catholic Mass even just in Harlem it can be in Spanish, it can be in Ethiopian, it can be in any number of languages. The shape of it, the pictures, are the same but the words aren't the same."

Political views
Murray donated $1,000 to former Governor of Nebraska Bob Kerrey's successful election to the United States Senate in 1988.

During the 2000 presidential campaign, Murray supported Green Party candidate Ralph Nader.

In a 2018 interview, Murray praised the Trump tax cuts, opining them to be a "great thing for the corporations".

Philanthropy
In 1987, he donated money to help build the Nathalie Salmon House, which provides affordable housing for low-income seniors. Michael and Lilo Salmon, the founders of Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly (HOME), said Murray performed "miracles" for them.

Feuds and allegations of misconduct
Murray has been known for his mood swings, leading Dan Aykroyd to refer to him as "The Murricane". Murray has said of his reputation: "I remember a friend said to me a while back: 'You have a reputation.' And I said: 'What?' And he said: 'Yeah, you have a reputation of being difficult to work with.' But I only got that reputation from people I didn't like working with, or people who didn't know how to work, or what work is. Jim, Wes and Sofia, they know what it is to work, and they understand how you're supposed to treat people."

In the book Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, as Told By Its Stars, Writers and Guests, Chevy Chase recalls being confronted by Murray shortly before an SNL broadcast in 1978, in which Chase had returned to guest host. The issue, likely to do with Chase's insistence on doing the "Weekend Update" segment that had been taken over by Jane Curtin, led to Murray and Chase trading insults, with Murray telling Chase to go have sex with Jacqueline Carlin, Chase's wife at the time, while Chase commented that Murray's face looked "like something Neil Armstrong had landed on". The argument eventually turned physical, with SNL cast members Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner witnessing the altercation. Murray later said of the incident, "It was an Oedipal thing, a rupture. Because we all felt mad he had left us, and somehow I was the anointed avenging angel, who had to speak for everyone. But Chevy and I are friends now. It's all fine." The two went on to star together in Caddyshack, which was shot the following year.

According to Den of Geek, Murray did not get along well with Sean Young during the production of Stripes and has refused to work with her again.

According to Robert Schnakenberg’s 2015 book The Big Bad Book of Bill Murray, Murray had a "disastrous meeting" with Nick Nolte that caused both of them to turn down About Last Night (1986). In 2024, it was reported that Murray and Nolte will act together in the upcoming film The Ploughmen.

Murray has said in interviews that he and film director Richard Donner did not get along well while filming Scrooged, stating that they would disagree with each other. Donner said of Murray: "He's superbly creative, but occasionally difficult – as difficult as any actor."

Both Murray and Richard Dreyfuss have confirmed in separate interviews that they did not get along with each other during the making of What About Bob? In addition, the film's producer Laura Ziskin recalled having a disagreement with Murray that led him to toss her into a lake. Ziskin confirmed in 2003, "Bill also threatened to throw me across the parking lot and then broke my sunglasses and threw them across the parking lot. I was furious and outraged at the time, but having produced a dozen movies, I can safely say it is not common behavior." Dreyfuss later alleged in 2019 that Murray screamed at him while he was intoxicated and told him, "Everyone hates you! You are tolerated!" and then threw an ashtray at him. Although they have not crossed paths since the release of the film, Dreyfuss confirmed in a 2020 interview that he has forgiven Murray.

Murray also had a falling out with film director and longtime collaborator Harold Ramis during the production of Groundhog Day. According to screenwriter Danny Rubin, "They were like two brothers who weren't getting along." Apparently, they had such intense creative differences that one day Ramis grabbed Murray by the shirt collar and threw him against a wall. As a result, Groundhog Day ultimately served as the final film collaboration between Murray and Ramis, although they did take part in 2009's Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Murray eventually reconciled with Ramis just before Ramis' death in February 2014.

During the making of Charlie's Angels, Lucy Liu allegedly threw punches at Murray after he told her that she could not act. Murray claims, however, that he and Liu had only an argument rather than a feud and that they have "made peace" since then. Film director McG, who directed Charlie's Angels, alleged in 2009 that Murray headbutted him. Murray has denied ever doing so.

Lost in Translation director Sofia Coppola said that the central scene of Scarlett Johansson and Murray lying on the bed together took multiple takes because the actors did not seem to be getting along. She eventually stopped for the day and started again the next morning. Despite this, Coppola stated that Murray was a lot of fun to work with on the production.

Anjelica Huston recalled having a feud with Murray during the making of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

In April 2022, production of Being Mortal was suspended after Murray was accused of unspecified "inappropriate behavior". It was later reported in October that Murray had allegedly straddled a female production assistant and kissed or rubbed her on the mouth while the pair were wearing flu masks as part of COVID-19 protocols. The woman filed a complaint and received a settlement of $100,000 from Murray,   and signed a non-disclosure agreement.

In October 2022, Geena Davis alleged in her memoir Dying of Politeness that Murray harassed and yelled at her during the filming of Quick Change and that, during their first meeting in a hotel suite, he had pressured her to let him use a massage machine on her back. She also recalled a dual interview on The Arsenio Hall Show during which Murray repeatedly tried to pull down the spaghetti strap of her dress. That same month, Seth Green alleged that when he was nine years old, backstage on the Saturday Night Live set, Murray picked him up from a chair by his ankles and dangled him over a garbage can, before Green fell in after accidentally striking Murray in the testicles.

Murray has been defended by longtime collaborator Wes Anderson amid the misconduct claims.

Awards and nominations
Murray has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two Independent Spirit Awards. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Sofia Coppola's romance Lost in Translation (2003). Murray was inducted into the Irish-American Hall of Fame, along with fellow actor, Martin Sheen, in 2017. In 2015, he was also inducted into the Caddie Hall of Fame.

title: Bill Murray


text:
Scouting in Iowa

Scouting in Iowa has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.

Early history (1910-1960)
The earliest verifiable evidence of Boy Scouts of America involvement within Iowa appears to be with Troop 1 in Villisca. The Scoutmaster was W.H. Bell and his signature is clearly visible on the tattered remains of a Boy Scout Certificate (tucked into a 1st edition scout book) for Ned Cecil Osborn (1898-1985). Ned was 13 years old, in the Ram Patrol, and "Qualified as a Tenderfoot" on October 29, 1912. Both of Ned's sons, Donald and Richard participated in scouting and continued to do so when the family relocated to Stuart during the Great Depression. When Richard achieved his Life Badge in 1943, it was awarded by a Scout Executive from Des Moines. The executive started the ceremony by announcing that one of the very earliest scouts registered in the State of Iowa was present and would assist in the presentation. He then called Ned forward to assist in his son's ceremony.

Beyond his Tenderfoot certification, Ned remained active in Troop 1 and when older, participated as an assistant scout leader. While serving in that role, Ned befriended and mentored younger scout Claude Maxwell 'Max' Stanley (about 6 years younger than Ned). Max went on to found Stanley Engineering in Muscatine. Max also founded the Stanley Center for Peace and Security which seeks to mitigate climate change and address global violence and atrocities.

Scouting began in Jewell, Iowa, due to the generosity of Mrs. Carrie A. Strong. Mrs. Strong had resided in Jewell and moved to California, but due to her interest in the town even after relocation, she gave the town of Jewell its first step in Scouting. In 1916, Mrs. Strong came back to Jewell for her annual visit went before the city fathers to tell them that she would provide the fund to buy and build a Scout House on, and give $1000 to construct a building suitable for the Scout program.

A parcel of land was bought from H. K. and Christian Gronbeck on October 14, 1916, for the sum of $840.00. The building was let to Peterson Builders for the Scout House 240 by 48 feet and 12 foot high. The completed cost for the building was $935.00. The First Scoutmaster was Reverend Norstad and his assistants were professors from the then Jewell Lutheran College. F. H. Ferbitz became Scoutmaster in October 1923 with 28 Scouts under his leadership. A Fife and Drum Corp was also started at that time and the grounds were cleaned and the building painted. A basketball league was formed which consisted of four teams. After the basketball games, the boys would have what they referred to as, "a feed." These feeds were paid for by the continued contributions of Mrs. Strong up to the time of her death on November 27, 1923.

In 1937, the Mesquakie Area Council (#174) was founded, merging into the Buffalo Bill Area Council (#176) in 1958. In 1915, the Davenport Council (#176) was founded, changing it name to Buffalo Bill Area Council (#176) in 1928. It merged into the Illowa Council (#133) in 1967.

In 1920, LeMars Council (#182) was created, merging into the Sioux City Area Council (#185) in 1926.

In 1918, Sioux City Council (#185) was created, changing its name to the Sioux City Area Council (#185) in 1926. In 1939, Sioux City Area changed its name to the Sergeant Floyd Area Council (#185) in 1939. Sergeant Floyd Area merged into Prairie Gold Area Council (#179) in 1972.

In 1919, Fort Dodge Council (#179) was created. In 1942 the council changed its name to Prairie Gold Area Council (#179).

In 1920, the Shenandoah Council was founded, folding in 1921.

In 1919, Council Bluffs Council (#175) was created. In 1926 the council changed its name to Waubonsie Boyer Council (#175). It changed its name again to the Southwest Iowa Council (#175), eventually merging into the Mid-America Council in 1965.

In 1918, the Marshalltown Council was founded, folding in 1919. In 1918, the Webster City Council was founded, folding in 1919. In 1918, the Red Oak Council was founded, folding in 1920.

Recent history (1960-2010)
During the 1950s and 60s eastern Iowa was home to the Buffalo Bill Area Council (#176) spanning an area from Dubuque to Muscatine. The council office was located in Davenport. The summer camp, Camp Minneyata, was outside of Dixon on the Wapsipinicon River and featured a canoe base, swimming pool, and lodge hall. The Order of the Arrow Lodge was the "Golden Eagle" Lodge, No. 313.

The Mid-America Council (#326) was formed from a merger of the Covered Wagon Council (#326) and the Southwest Iowa Council (#175) in 1965. In 2000 the council merged with the Prairie Gold Area Council (#179) that had been located in Sioux City, Iowa.

In 1918, the Keokuk Council was founded, folding in 1919. In 1920, the Fort Madison Council (#180) was founded, and closed in 1928.

In 1917, the Burlington Council (#171) was founded, changing its name to Southeast Iowa Council (#171) in 1929. The Southeast Iowa Council merged into the Mississippi Valley Council (#141) in 1993.

Councils
There are eight BSA local councils serving Iowa.

Hawkeye Area Council
The Hawkeye Area Council serves Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Jones, Johnson, Linn, and Washington counties within Eastern Iowa. It Currently has two districts, Northern Lights and Southern Prairie.

History
In 1916, the Cedar Rapids Council was founded, folding in 1919.

In 1924, the Linn County Council (#172) was founded, changing its name to the Cedar Rapids Area Council (#172) in 1927. In 1941 the council changed its name to the Waubeck Area Council (#172) in 1941. In 1920, the Iowa City Council (#181) was founded, changing its name to the Iowa City Area Council (#181) in 1924. In 1941 the council changed its name to the Iowa River Valley Council (#181) in 1941.

In 1952, the Waubeck Area Council (#172) and the Iowa River Valley Council (#181) merged to form the Hawkeye Area Council (#172).

Organization

 * Northern Lights District
 * Southern Prairie District

Camps

 * Howard H. Cherry Scout Reservation
 * Camp Wakonda

Order of the Arrow

 * Cho-Gun-Mun-A-Nock Lodge

Illowa Council
Headquartered in Davenport, Iowa, the Illowa Council serves Scouts in western Illinois and eastern Iowa in the Quad Cities area. Konepaka Ketiwa Lodge #38 (part of Section C-3A) is the Order of the Arrow lodge that serves this council.

In 1937, the Mesquakie Area Council (#174) was founded, merging into the Buffalo Bill Area Council (#176) in 1958. In 1915, the Davenport Council (#176) was founded, changing it name to Buffalo Bill Area Council (#176) in 1928. It merged into the Illowa Council (#133) in 1967.

 * Hoover District
 * Inali District
 * Kittan District
 * Mesquakie District
 * Saukenuk District

Mid America Council
Headquarterd in Nebraska, the Mid-America Council offers programs in 58 counties in Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. The council has several camps, including the Little Sioux Scout Ranch.

Mid-Iowa Council
The Mid Iowa Council serves the area of the state capital, Des Moines.

In 1914 the Ames Council (#169) was formed, changing its name to the Story County Council (#169) in 1923. The council changed its name again in 1930 to the Tall Corn Area Council (#169). In 1924 the Boone County Council (#170) was formed, merging into the Story County Council (#169) in 1926.

In 1914 the Des Moines Council (#177) was formed, changing its name to the Polk and Jasper Counties Council (#177) in 1926. In 1927, Polk and Jasper Counties Council (#177) changed its name to the Des Moines Area Council (#177) in 1927. In 1924 the Mahaska-Poweshiek-Jasper Counties Council (#183) was formed, merging into the Des Moines Area Council (#177) in 1926.

In 1932, the Des Moines Area Council (#177) and the Tall Corn Area Council (#169) merged to become the Tall Corn Area Council (#177).

In 1927 the Newton City Council (#778) was formed, changing its name to the Tri-Valley Council (#778) in 1929. Newton City merged into the Tall Corn Area Council (#177) in 1931.

In 1924 the Marshall and Tama Counties Council (#658) was formed, changing its name to the Central Iowa Council (#658) in 1925. In 1942 Central Iowa merged with the Tall Corn Area Council (#177).

In 1919 the Ottumwa Council (#194) was formed, changing its name to the Southern Iowa Area Council (#184) in 1928.

In 1970, Southern Iowa Area Council (#184) and Tall Corn Area Council (#177) merged to become the Mid-Iowa Council (#177).

Mississippi Valley Council
This council is headquartered in Quincy, Illinois, and is served by Black Hawk Lodge #67. This council serves Scouts in Illinois and Iowa.

Northeast Iowa Council
The Northeast Iowa Council is headquartered in Dubuque, IA and serves the counties of Dubuque, Delaware, Clayton, and Allamakee, as well as the cities of East Dubuque and Bellevue. Camp C.S. Klaus is the resident summer camp facility of the Northeast Iowa Council, and is located just west of Colesburg, Iowa.

In 1915 the Dubuque Council (#178) was formed, changing its name to the Dubuque Area Council (#178) in 1934. The council changed its name to the Northeast Iowa Council (#178) in 1935.

In 1918 the Clinton Council (#174) was formed, changing its name to the Clinton Area Council (#174) in 1927. The Clinton Area Council changed its name to the Macquarie Area Council (#174) in 1937.

Sioux Council
The Sioux Council serves Scouts in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota.

Winnebago Council
The Winnebago Council (#173) is a council of the Boy Scouts of America. The Winnebago Council serves Scouts BSA, Cub Scouts, adult volunteers and Venturers in 17 counties located in North Central Iowa. Including: Black Hawk, Grundy, Butler, Franklin, Wright, Hancock, Winnebago, Worth, Cerro Gordo, Mitchell, Floyd, Bremer, Chickasaw, Howard, Winneshiek, Fayette, and Buchanan.

In 1918, the Jesup Council was founded, folding that same year.

In 1918, the Oelwein Council was founded, folding that same year.

In 1918, the Charles City Council was founded, folding in 1920.

In 1922, the Cedar Falls Council was founded, folding in 1924.

In 1920, the Waterloo Council (#186) was founded, changing its name in Wapsipinicon Area Council (#186) in 1929. The council merged into the Winnebago Council (#173) in 1973.

In 1918, the Mason City Council (#173) was founded, changing its name in Cerro Gordo County Council (#173) in 1922, and changing its name again to the North Iowa Council (#173) in 1928. The council changed its name in 1939 to the Winnebago Council (#173).

Girl Scouting in Iowa
There are two Girl Scout councils in Iowa, realigned from nine former councils.

Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois
As part of a national realignment the Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois formed in April 2007 by combining four former councils. It serves some 20,000 girls.

 * Council headquarters: Rock Island, Illinois
 * Service centers: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Dubuque, Iowa, Waterloo, Iowa, and West Burlington, Iowa.

The former councils are:
 * History

 * Conestoga Council of Girl Scouts Waterloo, Iowa
 * Girl Scouts of Little Cloud Council, Inc. Dubuque, Iowa
 * Girl Scouts of Mississippi Valley Rock Island, Illinois and Cedar Rapids, Iowa
 * Girl Scouts of Shining Trail Council, Inc. West Burlington, Iowa

 * Camps

The council has three camps:

 * Camp Liberty (formerly Camp Conestoga) is 340 acre in New Liberty, Iowa. It was established in 1947.
 * Camp Little Cloud is 154 acre in Epworth, Iowa.
 * Camp L-Kee-Ta established in 1945 is 150 acre in Danville, Iowa
 * Camp Tahigwa was in Dorchester in Allamakee County, Iowa and had 315 acre. Tahigwa was established in 1967.  This camp was sold in 2017.

Currently, Camp Liberty is the designated resident camp program for girls throughout eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. Camp Little Cloud and Camp L-Kee-Ta are used by troops and groups for events and both day and overnight outdoor adventures.

Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa
Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa covers 74 counties including 71 in central and western Iowa, one county in Nebraska, and one and one-half counties in South Dakota. As part of the national realignment, Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa was created in October 2007 from the merger of five councils.

 * Headquarters: Des Moines, Iowa
 * Service centers: Des Moines, Iowa, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Mason City, Iowa, and Sioux City, Iowa.

The five former councils are:
 * History

 * Girl Scouts of Lakota Council Fort Dodge, Iowa
 * Moingona Girl Scout Council Des Moines, Iowa
 * Nishnabotna Girl Scout Council of Southwest Iowa, Inc. Council Bluffs, Iowa
 * Girl Scout Council of North Iowa Mason City, Iowa
 * Sioux Trails Girl Scout Council Sioux City, Iowa

 * Camps

The council operates five residence camps.

 * Camp Sacajawea is over 400 acre in Boone, Iowa.
 * Camp Tanglefoot is 50 acre in Clear Lake, Iowa.
 * Camp Joy Hollow is 360 acre in Westfield, Iowa.

 * Former camps
 * Camp Lakota

In the 1970s the Caravan Trails Girl Scout Council owned Camp Strother in Eldon, Iowa.

title: Scouting in Iowa


text:
User:Erik Zachte

About me
I am Dutch, born in 1955 and live in Leiden. Wikipedian since 2002. I worked for the Wikimedia Foundation as Data Analyst from 2008 till 2019.

My blog about Wikimedia stats, Wikimedia projects, LinkedIn profile, Twitter account and art academy projects.

Visualizations: Wikipedia Growth Animated, Wikipedia Edits On A Random Day, Wikipedia Views Visualized.

After my retirement in 2019, I shifted my primary focus to OpenStreetmap. I also started a new project that maps trees in an urban environment. We use data from Wikipedia (and link to its articles), use images from Wikimedia Commons, use maps from Openstreetmap, and open data from the government: tree inventories. The project is called OpenBomenKaart.org.

Disclaimer
Until my retirement in 2019 my work sometimes involved interacting with the Wikimedia community or using Wikimedia wikis for documentation. However, unless otherwise stated, any edit to Wikimedia projects by myself was a reversible act of a regular member of the community, not a legal or official action.

Soezo
Soezo is one of my cats of the deceased kind.

Assignment while at art college: "Make an impossible picture, no digital processing allowed."

Yet no animal was hurt during the photo-shoot.

Leiden at night

More photographs at Commons.

de:Benutzer:Erik Zachte nl:Gebruiker:Erik Zachte

title: User:Erik Zachte