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Symbolic link

In computing, a symbolic link (also symlink or soft link) is a file whose purpose is to point to a file or directory (called the "target") by specifying a path thereto.

Symbolic links are supported by POSIX and by most Unix-like operating systems, such as FreeBSD, Linux, and macOS. Limited support also exists in Windows 7 and Windows Vista, and to some degree in Windows 2000 and Windows XP in the form of shortcut files. CTSS on IBM 7090 had files linked by name in 1963. By 1978 minicomputer operating systems from DEC, and in Data General's RDOS included symbolic links.

Overview
A symbolic link contains a text string that is automatically interpreted and followed by the operating system as a path to another file or directory. This other file or directory is called the "target". The symbolic link is a second file that exists independently of its target. If a symbolic link is deleted, its target remains unaffected. If a symbolic link points to a target, and sometime later that target is moved, renamed or deleted, the symbolic link is not automatically updated or deleted, but continues to exist and still points to the old target, now a non-existing location or file. Symbolic links pointing to moved or non-existing targets are sometimes called broken, orphaned, dead, or dangling.

Symbolic links are different from hard links. Hard links do not link paths on different volumes or file systems, whereas symbolic links may point to any file or directory irrespective of the volumes on which the link and target reside. Hard links always refer to an existing file, whereas symbolic links may contain an arbitrary path that does not point to anything.

Symbolic links operate transparently for many operations: programs that read or write to files named by a symbolic link will behave as if operating directly on the target file. However, they have the effect of changing an otherwise hierarchic filesystem from a tree into a directed graph, which can have consequences for such simple operations as determining the current directory of a process. Even the Unix standard for navigating to a directory's parent directory no longer works reliably in the face of symlinks. Some shells heuristically try to uphold the illusion of a tree-shaped hierarchy, but when they do, this causes them to produce different results from other programs that manipulate pathnames without such heuristic, relying on the operating system instead. Programs that need to handle symbolic links specially (e.g., shells and backup utilities) thus need to identify and manipulate them directly.

Some Unix as well as Linux distributions use symbolic links extensively in an effort to reorder the file system hierarchy. This is accomplished with several mechanisms, such as variant, context-dependent symbolic links. This offers the opportunity to create a more intuitive or application-specific directory tree and to reorganize the system without having to redesign the core set of system functions and utilities.

POSIX and Unix-like operating systems
In POSIX-compliant operating systems, symbolic links are created with the system call. The  shell command normally uses the  system call, which creates a hard link. When the  flag is specified, the symlink system call is used instead, creating a symbolic link. Symlinks were introduced in 1982 in 4.1a BSD Unix from U.C. Berkeley.

The following command creates a symbolic link at the command-line interface (shell): ln -s target_path link_path target_path is the relative or absolute path to which the symbolic link should point. Usually the target will exist, although symbolic links may be created to non-existent targets. link_path is the path of the symbolic link.

After creating the symbolic link, some operations can be used to treat it as an alias for the target. However, the,  and  operations are unique to symbolic links and do not apply to the target; by using those system calls, programs that examine the file system (e.g.,  ,  ) can report on symbolic links (instead of their targets, if any). Because the  and   system calls are coded to operate directly on symbolic links, file system management commands (e.g.,  ,  ) affect the symbolic link itself (instead of being applied to the symbolic link target, if any). The  (delete file) command removes the link itself, not the target file. Likewise, the  command moves or renames the link, not the target. The  command has options that allow either the symbolic link or the target to be copied. Commands which read or write file contents will access the contents of the target file.

The POSIX directory listing application,, denotes symbolic links with an arrow after the name, pointing to the name of the target file (see following example), when the long directory list is requested (  option). When a directory listing of a symbolic link that points to a directory is requested, only the link itself will be displayed. In order to obtain a listing of the linked directory, the path must include a trailing directory separator character ('/', slash). Note: In the example below do not create "three" directory before creation of link in /tmp directory.

Storage of symbolic links
Early implementations of symbolic links stored the symbolic link information as data in regular files. The file contained the textual reference to the link's target, and the file mode bits indicated that the type of the file is a symbolic link.

This method was slow and an inefficient use of disk-space on small systems. An improvement, called fast symlinks, allowed storage of the target path within the data structures used for storing file information on disk (inodes). This space normally stores a list of disk block addresses allocated to a file. Thus, symlinks with short target paths are accessed quickly. Systems with fast symlinks often fall back to using the original method if the target path exceeds the available inode space. The original style is retroactively termed a slow symlink. It is also used for disk compatibility with other or older versions of operating systems.

Although storing the link value inside the inode saves a disk block and a disk read, the operating system still needs to parse the path name in the link, which always requires reading additional inodes and generally requires reading other, and potentially many, directories, processing both the list of files and the inodes of each of them until it finds a match with the link's path components. Only when a link points to a file in the same directory do "fast symlinks" provide significantly better performance than other symlinks.

The vast majority of POSIX-compliant implementations use fast symlinks. However, the POSIX standard does not require the entire set of file status information common to regular files to be implemented for symlinks. This allows implementations to use other solutions, such as storing symlink data in directory entries.

The file system permissions of a symbolic link are not used; the access modes of the target file are controlled by the target file's own permissions. Some operating systems, such as FreeBSD, offer the ability to modify file permissions and filesystem attributes of a symbolic link, through and  system calls respectively.

The reported size of a symlink is the number of characters in the path it points to.

Error handling
A traditional Unix filesystem has a tree structure, however symbolic links allow it to contain loops.

NTFS symbolic link
NTFS 3.1 introduced support for symbolic links for any type of file. It was included with Windows XP, but was only enabled by default for kernel-mode apps. Windows Vista and later versions of Windows enabled support for symbolic links to user-mode applications. The  internal command of Windows Command Prompt can create symbolic links. Third-party drivers are required to enable support for NTFS symbolic links in Windows XP. Unlike junction points, a symbolic link can also point to a file or remote Server Message Block (SMB) network path. Additionally, the NTFS symbolic link implementation provides full support for cross-filesystem links. However, the functionality enabling cross-host symbolic links requires that the remote system also support them.

Symbolic links are designed to aid in migration and application compatibility with POSIX operating systems. Microsoft aimed for Windows Vista's symbolic links to "function just like UNIX links". However, the implementation differs from Unix symbolic links in several ways. For example, Windows Vista users must manually indicate when creating a symbolic link whether it is a file or a directory. Windows 7 and Vista support a maximum of 31 reparse points (and therefore symbolic links) for a given path (i.e. any given path can have at most 31 indirections before Windows gives up). Only users with the new Create Symbolic Link privilege, which only administrators have by default, can create symbolic links. If this is not the desired behavior, it must be changed in the Local Security Policy management console. Additionally, NTFS symbolic links to files are distinct from NTFS symbolic links to directories and therefore cannot be used interchangeably, unlike on POSIX where the same symbolic link can refer to either files or directories.

In Windows Vista and later, when the working directory path ends with a symbolic link, the current parent path reference, .., will refer to the parent directory of the symbolic link rather than that of its target. This behavior is also found at the shell level in at least some POSIX systems, including Linux, but never in accessing files and directories through operating system calls. For instance, bash builtin commands pwd and cd operate on the current logical directory. pwd is often used in scripts to determine the actual current working directory. When any path is used with a system call, any use of .. will use the actual filesystem parent of the directory containing the .. pseudo-directory entry. So, cd ..; cat something and cat ../something may return completely different results.

Examples
The following examples both create a symbolic link called "Downloads" at "E:\" that points to the Downloads folder in the current user's profile.

 * The first example works in Windows Command Prompt only because  is an internal command.

 * The second example works in PowerShell only because New-Item is an internal cmdlet.

NTFS junction points
The Windows 2000 version of NTFS introduced reparse points, which enabled, among other things, the use of Volume Mount Points and junction points. Junction points are for directories only, and moreover, local directories only; junction points to remote shares are unsupported. The Windows 2000 and XP Resource Kits include a program called linkd to create junction points; a more powerful one named Junction was distributed by Sysinternals' Mark Russinovich.

Not all standard applications support reparse points. Most noticeably, Backup suffers from this problem and will issue an error message 0x80070003 when the folders to be backed up contain a reparse point.

Shortcuts
Shortcuts, which are supported by the graphical file browsers of some operating systems, may resemble symbolic links but differ in a number of important ways. One difference is what type of software is able to follow them:
 * Symbolic links are automatically resolved by the file system. Any software program, upon accessing a symbolic link, will see the target instead, whether the program is aware of symbolic links or not.
 * Shortcuts are treated like ordinary files by the file system and by software programs that are not aware of them. Only software programs that understand shortcuts (such as the Windows shell and file browsers) treat them as references to other files.

The mechanisms also have different capabilities:
 * Microsoft Windows shortcuts normally refer to a destination by an absolute path (starting from the root directory), whereas POSIX symbolic links can refer to destinations via either an absolute or a relative path. The latter is useful if both the symlink and its target share some common ancestor path which is not known at creation (e.g., in an archive file that can be unpacked anywhere).
 * Microsoft Windows application shortcuts contain additional metadata that can be associated with the destination, whereas POSIX symbolic links are just strings that will be interpreted as absolute or relative pathnames.
 * Unlike symbolic links, Windows shortcuts maintain their references to their targets even when the target is moved or renamed. Windows domain clients may subscribe to a Windows service called Distributed Link Tracking to track the changes in files and folders to which they are interested. The service maintains the integrity of shortcuts, even when files and folders are moved across the network. Additionally, in Windows 9x and later, Windows shell tries to find the target of a broken shortcut before proposing to delete it.

Folder shortcuts
Almost like shortcuts, but transparent to the Windows shell. They are implemented as ordinary folders (which need to have the read only and/or system attribute ) containing a shortcut named target.lnk which refers to the target and a (hidden) desktop.ini with (at least) the following contents:

Folder shortcuts are created and used from the Windows shell in the network neighborhood for example.

Shell objects
The shell objects or shell folders are defined in the Windows registry and can be used to implement a sort of symbolic link too. Like folder shortcuts, they are transparent to the Windows shell.

A minimal implementation is (the CLSID {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000} is used as a placeholder):

The My Documents folder on the Desktop as well as the Fonts and the Administrative Tools folders in the Control Panel are examples of shell objects redirected to file-system folders.

Cygwin symbolic links
Cygwin simulates POSIX-compliant symbolic links in the Microsoft Windows file system. It uses identical programming and user utility interfaces as Unix (see above), but creates Windows shortcuts (.lnk files) with additional information used by Cygwin at the time of symlink resolution. Cygwin symlinks are compliant with the POSIX standard in terms of how they are resolved, and with Windows standards in terms of their on-disk representation.

Additionally, Cygwin can be set up to support native Windows symbolic links which can be used out of Cygwin without restrictions. This requires:
 * 1) Changing the CYGWIN environment variable to contain ;
 * 2) Running the Cygwin with elevated rights because Windows restricts the creation of symbolic links to privileged users

Some differences exist, however. Cygwin has no way to specify shortcut-related information – such as working directory or icon – as there is no place for such parameters in  command. To create standard Microsoft .lnk files Cygwin provides the  and   utilities.

The Cygwin User's Guide has more information on this topic. MSYS2, which is based on Cygwin, has a similar set of settings but defaults to copying the files.

Other implementations
Implementations of features similar to symbolic links.

Early MIT
MIT Compatible Time-Sharing System c. 1963 and Incompatible Timesharing System both have linked files where the name of the target file is specified in a directory entry.

Amiga
The command creating symbolic links is, which is also used for hard links. Internally the dos.library returns an error code indicating that a target is a soft link if you try to perform actions on it that are only legal for a file, and applications that wish to follow the symbolic link then needs to explicitly make a call to follow the link and retry the operation. The AmigaDOS shell will follow links automatically.

Mac OS
In Mac OS, applications or users can also employ aliases, which have the added feature of following the target, even if it is moved to another location on the same volume. This is not to be confused with the shell command alias.

OS/2
In the OS/2 operating system, symbolic links somewhat resemble shadows in the graphical Workplace Shell. However, shadows, due to the fully object-oriented System Object Model, are considerably more powerful and robust than a simple link. For example, shadows do not lose their capabilities when renamed or when either the object or subject of the link is relocated.

Variable symbolic links
Symbolic links may be implemented in a context-dependent or variable fashion, such that the link points to varying targets depending on a configuration parameter, run-time parameter, or other instantaneous condition.

A variable or variant symbolic link is a symbolic link that has a variable name embedded in it. This allows some flexibility in filesystem order that is not possible with a standard symbolic link. Variables embedded in a symbolic link may include user and environment specific information.

Operating systems that make use of variant symbolic links include NetBSD, DragonFly BSD, Domain/OS. Tru64 uses a context dependent symbolic link where the context is the cluster member number.

Pyramid Technology's OSx Operating System implemented conditional symbolic links which pointed to different locations depending on which universe a program was running in. The universes supported were AT&Ts's SysV.3 and the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD 4.3). For example: if the ps command was run in the att universe, then the symbolic link for the directory /bin would point to /.attbin and the program /.attbin/ps would be executed. Whereas if the ps command was run in the ucb universe, then /bin would point to /.ucbbin and /.ucbbin/ps would be executed. Similar Conditional Symbolic Links were also created for other directories such as /lib, /usr/lib, /usr/include.

title: Symbolic link


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Terry and the Pirates

Terry and the Pirates is an action-adventure comic strip created by cartoonist Milton Caniff, which originally ran from October 22, 1934, to February 25, 1973. Captain Joseph Patterson, editor for the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate, had admired Caniff's work on the children's adventure strip Dickie Dare and hired him to create the new adventure strip, providing Caniff with the title and locale. The Dragon Lady leads the evil pirates; conflict with the pirates was diminished in priority when World War II started.

The strip was read by 31 million newspaper subscribers between 1934 and 1946. In 1946, Caniff won the first Cartoonist of the Year Award from the National Cartoonists Society for his work on Terry and the Pirates.

Writer Tom De Haven described Terry and the Pirates as "the great strip of World War II" and "The Casablanca of comics".

Publication history
The daily strip began October 22, 1934, and the Sunday color pages began December 9, 1934. Initially, the storylines of the daily strips and Sunday pages were different, but on August 26, 1936, they merged into a single storyline.

Although Terry and the Pirates had made Caniff famous, the strip was owned by the syndicate, which was not uncommon at the time. Seeking creative control of his own work, Caniff left the strip in 1946, his last Terry strip being published on December 29. The following year, with the Field Syndicate, he launched Steve Canyon, an action-adventure strip of which Caniff retained ownership, which ran until shortly after his death in 1988.

After Caniff's departure, Terry and the Pirates was assigned to Associated Press artist George Wunder. Wunder drew highly detailed panels, but some critics, notably Maurice Horn, claimed that it was sometimes difficult to tell one character from another and that his work lacked Caniff's essential humor. Nevertheless, Wunder kept the strip going for another 27 years until its discontinuation on February 25, 1973, by which time Terry had reached the rank of colonel.

Reboot
On March 26, 1995, Michael Uslan and the Brothers Hildebrandt produced an updated version of the strip which carried over no continuity with the original. The Dragon Lady is portrayed as a Vietnam War orphan. The Hildebrandt/Uslan team left the strip and was replaced on April 1, 1996, with the team of Dan Spiegle (art) and Jim Clark (writing). The strip ended on July 27, 1997.

Characters and story
The adventure begins with young Terry Lee, "a wide-awake American boy," arriving in then-contemporary China with his friend, two-fisted journalist Pat Ryan. Seeking a lost gold mine, they meet George Webster "Connie" Confucius, interpreter and local guide. Initially, crudely drawn backgrounds and stereotypical characters surrounded Terry as he matched wits with pirates and various other villains. He developed an ever-larger circle of friends and enemies, including Big Stoop, Captain Judas, Cheery Blaze, Chopstick Joe, Cue Ball, and Dude Hennick.

Most notable of all was the famed femme fatale, the Dragon Lady, who started as an enemy and later, during World War II, became an ally. Caniff included a number of non-American female antagonists, all of whom referred to themselves in the third person. These included the Dragon Lady and crooks and spies like Sanjak and Rouge. In a rather bold move for a 1940s comic strip, Sanjak was hinted at being a lesbian cross-dresser with designs on Terry's girlfriend April Kane. Caniff purportedly named the character after an island next to the isle of Lesbos.

Over time, owing to a successful collaboration with cartoonist Noel Sickles, Caniff dramatically improved to produce some of the most memorable strips in the history of the medium. Ray Bailey (comics), Caniff's assistant on Terry and the Pirates, went on to create his own adventure strip, Bruce Gentry.

Main

 * Terry Lee: A teenager when the series begins, he is excitable and loves adventure. As the series goes on, he matures and joins the U.S. Army, becoming a pilot. After World War II, he works for the government in the post-war territories. In his last comic strip Feb 25, 1973, Colonel Lee is a USAF officer who helps break up a heroin smuggling ring which results in the arrest of its head, the President of a foreign country.
 * Pat Ryan: Terry's friend and mentor, a writer and man of action who helps his young protégé out of scrapes. When World War II begins, he joins the U.S. Navy and sees action in the Pacific.
 * Connie: George Webster Confucius, a Chinese man Terry and Pat hire as a guide. He speaks in Pidgin English and refers to himself in the third person. He is fiercely loyal to the duo. He eventually works with Pat as part of the Chinese resistance against the Japanese in the war.
 * Big Stoop: A 9 ft Mongol whom Connie helped when he was being picked on by bullies. He remains with the trio out of gratitude. Immensely strong and mute, he earns his nickname from the phrase "he stoops to conquer". He was once a servant of the Dragon Lady; she cut out his tongue when he was young, earning his hatred. He works with Connie in the Chinese resistance during the war.
 * The Dragon Lady: A beautiful but cold pirate queen who clashes with Terry and Pat continuously. As the Japanese invade China, she becomes a resistance leader, attacking Japanese forces, making it clear it is not out of patriotism but wanting to keep her riches intact. It is hinted she is in love with Pat, but she is unwilling to give up her empire for him. After the war ends, she returns to criminal activities.
 * Burma: Real name unknown, a con artist, former pirate confederate and sultry singer with a good heart. She encounters Terry and Pat several times. She and Terry share a casual romantic connection, but Burma is afraid of letting it become serious. She has a habit of singing "St. Louis Blues".
 * Normandie Drake: An heiress and Pat's true love, they grew close when he worked for her father. Her high society aunt refused to see her marry a "commoner" and forced her into an arranged marriage to the weak-willed Tony Sandhurst. When She and Pat meet again, she is pregnant with Tony's child and is committed to the marriage. When they meet again during the War, Normandie's child Merilly is four years old. When she discovers that Tony is working with the Axis Powers, Normandie still refuses to divorce him.
 * Raven Sherman: An heiress who used her fortune to support missionary work in China. She and Pat seem romantic, but she falls for pilot Dude Hennick. She dies in Hennick's arms after being attacked by Captain Judas and is buried in the China desert. Following her death in October 1941, Milton Caniff received annual reminders of her passing.
 * April Kane: A Southern belle who wins Terry's heart. She works as Pat's secretary when he is an agent of the Dragon Lady, but she leaves when she becomes the target of a blackmailer. She returns in 1944, having spent the last few years in a Japanese prison camp. The experience has hardened her, and she tries to make Terry jealous by cavorting with Flip Corkin. She tries to set up an airfield near an island army base but she learns too late that the Army is abandoning the island, and she is stranded there alone.
 * Flip Corkin: Terry's flight instructor in the Air Force, who delivers the Sunday page lecture on military duty. Based on Phil Cochran.
 * Taffy Tucker: Flip's girlfriend, an Army nurse. She briefly develops amnesia and is rescued by Pat, and they connect romantically. She returns to Flip after regaining her memory.
 * Hotshot Charlie: Charles C. Charles, a comically flippant Boston pilot who becomes Terry's best friend in the Air Force. After the war ends, he is stifled by civilian life and jumps at the chance to help Terry out in post-war Asia doing government work.

Recurring

 * Captain Blaze: A boisterous English pirate who helps Terry and Pat out against the Dragon Lady, later returning to help Pat out in China.
 * Captain Judas: A debonair criminal who clashes with the heroes several times. A former partner of Burma's, he sustains severe facial burns when she throws a lamp in his face. He shoved Raven out of a truck, leading to her fatal injuries before being shot by Dude Hennick and presumably killed.
 * Papa Pyzon: A corpulent criminal Terry and Pat meet in China who later returns as an Axis agent during the war.
 * Nasty: Nastalathia Smythe-Heatherstone, a young heiress Terry and Burma rescue from a crashed plane. Her bratty and selfish attitude drives them crazy and nearly gets them killed. Years later, the now-grown Nasty returns to involve Terry and Charlie in her efforts to ship food to Chinese refugees, which is really an attempt to win Terry. She tries to woo Charlie to get at Terry.
 * Tony Sandhurst: Normandie's rich but immoral husband, who puts himself above everyone. He tries to have Pat put in jail for ruining his business and is later revealed to be working for the Axis during the war and becomes a criminal kingpin in the post-war period.
 * Hu Shee: The Dragon Lady's aide and confidante who sometimes impersonates her for some missions. She seems interested in a romance with Terry. She is apparently drowned under a sinking ship with new love, pirate Johnny Jingo.
 * Cheery Blaze: Captain Blaze's hefty daughter who hates her father with a passion. She returns during the war working with the Axis but is arrested for her crimes.
 * Singh-Singh: A dim-witted would-be warlord who clashes with Pat and the Dragon Lady. He later marries Cheery Blaze but is arrested with her.
 * Chopstick Joe: An underworld figure who is a friendly rival of the Dragon Lady.
 * Dude Hennick: An old friend of Pat's, an ace pilot who helps the heroes out. He goes to work for Raven Sherman, the two falling in love but she ends up dying in his arms. He vanishes from the strip and a Christmas, 1945 strip has Caniff saying he based the character on a pilot friend, Frank Cliff, who was killed in Shanghai and "Dude died with him."
 * Sanjak: A Frenchwoman who dresses like a man, using a monocle to hypnotize people. She works for the Axis, impersonating a pilot to infiltrate Terry's Air Force base and is apparently killed in a crashing plane.
 * Jos Goode: A Southern soldier who serves with Pat, Connie, and Big Stoop in the Pacific.
 * Snake Tumblin: A fellow pilot of Terry's, he is apparently killed in a crashing plane. However, Caniff's final strips show him seemingly alive but blinded.
 * Jane Allen: An Army nurse who falls in love with Snake. She and Terry seem to be getting closer but when she sees a picture of Snake alive, she leaves Terry on the tarmac in Caniff's final strip.

During World War II
Caniff became increasingly concerned by the contemporary Second Sino-Japanese War, but he was prevented by his syndicate from identifying the Japanese directly. Caniff referred to them as "the invaders", and they soon became an integral part of the storyline.

After America's entry into World War II, Terry joined the United States Army Air Forces. The series then became almost exclusively about World War II with much action centering on a U.S. Army base in China. This change of tone is considered the end of the strip's prime, although it remained highly acclaimed. Terry gained a new mentor in flying instructor Colonel "Flip" Corkin, a character based on the real-life Colonel Philip "Flip" Cochran of the 1st Air Commando Group. Comic relief was provided by fellow flyer Hotshot Charlie. Pat, Connie and Big Stoop still made occasional guest appearances as marine commandos, while the Dragon Lady and her pirates became Chinese guerrillas fighting the Japanese.

One of the highlights of this period was the October 17, 1943, Sunday page, "The Pilot's Creed": Corkin gives the recently commissioned Terry a speech on his responsibilities as a fighter pilot, including the need to consider all who have contributed to the development of his plane, respect his support crew, spare a thought for ones killed in the fighting, and respect military bureaucracy which, for better or worse, has kept the American army going for over 150 years. In an unusual honor, the episode was read aloud in the U.S. Congress and added to the Congressional Record by Congressman Carl Hinshaw.

The intensely patriotic Caniff, who donated design and illustration work to the military, created a free variant of Terry and the Pirates for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. Originally starring the beautiful adventuress Burma, it was racier than the regular strip, and complaints caused Caniff to rename it Male Call to avoid confusion. Male Call was discontinued in 1946.

Awards
In 1946, Caniff won the first Cartoonist of the Year Award from the National Cartoonists Society for his work on Terry and the Pirates.

Reprints
NBM, under its Flying Buttress Comics Library line, reprinted all of the Caniff Terry strips (10/22/34 to 12/29/46) in two hardcover series as well as in a series of trade paperbacks. The first 12-volume series contained all of the dailies and the Sundays in black and white. The second 12-volume series contained all of the Sundays in color with each page split between two pages. The daily strips were also printed by NBM in a 25-volume softcover edition (reprinting all of the dailies and the Sundays that ran concurrent storylines) with the strips in a smaller size and a lower quality than the hardcover volumes.

Kitchen Sink Press began a new hardcover reprint series with dailies and Sundays (in color and presented complete on one page, including title bars in the strips from the first year that were omitted from the NBM series), but discontinued it after only two volumes. These out-of-print series can be hard to find.

In March 2007, IDW Publishing announced a new imprint, The Library of American Comics. It published The Complete Terry and the Pirates a collection of six hardcover editions reprinting the Sunday strips with their original color alongside the daily strips.

As of 2015 Hermes Press has reprinted two volumes of the George Wunder comic strip (1946–1949) as 12" x 9" hardcovers with supplementary material and historic essays.

In popular culture
In 1953, Canada Dry offered a "premium giveaway" with a case of its ginger ale — one mini-book in a trilogy series of Terry and the Pirates strips by Wunder printed by Harvey Comics.

Other incarnations of Caniff's work included a 1940 movie adventure-serial by Columbia, a television series, and radio show. The August–September 1953 issue (#6) of Mad featured a satire by Wally Wood titled "Teddy and the Pirates" where Teddy and Half-Shot Charlie encounter the Dragging Lady, resulting in Half-Shot being thrown to the sharks while Teddy reveals the reason for the strip's name — the pirates work for Teddy.

In the Warner Bros. cartoon China Jones, Daffy Duck plays a private detective, and goes to a Chinese bakery to receive a "hot tip". The informant sends him to visit the "Dragon Lady", who, upon meeting Daffy, breathes fire on him. Later, the informant asks him, "How was that tip?", and Daffy answers, "A little too hot for my taste."

Terry and the Pirates has been cited by fellow comic illustrator Doug Wildey as one of his main inspirations for the 1964 Hanna Barbera television cartoon Jonny Quest. Joseph Barbera directly credited Terry and the Pirates during Barbera's Oral History of Television intervew as his inspriation for Jonny Quest.

Robert Culp said that the comic strip Terry and the Pirates was his inspiration for the "tone" and "spirit" and "noir heightened realism" of the 1965 NBC television series I Spy when he was writing the pilot. It had been Culp's ambition to write, produce, and direct a screenplay based on the comic strip, but Culp died in 2010, before he could finish it.

Enter the Dragon producer Paul Heller used the strip as a guide to production design and the look of the film. "It was high chroma reds, blues, golds, and it just lent itself to this project so closely," said Heller.

Artist John Romita Sr. got the idea to kill Peter Parker (Spiderman)'s girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, after Terry and the Pirates' killing of Raven Sherman.

Umberto Eco's novel The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana references Terry and the Pirates.

In 1995, the strip was one of 20 included in the "Comic Strip Classics" series of commemorative postage stamps.

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

title: Terry and the Pirates


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The Late Late Show (Irish talk show)

The Late Late Show, with its title often shortened to The Late Late, is an Irish chat show. It is the world's second longest-running late-night talk show, after the American The Tonight Show, and is the longest-running live talk show. Perceived as the official flagship television programme of RTÉ, it is regarded as an Irish television institution, and is broadcast live across normally two hours in front of a studio audience on Friday nights at 9:30 pm between September and May. Certain segments are sometimes pre-recorded and aired within the live parts of the show.

Having maintained the same name and format continuously, The Late Late Show was first broadcast on Friday, 6 July 1962 at 11:20 pm and in colour from 1976. Originating as temporary summer filler for a niche Saturday night audience (airing at 11:30 pm), it later moved to its current home on Friday night schedules. The format has remained largely the same throughout—interviews, musical performances, discourse on topical issues. It has influenced attitudes of the populace towards approval or disapproval of its chosen topics, directed social change and helped shape Irish societal norms. It averages 650,000 viewers per episode and has consistently achieved RTÉ's highest ratings.

For much of its early life, RTÉ Television Centre's Studio 1 at Montrose in Donnybrook, Dublin 4, was its home; this original studio accommodated a small audience of about 120. In 1995, The Late Late Show transferred to the more spacious Studio 4, adapted specifically to cater for this and Kenny Live. Three external broadcasts have aired, including from the Wexford Opera House on 5 September 2008 and, most recently, from London in 2018.

Gay Byrne hosted the show from its inception until 21 May 1999. Pat Kenny was Byrne's successor hosting the show for 10 years between 1999 and 2009. Ryan Tubridy succeeded Kenny in September 2009 and hosted the show for 14 years. Under Tubridy, first Quinn Group and then Sky Broadband added sponsorship deals. Tubridy's arrival coincided with a marked increase in audience ratings, with some early statistics comparing him to the Byrne era. Patrick Kielty is the current presenter, having succeeded Tubridy in September 2023.

1962–1999: Gay Byrne
The idea for the show was developed by RTÉ producer Tom McGrath, after he had seen The Tonight Show while working for a Canadian TV station. He proposed it to Gay Byrne, who became the show's first presenter. The first episode aired on Friday 6 July 1962 at 23:20. Byrne was then a young Irish broadcaster working with Granada Television in Britain; while there he had become the first person to introduce The Beatles on television on People and Places.

Originally intended as light summer "filler", The Late Late Show soon developed into a forum for contentious opinion and debate, involving topics such as divorce, contraception and a number of areas hitherto unspoken. Much of the populace, especially in the south and west of Ireland, had no previous experience of television, and many were unprepared for The Late Late Show bringing such discussion into their homes (large swathes of Ireland were rural and devoutly Roman Catholic). Indeed, the politician Oliver J. Flanagan, whilst guesting on the show, proclaimed there to have been "no sex in Ireland until Teilifís Éireann went on the air", reflecting this greater indiscretion. Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid, was confronted by a guest in the show's first series—a sensational and unprecedented event. Many more such events would follow, each contributing to the folklore and mythical qualities of The Late Late Show.

Two common formats were used: the first—a series of interviews of celebrity guests, most of whom could be defined as Irish or British and involved in the entertainment industry;the second—a defined topic involving live discussion from a panel and studio audience. The latter tended to be far the weightier in content, as people who were directly connected with the defined topic sat in the audience.

Byrne would remain host for thirty-seven years, retiring in 1999. He came out of retirement to present such programmes as The Meaning of Life and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?; as of September 2009, Byrne's thirty-seven years remains the longest period through which any individual has hosted a televised talk show. In the late 1960s, with the launch of BBC 2, Byrne moved back to the United Kingdom, where his career had started. Frank Hall presented The Late Late Show in Byrne's absence. However, after one year, Byrne returned to RTÉ to present his old show, supplemented by his own radio show.

Few of the 1960s editions of The Late Late Show are extant, as it was prohibitively expensive to use tape to record at this time.

Bishop and the Nightie
A minor furore erupted in 1966 when the Bishop of Clonfert condemned The Late Late Show as immoral and Gay Byrne as a promoter of "filth". The condemnation stemmed from a small item on the show in which Byrne was interviewing a number of couples to see how well they knew each other. Byrne asked the Fox couple from Terenure what colour nightdress Mrs Fox wore during her honeymoon. Mr Fox implied it was "transparent" and Mrs Fox said she had not worn any nightdress. This response was received with laughter by Byrne and the studio audience, with Mrs. Fox then suggesting that her nightdress had been white from the options offered. However, the Bishop either misheard or ignored this, feeling the need to protest against this "filthy" programme and the "filth" which was being televised into the nation's homes.

The Bishop of Clonfert sent a telegram: "Disgusted with disgraceful performance", prompting a swift RTÉ apology which the Irish Examiner states was similar to the apology the same broadcaster issued during the Brian Cowen nude portraits controversy in 2009. Meath VEC said it was "anti-national", whilst Loughrea Town Council described it as "a dirty programme that should be abolished altogether". The furore died down after a number of weeks, but is still remembered. When the topic featured on the 2008 documentary How The Irish Have Sex broadcast by rival channel TV3, the Irish Independent's Damian Corless said Éamon de Valera "won't be turning on, but will instead be turning in his grave".

Brian Trevaskis affair
On a March 1966 episode of The Late Late Show a debate was held on the Roman Catholic Church. Brian Trevaskis, a young student and President of The Phil Society of Trinity College, making his first television appearance, criticised the Bishop of Galway, Michael Browne for spending so much on a cathedral instead of helping the poor. Trevaskis described the building as a "monstrosity" and referred to the Bishop as a "moron". He was invited back on the show the following week, 6 April 1966, to expand on his opinions. The student referred to the fiftieth anniversary of the Easter Rising, a pivotal moment in Irish history, when he expressed his concern over the devotion of money to building churches in a society where women who were impregnated outside marriage were considered outcasts and as such were vulnerable members of society. Trevaskis claimed Ireland was not a Christian country and when asked by the bishop if he knew the meaning of the word "moron", he replied that he was uncertain the bishop knew the meaning of the word "Christian".

Annie Murphy interview
In 1992, Bishop Eamonn Casey resigned when it was revealed that he had broken his vow of celibacy having fathered a child with a young American divorcee named Annie Murphy in 1973 during his tenure as Bishop of Kerry. Casey was a well-known bishop with a national profile, and had been a guest on the Late Late Show on several occasions. In April 1993, Murphy appeared on The Late Late Show to speak about the affair and their child, Peter. Casey had supported their son financially, but had requested that this be kept quiet to protect his career. At the end of the interview Byrne said if the baby was "half the man his father was" he would be fine and Annie Murphy replied that the boy's mother (meaning herself) was "not so bad either", drawing applause from the studio audience. Casey spent most of his time following the scandal outside Ireland, in an effort to avoid media attention but eventually returned in 2006. More than twenty years later, the Irish Examiner named this one of its "Top 10 moments of Irish television".

Tom Gilmartin affair
In 1999, Pádraig Flynn, Ireland's EU Commissioner, appeared on the show, during which he commented on Tom Gilmartin and a donation of £50,000 to the Fianna Fáil party. Flynn also talked about "the difficulties" in his own life; he talked of having a salary of £100,000 (Irish Punt) and trying to run three houses, cars and housekeepers along with regular travel. The performance was seen as very out of touch, at a time when house prices in Ireland were rising dramatically, and the average industrial wage was £15,380.

Flynn also made remarks concerning Gilmartin, a Luton-based Irish developer and investor. In response to Byrne's question that Flynn knew Gilmartin, Flynn answered; "Oh yes, yes. I haven't seen him now for some years. I met him. He's a Sligo man who went to England, made a lot of money, came back, wanted to do a lot of business in Ireland, didn't work out for him, didn't work out for him. He's not well. His wife isn't well. He's out of sorts." Flynn seemed to attack the credibility of Gilmartin at a time when he was making allegations in the media of planning irregularities in Dublin.

Gilmartin responded by publicising details of Flynn's failed attempts to get Gilmartin to change his evidence. This led to Flynn's career being effectively ended because the government would not endorse him for reappointment to the European Commission after its mass-resignation that year. This "vanity platform" on The Late Late Show saw, as the Irish Examiner later referred to it, Flynn "managed to get both feet into his mouth and talk at the same time".

Other incidents

 * Playboy: In January 1966, Victor Lownes, a representative of Playboy, was expected to appear on The Late Late Show; however, he was axed when he revealed that he hoped to recruit young women to work as Bunnies in Playboy clubs.
 * Women's rights: Elderly feminist campaigner Hilary Boyle criticised the Irish government when she appeared on The Late Late Show during the 1970s, calling them "all so afraid of a belt of the crozier (the Bishop's stick)".
 * Contraceptive train: When several women, amongst them June Levine and Nell McCafferty, carried bags of condoms from Belfast on a train in protest at Ireland's strict anti-contraception laws in 1971, The Late Late Show became involved in the incident when one of the women, Mary Kenny, appeared in the studio to say that the law was "pretty damn weird".
 * Lesbian nuns: In 1979, Gay Byrne interviewed a lesbian on The Late Late Show, escaping public condemnation in the process. However, when two former nuns who were lesbians, Rosemary Curb and Nancy Manahan, were booked to appear in 1985, a High Court case ensued and calls came for The Late Late Show to be axed altogether as it would "greatly undermine Christian moral values" and "the respect of the general public for nuns" to feature the pair on live television. Protestors gathered to recite decades of the rosary, sing hymns as the show got underway. According to the Irish Examiner, "the interview with the nuns ended up being not all that scandalous". During the discussion, Sr. Maura, an Irish nun from the Daughters of Sion, remarked that members of the clergy don't 'leave their sexuality at the door' when they enter religious life.
 * AIDS special: An AIDS special in the 1980s included a controversial demonstration on live television of how to attach a condom to a finger.
 * Brian Lenihan: Gay Byrne was a personal friend of Brian Lenihan and presented a tribute show in March 1990 to support the case for Lenihan as a candidate for the office of President of Ireland in the 1990 presidential election.
 * Minding the children: In 1992 several female TDs who had been newly elected to Dáil Éireann appeared on the programme, with Gay Byrne wondering who was taking care of their children.
 * Peter Brooke: In 1992 the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Brooke appeared on The Late Late Show. After a pleasant interview, Byrne coaxed and goaded the unwilling Brooke, into singing "Oh My Darling, Clementine" on a day when seven Protestant construction workers had been killed by an IRA bomb. Unionists were outraged at what seemed to be a moment clearly out of touch with grieving families, and instantly requested the resignation of Brooke. Brooke was humiliated, and subsequently lost his position as Secretary of State to Sir Patrick Mayhew after the 1992 British General Election in April.
 * Gerry Adams: As a response to a change in legislation against terrorist groups being given publicity, known as Section 31, it became possible for RTÉ to interview Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams in 1994. Byrne set up a show, with a panel of public figures, Jim Kemmy, Dermot Ahern, Michael McDowell, Hugh Leonard and Austin Currie. The last three openly loathed Adams. Byrne himself refused to shake hands with Adams, and kept a distance of over three metres away from him for most of the show. During the show, a number of people telephoned in stating that Byrne and the other panellists were acting in a "hostile and aggressive" manner towards Adams. Byrne maintained that nobody was specially invited to the audience. The interview did not seem to damage Adams's popularity, with the Irish Examiner reporting that 70 per cent of people held a favourable view of him after the show.
 * Terry Keane: The Late Late Show continued to cause controversy right up to Byrne's departure. On his second last show in 1999, he interviewed the gossip columnist Terry Keane, who went on to reveal a long affair with the former Taoiseach, Charles Haughey. Haughey, a lifelong acquaintance of Byrne, had intended to be available for the last show but went into hiding from the media as a result of the revelations. Haughey had appealed to Keane not to reveal her story. Keane was publicising her book covering her life in Irish public life, and her career as a journalist with the Irish Independent newspaper group.
 * Bill Murray: One show featured an interview with Ghostbusters actor Bill Murray. In the audience, comedian Jason Byrne masqueraded as a man who had set up a paranormal investigation agency, similar to that in the film. Murray responded by making a joke regarding his experience in a local restaurant.

Byrne's role as producer
The flexibility of the show was augmented by Byrne's position not merely as the show's presenter but also as its producer for much of his period with the show. He intentionally reminded the viewer that the show was being broadcast live through his interaction with people working behind the scenes. Cameras were visible, and if an audience member was invited to speak, the boom microphone could be seen swinging overhead. Some of Byrne's phrases became well known; when instructing that a piece of videotape be played, he invariably announced "you can roll it there, Colette/Roisín", chat to the floor manager, inquiring as to what telephone line a caller was ringing in on, and on some shows would extend its running time by fifteen or thirty minutes, discussing the extra running time with the floor staff and production team as an "aside" during an interview. The effect of all these mannerisms was said to add to the sense of realism in the show—that, as the theme music at the end of the show stated: "It started on The Late Late Show." This was a clip of the Nat King Cole song "The Late Late Show", which appeared on his 1959 album Big Band Cole.

Byrne's final show
On 21 May 1999, Byrne presented his last edition of The Late Late Show. The show, beginning at 21.30, lasted four hours (twice as long as a normal edition of The Late Late Show at the time). Tributes flooded in from all quarters for the host. High-profile guests on this final show included author Salman Rushdie and comedian Billy Connolly.

The then Irish President Mary McAleese told Byrne: You're bearing up well, but people out there are crying tonight, they're very sad. You've entertained us, you've educated us, you've exasperated us. What more could anyone ask over 37 years? There were also glowing tributes for Byrne from then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, RTÉ broadcasters Des Cahill, Larry Gogan, Mike Murphy, Marian Finucane, American counterpart Merv Griffin, former Taoiseach Charles Haughey and various other celebrities.

There were musical performances on the night from The Corrs, Christy Moore, Sarah Brightman and Rosaleen Linehan. U2 members Bono and Larry Mullen presented Byrne with a Harley-Davidson motorcycle as a retirement present. Byrne was spotted on the bike regularly, until January 2003 when Byrne and U2 jointly auctioned the bike for The Children's Medical & Research Foundation at Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, Dublin.

1999–2009: Pat Kenny

 * Including Gerry Ryan for one night.

When Byrne left, The Late Late Show dominated RTÉ's ratings viewership figures, coming in consistently either at number 1 or number 2. Some columnists writing in the Sunday Independent and The Irish Times called for the show be dropped as its success was linked too intricately with Byrne to work with anyone else. RTÉ, however, retained the show, justifying the decision as it being a powerful brand that attracted extensive advertising revenue. Contemporary media reports speculated that Patrick Kielty, Marian Finucane, Gerry Ryan and Gerry Kelly would take over. However, RTÉ gave the show to Pat Kenny, who for nearly a decade had presented his own Kenny Live show in the Saturday night time slot. Even after seven years at the helm of that show Kenny was often criticised in the media for his presentation style.

Kenny and his staff changed many aspects of The Late Late Show. Its distinctive title music was changed, as was the set design and studio layout. Guests, instead of remaining on, were involved only in that part of the show when the focus was them. A new set abandoned the traditional presenter's desk. Unlike Byrne, Kenny ensured his guests were announced in advance. Other than the title, the use of an owl as the show's symbol and the traditional edition marketing toys to children and their parents, little of the original remained the same. Byrne's two catch-phrases, "It started on The Late Late Show", and "one for everyone in the audience" were dropped. The latter of these phrases has since been revived under Kenny's successor but was not much in use when Kenny was at the helm.

That rude interruption
As the 24 November 2006 edition of the show was getting underway, an intruder, Paul Stokes from Monkstown, County Dublin, emerged from off screen to confront a visibly startled Pat Kenny, who was had just greeted three guests, You're a Star judges Thomas Black, Linda Martin, and Brendan O'Connor. The intruder approached Kenny, with his back to the camera, crouched down closer to Kenny and accused Kenny of being a censor and used foul language to describe him and his predecessor, Gay Byrne. The incident was broadcast live and uncensored before the studio audience. Kenny repeatedly uttered "thank you, thank you". The show cut to a premature commercial break while the intruder was removed from the studio. When the show returned to television screens, Kenny apologised to viewers for what he described as "that rude interruption", and began his interview. The man was arrested but later released.

Today FM presenter Jenny Kelly reportedly went into labour whilst laughing as the incident unfolded on her television screen. She described her initial intention as having been to sit down for an evening of Kenny and to "bore the baby into arriving".

It was later revealed that the intruder's daughter was a member of The Late Late Show crew. Shortly after the initial incident, the man rammed his vehicle into the front entrance of RTÉ's Donnybrook facility; no-one was injured. He was also reported to have stood outside Kenny's house shouting insults and to have painted threatening messages on walls near the house, although a charge of harassment connected with the case was dropped. The man was later sentenced to two years in prison for ramming the RTÉ entrance.

Other incidents

 * O'Reilly/Callaly interview: In late October 2004, three weeks after Rachel O'Reilly was found murdered at her home in the Naul, north County Dublin, the mother and husband of the woman, Rose Callaly and Joe O'Reilly, were Kenny's guests. Callaly's trauma was evident; O'Reilly calmly dealt with Kenny's questions. O'Reilly was later arrested. Two years later, he was convicted of the crime.

 * Brendan Gleeson: On 17 March 2006 (Saint Patrick's Day, the national holiday), actor Brendan Gleeson became emotional while disclosing his views on the state of the national health service.

 * Enrique Iglesias: In 2007, an interview with Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias proved awkward for Kenny. When Kenny persisted in asking about his relationship with the tennis player Anna Kournikova, Iglesias responded: "You ask the questions so dry and so seriously that it kind of scares me."

 * "Jerry Seinfield": In 2007, Kenny famously introduced the U.S. comedian Jerry Seinfeld as "Jerry Seinfield". Much uncomfortable chat on the topic of bees (Seinfeld being on the show to promote Bee Movie) ensued before Kenny presented Seinfeld with a cheap imitation of his favourite superhero, Superman.

 * Ticket tearing: In November 2008, Kenny telephoned a competition winner for a prize of a weekend in Dublin, shopping money and two tickets to the very much sought after "Late Late Toy Show" episode. The winner – a woman from Cork city – picked up her telephone and correctly answered the competition question ("Roald Dahl"). The woman's apparent lack of enthusiasm prompted Kenny to turn to Charlie Bird (who had been his previous guest) and say: "If they tortured her, they couldn't get anything out of this woman." Bird laughed. When asked who would be accompanying her using the other ticket, the woman said she was "not particularly interested" in the tickets and tried explaining her idea that they instead be raffled so that a worthier winner might be found. Kenny, the phone receiver perched between his ear and shoulder, pulled the offending sheets of paper from his breast pocket, tore them and said: "I think I'll give up this job".

 * Pete Doherty: In February 2009, an interview with the English rock musician proved awkward for Kenny with the presenter repeatedly asking about the singer's private life and showing no interest in his music.

 * Senate first: In March 2009, a debate was held pitting twenty senators against journalists John Drennan and Ian O'Doherty on a proposal to abolish Seanad Éireann. Executive producer Larry Masterson described it as a "first ever for TV".

Set design under Kenny
RTÉ launched the last revamp while Kenny was the host on Friday 7 September 2007 – involving a new set but retaining the title sequence in use since 2003. Designed by Darragh Treacy of RTÉ Production Design, that set consisted of metal, timber and polycarbonate, with carpet as a floor covering; it made for a more complex and layered background than the previous arrangement, and was heavily dependent on saturated lighting and modern construction materials. According to Treacy: "I wanted something contemporary that would be architectural and structural, [for example] the horizontal lines and boxes that you see running throughout the set. [...] The back wall of the [chat area] has textured panels which just take the light beautifully and give a great three-dimensional effect. Then the polycarbonate boxes sit in front of that. The fins – the large timber sections – to the left of the chat area are replicated in the entertainment area as well, and are large pieces of timber with a paint finish that take the light."

A desk also reappeared, as initially continued after Byrne's departure but disposed of shortly afterwards despite a final-attempt redesign in 2000. Kenny noted: "After eight seasons of sitting around, lounging around, as if in a living room, we decided just for a change that we'd put the desk in and see what difference it made. We'll work with it: I mean if it doesn't work after five or six weeks, it goes – if it does work, well we'll find ways of using it effectively. I mean it does put a little barrier between myself and the guest, but on the other hand it can be very useful for a formal interview where you don't want to be too intimate with your guest if it's a little bit antagonistic, whereas in the past I was always reclining and even if I had to be a bit aggressive with a guest the body language was a little bit confusing in that regard. So we'll see." In an apparent effort to resolve such problems, the new desk had more of a table design with a transparent underside, was angled to be narrower at the guest end, and was composed of thin elegant profiles of timber and glass.

A new entrance flight of steps was also introduced, somewhat redolent of former Kenny Live sets. Treacy again: "I wanted a grand entrance, but I also wanted an entrance that was part of the background of the set, so they arrive down and join Pat – and it's a feature walk-on for guests". Kenny approved of the steps: "As you come down the steps, be it myself or a guest, you're slowly revealed: more and more of your body is revealed to the audience until finally you're standing in the 'doorway' as it were. I think it'll be interesting; a more dramatic entrance than we've had for the past three or four years." Irish company Design Classics Direct provided new chairs, made to an original 1929 design by Eileen Gray.

Kenny's final show
On 27 March 2009, Kenny announced live on air without warning his intention to stand down.

On 29 May 2009, an average share of 55 per cent of the total TV audience tuned in to watch Kenny present his last edition of The Late Late Show as regular host (he returned for one night in 2013 when his successor was unavailable). An outdoor event was set up for the occasion on the RTÉ campus. At the end of the show, Joe Duffy presented Kenny with a cake in the shape of a "10", to mark his ten years of presenting. The Edge of U2 also gave Kenny glasses and a guitar.

2009–2023: Ryan Tubridy

 * ''Including Pat Kenny for one night and Miriam O'Callaghan for two nights.

After two months of speculation, Ryan Tubridy emerged as Kenny's successor. Original host Gay Byrne gave Tubridy his blessing: "He has all the qualities required, the light deft touch together with a serious mind. I think it's a great adventure that he's setting off on". Other personalities tipped for the role had included Gerry Ryan and Miriam O'Callaghan. O'Callaghan, whom some media commentators considered favourite for the job, claimed she had turned down an offer, so as to keep her Prime Time slot and spend time with her eight children.

Tubridy presented his first programme on 4 September 2009 with a custom picked staff, a new set and house band. He emerged from behind a red curtain and walked to a wooden desk, at which he sat in the same €3,000-plus Irish designed chair as the actress Meryl Streep in the film The Devil Wears Prada. Guests on this first show included Brian Cowen, Saoirse Ronan, Brian McFadden, Joan Collins, Cherie Blair, and Niall Quinn. With an overall audience share of 62 per cent, it was the most watched—outside the annual toy extravaganza—since Gay Byrne's retirement in May 1999. This promising start would not last, however; audience ratings had declined by Tubridy's sixth season. Another notable occurrence in Tubridy's first season was when the show aired on Good Friday for the first time in 15 years in 2010. Later the same month (April), the show's former hosts, Gay Byrne and Pat Kenny, alongside fellow RTÉ broadcasters Joe Duffy, Dave Fanning and Brenda Donohue, joined Tubridy to discuss the sudden death of one-time host and colleague Gerry Ryan on 30 April 2010.

Tubridy's second season as host began with a notable interview with former British prime minister Tony Blair. The live interview occurred the night before a book signing at Eason's which attracted international attention when Blair was pelted with shoes and eggs and successfully evaded an attempted citizen's arrest on charges of war crimes.

On 1 February 2013, Pat Kenny returned to host that night's edition when Tubridy's father died.

In 2015, Tubridy's tone and choice of questions when interviewing Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy in relation to the campaign against the implementation of a water tax was much criticised. Opponents of the water tax praised Murphy on social media for what was said to have been his restraint during the interview. Julien Mercille, the academic and writer of The Political Economy and Media Coverage of the European Economic Crisis: The Case of Ireland, observed that "Tubridy was pretty good from the standpoint of protecting government interests. [...] He asked all the right questions to try to discredit the water charges protests and Paul Murphy".

In 2011, Tubridy announced that he hoped his time as host would be closer to Kenny's ten years than Byrne's thirty-seven stating that Kenny made the right tenure as host. He hosted 14 seasons in total.

In March 2020, Tubridy and his production team were forced to produce the show without their usual live studio audience of around 200 who would come each week to watch the show air live from RTÉ's Studio 4. The COVID-19 pandemic caused all large gatherings of people to be banned, and so RTÉ and the Late Late Show production team decided the talk show would continue to air live every Friday night for the remainder of the season, except there would be no studio audience. The show continued to air live during the pandemic, with special guests either being interviewed via the internet or guests come into the studio and were interviewed by Tubridy whilst maintaining social distance. The first audience-less version of the show aired on 13 March 2020, and lasted until May 2021. Studio audiences returned on 3 September 2021, initially sitting spaced out at tables in order to maintain social distancing. In May 2022, the mask mandate for audience members was lifted.

On 16 March 2023, Tubridy announced that he would be stepping down as the presenter of The Late Late Show after 14 years.

Tubridy's final show
On 26 May 2023, Tubridy presented his last edition of The Late Late Show. Messages of congratulations poured in from Saoirse Ronan, Jessie Buckley, Paul McCartney, Russell Crowe and various other celebrities. High-profile guests on this final show included Irish President Michael D. Higgins, comedian PJ Gallagher, Jedward and Charlie Bird.

There were musical performances on the night from Andrea Corr, John Sheahan, Moya Brennan, Steve Wickham, Sharon Shannon and Cian Ducrot. U2 member Bono presented Tubridy with a red Vespa scooter.

2023–present: Patrick Kielty
In May 2023, after much speculation, Patrick Kielty was confirmed as Tubridy's replacement, becoming the show's fourth permanent presenter.

On 17 August 2023, it was announced that the running time for each episode of The Late Late Show would be reduced from approximately two hours to an hour and a half, although each episode would still be split into four parts, with three commercial breaks. The Toy Show, however, still retained the two hour slot. The number of episodes per season was also announced to be reduced from approximately 36 to 30.

Kielty's first show as host aired on Friday 15 September 2023.

Hosts
The Late Late Show has had four regular hosts: Gay Byrne, Pat Kenny, Ryan Tubridy and Patrick Kielty. Frank Hall deputised for Byrne for one season in the 1960s.

There have been other (rare) occasions on which another presenter has hosted the show. In 1972, Byrne became unexpectedly and seriously ill. Frequent panellist Ted Bonner presented in his absence. After 500 episodes of the programme in 1979, This Is Your Life host Eamonn Andrews appeared to Byrne's surprise (he had been expecting American star Dana Andrews). Andrews took over and quizzed Byrne on his 17 years with the programme. On another occasion, radio broadcaster and former newsreader Andy O'Mahony replaced Byrne for an interview with journalist Deirdre Purcell, who had ghostwritten Byrne's autobiography.

After Kenny's mother suddenly died in October 2008, Gerry Ryan was announced as guest presenter for that week's show with less than 48 hours' notice. Kenny announced his decision to quit live on air in March 2009. On 11 May that year, RTÉ announced Ryan Tubridy as Kenny's successor. Kenny in turn replaced Tubridy on 1 February 2013 for one night only, due to the death of Tubridy's father.

A woman has only presented the Late Late Show on three occasions. On 15 November 1980, towards the end of one show about feminism, Gay Byrne ushered a young Marian Finucane into his seat to present part of an episode. In March and April 2020, Miriam O'Callaghan stood in for Ryan Tubridy on two consecutive weeks when Tubridy was quarantined with (initially) suspected symptoms of COVID-19 and later tested COVID-19 positive.

Toy Show
Since the early 1970s, an annual Christmas edition entitled The Late Late Toy Show has been held in late November or early December, where various children's toys are showcased to the audience before the Christmas season.

Theme music and opening titles
Although not the original theme, the theme music most associated with the show is the instrumental introduction from Chris Andrews' 1965 single "To Whom It Concerns", which was in use as early as 1971 and used until Byrne's final show. The version used on the show was proceeded with a distinctive drum roll, followed by a whistle which would then segue into "To Whom It Concerns". This was always accompanied by the spoken introduction: "Ladies and gentlemen, to whom it concerns, it's "The Late Late Show", and here is your host, Gay Byrne". During the same era, a clip from '"The Late Late Show" by Nat King Cole was used as the closing music. The Late Late Show was unusual during Byrne's era in that the show's production credits ran over the opening title sequence, and only a brief still of the show's logo was shown at the end.

During the Kenny era, "To Whom It Concerns" was replaced, although the new theme incorporated elements of the distinctive drum roll from the old theme. Three different arrangements were used during this era. The show's production credits were moved to the end at this point, and the closing theme has been the same as the opening since 1999.

A new set and title sequence was introduced for Ryan Tubridy's first show, with Chris Andrews's "To Whom It Concerns" returning as the theme music after a ten-year absence, albeit in a new arrangement performed by The Late Late Show Band and RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

First musical performances
Below is a list of artists whose first televised performance happened on The Late Late Show.

Other notable musical performances
Virgin Prunes, "Theme for Thought", 1979.

Therapy?, invited to perform in 1994, were anticipated to perform their cover version of the Joy Division composition "Isolation"; disheartened with their treatment, however, they decided to perform their own composition "Knives" instead, without prior notice. The performance featured two instances of the expletive "fuck", a word normally expected to be omitted. The nation was affronted. Therapy? returned the following year to perform another of their compositions, this one titled "Stories".

In 1995, the English independent rock band Pop Will Eat Itself defaced the studio whilst in the midst of a performance. The group were invited back to Ireland by Byrne having performed in the country again.

Tammy Wynette and Ray Lynam duet on 22 March 1991 of "Til A Tear Becomes A Rose".

Eurovision Song Contest
The Irish representative for the Eurovision Song Contest has been chosen annually through a variety of shows including a national song competition called Eurosong and a reality TV series called You're a Star. The six finalists perform their songs live on the show, with voting done as a 50–50 split between regional juries and a public televote. The show also includes celebrity interviews, guest performances, and a panel of Eurovision experts who discuss the performances with the host.

Pat Kenny hosted numerous editions of the Eurosong final (which often replaced his Saturday Night chat show Kenny Live) and in 1988 he co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2006 and 2007, the song was chosen on The Late Late Show, the performers Brian Kennedy and Dervish had already been chosen to represent the country at the contest. In 2008, RTÉ returned to the national song contest format for Eurosong. 2009 would be the last edition of the format that Pat Kenny would host and The Late Late Show would host the competition until 2015. Eurosong returned in 2022, hosted by Ryan Tubridy, with 2023 being Tubridy's last Eurosong. The format continued into its third consecutive year in 2024, hosted by Patrick Kielty.

Accolades
The Late Late Show was named "Favourite Irish TV Show" at the TV Now Awards on 22 May 2010.

title: The Late Late Show (Irish talk show)


text:
Terry and the Pirates (radio serial)

Terry and the Pirates is a radio serial adapted from the comic strip of the same name created in 1934 by Milton Caniff. With storylines of action, high adventure and foreign intrigue, the popular radio series enthralled listeners from 1937 through 1948. With scripts by Albert Barker, George Lowther and others, the program's directors included Cyril Armbrister, Wylie Adams, and Marty Andrews.

The central character, Terry Lee, was portrayed at various times by Jackie Kelk, Cliff Carpenter, Owen Jordan, and Bill Fein. Some newspapers say that Jackie Kelk was the first actor to play Terry, when the series debuted on NBC in late October 1937. Terry's buddy Pat Ryan was played by Bud Collyer, Warner Anderson, Bob Griffin, and Larry Alexander. Others in Terry's Far East entourage were Flip Corkin (Ted de Corsia), Elita (Gerta Rozan), Burma (Frances Chaney), Hotshot Charlie (Cameron Andrews) and Connie the coolie (Cliff Norton, John Gibson, Peter Donald). Throughout the Orient, they encountered plenty of evildoers, including the Dragon Lady (Agnes Moorehead, Adelaide Klein, Marion Sweet, Mina Reaume), in such adventurous episodes as "Pirate Gold Detector Ring," "Deadly Current," "The Mechanical Eye" and "The Dragon Lady Strikes Back."

History
When the late afternoon series began, it was heard at 5:15pm, three times a week, sponsored by Dari-Rich, airing on NBC Red Network from November 1, 1937 to June 1, 1938. It switched to NBC Blue Network on September 26, 1938, continuing until March 22, 1939. Absent from the airwaves for over two years, it returned shortly before the Attack on Pearl Harbor, heard in the Midwestern United States on the Chicago Tribune's WGN. That series, sponsored by Libby's, aired five days a week from October 16, 1941 to May 29, 1942.

With increasing popularity during the World War II years, the show next took off at a fast pace on Blue Network, airing daily for 15 minutes on weekday afternoons beginning February 1, 1943. The Quaker Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice "shot from guns" commercials often had a patriotic pitch. Douglas Browning was the announcer during the mid-1940s. After 1945, with no wartime villains for Terry and his pals to fight, ratings began to drop in the post-World War II period until the final episode on June 30, 1948.

title: Terry and the Pirates (radio serial)


text:
Terry and the Pirates (TV series)

Terry and the Pirates is an American adventure series based on Milton Caniff's comic strip that was telecast from June 26 to November 21, 1953. The syndicated series ran for 18 episodes and was produced by Don Sharpe Enterprises. Canada Dry Ginger Ale was the show's original sponsor.

A version of Terry and the Pirates debuted on WABD-TV in New York City on November 25, 1952, broadcast on alternate Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. Dougfair Productions was the packager, and Official Films was the distributor. Dick Irving was the director, and John and Gwen Bagni were the writers.

Overview
USAAF Colonel Terry Lee (John Baer) heads to the Far East to locate a gold mine he inherited from his grandfather. Once in the Orient, Lee becomes a pilot with Air Cathay, a cargo and passenger airline owned and operated by the cunning Chopstick Joe (Jack Reitzen), who is not always honest. His friend and co-pilot is Charles C. Charles, aka Hotshot Charlie (William Tracy, who had played Terry Lee in the 1940 serial Terry and the Pirates), while the romantic interest is provided by the attractive blonde Burma (Sandra Spence). Lee has several encounters in thirteen episodes with his beautiful and mysterious nemesis, Lai Choi San, aka The Dragon Lady (Gloria Saunders).

In the pilot episode, "Macao Gold", Chopstick Joe was portrayed by Jack Kruschen and Burma was played by Mari Blanchard.

Production
In 1951 Sam Katzman obtained the film rights to the comic strip from Douglas Fairbanks Jr but no film resulted.

Twenty-six episodes were filmed using the RKO-Pathe facilities.

Home media
In 2007, Alpha Home Entertainment released four DVD sets of the episodes. Packaged with four episodes per Volume there are only sixteen of the eighteen. Episode 17 ("Overseer") and 18 ("The Diamond Maker") were not included. The episodes are not compiled in any order. The sets have been available from resellers on the internet.

title: Terry and the Pirates (TV series)


text:
Talk:Michael Bentine

Untitled
I'm afraid that his TV shows, particularly IT'S A SQUARE WORLD, are never repeated today, making him in many ways a forgotten talent. It's also unfortunately true that, while a nice man and a brave individual, he was on the United Nations' blacklist of performers who had appeared in South Africa, during the 1980's. Dolmance (talk) 17:31, 3 January 2008 (UTC) Perhaps there should be a reference to his grandfather having been Vice-President of Peru (sometime in the 1880s or 90s, I think), and MB still having a lot of Peruvian relatives, hence many of the references to Peru in his comedy. Arwel 22:08 Feb 7, 2003 (UTC)
 * "Their two surviving children"? What happened to the rest of their children? — riana_dzasta • t • c • e  • 23:03, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

Bentine was a marksman with myopia
It reads slightly oddly that MB had ruined eyesight but was also a crack shot; did he wear glasses for shooting or was it before his accident?

Apepper 20:55, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

Woeful!
This "article" is atrocious. It's no more than a rambling collection of trivia. It needs serious work by someone who has a clue about Mr Bentine. Typical Wikiality quality. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.139.120.254 (talk) 21:28, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

 * If you have copies of his autobiographical books you are invited to improve the article. Any lack in Wikipedia quality is down to whingers who could, but do not, contribute.  It is an unpaid activity by volunteers.Chemical Engineer (talk) 13:32, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

The RAF rejected him, then didn't. Why?
I find this a bit puzzling. We're told "In World War II he volunteered for all services when the war broke out (the RAF was his first choice due to the influence of his father's experience), but was rejected because of his father's Peruvian nationality", however a short time later "he was called up for service in the RAF". What changed in the meantime? Tonywalton Talk 20:39, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

It was maybe because of his ability to speak many languages. Unfortunately, one of them wasn't German as he often quoted and then the RAF parachuted him into German Speaking Areas during the war. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.152.135.106 (talk) 01:20, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

 * IIRC, it was because of the Bentine family's connections, i.e., the Peruvian Ambassador. He pulled some strings and got Bentine accepted by the RAF. Unfortunately, Bentine was on a theatrical tour at the time and missed his call-up papers. The first he knew of being accepted was when some RAF Police turned up to arrest him. Bentine was on stage and dressed in 'doublet and hose' and carrying a period sword when arrested. The mistake was sorted out and Bentine was able to enter the RAF. It was the inoculations that damaged his eyesight and prevented him becoming aircrew. For a while he was Intelligence Officer to a Polish Bomber Command squadron on Wellingtons. Ian Dunster (talk) 13:17, 5 November 2008 (UTC)

Bruce Lacey
I belive Bruce Lacey [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lacey ] constructed and operated the sandbox 'flea circus' on 'It's a Square World' - crouching underneath unseen and uncredited and pulling down footstep shaped dowels to make the footprints and other effects. It is what started him in his automaton career.

89.168.89.0 (talk) 23:39, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Anglo-Peruvian parentage
What does that exactly mean here?

His father was English, went out to Peru, learned Spanish, came back? Or what precisely?

Is Bentin a Spanish name? Bentín? Varlaam (talk) 23:45, 29 January 2012 (UTC)
 * His father was Peruvian, his mother was British. I have tried to clarify this in the text.Chemical Engineer (talk) 13:06, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

Picture
Is there not a madder or at least more typical one? Rothorpe (talk) 01:29, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

Picture excised?
"his picture had been excised from early pictures"

What does this phrase mean?

That Bentine had been edited out of all BBC publicity photographs to do with The Goon Show? Perhaps so, though Bentine seems to have been a fantasist of a rare order.

However, most people knew the Goons as a trio, and if the BBC re-published photographs cropped so as to exclude Bentine, I doubt it would be from any sinister motive, but rather to avoid confusion, e.g. 'Who is that extra fellow?'

DG = presumably the Director General of the BBC? Bluedawe 21:20, 22 March 2013 (UTC)

I remember the Goons talking about Bentine as someone who came to them when the show was already running and he was desperate to join them but they seemed very lukewarm over it, because they had all they needed with the three people already in the show.(84.236.152.71 (talk) 19:34, 30 May 2015 (UTC))

 * Bentine was actually in from start being in the first two series of what became The Goon Show but then left to continue with his own career. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.29.18.221 (talk) 23:47, 20 November 2015 (UTC)

 * In a couple of his autobiographical books (one of them primarily about his psychic research rather than his media career), Bentine claimed that someone high up in BBC management (whom he does not name) took a serious dislike to him and endeavoured to prevent anything he appeared in being repeated (presumably to deny him royalties) and, where possible, even preserved. I presume he didn't name names for legal reasons. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.202.211.191 (talk) 23:46, 8 September 2016 (UTC)

Was he delusional?
In a radio series called "Michael Bentine - Reluctant Jester" from November 1994, in the second of six shows, Bentine in all seriousness talks of the many psychic mediums coming to their house and how they often had furniture in their house floating or flying around the room. Also how a ten pound weight flew up in the air, across their shop while paper bags on strings (as they were in those days) spun like Catherine wheels, and scared off an unwanted biscuit salesman. Another time he tells how he and another were led into a very silent forest and their guide suddenly called out and EVERY SINGLE CREATURE in the forest (be it animal, snake, bird or whatever) called out in answer to him with "a shout of welcome".(84.236.152.71 (talk) 19:30, 30 May 2015 (UTC))

 * Bentine was interested in psychic phenomena, as were his parents, his father being a respected engineer, and the incidents of which you mention usually had numerous other witnesses.

 * Delusional people don't usually get to become RAF Intelligence Officers of operational RAF squadrons, nor to later go on in civilian life to successful careers in radio and television.

 * As for all this, you can hear him and judge for yourself by listening to this talk he gave back in the late 1980s here:  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.29.18.221 (talk) 00:03, 21 November 2015 (UTC)

No, not *usually*...are there any recordings or witnesses to this ‘shout of welcome’?? 2A00:23C3:E284:900:C443:E3C9:E27C:A5CE (talk) 21:45, 22 April 2020 (UTC)

Lift Operator Sketch
Remember this being played on ABC (Australian) radio in the early seventies. No luck in tracking it down, but noted from the article "Round the Bend in 30 Minutes", which has also been wiped from the BBC archive.

It may have been from this if it was wiped 1970's or later.--Lmstearn (talk) 14:43, 14 August 2016 (UTC)

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title: Talk:Michael Bentine