text:
Baby Doll

Baby Doll is a 1956 American black comedy film directed by Elia Kazan and starring Carroll Baker, Karl Malden and Eli Wallach. It was produced by Kazan and Tennessee Williams, and adapted by Williams from his own one-act play 27 Wagons Full of Cotton (1955). The plot focuses on a feud between two rival cotton gin owners in rural Mississippi.

Filmed in Mississippi in late 1955, Baby Doll was released in December 1956. It provoked significant controversy, mostly because of its implied sexual themes, and the National Legion of Decency condemned the film.

Despite the moral objections, Baby Doll enjoyed a mostly favorable response from critics and earned numerous accolades, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Director for Kazan and nominations for four other Golden Globe awards, four Academy Awards and four BAFTA Awards. Wallach won the BAFTA award for Most Promising Newcomer.

Baby Doll has been listed by some film scholars as among the most notorious films of the 1950s, and The New York Times included it in its Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.

Plot
In the Mississippi Delta, bigoted, middle-aged cotton gin owner Archie Lee Meighan has been married to pretty, naïve 17-year-old "Baby Doll" Meighan for two years. Archie Lee impatiently waits for her 18th birthday, when, by prior agreement with her now-deceased father, the marriage can finally be consummated. In the meantime, she sleeps in a crib, because the only other bedroom furniture in the house is the bed in which Archie sleeps; Archie, an alcoholic, spies on her through a hole in a wall. Baby Doll's senile Aunt Rose Comfort lives in the house, as well, much to Archie's chagrin.

After defaulting on payments to a furniture-leasing company due to his failing cotton gin, virtually all the furniture in the house is repossessed, and Baby Doll threatens to leave. Archie's competitor, a Sicilian-American named Silva Vacarro—who is manager of a newer and more modern and profitable cotton gin—has taken away all of Archie's business. Archie retaliates by burning down Vacarro's gin that night. Suspecting Archie as the arsonist, Vacarro visits the farm the following day with truckloads of cotton, offering to pay Archie Lee to gin for him.

Archie asks Baby Doll to entertain Vacarro while he supervises the work, and the two spend the day together. Vacarro explicitly inquires about Archie's whereabouts the night before and makes sexual advances toward her. When Vacarro outright accuses Archie of burning down his gin, Baby Doll goes to find Archie, who slaps her in the face and leaves for town to purchase new parts for his gin. Vacarro comforts Baby Doll, and after becoming friendly, Vacarro forces her to sign an affidavit admitting Archie's guilt. He then takes a nap in Baby Doll's crib, and is invited for supper at Baby Doll's request as a storm approaches.

Archie, drunk and jealous of Baby Doll's romantic interest in Vacarro, angrily tells Aunt Rose she needs to move out of the house; Vacarro immediately offers to let her live with him as his cook, and Baby Doll and he flirt with each other and taunt Archie. After Vacarro confronts Archie with the affidavit, Archie retrieves his shotgun and chases Vacarro outside while Baby Doll calls the police.

The police arrive, and Archie is arrested when Vacarro presents them with the affidavit. Vacarro then leaves the farm, telling Baby Doll he will be back the following day with more cotton. As Archie is taken away by the police, remarking that it is Baby Doll's birthday, Baby Doll and her Aunt Rose return inside the house to await Vacarro's return.

Development
Although the film's title card reads "Tennessee Williams' Baby Doll" and the film is based on Williams' one-act play 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, Elia Kazan claimed in his autobiography that Williams was only "half-heartedly" involved in the screenplay and that Kazan actually wrote most of it.

Casting
Kazan cast Baby Doll using numerous alumni of the Actors Studio, including each of the principal cast members. Carroll Baker was Kazan's first choice for the title role, although Williams had considered Marilyn Monroe for the part. Williams favored Baker after she performed a scene from his script at the Actors Studio. Kazan had been impressed by her performance in All Summer Long on Broadway the year prior.

Eli Wallach was cast in his first screen role but was hesitant, as he was unfamiliar with film acting and lacked confidence in his ability.

Although racial segregation was still present in Mississippi at the time, several local black actors appear in bit parts.

Actors Studio alumnus Rip Torn appears in an uncredited role as a dentist.

Filming
Principal photography began in October 1955 in Benoit, Mississippi at the J.C. Burrus house, an 1848 antebellum home in Bolivar County. Kazan asked the actors to dress the home's interiors with props that they felt reflected their characters' personalities. Other shooting locations included nearby Greenville, Mississippi and New York City. According to Kazan, Williams did not stay long while the film was shooting in Benoit because of the way in which locals looked at him. Some locals were used for minor roles, and one called "Boll Weevil" acted and also served as the production unit's utility man.

The working titles for the film included the name of the play and Mississippi Woman. Baker claims that Kazan changed the title to Baby Doll as a present to her.

Box office
Baby Doll premiered in New York City on December 18, 1956, opening the following week in Los Angeles on December 26 before receiving an expanded release on December 29. During its opening week at New York's Victoria Theater, the film earned promising box-office returns, totaling $51,232. It grossed a total of $2.3 million at the U.S. box office. According to Kazan, the film was ultimately not profitable.

Claims of indecency
Baby Doll courted controversy before its release with the display of a promotional billboard in New York City that depicted Baker lying in a crib and sucking her thumb. Cardinal Spellman urged both Catholics and non-Catholics to avoid the film, deeming it a moral danger.

Although Baby Doll received a seal of approval from the MPAA, Motion Picture Herald criticized the approval, noting: "Both the general principles of the Code and several specific stipulations are tossed aside in granting the film a Code seal. Among these, the law is ridiculed, there are sexual implications, vulgarity, and the words 'wop' and 'nigger.'" Religious groups continued to apply pressure following the film's December 18, 1956 premiere, and the Catholic Legion of Decency rated the film as a "C" ("Condemned") and deemed it "grievously offensive to Christian and traditional standards of morality and decency." The group succeeded in having the film withdrawn from numerous theaters. Variety noted that it was the first time in years that the Legion of Decency had condemned a major American film that had been approved by the MPAA. Response to the film from Catholic laity was mixed, and Episcopal bishop James A. Pike argued that The Ten Commandments contained more "sensuality" than did Baby Doll.

According to Baker, the cast and crew were unaware that the material would be perceived as controversial. The main reason for the backlash was believed to be the seduction scene between Baker and Wallach. Speculation arose among some audiences that during their scene together on a swinging chair, Wallach's character was fondling Baby Doll underneath her dress because his hands are not visible in the frame. According to both Baker and Wallach, the scene was intentionally filmed as such because Kazan had placed heaters all around them in the cold weather.

The film was banned in many countries, including Sweden, because of "exaggerated sexual content." It also was condemned by Time, which called it "just possibly the dirtiest American-made motion picture that has ever been legally exhibited." Such heated objections and the ensuing publicity earned Baby Doll a reputation as one of the most notorious films of the 1950s.

Critical response
Reviews from critics were mostly positive. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote in a generally favorable review that Tennessee Williams "has written his trashy, vicious people so that they are clinically interesting...But Mr. Kazan's pictorial compositions, got in stark black-and-white and framed for the most part against the background of an old Mississippi mansion, are by far the most artful and respectable feature of 'Baby Doll.'" Variety wrote that Kazan "probably here turns in his greatest directing job to date" and praised the "superb performances," concluding that the film "ranks as a major screen achievement and deserves to be recognized as such." Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post called it "one of the finest films of this or many another year, a chilling expose of what ignorance does to human beings...and an excellent example of why the Motion Picture Association should follow Britain's lead in classifying films into distinct categories for children and adults." John McCarten of The New Yorker praised the cast as "uniformly commendable" and wrote that the plot machinations "add up to some hilarious French-style farce, and it is only at the conclusion of the piece, when Mr. Kazan starts moving his camera around in a preternaturally solemn way, that one's interest in 'Baby Doll' briefly wanes." The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote "Kazan has often fallen afoul of his own cleverness, but in Baby Doll he responds to a brilliant and astute scenario by Tennessee Williams with a great invention and the most subtle insight...There are no bad performances, and those of Carroll Baker as Baby Doll and Eli Wallach as the Sicilian are outstanding."

Not all reviews were positive. Edwin Schallert of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film "offers an experience so basically sordid, and so trying besides, that if one does not manage to laugh at its fantastic ribaldry, he will think that he has spent two hours in bedlam." Harrison's Reports called the film "thoroughly unpleasant and distasteful screen fare, in spite of the fact that it is expertly directed and finely acted."

The film holds a score of 83% on the review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes based on 23 reviews.

Stage play
In the 1970s, Williams wrote the full-length stage play Tiger Tail, based on his screenplay for Baby Doll. The screenplay and stage play have been published in one volume. In 2015, the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey premiered a stage version of Baby Doll, adapted by Emily Mann, the theater's artistic director, and Pierre Laville, who had written an earlier version that premiered at the Théâtre de l’Atelier in Paris in 2009. The latest adaptation supplemented parts of the film script with material based on several others of Williams' works, including Tiger Tail.

title: Baby Doll


text:
Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine

Sir Louis-Hippolyte Ménard dit La Fontaine, 1st Baronet, KCMG (October 4, 1807 – February 26, 1864) was a Canadian politician who served as the first Premier of the United Province of Canada and the first head of a responsible government in Canada. He was born in Boucherville, Lower Canada in 1807. A jurist and statesman, La Fontaine was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada in 1830. He was a supporter of Papineau and member of the Parti canadien (later the Parti patriote). After the severe consequences of the Rebellions of 1837 against the British authorities, he advocated political reforms within the new Union regime of 1841.

Under this Union of the two Canadas he worked with Robert Baldwin in the formation of a party of Upper and Lower Canadian liberal reformers. He and Baldwin formed a government in 1842 but resigned in 1843. In 1848 he was asked by the Governor-General, Lord Elgin, to form the first administration under the new policy of responsible government. The La Fontaine-Baldwin government, formed on March 11, battled for the restoration of the official status of the French language, which was abolished with the Union Act, and the principles of responsible government and the double-majority in the voting of bills.

While Baldwin was reforming Canada West (Upper Canada), La Fontaine passed bills to abolish the tenure seigneuriale (seigneurial system) and grant amnesty to the leaders of the rebellions in Lower Canada who had been exiled. The bill passed, but it was not accepted by the loyalists of Canada East who rioted and burned down the Parliament in Montreal.

La Fontaine retired to private life in 1851 but was appointed Chief Justice of Canada East in 1853. In 1854 he was created a baronet by Queen Victoria and a knight commander in the pontifical Order of St. Sylvester by Pope Pius IX in 1855.

His last name is often written in one word (Lafontaine or LaFontaine); his own signature was one word.

Province of Canada: The fight for responsible government

Following the rebellion in Lower Canada, and the similar rebellion in 1837 in Upper Canada (now Ontario), the British government decided to merge the two provinces into a single province, as recommended by Lord Durham in the Durham Report. The Union Act, 1840, passed by the British Parliament, abolished the two provinces and their separate parliaments. It created the Province of Canada, with a single Parliament for the entire province, composed of an elected Legislative Assembly and an appointed Legislative Council. The Governor General initially retained a strong position in the government. LaFontaine had been a member of the Parti patriote and a supporter of Louis-Joseph Papineau leading up to the Rebellion, but after the Rebellion failed he re-examined his political views. He decided to switch to a system of working within the existing constitutional order to achieve the political rights of French-Canadians. He adopted the cause of responsible government, where the Governor General would appoint the members of the Executive Council from the groups which controlled a majority in the elected Legislative Assembly. Anticipating that he would stand for election in the riding of Terrebonne, with a large majority population of French-Canadians, LaFontaine set out his new political approach in an Address to the Electors of Terrebonne.

At that time, it was not uncommon for there to be election violence. Voting was by open-ballot, where each voter publicly declared their vote at the poll. One common tactic was for the supporters of one candidate to try to control the poll and prevent the voters for the other candidate from voting. In the run-up to the Terrebonne election in March 1841, LaFontaine began to hear rumours that Sydenham and the supporters for the government candidate, Michael McCulloch, planned to bring in large numbers of men from outside the riding to control the poll and prevent his supporters from voting. One of LaFontaine's supporters wrote to him and suggested that they could hold the poll, if he was able to organise one thousand men to support his position.

One of the English-language newspapers in Montreal expressly stated that the goal was to prevent French-Canadians from voting in the poll:

The poll was located at New Glasgow, one of the few towns in the riding with an English-speaking majority, and located on the outskirts of the riding, away from the major population centres. The day of the election, LaFontaine led a group of his supporters in a march to New Glasgow, where they would vote. Fearing violence, many of them were armed with clubs and pitchforks, which was not uncommon in contested elections. As they neared New Glasgow, they found the road blocked by groups of men supporting McCulloch, perhaps six or seven hundred in total. They too were armed, many with clubs, but some with firearms. Small fights began to break out, and there was blood on the snow. LaFontaine, fearing for the safety of his supporters, abandoned the march to New Glasgow. Since only McCulloch's supporters voted for him, the returning officer declared McCulloch the elected candidate.

At first, LaFontaine thought there was no point in continuing in politics and announced his retirement from public life. But then a surprising event occurred. Robert Baldwin, a leading Reformer in Canada West, contacted LaFontaine. Following the elections in Canada West, there was a vacant seat, York 1st, where the Reformers were in strength. Baldwin offered to nominate LaFontaine as the candidate for the riding in the upcoming by-election, with the support of the local Reform party members. Before making the offer to LaFontaine, Baldwin had obtained the agreement of David Willson, leader in York 1st of the Children of Peace, a Quaker religious group which were strong Reformers, and Willson had agreed.

LaFontaine gratefully accepted the offer, and with the support of Baldwin and the local Reformers, was elected in the by-election. The concept of a French-Canadian winning a seat in Canada West was remarkable. It was a strong indicator to French-Canadians that they had allies in their quest for popular control of the provincial government. A leading French-Canadian journalist and political writer, Étienne Parent, had accompanied LaFontaine to Canada West and reported back on their reception: and reported on their reception from the reformers: "Ils élisent M. Lafontaine pour montrer, disent-ils, leur sympathie envers les Bas-Canadiens, et leur détestation des mauvais traitements et des injustices auxquelles nous avons été exposés."

The episode was the beginning of the alliance between reformers in Canada East and Canada West that LaFontaine had argued for in his Address to the Electors.

Baldwin also insisted that Sydenham include La Fontaine in the reformed Executive Council, or he would resign as Solicitor General. Their alliance allowed La Fontaine to have a seat in the assembly in 1841 and for Baldwin to win the by-election in 1843.

During the 1840s, Willson continued his association with the Reform Party; he was, for example, the campaign manager in the area for both Robert Baldwin and LaFontaine, the "Fathers of Responsible Government" and first elected premiers of the province. It was the Children of Peace who ensured the election of Montreal lawyer Louis La Fontaine as their representative in Upper Canada. Willson argued that this was an opportunity, as he said, "to show our impartial respect to the Canadian people of the Lower province." Here, Willson is expressing a clear Canadian identity that overcame differences in the language and religion. It was a vision of Canadian citizenship that was ultimately successful, as La Fontaine was elected in the 4th Riding of York. Subsequently, they elected Baldwin in their riding. The band of the Children of Peace was a familiar sight at Baldwin's campaign rallies. In 1844, they held a campaign rally for Baldwin concurrently with the illumination of the Temple. Over 3000 people attended, an event that helped end the reign of Orange Order electoral violence.

On 3 September 1841, the Children of Peace held a campaign rally for Baldwin and La Fontaine in their Temple, where they rejoiced "to say that we have it in our power to show our impartial respect to the Canadian people of the Lower Province." Despite threats of Orange Order violence, La Fontaine was elected as representative of 4th York.

However, before La Fontaine could take up his seat, Governor Sydenham died. His replacement, Sir Charles Bagot, was not able to form a mixed cabinet of Reformers and Tories, and so he was forced to include the "Canadien party" under La Fontaine. La Fontaine refused to join the Executive Council unless Baldwin was also included. Bagot was finally forced to accede in September, 1842, and when he became severely ill thereafter, Baldwin and La Fontaine became the first real premiers of the Province of Canada. However, in order to take office as ministers, the two had to run for re-election. While La Fontaine was easily re-elected in 4th York, Baldwin lost his seat in Hastings as a result of Orange Order violence. It was now that the pact between the two men was completely solidified, as La Fontaine arranged for Baldwin to run in Rimouski, Canada East. This was the union of the Canadas they sought, where La Fontaine overcame linguistic prejudice to gain a seat in English Canada, and Baldwin obtained his seat in French Canada.

Family
He first married on July 9, 1831, to Adèle Berthelot (1813–1859). Their union produced no children. His real family name is Ménard. He is the son of Antoine Ménard. The Hon. Sir Louis Hypolite Ménard, Bart., then Chief Justice of Lower Canada then married Montreal, January 30, 1861, the widowed Jane Élisabeth Geneviève Morrison, (1822–1905) daughter of Charles Morrison, on January 30, 1861. Julie had married in Montreal, December 18, 1848, Thomas Kinton, of the Royal Engineers Department. This second marriage produced two sons who died in infancy; Louis-Hippolyte (born July 11, 1862) and Charles François Hypolite Lafontaine, born April 13, 1864, who died the following year. The elder son succeeded to the baronetcy at eighteen months old in February, 1864, but died in 1867. The family residence was Saint Denis Street, Montreal.

Death
Lafontaine died on February 26, 1864. He was buried at Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery in Montreal.

The Louis Hippolyte Ménard Monument in La Fontaine Park Montreal
The city authorities of Montreal named Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine park as a tribute to Chief Justice Lafontaine's memory. The unveiling of the La Fontaine Monument in Parc La Fontaine Montreal was a tremendous event to honour such a great man, who is considered the father of responsible Government in Canada. In a book published by Le Comité Du Monument LaFontaine in 1930 titled Hommage à LaFontaine. The book is a compilation of letters sent to various people about the unveiling of the monument in Montreal. In these letters and speeches, people expressed their sentiments about the unveiling of the LaFontaine Monument and it is clear they saw him as a great man. Mayor. C.Houde explained how "après que S.H le lieutenant-gouverneur Carroll, aux sons de l'hymne nationale rendu par la fanfare des Carabinies Mont-Royal, eut fait tomber le voile qui revouvrait la statutie La Fontaine.". The crowd was extremely large at the unveiling and Mayor. Houde explained how the monument was erected "à la mémoire de sir Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine, père du governement responsable au Canada". The Chief Justice for Sir Wilfrid Laurier was also present the day of the unveiling and he spoke very highly of the monument and LaFontaine as he said "It is a grateful joy to be allowed to laud and magnify LaFontaine's imperishable name. I would fain do it, excluding in a rise of Canada from colonial inferiority to international equality, wherein La Fontaine bore so great a part.

The Louis Hippolyte Ménard Monument in Boucherville

La Fontaine was born in Boucherville and moved to Montreal to begin his political career. A monument was unveiled in Boucherville after his demise as well as a commemorative plaque, placed upon his birth home. Evidence of this is given by Dr. Eudore Dubeau a doctor of the town who explained, "en présence d'une foule estimée à dix mille personnes, parmi lesquelle on comptait les sommités religieuse ete civiles, nous inaugurions le monument de sir Louis Hippolyte LaFontaine.". He goes further to explain how on La Fontaine's birth home they placed a bronze plaque which "portant l'inscription comme sure son monument de "Père du governement responsable" et "Défenseur de la langue français.". Once again he is referenced as not only the father of responsible government, but also the defender of the French language. LaFontaine refused to speak English in the Assembly and fought to use his mother tongue.  It was not that he was incapable of speaking English, he just believed people should be able to speak their mother tongue and supported the French Canadians right to do so.

The Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine Bridge-Tunnel
More about the Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine Tunnel, a highway bridge–tunnel running over and beneath the Saint Lawrence River connecting Montreal to the south shore of the river at Longueuil, Quebec, can be found here. In brief construction began in 1963 and they named it after LaFontaine in order to preserve his memory for future generations.

Louis-Hippolyte Ménard Hospital
The Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine Hospital opened its doors in 1873 under the name "d'Hospice Saint-Jean-De-Dieu...La congrégation des Soeurs de la Providence". It was and still is a psychiatric hospital, although it speculated that they also took care of orphans who they wrongly labeled as mentally ill to conduct medical experiments, they are called the Duplessis Orphans. The name was changed because of letters from patients, although the reason they chose La Fontaine's name over others is not documented.

The Baldwin and La Fontaine Monument on Parliament Hill
Created by Walter Seymour Allward who is best known for his design of the "mammoth Canadian Battlefields Memorial in Vimy, France (1922–36), that commemorated the important battle of Vimy Ridge." Allward created the statue of La Fontaine and Baldwin which rests on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The "La Fontaine-Baldwin administration throughout the years 1849 and 1850 remained in a position of exceptional power". Under this regime La Fontaine fought to see the seigneurial system "abolished, but wished to find means to respect the interests of the seigniors by a proper compensation". Baldwin and La Fontaine fought hard to build unity in the government of Canada and build a true responsible government. If you would like to learn more about Baldwin and La Fontaine a Canadian Historical minute has been made concerning their rise into leadership which can be viewed at Baldwin and La Fontaine Historical Minute.

Awaiting Designations
The house Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine lived in as a politician in Montreal is still standing today and is located on 1395 Overdale, Montreal, Quebec. However, the City of Montreal has not yet designated the building into a historical site. It was discovered in July 1987 by Senator Serge Joyal that this home was once the former home of Louis Hippolyte La Fontaine. During the Rebellion for the Losses Bill in which Parliament was burned this home was also the target of many rioters. Since it was rediscovered in 1987 its facade has been left to be battered by the elements. Heritage Montreal has been lobbying for the Sir Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine House for many years and they are hoping that the City comes forward to help. Heritage Montreal and other advocates hope this home can be renovated and built into something such as an interpretive museum exploring the development of responsible government in Canada.

Works

 * Les deux girouettes, ou l'hypocrisie démasquée, Montréal, 1834 (online)
 * Notes sur l'inamovibilité des curés dans le Bas-Canada, Montréal, 1837
 * Analyse de l'ordonnance du Conseil spécial sur les bureaux d'hypothèques [...], Montréal, 1842
 * De l'esclavage en Canada, Montréal, 1859 (online)
 * De la famille des Lauson. Vice-rois et lieutenants généraux des rois de France en Amérique, 1859 (online)

Other

 * The Address to the Electors of Terrebonne, 1840 (online)

In English

 * Abbott Nish, M. E. Double majority: Concept, Practice and Negotiations, 1840–1848, Master Thesis, McGill University, Montréal, 1966
 * Heritage Montreal, "Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine Mansion", Montreal, https://web.archive.org/web/20110203084745/http://www.heritagemontreal.org/en/louis-hippolyte-lafontaine-mansion/.
 * Saul, John Ralston. Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin (2010) online
 * Heritage Montreal, "Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine Mansion", Montreal, https://web.archive.org/web/20110203084745/http://www.heritagemontreal.org/en/louis-hippolyte-lafontaine-mansion/.
 * Saul, John Ralston. Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin (2010) online
 * Saul, John Ralston. Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin (2010) online
 * Saul, John Ralston. Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin (2010) online

In French

 * Aubin, Georges (2002–05). Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine. Correspondance générale
 * Tome 1: Les ficelles du pouvoir: correspondance entre Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine et Robert Baldwin, 1840–1854
 * Tome 2: Au nom de la loi: lettres de Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine à divers correspondants, 1829–1847
 * Tome 3: Mon cher Amable: lettres de Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine à divers correspondants, 1848–1864
 * Aubin, Georges (1999). Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine. Journal de voyage en Europe, 1837–1838, Sillery: Septentrion, 153 p. ISBN 2-89448-142-X
 * Bertrand, Réal (1993). Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine, Montréal: Lidec, 60 p. ISBN 2-7608-7046-4
 * Auclair, Elie-Joseph (1933). Figures canadiennes, Montréal, vol. 2, pp. 9–19 (online)
 * DeCelles, Alfred Duclos, LaFontaine et son temps, Montréal: Librairie Beauchemin,192g.(online)
 * Laurent-Olivier David (1872). Sir Ls.-H. Lafontaine, Montréal: Typographie Geo. E. Desbarats, 45 p.
 * Fauteaux, M Aegidius. Hommages à LaFontaine. Montreal" le Comité Du Monument LaFontaine, 1931.
 * A Propos. "Historique".Hôpital Louis-Hippolye LaFontaine, Montreal:(accessed Feb 2011)

https://web.archive.org/web/20110202081420/http://www.hlhl.qc.ca/hopital/portrait/historique.html.

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

title: Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine


text:
Talk:Puyi

Sexuality
"Some maintain he had homosexual tendencies." i hope this sentense can be remove from the article.. be it homosexual or bisexual

Why should it be removed? Puyi was an interesting fellow with a unique life, and it has taken a long time to get any real information about him out to the general public. If we know of a male historical figure's wives or girlfriends, those are included for the sake of completeness in any good history, so should it be mentioned if he was known to be gay. The only reason not to include mention of his love life is if the facts are utterly unsubstantiated -- and even then, the fact that such rumors exist or allegations have been made is useful to know to those trying to sort out truth from fiction, allegations from knowledge, rumor from fact, prejudice from legitimate inference.
 * According to "Newsweek" correspondent Edward Behr, who wrote a book on the last imperial emperor of China, "There is no doubt in my own mind that Puyi was bisexual." --Kstern999 04:04, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

And Pu Yi's Japanese sister-in-law once claimed that "the Emperor had an unnatural love for a pageboy. He was referred to as the male concubine."
 * This is all rumor and conjencture - the fact that a biographer wrote that Puyi was, in his mind, bisexual is really neither here nor there - unless it is clearly stated as conjencture. If we have evidence from his sister-in-law, then let's refer to the first-hand source - or note that it is unsubstantiated. In general this article has issues with references. Instead of refering to a biography it would be nice to have some empirical evidence Kunchan 19:02, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

I move to remove all mention of sexuality unless we can reference it? Please let me know your thoughts before I do so. Kunchan 09:53, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

There are so many ignorant people who do not know the fact that Puyi was a famous homosexual, although his brother and eunuchs declared Puyi's homosexuality clearly. 124.255.24.220 (talk) 06:56, 1 May 2015 (UTC) HADRIANVS ET ANTINOVS

 * It is also widely ignored that he was traumatized at age 10 or 11 by a palace maid, and therefore was deeply afraid of any physical contact with women. He simply felt safer in the presence of men. Jadetemple (talk) 16:52, 23 September 2022 (UTC)

I agree with the person above in his comments that Pu Yi was known to be homosexual. It is my opinion that if all of us can refrain from being homophobic, we can be more scholarly in our approach to Pu Yi. Goldstarnunc

The user Jadetemple has just deleted information about Puyi being homosexual and put in completely uncited claims about Puyi being broken. This includes Wanrongs personal eunuch's memoir that is cited.r Menacinghat (talk) 23:14, 2 October 2022 (UTC Menacinghat (talk) 23:16, 2 October 2022 (UTC)

'' A eunuch who served in the Forbidden City as Wanrong's personal servant later wrote in his memoir that there was a rumour among the eunuchs that Puyi was gay, noting a strange situation where he was asked by Puyi to stand inside Wanrong's room while Puyi groped her. ''

Medical question
Question: There are several comments in the "literature" about Puyi's unusual physical movements: stiff arms and legs, walking as if on stilts, etc. Is there any reliable information (or even "informed" speculation) about possible physical or mental impairments? [-- unsigned]

[Whomever posted this question, please sign with 4 ~ characters]

I'm guessing here, but his clumsiness may also be related.

47.139.45.144 (talk) 14:43, 26 July 2020 (UTC)

 * No, he didn`t have an physical impairments. He was deeply traumatized several times during his life. That does something to your psyche and that in turn influences how you move and carry yourself. He walked insecurely because he was. Li Shuxian commented, that she had never met anyone who needed so desperately to be loved. Jadetemple (talk) 16:45, 23 September 2022 (UTC)

Last Emperor?
I note that the article starts by stating that Puyi was the last emperor of China, and while this is the common belief, wasn't Yuan Shikai technically the last Emperor of China? -- Daduzi  talk  09:37, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

 * he's not "legitimate" - as in "legitimate history" doesn't count his Empire of China as a dynasty. --Sumple (Talk) 10:03, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Well, no, it wouldn't be a dynasty since it was only one person (with an incredibly short rule at that). We're not talking about the last dynasty, however, we're talking about the last emperor. And legitimate history works do note that Yuan Shikai crowned himself emperor, and (at least from what I've read) don't pass judgement as to whether he was a legitimate emperor or not. -- Daduzi  talk  10:36, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

 * I mean "dynasty" as a translation for the Chinese term 朝代. If a "dynasty" is not regarded as "legitimate" by "legitimate history", then they (the dynasty and its emperor(s)) are not "counted". "Counted" as in being regarded as one in the traditional linear view of Chinese history. Thus, for example, Li Zicheng is not usually counted as an emperor even though he crowned himself one.
 * I'm not saying that Yuan Shikai is not the "last emperor". This is just my interpretation of why people don't usually refer to him as such. --Sumple (Talk) 11:36, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

 * Oh well in that case I agree with you; I'd agree that Puyi is generally considered to be the last "real" emperor by most (if not all) historians, and I wouldn't consider Yuan Shikai as the last emperor myself. I guess what I was trying to suggest was that mention should perhaps be made of Yuan's claim, most likely as a foot note, if for no other reason than that it's an interesting piece of history that fewer people are aware of than know about Puyi's status as last emperor. Something along the lines of "Though Yuan Shikai crowned himself emperor Hongxian in 1916, his reign lasted little more than a year and was widely disputed at the time. Today most historians discount Yuan's reign when compiling histories of the Chinese Empire and consider Puyi, not Yuan Shikai, to be the last emperor of China." ideally with a cited source reflecting the view of historians. -- Daduzi  talk  20:58, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

 * Sounds good. --Sumple (Talk) 00:21, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

 * It seems to me that Yuan Shikai had a brief claim to the throne in 1916, but Puyi himself had a brief claim to the throne in 1917. So, either way—whether you count people who were briefly declared emperor or not—Puyi is the last emperor.—Nat Krause(Talk!) 00:40, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

Yuan Shikai's reign was not legitimate, he crowned himself and most people did not recognize him as Emperor.

Puyi was also restored as emperor for a short period of time in 1917, making him the last emperor of China. KeithSNP (talk) 23:02, 18 May 2022 (UTC)

Puyi (1906-1967) vs "Xuantong reign" (1908-1912)
All the other pages on emperors of the Qing dynasty discuss what happened during their reign. Therefore if we want to know what happened in the 1690s, we go to Kangxi Emperor because he reigned from 1662 to 1722. But this wiki on Puyi is different: it's a biography of one man from his birth to his death. As such, it doesn't coincide with the years of his reign as Qing emperor. If a reader comes here wanting to know what happened in China in 1909, all he or she will find is the story of Puyi the man. To remedy this lack, I propose we create a page called "Xuantong reign of the Qing dynasty" (or something like that) that would cover the events that took place in China from 1908 to 1912 instead of discussing the emperor himself. What do you think? Madalibi (talk) 10:20, 26 October 2011 (UTC)

Titles in lede
The manchu writing should be moved from the lede to the second section. The lede should convey biographical information and it seems overwhelmed with naming information. The naming information should be moved to the second section. -ApexUnderground (talk) 05:35, 16 June 2019 (UTC)

 * I disagree it was fine previously and matched the setup on his predecessors page (Guangxu emperor). Now it looks fragmented, the title is sideways and incomplete. Jadetemple (talk) 11:41, 2 October 2022 (UTC)

Split proposed
I am proposing the split of this article and the creation of Life of Puyi due to the great length of the "Biography" section. Jay Coop · Talk · Contributions 03:46, 25 November 2019 (UTC)
 * Support due to the section's truly massive size. It takes an very long time to scroll through (let alone read) on mobile, and I cannot imagine loading it on a slow Internet connection. Glades12 (talk) 20:15, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

 * Oppose

at the proposed title. This entire Wikipedia biography is quite naturally about the "life of Puyi", so a new article with that title would be entirely redundant to this one. I may support this, if the new article(s) is/are something like "early life of Puyi", or "Puyi as puppet ruler of Manchukuo", or "later life of Puyi". Such articles would just cover aspects of his life, not his entire life. Protean Self (talk) 16:52, 5 March 2020 (UTC)

 * Propose a different solution

I agree the article is too long for a single article and should be split. Also, it seems to be rely on Behr too much as a source. Maybe do one article on his book covering what it stated only by him and has no other sources, and keep in the Puyi article only what has another source or is too important not to include.47.139.45.144 (talk) 14:52, 26 July 2020 (UTC)

Timeline doesn't make sense
According to the timeline, he was only the emperor until shortly after his sixth birthday. But the section Puyi talks about when he was 7, 8, and even 13. From the information there, it's confusing and sounds like he was the emperor up to the age of 13, while the rest of the article says he was removed at the age of 6 and then shortly became emperor again at the age of 12. — Naddruf (talk ~ contribs) 17:27, 23 September 2020 (UTC)

Multiple issues that render article unreliable
The text seems to be biased heavily against the person in question, in manners which would get immediately deleted were this an article about a living person. Ridiculous assertions bordering on defamation relying on a single source, which is a film of all things with no link to anything of value, and numerous point of view issues. I personally suggest the article be rewritten entirely using more academic sources. Euphemios (talk) 14:31, 20 February 2021 (UTC)

 * It has come to my attention that the Behr source is a book, however, how is it that we have nothing linking to it in the first place? If these citations are true to the material, did the author collect various rumours and write about them as if they were proven? Euphemios (talk) 14:41, 20 February 2021 (UTC)

Aisin-Gioro-2007
I've just corrected a cite error and in doing so found that "Aisin-Gioro, 2007" can not be verified. I'm guessing the 2007 release of the autobiography is what is meant, but there isn't enough information to be certain. It would help if it was defined correctly in the Sources section. ActivelyDisinterested (talk) 20:43, 8 November 2021 (UTC)

Behr is an unreliable source
Behr is a non-academic, whose work has serious flaws. John Fairbank, a professor of history at Harvard who founded the East Asian Research Center, reviewed Behr's "Last Emperor" book in the New York Review of Books on February 18, 1988, and I feel like his words speak for themselves: "Mr. Behr seems careless about proofreading and/or the historical record. For example, the Hundred Days of reform did not occur in 1880, the British did not take Chinese territory at Canton in 1898, the Peking Legation Quarter was not set up in 1860, the province of Anhwei was not the Empress Dowager “Tzu-hsi’s home base,” Lord Palmerston in 1855 did not say he would have to strike “another blow for China,” he said in China, “Weihawei” [sic] was not “one of the oldest British owned Chinese colonies after Hong Kong.” Such howlers and misunderstandings indicate that Mr. Behr is not a trained historian. This is corroborated by his enthusiastic acceptance of David Bergamini’s 'Japan’s Imperial Conspiracy', which makes Emperor Hirohito the mastermind and chief operator of Japan’s implacable drive to take over half the world—a theory long since discredited. Evidently books are like people: if they exist they can be quoted." This article relies enormously on Behr's book -- possibly because, as mentioned in Fairbank's same review, it was released by Behr around the time as the Bertolucci film. If the quality of the article is to improve, Behr ought to be eliminated as a source. Lycrophon (talk) 19:54, 15 November 2021 (UTC)

 * Fine by me. Be bold and go ahead! CaptainEek  Edits Ho Cap'n!⚓ 06:18, 16 November 2021 (UTC)

Wet Nurse
Article states after his pardon he would see Wang Lianshou, and would see her after his government pardon in 1959, yet her stated date of death on her article is 3/02/46. So either that article is incorrect or this one is, along with the citation. 81.136.190.120 (talk) 14:25, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

Changes on 26 September 2021
It appears an anonymous editor removed mention of Puyi's sexual orientation, describing, in their revision summary, the since-removed text as containing 'bizarre annecdotes' which would not be fitting an encyclopedic article.

Seeing as the article is a biography of a historical figure, I feel that it is appropriate for the article to mention such information. Interested in seeing others' thoughts on the removals made on 26 September. - Emil Sayahi (talk) 02:49, 18 September 2022 (UTC)

 * I find it inappropriate to discuss his sexuality quite frankly. He cannot even have the page under his era name like everyone before him, I think that is disrespectful enough.
 * I would also like to add that the emperor was traumatized at a very young age (10/11). As a result of this he was deeply afraid fo physical contact with women and felt more comfortable in the presence of men.
 * I would also like to request that his full manchu title be put back on the page. The older version had his manchu and mongolian title in the main text, as well as his full name in manchu.
 * Now that information has been removed and his manchu and mongolian title have been shoved to the bottom of the page in tiny footnotes. His manchu title is also missing the word huwangdi.
 * I would greatly appreciate if the former version could be restored, I need it and can`t find it elsewhere. Jadetemple (talk) 23:53, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

Xuantong emperor
Using his milk name ist regarded as a sign of disrespect. It was done with the intent to break him mentally and spiritually. He himself had commented on how it offended his ears. As long as both his era name and his birth name are included in the article, it will be found if you search for either. Other pages have him listed under his era name, and they are found and read as well. His dying wish has been denied and he wasnt`t given an official temple name or posthumous title, as was custom for every emperor before him, the least that can be done, is to move this page to Xuantong emperor where it belongs. Jadetemple (talk) 11:50, 2 October 2022 (UTC)

 * that's a nice argument senator why don't you back it up with a source Von bismarck (talk) 15:55, 21 February 2023 (UTC)

Manchu title Mongolian title
I request that his Manchu and Mongolian title be put back into the ledge, where they were listed before. There is no logical reason to cram them into two tiny footnotes at the bottom of the page, because one user found the section overwhelming to read. Jadetemple (talk) 06:54, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

infobox image
I want add back the longstanding page picture because it is in good quality + it is an official portrait in full dress. We do similar official portrait pictures on Hirohito and Elizabeth II pages. Shadow4dark (talk) 10:15, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

 * No comments? Shadow4dark (talk) 09:41, 8 October 2022 (UTC)

 * I think it's fine! He is the last Emperor of China, so it is fitting. Just make sure to use Puyi to match the article for your description of the photo. TomMasterReal (talk) 02:24, 31 December 2022 (UTC)

Infobox country of birth
The infobox usually contains the country of birth and death of the person (e.g. J. Robert Oppenheimer born in New York City, U.S., not just New York City) unless there was no country to say of. Are there any specific reasons why this page doesn't include the countries of birth and death for Puyi (Qing Dynasty and PRC)? Zinderboff(talk) 15:34, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

Wang Lianshou date of death
As an IP user stated above Wang Lianshou who died in 1946 allegedly met Puyi after his 1959 pardon, which obviously cannot have happened. I also cannot find the 'Pu Yi 1988' source this claim is cited from, and can find nothing by him published or translated into English in 1988- unless this claim can be substantiated with a source I would suggest removing it. TrilobiteDentistry (talk) 09:22, 21 March 2024 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 29 April 2024
I request that if possible someone add Puyi's signature to Wikimedia Commons. I do not know if this is the appropriate place to ask, but I cannot think of a better place to do so. His signature can be found in this picture. 142.120.105.221 (talk) 00:55, 29 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Extended-protection-unlocked.svg Not done: According to the page's protection level you should be able to edit the page yourself. If you seem to be unable to, please reopen the request with further details. HansVonStuttgart (talk) 08:30, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Puyi


text:
The Rainmaker (1997 film)

The Rainmaker is a 1997 American legal drama film written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola based on John Grisham's 1995 novel of the same name. It stars Matt Damon, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, Mary Kay Place, Mickey Rourke, Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, Roy Scheider, Virginia Madsen, and Teresa Wright in her final film role.

Plot
Unlike most of his fellow graduates of the Memphis State University Law School, Rudy Baylor has no high-paying job lined up and has to apply for part-time positions while serving drinks at a Memphis bar. Desperate for a job, he meets the bar's owner, J. Lyman "Bruiser" Stone, who is also a ruthless but successful ambulance chaser, who hires Rudy as an associate.

To get paid by Bruiser, associates pay their way by finding cases and working them up for trial. Rudy responds by saying he has cases, including an insurance bad faith matter he boasts could be worth several million in damages. Interested in the case, Bruiser introduces Rudy to office paralegal Deck Shifflet, a former insurance adjuster of questionable ethics.

While showing Rudy around the office Deck tells him he failed the bar exam six times. However, Bruiser employs him because he is resourceful, finds cases, is adept at gathering information, and because his prior work experience in the insurance industry means he knows how to go after them.

Though Rudy has passed the Tennessee bar exam, he still has not been properly licensed to stand as an attorney. He tries to do so after Bruiser fails to show up before Judge Harvey Hale to argue the case, but Hale scolds Rudy and tells him to get his license and then come back. Defense attorney Leo F. Drummond offers to stand for Rudy as Rudy is sworn in before the judge. Afterwards, Rudy discovers that the FBI has raided Stone's office, and Stone is nowhere to be found.

Using $5,500 that Bruiser had given each of them shortly before fleeing, Rudy and Deck pool their money together and set up a practice themselves. They file suit for middle-aged couple Dot and Buddy Black, whose 22-year-old son, Donny Ray, is dying of leukemia, but could have been saved with a bone marrow transplant, denied by their insurance carrier Great Benefit.

Rudy, having never argued a case before a judge and jury, now faces a group of experienced lawyers led by Drummond, from the prestigious firm Tinley Britt. In chambers, Hale tells Rudy and Drummond that he is set to dismiss the case because he sees it as a "lottery" case that slows down the judicial process. However, Hale dies of a heart attack before he grants the petition for dismissal. The more sympathetic Tyrone Kipler, a former civil rights attorney, is appointed to replace Hale. Kipler, known by Deck as not liking Tinley Britt, immediately denies Great Benefit's petition for dismissal. He instead agrees to fast-track the case in order to record Donny Ray Black's testimony before he dies.

While seeking new clients, Rudy meets Kelly Riker, a battered wife whose husband Cliff has beaten her numerous times, repeatedly putting her in the hospital. Rudy strikes up a friendship with her and persuades her to file for divorce. This leads to a bloody confrontation with Cliff, resulting in Rudy nearly beating him to death. To keep Rudy from being implicated, Kelly tells Rudy to leave. She then kills Cliff herself, then tells the police it was self-defense. The district attorney declines to prosecute.

Donny Ray dies days after giving a video deposition at his home. The case goes to trial, where Drummond gets the vital testimony of Rudy's key witness, Jackie Lemanczyk, stricken from the record as it is based on a stolen manual used as evidence. Nevertheless, thanks to Rudy's determination and some clandestine reference help from now Caribbean-based fugitive Bruiser (with whom Deck is connected by intermediaries), Jackie's testimony and the Great Benefit Employee Manual are finally admitted into evidence, to Drummond's dismay.

Rudy skillfully cross-examines Great Benefit's CEO, Wilfred Keeley, leading to the jury finding for Donny Ray's family for both actual damages and enormous punitive damages that Great Benefit cannot pay. It is a great triumph for Rudy and Deck, with Keeley being arrested by the FBI and investigation proceedings into Great Benefit launched in multiple jurisdictions. The insurance company declares bankruptcy, allowing it to avoid paying punitive damages. There is no payout for the grieving parents and no fee for Rudy or Drummond. Dot expresses satisfaction that at least they put Great Benefit out of business, and the company is now unable to hurt other families like hers.

As this success will create unrealistic expectations for future clients, Rudy decides to abandon his new practice and teach law. He and Kelly leave town together, heading out for an uncertain, but bright, future together.

Cast

 * Matt Damon as Rudy S. Baylor
 * Danny DeVito as Deck Shifflet
 * Claire Danes as Kelly Riker
 * Jon Voight as Leo F. Drummond
 * Mary Kay Place as Margarine "Dot" Black
 * Dean Stockwell as Judge Harvey Hale
 * Teresa Wright as Colleen Janice "Miss Birdie" Birdsong
 * Virginia Madsen as Jackie Lemanczyk
 * Mickey Rourke as J. Lyman "Bruiser" Stone
 * Andrew Shue as Cliff Riker
 * Red West as Buddy Black
 * Johnny Whitworth as Donny Ray Black
 * Roy Scheider as Wilfred Keeley
 * Randy Travis as Billy Porter
 * Danny Glover (uncredited) as Judge Tyrone Kipler

Box office
On its opening weekend, the film ranked third behind Anastasia and Mortal Kombat Annihilation, earning $10,626,507. The film grossed $45,916,769 in the domestic box office, exceeding its estimated production budget of $40 million, but still was considered a disappointment for a film adaptation of a Grisham novel, particularly in comparison to The Firm, which was made for roughly the same amount but grossed more than six times its budget.

Critical reception
The film received generally positive reviews from critics, earning an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 57 reviews, with an average rating of 6.90/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Invigorated by its talented cast and Francis Ford Coppola's strong direction, The Rainmaker is a satisfying legal drama—and arguably the best of Hollywood's many John Grisham adaptations." On Metacritic, the film has a 72 out of 100 ratings based on 19 critics, indicating "generally positive reviews".

Roger Ebert gave The Rainmaker three stars out of four, remarking: "I have enjoyed several of the movies based on Grisham novels ... but I've usually seen the storyteller's craft rather than the novelist's art being reflected. ... By keeping all of the little people in focus, Coppola shows the variety of a young lawyer's life, where every client is necessary and most of them need a lot more than a lawyer." James Berardinelli also gave the film three stars out of four, saying that "the intelligence and subtlety of The Rainmaker took me by surprise" and that the film "stands above any other filmed Grisham adaptation".

Accolades

 * Nominations
 * Blockbuster Entertainment Awards:
 * Favorite Actor — Drama (Matt Damon)
 * Favorite Supporting Actor — Drama (Danny DeVito)
 * Favorite Supporting Actress — Drama (Claire Danes)
 * Golden Globe Awards:
 * Best Supporting Actor (Jon Voight)
 * NAACP Image Awards:
 * Best Supporting Actor — Motion Picture (Danny Glover)
 * Satellite Awards:
 * Best Supporting Actor — Motion Picture Drama (Danny DeVito)
 * USC Scripter Award:
 * USC Scripter Award (John Grisham and Francis Ford Coppola)

Other honors

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
 * 2008: AFI's 10 Top 10:
 * Nominated Courtroom Drama Film

title: The Rainmaker (1997 film)


text:
Heterodoxy

In religion, heterodoxy (from Ancient Greek:, "other, another, different" + , "popular belief") means "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position".

Heterodoxy is also an ecclesiastical term of art, defined in various ways by different religions and churches. For example, in some groups heterodoxy may describe beliefs that differ from strictly orthodox views but that fall short either of formal or of material heresy.

Eastern Orthodoxy
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the term is used primarily in reference to Christian churches and denominations not belonging to the communion of Eastern Orthodox churches and espousing doctrines contrary to the received Holy Tradition.

Protestantism
Charles Spurgeon said:

"[Y]ou shall find spiritual life in every church. I know it is the notion of the bigot, that all the truly godly people belong to the denomination which he adorns. Orthodoxy is my doxy; heterodoxy is anybody else's doxy who does not agree with me."

Islam
The Arabic word is used by Shia Muslims for beliefs perceived as being extremely heterodox (more in line with the Christian use of the word "heresy"). In particular, the term is used to describe the beliefs of minority Muslim groups who ascribe divine characteristics to a member of Muhammad's family (especially Ali) or the early companions of the Prophet such as Salman the Persian. The assumption is that the groups thus described have gone too far and have come to associate them with God.

Sunni and Shia Muslims see each other as heterodox, differing in practice mainly on matters of jurisprudence or, splitting historically on the matter of the succession of Ali to the caliphate by Muawiyah. A third and much smaller movement is Ibadi, which differ from both of these groups on a few key points. Several ultra-orthodox groups such as the Wahhabis, in turn, see themselves as the only truly orthodox groups within Islam.

According to Philip Hitti, during the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates there was a marked tendency among several quite unrelated heterodox groups to affiliate themselves with the Shiites, particularly the Ismailis, in a general feeling of heterodox solidarity in a Sunni-controlled empire. The cause of the Alids thus became a rallying point for a diverse range of heterodox Islamic movements. The view that Ali was divine, though never mainstream within Shiism, is attested in the early centuries of Islam.

Hinduism
The main schools of Indian philosophy that reject the absoluteness of the Vedas, including Buddhism and Jainism, were regarded as heterodox by Hinduism. In 2015, the Supreme Court of India ruled that Hinduism cannot be narrowed down to particular beliefs or doctrine, saying that it "incorporates all forms of belief without mandating the selection or elimination of any one single belief".

China
In late 1999, legislation was created in China to outlaw "heterodox religions". This was applied retroactively to Falun Gong, a spiritual practice introduced to the public in China by Li Hongzhi (李洪志) in 1992.

Economics
Heterodox economics refers to schools of economic thought considered outside of mainstream economics, referred to as orthodox economics, often represented by expositors as contrasting with or going beyond neoclassical economics.

Heterodox economics refers to the consideration of a variety of economic schools and methodologies, which can include neoclassical or other orthodox economics in part. Heterodox economics refers to a variety of separate unorthodox approaches or schools such as institutional, post-Keynesian, socialist, Marxian, feminist, Georgist, Austrian, ecological, and social economics, among others.

title: Heterodoxy


text:
1978 in literature

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1978.

Events

 * March 8 – Douglas Adams' comic science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy originates as a radio comedy broadcast on the U.K. BBC Radio 4.
 * March – Philip Larkin ends his relationships with Maeve Brennan and Betty Mackereth.
 * April – James Blaylock's first published story, "The Ape-Box Affair", appears in Unearth magazine, pioneering steampunk fiction.
 * August 1 – Barbara Pym is a guest on Desert Island Discs.
 * October – The Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year, a humorous award given annually to books with unusual titles, is launched at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The first winner is Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice.
 * November 15 – Harold Pinter's play Betrayal, inspired by a seven-year clandestine extramarital affair with BBC Television presenter Joan Bakewell, opens at the National Theatre in London, directed by Peter Hall and featuring Penelope Wilton and her husband at this time, Daniel Massey, with Michael Gambon.
 * December 15 – The Berlin State Library's new Haus Potsdamer Straße is opened in West Berlin's Kulturforum.
 * unknown date – Antonia White's 1933 novel Frost in May becomes the first in Virago Press's Modern Classics series of reissues of books by neglected women authors, published in the UK.

Fiction

 * Etel Adnan – Sitt Marie Rose
 * Srikrishna Alanahalli – Parasangada Gendethimma
 * Kingsley Amis – Jake's Thing
 * Martin Amis – Success
 * Jessica Anderson – Tirra Lirra by the River
 * Aharon Appelfeld – Badenheim 1939 (באדנהיים עיר נופש, Badenhaim `ir nofesh)
 * Richard Bach – Illusions
 * Beryl Bainbridge – Young Adolf
 * Thomas Berger – Arthur Rex: A Legendary Novel
 * Thomas Bernhard – Yes (Ja)
 * Adolfo Bioy Casares – The Hero of Women (El héroe de las mujeres)
 * William Peter Blatty – The Ninth Configuration
 * Judy Blume – Wifey
 * Charles Bukowski – Women
 * Anthony Burgess – 1985
 * Taylor Caldwell – Bright Flows the River
 * Alejo Carpentier – El arpa y la sombra (The Harp and the Shadow)
 * Chantal Chawaf – Rougeâtre
 * John Cheever – The Stories of John Cheever
 * C. J. Cherryh – Well of Shiuan
 * Cho Se-hui – The Dwarf (난장이가 쏘아 올린 작은 공, A Dwarf Launches a Little Ball)
 * Brian Cleeve – Judith
 * Mary Elizabeth Counselman – Half in Shadow
 * L. Sprague de Camp
 * The Best of L. Sprague de Camp
 * The Great Fetish
 * Conan the Swordsman (with Lin Carter and Björn Nyberg)
 * Samuel R. Delany & Howard Chaykin – Empire: A Visual Novel
 * Don DeLillo – Running Dog
 * Nelson DeMille – By the Rivers of Babylon
 * Phyllis Eisenstein – Born to Exile
 * J. G. Farrell – The Singapore Grip
 * Howard Fast – Second Generation
 * Ken Follett – Eye of the Needle
 * Alan Dean Foster – Splinter of the Mind's Eye
 * Ernest J. Gaines – In My Father's House
 * Jane Gardam – God on the Rocks
 * Maurice Gee – Plumb (first in trilogy)
 * Graham Greene – The Human Factor
 * Donald Hamilton – The Silencers
 * Harry Harrison – The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You
 * Roy Heath – The Murderer
 * James Herbert – The Spear
 * William Hjortsberg – Falling Angel
 * Timothy Mo – The Monkey King
 * John Irving – The World According to Garp
 * Marshall Jevons – Murder at the Margin
 * James Jones – Whistle
 * Ismail Kadare – The Three-Arched Bridge (Ura Me Tri Harqe)
 * M. M. Kaye – The Far Pavilions
 * Stephen King
 * The Stand
 * Night Shift (collection of short stories including "Children of the Corn")
 * Christopher Koch – The Year of Living Dangerously
 * Larry Kramer – Faggots
 * Judith Krantz – Scruples
 * Jaan Kross – The Czar's Madman (Keisri hull)
 * Derek Lambert – The Saint Peter's Plot
 * Camara Laye – Le Maître de la parole – Kouma Lafôlô Kouma (The Guardian of the Word)
 * Ursula K. Le Guin – The Eye of the Heron
 * Madeleine L'Engle – A Swiftly Tilting Planet
 * Robert Ludlum – The Holcroft Covenant
 * John D. MacDonald – The Empty Copper Sea
 * David Malouf – An Imaginary Life
 * Dambudzo Marechera – The House of Hunger
 * Ngaio Marsh – Grave Mistake
 * Richard Matheson – What Dreams May Come
 * Ian McEwan – The Cement Garden
 * James A. Michener – Chesapeake
 * Patrick Modiano – Rue des boutiques obscures (translated as Missing Person)
 * Alice Munro – Who Do You Think You Are? (The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose in U.S.)
 * Larry Niven – The Magic Goes Away
 * Tim O'Brien – Going After Cacciato
 * Andrew J. Offutt – Conan and the Sorcerer
 * John L. Parker Jr. – Once a Runner
 * Robert B. Parker – The Judas Goat
 * Elizabeth Peters – Street of the Five Moons
 * William Luther Pierce – The Turner Diaries
 * Belva Plain – Evergreen
 * Mario Puzo – Fools Die
 * Mary Renault – The Praise Singer
 * Ruth Rendell – A Sleeping Life
 * Hubert Selby Jr. – Requiem for a Dream
 * Jaswant Singh Kanwal – Lahoo Di Lo (Dawn of the Blood)
 * Whitley Strieber – The Wolfen
 * Thomas Sullivan – Diapason
 * Julian Symons – The Blackheath Poisonings
 * John Updike – The Coup
 * Gore Vidal – Kalki
 * Martin Walser – Runaway Horse
 * William Wharton – Birdy
 * Herman Wouk – War and Remembrance
 * Richard Yates – A Good School
 * Frank Yerby – Hail the Conquering Hero
 * Roger Zelazny – The Courts of Chaos

Children and young people

 * Janet and Allan Ahlberg – Each Peach, Pear, Plum (approximate year)
 * Raymond Briggs – The Snowman
 * Roald Dahl – The Enormous Crocodile
 * Rumer Godden – A Kindle of Kittens
 * Gwen Grant – Private – Keep Out
 * Roger Hargreaves – Timbuctoo (first twelve of a series of 25 books)
 * David Larkin (with Brian Froud and Alan Lee) – Faeries
 * Bill Peet – Eli
 * Lidia Postma – De Heksentuin (The Witch's Garden), in the Netherlands
 * David Rees – The Exeter Blitz
 * Seymour Reit (with Roberto Innocenti)
 * All Kinds of Planes
 * All Kinds of Ships
 * All Kinds of Trains
 * Sails, Rails, and Wings
 * Louis Sachar – Sideways Stories from Wayside School (first in the Wayside School series of six books)
 * Rosemary Sutcliff – Song for a Dark Queen
 * Arnold Wesker – Fatlips: A Story for Children
 * Arnulf Zitelmann (with Willi Glasauer) – Kleiner Weg (Small Trail)

Drama

 * Miguel M. Abrahão – O Chifrudo
 * Douglas Adams – The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio play)
 * Brian Clark – Whose Life Is It Anyway?
 * Max Frisch – Tryptichon: Drei szenische Bilder (Triptych)
 * David Hare – Plenty
 * Arthur Kopit – Wings
 * Ira Levin – Deathtrap
 * Mary O'Malley – Once a Catholic
 * Heiner Müller – Germania Death in Berlin (first performance)
 * Harold Pinter – Betrayal
 * Sam Shepard – Buried Child
 * Martin Sherman – Bent
 * Victoria Wood – Talent

Poetry

 * Maya Angelou – And Still I Rise
 * Robert Minhinnick – A Thread in the Maze
 * Luis Alberto Spinetta – Guitarra Negra (Black Guitar)
 * John Tripp – Collected Poems

Non-fiction

 * Hannah Arendt (died 1975) – The Life of the Mind
 * Gisela Bleibtreu-Ehrenberg – Tabu Homosexualität
 * Roger Caron – Go-Boy! Memories of a Life Behind Bars
 * Lord David Cecil – A Portrait of Jane Austen
 * Charlotte Chandler – Hello, I Must Be Going!
 * Beth Chatto – The Dry Garden
 * Christina Crawford – Mommie Dearest
 * Gerald Durrell – The Garden of the Gods
 * Don E. Fehrenbacher – The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American Law and Politics
 * John Gall – Systemantics
 * H. R. Haldeman – The Ends of Power
 * Mollie Katzen – Moosewood Cookbook
 * Mary Midgley – Beast and Man: The Roots of Human Nature
 * New York International Bible Society – Holy Bible, New International Version (translated into modern American English)
 * Richard Nixon – The Memoirs of Richard Nixon
 * M. Scott Peck – The Road Less Travelled
 * David Rorvik – In his Image: The Cloning of a Man
 * Edward Said – Orientalism

Births

 * February 1 – Arno Camenisch, Swiss writer
 * April 4 - Robison Wells, American novelist
 * July 23 – Lauren Groff, American novelist and short story writer
 * October 24 – Kei Miller, Jamaican-born poet and fiction writer
 * November 2 - Ally Condie, American young-adult and middle grade novelist
 * unknown dates
 * Filippo Bologna, Italian novelist and screenwriter
 * David Llewellyn, Welsh screenwriter
 * Samanta Schweblin, Argentine fiction writer
 * Rachel Trezise, Welsh novelist and short story writer

Deaths

 * January 12 – Robert Harbin, South African-born author of books on magic (born 1908)
 * March 1 – Paul Scott, English novelist, playwright and poet (born 1920)
 * March 24 – Leigh Brackett, American science fiction writer (born 1915)
 * April 14 – F. R. Leavis, English academic literary critic (born 1895)
 * May 1 – Sylvia Townsend Warner, English poet and novelist (born 1893)
 * May 12 – Louis Zukofsky, American modernist poet (born 1904)
 * June 11 – Carola Oman, English historical novelist, biographer and children's writer (born 1897)
 * June 18 – Walter C. Alvarez, American medical author (born 1884)
 * August 11 – Berta Ruck, Indian-born Welsh romantic novelist (born 1878)
 * August 28 – Robert Shaw, English-born actor, novelist and playwright (born 1927)
 * September 3 – Basil Willey, English academic literary critic (died 1897)
 * September 9 – Hugh MacDiarmid (pen name of Christopher Murray Grieve), Scottish poet, journalist and essayist (born 1892)
 * September 11 – Georgi Markov, Bulgarian dissident writer, broadcaster, playwright (born 1929)
 * September 15 – Edmund Crispin (Robert Bruce Montgomery), English crime writer and composer (born 1921)
 * September 28 – Pope John Paul I (Albino Luciani), Italian author of Illustrissimi (born 1912)
 * November 5 – N. Crevedia, Romanian poet, novelist and journalist (born 1902)
 * November 11 – Helena Boguszewska, Polish writer, columnist and a social activist (born 1883)
 * November 15 – Margaret Mead, American cultural anthropologist and author (born 1901)
 * December 15 – Ionel Gherea, Romanian philosopher, essayist and novelist (born 1895)

Awards

 * Nobel Prize for Literature: Isaac Bashevis Singer
 * Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year is first awarded. The winner is Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice.

Canada

 * See 1978 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.

France

 * Prix Goncourt: Patrick Modiano, Rue des boutiques obscures
 * Prix Médicis French: Georges Perec, La Vie mode d'emploi
 * Prix Médicis International: Aleksandr Zinovyev, L'Avenir radieux – Russia

Spain

 * Miguel de Cervantes Prize: Dámaso Alonso

United Kingdom

 * Booker Prize: Iris Murdoch, The Sea, The Sea
 * Carnegie Medal for children's literature: David Rees, The Exeter Blitz
 * Cholmondeley Award: Christopher Hope, Leslie Norris, Peter Reading, D.M. Thomas, R.S. Thomas
 * Eric Gregory Award: Ciarán Carson, Peter Denman, Christopher Reid, Paul Wilkins, Martyn A. Ford, James Sutherland-Smith
 * James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction: Maurice Gee, Plumb
 * James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography: Robert Gittings, The Older Hardy

United States

 * American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Fiction, Peter Taylor
 * Nebula Award: Vonda McIntyre, Dreamsnake
 * Newbery Medal for children's literature: Katherine Paterson, Bridge to Terabithia
 * Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Donald L. Coburn, The Gin Game
 * Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: James Alan McPherson, Elbow Room
 * Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Howard Nemerov, Collected Poems

Elsewhere

 * Miles Franklin Award: Jessica Anderson, Tirra Lirra by the River
 * Premio Nadal: Germán Sánchez Espeso, Narciso
 * Viareggio Prize: Antonio Altomonte, Dopo il presidente

title: 1978 in literature


text:
Imperial University

Imperial University may refer to:

Asia

 * Guozijian of the Chinese Empire (c. 221 BC–1912)
 * Taixue of the Chinese Empire (c. 221 BC–1912)
 * Imperial University of Peking (1898–1912), now Peking University, Beijing, China
 * Imperial Universities of the Japanese Empire (1868–1947)
 * University of Tokyo, formerly known as "Imperial University"

Europe

 * Imperial University, known as University of France (1808–1896), initiated by Napoleon, Paris, France
 * Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
 * Imperial Universities of the Russian Empire (1721–1917):
 * Imperial Moscow University (1755-1917), now Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
 * Imperial Dorpat University (1802-1917), now University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
 * Imperial Vilna University (1803-1832), now Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
 * Imperial Kharkov University (1805-1917), now National University of Kharkiv, Kharkiv, Ukraine
 * Imperial Kazan University (1805-1917), now Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia
 * Imperial St. Petersburg University (1819-1917), now St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
 * Imperial Alexander University (1827-1917), now University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
 * Imperial St. Vladimir University (1934-1917), now T. S. National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
 * Imperial Novorossiysk University (1865-1917), now Odesa I. I. Mechnykov National University, Odesa, Ukraine
 * Imperial Warsaw University (1869-1915), now University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
 * Imperial Tomsk University (1888-1917), now Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia
 * Imperial Nikolay University (1909-1917), now Saratov State University, Saratov, Russia

title: Imperial University


text:
Nancy Kelly

Nancy Kelly (March 25, 1921 – January 2, 1995) was an American actress in film, theater, and television. A child actress and model, she was a repertory cast member of CBS Radio's The March of Time, and appeared in several films in the late 1920s. She became a leading lady upon returning to the screen in the late 1930s, while still in her teens, and made two dozen movies between 1938 and 1946, including portraying Tyrone Power's love interest in the classic Jesse James (1939), which also featured Henry Fonda, and playing opposite Spencer Tracy in Stanley and Livingstone, later that same year. After turning to the stage in the late 1940s, she had her greatest success in a character role, the distraught mother in The Bad Seed, receiving a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for the 1955 stage production and an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress for the 1956 film adaptation, her last film role. Kelly then worked regularly in television until 1963, then took over the role of Martha in the original Broadway production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? for several months. She returned to television for a handful of appearances in the mid-1970s.

Biography
Of Irish descent, Kelly was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, into a theatrical family. Her mother was silent film actress Nan Kelly, who coached her and managed her career. As a child actress, Kelly appeared in 52 films made on the East Coast by the age of 17. Her younger brother was actor Jack Kelly, most noted for playing the role of Bart Maverick, one of the leads (alongside James Garner, Roger Moore or Robert Colbert) in the ABC television series Maverick (1957-1962). The Kelly siblings, who resembled each other, are not currently known to have worked together in film or television.

Kelly was educated at Bentley School for Girls, Immaculate Conception Academy, and Saint Lawrence Academy.

As a child model, her image had appeared in so many different advertisements by the time she was nine years old that Film Daily commented, "Nancy has been referred to as 'the most photographed child in America,' largely because of her commercial posing."

Kelly worked extensively in radio in her adolescent years. She played Dorothy Gale in a 1933–34 NBC Radio Network show, The Wizard of Oz, based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Kelly was the first ingenue on CBS Radio's The March of Time series, with a vocal versatility that made it possible for her to portray male parts as well as female. She also portrayed Eleanor Roosevelt. As an adult, Nancy Kelly was a leading lady in 27 movies in the 1930s and '40s, including director John Ford's Submarine Patrol (1938) with Preston Foster, Frontier Marshal (1939) with Randolph Scott as Wyatt Earp, Jesse James (1939) with Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda, Stanley and Livingstone (1939) with Spencer Tracy, the comedy He Married His Wife (1940) with Joel McCrea, Parachute Battalion (1941) with Robert Preston, Edmond O'Brien, Harry Carey, and Buddy Ebsen, and Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943) with Johnny Weissmuller. She also starred in the 1949 Broadway play The Big Knife by Clifford Odets. Kelly was subsequently a two-time winner of the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatrical productions as well as a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play winner for her performance in The Bad Seed, which she followed up by starring in the 1956 film version, receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She also starred on television, including leading roles in "The Storm" (1961) episode of Thriller and "The Lonely Hours" (1963) episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. In 1957 she was nominated at the 9th Primetime Emmy Awards for an Emmy Award for Best Single Performance by an Actress for the episode "The Pilot" in Studio One.

Kelly was a Republican who supported Dwight Eisenhower during the 1952 presidential election.

Marriages
Kelly was married to actor Edmond O'Brien briefly from 1941–1942, and then to Fred Jackman, Jr., son of silent Hollywood cameraman and director Fred Jackman, from 1946 to 1950. She was married to theater director Warren Caro from 1955 to 1968. She and Caro had a daughter, Kelly Caro, in 1957.

Death
Kelly died at her Bel Air, California, home on January 2, 1995, from complications of diabetes at the age of 73. She was survived by a daughter and three granddaughters. She was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Walk of Fame
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Blvd. She was inducted on February 8, 1960.

Filmography

 * The Untamed Lady (1926) with Gloria Swanson
 * Mismates (1926) with Warner Baxter
 * The Great Gatsby (1926) with Warner Baxter and William Powell
 * Girl on the Barge (1929) with Jean Hersholt
 * Glorifying the American Girl (1929; uncredited) with Mary Eaton
 * Convention Girl (1935) with Shemp Howard
 * Submarine Patrol (1938; directed by John Ford) with Preston Foster and George Bancroft
 * Jesse James (1939) with Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, and Randolph Scott
 * Tail Spin (1939) with Alice Faye, Constance Bennett, Charles Farrell, and Jane Wyman
 * Frontier Marshal (1939) with Randolph Scott as Wyatt Earp
 * Stanley and Livingstone (1939) with Spencer Tracy and Walter Brennan
 * He Married His Wife (1940) with Joel McCrea
 * Sailor's Lady (1940) with Joan Davis and Dana Andrews
 * Private Affairs (1940) with Hugh Herbert and Robert Cummings
 * One Night in the Tropics (1940) with Allan Jones and Abbott & Costello
 * Scotland Yard (1941) with Edmund Gwenn
 * A Very Young Lady (1941) with Jane Withers
 * Parachute Battalion (1941) with Robert Preston, Edmond O'Brien, Harry Carey, and Buddy Ebsen
 * Fly-by-Night (1942; directed by Robert Siodmak) with Richard Carlson
 * To the Shores of Tripoli (1942) with John Payne, Maureen O'Hara, and Randolph Scott
 * Friendly Enemies (1942) with Charles Ruggles
 * Tornado (1943) with Chester Morris
 * Women in Bondage (1943) with Gail Patrick
 * Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943) with Johnny Weissmuller
 * Gambler's Choice (1944) with Chester Morris
 * Show Business (1944) with Eddie Cantor and George Murphy
 * Double Exposure (1944) with Chester Morris
 * Betrayal from the East (1945) with Lee Tracy
 * Song of the Sarong (1945) with William Gargan
 * The Woman Who Came Back (1945) with John Loder and Otto Kruger
 * Follow That Woman (1945) with William Gargan and Regis Toomey
 * Murder in the Music Hall (1946) with Vera Ralston
 * Crowded Paradise (1956) with Hume Cronyn
 * The Bad Seed (1956) with Patty McCormack
 * The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1963) (Season 1 Episode 23: "The Lonely Hours") as Mrs. J.A. Williams / Vera Brandon
 * Murder at the World Series (1975) with Lynda Day George

Radio appearances
Suspense episode 169, titled "A Week Ago Wednesday". aired November 29, 1945.

title: Nancy Kelly


text:
Marjorie Lawrence

Marjorie Florence Lawrence CBE (17 February 1907 – 13 January 1979) was an Australian dramatic soprano, particularly noted as an interpreter of Richard Wagner's operas. She was the first Metropolitan Opera soprano to perform the immolation scene in Götterdämmerung by riding her horse into the flames as Wagner had intended. She was afflicted by polio from 1941. Lawrence later served on the faculty of the School of Music at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Her life story was told in the 1955 film Interrupted Melody, in which she was portrayed by Eleanor Parker, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Lawrence.

Early life
Lawrence was born at Deans Marsh, 135 km south west of Melbourne. She was the fifth of six children of William Lawrence, the local butcher, and Elizabeth (née Smith) Lawrence, church organist. Her mother died when Lawrence was two and she was raised by her father's mother. Lawrence attended local schools, joined the choir at St Pauls Church of England and was a soloist by age ten. Her interest in opera was sparked by gramophone records of Nellie Melba and Clara Butt. She won a number of vocal competitions when aged in her teens, and at the age of 18 she travelled to Melbourne for work. She received voice lessons from Ivor Boustead but had to return home due to financial hardship. Lawrence failed to gain a place at the Royal South Street competitions in Ballarat but went on to win the Sun Aria at Geelong in 1928. Australian baritone John Brownlee advised her to study in Paris with Cécile Gilly. Lawrence boarded with a French family and, under Gilly's tuition, was able to extend her voice's upper range.

Career
In January 1932, Lawrence made her operatic debut in Monte Carlo as Elisabeth in Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser. On 25 February 1933, she made her first appearance at the Opera Garnier in Paris, singing Ortrud in Lohengrin, and in the same year she sang in the world premiere of Joseph Canteloube's Vercingétorix.

On 18 December 1935, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City singing Brünnhilde in Die Walküre, and the following year performed the immolation scene in Götterdämmerung by riding her horse into the flames as Wagner had intended, the first Metropolitan Opera soprano to do so. She had been an athletic child and learned to ride in Australia. In this famous performance, Lauritz Melchior was her Siegfried. The performance was recorded and is the only complete Götterdämmerung with Melchior as Siegfried on record.

Lawrence's physicality and beauty made her popular with audiences – she performed the "Dance of the Seven Veils" in Richard Strauss's Salome more convincingly than most other sopranos. Just as Lawrence's great compatriot Florence Austral had been able to alternate the role of Brünnhilde with Frida Leider, she herself was able to alternate the role with Kirsten Flagstad at the Metropolitan in 1937.

She turned down a small role in the premiere of George Enescu's opera Œdipe in 1938, which caused her fellow Australian (by adoption) Hephzibah Menuhin (a close friend of Enescu's) to consider the soprano "snobbish and petty".

Lawrence returned to Australia periodically from 1939, where English critic Neville Cardus wrote of the "'unselfconscious pathos' and 'intimate poetry' in her performances, of the 'superb range' of her powerful voice, 'rich in vocal splendour' throughout".

In 1939 it was announced she would play Dame Nellie Melba in the film The Life of Melba for Australia's Cinesound Productions. However the film never materialised due to the war.

On 29 March 1941, at New York City's City Hall, she married Dr. Thomas King, an osteopath and Christian Scientist.

During a performance in 1941 in Mexico, Lawrence found herself unable to stand—she had polio. She undertook the Sister Kenny treatment of muscle stimulation for paralysis in both legs. She returned to the stage 18 months later, performing in a chair, reclining or on a special platform; although hampered by her lack of mobility, she continued to perform until 1952. In 1944, during World War II, she performed in charity concerts to entertain troops in Australia, seated in a chair. A performance as Amneris in Giuseppe Verdi's Aida in Paris in 1946 was well received as were concert appearances of Richard Strauss's Elektra in December 1947 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Artur Rodzinski, but Lawrence left the stage, and instead began to work as a teacher. She retired to her ranch, Harmony Hills, in Hot Springs, Arkansas where she taught international students. She later accepted students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from the late 1970s until her death in 1979.

Although best known for her Wagnerian interpretations, Lawrence sang a range of other works, including Salome and Georges Bizet's Carmen. She made a number of excellent recordings, mainly of works by Wagner. She received many good reviews throughout her career. She had a solid career in France, Mexico, Australia and throughout South America, as well as the US. However, she was unable to build a substantial career in other parts of the world due to World War II, when her voice was prime. In 1946 she was awarded the cross of the Légion d'honneur for her work in France.

In 1949, Lawrence wrote her autobiography Interrupted Melody; by February 1950, Hollywood was interested in making a film and Lawrence indicated "If a film is made I will do the singing". In 1955, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released the film version, Interrupted Melody, starring Eleanor Parker as Lawrence; Parker loved opera and learned to sing all of the arias, although her singing was later dubbed in by soprano Eileen Farrell. Lawrence criticised the film as being untrue to her life.

Lawrence died, aged 71, of heart failure on 13 January 1979 at St Vincent's Hospital, Little Rock, Arkansas, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Hot Springs, where she had made her home for many years.

Honours
In 1946 she was awarded the cross of the Légion d'honneur for her work in France. In 1976 she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire on the recommendation of the Government of Australia.

title: Marjorie Lawrence