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Hikaru Sulu

Hikaru Kato Sulu is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. A member of the crew in the original Star Trek series, Sulu also appears in the animated Star Trek series, in the first six Star Trek movies, in one episode of Star Trek: Voyager, and in several books, comics, and video games. Originally known simply as "Sulu", his first name, "Hikaru", appeared in a 1981 novel well over a decade after the original series had ended.

Sulu was portrayed by George Takei in the original Star Trek series. John Cho took over the role of the character in the 2009 film Star Trek and its sequels, Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond.

Development and portrayals
George Takei recalled Gene Roddenberry wanted the character to represent all of Asia, which symbolized the peace of the Trek universe in spite of the numerous wars in the continent. Roddenberry did not want a nationally specific surname, so he looked at a map and saw the Sulu Sea in central Philippines. "He thought, 'Ah, the waters of that sea touch all shores'," the actor recalled, "and that's how my character came to have the name Sulu."

In the book Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, the character's name is noted as a pun on the name of vice president of Desilu Studios, Herb Solow.

Novelist Vonda McIntyre first presented "Hikaru" as the character's first name in the novel The Entropy Effect. McIntyre derived the character's first name from The Tale of Genji. Although McIntyre was unaware at the time of any controversy surrounding her giving Sulu a first name, editor David Hartwell had to clear the name with Gene Roddenberry and Takei in order to assuage Paramount's objections. However, the name did not become canon until its mention in Star Trek VI. Peter David has written about making the suggestion to director Nicholas Meyer at the urging of Takei during a visit to the set.

In some Japanese dubs, Commander Sulu's family name is changed to Katō. According to Bernardi, Sulu, being a Filipino noun and not a Japanese surname, and would likely be unpronounceable by Japanese speakers as the language has no "l" sound distinguished from "r". Ojaste attributes this to a lack of effort at cultural accuracy by the writers at the time in portraying a veritable Japanese character. However, in recent movies, it is only slightly changed; the name スールー (Sūrū, with long vowels) is used, rather than スル (Suru, with short vowels). Although the latter would be a closer transliteration of the name "Sulu", it might sound odd to Japanese audiences because "Suru" (する) with short vowels is the verb "to do" in the Japanese language.

Original series and films
Hikaru Sulu was born in San Francisco, and is of Japanese heritage. His birthdate has not been established definitively, but the book Star Trek Chronology by Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda speculates that he was 29 at the time of the first season of Star Trek (as was the actor himself), putting his birth in the year 2237. He was shown as the USS Enterprise's staff physicist in the pilot episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (1966).

An early Paramount press release described this initial conception of his character as follows: "Physicist Sulu is the trim, soft-spoken chief of the Enterprise's Astro Science Department. Frequently it is his assessment of the conditions on unexplored planets that finally determines when and how they will be approached, or if they can be explored at all." However, throughout the rest of the series, he served as third officer and senior helmsman, holding the rank of lieutenant. Throughout the series, Sulu is shown having many interests and hobbies, including gymnastics, botany, fencing, and ancient weaponry. In the episode "The Naked Time" (1966), Spock observes that Sulu "is at heart a swashbuckler out of the 18th century".

The character is promoted to lieutenant commander some time before Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and to full commander by the time of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. During the first five Star Trek movies, he serves as helmsman aboard both the USS Enterprise and USS Enterprise-A. He is promoted to captain and given command of the USS Excelsior three years before the events of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Star Trek Generations introduces Hikaru's daughter, Demora Sulu, whose origins are also depicted in Peter David's canon novel The Captain's Daughter.

Reboot films
John Cho portrays an alternate Sulu in the 2009 film Star Trek. J. J. Abrams was concerned about casting a Korean-American as the character, but Takei explained to the director that Sulu was meant to represent all of Asia on the Enterprise, so Abrams went ahead with Cho. Cho acknowledged that being an Asian-American, "There are certain acting roles that you are never going to get, and one of them is playing a cowboy. Playing Sulu is a realization of that dream—going into space." He cited the masculinity of the character as being important to him, and spent two weeks fight training. Cho suffered an injury to his wrist during filming, although a representative noted it was "no big deal". James Kyson Lee was interested in the part, but because Zachary Quinto was cast as Spock, the producers of the TV show Heroes did not want to lose another cast member for three months.

Cho portrays a younger Sulu in the 2009 film, though he is actually older than Takei was when he portrayed the role in the original series; Cho was 36 while Takei was 29. Cho also portrays Sulu in the 2013 sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, taking up the role of acting captain on the USS Enterprise when both Kirk and Spock were absent. At the film's climax Sulu admits to Kirk that he wouldn't mind being a captain, referencing his role as captain of the USS Excelsior in the original film series.

In the third film, Star Trek Beyond, Sulu is portrayed as a gay man with a husband and daughter. Writer Simon Pegg and director Justin Lin made the decision as a nod to original actor George Takei, who had become a prominent LGBT rights activist since portraying the character in the original series. Takei disliked the idea, and attempted to persuade the filmmakers to create a new gay character rather than revealing Sulu as closeted, saying, "Unfortunately, it's a twisting of Gene's creation, to which he put in so much thought." Pegg replied that he felt it was unfortunate that "the most inclusive, tolerant universe in science fiction" had never featured an LGBT character, but that revealing an existing character as gay avoided creating the impression of tokenism. Pegg also said that Sulu had never been closeted, but that his sexuality had simply never come up, and suggested that Roddenberry would have explored LGBT themes in the original series if he had had the opportunity.

Guest appearances
Takei reprised the role of Sulu, as part of Star Trek's 30th anniversary, in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Flashback" aired in 1996. In the episode, Captain Sulu appears in Tuvok's flashbacks of his time serving aboard the USS Excelsior, during events depicted in Star Trek VI. Sulu is also responsible for another future USS Voyager crew member (Chakotay) joining Starfleet.

The non-canon fan production Star Trek: New Voyages episode "World Enough and Time" starred Takei as Captain Sulu on the Excelsior recalling a time on the original Enterprise when a transporter accident caused him to come back thirty years older and with a daughter, Alana. Demora also appears in this episode, as well as Hikaru's granddaughter (named Alana in his daughter's honour).

Grant Imahara portrayed Hikaru Sulu in all 11 episodes of the fan film web series Star Trek Continues.

Other media
The Lost Era novel The Sundered depicts a USS Excelsior mission under Sulu's command.

The novel Forged in Fire depicts an earlier USS Excelsior mission prior to Sulu's assuming command of the ship.

The novelization of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home includes an encounter in 1986 San Francisco intended to be included in the final film but ultimately cut between Sulu and a young Japanese-American boy who asks, "What are you doing here, Uncle Hikaru?" After conversing with the boy and learning his name, Sulu realizes that the boy is his great-great-grandfather. In another part of the novel as he borrows a helicopter to deliver the whale tank materials, it is revealed that Sulu is part Filipino, as he converses about the Philippine People Power Revolution which had just occurred earlier in 1986.

Simon & Schuster Audioworks released three non-canon Captain Sulu Adventures, featuring voice acting by Takei and various others, in the mid-1990s: Transformations, Cacophany, and Envoy.

The reference book Federation: The First 150 Years, by David A. Goodman, contains an audio introduction by Admiral Hikaru Sulu, indicating that at some point Sulu is promoted to admiral, although this is non-canonical.

In the William Shatner Star Trek novels, it is revealed that Sulu is elected to an unprecedented three terms as President of the United Federation of Planets.

In the TV show Scrubs, Turk wants to be married by a priest who looks like Sulu. The priest is actually played by Takei.

Takei reprised the role of Captain Sulu in the PC game Starfleet Command 2, released in December 2000. The introduction video features Takei, as Captain Sulu on board the USS Excelsior, describing the outbreak of an interstellar war between several galactic powers as part of his Captain's Log. Later updates to the game also included several bonus voice-scripted missions, that again featured Takei as Sulu.

In scientific illustrator Jenny Parks' 2017 book Star Trek Cats, Sulu is depicted as a Japanese Bobtail.

Reception
Robert Justman, co-producer of the original Star Trek series, noted that Takei had previously played bad guys, but through Star Trek had become one of the first Asian actors to portray an Asian character in a positive light. Justman described him as "the antithesis of the so-called expressionless-unemotional-inscrutable Asian."

In 2017, Screen Rant ranked Hikaru Sulu the 15th-most attractive person in the Star Trek universe.

In 2018, CBR ranked Sulu the 17th-best Starfleet character of Star Trek. In 2018, TheWrap placed Sulu as 19th out 39 in a ranking of main cast characters of the Star Trek franchise prior to Star Trek: Discovery. In 2016, Sulu was ranked as the 18th most important character of Starfleet within the Star Trek science fiction universe by Wired magazine.

In 2019, Hikaru Sulu was ranked the 9th-sexiest Star Trek character by Syfy, In between Hugh Culber (10th) and Jean-Luc Picard (8th).

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

title: Hikaru Sulu


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Damn Yankees

Damn Yankees is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball. It is based on Wallop's 1954 novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant.

The show ran for 1,019 performances in its original Broadway production. Adler and Ross's success with it and The Pajama Game seemed to point to a bright future for them, but Ross suddenly died of chronic bronchiectasis at age 29, several months after Damn Yankees opened.

Plot
Note: This is the plot of the 1994 Broadway revival of the show; there are differences from the original 1955 version. For the 1958 film version, see Damn Yankees (film).

Middle-aged real estate agent Joe Boyd is a long-suffering fan of the pathetic Washington Senators baseball team. His wife, Meg, laments this ("Six Months Out Of Every Year"). After she has gone to bed, he sits up late, grumbling that if the Senators just had a "long ball hitter" they could beat "those damn Yankees". Suddenly, the smooth-talking Mr. Applegate appears. He offers Joe the chance to become "Joe Hardy", the young slugger the Senators need. He accepts, even though he must leave Meg ("Goodbye Old Girl"). However, his business sense makes him insist on an escape clause. The Senators' last game is on September 25, and if he plays in it, he is to stay as Joe Hardy forever. If not, he has until 9:00 the night before to walk away from the deal and return to his normal life.

At the ballpark, the hapless Senators vow to play their best despite their failings ("Heart"). Then Joe Hardy is suddenly discovered and joins the team. Gloria Thorpe, a sports reporter, praises him ("Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo"). His hitting prowess enables the team to move up in the standings.

Though Joe is increasingly successful, he truly misses Meg and moves into her house as a boarder in his persona as Joe Hardy. They begin to bond, especially over her "lost" husband ("A Man Doesn't Know"). Fearful of losing his deal, Applegate calls Lola, "the best homewrecker on [his] staff", to seduce Joe and ensure his loss of the bet. She promises to deliver ("A Little Brains, A Little Talent"), and Applegate introduces her as a sultry South American dancer named "Señorita Lolita Banana". She sings a seductive song ("Whatever Lola Wants"), but Joe's devotion to Meg proves too strong, even for her. Applegate punishes her by firing her, where she performs with other past workers for Applegate ("Who's Got the Pain").

Applegate decides to switch tactics to ensure Joe's failure. He releases false information about Joe's true identity being "Shifty McCoy", an escaped criminal and con artist. When Gloria discovers this information, she presses charges, and he is forced into court. The Senators prepare for the final game against the Yankees for the pennant and worry about Joe, but they vow to think of nothing but winning ("The Game"). Meanwhile, angry fans are seeking him out, so he decides to leave home. As he does so, he hints to Meg that her old husband is nearby ("Near to You"). Meanwhile, Applegate is exhausted by the work he has put into winning one bet and thinks about the "simpler" times in his long history ("Those Were the Good Old Days").

Joe's trial is held on September 24, the last day he can back out of his deal. As he technically does not exist, he cannot produce any kind of identification. The owner of the Senators, their coach, and even Lola (disguised as "Señora McCoy") testify, but their opinions carry no weight. Gloria suggests that Applegate take the stand, but he is unable to take the oath since it requires him to tell the truth. Joe realizes that Applegate is simply stalling to keep him from meeting his 9:00 deadline. Applegate claims that Joe "just needs time to think" and sends him to where Lola is, where history's most famous lovers wait. Lola meets him there and realizes that he truly loves Meg. She helps him by sending him into the final game and delays Applegate by coercing him into a duet ("Two Lost Souls").

When Applegate finally arrives at the game, it is 8:55, and Joe is at bat. As time runs out, Meg, her friends, and even Lola begin cheering for him. Applegate uses his powers to give Joe two strikes. The clock strikes nine, and Applegate claims victory, but at the last second, Joe cries, "Let me go!" The deal is broken, and he reverts to his old self but is still able to hit a home run, winning the pennant for the Senators. Back at home, Joe rushes into Meg's arms. Applegate appears on the scene, claiming that Joe owes him his prize. He begs Meg to hold him and not let go, and she begins to sing ("Finale (A Man Doesn't Know)"). Applegate promises to make him young again and even ensure a World Series victory. But his powers are useless against their true love, which Lola points out. He shouts that such a thing cannot exist, but he is wrong. He and Lola vanish back to where they came from, defeated, with Joe and Meg united.

Original Broadway production
The producers Frederick Brisson, Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince had decided that the lead actress for the part of "Lola" had to be a dancer. They offered the role to both the movie actress Mitzi Gaynor and ballet dancer Zizi Jeanmaire, each of whom turned down the role. Although Gwen Verdon had sung just one song in her previous show (Can-Can), the producers were willing to take a chance on her. She initially refused, preferring to assist another choreographer, but finally agreed. Choreographer Bob Fosse insisted on meeting her before working with her, and after meeting and working for a brief time, they each agreed to the arrangement. This was the start of an artistic and personal partnership between Fosse and Verdon, who married in 1960.

The show opened on Broadway at the 46th Street Theatre on May 5, 1955, transferred to the Adelphi Theatre on May 17, 1957, and ran for a total of 1,019 performances. It was directed by George Abbott, with scenery and costumes by William and Jean Eckart, dances and musical numbers staged by Fosse, musical direction by Hal Hastings, orchestrations by Don Walker, and dance music arrangements by Roger Adams.

The show starred Ray Walston (Applegate), Verdon (Lola), Shannon Bolin (Meg), Robert Shafer (Joe Boyd), Elizabeth Howell (Doris), Stephen Douglass (Joe Hardy), Al Lanti (Henry), Eddie Phillips (Sohovik), Nathaniel Frey (Smokey), Albert Linville (Vernon, Postmaster), Russ Brown (Van Buren), Jimmy Komack (Rocky), Rae Allen (Gloria), Cherry Davis (Teenager), Del Horstmann (Lynch, Commissioner), Richard Bishop (Welch), Janie Janvier (Miss Weston), and Jean Stapleton (Sister).

Original West End production
A West End production played at the London Coliseum beginning on March 28, 1957, where it played for 258 performances. It starred Olympic skater Belita (aka Gladys Lyne Jepson-Turner) as Lola, but the Fosse choreography was alien to her style, and she was replaced by Elizabeth Seal. It also starred Bill Kerr as Applegate, and Ivor Emmanuel as Joe Hardy.

In the mid-1970s, Vincent Price starred as Applegate in summer stock productions of the show. In the late 1970s and early 1980s film actor Van Johnson did so in productions throughout the U.S.A. In July, 1981, a production was performed at the Jones Beach Marine Theater in Wantagh, New York. It was notable due to former New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath being cast in the role of Joe Boyd.

Broadway revival
A Broadway revival opened at the Marquis Theatre on March 3, 1994 and ran for 519 performances and 33 previews. Featured were Jarrod Emick as Joe Hardy, winner of the 1994 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Bebe Neuwirth as Lola and Victor Garber as Applegate. Garber was succeeded by Jerry Lewis, making his Broadway debut, on March 12, 1995, who then starred in a national tour and also played the role in a London production. Jack O'Brien directed, with choreography by Rob Marshall, assisted by his sister, Kathleen. O'Brien is also credited with revisions to the book.

West End revival
The 1994 revival production opened in the West End at the Adelphi Theatre on June 4, 1997 (previews started May 29) and closed on August 9, 1997. Jerry Lewis reprised his role as Applegate and April Nixon played Lola.

North Shore Music Theatre
In 2006, North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts, presented a revised production with the Washington Senators replaced with the Yankees' traditional rivals, the Boston Red Sox. The revised book was written, with permission, by Joe DiPietro

Reprise! Broadway's Best
In 2007, Reprise! Broadway's Best produced a revival. Jason Alexander directed, resetting the show to 1981 Los Angeles and making changes to accommodate a largely African-American and Hispanic cast. It opened November 7, 2007 and ran through November 25.

Encores!
A revival was produced by the City Center Encores! Summer Stars series from July 5 to July 27, 2008. It starred Jane Krakowski as Lola, Sean Hayes as Applegate, Randy Graff as Meg, Megan Lawrence as Gloria Thorpe (replacing an injured Ana Gasteyer during rehearsal), P. J. Benjamin as Joe Boyd, and Cheyenne Jackson as Joe Hardy. John Rando directed and the original Fosse choreography was reproduced by Mary MacLeod. Given the substantial changes in the 1994 revival, this is considered by some the first authentic revival of the original production.

Off-Broadway benefit performance
A one-night-only off-Broadway benefit performance was staged by Roundabout Theatre Company. The benefit, which was directed by Kathleen Marshall, occurred on December 11, 2017. It starred Stephen Bogardus as Joe Boyd, Matthew Morrison as Joe Hardy, Victoria Clark as Meg, Maggie Gyllenhaal as Lola, Whoopi Goldberg as a gender-bent Applegate, Danny Burnstein as Van Buren, and Adrienne Warren as Gloria. It was produced by Scott Landis, Jerry Frankel, and Jay and Cindy Gutterman.

Musical numbers

 * Based on hand engraved materials originally available from Music Theatre International derived from the 1955 production

 * Act One
 * Overture — Orchestra
 * Curtain Act 1 — Orchestra
 * Six Months — Meg Boyd, Joe Boyd, Men, and Girls
 * Devil Music — Orchestra
 * Goodbye Old Girl — Joe Boyd and Joe Hardy
 * Heart — Van Buren, Smoky, Rocky, Vernon
 * Heart Encore — Van Buren, Smoky, Rocky, Vernon
 * Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo. — Gloria Thorpe, Boys, Senators
 * Shoeless Joe Dance — Orchestra
 * A Man Doesn't Know — Joe Hardy
 * Lola — Orchestra
 * A Little Talent — Lola
 * Goodbye (Reprise) — Orchestra
 * A Man Doesn't Know (Reprise) — Joe Hardy, Meg
 * Whatever Lola Wants (with Dance Break) — Lola
 * Not Meg — Orchestra
 * Heart (Reprise) — Men
 * Chairs Fanfare — Orchestra
 * Who's Got The Pain? (with Double Dance Breaks) — Lola & Men (Street Band)
 * Act 1 Finale (New Shoeless Joe Finale) — Orchestra

 * Act Two
 * Entr'Acte — Orchestra
 * Opening Act 2 — Orchestra
 * The Game — Senators
 * Near to You — Joe Hardy and Meg Boyd
 * Good Old Days — Applegate
 * Days Encore — Applegate
 * Courtroom Blackout — Orchestra
 * Two Lost Souls (with Dance) — Lola and Joe Hardy
 * Devil Music — Orchestra
 * Shoeless Joe (Reprise) — Orchestra
 * Back Home — Orchestra
 * Finale (A Man Doesn't Know) — Meg and Joe Boyd
 * Bows (Heart) — Orchestra
 * Exit March — Orchestra

 * Based on 1994 revival

 * Act One
 * Overture
 * Six Months Out Of Every Year — Meg Boyd, Joe Boyd, Sister, Gloria Thorpe, Husbands, and Wives
 * Goodbye Old Girl — Joe Boyd and Joe Hardy
 * Blooper Ballet — The Senators
 * Heart — Van Buren, Smokey, Rocky, Linville
 * Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo. — Gloria Thorpe, Senators
 * Shoeless Joe (Reprise) — Gloria Thorpe, Joe Hardy, and Ensemble (1994 revival only, used elements of the song in the style of retro-1950s commercials)
 * A Little Brains, a Little Talent — Lola
 * A Man Doesn't Know — Joe Hardy and Meg Boyd
 * Whatever Lola Wants — Lola

 * Act Two
 * Who's Got the Pain? — Lola and Senators (Originally, this came at the end of Act One, as "The Game" started Act Two)
 * The Game — Rocky, Smokey, and Senators
 * Near to You — Joe Hardy and Meg Boyd (1994 IBDB shows the addition of Joe Boyd)
 * Those Were the Good Old Days — Applegate
 * Two Lost Souls — Lola and Applegate (1994 IBDB shows Applegate, 1955 IBDB shows Hardy)
 * A Man Doesn't Know (Reprise) — Meg and Joe Boyd

Original Broadway replacements
Source

 * Meg Boyd: Charlotte Fairchild
 * Lola: Sheila Bond, Gretchen Wyler, Devra Korwin
 * Applegate: Howard Caine
 * Gloria: Sally Brown

Original West End replacements

 * Applegate: Vincent Price, Van Johnson

Broadway Revival replacements

 * Joe Hardy: Eric Kunze, Jason Workman
 * Lola: Charlotte d'Amboise
 * Applegate: Jerry Lewis
 * Gloria: Liz Larsen

Characters
(The original Broadway version also had a children's chorus who sang the reprise of "Heart")
 * Joe Boyd — A middle-aged, overweight married man who is in love with baseball, especially the Senators [the "older" Joe Hardy]
 * Joe Hardy — The 22-year-old, home-run-hitting transformation of Joe Boyd
 * Meg Boyd — Joe's loyal, traditional wife
 * Lola — The Devil's seductress assistant
 * Mr. Applegate — The Devil in disguise as a slick salesman
 * Van Buren — The hard working manager of the Senators with great heart but no luck
 * Gloria Thorpe — A probing reporter
 * Rocky — A baseball player for the Senators
 * Smokey — A "dim bulb" catcher for the Senators
 * Cherry — A friend of Meg
 * Doris — A friend of Meg
 * Sister — A friend of Meg
 * Mr. Welch — The owner of the Senators
 * Others: Bouley (also called Ibsen in some productions), Vernon, Henry, Linville, Sohovik, Lowe, Mickey, Del, Miss Weston, Postmaster and The Commissioner
 * Baseball players and batboys; Baseball fans' wives

Recordings, film, and television
The 1955 Original Broadway Cast recording is on RCA Victor, recorded May 8, 1955. The LP was originally issued in mono but in 1965 RCA Victor offered an electronic stereo version. The current CD edition was released in 1988. RCA Victor also released the film soundtrack in 1958. Although recorded in stereo, only the mono version was released. The 1989 CD edition marked the first release of the recording in stereo. The 1994 Broadway revival cast recording made by Mercury (and now on the Decca Broadway label) was released on May 17, 1994.

A film version, directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen, was released in 1958. With the exception of Tab Hunter in the role of Joe Hardy (replacing Stephen Douglass), the Broadway principals reprised their stage roles.

A made-for-TV movie version was broadcast on April 8, 1967, on NBC. Phil Silvers played Applegate. Also starring were Lee Remick as Lola and Ray Middleton as Joe Boyd.

In 1983, Ray Walston expressed interest in recreating Applegate in Raisin' Cane, a new musical in which the devil returns to ruin Broadway. In a spin on Damn Yankees, this time Applegate takes a young girl and grows her up and gets her the lead in a Broadway show, planning to change her back, bankrupting all the investors. Book, music and lyrics are by San Francisco Bay Area writer/lyricist/composer Ted Kopulos.

In 2009, it was announced that a new contemporary film adaptation of the musical will star Jim Carrey as Applegate and Jake Gyllenhaal as Joe Hardy. No further announcements about this adaptation have been made since (as of December 2023).

title: Damn Yankees


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George Takei

George Takei (, ; born Hosato Takei (武井 穂郷); April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise in the Star Trek franchise.

Takei was born to Japanese American parents, with whom he lived in U.S.-run internment camps during World War II. He began pursuing acting in college, which led in 1965 to the role of Sulu, to which he returned periodically into the 1990s. Upon coming out as gay in 2005, he became a prominent proponent of LGBT rights and active in state and local politics. He has been a vocal advocate of the rights of immigrants, in part through his work on the 2012 Broadway show Allegiance, about the internment experience.

Takei spoke both English and Japanese growing up and remains fluent in both languages. He has won several awards and accolades for his work on human rights and Japan–United States relations, including his work with the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, California.

Early life
Takei was born Hosato Takei on April 20, 1937, in Los Angeles, California, to Japanese American parents Fumiko Emily Nakamura (born in Sacramento, California) and Takekuma Norman Takei (born in Yamanashi Prefecture), who worked in real estate. His father named him George after King George VI of the United Kingdom, whose coronation took place in 1937, shortly after Takei's birth. In 1942, following the signing of Executive Order 9066, the Takei family was forced to live in the converted horse stables of Santa Anita Park before being sent to the Rohwer War Relocation Center for internment in Rohwer, Arkansas. The internment camp was in swamplands and surrounded by barbed wire fences. The family was later transferred to the Tule Lake War Relocation Center in California for internment.

Takei had several relatives living in Japan during World War II. Among them, he had an aunt and infant cousin who lived in Hiroshima and who were both killed during the atomic bombing that destroyed the city. In Takei's own words, "My aunt and baby cousin [were] found burnt in a ditch in Hiroshima." At the end of World War II, after leaving Tule internment camp, Takei's family were left without any bank accounts, home or family business; this left them unable to find any housing, so they lived on Skid Row, Los Angeles for five years. He attended Mount Vernon Junior High School and served as Boys Senior Board President at Los Angeles High School. He was a member of Boy Scout Troop 379 of the Koyasan Buddhist Temple.

Upon graduation from high school, Takei enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied architecture. Later, he transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in theater in 1960 and a Master of Arts in theater in 1964. He also attended the Shakespeare Institute at Stratford-upon-Avon in England and Sophia University in Tokyo. In Hollywood, he studied acting at the Desilu Workshop.

Early career
Takei began his career in Hollywood in the late 1950s, providing voiceover for characters in the English dubbing of the Japanese monster films Rodan (1956, US: 1957) and Godzilla Raids Again (1955, US: Gigantis the Fire Monster, 1959). He appeared in the anthology television series Playhouse 90, the Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Blushing Pearls" (both 1959), and a handful of times in Hawaiian Eye during the 1960–61 season, including an eponymous episode as Thomas Jefferson Chu. He originated the role of George in the musical Fly Blackbird!, but when the show traveled from Los Angeles to Off-Broadway the West Coast actors were forced to audition and the role went to William Sugihara instead. Eventually Sugihara had to give up the role and Takei closed out the show's final months.

Takei subsequently appeared alongside such actors as Frank Sinatra in Never So Few (uncredited, 1959), Richard Burton in Ice Palace, Jeffrey Hunter in Hell to Eternity (1960), Alec Guinness in A Majority of One (1961), James Caan in Red Line 7000 (1965), and Cary Grant in Walk, Don't Run (1966).

He starred as a landscaper of Japanese descent in "The Encounter", a 1964 episode of the Twilight Zone. CBS considered the episode's theme of US-Japanese hatred "too disturbing" to include when the series was syndicated. "The Encounter" was not seen after its initial airing until it was released on video in 1992 as part of the Treasures of the Twilight Zone collection.

Takei guest-starred in an episode of Mission: Impossible during that show's first season in 1966. He also appeared in two Jerry Lewis comedies, The Big Mouth (uncredited, 1967) and Which Way to the Front? (1970). Takei narrated the documentary The Japanese Sword as the Soul of the Samurai (1969).

Star Trek
In 1965, producer Gene Roddenberry cast Takei as astrosciences physicist Sulu in the second pilot for the original Star Trek television series. When the series was accepted by NBC, Takei continued in the role of Sulu, who was now the ship's helmsman.

It was intended that Sulu's role be expanded in the second season, but Takei's role in The Green Berets (1968) as Captain Nim, a South Vietnamese Army officer alongside John Wayne's character, took him away from Star Trek filming and he only appeared in half the episodes of that season. Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov substituted for him in the other episodes. When Takei returned, the two men had to share a dressing room and a single episode script. Takei admitted in an interview that he initially felt threatened by Koenig's presence, but later grew to be friends with him as the image of the officers sharing the ship's helm panel side-by-side became iconic.

Takei has since appeared in numerous television and film productions, reprising his role as Sulu in Star Trek: The Animated Series from 1973 to 1974, and in the first six Star Trek films, the last of which promoted his character to captain of his own starship. Meanwhile, he became a regular on the science fiction convention circuit throughout the world. He has also acted and provided voice acting for several science fiction computer games, including Freelancer and numerous Star Trek games. In 1996, in honor of the 30th anniversary of Star Trek, he played Captain Sulu in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

Takei has spoken about personal difficulties with William Shatner. However, in an interview in the 2004 DVD set for the second season of Star Trek, Takei said of Shatner: "He's just a wonderful actor who created a singular character. No one could have done Kirk the way Bill did. His energy and his determination, that's Bill. And that's also Captain Kirk." He appeared alongside Shatner on the 2006 Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner in which the two mocked each other in good humor and embraced, Takei noting that he was "honored" to be there "despite our past tensions".

Takei is also one of six actors (the others being Jonathan Frakes, Kate Mulgrew, Michael Dorn, Avery Brooks and Majel Barrett) to lend his voice to the 1997 video game Star Trek: Captain's Chair, reprising his role of Captain Hikaru Sulu when the player visits the bridge of the original Enterprise. In the summer of 2007, Takei played Sulu in the fan-made Internet based series Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II episode "World Enough and Time".

After Star Trek
In 1979, Takei co-wrote the science fiction novel Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe with Robert Asprin.

Takei's autobiography, To the Stars, was published in 1994. At one point, he had hoped to make a film or telefilm based on chapters dealing with the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, of which he had personal experience.

In January 2007, Takei began appearing on Heroes, as Kaito Nakamura, a successful Japanese businessman and father to one of the main characters, time/space-travelling Hiro Nakamura, who also happens to be an obsessive fan of Star Trek. In the first episode in which Takei appears, "Distractions", the license plate of the limo he arrives in is NCC-1701, another reference to the Star Trek series. He appeared in all four seasons of the show.

Takei appeared on the first episode of Secret Talents of the Stars, singing country music, but was not selected to proceed to the next stage. However the point became moot as the series was abruptly cancelled after the opening episode.

In 2008, he appeared on the 8th season of the reality TV series I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! on the British ITV television network. He lived in the Australian bush for 21 days and nights, doing tasks along with fellow campers to gain better meals and survive eviction from the show. His politeness and calmness made him popular with the other campers. Out of 12 participants the British public voted him into 3rd place behind 2nd placed Martina Navratilova and winner Joe Swash.

In 2009, Takei appeared in an episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars as the Neimoidian general, Lok Durd, the first time a leading actor from Star Trek worked in a Star Wars production. In April that year, he voiced a fictitious version of himself in the NASA animated short "Robot Astronomy Talk Show: Gravity and the Great Attractor", part of the web-series IRrelevant Astronomy produced by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Takei (and his husband Brad Altman) appeared in a documentary short titled George & Brad in Bed (2009) that profiled their relationship and was a guest on NPR's Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!.

In 2010, Takei recorded a series of public service announcements for the Social Security Administration to help promote applying online for benefits.

In 2011, he appeared with husband Brad Altman in All Star Mr & Mrs, a show on ITV in Britain presented by Phillip Schofield and Fern Britton.

Takei was one of the celebrities in the 12th season of The Apprentice. He was fired in the third episode, which aired on March 4, 2012.

Takei was featured with Martin Sheen and Jamie Lee Curtis in a performance of Dustin Lance Black's play 8—a staged reenactment of the federal trial Perry v. Brown that overturned California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage—as William Tam. The production was held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre and broadcast on YouTube to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights.

In 2012, Takei starred in the musical Allegiance, which Takei described as his legacy project. The show is based on Takei's own experiences and research into the Japanese American internment of World War II and premiered at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. Allegiance debuted on Broadway on November 8, 2015, to mixed reviews. The Guardian said it was "unexceptional though often affecting"; Deadline called it "a triumph of a rare sort, shedding light in a dark corner of our history with uncommon generosity of spirit". The New York Times praised the "well-intentioned and polished" play for tackling a difficult subject while trying at the same time to entertain its audience, but said Allegiance "struggles to balance both ambitions, and doesn't always find an equilibrium". The Associated Press said Allegiance tries to tackle internment camps, discrimination and war, "but does so unsuccessfully in a bombastic and generic Broadway musical". Variety wrote, "In their sincere efforts to 'humanize' their complex historical material, the creatives have oversimplified and reduced it to generic themes." The Hollywood Reporter said "the powerful sentiments involved are too often flattened by the pedestrian lyrics and unmemorable melodies of Jay Kuo's score". USA Today called Allegiance "as corny as Kansas in August and as obvious as Lady Gaga on a red carpet. But darned if it won't get a grip on your heartstrings."

In 2013, Takei was a guest judge in the TBS reality show King of the Nerds, in which he is one of three judges of the Cosplay Competition.

Beginning September 17, 2013, Takei hosted Takei's Take, a web series reviewing consumer technology in a manner for viewers over 50 years in age. The series is produced by AARP.

Takei made an appearance in issue no. 6 of Kevin Keller where the titular character cites Takei as one of his heroes. Upon reading about Kevin with his partner, Takei decides to travel to Riverdale and surprise Kevin. Takei also wrote the foreword for the second volume of the Kevin Keller comics.

Takei appeared in the viral video for Bonnie McKee's song "American Girl" lip syncing the lyrics to her song.

Starting in 2013, Takei became spokesperson for Rooms To Go, an American furniture retailer. He was seen in a series of television commercials where he used his famous "Oh Myyy!" tag line.

In January 2014, Jennifer Kroot's documentary film about Takei, To Be Takei, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. He also participated in Do I Sound Gay?, a documentary film by David Thorpe about stereotypes of gay men's speech patterns.

In 2015, he produced a YouTube mini-series It Takeis Two featuring himself and Altman, described as a "parody-scripted reality series" that also includes Internet culture. The series ran for nine episodes.

In early 2017, Takei was featured in television commercials promoting the restaurant Pizza Hut.

In 2019, Takei published They Called Us Enemy, a 208-page memoir in the form of a graphic novel, with a particular focus on his family's time in internment, co-written with Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott and illustrated by Harmony Becker. The book received an American Book Award in 2020. He narrated the documentary Who's on Top? in 2020. In June 2021, dean of the United States Air Force Academy Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre announced that They Called Us Enemy, which details both Takei's struggle with internment and understanding of American democracy, would be part of the Academy's new reading initiative for cadets. On February 23, 2022, George Takei was the NCLS Kickoff speaker at USAFA, elaborating on his book and how his past influences his future.

Private life
In October 2005, Takei revealed in an issue of Frontiers magazine that he is gay and had been in a committed relationship with his partner, Brad Altman, for 18 years; the move was prompted by then California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto of same-sex marriage legislation. Takei said "It's not really coming out, which suggests opening a door and stepping through. It's more like a long, long walk through what began as a narrow corridor that starts to widen." Nevertheless, Takei's sexuality had been an open secret among Star Trek fans since the 1970s, and Takei did not conceal his active membership in LGBT organizations, including Frontrunners, where he developed public friendships with openly gay couples such as Kevin and Don Norte. In an on-air telephone interview with Howard Stern in December 2005, Takei explained, "[We (gay people)] are masculine, we are feminine, we are caring, we are abusive. We are just like straight people, in terms of our outward appearance and our behavior. The only difference is that we are oriented to people of our own gender." Takei also described Altman as "a saint" for helping to take care of Takei's terminally ill mother.

Takei currently serves as a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign "Coming Out Project". In 2006, he embarked on a nationwide "Equality Trek" speaking tour sharing his life as a gay Japanese American, his 18-year relationship with Altman, Frontrunners, and Star Trek, encouraging others to share their own personal stories. In the wake of the 2007 controversy over former NBA player Tim Hardaway, who had stated "I hate gay people", Takei recorded a mock public service announcement which began as a serious message of tolerance, then turned the tables on Hardaway by proclaiming that while he may hate gay people, gay people love him and other "sweaty basketball players", and promising Hardaway that "I will have sex with you". This was aired on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Takei also appeared on the Google float at San Francisco Pride 2007.

In 2014, Takei raised $100,000 for an adult Eagle Scout to start a web series, titled Camp Abercorn, documenting his experiences in the Boy Scouts of America after he was forced to leave, due to their anti-gay adult policy. Takei stated, "As a former Boy Scout myself, it pains me deeply that the BSA still boots out gay Scouts when they turn 18. This web series will help educate and inform, as well as entertain. That gets a big thumbs up from me. Let's make this happen."

In 2015, after the announcement of the U.S. Supreme Court same-sex marriage decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, Takei was critical of Clarence Thomas's dissent and called Thomas "a clown in blackface". After defending his comments for over a week, Takei apologized for his wording.

Takei was criticized for his response on Twitter to the shooting of Steve Scalise in June 2017. Calling Scalise "bigoted" and "homophobic", Takei criticized his previous opposition to same-sex marriage and commented that Crystal Griner, the officer who saved Scalise, was a lesbian. Takei's response was widely criticized, with Jake Tapper calling it "unfathomable".

Marriage
On May 16, 2008, Takei announced that he and Altman would be getting married. They were the first same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license in West Hollywood. On June 17, shortly after Takei and Altman obtained their marriage license, they spread the news by holding a press conference outside the West Hollywood city auditorium. They were married on September 14, 2008, at the Democracy Forum of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, of which Takei is one of the founders and serves as a member of its board of trustees. Walter Koenig was his best man, and Nichelle Nichols, eschewing the title "matron of honor", was "best woman". Reverend William Briones of the Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist Temple of Los Angeles presided.

Takei and Altman appeared in a celebrity edition of The Newlywed Game TV show, which the GSN cable network aired October 13, 2009. They were the first same-sex couple to be featured on the show. Takei and Altman won the game, winning $10,000 for their charity, the Japanese American National Museum.

In February 2010, Takei and Altman became the second same-sex couple to appear on the British game show All Star Mr & Mrs, losing to rugby star Phil Vickery and wife Kate.

Politics
Takei was an alternate delegate from California to the 1972 Democratic National Convention. The following year he ran for a seat on the Los Angeles City Council, finishing second of five candidates in the special election and losing by 1,647 votes; the winner, David Cunningham Jr., received 42% of the votes cast and Takei received 33%. During the campaign, Takei's bid for the city council caused one local station to stop running the repeats of the original Star Trek series until after the election and KNBC-TV to substitute the premiere episode of the Star Trek animated series scheduled by the network with another in which his character did not appear, in attempts to avoid violating the FCC's equal-time rule. The other candidates in the race complained that Takei's distinctive and powerful voice alone, even without his image on television every week, created an unfair advantage.

Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley later appointed Takei to the board of directors of the Southern California Rapid Transit District, making him part of the team that initiated and planned the Los Angeles subway system. Takei was called away from the set of Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1978 to cast the tie-breaking vote for the creation of the Los Angeles subway system. He served on the board from 1973 to 1984.

In 1980, Takei began a campaign for California State Assemblyman (District 46) from the greater Los Angeles area. However, he chose to withdraw after his opponent challenged the airing of episodes of Star Trek on local television under the Federal Communications Commission's Fairness Doctrine "equal time" regulations, saying also that "this is the wrong time to interrupt my career as an actor and author." He also appeared as a sadistic Japanese POW camp commander in the World War II film Return from the River Kwai (1989).

In November 2010, Takei released a PSA blasting Clint McCance, who was at the time the vice president of the school board for the Midland School District in southern Independence County, Arkansas. In the video, Takei repeatedly called McCance "a douchebag". Takei's video was made as a response to McCance making blatantly homophobic remarks, stating that he "enjoys the fact that [gay people] give each other AIDS and die". McCance went on to encourage gay people to commit suicide, and stated that he would disown his children if they were gay. McCance later resigned his seat on the Midland school board. Takei was praised for his response to McCance and garnered much media attention with the PSA.

In May 2011, in response to a Tennessee State Legislature bill that prohibited school teachers or students from using any language that alludes to the existence of homosexuality, Takei released another PSA in which he offered up his name, suggesting that people could just substitute that for 'gay'. For example, they could support Takei marriage or watch Takei pride parades; or even use slurs such as That's so Takei, or sing Don we now our Takei apparel during the holiday season.

Takei marked the 70th anniversary of the internment of Americans of Japanese descent, including himself as a child, by asking his readers to contact the US Congress to block S. 1253, the National Defense Authorization Act, that "would authorize a similar sweeping authority, granted to the President, to order the detention—without charge or trial—of any person even suspected of being associated with a 'terrorist organization.

On December 8, 2015, following Donald Trump's call to ban all Muslims from traveling to the United States, Takei appeared on MSNBC to denounce him: "It's ironic that he made that comment on December 7, Pearl Harbor Day – the very event that put us in those internment camps", Takei said. "[A congressional commission] found that it was three things that brought that about. One was racial hysteria, second was war hysteria and third was failure of political leadership. Donald Trump is the perfect example of that failure. ... What Donald Trump is talking about is something that's going to make his logo 'America disgraced again'." During the transition following Trump's election, Carl Higbie cited the internment of Japanese Americans as a historical precedent for a register of Muslims. Takei described Higbie's comments as "dangerous" and went on to say on The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell that "[r]egistration of any group of people, and certainly registration of Muslims, is a prelude to internment."

On March 31, 2017, Takei announced his intent to challenge Devin Nunes, Republican incumbent House Representative for the 22nd District of California. A few hours later, he acknowledged that it had all been an April Fools' joke and instead announced his support for Jon Ossoff, who was running in Georgia's 6th congressional district special election, 2017. While Ossoff did not win the House seat, he did become Georgia's Senator in 2021.

Takei formerly served as chair of the Council of Governors of East West Players, one of the pioneering Asian Pacific American theaters in the United States, until 2018. That same year, he played the parts of Sam Kimura and Ojii-San in East West Players' and the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center's joint production of Allegiance. Throughout the press tour of the production, he spoke openly about parallels he saw between the WWII-setting of the musical and the current political climate of the United States.

Takei and his husband Brad Altman own a New York City-based digital publication called Second Nexus which publishes "news with commentary from a progressive perspective".

Religion
Takei is a Buddhist. His father practiced Zen Buddhism and his mother practiced Shin Buddhism. He kept a small shrine when the family was incarcerated at an internment camp during World War II. After the war, Takei attended Sunday school at Senshin Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles, California. Takei and husband Brad Altman were married in 2008 at a Buddhist ritual performed by the Reverend William Briones.

Anglophilia
Takei is an avid Anglophile. On his personal website he said: "Those who know me know that I am an inconvertible Anglophile – or more broadly, a Britanophile, which includes my affection for Scotland and Wales as well. I love things British. My car is British. My wardrobe, to a good extent, is British. I even love the food in London – I think British food has shaken its prevailing perception as indigestible and become quite wonderful. I try to get to Britain for holidays as often as I can. I love things British."

Facebook
Takei has also gained attention for his Facebook page where his daily posts of humorous pictures (many of which are related to science fiction, LGBT culture and political satire) have attracted over 9 million followers, some of whom are unfamiliar with Takei or Star Trek. He has been lauded as "the funniest guy on Facebook". In September 2013, Takei used his Facebook page to defend Nina Davuluri, who was targeted by a backlash of racist and xenophobic comments after being named Miss America 2014. He later appeared in a joint ABC interview with Davuluri, in which she revealed that she is a Trekkie. Takei told her, "In Star Trek we have this creed: 'Infinite diversity in infinite combinations'. That's what Starfleet was all about so you're a part of that." Davuluri ended the interview by stating, "I have to say 'Live Long and Prosper at which point Takei offered her the Vulcan salute, which she returned. However, Takei also attracted criticism from some people with disabilities in 2014 for his posting of a meme on Facebook and Twitter which shows a wheelchair-using woman standing up to reach something from the top shelf in a store and is captioned "there has been a miracle in the alcohol isle" [sic]. Disabled people responded that people need not be paralyzed to need wheelchairs; Takei then removed the post and apologized on Facebook for his comments.

Rescinded sexual misconduct allegation
In November 2017, former actor and model Scott R. Brunton told The Hollywood Reporter that Takei drugged and groped him in Takei's condo in 1981, when Brunton was 23 years old. Takei denied the allegation, writing on Twitter: "I have wracked my brain to ask if I remember Mr. Brunton, and I cannot say I do. ... Non-consensual acts are so antithetical to my values and my practices, the very idea that someone would accuse me of this is quite personally painful."

On May 24, 2018, the New York Observer's Shane Snow reported that Brunton had "changed his story", describing his encounter with Takei as a "great party story" and confessing to "not remembering any touching" of his genitalia. Snow also consulted toxicologists, who suggested Brunton likely had postural hypotension rather than a drugged drink, and a former Senior Deputy District Attorney, who contended "there's nothing to prosecute" if it was the case that Takei stopped physical contact with Brunton after being denied consent. That same month, Takei posted Snow's article on his social media platforms while publicly forgiving Brunton for his misdeeds, stating: "despite what he has put us through, I do not bear Mr. Brunton any ill will, and I wish him peace."

Awards and recognition
In 1986, Takei was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a star at 6681 Hollywood Boulevard for his work in television.

In 2004, the government of Japan conferred upon Takei the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, which represents the fourth highest of six classes associated with the award. This decoration was presented in acknowledgment of his contributions to US–Japanese relations.

Asteroid 7307 Takei is named in his honor. Upon learning of the decision to name the asteroid after him, he said, "I am now a heavenly body. I found out about it yesterday. ... I was blown away. It came out of the clear, blue sky—just like an asteroid."

In November 2007, Takei was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the San Diego Asian Film Festival.

In June 2012, the American Humanist Association gave Takei the LGBT Humanist Award.

In July 2013, the National Association of Asian American Professionals honored Takei with the NAAAP100 award for his contributions to the Asian community.

In May 2014, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation honored Takei with the GLAAD Vito Russo Award, which is presented to an openly LGBT media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equality for the LGBT community.

In May 2015, the Japanese American National Museum honored Takei with its Distinguished Medal of Honor for Lifetime Achievement and Public Service at the Japanese American National Museum's 2015 Gala Dinner in Los Angeles.

On June 10, 2016, California State University, Los Angeles presented Takei with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters for his contributions. In 2019, he was awarded the Inkpot Award.

On April 1, 2020, it was announced that Takei would be the final torchbearer for the delayed 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games. On April 2, he announced it was an April Fools' joke. On September 28, 2022, Takei was awarded an honorary Doctorate by the University of South Australia in recognition of his distinguished service to the community.

title: George Takei


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Pope John XI

Pope John XI (Ioannes XI; 910 – December 935) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 931 to his death. The true ruler of Rome at the time was his mother, Marozia, followed by his brother Alberic II. His pontificate occurred during the period known as Saeculum obscurum.

Parentage
John was the son of Marozia, the most powerful woman in Rome and the wife of Alberic I at the time of John's birth. According to hostile chronicler Liutprand of Cremona and the Liber Pontificalis, John's father was not Alberic but Marozia's lover Pope Sergius III. However, neither Auxilius of Naples nor Eugenius Vulgarius, both of whom were exact contemporaries of Sergius, and both of whom were hostile towards Sergius for his attacks on Formosus, mention this allegation at all. The highly reliable chronicler Flodoard also refers to John as the brother of Alberic II, and does not mention the allegation either.

Ferdinand Gregorovius, Ernst Dümmler, Thomas Greenwood, Philip Schaff, and Rudolf Baxmann accept Liutprand's account. Horace Kinder Mann considers this story "highly doubtful", highlighting Liutprand's bias. Reginald L. Poole, Peter Llewelyn, Karl Josef von Hefele, August Friedrich Gfrörer, Ludovico Antonio Muratori, and Francis Patrick Kenrick also maintain that Pope John XI was sired by Alberic I of Spoleto.

Pontificate
Marozia was the de facto ruler of Rome at the time and she used her power and influence to ensure that John, who held the titulus of Santa Maria in Trastevere, was elected to the papacy in March 931. Following the overthrow of Marozia and her husband Hugh of Italy around late 932, John XI fell under the control of his brother Alberic II. After being initially imprisoned, he was confined to the Lateran Palace for the remainder of his pontificate. During this time only authority left to John was the exercise of his purely spiritual duties. All other jurisdiction was exercised through Alberic II. This was not only the case in secular, but also in ecclesiastical affairs.

Following the deposition of the Patriarch of Constantinople Tryphon in September 931, the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos attempted get his young son Theophylactus placed on the Patriarchal throne. Due to internal church resistance, Romanos approached John XI to seek the Pope's confirmation and to approve Theophylactus taking the pallium. This was eventually granted by John in February 933. This delay of over a year is seen by Horace Mann as evidence of the Pope's initial reluctance to agree to the emperor's request, and was only forced to do it at his brother Alberic II's insistence following the fall of Marozia. However, as negotiations also involved a suggested marriage between a sister of Alberic and John's and one of Romanos's sons, such a delay would not be unusual, and in fact it is possible that these marriage negotiations were actually begun by Marozia herself and this policy was continued jointly by her sons.

It was also at Alberic II's insistence that the pallium was also granted to Archbishop Artold of Reims in 933, setting up a conflict with the incumbent archbishop Hugh of Vermandois and his supporters.

John XI sat in the Chair of Peter during what some traditional Catholic sources consider its deepest humiliation, subjugated under the authority of the Prince of Rome, but it was also he who granted many privileges to the Congregation of Cluny, which was later a powerful agent of Church reform.

title: Pope John XI


text:
User talk:Danelton

Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia! I hope you like the place and decide to stay. If you ever need editing help, see How to edit a page. You can also see how to format pages at Manual of Style. If you need pointers on how we title pages visit Naming conventions. If you have any other questions about the project then check out Help or post a question in my talk page. You can further edit the entries you created acording to these pages. Cheers, Muriel 21:11, 11 Nov 2003 (UTC)

title: User talk:Danelton


text:
Pope John X

Pope John X (Ioannes X; died 28 May 928) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 914 to his death. A candidate of the counts of Tusculum, he attempted to unify Italy under the leadership of Berengar of Friuli, and was instrumental in the defeat of the Saracens at the Battle of Garigliano. He eventually fell out with Marozia, who had him deposed, imprisoned, and finally murdered. John’s pontificate occurred during the period known as the Saeculum obscurum.

Early career
John X, whose father’s name was also John, was born at Tossignano, along the river Santerno. He was made a deacon by Peter IV, the bishop of Bologna, where he attracted the attention of Theodora, the wife of Theophylact I of Tusculum, the most powerful noble in Rome. John was a relative of Theodora's family. Liutprand of Cremona alleged that John became her lover during a visit to Rome; However, Johann Peter Kirsch says, "This statement is, however, generally and rightly rejected as a calumny. Liutprand wrote his history some fifty years later, and constantly slandered the Romans, whom he hated. At the time of John's election Theodora was advanced in years, and is lauded by other writers (e.g. Vulgarius)."

It was through Theodora’s influence that John was on the verge of succeeding Peter as bishop of Bologna, when the Archbishopric of Ravenna became available. He was consecrated as archbishop in 905 by Pope Sergius III, another clerical candidate of the counts of Tusculum. During his eight years as archbishop, John worked hard with Sergius in an unsuccessful attempt to depose Louis the Blind and have Berengar of Friuli, who claimed the Kingdom of Italy, crowned emperor in his stead. He also had to defend himself from a usurper who tried to take his episcopal see away, as well as confirming his authority over Nonantola Abbey when the abbot attempted to free it from the jurisdiction of the archbishop of Ravenna.

After the death of Pope Lando in 914, a faction of the Roman nobility, headed by Theophylact of Tusculum, summoned John to Rome to assume the vacant papal chair. Although this was again interpreted by Liutprand as Theodora personally intervening to have her lover made pope, it is far more likely that John’s close working relationship with Theophylact, and his opposition to the ordinations of Pope Formosus, were the real reasons for his being transferred from Ravenna to Rome. Since switching sees was considered an infraction of canon law, as well as contravening the decrees of the Lateran Council of 769, which prohibited the installation of a pope without election, John’s appointment was criticised by his contemporaries. Nevertheless, whilst Theophylact was alive, John adhered to his patron’s cause.

War with Saracens
The first task that confronted John X was the existence of a Saracen outpost on the Garigliano River, which was used as a base to pillage the Italian countryside. John consulted Landulf I of Benevento, who advised him to seek help from the Byzantine Empire and Alberic I of Spoleto. John took his advice and sent papal legates to Berengar, various Italian princes, as well as to Constantinople, seeking help to throw out the Saracens. The result was a Christian alliance, a precursor to the Crusades of the following century. The forces of the new Byzantine strategos of Bari, Nicholas Picingli, joined those of various other south Italian princes: Landulf I of Benevento, John I and Docibilis II of Gaeta, Gregory IV and John II of Naples, and Guaimar II of Salerno. Meanwhile, Berengar brought with him troops from the northern parts of Italy, and the campaign was coordinated by John X, who took to the field in person, alongside Duke Alberic I of Spoleto.

After some preliminary engagements at Campo Baccano and at Trevi, the Saracens were driven to their stronghold on the Garigliano. There, at the Battle of Garigliano, the allies proceeded to lay siege to them for three months, at the end of which the Saracens burnt their houses and attempted to burst out of the encirclement. With John leading the way, all were eventually caught and killed, achieving a great victory and removing the ongoing Saracen threat on the Italian mainland. John then confirmed the granting of Traetto to the Duke of Gaeta, as a reward for abandoning his Saracen allies.

Berengar had pressed for the imperial crown ever since he had defeated and driven Emperor Louis the Blind out of Italy in 905. John X used this as leverage to push Berengar into supporting and providing troops to the Saracen campaign. Having completed his end of the bargain, Berengar now insisted that John do likewise. So in December 915, Berengar approached Rome, and after being greeted by the family of Theophylact (whose support he secured), he met Pope John at St. Peter’s Basilica. On Sunday 3 December, John crowned Berengar as emperor, while Berengar in turn confirmed previous donations made to the See of Peter by earlier emperors.

Political realignments
Although Berengar had the support of the major Roman nobility and the pope, he had enemies elsewhere. In 923, a combination of the Italian princes brought about the defeat of Berengar, again frustrating the hopes of a united Italy, followed by his assassination in 924. Then in 925 Theophylact of Tusculum and Alberic I of Spoleto also died; this meant that within the course of a year, three of Pope John’s key supporters had died, leaving John dangerously exposed to the ambitions of Theophylact’s daughter, Marozia, who, it was said, resented John’s alleged affair with her mother, Theodora.

To counter the rising threat, John X invited Hugh of Provence to be the next king of Italy, sending his envoy to Pisa to be among the first to greet Hugh as he arrived. Soon after Hugh had been acknowledged as king at Pavia, he met with John at Mantua, and concluded some type of treaty with him, perhaps to defend John’s interests at Rome. King Rudolph II of Burgundy soon laid claim to Italy, and Hugh was not in a position to help John. The next few years were a time of anarchy and confusion in Italy.

Marozia in the meantime had married Margrave Guy of Tuscany. Soon a power struggle began between them and Pope John, with John’s brother, Peter, the first to feel their enmity. John had Peter made duke of Spoleto after Alberic’s death, and his increased power threatened Guy and Marozia. Peter was forced to flee to Lake Orta, where he sought the aid of a rampaging band of Magyars. In 926 he returned to Rome in their company, and with their support he intimidated Guy and Marozia, and Peter was allowed to return to his old role as principal advisor to and supporter of Pope John.

Eastern affairs
Although these troubles were continuing to trouble John in Rome, he was still able to participate and influence broader ecclesiastical and political questions across Europe. In 920, he was asked by the Byzantine Emperors Romanos I and Constantine VII and the Patriarch of Constantinople Nicholas Mystikos to send some legates to Constantinople to confirm the acts of a synod which condemned fourth marriages (a legacy of the conflict which embroiled Constantine’s father Leo VI the Wise) thereby ending a schism between the two churches.

In 925 John attempted to stem the use of the Slav liturgy in Dalmatia, and enforce the local use of Latin in the Mass. He wrote to Tomislav, "king (rex) of the Croats", and to Duke Michael of Zahumlje, asking them to follow the instructions as articulated by John’s legates.

The result was a synod held in Split in 926, which confirmed John’s request; it forbade the ordination of anyone ignorant of Latin, and forbade Mass to be said in the Slav tongue, except when there was a shortage of priests. The decrees of the synod were sent to Rome for John’s confirmation, who confirmed them all except for the ruling which placed the Croatian Bishop of Nona under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Spalatro. He summoned the parties to see him at Rome, but they were unable to attend, forcing John to send some papal legates to settle the matter, which were only resolved by Pope Leo VI after John’s deposition and death.

Around the same time, Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria made overtures to John, offering the renounce his nation’s obedience to the Patriarch of Constantinople, and place his kingdom under the ecclesiastical authority of the popes at Rome. John sent two legates, who only made it as far as Constantinople, but whose letters urging Simeon to come to terms with the Byzantine Empire were delivered to him. However, John did confirm Simeon’s title of Tsar (emperor), and it was John’s representatives who crowned Simeon’s son Peter I of Bulgaria as Tsar in 927. Finally, John sent a legate to act as intermediary to attempt to stop a war between the Bulgarians and Croatians.

Affairs in western Europe
John was just as vigorous in his activities in Western Europe. Early on in his pontificate he gave his support to King Conrad I of Germany in his struggles against the German dukes. He sent a papal legate to a synod of bishops convoked by Conrad at Altheim in 916, with the result that the synod ordered Conrad’s opponents to present themselves before Pope John at Rome if they did not appear before another synod for judgement, under pain of excommunication.

In 920, John was called upon by Charles the Simple to intervene in the succession in the Bishopric of Liège, when Charles’ candidate Hilduin turned against him and joined Duke Gilbert of Lorraine in rebellion. Charles then tried to replace him with another candidate, Richer of Prüm Abbey, but Hilduin captured Richer, and forced Richer to consecrate him as bishop. John X ordered both men to appear before him at Rome, with the result that John confirmed Richer’s appointment and excommunicated Hilduin. When in 923 Charles was later captured by Count Herbert II of Vermandois, John was the only leader who protested over Charles’ capture; he threatened Herbert with excommunication unless he restored Charles to freedom, but Herbert effectively ignored him. Contemptuous of the pope’s authority, in 925 Herbert had his five-year-old son Hugh made archbishop of Reims, an appointment which John was constrained to accept and confirm, as Herbert declared that if his son were not elected, he would carve up the bishopric and distribute the land to various supporters.

John also supported the spiritual side of the Church, such as his advice to Archbishop Herive of Reims in 914, who asked for advice on converting the Normans to Christianity. He wrote: "”Your letter has filled me at once with sorrow and with joy. With sorrow at the sufferings you have to endure not only from the pagans, but also from Christians; with gladness at the conversion of the Northmen, who once revelled in human blood, but who now, by your words, rejoice that they are redeemed by the life-giving blood of Christ. For this we thank God, and implore Him to strengthen them in the faith. As to how far, inasmuch as they are uncultured, and but novices in the faith, they are to be subjected to severe canonical penances for their relapsing, killing of priests, and sacrificing to idols, we leave to your judgment to decide, as no one will know better than you the manners and customs of this people. You will, of course, understand well enough that it will not be advisable to treat them with the severity required by the canons, lest, thinking they will never be able to bear the unaccustomed burdens, they return to their old errors.”"

In addition, John supported the monastic reform movement at Cluny Abbey. He confirmed the strict rule of Cluny for the monks there. He then wrote to King Rudolph of France, as well as local bishops and counts, with instructions to restore to Cluny the property of which Guido, abbot of Gigny Abbey, had taken without permission, and to put the monastery under their protection. In 926, he increased the land attached to the Subiaco Abbey in exchange for the monks reciting 100 Kyrie eleisons for the salvation of his soul.

In 924 John X sent a papal legate named Zanello to Spain to investigate the Mozarabic rite. Zanello spoke favourably of the rite, and the pope gave a new approval to it, requiring only to change the words of consecration to that of the Roman one. John’s pontificate saw large numbers of pilgrimages from England to Rome, including Archbishop Wulfhelm of Canterbury in 927. Three years before, in 924, King Æthelstan sent one of his nobles, Alfred, to Rome, on charges of plotting to put out the king’s eyes, where he was supposed to swear an oath before Pope John declaring his innocence of the charges, but he died soon afterwards in Rome. In 917 John also gave the archbishop of Bremen jurisdiction over the bishops in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Greenland.

Finally, during his pontificate, John also restored the Lateran Basilica, which had crumbled in 897.

Deposition and death
The power struggle between John X and Guy of Tuscany and Marozia came to a conclusion in 928. Guy had secretly collected a body of troops, and with them made an attack on the Lateran Palace. Peter was caught off guard, having only a few soldiers with him, and was cut to pieces before his brother's eyes. John was thrown into a dungeon, where he remained until he died. There are two variant traditions surrounding his death; the first has it that he was smothered to death by a pillow in the dungeon within a couple of months of his deposition. Another has it he died sometime in 929 without violence, but through a combination of the conditions of his incarceration and depression.

According to John the Deacon of the Lateran, John X was buried in the atrium of the Lateran Basilica, near the main entrance. He was succeeded by Pope Leo VI in 928.

Reputation and legacy
For centuries, John X’s pontificate has been seen as one of the most disgraceful during the Saeculum obscurum. Much of this can be laid at the feet of the Liutprand of Cremona, whose account of the period is both inaccurate and uniformly hostile. His characterisation of John as an unscrupulous cleric who slept his way to the papal chair, becoming the lover of Theodora, and who held the throne of Saint Peter as a puppet of Theophylact I of Tusculum until he was murdered to make way for Marozia’s son John XI, has coloured much of the analysis of his reign, and was used by opponents of the Catholic Church as a propagandist tool.

Thus according to John Foxe, John X was the son of Pope Lando and the lover of the Roman “harlot” Theodora, who had John overthrow his supposed father, and set John up in his place. While according to Louis Marie DeCormenin, John was: ”The son of a nun and a priest... more occupied with his lusts and debauchery than with the affairs of Christendom... he was ambitious, avaricious, an apostate, destitute of shame, faith and honour, and sacrificed everything to his passions; he held the Holy See about sixteen years, to the disgrace of humanity.”

However, in recent times, his pontificate has been re-evaluated, and he is now seen as a man who attempted to stand against the aristocratic domination of the papacy, who promoted a unified Italy under an imperial ruler, only to be murdered for his efforts.

According to Ferdinand Gregorovius (not known for his sympathies towards the Papacy), John X was the foremost statesman of his age. He wrote: "”John X, however, the man whose sins are known only by report, whose great qualities are conspicuous in history, stands forth amid the darkness of the time as one of the most memorable figures among the Popes. The acts of the history of the Church praise his activity, and his relations with every country of Christendom. And since he confirmed the strict rule of Cluny, they extol him further as one of the reformers of monasticism.”"

title: Pope John X


text:
Pope John IX

Pope John IX (Ioannes IX; died January 900) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from January 898 to his death.

Early life
Little is known about John IX before he became pope. Born in Tivoli to a man named Rampoaldo, he was ordained as a Benedictine priest by Pope Formosus. With the support of the powerful duke of Spoleto he was elected pope in early 898 following the sudden death of Pope Theodore II.

Pontificate
With a view to diminish the violence of faction in Rome, John held several synods in Rome and elsewhere in 898. They not only confirmed the judgment of Pope Theodore II in granting Christian burial to Pope Formosus, but also at a council held at Ravenna decreed that the records of the Cadaver Synod held by Pope Stephen VI which had condemned him should be burned. Re-ordinations were forbidden, and those of the clergy who had been degraded by Stephen were restored to the ranks from which he had deposed them. The custom of plundering the palaces of bishops or popes on their death was ordered to be put down both by the spiritual and temporal authorities.

To keep their independence, which was threatened by the Germans, the Moravians appealed to John to let them have a hierarchy of their own. Ignoring the complaints of the German hierarchy, John sanctioned the consecration of a metropolitan bishop and three more bishops for the Moravians.

Finding that it was advisable to cement the ties between the empire and the papacy, John IX gave unhesitating support to Lambert of Spoleto in preference to Arnulf of Carinthia during the Synod of Rome, and also induced the council to determine that henceforth the consecration of the Popes should take place only in the presence of the imperial legates. The sudden death of Lambert shattered the hopes which this alliance seemed to promise.

John IX died in the year 900 and was succeeded by Pope Benedict IV (900–903).

title: Pope John IX


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Monthon

Monthon (มณฑล), also known as Monthon Thesaphiban (มณฑลเทศาภิบาล, lit. 'circle of local government'), were administrative subdivisions of Thailand at the beginning of the 20th century. The Thai word monthon is a translation of the word mandala (, literally "circle"), in its sense of a type of political formation. The monthon were created as a part of the Thesaphiban (เทศาภิบาล, literally "local government") bureaucratic administrative system, introduced by Prince Damrong Rajanubhab which, together with the monthon, established step-by-step today's present provinces (changwat), districts (amphoe), and communes (tambon) throughout Thailand. Each monthon was led by a royal commissioner called Thesaphiban (เทศาภิบาล), later renamed to Samuhathesaphiban (สมุหเทศาภิบาล). The system was officially adopted by the 1897 Local Administration Act, after some monthon had been established and administrative details were sorted out.

History
Before the Thesaphiban reforms, the country consisted of partially independent cities called mueang, some directly subordinate to the capital, some subordinate to larger mueang, or to one or more of the tributary kingdoms. Before the reforms, governors inherited their posts from their family lineage, and lived on taxes they collected in their area, a practice formally called tax farming. These were converted from hereditary governors to appointed governmental posts, as had been done by Chinese Yuan, Ming, and Qing-era rulers in first recognizing Tusi (tribal leaders) as imperial officials, then replacing them with imperial appointees. The arrangement resulted in governors being appointed and paid by the central government, and mueang developed into provinces. An essential step in the ending of tax farming was the creation on 3 September 1885 of the Royal Survey Department. Though its first fruits were not obtained until 1901, the department's cadastral surveys, i.e., surveys of specific land parcels, made possible the defining of ownership for land registration and equitable taxation. The term changwat (จังหวัด) for the provinces was first used in 1907 for the provinces in Monthon Pattani, and by 1916 had come into general use.

Resistance to reform
It took till around 1910 to implement the system throughout the country. The main reason for the slow implementation was the lack of suitably educated officials, but also the resistance of the traditional local leaders, which recalled the 1768–1770 resistance of the monk Chao Phra Faang to Thonburi reestablishment of Siamese authority. In 1902 along both banks of the Mekong, local revolts (Prakottakan Phi Bun ปรากฏการณ์ผีบุญ) led by charismatic religious leaders called holy man or phi bun (ผีบุญ) broke out. The most serious of these was led by east-bank rebel Ong Keo against French authority in the former Thai tributary kingdom of Champasak. On the west bank in the area of Ubon Ratchathani, a less-well known former monk and phi bun headed a millenarian sect inspired by his apocalyptic prophecies, which spread fear, uncertainty and doubt among almost all the peoples along both banks of the river. The Bangkok government put down west bank resistance with little use of force, and cooperated with French Indochina officials insofar as limiting Thai authority to the west bank, later called Isan. East bank resistance however had no definitive end and became subsumed into the Second Indochina War. Far from the Mekong, resistance to reform continued into the 21st century in the Southern Thailand insurgency.

Further development
In 1915 there were 19 monthons containing 72 provinces. Due to economic problems, several monthon were merged in 1925. Monthon Phetchabun had been dissolved in 1915. Only 14 monthon remained: Ayutthaya, Bangkok (Krung Thep), Chanthaburi, Nakhon Chaisi, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Sawan, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Pattani, Phayap, Phitsanulok, Phuket, Prachinburi, Ratchaburi, and Udon Thani. In 1932 another four were abolished: Chanthaburi, Nakhon Chaisi, Nakhon Sawan, and Pattani. Finally in 1933 the whole monthon system was abolished by the Provincial Administration Act 2476 B.E./A.D. 1933, part of the changes made after the coup d'état, which changed from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy, and the 70 provinces to second-level administrative divisions.

List of monthons

 * Monthon Lao Chiang is the same as Monthon Phayap, to ease understanding in this table but in all cases, they are the same.
 * Monthon Lao Kao which became Monthon Isan, and Monthon Lao Phuan which became Monthon Udon.
 * The use of the name is up to interpretation and use on case by case basis, but name changes occurs due to Rama V integration policy of minorities and achieving assimilation.
 * Province merger not shown, only monthon partition and merger are

Boriwen
The larger monthon Phayap, Udon Thani, and Isan had an additional administrative level between monthon and provincial administration. Three to five boriwen (บริเวณ), each administered by a commissioner (khaluang boriwen, ข้าหลวงบริเวณ).

title: Monthon


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Pope John VII

Pope John VII (Ioannes VII; c. 650 – 18 October 707) was the bishop of Rome from 1 March 705 to his death. He was an ethnic Greek, one of the Byzantine popes, but had better relations with the Lombards, who ruled much of Italy, than with Emperor Justinian II, who ruled the rest.

Family
John was an ethnic Greek, a native of Rossano in Calabria. His father, John (c. 620 – 686), was the curator of the Palatine Hill for the Byzantine emperor. This makes John the first pope to be the son of a Byzantine official. His mother was called Blatta (c. 627 – 687).

Pontificate
John VII was selected to succeed John VI, another Greek, on 1 March 705. He had good relations with the Lombards, who then ruled much of Italy. However, his relations with Emperor Justinian II were far from smooth. Papal relations with Byzantium had soured over the Quinisext Council of 692. Scholarly debate contests John VII's stance on the canons. He did not ratify them, and they were deeply unpopular in Italy. Nonetheless, he was criticized, most unusually, by the Liber pontificalis for not signing them:

He [Emperor Justinian II] despatched two metropolitan bishops, also sending with them a mandate in which he requested and urged the pontiff [John VII] to gather a council of the apostolic church, and to confirm such of them as he approved, and quash and reject those which were adverse. But he, terrified in his human weakness, sent them back to the prince by the same metropolitans without any emendations at all.

John VII died 18 October, 707 and was buried in the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary which had been added on to St. Peter's. He was succeeded by Sisinnius.

Legacy
Several monuments in Rome are connected with John. The most notable is the Santa Maria Antiqua church at the foot of the Palatine Hill. Traces of an episcopal palace Episcopium associated with John have been discovered upon the Palatine. John VII also constructed the Oratory of John VII in Old St Peter's Basilica, dedicated to the Theotokos. Fragments of the mosaic decoration can be found in the Vatican Grottoes. Furthermore, a sizeable icon, known as the Madonna della Clemenza and housed in Santa Maria in Trastevere, is believed to have been commissioned under the patronage of John. He also restored the monastery of Subiaco, destroyed by the Lombards in 601.

title: Pope John VII


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Alternative comedy

Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe content that was an "alternative" to the mainstream stand-up of the day which took place in working men's clubs, and was characterised by unoriginal gags often containing elements of sexism and racism. In other contexts, it is the nature of the form that is "alternative", avoiding reliance on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt has defined it as "comedy where the audience has no pre-set expectations about the crowd, and vice versa. In comedy clubs, there tends to be a certain vibe—alternative comedy explores different types of material."

In an interview with The A.V. Club after his performance in the 2011 comedy-drama film Young Adult, Oswalt stated:

"I had come up out of that whole alternative scene, which was all about, 'Don't try it, man. Just go up and wing it.' I think a lot of that comes from insecurity. It's that fashion of improv and amateurism that comes from the insecurity of saying to the audience, 'Well, it doesn't matter if it doesn't go well, because I didn't even try that hard to begin with.' It's like, 'Oh, that's why you're not [trying]. If you actually tried hard and it sucked, then you've got to blame yourself.' So that's what makes it hard for some people to sit down and actually just do the fucking work, because doing the work means you're making a commitment."

United Kingdom
Alternative comedy had a number of influences. It was a reaction against the mainstream stand-up of the day which took place in working men's clubs, and was characterised by unoriginal gags often containing elements of sexism and racism. Positive influences include American 'sick' comedians of the 1950s and 1960s, like Mort Sahl and Lenny Bruce; the 1960s comedian John Paul Joans, who had been influenced by Bruce; the punk scene of the late 1970s; poets like John Cooper Clarke; and less conventional earlier comedians like Billy Connolly and John Dowie.

Comedy Store
The beginning of alternative comedy is commonly associated with the opening of the Comedy Store club in London on 19 May 1979, initially a weekly gong show-style comedy night in a room above a strip club in Soho. The official history of the club credits comedian and author Tony Allen with coining the term. However, in his autobiography, the late Malcolm Hardee claims to have coined the term in 1978.

Alternative comedy came to describe an approach to stand-up comedy that was neither racist nor sexist, defining itself against more traditional comedians playing the Northern working men's clubs who often relied on jokes targeting women and minorities in a form of comedy "civil war". (This divide was not absolute, with some performers from that circuit performing at the Comedy Store from its opening in May 1979.) What developed from these clashes was, in Arthur Smith's words, "comedy's version of punk".

Alexei Sayle, the Comedy Store's first MC, provided angry character comedy satirising the left. Arnold Brown, an older stand-up comic noted for his quick-witted, observational style, was revered by several alternative comedians, and would become a regular fixture at The Comedy Store. Fellow MC Tony Allen broke the taboos of personal and sexual politics, while Keith Allen confronted audiences in a fearless series of "put-ons" and was a big influence on the early cabaret scene that was about to emerge. As these newer comics grew in confidence, Tony Allen and Alexei Sayle founded Alternative Cabaret, with other Comedy Store regulars. Their aim was to establish several alternative comedy clubs in London in addition to their flagship venue at the Elgin, Ladbroke Grove, from August 1979. Its core members were Jim Barclay, Andy De La Tour, and Pauline Melville, stand-ups who shared a background in radical fringe theatre. The pair also brought alternative stand-up to the Edinburgh Festival for the first time in August 1980 with "Late Night Alternative" at the Heriot-Watt Theatre. Returning with a full show in 1981, "Alternative Cabaret" was the critical comedy hit of that year.

Alternative Cabaret
The Comedy Store now advertised itself as "The Home of Alternative Comedy" in London's weekly Entertainment Guide, Time Out, listing "Alternative Cabaret" as its main show. Their tours established the idea of running comedy shows in small venues around London, and sowed the seeds of the network of pub-based gigs that grew in the capital and across the UK throughout the 1980s. The new comedy got its own section, "Cabaret", in Listings magazines, first in City Limits followed by Time Out on 21 January 1983. Other organisations, comics, and entrepreneurs—including Maria Kempinska's Jongleurs and Roland and Clare Muldoon's CAST/New Variety—added more regular venues, bringing the number of gigs per week from 24 in 1983 to 69 by 1987.

The Comic Strip
Meanwhile, another group of comics left the Comedy Store with Peter Richardson to form The Comic Strip and run their own "Comedy Cabaret" shows at the Boulevard Theatre, Walkers Court, Soho in October 1980. The Comic Strip, featuring double acts and sketch comedy, consisted of Manchester University and Royal Central School graduates Ade Edmondson, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Dawn French, and Jennifer Saunders, who began to aim their talents at television. As The Comic Strip Presents, the group made over 40 television films for both Channel 4 and BBC.

Ben Elton, who had by then become the Comedy Store's next MC, was invited by Rik Mayall to join him as co-writer of BBC2's TV hit sitcom The Young Ones. It was then as MC of Channel 4's new comedy show Saturday Live that Elton found fame as a performer in his own right. As author William Cook noted, "After The Young Ones made him Alternative Comedy's hidden voice, Saturday Live (Channel 4) made him its most visible face."

Comic and broadcaster Arthur Smith observed that "If Tony Allen, 'The Godfather of Alternative Comedy', was the theory of anarchic comedy, then Malcolm Hardee was its cock-eyed embodiment". Hardee was the much loved MC at the Tunnel Palladium, The Mitre, Deptford 1984-89 whose audience were famous for their vocal participation and wit. There he influenced the early careers of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, Simon Day, Chris Lynam, Martin Soan, Harry Enfield, and many others to whom he gave their first gigs. He also found fame himself as part of The Greatest Show on Legs, which had been started by Martin Soan, his part in the legendary "Naked Balloon Dance" as well as his many shows and pranks at The Edinburgh Festival.

Just about every major British stand-up comedian in the last thirty years started their career in alternative comedy clubs, including Ben Elton, Jo Brand, Jack Dee, Lee Evans, Eddie Izzard, Harry Hill, Peter Kay, Jimmy Carr, and Ross Noble.

Contemporary alternative comedy in the United Kingdom
Alternative comedy has enjoyed a resurgence in the UK since about 2010, with Stewart Lee promoting the liberal, progressive values of the 1980s alternative comedy scene through his writing, live shows featuring veteran alternative comedians including Alexei Sayle and Norman Lovett, as well as a Comedy Central TV series showcasing a great variety of alternative acts, The Alternative Comedy Experience. Younger acts have banded together into groups dedicated to alternative comedy, including The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society and The Weirdos Collective.

New York City
In New York City, much of what is called alternative or "downtown comedy" is performed outside of traditional comedy clubs in theatres, such as Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (UCB), Magnet Theater, The Creek and The Cave, and the Peoples Improv Theater (PIT), as well as cabarets that host comedy only occasionally. The comedians at these shows offer character-based humour or surreal humour, as opposed to observations of everyday life or more polemical themes. In addition, many alternative comics such as Demetri Martin and Slovin and Allen use unusual presentation styles, opting to play music, give PowerPoint presentations, or act out sketches. Many alternative comics such as Sarah Silverman, Janeane Garofalo, and Todd Barry also perform in mainstream comedy venues. The now-defunct Luna Lounge in New York's Lower East Side was home to a celebrated weekly alternative comedy stand-up series called "Eating It" from 1995 to 2005, co-created by Garofalo, which featured a changing line-up including Louis CK, Jim Norton, Ted Alexandro, Todd Barry, H. Jon Benjamin, Greg Giraldo, Patrice O'Neal, Patton Oswalt, Sarah Vowell, Mike Birbiglia, Marc Maron, Dave Chappelle, Roseanne Barr, Sarah Silverman, Janeane Garofalo, and numerous others, until the property was sold and the building razed.

Eugene Mirman started a show called Invite Them up at Rififi, a bar in New York's East Village in 2002. The popular weekly show, co-hosted by Bobby Tisdale, never advertised or listed its performers. Comedians such as Demetri Martin, Aziz Ansari, Pete Holmes, Jon Glazer, Jon Daly, Reggie Watts and musicians such as Bright Eyes and Yo La Tengo all performed on Invite Them Up. The show spurred a host of other weekly events at Rififi hosted by Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Greg Johnson, Larry Murphy and Jenny Slate. The venue was a hotbed of alternative comedy until complaints from neighbors about one of Rififi's dance parties, Trash, got the bar closed down in 2008.

Warren St. John said that the "inspiration" for alternative comedy in New York City is the Upright Citizens Brigade. The group originally formed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Chelsea in 1999. Four years later, in 2003, several performers at the UCB spun off their own theater, and formed the PIT. St. John also argues that one reason why unusual comics can succeed in New York City is that they don't have to tour part-time, as many of them also work as writers on local comedy television shows such as The Daily Show and the Late Show with David Letterman.

Los Angeles
Patton Oswalt cited Dana Gould as the originator of the alternative comedy scene in the early nineties, who also cites Janeane Garofalo as another progenitor of the scene. Beth Lapides started the Un-Cabaret shows, which was the flagship of the alternative comedy movement. Other contemporaries of the scene included Bob Odenkirk, David Cross, Greg Behrendt, Andy Kindler, and Kathy Griffin.

Oswalt was essential in pioneering the alternative comedy on the West Coast. He created The Comedians of Comedy tour, which played across the US in independent music venues intermittently from 2004 to 2008. The original tour was hosted by Oswalt, and featured Maria Bamford, Zach Galifianakis, and Brian Posehn.

Australia
The Experimental Comedy Club in Perth, Western Australia was founded by Xavier Susai of Grassroots Comedy, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, as a safe space for comedians to try new styles and material, without being perceived as an audition for professional comedy nights. Visiting comedians from around the world such as Mark Normand and Stephen K. Amos have dropped in to perform at this room.

Canada
Canada has a history of embracing alternative stand-up and sketch comedy. The ALTdot COMedy Lounge has been running for more than 20 years at The Rivoli, where The Kids in the Hall also had a residency in the mid-1980s. Other notable alternative comedy shows now defunct included Pirate Video Cabaret (ended 2003), Laugh Sabbath and The Second City Theater Toronto's Sketchy at Best. Other notable alt acts include Terry Clement, Sean Cullen, Jon Dore, Paul Irving, Chris Locke, Levi Macdougall, Ron Sparks and Harland Williams.

South Africa
While South African comedy often comprises racial or stereotype-based humour, alternative comedy in South Africa tends to avoid such subject matter. It is hard to define alternative comedy, but subject matter may include taboo, dark, non sequitur, geek, and various other topics, whilst excluding racial, scatological, stereotype, South Africanised humour and other topics considered mainstream. Although comedians of this genre may include mainstream topics, it does not form the majority of their sets.

It is hard to say exactly where it started, but The Underground in Melville Johannesburg was known for its risqué humour proliferated by founder John Vlismas. The Comedy Underground was fertile development ground for alternative humour with its anything goes policy. Since its closure in 2010, alternative comedy has found new venues including Foxwood theatre, Picollinos, and various others. Johannesburg remains the home of South African alternative.

One of the driving forces behind the increasing prominence of alternative comedy is the Johannesburg Comedy Cartel, whose members include Shaun Wewege, Warren Robertson, Vittorio Leonardi, and Alyn Adams. Other South African comedians who fall into the genre include Dale Amler, Roni Modimola, Mark Banks, and Vlismas.

Mel Miller is arguably considered one of the pioneers of the alternative genre in South Africa. During the Apartheid era, Miller's material was considered "inappropriate" or radical, resulting in more than one run-in and detention with the South African Bureau of State Security.

title: Alternative comedy