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Erik Bruhn

Erik Belton Evers Bruhn (3 October 1928 – 1 April 1986) was a Danish ballet dancer, choreographer, artistic director, actor, and author.

Early life
Erik Bruhn was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, the fourth child and first son of Ellen (née Evers), owner of a hairdressing salon, and third child of Ernst Bruhn. His parents married shortly before his birth. Bruhn began training with the Royal Danish Ballet when he was nine years old, and made his unofficial début on the stage of Copenhagen's Royal Opera House in 1946, dancing the role of Adonis in Harald Lander's ballet Thorvaldsen.

Career
He was taken permanently into the company in 1947 at the age of eighteen. Bruhn took the first of his frequent sabbaticals from the Danish company in 1947, dancing for six months with the short-lived Metropolitan Ballet in England, where he formed his first major partnership, with the Bulgarian ballerina Sonia Arova. He returned to the Royal Danish Ballet in the spring of 1948 and was promoted to soloist in 1949, the highest level a dancer can attain in the Danish ballet. Later in 1949, he again took a leave of absence and joined American Ballet Theatre in New York City, where he would dance regularly for the next nine years, although his home company continued to be the Royal Danish Ballet.

The turning point in Bruhn's international career came on 1 May 1955 with his début in the role of Albrecht in Giselle partnering Dame Alicia Markova, nearly twenty years his senior, in a matinée with Ballet Theatre in New York after only three days of rehearsal. The performance caused a sensation. Dance critic John Martin, writing in The New York Times, called it "a date to write down in the history books, for it was as if the greatest Giselle of today were handing over a sacred trust to what is probably the greatest Albrecht of tomorrow." In an article entitled "The Matinée that Made History" in Dance News in June 1955, P. W. Manchester wrote:

Technically exacting as it is, the role of Albrecht is not beyond the capabilities of any competent premier danseur, and Erik Bruhn is infinitely more than that; he is probably the most completely equipped male dancer of the day, with the flawlessly clean technique that comes only through a combination of enormous talent allied to correct day-by-day training from childhood ... If his dancing was magnificent, and it was, his partnering of and playing to Markova were no less so. The result was one of those electrifying performances when everyone both in the audience and on the stage is aware that something extraordinary is happening.

Bruhn formally resigned from the Danish ballet in 1961, by which time he had become internationally known as a phenomenon, although he continued to dance periodically with the company as a guest artist. In May 1961, he returned to Ballet Theatre for its New York season. In its 5 May issue, Time magazine published a major article on the dancer and his art:

Back home Bruhn, 32, is the idol of the Royal Danish Ballet, where he has brought new life to the classic roles reserved for a premier danseur noble. His technical credentials include a fine dramatic sense and an ability to leap with a high-arching grace, to turn with cat quickness and fluidity on the ground or in midair, to project emotion with vivid movements of arms, legs and body. But Bruhn long ago became aware that "technique is not enough," and he is remarkable for the feeling of tension he can convey by his mere presence. Poised and trim (5 ft. 7 in., 140 lbs.), he somehow rivets an audience with the promise of action before he has danced a step ... As Bruhn soars ever closer to his apogee, he spends restless nights reviewing roles in his mind. He has surprisingly little of the vanity that goads most performers; he does not want audiences to pay, he says, "only to see me jump." Furthermore, he would rather "be bad in a good ballet than be great in a bad ballet." But to be great in a good ballet? To do it, says Erik Bruhn, "it is important, even if you performed a role the night before, to think, 'This is the first time this is going to happen.' "

During the next 10 years, Bruhn formed long relationships as a guest artist not only with Ballet Theatre but with most all of the major ballet companies in Europe and North America, including the New York City Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, the Paris Opera Ballet, and London's Royal Ballet. He was best known for his lead roles in La Sylphide, Giselle, Frederick Ashton's Romeo and Juliet, and Swan Lake. John Cranko made Daphnis and Chlöe on him in 1962 at the Stuttgart Ballet, which Bruhn considered his favorite from amongst the ballets created specifically for him. He was also acclaimed in dramatic roles, such as Jean in Birgit Cullberg's Miss Julie, the Moor in José Limón's The Moor's Pavane, and Don José in Roland Petit's Carmen. In addition to Sonia Arova, Bruhn had significant dance partnerships with a large and unusually varied number of ballerinas: the Americans Cynthia Gregory, Nora Kaye, Allegra Kent, and Maria Tallchief; the Russian Natalia Makarova; the Dane Kirstin Simone; the British Nadia Nerina; and, most famously, with the Italian Carla Fracci.

In his book, Beyond Technique (1968), Bruhn discussed his thoughts on partnering: It has been noticed that I have been able to work with many different kinds of ballerinas, and on most occasions we succeeded in becoming a team if only for a season or two. And that is because I always wanted to relate to them. I don't remain the same. Each ballerina is different; she has a special flavor or she wouldn't be a ballerina. This would color my style and shape my approach. I remain true to myself, but I let her flavor color me as mine colors her ... A good partnership can somehow crystallize something that you have been doing already. When the right people come together, they bring the right thing out of each other ... With the right person, it becomes a situation of being rather than playing ...The role absorbs you and you become it. And then it seems like you can do nothing wrong because you are so totally absorbed by this being.

Awards and retirement
Bruhn was made a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog, one of Denmark's highest honors, in 1963, the same year he was awarded the Nijinsky Prize in Paris. After retiring as a danseur noble in 1972, Bruhn danced character roles, such as Madge the Witch in La Sylphide, Dr. Coppelius, and Petrushka. He was director of the Swedish Opera Ballet from 1967 to 1973 and the National Ballet of Canada from 1983 until his death in 1986. Although twice offered the directorship of the Royal Danish Ballet, he twice declined the post. His productions of full-length classical ballets, such as La Sylphide,Giselle, Coppélia, and his somewhat controversial Swan Lake for the National Ballet of Canada, were well received, as were his stagings of pas de deux from the Bournonville repertoire. A superb teacher and coach, Bruhn was dedicated to imparting purity of form and dance as drama not spectacle. He believed in "complete identification" with the character being portrayed, "but under complete control. Because if you lose yourself completely, you cannot communicate." In 1974, he played a leading role in the stage play Rashomon with Susse Wold in Denmark, for which he won acclaim.

Personal life
Bruhn met Rudolf Nureyev, the celebrated Russian dancer, after Nureyev defected to the West in 1961. Nureyev was a great admirer of Bruhn, having seen filmed performances of the Dane on tour in Russia with the American Ballet Theatre, although stylistically the two dancers were very different. Bruhn became the great love of Nureyev's life and the two remained close for 25 years, until Bruhn's death.

Death
Bruhn died in Toronto General Hospital on 1 April 1986 at the age of 57. His death was attributed to lung cancer. However, according to Pierre-Henri Verlhac, he might have died of AIDS. He is buried in an unmarked grave at Mariebjerg Cemetery in Gentofte, an affluent northern suburb of Copenhagen, near the house where he grew up.

Dance critic John Rockwell, in his obituary of Bruhn, noted:

Mr. Bruhn was valued more as an epitome of manly elegance and for the sensitivity of his acting than as a virtuoso technician. As a partner he was grave and deferential, yet he never subsided meekly into the background. And as a poetic actor, he lifted male leading roles in the classic ballets to a new prominence... Mikhail Baryshnikov [said] "He was indisputably one of the greatest dancers we have ever seen, and his dignity and style have been a model to us all, which can not be replaced."

Clive Barnes had named Bruhn "the greatest male classical dancer of his time" when Bruhn retired in 1972. In an appreciation of Bruhn's accomplishments published in The New York Times shortly after his death, dance critic Anna Kisselgoff said:

He was, then, the model of perfection as a dancer – precise in every step, beautifully placed, a virtuoso technician, noble in bearing, elegant in every gesture. His line was extraordinary, his leg beats – a legacy of his Danish training – amazing. He was one of the few dancers who could bring the house down simply by executing a series of entrechats as James in La Sylphide. The steps, no matter how brilliantly executed, were always part of a deeper concept, part of a characterization. Erik Bruhn was a complete dancer – a far cry from the highly specialized artist he was often made out to be... His moral example to the rest of ballet came through the concentration and seriousness with which he committed himself to every role.

Bruhn authored Beyond Technique with photos by Fred Fehl (1968, reissued as No. 36 of "Dance Perspectives" in 1973), and with Lillian Moore he co-authored Bournonville and Ballet Technique: Studies and Comments on August Bournonville's Etudes Choregraphiques (1961, reprinted 2005). He was the subject of the book Erik Bruhn: Danseur Noble (1979) by John Gruen, written with his cooperation and based in part on extensive interviews. A 2008 biography in Danish by Alexander Meinertz, Erik Bruhn – Billedet indeni (The Picture Within), has yet to be translated into English.

Bruhn was posthumously recognized in 1987 for "exemplary contributions to Canada and its culture" as the first recipient of the annual Pagurian Award for Excellence in the Arts.

In 2014 Heritage Toronto erected a plaque to him outside 135 George Street South in the St Lawrence Market area of Toronto. He lived there for many years.

Legacy
In a codicil to his will, Bruhn left part of his estate for the establishment of The Erik Bruhn Prize, recognizing dancers from the three companies with which he was most closely associated: the Royal Danish Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and the National Ballet of Canada, each of which are invited to send one male and one female dancer to the competition, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bruhn specified that the prize be awarded to two young dancers who "reflect such technical ability, artistic achievement and dedication as I endeavoured to bring to dance." Competitors for the prize are between the ages of 18 and 23 and are selected by their respective Artistic Directors. For the competition, each dancer performs in a classical pas de deux and variations and a contemporary pas de deux or solo work.

The first Erik Bruhn Prize was awarded in 1988.

Filmography
A few of Bruhn's performances have been preserved, several of which are available on DVD and online:
 * Symphonie fantastique, filmed in 1948 with the Royal Danish Ballet, choreography by Léonide Massine. A work film, shot without sound and showing the dancers in practice dress. Available on DVD through the Dance Film Archive of Ohio State University.
 * Pas de deux, choreographed by Roland Petit, with the French ballerina Zizi Jeanmaire in the 1952 Goldwyn film Hans Christian Andersen. Available on DVD.
 * Four short pieces were filmed in 1955 at Jacob's Pillow: Giselle Act II pas de deux with Alicia Alonso; and the Don Quixote pas de deux, Giselle Act II pas de deux, and The Nutcracker Act II pas de deux, all with Mary Ellen Moylan.
 * The Ed Sullivan Show (25 August 1957) with Nora Kaye in the Black Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake.
 * The Bell Telephone Hour broadcasts: Don Quixote pas de deux with Maria Tallchief (from 1961); Act II of La Sylphide (1962) and a pas de deux from Romeo and Juliet choreographed by Bruhn (1967), both with Carla Fracci; the Black Swan pas de deux with Sonia Arova (1963), and the Act III pas de deux from Coppélia, also with Arova (1963). Available on the DVD "Rudolf Nureyev & Erik Bruhn – Their Complete Bell Telephone Hour Performances (1961–1967)," which also includes Tallchief and Nureyev dancing a pas de deux from Flower Festival in Genzano choreographed by Bruhn after Bournonville (from 1962).
 * "The Art of the Pas de Deux": pas de deux from Don Quixote with Maria Tallchief; includes Tallchief and Nureyev in the Flower Festival in Genzano pas de deux choreographed by Bruhn. Available on DVD. Both performances are from "The Bell Telephone Hour" broadcasts and both also can be seen on the DVD "The Art of Maria Tallchief."
 * Full-length Giselle with Carla Fracci and American Ballet Theatre (1969), which has been criticized for its eccentric camera work. Available on DVD.
 * Erik Bruhn: I'm the Same, Only More – A Personal Portrait of the Legendary Dancer (2002), a posthumous 42-minute film biography by his friend, the Danish filmmaker Lennart Pasborg, includes performance footage and a recorded monologue by Bruhn used as a voice-over for clips and stills. Won an award at Cannes for use of archival material.

Performance reviews and critiques

 * "Danseur Noble". Time. 5 May 1961
 * "The High & the Mighty". Time. 10 December 1965
 * Review of Giselle video (1969)
 * "Lady of the Still Point". Time. 14 July 1975
 * "Erik Bruhn's Syphide at Ballet Theater". The New York Times. 26 May 1983
 * Erik Bruhn – "Epitome of the Danseur Noble". The New York Times. 13 April 1986

title: Erik Bruhn


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User:Prichardson

Hi, my name is Peter Richardson. I'm happily married to Louise since 2003.

Interests
I've lived in different areas of the Midlands (and Switzerland too) so I'm trying to add a little more detail to the entries for various Midlands towns.

Places I've lived or otherwise spent my time in include:
 * Barwell, Leicestershire
 * Earl Shilton, Leicestershire
 * Hinckley, Leicestershire
 * Stafford
 * Bromsgrove, Worcestershire
 * Leicester
 * Basel, Switzerland
 * Bulkington, Warwickshire
 * Birmingham (Acock's Green, Stirchley and Edgbaston)

I also have strong connections to Scotland, where I have family in Fife.

I'm nuts about cars. For the record, I've owned 1 Escort, 1 Citroen BX, 2 Orions, 1 Fiesta, 6 Mondeos, 1 Astra, 1 V70 and 1 Vectra. That's in 9 years! I'm helping (possibly) the Automobiles project as and when I can.

I've been working in IT for a few years, with my computing origins dating back to the time of the ZX80, ZX Spectrum and Commodore Amiga.

Feel free to correct anything I've done which is wrong, but let me know so I can realise my mistake. I'm committed to helping Wikipedia become a high quality encylopedia, although I admit my articles could be a lot better sometimes, so your feedback is important to me. Thanks.

Links

 * Number Plates and Car Registrations

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

title: User:Prichardson


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Talk:Museum of Jurassic Technology

Accuracy of the article
It seems that this "museum" exhibits generally "freaky" stuff; but frankly, I'm very sceptical as to the factual accuracy. Just take the stink ant exhibit:

 * The scientific name of this "stink ant" is Megaponera foetens or, more commonly, Pachycondyla analis . They can't even get their spelling right on the museum website!
 * It is highly improbable that these ants can "cry", not having any vocal chords. They can produce sounds audible by humans by rubbing body parts together (like e.g. crickets can; this is called stridulation), but cry they don't.
 * There is abundant information about this species of ants available online, but I couldn't find any mention of the fungus story except on pages obviously copying the info given on the museum page.
 * While Tomentella is indeed a large genus of fungi, I couldn't find any mention whatsoever of this parasitic behavior with respect to ants.

Good overview of the ant at. Lupo 10:25, 18 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Yes, a reaction like that is exactly what the museum seems to be designed to create. It's frustrating, ain't it.  Crazy (but amazing) place. I was so unnerved when I visited it - it's so mostly wrong, but not all wrong.  JesseW 09:07, 12 Nov 2004 (UTC)

 * Actually, the first section of Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder concludes with the discovery that that pheonomenon is indeed true. Maybe not the crying or the genus and species, but the whole thing about the ant inhaling a spore then climbing a blade of grass and the spore turning into a spike is actually true. There's a picture of it in the book. Crazy place.
 * Drewcifer3000 21:54, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

 * Drewcifer is right- the guy who wrote Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder devoted an unbelievable amountof time to researching every piece in the museum for any scrap of factual accuracy. (He didnt find many... come on, 'the horn of a Jewish woman' is one of the exhibits) The next time there's a question about the validity of certain exhibits you should consult the book, its an amazingly good resource Oroneko 03:49, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

 * The mysterious parastic ant fungus refered to above is Ophiocordyceps_unilateralis, aka the zombie ant fungus. It is one a of a very few parasitic organisms that actually change the behavior of the host, another fascinating example being Toxoplasmosis.  It's real science, perhaps it should be linked from the page but I can't find any mention of the ant or fugus on the wiki page.  I'm not inclined to try to edit this page myself, but if someone else cares enough to add the link I think it would be enlightening. Rich.lewis (talk) 23:51, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

There is a strong conceptual link between skepticism (of the Skeptical Inquirer type) and the MJT. I noticed when I was there that many of the contributors to the museum were famous magicians - Ricky Jay and Penn and Teller, for example. First and foremost the museum works on the level of satire, but as with much good satire, it has a point. How certain are you of the information you "know." Are authoritative sources to be trusted? Bear in mind that the Museum of Natural History had the wrong head on a "brontosaurus" for a century because of scientific politics. (It turns out there actually was no such creature as a brontosaurus - it was created from two different sets of remains by a famous paleontologist who systematically destroyed the reputation of a lesser-known scientist who [correctly] challenged him.) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.153.142.202 (talk) 17:32, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Conceptual Art
So many people rely on Wikipedia for their information that one feels dutybound to amplify the introductory paragraph of this article by moving the "conceptual art" description to the lead section. There are thousands of people all over the world who have no idea the "museum" is a sendup of the first magnitude.GeorgeLouis (talk) 06:19, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

I think overall the page is a good reflection of the Museum, but maybe should be clearer that it's somewhat of an art project and not intended as a factual educational museum. I am a longtime member and have taken many first time visitors there. Children really seem to enjoy it as they take it at face value instead of analyzing it and trying to figure out is it "real." So yes it's conceptual art, and yes it's a museum, says so right over the front door! Markxus25 (talk) 07:00, 19 March 2012 (UTC)

Quotations
I'm not sure why the "Quotations" section is in here. Unless somebody can provide a decent Wiki-acceptable reason, I propose to eliminate it on or after January 16. Sincerely, GeorgeLouis (talk) 00:13, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Go for it! Green daemon (talk) 20:31, 18 January 2015 (UTC)

External links modified (February 2018)
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title: Talk:Museum of Jurassic Technology


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Djursholm

Djursholm is one of four suburban districts in, and the seat of Danderyd Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. Djursholm is included in the multi-municipal Stockholm urban area. Djursholm is divided into a number of different areas: Djursholms Ekeby (northwest), Svalnäs (northeast), Ösby (central), Berga (southwest) and Gamla Djursholm ('Old Djursholm', southeast). It is also partly located in Täby Municipality.

History
Djursholm was one of the first suburban communities in Sweden, its history as such beginning in 1889 with the founding of Djursholm AB (Djursholm Inc.) by Henrik Palme and the subsequent 1890 inauguration of the railway line connecting Djursholm to Stockholm, Djursholmsbanan. Since 1895 it has been served by electric suburban trains but the original branch was closed in 1975.

Djursholm is the wealthiest community in Sweden, with the most expensive property prices in the country. It was built as a garden city with large villas, most from the turn of the century, along winding roads. From the start, the elegant seaside quarters attracted many well known academics, cultural personalities and industrialists.

Djursholm was separated from Danderyd as a municipality of its own in 1901, becoming a city (Djursholms stad) in 1914. In 1971 it was reunited with Danderyd when the present municipality was created. Statistically Djursholm lies within the Stockholm urban area.

Sights

 * Djursholm Castle. The original stone building was likely erected by Nils Eskilsson Banér in the 15th century. Svante Gustavsson Banér commissioned a refurbishment of the castle to its current form in the 16th century
 * Djursholm Chapel. Completed in 1902 on the initiative of Fredrik Lilljekvist, who was also the architect. The ornate altar paintings are by Natanael Beskow, who was the resident vicar at the time.
 * Villa Pauli. Large villa on Strandvägen in central Djursholm, designed by Ragnar Östberg and completed in 1907. Since 1986, Villa Pauli has been a private club with a gourmet restaurant, banquet room and hotel.
 * Germania beach. Sandy beach that has become a popular destination for people from Djursholm and surrounding areas. Situated at the end of Strandvägen and Germaniavägen, two of the central roads of Djursholm.

Notable inhabitants

 * Alice Tegnér, artist
 * Annika Falkengren, industrialist
 * Annika Linde, state epidemiologist
 * Bertil Hult, industrialist
 * Björn Ulvaeus, musician (ABBA)
 * Charlotte Perrelli, singer
 * Elizabeth Hesselblad, saint
 * Elsa Beskow, artist and author
 * Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland
 * Fredrik Lundberg, industrialist
 * Gösta Mittag-Leffler, mathematician
 * Hannes Alfvén, nobel laureate in physics
 * Ingvar Kjellson, actor
 * Jacob Wallenberg, industrialist
 * Jakob Lindberg, musician
 * Jan Carlzon, industrialist
 * Jenny Syquia, model and designer
 * Johan Banér, fieldmarshall
 * Magnus Uggla, singer and songwriter
 * Marie Fredriksson, musician (Roxette)
 * Natanael Beskow, preacher, author, artist
 * Robert Thegerström, artist
 * Robin Söderling, former professional tennis player
 * Stefan Persson, industrialist
 * Tove Lo, singer and songwriter
 * Verner von Heidenstam, author
 * Viktor Rydberg, author

title: Djursholm


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User talk:Powermac~enwiki

Hi Powermac - I hope you like the place and choose to stay.

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Check out the New user log, or here's some stuff you can do, if you want:

I must warn you, however, that submitting work that you do not own the copyrights to is not permitted on the Wikipedia. See Copyrights. Thanks Dysprosia 10:34, 18 Mar 2004 (UTC)

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title: User talk:Powermac~enwiki


text:
Ankeny–Artin–Chowla congruence

In number theory, the Ankeny–Artin–Chowla congruence is a result published in 1953 by N. C. Ankeny, Emil Artin and S. Chowla. It concerns the class number h of a real quadratic field of discriminant d > 0. If the fundamental unit of the field is

 * $$\varepsilon = \frac{t + u \sqrt{d}}{2}$$

with integers t and u, it expresses in another form

 * $$\frac{ht}{u} \pmod{p}\;$$

for any prime number p > 2 that divides d. In case p > 3 it states that

 * $$-2{mht \over u} \equiv \sum_{0 < k < d} {\chi(k) \over k}\lfloor {k/p} \rfloor \pmod {p}$$

where $$m = \frac{d}{p}\;$$  and  $$\chi\;$$  is the Dirichlet character for the quadratic field. For p = 3 there is a factor (1 + m) multiplying the LHS. Here

 * $$\lfloor x\rfloor$$

represents the floor function of x.

A related result is that if d=p is congruent to one mod four, then

 * $${u \over t}h \equiv B_{(p-1)/2} \pmod{ p}$$

where Bn is the nth Bernoulli number.

There are some generalisations of these basic results, in the papers of the authors.

title: Ankeny–Artin–Chowla congruence


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BMW 5 Series (E34)

The BMW E34 is the third generation of the BMW 5 Series, which was produced from November 2, 1987, until 1996. Initially launched as a sedan in January 1988, the E34 also saw a "Touring" station wagon (estate) body style added in September 1992, a first for the 5 Series. BMW replaced the E34 with the E39 5 Series in December 1995, although E34 Touring models remained in production until June 1996.

The E34 generation marked the first time all-wheel drive was incorporated into the 5 Series with the 525iX, and the first V8 engine to be used in a 5 Series. The E34 also saw the introduction of stability control (ASC), traction control (ASC+T), a 6-speed manual transmission and adjustable damping (EDC) to the 5 Series range.

There was an unusually large range of engines fitted over its lifetime as nine different engine families were used. These consisted of straight-four, straight-six and V8 engines.

The E34 M5 is powered by the S38 straight-six engine and was produced in sedan and wagon body styles.

Development and launch
Development ran from July 1981 to early 1987, with the initial design proposal penned by Ercole Spada in 1982. Under the guidance of chief designer Claus Luthe, BMW based much of the design on the E32 7 Series. Following Spada's departure from BMW and styling approval in 1983, J Mays finalized the design for production in mid-1985. Special attention was paid to aerodynamics, with the E34 basic sedan having a drag coefficient of 0.30.

Series production began in November 1987. In December 1987, the E34 sedan was unveiled to global press.

Body styles
Sedan models have a length of 4720 mm, a width of 1750 mm and a height of 1412 mm. Wagon models have a length of 4720 mm and a height of 1420 mm. All models have a wheelbase of 2760 mm.

Engines
Official output figures are as follows:

Performance
* Automatic Transmission

** Governed (Auto/Manual)

Manual transmissions

 * 5-speed Getrag 260
 * 5-speed Getrag 280 — 3.6 L M5 model only
 * 5-speed ZF S5D 310 — 91-92 US, and European M50 engines
 * 5-speed Getrag 250G - 93-95 US M50 engines.
 * 6-speed Getrag 420G — 540i and 1994-1996 M5 only

Automatic transmissions

 * 4-speed ZF 4HP22 - M20 and M30 engines
 * 4-speed GM 4L30-E (A4S 310R) - M50 engines (US only)
 * 5-speed ZF 5HP18 - M50 and M51 (except US) and 1992-1995 530i (M60B30).
 * 5-speed ZF 5HP30 - 540i

Suspension
Front suspension consists of double pivot MacPherson struts, with a replaceable shock absorber cartridge inside a steel strut housing. Control arms and thrust arms control front-to-back and side-to-side movement. Steering on most models is a recirculating ball design, however the all-wheel drive 525iX uses a rack and pinion steering system (along with front suspension) similar to the E30 3 Series 325iX model. All front suspension components are steel, except that the lower control arms on some models are aluminum.

Rear suspension consists of semi-trailing arms with coil springs integrated in a strut assembly.

Petrol-engined
The base model, available only in Europe, was the petrol-powered four-cylinder 518i. Only available with a 5-speed manual transmission, a total of 53,248 cars were produced.

The next petrol model up was the six-cylinder 520i, which began production in January 1988. It was initially powered by the BMW M20 single overhead camshaft engine, which was replaced by the BMW M50 double overhead camshaft engine in 1990. The 520i was the second most popular E34 model globally, with 426,971 units produced. The 525i was the most popular E34 model globally with 434,549 units produced. As per the 520i, the 525i initially used the M20 engine, which was replaced by the M50 engine in 1990.

Engine volume and year of manufacture often influenced the type of wiring. This was of great importance for decoding the configuration and the possibility of further retrofitting. Thus, cars can be divided into two types: high and low. Wiring had a big influence to the amount of possible options and functions of a car. There also was update after M50 and M60 introduce.

A rare E34 model is the petrol-powered six-cylinder 525iX, of which only 9,366 cars were produced. The 525iX was the first all-wheel drive 5 Series, and the only all-wheel drive model in the E34 range. It was powered by the BMW M50 engine and was the first 5 Series to use a rack and pinion steering system.

There are two versions of the E34 530i: an inline-six model produced from 1988 to 1990, and a V8 model produced from 1993 to 1995. The earlier model was one of the last applications of the BMW M30 inline-six engine. The V8 version, which replaced the six-cylinder 535i in the lineup, was powered by the new BMW M60 V8 engine and was available with a 5-speed manual or 5-speed automatic transmission. Initially, the V8 models were differentiated from other models by the wide grill; in 1994 the wide grill became available on other models. Between the two versions of the 530i, a total of 57,570 cars were produced.

The highest six-cylinder model (except for the M5) was the 535i. Despite the '535i' model designation and '3.5' casting on the intake manifold, the BMW M30 engine found in the E34 535i actually has a displacement of 3.4 L. There was also a 535i Sport model with M-technic body kit, boot spoiler with brake light, sport seats, M-Tech sports leather steering wheel (M-tech 1 for 1988-1989 cars, M-tech 2 for 1990–1992), M-technic suspension (M-tech springs, stiffer shocks, M-tech 25mm front stabilizer bar, M-tech 18mm rear stabilizer bar), a polished rocker cover and also a limited-slip differential (25% lock) as standard. A total of 97,679 cars were produced, including the Alpina B10 (BiTurbo, 3.5) models. The 535i was replaced by the V8-engined 530i and 540i models in 1993.

In 1993, the 540i model was added to the top of the 5 Series lineup, powered by the BMW M60 V8 engine and available in both sedan and wagon body styles (the latter not in US). Transmission options were a 6-speed manual or a 5-speed automatic. A total of 26,485 units were produced. Initially, the V8 models were differentiated from other models by the wider grilles. In 1994 the wide grilles became available on other models as well.

Diesel-engined
The first diesel model was the 524td, which was introduced in 1988. This model was replaced by the 525tds in 1991, and a lower-specification 525td was introduced in 1993. Only the 525tds model was fitted with an intercooler.

North America
In the United States, the E34 model range was launched in October 1988 with the 525i and 535i 6-cylinder models (for the 1989 model year). Over the course of the E34 generation, the 525i Touring, 530i, 530i Touring, 540i and M5 models were sold in the United States. The 3.6 L version of the M5 remained in production until 1993, by which time the 3.8 L version was being produced for other countries.

M5 model

Introduced in September 1988 and produced until August 1995, the E34 M5 was produced in both sedan and station wagon ('Touring') body styles, the latter being the first M5 to be available as a wagon.

The E34 M5 is powered by the BMW S38 inline-six engine, originally with a displacement of 3.6 litre and an output of 232 kW, later upgraded to a 3.8 litre engine rated at 250 kW. This 3.8 litre version of the M5 was first seen by the public at the 1991 Frankfurt Motor Show, where the E34 M5 Touring also saw its debut.

In its last year of production for the M5, the transmission was upgraded from a 5-speed manual to the Getrag 420G 6-speed manual (which was also used by the 540i model).

518g
A model which could run on natural gas (as well as petrol) and was only sold in Germany. The 518g was based on the 518i Touring model and the only transmission available was a 5-speed manual. The engine, also used by the 1995–2000 3 Series Compact 316g model, was a re-tuned version of the BMW M43 four-cylinder engine. When running on natural gas, the engine produced 73 kW, compared with 84 kW when running on petrol. It was only produced in 1995 and just 298 units were built.

518iev prototype
After unveiling the BMW E1 and E2 concept car electric vehicles in 1992, BMW began a project to show it was possible to make a full-sized electric car, despite the obstacle of the weight of the lead-acid battery technology at the time. The batteries were a lead-acid type and the electric motors used a rotating-field AC electric drive. To assist the electric drivetrain, the 518iev also had a four-cylinder petrol engine and a continuously variable transmission, a configuration similar to the first production hybrid cars produced by other manufacturers several years later. BMW built at least one fully functional E34 prototype, which was tested in the late 1990s by Deutsche Post and others.

540i M-sport / M540i / 540i LE
Because the M5 was discontinued for non-European markets in 1993, the 540i M-Sport model was built in 1995 for the North American market. On top of the regular 540i features, additional features included sports suspension equipped with EDC, bolstered sport seats, servotronic steering, and US-spec M5 brakes. 205 "M-Sport" models were built, 139 of them with the 6-speed manual transmission.

An M540i model was produced for in Canada. It includes the features of the North American 540i M-sport, plus upgraded Euro-spec M5 brakes, 18-inch M-parallel wheels, and various trim pieces. Only 32 of these cars were built, all with a manual transmission.

The 540i LE (i.e. Limited Edition) sedan was sold in Australia and the United Kingdom. The 540i LE included the interior from the M5, "throwing star" M-System II wheels, EDC suspension with self leveling rear, Servotronic power steering, and front air dam. 70 of these 540i LE sedans were produced, all with a manual transmission, each individually numbered using an engraved metal plaque stuck onto the centre console beneath the handbrake lever.

B10 3.0 AllRad
This model is based on the 525iX with an enlarged 3 litre engine producing 231bhp instead of 192bhp. Between 1993 and 1996 64 saloon cars and 70 Touring cars were produced by the Alpina factory in Buchloe with a very small number of right hand drive cars, 2 saloons and 1 Touring, converted by Sytner, the Alpina Dealer in Nottingham, England.

B10 3.5
This model is based on the 535i with a modified 3.5 litre engine producing 254bhp instead of 220bhp. Between 1988 and 1992 572 left hand drive cars were made in Buchloe, with perhaps 30 or so right hand converted by Sytner. The B10 3.5 was only supplied as a saloon car and no Touring cars were made.

B10 4.0
This model is based on the 540i with a modified 4 litre engine producing 315bhp instead of 286bhp. Between 1993 and 1995 45 saloon cars and 4 Touring cars were produced by Buchloe, all left hand drive, with a further two right hand drive saloon cars converted by Sytner.

B10 4.6
This model is based on the 540i with an Alpina designed 4.6 litre engine which was used also in the E36 Alpina B8 4.6. Between 1994 and 1996 27 saloon cars and 19 Touring cars were produced by Buchloe, all left hand drive except one right hand drive Touring car. With 7bhp more than the B8 4.6 (due to the larger exhaust manifold) it produces the same 340bhp as the E34 3.8 M5 Touring but with nearly 20% more torque. It was also available in right hand drive unlike the M5 Touring.

B10 BiTurbo

The B10 BiTurbo was based on a highly modified 535i and introduced in March 1989 after a $3.2million investment in R&D. Despite being nearly twice the price of a BMW M5 it sold well and production ceased in 1995 after 507 saloon models were made, and only after BMW ceased producing the M30 engine upon which the engine was based. It was not available in right hand drive due to the turbochargers placement or as a touring model. It produced 360bhp and 375lb/ft of torque on full boost, just 20bhp and 21lb/ft more than the B10 4.6. Along with the Lotus Carlton it was considered one of the fastest saloon cars in the world.

Model year changes
BMW E34 had no facelift as such. All updates were introduced gradually and sometimes were country specific. Most changes occur in September each year, when the changes for the following model year go into production, as is typical BMW practice. Therefore, the changes for 1988 represent the 1989 model year, for example.

1988

 * M5 model introduced
 * 524td diesel model introduced
 * 518i four-cylinder model introduced
 * Driver's side airbag introduced

1989

 * 520i engine updated to the BMW M50, the first model to use the new twin-cam straight-six engine

1990

 * 525i engine updated to the BMW M50 in some markets, 1991 in others.
 * 525iX all-wheel drive model introduced
 * 525tds diesel model introduced

1991

 * 525i engine updated to the BMW M50 in the US market.
 * Touring (station wagon/estate models) introduced: 520iT and 525iT.
 * Leather seat stitching pattern changed from double to single.
 * Steering columns and wheels changed from E30-compatible (22mm nut) to E36-compatible (16mm bolt).
 * New interior (wooden decor)

1992

 * 520i and 525i engines updated to the BMW M50TU, which added variable valve timing (VANOS)
 * V8 engines introduced in the 530i and 540i models. The V8 models adopted a wider grille than other models.
 * M5 engine enlarged from 3.6 litres to 3.8 litres
 * Revised exterior mirrors and hubcaps
 * Revised interior electrics, primarily with central locking. General Modules were black on early cars, green on later, and not interchangeable.
 * 525i manual transmission changed from ZF 310Z to Getrag 250G, US market only.

1993

 * 525td diesel model introduced
 * Last year for 535i six-cylinder model, marking the end of the 24-year production run of the M30 engine
 * 6-speed manual transmission available for 540i model (the first 6-speed manual available in a 5 Series), non-US markets.
 * ASC became available

1994

 * 518i engine upgraded from BMW M40 to BMW M43
 * M5 transmission upgraded from 5-speed manual to 6-speed manual
 * Wider grille (previously used for V8 models only) became available for other models, non-US markets.
 * US-market Touring models no longer equipped with self-leveling suspension as standard.
 * EWS 1 drive-away protection used in some models.

1995

 * All models equipped with wider grille and body-colour lower body trim (US market).
 * Interior materials revised: steering wheel slightly different design with colour emblem, door cards ruched/gathered leather and with different glue (more durable between panel and its vinyl/leather covering, less durable between panel and mounting clips).
 * EWS drive-away protection updated to EWS 2.
 * 540i available with 6-speed manual transmission for the US market, all with Sport seats and suspension.
 * 540i automatic and manual models equipped with 2.93 final drive, previously 2.81 (US market, at least).

Production
Production of the E34 commenced on November 2, 1987, for the 535i, with 535i market launch being in January 1988 and other variants following a staggered launch. 520i and 530i production began in January 1988, for March 1988 market launch. Production of the 525i began in February 1988, being launched to market in April 1988, with the 524td entering production in March 1988 for May 1988 introduction. Touring production began in November 1990. Production ended for the sedan in December 1995 and Touring in June 1996.

The production plants for the E34 were the Dingolfing plant in Germany and Rosslyn in South Africa. Total production was 1,333,412 units.

title: BMW 5 Series (E34)


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Roger Grimes

Roger D. Grimes (born May 2, 1950) is a Canadian politician from Newfoundland and Labrador. Grimes was born and raised in the central Newfoundland town of Grand Falls-Windsor.

Grimes is a former leader of the province's Liberal Party and was its eighth premier from February 2001 until November 2003.

A teacher by profession, Grimes was elected president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association in 1985, a position he held for two years.

Politics
In 1989, Grimes was elected to the House of Assembly representing Exploits district.

Grimes entered the cabinet of Premier Clyde Wells in 1991 as Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, followed by service as Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. Under Premier Brian Tobin, Grimes was by now a senior Minister and served in the portfolios of Education, Mines and Energy, and Health and Community Servies.

2001 NL Liberal Leadership Convention
Grimes won the 2001 Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador Leadership to become Party Leader, defeating John Efford by 14 votes in a fierce and divisive contest in Mount Pearl. Efford and fellow leadership contestant Paul Dicks subsequently left provincial politics saying they could not work under the leadership of Grimes.

Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
Grimes was sworn in as Premier on February 13, 2001. The same year he became Premier, the name of the province was officially changed to Newfoundland and Labrador.

In 2002, Grimes called for a review of the Act of Union by which the province had become a part of Canada and on July 2, 2003, the findings of the Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada were released. It noted the following stressors in the relationship between the province and Canada:

 * The huge impact on the province by the destruction of the cod stocks.
 * Hydroelectricity resources in Labrador have primarily benefited Quebec.
 * Chronically high unemployment; the highest in Canada.
 * Lowest per-capita income in Canada.
 * The highest tax rates in the country.
 * The most out-migration of any province in Canada.

The report called for:

 * more collaborative federalism;
 * an action team to deal with the fishery in waters surrounding Newfoundland;
 * collaboration between Canada, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador on the development of the Gull Island hydro site on the lower part of the Churchill River;
 * revision of the Atlantic Accord, negotiated by the provincial and federal governments in the 1980s, to ensure that offshore oil and gas royalties primarily benefit the province (this recommendation was one of the earliest priorities of Grimes' successor, Danny Williams);
 * immediate and realistic negotiations on joint management of the fishery.

Also in 2003, the federal government declared a moratorium on the last remaining cod fishery in Atlantic Canada in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Newfoundland and Labrador was again the most directly affected province. As Grimes was dealing with this issue, and others facing the province, time was soon running out on his tenure.

Despite his attempts to strike an image as a fresh government, Grimes and his Liberals were defeated in the October 2003 provincial election by the Progressive Conservatives under Danny Williams, bringing an end to 14 years of Liberal rule in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Retirement and later life
On May 30, 2005, Grimes resigned the seat he had held in the legislature for 16 years and stepped down as the leader of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador. He is quoted as saying that the time was right for him to retire from provincial politics. Gerry Reid became interim leader after Grimes announced his retirement.

In March 2011, the provincial Liberals held their first fundraiser of the year. The event was a roast of Grimes, called “Grimes and Punishment” and was held in St. John's.

Grimes was critical of the Lower Churchill Project and fellow Liberal Premier Dwight Ball. In June 2016, he was banned from the Capital Hyundai Arena after he made negative comments about the former Chair of Nalcor's Board of Directors, Ken Marshall (who had been involved in a scandal regarding payments from the provincial government). Marshall's brother, Steve Marshall, is the owner of the rink and made the decision following Grimes's comments.

Grimes was appointed to the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board for a six-year term effective April 10, 2018.

Honours

 * Canadian Version of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002).
 * Canadian Version of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).
 * Member of the Order of Canada (CM) 22 November 2019.

title: Roger Grimes


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Gustaf Skarsgård

Gustaf Caspar Orm Skarsgård (born 12 November 1980) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his roles in Evil (2003), The Way Back (2010), Kon-Tiki (2012), and Oppenheimer (2023). He also appeared in the HBO TV series Westworld (2018), as Merlin in the Netflix TV series Cursed (2020),  and as Floki in the History Channel series Vikings (2013–2020).

Early life
Skarsgård was born on 12 November 1980 in Stockholm, Sweden, to Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård and his first wife, My, a physician. He has five siblings: Alexander, Sam, Bill, Eija and Valter, and two half-brothers Ossian and Kolbjörn by his father's second marriage, to Megan Everett. Alexander, Bill, and Valter are also actors. His godfather is Swedish actor Peter Stormare. Gustaf decided to follow in his father's footsteps as an actor at the age of six and attended drama school.

Career
Skarsgård’s film debut was in 1989 in the short film Prima Ballerina, where he played a ballet pupil. The same year, Skarsgård starred in the Swedish Film Codename Coq Rouge. Gustaf Skarsgård continued with several children's and youth roles, for example, Min vän Percys magiska gymnastikskor (1994) and Skuggornas hus (1996).

He attended the Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting in Stockholm (Teaterhögskolan) from 1998 to 2003, before joining the Royal Dramatic Theatre, Stockholm. He played in several of Shakespeare’s, Chekhov's and Söderberg’s works both on the Royal Dramatic Theatre and on Stockholm City Theatre. In 2003 he performed in Evil and 2008 in Patrik 1,5. For both roles he was nominated for the Guldbagge Award as Best Supporting Actor and as Best Leading Actor. The same year he was awarded the Shooting Star at the Berlin International Film Festival. He finally won the Guldbagge as Best Leading Actor for his performance in Förortsungar.

In 2012, Skarsgård joined the History Channel's series Vikings in the main role of Floki, the shipbuilder. In 2018, he joined the cast of Westworld as Karl Strand for five episodes.

In March 2020, Skarsgård starred in a main role as Merlin, in Cursed, a Netflix original television series based on a re-imaging of the Arthurian legend.

Personal life
Gustaf Skarsgård was in a relationship with actress Hanna Alström from 1999 to 2005.

He is in a relationship with Caroline Sjöström. Their daughter was born in November 2020.

Awards and distinctions
Skarsgård won a Guldbagge Awards for Kidz In da Hood. He won the European Film Academy's Shooting Stars Award in 2007.

title: Gustaf Skarsgård


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Care Bears

Care Bears are multi-colored bears, painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. They were turned into plush teddy bears and featured in The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings (1983) and The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine (1984) before headlining their own television series called Care Bears from 1985 to 1988. They also had multiple feature films including: The Care Bears Movie (1985), Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986), and The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987).

Each Care Bear is a different colour or shade and has a unique image on their stomach (referred to in various media as a "belly badge" or "tummy symbol") that represents their personality. In addition to the Care Bear family are the "Care Bear Cousins", which feature Brave Heart Lion, Cozy Heart Penguin, Bright Heart Raccoon, Lotsa Heart Elephant, Gentle Heart Lamb, Loyal Heart Dog, Playful Heart Monkey, Proud Heart Cat, Swift Heart Rabbit, Treat Heart Pig and Noble Heart Horse created in the same style as the Care Bears.

In 2002, new plush versions of the bears were manufactured by Play Along Toys. This new artistic style featured in three animated films: Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot (2004), The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie (2005), and Care Bears: Oopsy Does It! (2007).

A revival TV series, Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot, premiered on The Hub on June 2, 2012, for one season. A continuation with the same characters, Care Bears and Cousins, was commissioned by Netflix and premiered in 2015. That year, toy company Just Play debuted a range of Care Bears toys (plush, figurines, and blind bag collectibles) based on the series.

The current TV series, Care Bears: Unlock the Magic, debuted on Boomerang SVOD on February 1, 2019, and has since tied in with a new toy line from Basic Fun.

Development
The Care Bears were created in 1981 by Elena Kucharik for the greeting card company American Greetings. Jack Chojnacki, the co-president of Those Characters From Cleveland (TCFC), introduced the first Care Bear to businessmen from American Greeting Cards and from the toy company Kenner in February 1981. On the employees' reaction to the toy, Chojnacki recalled in early 1985: "It had a high aaaaaah factor."

Artist Muriel Fahrion, who helped create Strawberry Shortcake's look, was among the franchise's first concept artists. Working with TCFC Creative VP Ralph Shaffer, Fahrion designed the first six bears, creating greeting card themes for their belly graphics. Susan Trentel, Muriel's sister and doll designer of Strawberry Shortcake, designed the Care Bears plush. Once out of the concept stage, children's book illustrator Elena Kucharik became the primary artist for the Care Bears, creating hundreds of full-color illustrations for cards, books and various licensed products. TCFC's team of artists and writers created many characters in the line in a joint development by TCFC and MAD (Marketing and Design Service of the toy group of General Mills).

American Greeting Cards kept the character program a secret until advertising was ready. At the start of the franchise, "Care Bears" was established as the project's working title.

1982 launch
On September 24, 1982, the Care Bears franchise was launched in New York City before members of the area's Society of Security Analysts. President Morry Weiss represented American Greetings; Jack Chojnacki and senior vice-president Henry Lowenthal from Cleveland represented Those Characters.

The characters were produced as a line of toys by Parker Brothers and Kenner the following spring on a $5–6 million advertising budget and a wholesale commitment worth $122.5 million (USD). American Greetings introduced the characters to the general public in February 1983, with an appearance at New York City's Toy Fair; 26 licensees were involved upon launch. Among them was General Mills, a food company which owned the board game manufacturer Parker Brothers. In early 1983, Parker Brothers released six books featuring the Care Bears as part of its publishing division's first offerings. On television, the original 10 Bears were featured in a syndicated special, Atkinson Film-Arts' The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings, produced and sponsored by Kenner.

In December 1983, American Greetings and CPG Products lost a lawsuit against Easter Unlimited, importers of a line known as "Message Bears". According to New York City judge Leonard B. Sand, those toys lacked the "heart-shaped 'touché tags'" used to identify the Care Bears.

In 1984, AGC introduced a spin-off line, the Care Bear Cousins. Another syndicated special, The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine, came out that same year. A miniseries based on the toys was distributed by Lexington Broadcast Services Company. A year later, the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins appeared in the first animated feature film The Care Bears Movie, produced by the Canadian Nelvana Limited and released by The Samuel Goldwyn Company. It became the highest-grossing animated film made outside the Disney market at the time of its release. Later that autumn, DIC Audiovisuel released an 11-episode television series in syndication, which incorporated elements from the Atkinson Film-Arts specials (with the specials' villains Professor Coldheart and his sidekick Frostbite appearing regularly, and some of the music from the specials being featured in the series) and the Nelvana film (with the Forest of Feelings, the home of the Care Bear Cousins, being a regular setting in the series).

In 1986, Nelvana returned to the franchise with a second film, Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation. Released by Columbia Pictures, the film featured a new villain, Dark Heart, and introduced more of the Care Bears and Care Bears Cousins: Harmony Bear, True Heart Bear, and Noble Heart Horse.

Later that year, the television series The Care Bears Family (also from Nelvana) premiered in mid-1986 on the U.S. ABC network and Canadian Global. Lasting three seasons and consisting of over 70 episodes, this introduced the evil wizard No Heart and his sidekick Beastly. In the second season, No Heart's niece Shreeky was introduced. It also added more development to the Care Bear characters, with issues such as conflict and depression being addressed through the characters themselves in some episodes.

Around the same time production for Care Bears Family was underway, Sally Industries (now known as Sally Dark Rides) obtained a license from American Greetings and Nelvana to develop an animatronic stage show based on the franchise. This show, known as Care Bears: Care-A-Lot Castle, was produced in-house at Sally's facilities and with no involvement from the crew behind the animated series. Out of the main cast at the time, only Cheer Bear, Funshine Bear, Tenderheart Bear, Bedtime Bear, Grumpy Bear, and Friend Bear were utilized. The characters of No Heart and Beastly appear through disembodied voices recorded into the show's soundtrack, but only in the original English version. A total of two shows were built by Sally under this agreement. The first installation was located at Dunia Fantasi, an Indonesian theme park, where the show was locally translated under the name Beruang Madu (Sun Bear) complete with a dubbed soundtrack for the 1987 season. The second installation was built for Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in the United States, which premiered a year later with the original English soundtrack. Both shows would operate until at least 1992, with Dorney Park's installation claimed to be destroyed when the park's license expired. Care Bears: Care-A-Lot Castle features songs like: The Best Day Ever Made Rainbow Full of Cheer Every Moment of the Day 2 is The Perfect Number

The Care Bears' third film, The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland, premiered in 1987. A holiday-themed television special, Care Bears Nutcracker Suite, which also served as the series finale for The Care Bears Family premiered on the Disney Channel in 1988.

Over 40 million Care Bears were sold between 1983 and 1987, and American Greetings printed over 70 million of their cards during the decade. In whole, the sales of their merchandise reached over $2 billion during the 1980s.

1991 relaunch (Caring About the Environment)
In 1991, Those Characters From Cleveland and Kenner embarked on a relaunch of the franchise, involving seven bears. One of these, Proud Heart Bear, is distinctly different from the Care Bear Cousin of a similar name, Proud Heart Cat. This character was released as a bear with white fur that sported the tummy symbol of a heart-shaped American flag. In 2003, Proud Heart Bear was rereleased as a collector's edition plush toy by Play Along under the name America Cares bear. The publishing company Random House released two tie-in books: The Care Bears and the Big Cleanup (1991) by Bobbi Katz, and The Care Bears and the Whale Tale (1992) by Peggy Kahn.

2002 relaunch
In 1999, the rights to the Care Bears franchise were bought by Jay Foreman, the president of Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Play Along Toys, for less than $1 million; he also planned to acquire fellow American Greeting Cards property Strawberry Shortcake. Three years later, Kenton Avery Frederick American Greetings relaunched the Care Bear brand as part of the Bears' 20th-anniversary celebration with a series of plush toys and films. The artwork and design of the bears were changed for the relaunch. Also, Champ Bear's colors were changed from tan/yellow to true blue, with his belly symbol changed to a winner's cup with a star, and Share Bear's belly symbol was changed from a milkshake with two straws to two lollipops crossed. The change to Share Bear's symbol stems from Play Along Toys' suggestion of the change because sharing a milkshake may spread germs. Apart from that, many other minor changes were made to the designs, mostly involving lightening or saturating the colors of the bears and minor redesigns to the belly symbols.

During this revival, Play Along released brand new toys based on the newly redesigned Bears, sold at stores such as Walmart, Kmart, Toys "R" Us, Target, KB Toys, and Mervyns. The new merchandise included the Bears doing aerobics; Tenderheart Bear as a patient (casting the child who is playing with the toy as the doctor); Champ Bear as a fireman; and the Care Bears themselves as Cubs. Over 70 million 13 in plush Bears have been sold since the re-launch.

New versions of the Care Bear Cousins were produced (with Proud Heart Cat sporting a different color and the same symbol she had in the 1980s franchise). Two of the Cousins, Treat Heart Pig and Noble Heart Horse, were never produced as 13-inch plush toys in the 2000s, and the Care Bear Cousins were not relaunched in the 2007 relaunch of the franchise.

In April 2003, it was announced that a new CGI-animated movie from Nelvana, The Care Bears in King Funshine the Great, had been acquired by Artisan Entertainment for US distribution. The movie was eventually renamed Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot and was released on October 5, 2004 by Lions Gate Home Entertainment, as they had acquired Artisan by this point, with International distribution done through Universal Studios Home Video. Another CGI-animated movie, The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie, would be released a year later. Another CGI-animated movie from Nelvana also was planned, but later scrapped.

2007 relaunch
In 2006, AG Properties announced that to coincide with the franchise's 25th-anniversary celebrations, the Care Bears would be given a new, refreshed look with a new TV series and a feature-length movie titled, Care Bears: Oopsy Does It! to be released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment during 2007. It also was announced that AG had acquired all of Nelvana's Care Bears projects along the way.

The new look was done by the American Greetings Properties illustration team, alongside a new logo. Fifteen of the 39 bears were represented in this new look, while five of them were chosen to be the focus of the franchise: Cheer Bear, Funshine Bear, Grumpy Bear, Share Bear, and new-addition, Oopsy Bear. In August 2007, Oopsy Does It! was given a limited theatrical release by Kidtoon Films. Essentially a pilot to the traditionally-animated television series, Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-Lot, the movie was made to introduce the new look to the public audience. The TV series itself would premiere on CBS on September 15, 2007, as part of the block KEWLopolis, a joint-run block by AG and DIC Entertainment, with both the movie and series being produced by SD Entertainment. A new theme song was created, known as We Are the Care Bears, and was performed by former Letters to Cleo member Kay Hanley. The associated music video premiered on Fox, Nickelodeon and MuchMusic.

As the 2007 era was a reboot, prior plot devices, like the Cloudmobiles, the Caring Meter, the Cloud Keeper and Care-a-Lot Castle, were neither referred to nor mentioned in the new series. In its place is the Gathering Tree, which is where the Care Bears now gather to meet or hold festivities. Also, the Care Bears had never had humans visit Care-a-Lot Castle, and so a new villain named Grizzle (who seeks to conquer Care-a-Lot and nothing else) was introduced. A February, 2007 article in The Wall Street Journal states that in the new version, "they live in a village, centered on a big tree, with no castle in sight".

In mid-2008, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released two DVDs, Grizzle-y Adventures and Ups and Downs. These DVDs each contained two special DVD-exclusive episodes, which brought back Humans and the Care-O-Meter. The latter also included a passing remark regarding the Forest of Feelings. Care-a-Lot Castle also reappeared in the educational video game Care Bears: Play Day, for the V-Smile Baby.

On July 23, 2008, American Greetings announced that the Care Bears (along with Strawberry Shortcake and Sushi Pack) would be sold to Cookie Jar Entertainment in an acquisition due to take place on September 30, 2008. By April 2009, it was announced that Cookie Jar Entertainment had problems in financing the acquisition and that a French company called MoonScoop has also expressed interest in the franchise. The deadline for Cookie Jar's acquisition was April 30, and MoonScoop's attempt June 7. In mid-August 2009, MoonScoop sued American Greetings, claiming the latter backed out of the planned $95 million-dollar deal; AGC and Cookie Jar sued each other in the process as well. By late April 2010, the Cleveland company "won summary judgement on MoonScoop SAS' contract", as well as "promissory estoppel claims" in the case; MoonScoop filed for an appeal the following month. At the end of November, 2012, the U.S. District Court in Cleveland ruled in favor of American Greetings over MoonScoop.

In late 2009, American Greetings announced that the Care Bears would be re-imagined with the launch of a new series, Care Power Team. This series would have the bears sport "enhanced belly badges", and see them taking on emergencies. Although such a series never occurred, the Care Power Team format was used for three new CGI-animated movies – Care Bears: To the Rescue, Care Bears: The Giving Festival, and Care Bears: Share Bear Shines, which were released in 2010 and 2011.

In that same year, it was announced that the master rights to the toys for the Care Bears had changed hands from Play Along Toys to Hasbro.

2012 relaunch
In July 2011, American Greetings announced that another brand refresh and a new television series was in development to coincide with the franchise's 30th anniversary, and would be the first to be animated in CGI animation. The central cast of Bears changed again, this time focusing on Tenderheart Bear, Cheer Bear, Share Bear, Grumpy Bear, Funshine Bear, Harmony Bear, and new addition, Wonderheart Bear.

The series was entitled Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot, which was produced by MoonScoop's US studio and premiered on The Hub on June 2, 2012.

In December 2013, AG Properties and Mindworks Entertainment announced that they would collaborate with Sanrio for a co-branding with the character franchise Little Twin Stars. An expanded roll-out was expected in March 2014.

In July 2014, it was announced that Hasbro lost the rights to making the toys to another toy company, Just Play.

In October, 2014, when The Hub changed over to Discovery Family, Welcome to Care-A-Lot was cancelled.

After The Hub cancelled Welcome to Care-a-Lot, on January 15, 2015, Netflix commissioned a new TV series called Care Bears & Cousins. This series was basically a continuation of Welcome to Care-a-Lot, but with the reintroduction of four of the Care Bear Cousins – Brave Heart Lion, Lotsa Heart Elephant, Cozy Heart Penguin and Bright Heart Raccoon. The series was expected to premiere in 2016, but the release was pushed forward to November 2015 when it premiered with six episodes. It was followed by another six episodes. As with Welcome to Care-a-Lot, then-renamed Splash Entertainment did the animation for this series.

In 2017, the franchise celebrated its 35th anniversary.

2019 relaunch
In May 2018, an advertisement showcased at the Licensing Expo (a licensing trade show) showcased new redesigns of the Care Bears. Eventually, this was confirmed by the then-rebranded Cloudco Entertainment in September 2018, when they announced they would be making a new television series, titled Care Bears: Unlock the Magic. For the first time in a Care Bears series, the setting is set outside of Care-a-Lot in a mysterious world known as the Silver Lining, populated by creatures known as the Whiffles. The main 5 Bears for this incarnation were Grumpy, Cheer, Share, Funshine and Good Luck, with the series also featuring the main Whiffle character known as Dibble, serving as "the team's newest pet and companion".

The series premiered on the Boomerang premium streaming service on February 1, 2019; however, the first episode was released on January 28, 2019. The series order included 48 11-minute regular episodes, two 22-minute specials and 20 shorts.

For the 2019 International Day of the Girl, humanitarian organization CARE had celebrities design one-of-a-kind Care Bears and place them up for auction to benefit the charity. Sophia Bush based Justice Bear on Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

In 2020, Basic Fun released a new Care Bears line of toys in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. In 2024, Basic Fun filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company will use bankruptcy proceedings to repay its creditors while remaining in operation.

Characters
The franchise consists mainly of the Care Bears themselves, as well as the later additions the Care Bear Cousins. Both of these groups live in the Kingdom of Caring, which is made up of Care-a-Lot (the home of the Care Bears proper) and the Forest of Feelings (the home of the Care Bear Cousins). In 1989, Carole Ashkinaze of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution referred to them as "the whimsical, late 20th-century descendents [sic] of what we used to know as guardian angels: furry, friendly, adorable creatures whose mission is to guide small children and protect them from bogeymen".

Accompanying them are the Star and Heart Buddies, who look out for the Bears and Cousins whenever they are on missions of caring; and the Birds, who are usually seen in the Forest of Feelings with the Care Bear Cousins and who watch over them. A less recurring character is The Cloud Keeper, the portly gentleman who maintains Care-a-Lot.

The 10 original Care Bears consist of Bedtime Bear, Birthday Bear, Cheer Bear, Friend Bear, Funshine Bear, Good Luck Bear, Grumpy Bear, Love-a-Lot Bear, Tenderheart Bear, and Wish Bear. Later on, additional bears joined them, as well as the Cousins.

For the 2007 TV series, Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-Lot, five of the Care Bears were chosen to be the main characters of the TV series. As seen on the Care Bears website, they are Share Bear, Cheer Bear, Funshine Bear, Grumpy Bear, and the new bear introduced in the film, Oopsy Bear, a Care Bear who would frequently make a mess of things. However, the other Care Bears still make appearances in the series. The unofficial role of leader of the bears, as of the new series, was transferred from Tenderheart Bear to Cheer Bear. The Cousins were not relaunched in the 2007 series.

Some elements of the Care Bears franchise pay homage to the legend of King Arthur. For example, the name of the main characters' residence, Care-a-Lot, is a play on King Arthur's legendary Camelot castle. The Care Bear Family sits around a heart-shaped table, similar to the Round Table used by Arthur and his knights. In addition, Sir Lancelot's name inspired that of Love-a-Lot Bear.

Throughout the films and various TV series, various villains have tried to stop the Bears and Cousins in the background on their missions and rid the world of the love and caring the Care Bears and the Cousins use. On the first two specials and DiC TV series, they battled against Professor Coldheart, his assistant Frostbite, and occasionally Auntie Freeze; in Nelvana's version, they faced the wizard No Heart, his bumbling assistant Beastly, and his ill-tempered niece Shreeky, and minor villains such as Dr. Fright and Sour Sam. In the films, they went up against Nicholas and the Evil Spirit in The Care Bears Movie, Dark Heart in Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation, The Wizard of Wonderland and his assistants Dim and Dum in The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland, and the Rat King and the Evil Vizier in Care Bears Nutcracker Suite. Following the 2002 revival, Sir Funnybone the rat was introduced as a villain in the film Care Bears Journey to Joke-a-lot, while The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie broke from tradition in that it did not have a villain. For the 2007 revival, the new film Care Bears: Oopsy Does It! introduced new villains, Grizzle and WingNut, who persist into the TV series, Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-lot. Additional Care Bears introduced in Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot are Wonderheart Bear and Great Giving Bear.

Magic spells
The Care Bears' ultimate weapon is the "Care Bear Stare", in which the collected Bears stand together and radiate light from their respective tummy symbols. These combine to form a ray of love and good cheer which can bring care and joy into the target's heart, break dark spells, or revive something that has been broken, wilted, or messed up. The Care Bear Stare has several different looks. One has a beam coming from the tummy being made up of several replicated images of the symbol. Another variation forms a rainbow when multiple Care Bears and/or Care Bear Cousins are involved. A yellow beam with red hearts is sometimes seen as well. The films Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-lot and The Care Bears' Big Wish Movie do not feature the Care Bear Stare, but it does return in Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!. In the new TV series, Care Bears Adventures in Care-a-lot, the Care Bear Stare appears as a beam of light in the color of the bear from which it originates.

In the original animated specials and the DiC TV series, the Care Bear Stare is initiated by the phrase "Care Bears...prepare to stare!" while in the Nelvana series and later versions it is initiated by the phrase "Care Bears Countdown!"

The Care Bear Cousins have their own variant of the Stare called the Care Cousin Call. In the DiC series, the Call looks identical to the Stare in appearance. In The Care Bears Movie, the Cousins made whatever animal noise according to their species due to not possessing tummy symbols; those were given to them by Tenderheart at the end of the movie. In Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation, the Call has the effect of a multicolored musical score. By the Nelvana series, the Call was no longer referred to and the cousins simply performed the Care Bear Stare.

Although commonly used on villains, the stare and call also have been used on humans and the Care Bears themselves. It was occasionally used in the DiC TV series to cure Care Bears and humans who were under the effects of Professor Coldheart's uncaring magic. It also occurred once in Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-Lot, when it was used to temporarily cheer up Grumpy Bear in the episode "Tell-Tale Tummy".

In addition to the Care Bear Stare, the Care Bears also can use their tummy symbols to summon other assistance, such as heart-shaped balloons, cloud cars, rainbow bridges, and sending out a distress signal.

Usually, a tummy symbol's power is initiated by will, but in Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-Lot, a Care Bear has to rub its tummy to activate it. By Welcome to Care-a-lot, the belly badges activate by will once again, though the bears may rub their belly to activate it on occasion.

Merchandise
Apart from toys, books, greeting cards, and animated media, the Care Bears have been prominently featured in merchandising as well, some of which includes gummy bears, party goods, cell phone covers, interior decoration sets, stationery, school supplies, stickers, clothing, accessories and many other goods. During the early 2000s relaunch, the classic Care Bear toys were available at stores such as Carlton Cards, Claire's, and Spencer Gifts.

When the franchise was introduced in the 1980s, a mistake was made while manufacturing the stuffed animals causing Bedtime Bear (blue) and Wish Bear (aqua) to swap colors. As soon as the mistake was discovered, the two Care Bears returned into their appropriate colors. Later, a children's story was written explaining why the bears had switched colors.

In his 1986 essay, The Shortcake Strategy, Tom Englehardt referred to the Care Bears dolls as "highly specialized" toys. "So specialized [are they] that instead of being complex individual personalities, they are no more than carefully labeled fragments of a personality", he stated. "Together, they must engage in a series of specialized interventions as complex as those of any real-life medical unit."

Books
Many children's books have been based on, and featured, the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins. Some early publications include Meet the Care Bear Cousins, Sweet Dreams for Sally, The Witch Down the Street, The Trouble with Timothy, and A Sister for Sam. All of these titles were published by toy-maker Parker Brothers, who was a licensee of the characters. Over 45 million Care Bears books were sold during the 1980s. As of 2006, Scholastic Press had published books based on the Bears' first two CGI films, as well as the new toys, while Modern Publishing publishes a small number of activity and baby books featuring the Bears for the toddler market. Publications International and Penny Candy Press also are known to have published a few sound books featuring the Bears in the past.

In Playing by Different Rules, a 1988 book chronicling the Parker Brothers/General Mills merger, Ellen Wojahn wrote that Parker's Care Bears books (along with those based on sister property Strawberry Shortcake) "were, in fact, little more than illustrated brochures for Kenner's projects—and who knew [by 1984] how long the likes of these characters would remain popular?"

Comics
Between November 1985 and January 1989, the Care Bears appeared in a 20-issue comic book series published under Marvel's Star Comics imprint and featured art by Howard Post. Issue #13 (from November 13, 1986) featured a crossover with another American Greetings property, Madballs.

During the same period, in Great Britain, the Care Bears also appeared in a comic book series published by Marvel UK with artwork by Mario Capaldi. The periodic comics were later bundled into hardcover Care Bear Annual books. Some of these U.K. comic book issues also had stories and art from the U.S. comic series.

A comic book based on the Care Bears: Unlock the Magic was announced by IDW Publishing in March 2019. It was released in July 2019.

Music
During the 1980s, Kid Stuff Records released several LP's based on the franchise. Introducing the Care Bears was released in 1982. In 1983, four more LP's were also introduced: The Care Bears Care for You, Adventures in Care-a-Lot, The Care Bears Off To See The World and The Care Bears' Christmas. The Care Bears' Birthday Party was released the following year in 1984. In 1986, Friends Make Everything Better was released as a promotion with Triaminic cough medicine. They also released the soundtrack albums for the first films. The albums based on the toys were best sellers in children's music during this time.

All of the albums from 1982 and 1983 featured writing, production, and performance credits from Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan. The soundtrack album from The Care Bears Movie featured songs by Carole King and John Sebastian.

In the 2002 revival, Madacy Kids released new Care Bear CD's. In 2004, Meet the Care Bears, Care Bears Holiday Hugs, Care Bears Christmas Eve, and the Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-Lot soundtrack album was released. In 2005, Care Bears Nighty-Night was released. Music students at Roger Williams University were invited to submit to the soundtrack, but such submissions ultimately were not included.

Video games
A Care Bears video game was planned for the Atari 2600 in 1983. Preliminary production was completed and ready for beta testing, but the project was cancelled before testing could begin – largely due to uninteresting gameplay and the diminishing video game market, which resulted in the video game crash of 1983. The beta prototype subsequently disappeared into obscurity and the only known existing prototype to date is an early alpha of the video game. No other video games featuring the Care Bears were made during this period.

In 2004, the Care Bears starred in their first official game, Care-a-Lot Jamboree, for the PC. A few months later, another game featuring the Care Bears for the PC, Let's Have a Ball! was released. In the same year, they were featured in Care Bears A Lesson in Caring for the V.Smile educational game console.

In 2005, they appeared in Catch a Star (also for the PC) and Care Bears: Care Quest (for the Game Boy Advance).

In August, 2008 a new game, Care Bears Play Day, was released for the V.Smile Baby Infant Development System.

A new interactive toy, Care Bears Share-a-Story, was introduced by Play Along in July 2005. Based upon a concept similar to Teddy Ruxpin, the Care Bear's head, mouth and eyes move around as a cartridge plays fairy tales, such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk, and The Three Little Pigs. A hardback book version of the story accompanied it so that parent and child could read along as the story played. The toy shipped with the story, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, while additional story cartridges and books could be purchased separately.

Care Bears Sing-Along pals also were introduced. These Care Bears plush toys sing three different songs while their heads rock back and forth and can synchronize wirelessly with other singing Care Bears of the series to sing together in a group. While initially introduced in a rather large variety of designs, at the moment only the Share Bear, Cheer Bear, and Funshine Bear models are still being made, with the physical appearance of the bears redesigned to match the 25th anniversary looks.

title: Care Bears


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Alexander Skarsgård

Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (born 25 August 1976) is a Swedish actor. Born in Stockholm, son of actor Stellan Skarsgård, he began acting at age seven but quit at 13. After serving in the Swedish Navy, Skarsgård returned to acting and gained his first role in the US comedy film Zoolander (2001). He played Brad Colbert in the miniseries Generation Kill (2008), and had his breakthrough for portraying vampire Eric Northman in the television series True Blood (2008–2014).

After appearing in films such as Melancholia (2011), Battleship (2012) and The Legend of Tarzan (2016), Skarsgård starred in the drama series Big Little Lies (2017–2019) as an abusive husband, which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He went on to appear in the films Long Shot (2019), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), Passing (2021), The Northman (2022), and Infinity Pool (2023), and played Randall Flagg in the miniseries The Stand (2020–2021) and tech mogul Lukas Matsson in the drama series Succession (2021–2023) for which he was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards and one Golden Globe Award.

Early life
Skarsgård was born on 25 August 1976 in Stockholm, Sweden. He is the eldest son of actor Stellan Skarsgård and physician My Skarsgård. His parents are divorced. He has five younger siblings: Gustaf, Sam, Bill, Eija and Valter, and two half-brothers from his father's second wife, Megan Everett. Gustaf, Bill and Valter are also actors.

A friend of his father, a director, gave Skarsgård his first film role when he was seven years old, playing Kalle Nubb in Åke and His World (Åke och hans värld). In 1989, his lead role in the Swedish television production Hunden som log (The Dog That Smiled) earned him praise and brought him to prominence in Sweden at age 13. Uncomfortable with the fame, he quit acting at that same age.

At age 19, Skarsgård applied to perform his national service. He served in the Swedish Navy's SäkJakt ("protect and hunt") unit that dealt with anti-sabotage and anti-terrorism in the Stockholm archipelago, for 18 months. After completing his service in 1996, he left Sweden and attended Leeds Metropolitan University in England for six months. He enrolled to study English but admits he did not study much and "had a blast" instead. While there, he considered pursuing an architecture career, but chose acting instead. In 1997, he enrolled in a theatre course at Marymount Manhattan College and moved to New York City. He returned to Stockholm after six months, but his time studying theatre confirmed to him that he wanted to act.

2001–2009: Career beginnings and television breakthrough
On his return to Sweden, Skarsgård began landing roles in film, television and theatrical productions. While vacationing in the United States, he auditioned for and obtained the part of a mindless model in the 2001 film Zoolander, his first role in an American film. In 2003, his performance in Hundtricket-the Movie (The Dog Trick) earned him an Guldbagge Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He was named the Sexiest Man in Sweden five times.

He moved to Los Angeles in 2004 but continued to work in Sweden. His break came when he was cast as US Marine Brad Colbert in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill. An adaptation of journalist Evan Wright's book of the same name, Generation Kill follows the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps during the early part of the Iraq War. Director Susanna White wanted to cast him, but executive producer David Simon was not convinced he could do a convincing American accent. After four auditions in three cities, Skarsgård learned the role was his just 36 hours before he had to board a plane for Namibia where the project was filming. The cast and crew spent seven months in the desert there, shooting six days a week. Skarsgård worked with a dialect coach to master the American accent.

Just before leaving to shoot Generation Kill, Skarsgård heard about the development of True Blood, an HBO series based on the Southern Vampire Mysteries novels by Charlaine Harris, which chronicle the coexistence of humans and vampires in a town in Louisiana. Though initially reluctant about playing a vampire, he sent an audition tape for the role of Bill Compton on learning that screenwriter Alan Ball was behind the project. Skarsgård had been a fan of Ball's series Six Feet Under and film American Beauty. The role went to Stephen Moyer, but Skarsgård was cast as Eric Northman, a 1,000-year-old Nordic vampire. Northman first appeared in the first season's fourth episode, and the role brought Skarsgård to prominence. To inform his portrayal, he studied the work of actors Max Schreck and Bela Lugosi and the film Nosferatu. He said that playing Northman appealed to his preference for characters who were not simply diabolical or righteous. True Blood ran on HBO from 2008 to 2014, receiving mixed reviews.

In 2009, Skarsgård appeared in the music video for pop singer Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi". He was the voice of Stefan in the 2009 animated film Metropia, directed by Tarik Saleh. In 2010, Skarsgård portrayed Terje, a gay Norwegian trekking to the North Pole, in the British mockumentary Beyond the Pole. Suit-maker Hickey Freeman chose Skarsgård to model a new look it debuted in 2010. Annie Leibovitz photographed the ad campaign, which appeared in The Wall Street Journal Magazine, GQ and Details. Skarsgård appeared on the cover of the September 2010 issue of Rolling Stone with his True Blood co-stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer.

2011–present: Film and television success
In 2011, Skarsgård starred in Melancholia, a film directed by Lars von Trier. He portrayed a newlywed alongside Kirsten Dunst as his wife in the film, which premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and also co-stars his father. That same year, he appeared in Straw Dogs, a remake of the 1971 film of the same name, as Charlie Venner. The remake's director, Rod Lurie, transferred the small town setting from Cornwall to Mississippi and described Venner as "an ex-football star gone to seed". The film co-starred James Marsden and Kate Bosworth, and was released 16 September 2011.

In 2012, Skarsgård appeared alongside Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna in Peter Berg's Battleship, an adaptation of the Hasbro game. Negatively reviewed by critics, the film had a dismal performance at the box office. He also appeared alongside Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan in Scott McGehee and David Siegel's film What Maisie Knew, an adaptation of the Henry James novel of the same name. He was also part of the ensemble cast in Henry Alex Rubin's thriller Disconnect, playing opposite Paula Patton. Skarsgård starred alongside Brit Marling and Elliot Page in Zal Batmanglij's 2013 film The East. He appeared in the film The Diary of a Teenage Girl as a man who begins an affair with his girlfriend's underage daughter. It was released in August 2015. In addition to being intentional about finding nuances in the character's predatory quality, Skarsgård admitted his excitement about playing the role "without justifying or condoning" his behavior. He starred in the 2016 film The Legend of Tarzan, portraying the title character, opposite Margot Robbie as Jane. Skarsgård worked out for 7 months to prepare for the part. The film did not generate success at the box office. It received mixed reviews, with Skarsgård's performance garnering praise. He next portrayed a deviant policeman in the black comedy film War on Everyone, which was released that same year.

From 2017 to 2019, Skarsgård starred in the drama series Big Little Lies as Perry Wright, an abusive husband to Nicole Kidman's character, Celeste. He described his character as violent due to internal conflicts involving his insecurities about needing his wife. The series earned universal acclaim. Reviewing the first-season finale, The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg found Skarsgård's performance "utterly chilling". Skarsgård won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie in 2017 for the role. He starred in the science fiction film Mute as a silent bartender in a futuristic society, which was released in February 2018. Later that year, he starred as a secretive man in The Little Drummer Girl, a miniseries that chronicles political violence in Europe in 1979. It received positive reviews. In 2019, he portrayed a sensitive German architect in The Aftermath, a film set in 1946 post-war Hamburg. He appeared in the romantic-comedy Long Shot as the prime minister of Canada. Critics were fond of the film, with The Guardian's Kristy Puchko commending Skarsgård in the minor role and how he "makes a meal out of it". Released in May 2019, it had an unsuccessful commercial performance.

Skarsgård starred in The Stand, a CBS All Access miniseries based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Stephen King, portraying Randall Flagg, a charming demon. It ran from December 2020 to February 2021. He next starred in the 2021 monster film Godzilla vs. Kong, which earned positive reviews and commercial success. Skarsgård recurred during the third season of the comedy-drama series Succession as tech mogul Lukas Matsson, for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. He portrayed Amleth in the epic film The Northman. Released in April 2022, the film garnered favorable reviews, with Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair deeming Skarsgård "a fine vessel for the film's opulent menace". In 2023, Skarsgård starred in the thriller Infinity Pool, and returned as Lukas Matsson for the fourth and final season of Succession. For his role as Matsson, Skarsgård was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2023.

Personal life
A football fan, Skarsgård supports Hammarby Fotboll, a club based in Stockholm, his birth city. In October 2010, he donated several autographed items to "Bajen Aid", the club's fundraising auction. In July 2011, he received an honorary degree from Leeds Metropolitan University, which he had attended. He identifies as a feminist.

Skarsgård was the Ambassador for the American team for a Walking With The Wounded fundraising event for wounded soldiers. He trekked to the South Pole against Team UK (Prince Harry, Ambassador) and Team Canada/Australia (actor Dominic West, Ambassador). A few days into the trek, it was decided that the competition part would be cancelled due to hazardous terrain and weather conditions, so the teams combined forces and continued together, and all three successfully reached the South Pole on 13 December 2013. Skarsgård is in a relationship with Swedish actress Tuva Novotny, and in 2022, the couple welcomed their first child.

title: Alexander Skarsgård


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Arantxa Sánchez Vicario

Aránzazu Isabel María "Arantxa" Sánchez Vicario (born 18 December 1971) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player in both singles and doubles. She won 14 Grand Slam titles: four in singles, six in women's doubles, and four in mixed doubles. She also won four Olympic medals and five Fed Cup titles representing Spain. In 1994, she was crowned the ITF World Champion for the year.

Career
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario started playing tennis at the age of four, when she followed her older brothers Emilio Sánchez and Javier Sánchez (both of whom became professional players) to the court and hit balls against the wall with her first racquet. As a 17-year-old, she became the youngest winner of the women's singles title at the 1989 French Open, defeating World No. 1 Steffi Graf in the final. (Monica Seles broke the record the following year when she won the title at age 16.)

Sánchez Vicario quickly developed a reputation on the tour for her tenacity and refusal to concede a point. Commentator Bud Collins described her as "unceasing in determined pursuit of tennis balls, none seeming too distant to be retrieved in some manner and returned again and again to demoralize opponents" and nicknamed her the "Barcelona Bumblebee".

She won six women's doubles Grand Slam titles, including the US Open in 1993 (with Helena Suková) and Wimbledon in 1995 (with Jana Novotná). She also won four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. In 1991, she helped Spain win its first-ever Fed Cup title, and helped Spain win the Fed Cup in 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1998. Sánchez Vicario holds the records for the most matches won by a player in Fed Cup competition (72) and for most ties played (58). She was ITF world champion in 1994 in singles. She was also a member of the Spanish teams that won the Hopman Cup in 1990 and 2002.

Over the course of her career, she won 29 singles titles and 69 doubles titles before retiring in November 2002. She came out of retirement in 2004 to play doubles in a few select tournaments as well as the 2004 Summer Olympics, where she became the only tennis player to play in five Olympics in the Games' history. Sánchez Vicario was the most decorated Olympian in Spanish history with four medals—two silver and two bronze. Her medal count has since been surpassed by David Cal and Saúl Craviotto with five medals each.

In 2005, TENNIS magazine ranked her in 27th place in its list of 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era and in 2007, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was only the third Spanish player (and the first Spanish woman) to be inducted.

In 2009, Sánchez Vicario was present at the opening ceremony of Madrid's Caja Mágica, the new venue for the Madrid Masters. The second show court is named Court Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in her honour.

Personal life
She has been married twice: her first marriage to the sports writer Juan Vehils in July 2000 ended in 2001. She then married businessman Josep Santacana in September 2008, with whom she has a daughter (born 2009) and son (born 2011). In 2019, Sánchez Vicario and Santacana divorced.

In 2012, Sánchez Vicario published an autobiography in which she claimed that, despite having earned $60 million over the course of her career, her parents had exerted almost total control over her finances and lost all of her money. The same year, Sánchez Vicario sued her father and older brother Javier for the alleged mishandling of her career earnings. The court case continued over three years, and in 2015 concluded in a private settlement.

She has faced multiple court proceedings relating to charges of tax evasion and fraud. In 2009, Sánchez Vicario was found guilty of tax evasion and ordered to repay €3.5 million. In 2015, Banque de Luxembourg successfully filed complaint against her for credit and property fraud amounting to $5.2 million; however, they were unable to recoup it. In 2018, Sánchez Vicario was once again charged with fraud, for deliberately misleading the courts on her financial set-up during the previous case. As of 2021, Barcelona prosecutors are seeking a four-year jail term for Sánchez Vicario, due to further allegations of fraud relating to the transfer of assets to avoid paying her debts from a previous lawsuit. In 2024, she received a suspended sentence.

As well as tennis-playing siblings Javier and Emilio, Sánchez Vicario also has an older sister—Marisa—who briefly played professional tennis, peaking at world no. 368 in 1990.

Singles: 2 medals (1 silver medal, 1 bronze medal)
Note: ''Arantxa Sánchez Vicario lost in the semi-finals to Jennifer Capriati 3–6, 6–3, 1–6. In 1992, there was no bronze medal play-off match, both beaten semi-final players received bronze medals''

title: Arantxa Sánchez Vicario


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User:Red-Pencil

I registered Winkipedia in Japanese, 16-Jan-2004. My User-Name A Red pencil ( 赤鉛筆 ) in Japanese means a calibration in English. SandBox &

title: User:Red-Pencil