text:
Andy Williams

Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a television variety show, from 1962 to 1971, along with numerous TV specials. The Andy Williams Show won three Emmy Awards. He sold more than 45 million records worldwide, including more than 10 million certified units in the United States.

Williams was active in the music industry for over 70 years until his death in September 2012 from bladder cancer, at the age of 84.

Early life and education
Williams was born in Wall Lake, Iowa on December 3 1927, to Florence (née Finley) and Jay Emerson Williams, who worked in insurance and the post office. While living in Cheviot, Ohio, Williams attended Western Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. He finished high school at University High School, in West Los Angeles, because of his family's move to California. At 17, Williams joined the United States Merchant Marine and served until the end of World War II.

1938–1952: Early career
Williams had three older brothers—Bob, Don, and Dick Williams. His first performance was in a children's choir at the local Presbyterian church. His brothers and he formed the Williams Brothers quartet in late 1938, and they performed on radio in the Midwest, first at WHO in Des Moines, Iowa, and later at WLS in Chicago, and WLW in Cincinnati.

Moving to Los Angeles in 1943, the Williams Brothers sang with Bing Crosby on his 1944 hit record "Swinging on a Star". They appeared in four musical films: Janie (1944), Kansas City Kitty (1944), Something in the Wind (1947), and Ladies' Man (1947).

A persistent myth alleges that as a teenager, the future singing star dubbed the singing for Lauren Bacall's character in the 1944 feature film To Have and Have Not. According to authoritative sources, including Howard Hawks and Bacall herself, this was not true. Williams and some female singers were tested to dub for Bacall because of fears that she lacked the necessary vocal skills, but those fears were overshadowed by the desire to have Bacall do her own singing despite her imperfect vocal talent.

The Williams Brothers were signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) to appear in Anchors Aweigh and Ziegfeld Follies (1945), but before they went before the cameras the oldest brother, Bob, was drafted into military service and the group's contract was cancelled. Kay Thompson, a former radio star who was now head of the vocal department at MGM, had a nose for talent and hired the remaining three Williams brothers to sing in her large choir on many soundtracks for MGM films, including The Harvey Girls (1946). When Bob completed his military service, Kay hired all four brothers to sing on the soundtrack to Good News (1947).

By then, Thompson was tired of working behind the scenes at MGM, so with the four Williams boys as her backup singers and dancers, she formed a nightclub act, Kay Thompson and the Williams Brothers. They made their debut in Las Vegas in 1947 and became an overnight sensation. Within a year, they were the highest-paid nightclub act in the world, breaking records wherever they appeared.

Williams revealed in his memoir Moon River and Me that Thompson and he  became romantically involved while on tour despite the age difference (he was 19 and she was 38). The act broke up in 1949, but reunited for another hugely successful tour from the fall of 1951 through the summer of 1953. After that, the four brothers went their separate ways. A complete itinerary of both tours is listed on the Kay Thompson biography website.

Williams and Thompson, however, remained very close, both personally and professionally. She mentored his emergence as a solo singing star. She coached him, wrote his arrangements, and composed many songs that he recorded, including his 1958 top-20 hit "Promise Me, Love", and later, "Kay Thompson's Jingle Bells" on his 1964 number-one The Andy Williams Christmas Album. Using her contacts in the business, Thompson helped Williams land his breakthrough television gig as a featured singer for two and a half years on Tonight Starring Steve Allen; it helped that the producer of the series, Bill Harbach, was Kay's former aide-de-camp. Thompson also got Williams his breakthrough recording contract with Cadence Records, whose owner, Archie Bleyer, had gotten early career breaks because of Kay and owed her a favor. Meanwhile, Williams sang backup on many of Thompson's recordings through the 1950s, including her top-40 hit "Eloise", based on her bestselling books about the mischievous little girl who lives at the Plaza Hotel in New York. Thompson also served as a creative consultant and vocal arranger on Williams's three summer-replacement network television series in 1957, 1958, and 1959. In the summer of 1961, Thompson traveled with Williams and coached him throughout his starring role in a summer stock tour of the musical Pal Joey. Their personal and professional relationship finally ended in 1962, after Williams met and married Claudine Longet, and Thompson moved to Rome.

1953–1961: Cadence years
Williams's solo career began in 1953. He recorded six sides for RCA Victor's label "X", but none was a popular hit.

After landing a spot as a regular on the Tonight Starring Steve Allen in 1954, Williams was signed to a recording contract with Cadence Records, a small label in New York, run by conductor Archie Bleyer. Williams's third single, "Canadian Sunset", reached number seven in the top 10 in August 1956; it was followed in February 1957 by his only Billboard number-one hit, "Butterfly", a cover of a Charlie Gracie record. "Butterfly" was also number one for two weeks on the UK Singles Chart in May 1957. More hit records followed, including "Hawaiian Wedding Song" (US number 11), "Are You Sincere?" (US number three in February 1958), "The Village of St. Bernadette" (US number seven in December 1959), "Lonely Street" (US number five in September 1959), and "I Like Your Kind of Love" with Peggy Powers (US number eight in May 1957).

1962–1980: The Columbia years
On December 15, 1961, Williams married Claudine Longet and signed with Columbia Records. His first album with Columbia, Danny Boy and Other Songs I Love to Sing, was a chart success, peaking at number 19. He was then asked to sing "Moon River", the theme from Breakfast at Tiffany's, at the 1962 Academy Awards, where it won Best Original Song. Archie Bleyer at Cadence had previously told Williams that "Moon River" would not be a hit, but the Columbia producers encouraged Williams to record the song along with 11 other movie themes for an album. After Williams performed the song at the awards show, it became a hit. Moon River and Other Great Movie Themes then sold across the country, garnering critical acclaim and propelling Williams into stardom. The album remained on the charts for the next three years and peaked at number three. In 1963, Williams's producer, Robert Mersey, encouraged him to record "Can't Get Used to Losing You" as the B-side to "Days of Wine and Roses". Williams initially did not like the pop song, preferring the Mancini tune, but "Can't Get Used to Losing You" reached number two in the US and UK. The album containing both songs, Days of Wine and Roses and Other TV Requests, topped the album charts at number one for 16 weeks.

From 1962 to 1972, Williams was one of the most popular vocalists in the country and was signed to what was at that time the biggest recording contract in history. He was primarily an album artist, and at one time, he had recorded more gold albums than any solo performer except Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, and Elvis Presley. By 1973, he had earned as many as 17 gold-album awards. Among his hit albums from this period were The Andy Williams Christmas Album, Dear Heart, The Shadow of Your Smile, Love, Andy, Happy Heart, Get Together with Andy Williams, Love Story, and Love Theme from the Godfather. These recordings, along with his natural affinity for the music of the 1960s and early 1970s, combined to make him one of the premier easy-listening singers of that era.

In the UK, Williams continued to reach high chart status until 1978. The albums Dear Heart (1965), Love Andy (1967), Can't Help Falling in Love (1970), Andy Williams Show (1970), Home Lovin' Man (number one, 1971), Solitaire (1973), The Way We Were (1974), and Reflections (1978) all reached the top 10.

Williams forged an indirect collaborative relationship with Henry Mancini, although they never recorded together. Both "Moon River" and "Days of Wine and Roses" were written by Mancini, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Williams sang Mancini's "Dear Heart" at the 1965 Academy Awards and "The Sweetheart Tree" (also written with Mercer) at the 1966 Awards.

On August 5, 1966, the 14-story, 700-room Caesars Palace casino and nightclub opened in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the stage production of "Rome Swings", in which Williams starred. He performed to a sold-out crowd in the Circus Maximus showroom. He headlined for Caesars for the next 20 years.

On September 17, 1968, Columbia released a single of two songs Williams sang at the funeral of his close friend Robert F. Kennedy: "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria". These were never released on a long-playing record, but have appeared in several compilations of Williams's output.

Williams also competed in the teen-oriented singles market and had several charting hits, including "Can't Get Used to Losing You", "Happy Heart", and "Where Do I Begin", the theme song from the 1970 blockbuster film Love Story. In addition, Williams hit the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart with "Almost There" (1964), "Can't Help Falling in Love" (1970), "Home Lovin' Man" (1970), and "Solitaire" (1973).

Williams and Petula Clark recorded "Happy Heart" around the same time, just before his guest appearance on her second NBC-TV special. Unaware that she was releasing the song as a single, he asked to perform it on the show. The exposure ultimately led to his having the bigger hit with the song. The song "Happy Heart" was used for the final scene and end credits of Danny Boyle's award-winning directorial debut film Shallow Grave (1994).

1962–1971: The Andy Williams Show
Building on his experience with Allen and some short-term variety shows in the 1950s, he became the star of his own weekly television variety show in the fall of 1962. Though cancelled after 1963 owing to low ratings, the show was then sponsored to make 12 weekly specials in the 1963–64 season. This series, The Andy Williams Show, won three Emmy Awards for outstanding variety program. Among his series regulars were the Osmond Brothers. He gave up the variety show in 1971 while it was still popular, continuing with three specials per year. His Christmas specials, which appeared regularly until 1974 and intermittently from 1982 into the 1990s, were among the most popular of the genre. Williams recorded eight Christmas albums over the years, and was known as "Mr. Christmas", due to his perennial Christmas specials and the success of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year".

Williams hosted the most Grammy telecasts—seven consecutive shows—from the 13th Annual Grammy Awards in 1971 through to the 19th Awards in 1977. He returned to television with a syndicated half-hour series in 1976–77.

In the early 1970s, when the Nixon administration attempted to deport John Lennon, Williams was an outspoken defender of the former Beatle's right to stay in the United States. Williams is included in the montage of caricatures on the cover of Ringo Starr's 1973 album, Ringo.

Williams performed during the halftime show of Super Bowl VII in January 1973, held at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

1991–2012: At Moon River Theatre
In June 1991, Williams' brother Don invited him to the small Ozarks town of Branson, Missouri. Don Williams at the time was the manager for entertainer Ray Stevens, who had just opened a theater in Branson. While attending Stevens' show, Williams was encouraged by numerous Branson guests to open a venue in the town. This led Williams to build his own theater in Branson in time for the 1992 season, eventually opening on May 1, 1992, as the Moon River Theatre. The name came from his signature song. It went on to become the first theater ever to be featured in Architectural Digest, and also won the 1992 Conservation Award from the State of Missouri.

The theater was designed to blend with the rough terrain of the Ozark Mountains. He had originally planned a marble style theater reminiscent of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, but soon had a change of mind. The Larson Company of Tucson, Arizona, fabricated a section of rock on Missouri's Highway 76 and the theater was soon engulfed with waterfalls, koi-filled ponds, ferns and trees native to the Ozarks. The inside of the theater incorporates the outside. Trees and plants are seen throughout the theater's three lobbies. Oak floors are accompanied by African ribbon-striped mahogany walls that are filled with pictures of the Andy Williams Show. Williams' passion for art can be seen throughout as well. From the start of his career, Williams had accumulated several paintings and sculptures and decided to fill his theater with his collection. Frankenthaler, Diebenkorn, Oldenburg, Pollock, Klee, and Moore are a small list of artists whose work is on display at the Moon River Theatre.

The theater's auditorium can accommodate 2,054 people. The seats and carpets match Williams' Navajo rug collection and are forest green, magenta, gold, and blue. On display inside the auditorium are 19 Japanese kimonos. The stage has accommodated numerous shows and guest celebrities. On stage, Williams was joined by Glen Campbell, Ann-Margret, Petula Clark, and Charo.

When it first opened, it was unique because his was the first noncountry act to open in the then mostly country-music town. Other noncountry entertainers, such as Bobby Vinton, Tony Orlando, Wayne Newton, and the Osmond Brothers soon followed.

Williams and his theater were featured on three episodes of the soap opera As the World Turns in July 2007, when several characters went to Branson for a concert of "Gwen Munson" held in the Moon River Theatre. The Simpsons featured Williams at his Moon River Theatre in an episode titled "Bart on the Road". Nelson Muntz is an Andy Williams fan, and in the episode, he forces the gang to make a detour to Branson so he could see his idol. He is reduced to tears as Williams performs "Moon River" during the second encore.

In 2007, Williams opened the Moon River Grill adjacent to his theater in Branson. The restaurant is decorated in photos from the Andy Williams Show with stars including Diana Ross, Elton John, and Sammy Davis Jr. Art is center stage in the restaurant, with works by several artists including Andy Warhol and Robert Indiana.

In 1995, We Need a Little Christmas became Williams's 18th gold album.

His 1967 recording of "Music to Watch Girls By" became a UK hit to a new young television audience in 1999, when it reached number 9 after being featured in new television advertisements for the Fiat Punto—and later for Diet Pepsi—beating the original peak of number 33 in 1967. A new generation was reminded of Williams' recordings and a sell-out UK tour followed the success of the single, prompting a British revival for Williams. In 2002, he re-recorded "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" as a duet with British actress and singer Denise van Outen; it reached number 23 in the UK singles charts. He completed a sold-out tour of the United Kingdom and Asia in the winter and summer of 2007, in which he performed at several major concert halls including the Royal Albert Hall.

Williams returned to the UK singles charts with his 1963 recording of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" in December 2007, due to an advertisement for Marks & Spencer, reaching number 21 in its first appearance in the British charts. In 2008, he lip-synched the 45-year-old recording to welcome Santa at the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

On October 3, 2009, Williams appeared live on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing in London, singing "Moon River" to promote the UK edition of The Very Best of Andy Williams LP, which peaked at number 10 in the main pop chart.

Business ventures
In 1964, Williams ultimately became the owner of the Cadence master tapes, which he occasionally licensed to Columbia, including not only his own recordings but also those of his fellow Cadence-era labelmates: the Everly Brothers, Lenny Welch, the Chordettes, Link Wray and Johnny Tillotson. In 1968, although he was still under contract with Columbia for his own recordings, Williams formed a separate company called Barnaby Records to handle reissuing of the Cadence material, especially that of the Everly Brothers (one of the first Barnaby LPs was a double LP set of the Brothers' long out-of-print Cadence hits) and new artists. Barnaby also had several top-40 hits in the 1970s with novelty artist Ray Stevens (who had done a summer replacement show for Williams in 1970), including number-one hits such as "Everything Is Beautiful" in 1970 and "The Streak" in 1974. Also in 1970, Barnaby signed and released the first album by an unknown singer-songwriter named Jimmy Buffett (Down to Earth) produced by Travis Turk.

Columbia was initially the distributor for Barnaby, but later distribution was handled first by MGM Records and then General Recorded Tape. Once Barnaby ceased operating as a working record company at the end of the 1970s, Williams licensed the old Cadence material to various other labels (such as Varèse Sarabande and Rhino in the U.S.) after 1980.

Politics
Williams was close friends with Robert F. Kennedy and his wife, Ethel Kennedy, and campaigned for Kennedy in the 1968 Democratic presidential primary races. Williams was among the celebrities who were in Kennedy's entourage in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles when Kennedy was shot and mortally wounded by Sirhan Sirhan in June 1968. Williams sang "Battle Hymn of the Republic" at RFK's funeral, at Ethel's request. In August 1969, Williams and Claudine Longet named their newborn son Bobby, after Kennedy. The Williams' friendship with Ethel Kennedy endured, with Williams serving as escort to Ethel at events in the 1970s. He also raised funds for George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign, performing at benefit concerts.

Williams later said that despite his friendship with the Democratic Kennedys, he was a lifelong Republican. In 2009, he was quoted by The Daily Telegraph as accusing President Barack Obama of "following Marxist theory" and "wanting the country to fail". Williams gave Rush Limbaugh permission to use his recording of the song "Born Free" as the theme to the "Animal Rights Update" on Limbaugh's radio show—in which a portion of the song was then followed by gunfire—saying "Hey, it's fine with me. I love what you're doing with it." The record company later blocked Limbaugh's use of the recording. Williams was a guest on the Glenn Beck Radio Program in December 2009, introduced by his own 1960s recording of "Little Altar Boy".

Personal life
Williams met French-born Claudine Longet in Las Vegas when her car broke down and he offered help. She was a dancer at the time at the Folies Bergère. They married on December 15, 1961, and over the next eight years, they had three children—Noelle, Christian (died 2019), and Robert. After separating in 1970, Williams and Longet divorced in 1975, but they remained friends. In March 1976, Longet was charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend, alpine ski racer Spider Sabich, in Aspen. Williams played a public role in the subsequent events, escorting her to and from the courtroom, testifying to her character at the trial, and providing legal assistance. Longet claimed the shooting was accidental and eventually served 30 days in jail.

Williams also had partial ownership of the Phoenix Suns NBA team from the team's inception in 1968 until 1987.

On May 3, 1991, Williams married Debbie Haas, née Meyer, whom he met through a mutual friend. They made their homes at Branson, Missouri, and La Quinta, California, where he was known as the "honorary mayor". Williams was a noted collector of modern art and his homes have been featured in Architectural Digest.

Williams' birthplace in Iowa is a tourist attraction and is open most of the year.

Hobbies
Williams was an avid golfer and hosted a PGA Tour golf tournament in San Diego from 1968 to 1988 at Torrey Pines. Then known as the "Andy Williams San Diego Open", the tournament continues as the Farmers Insurance Open, usually played in February. He was also a competent ice skater and occasionally skated as part of his television Christmas shows.

Williams was a noted art collector whose collection had hung in his homes, his offices, and in the Moon River Theatre, and was exhibited at the Saint Louis Art Museum in 1997 and 1998. After his death, his collection was split among several auction houses. His paintings went to Christie's New York, where they fetched over $50 million. His folk art collection was sold at Skinner for $2,471,725. His collection of Navajo blankets was sold by Sotheby's on May 21, 2013, yielding $978,506 (£642,064).

Illness and death
In a surprise appearance at his theater in November 2011, Williams announced that he had been diagnosed with bladder cancer. After chemotherapy treatment in Houston, he and his wife moved to a rented home in Malibu, California, to be closer to cancer specialists in the Los Angeles area.

On September 25, 2012, Williams died of bladder cancer at the age of 84 at his home in Branson, Missouri. Williams' body was cremated, and his ashes were sprinkled into the artificial waterway named Moon River at his theater in Branson. The memorial service for Williams was held a month later.

Awards and achievements
The Andy Williams Show won three Emmy Awards in 1963, 1966, and 1967 for Outstanding Variety Series.

Andy Williams also earned six Grammy nominations:

Other honors include:
 * Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award, 2008
 * Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Discography
Andy Williams' extensive discography began with the release of the 1948 single "Jubilee" as a member of the Williams Brothers alongside Kay Thompson. He recorded his first solo album, Andy Williams Sings Steve Allen, eight years later, and remained active in the music industry for the next 56 years, completing 43 studio albums, alongside compilation albums and more.

Studio albums

 * Andy Williams Sings Steve Allen (1956)
 * Andy Williams Sings Rodgers and Hammerstein (1958)
 * Two Time Winners (1959)
 * To You Sweetheart, Aloha (1959)
 * Lonely Street (1959)
 * The Village of St. Bernadette (1960)
 * Under Paris Skies (1960)
 * Danny Boy and Other Songs I Love to Sing (1962)
 * Moon River and Other Great Movie Themes (1962)
 * Million Seller Songs (1962)
 * Warm and Willing (1962)
 * Days of Wine and Roses and Other TV Requests (1963)
 * The Andy Williams Christmas Album (1963)
 * The Wonderful World of Andy Williams (1964)
 * The Academy Award-Winning "Call Me Irresponsible" and Other Hit Songs from the Movies (1964)
 * The Great Songs from "My Fair Lady" and Other Broadway Hits (1964)
 * Andy Williams' Dear Heart (1965)
 * Merry Christmas (1965)
 * The Shadow of Your Smile (1966)
 * In the Arms of Love (1966)
 * Born Free (1967)
 * Love, Andy (1967)
 * Honey (1968)
 * Happy Heart (1969)
 * Get Together with Andy Williams (1969)
 * Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head (1970)
 * The Andy Williams Show (1970)
 * Love Story (1971)
 * You've Got a Friend (1971)
 * Love Theme from "The Godfather" (1972)
 * Alone Again (Naturally) (1972)
 * Solitaire (1973)
 * The Way We Were (1974)
 * Christmas Present (1974)
 * You Lay So Easy on My Mind (1974)
 * The Other Side of Me (1975)
 * Andy (1976)
 * Let's Love While We Can (1980)
 * Greatest Love Classics (1984)
 * Close Enough for Love (1986)
 * I Still Believe in Santa Claus (1990)
 * Nashville (1991)
 * We Need a Little Christmas (1995)
 * I Don't Remember Ever Growing Up (2007)

Filmography

 * 1944: Janie
 * 1944: Kansas City Kitty
 * 1947: Ladies' Man
 * 1947: Something in the Wind
 * 1960: The Man in the Moon
 * 1964: I'd Rather Be Rich
 * 1980: The Muppet Show, special guest star
 * 1999: Dorival Caymmi (documentary)
 * 2009: Sebring (documentary)

title: Andy Williams


text:
Diamond Realm

In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Diamond Realm (Skt. वज्रधातु vajradhātu, Traditional Chinese: 金剛界; Pinyin: Jīngāngjiè; Romaji: Kongōkai) is a metaphysical space inhabited by the Five Tathagatas. The Diamond Realm Mandala is based on an esoteric Buddhist sutra called the Vajrasekhara Sutra.

The Diamond Realm is a very popular subject for mandalas, and along with the Womb Realm (garbhakoṣadhātu) Mandala forms the Mandala of the Two Realms. This mandala, along with the Womb Realm, form the core of Chinese Tangmi and Japanese Shingon rituals, including the initiation or abhiṣeka ritual. In this ritual, new initiates are blindfolded, and are asked to toss a flower upon a mandala. Where the flower lands helps decide which Buddhist figure the student should devote themselves to.

In traditional Tangmi and Shingon halls, the Diamond Realm Mandala is hung on the west wall symbolizing the final realization of Mahāvairocana Buddha. In this setting, the Womb Realm Mandala is hung on the east wall, symbolizing the young stage of Mahāvairocana Buddha.

In Chinese Buddhism, the Diamond Realm Mandala is also associated with the Yogacara Flaming Mouth Ritual (瑜伽焰口法會), which is often conducted during the Chinese Ghost Festival in order to feed pretas and reduce their suffering. Part of the ritual involves the performing ritual master wearing a Vairocana crown which is adorned with images of the Five Tathāgatas. The textual tradition for this part of the ritual asserts that the thirty-seven deities which make up the Diamond Realm Mandala are installed in the crown and that these deities confer their blessings and powers on the ritual master during the performance of the ritual.

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

title: Diamond Realm


text:
Trio Matamoros

The Trío Matamoros was a Cuban trova group. It was formed in 1925 by Miguel Matamoros (8 May 1894 in Santiago de Cuba – 15 April 1971; guitar), Rafael Cueto (14 March 1900 in Santiago de Cuba – 7 August 1991; guitar) and Siro Rodríguez (9 December 1899 in Santiago de Cuba – Regla, 29 March 1981; maracas and claves). All three were singers and composers. The group was originally called Trio Oriental, but changed their name to Trio Matamoros in 1928 after finding that a group called Trio Oriental already existed.

The Trío Matamoros played boleros and son. They toured all Latin America and Europe and recorded in New York. In 1940 Guillermo Portabales performed with the trio. Matamoros expanded the trio into a conjunto (Conjunto Matamoros) for a trip to Mexico and hired the young Beny Moré as singer from 1945 to 1947. They recorded many 78 rpm records and LPs; some of their output is available on CDs. The group were critically acclaimed for the harmony of their voices, and the quality of the lyrics.

The group is considered an important act in the rise of son music. Throughout the nearly four decades that it was active, the group re-configured itself into many musical variations and acts as a quartet, septet, orchestra, etc.

Miguel Matamoros was one of the most prolific composers of Cuban son. His first hit was "El que siembra su maíz" (He who sows his corn), followed by songs including "Lágrimas negras" (Black tears) and "Son de la Loma." The group, whose members stayed together for 35 years, announced their disbandment in May 1961. Their last concert had taken place in New York the year before.

title: Trio Matamoros


text:
Talk:Angels in America

Two part or two-acts
Two-part or two-act? -Branddobbe 06:21, Mar 15, 2004 (UTC)

 * Indeed, it is two parts. At seven hours long, I would hope so! − Twas Now 04:29, 8 January 2007 (UTC) It took nearly two years, but you did get a response. See, the system works after all!

'one of the most influential plays of all time' - very disputable, considering we have over two thousand years of previous work still extant and in performance - (what about anything that has lasted from the Greek tragedians, or Goethe's Faust, or Shakespeare's Hamlet!) I suggest 'one of the most influential recent American plays' - on all else the jury is out and will necesarily remain out for another 50 years or so! Linuxlad 12:00, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * When the TV version appeared on DVD critics in the UK reached for their sick bags left right and centre, not over the play's content, but over its all-American apple-pie sentimentality.
 * That's the problem for the UK reviewers to work on. When talking about "America", often a person has to break it down into smaller, stereotypical, palatable chunks. To attempt to describe the whole is impossible. One would think the UK reviewers would understand that? Then again, nothing really surprises me anymore. 206.156.242.36 15:01, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

Interesting comment about the "all-American apple-pie sentimentality" back in 2006. Yes, but that's what's great about the play, it's American-ness. Maybe that's why the play has already entered the American canon, and the high school curriculum, next to Death of a Salesman. I remember going to the play expecting some kind of topical piece about AIDS, and discovering that Kushner's Roy Cohn was a great American character, like Lewis's Babbitt or Updike's Rabbit. As the subtitle claims, it really is about American "National Themes." Sinclair Lewis never created a gay character, but if he had, he would have loved Roy Cohn, a kind of gay Elmer Gantry.Profhum (talk) 06:02, 21 March 2012 (UTC)

What year?
In the article it says that it was first produced in 1991. However, it also says (under Angels in America) that it received "1990 Fund for New American Plays/Kennedy Centre Award". So how did it receive this award before it even premiered? What gives? Cleduc 03:11, 14 June 2006 (UTC)
 * It was first performed in May 1990. I'm studying this play at university right now, and I have two academic textbooks on it, plus one which is 'a conversation with the author,' and they all give the same info for the May 1990 workshop, which is what I've added. Queer Scout 22:51, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

With the way things work in theatre, sometimes they go through several rehearsals and trial runs before an official "premiere". It's possible that it was performed in 1990, before the premiere in 1991. I do have reliable print sources though that say 1991 is the correct year.Bradkoch2007 06:52, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

What do you mean, 1990?
The play won the Pulitzer prize in 1993. '93! How is it possible for the play to have won the Pulitzer in 1993, this theater award in 1990, and have premiered in 1991? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.81.79.247 (talk) 01:48, 29 December 2006 (UTC). As noted above, the play did premiere in 1991. The 1990 award appears to be a grant of some sort, and this play did indeed receive it Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays.Bradkoch2007 06:52, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

Controversy?
I remeber reading on some message boards that some christens where upset that a gay themed mini-series used the term angel. Was there any public outcry, and if so why is'nt it listed here? --Hagamaba 20:38, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

There was indeed much controversy around this pair of plays when they came out and to the present during reproductions. This should definitely be in there, so whenever someone feels like writing it that would be good to add.Bradkoch2007 06:52, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

Some of the controversy for some groups were their inclusion and in what manner. Mormons in particular had issues with this. Articles like http://articles.latimes.com/1992-11-29/entertainment/ca-2519_1_mormon-doctrine demonstrate some of the response. The Mormons were more polite than most of the other conservative leaning folks, but it is clear reading articles in the LA Times, NY Times and others that they felt singled out and misrepresented. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 38.107.146.132 (talk) 16:10, 5 November 2015 (UTC)

Title(s)
Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, isn't this the title of his book and not the plays? Benji boi 21:35, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Characters/Roles
Many of the characters are missing or in the wrong part!

These are the characters of "millenium approaches": Roy Cohn, Joe, Harper, Louis, Prior, Hannah, Belize, the Angel, Isidor Chemelwitz, Mr. Lies, The Leatherman, Henry, Emily, Martin Heller, Ella Chapter, Prior 1 and 2, the eskimo, woman in the South Bronx, Ethel rosenberg

and these appear in "Perestroika": Roy Cohn, Joe, Harper, Louis, Prior, Hannah, Belize, the Angel, Mr. Lies, Henry, Emily, Isidor Chemelwitz,Sarah Ironson, the Angels Europa, Africanii, Oceania, Asiatica, Australia and Antarctica; Aleksii, the Mormon mother, the Mormon father, Caleb, Orrin —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.128.95.116 (talk) 13:19, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Current revival
there's a prominent one happening off-broadway in new york right now, and has been getting rave reviews (which i do not have sources for), but it should be mentioned. link: http://www.signaturetheatre.org/angels/ Rochelle CMN (talk) 07:58, 15 December 2010 (UTC)

Use of the term, "closeted"
I've only had experience of the HBO adaptation, please bear this in mind. So, is it valid or appropriate to use the term, "deeply closeted" to refer to both Joe Harper and Roy Cohn? They both have very different stories: Roy Cohn is comfortable with his homosexual activity and only keeps it secret to the extent required not to affect his career; Joe Harper desperately wishes he had no homosexual feelings at all, and attempts to live as though he were entirely heterosexual. I think it would be an improvement if a more precise indication of their situation were offered.

Edrarsoric (talk) 23:22, 1 June 2012 (UTC)

 * If one of their co-workers asked either of them "Are you gay?", they would say "no." That Joe Pitt wishes he weren't gay doesn't change that. So yes, "closeted" is accurate (though not necessarily important to the plot). NeoAdamite (talk) 17:07, 29 May 2020 (UTC)

Clarify the plot and staging
The plot as it is currently written does not make clear where the two halves of the play break. Many theatres only stage Millenium Approaches, so it would be helpful to make clear where it ends and Perestroika begins, which the current plot summary buries somewhere in the very long second paragraph. In fact, it might be useful to clarify that the halves are sometimes treated as two plays and staged separately or on subsequent nights, not all in one go. Mragsdale (talk) 22:00, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 one external links on Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20141230100253/http://arts.nationalpost.com/2013/08/08/theatre-review-soulpeppers-angels-in-america-is-heaven-sent/ to http://arts.nationalpost.com/2013/08/08/theatre-review-soulpeppers-angels-in-america-is-heaven-sent/
 * Corrected formatting/usage for https://http

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at ).

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 01:25, 14 October 2016 (UTC)

title: Talk:Angels in America


text:
Talk:Hotel Chelsea

Untitled
I'm originally from New York, and I've always heard it called the "Chelsea Hotel", not the "Hotel Chelsea". Is there any basis for the version of the name used here? -- Jmabel 06:23, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * The name on their website is the Hotel Chelsea: http://www.hotelchelsea.com/ . I think it's the "official" name, even though you're right that most people call it the Chelsea Hotel.  Moncrief 06:27, Mar 15, 2004 (UTC)

yep- in conversation it's just 'the chelsea'. in the real world that causes problems, couriers looking for the Chelsea Lodge show up etc. Absolute pedantry!

Permanent guests
Can someone say if the hotel is still used by permanent guests? Or is it just a hotel now. Their website seems to suggest that its just an expensive hotel now.

-to the best of my knowledge, the hotel still has more permanent guests than rooms for people who only stay there for a few days. This is what I heard when staying there a year ago (2005).

 * In a recent Sunday Times Magazine article (25 March 2007), it says that of 240 apartments, 60% are residential and only 40% are hotel rooms. Chrisfow 18:10, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

 * Removed "Raymond Foye." Not a notable 'writer or thinker'. 71.247.73.50 19:05, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

POV?
Does anyone else feel that "Ruth Harkness...during her long decline into alcoholic oblivion." is kind of out of nowhere and judgemental? Even Sid stabbing his wife to death (ok, allegedly) is very matter-of-fact, no judging. Harkness' bit sounds like someone with an agenda decided to vent a little.

Price?
'''Does anyone know if the chelsea hotel is expensive these days? i go on websites about it and the pictures they have of the rooms is so nicer than how the hotel was Years ago. so i was wondering what the price of a normal room would be?.''' --70.18.67.87 21:57, 12 December 2006 (UTC)-Bianca
 * The Hotel's website, http://www.hotelchelsea.com/rates.html, has all the latest rates. Chrisfow 18:10, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

Sid & Nancy
This is in the intro: 'It is perhaps best-known as the hotel where Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols stabbed his girlfriend Nancy Spungen to death…' shouldn't this read '…where Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols allegedly (or may have) stabbed his girlfriend Nancy Spungen to death…', seeing as he was never found guilty of the crime, and there were other people visiting the room that night?eiscir 17:52, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

Does anyone really remember who Sid Vicious was? I remember it as the home of Virgil Thompson.Saxophobia 00:42, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

 * Google search for "Virgil Thompson" returns 16,300 hits. "Sid Vicious" returns 1,670,000, indicating that Sid Vicious is approximately 100 times better remembered than Virgil Thompson. Even if, as I suspect, you mean Virgil Thomson, that returns 128,000 hits. I think Sid still as it.86.0.203.120 (talk) 18:21, 5 July 2008 (UTC)

Frida Kahlo and Diego Riviera? And regarding "On the Road" . ..
In checking Hayden Herrera's book, Frida and Diego stayed at the Barbizon Plaza, now the Trump Parc, whenever they came to New York. I found no reference in any book about either of them at the Chelsea. Can whoever added them to the list of residents provide a source? Also, while there is a reference given in the article, most major books on Kerouac list 454 W. 20th as the place of the final writing of "On The Road" (the book had been in the works for years). Even the Wikipedia "Kerouac" article lists that address. I do not think Kerouac ever even lived at the Chelsea. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.25.46.110 (talk) 05:51, 18 July 2008 (UTC) The citation regarding "On the Road" is a USA Today article, not a scholarly source. It is incorrect. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.109.12.203 (talk) 02:53, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

Supposed haunting
I was really surprised to not see anything about the hotel supposedly being haunted. That is definitely one of the main things it's famous for. I'm not saying that the haunting is a fact, but the public notion or general idea should be worth mentioning. G90025 (talk) 12:14, 1 November 2011 (UTC)
 * It's actually not "one of the main things" the hotel is famous for, but if it's so well known, it should be easy for you to find a citation from a reliable source and add it to the article. Beyond My Ken (talk) 04:19, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

Removal
I did a major gutting of the everything from Notable residents down. I pulled out everything that did not have some kind of source for the information. Everyone wants to put their favorite artists in the list. We should require they provide a source. These were getting so bloated and were very hard to read. ~ GB fan 18:58, 22 May 2017 (UTC)

Come on now... It looks ridiculous to have just one song there. Especially when there are explicit references to the hotel in many other songs. Leonard Cohen's song called "Chelsea Hotel no. 2". Bob Dylan's song called "Sara" has a lyric that goes "Staying up days at the Chelsea Hotel, writing Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands for You"

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on Hotel Chelsea. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20121008033339/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=5703 to http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=5703
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20121008033400/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=5701 to http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=5701

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 03:50, 7 November 2017 (UTC)

Amount of space devoted to notable residents
I've removed the undue-weight tag, which was added with the edit summary "The amount of space devoted to "notable residents" is excessive". With all due respect, it is not. Unlike most other hotels in NYC, the Chelsea is known specifically because of its notable residents, of which it has had an inordinate amount. Several sources, such as Ed Hamilton's Legends of the Chelsea Hotel: Living with the Artists and Outlaws at New York's Rebel Mecca and Sherill Tippins's Inside the Dream Palace: the Life and Times of New York's Legendary Chelsea Hotel talk about the hotel's residents in great depth, devoting entire chapters to certain residents. The notable residents section devotes at most one sentence to each resident (and, in fact, most of the residents are mentioned only in one of the bulleted lists).

The prose size of this article is about 60,000 bytes, which is also appropriate given the cultural importance of this hotel. The prose size of the "notable residents" section is just 6,000 bytes - 10% of the total and hardly an excessive amount of space.

Given this context, the tag should not be restored, especially without further discussion. – Epicgenius (talk) 15:53, 14 January 2024 (UTC)

William Burroughs
Burroughs absolutely did not write Naked Lunch at the hotel. Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch in Tangier in the late 1950's, and published it while a resident at the Paris "Beat Hotel" at 9 rue Gît-le-Cœur. Burroughs did not set foot in the Hotel Chelsea until the 1970's well after Naked Lunch was published.

This is an example of lazy journalism, propagated. 97.113.244.211 (talk) 15:37, 12 June 2024 (UTC)
 * The Washington Post source says "William S. Burroughs, who under the influence of something decidedly stronger than whiskey wrote Naked Lunch in his room". and the New York Daily News source says that he wrote Naked Lunch "while living at the Chelsea". Do you have a reliable source saying that he wrote Naked Lunch in Tangier? In the meantime, until and unless this is resolved, I have removed that part of the sentence. – Epicgenius (talk) 23:48, 12 June 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Hotel Chelsea


text:
User talk:Iandrade

Hi,

Welcome to Wikipedia. I hope you enjoy it here. I have tried to incorporate your Lentil contributions back in to the original article. We try here not to do wholesale replacements so that all contributors have something in the resulting article. Please feel free to add and correct, but not just swap out an entire article unless it is just wrong. Again welcome. WormRunner | Talk 06:27, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:Iandrade


text:
Son Seals

Frank "Son" Seals (August 13, 1942 – December 20, 2004) was an American electric blues guitarist and singer.

In 2009, Seals was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

Career
Seals was born in Osceola, Arkansas, where his father, Jim "Son" Seals, owned a small juke joint, called the Dipsy Doodle Club. He began performing professionally by the age of 13, first as a drummer with Robert Nighthawk and later as a guitarist. At age 16, he began to play at the T-99, a local upper-echelon club, with his brother-in-law Walter "Little Walter" Jefferson. He played there with prominent blues musicians, including Albert King, Rufus Thomas, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, and Rosco Gordon. Their varying styles contributed to the development of Seals's own playing techniques. While playing at the T-99, he was also introduced to country-western music by Jimmy Grubbs, who occasionally asked Seals to play the drums or guitar with his group. At the age of 19, Seals formed his own band, Son Seals and the Upsetters, to fill in at the Rebel Club, in Osceola. The band members were Johnny Moore ("Old Man Horse") on piano; Alvin Goodberry on drums, guitar, bass, or piano; Little Bob Robinson on vocals; and Walter Lee "Skinny Dynamo" Harris on piano. Shortly thereafter, a man from Little Rock, Arkansas, came to find "Little Walter" for a gig at his club, but when Walter turned it down the offer went to Seals.

In 1971, Seals moved to Chicago. His career took off after he was discovered by Bruce Iglauer of Alligator Records at the Flamingo Club on Chicago's South Side. His debut album, The Son Seals Blues Band, was released in 1973. The album included "Your Love Is Like a Cancer" and "Hot Sauce". It was followed by Midnight Son (1976) and Live and Burning (1978). Seals released several albums in the next two decades, all but one on Alligator Records, including Chicago Fire (1980), Bad Axe (1984), Living in the Danger Zone (1991), Nothing but the Truth (1994) and Live: Spontaneous Combustion (1996). He received W.C. Handy Awards in 1985, 1987, and 2001.

The writer Andrew Vachss, a friend of his, used his influence to promote Seals's music. Vachss gave Seals several cameo appearances in his novels, and co-wrote songs with him for his album Lettin' Go, released in 2000. Vachss dedicated his novel Mask Market to Seals's memory.

In 2002, Seals contributed to the Bo Diddley tribute album, Hey Bo Diddley – A Tribute!, performing the song "My Story" (also known as "Story of Bo Diddley").

Seals had a hard life. He survived all but one of his fourteen siblings. In 1997 he was shot in the jaw by his wife, sustaining injuries which required reconstructive surgery. In 1999 part of his left leg was amputated as a result of complications from diabetes. He lost belongings in a fire that destroyed his home while he was away performing, and several of his prized guitars were stolen from his home. After his health began to decline, Seals toured with accompaniment by several different bands, including those of James Soleberg, Jimmy Vivino, and Big Jim Kohler.

The band Phish performed Seals's song "Funky Bitch" and brought him on stage on several occasions. In 1999, Seals performed at Camp Oswego, the only one of Phish's multi-day summer festivals that included performances by artists other than themselves.

Seals died in 2004, at the age of 62, from complications of diabetes.

In 2009, Seals was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, in the category 'Performer'.

title: Son Seals


text:
State University of New York at Oswego

State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego or Oswego State) is a public university in the City of Oswego and Town of Oswego, New York. It has two campuses: historic lakeside campus in Oswego and Metro Center in Syracuse, New York.

SUNY Oswego currently has over 80,000 living alumni. Oswego State offers more than 100 academic programs leading to bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and certificates of advanced study. It consists of four colleges and schools: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Education, and School of Communications, Media and the Arts.

History
SUNY Oswego was founded in 1861 as the Oswego Primary Teachers Training School by Edward Austin Sheldon, who introduced a revolutionary teaching methodology Oswego Movement in American education. In 1942 the New York Legislature elevated it from a normal school to a degree-granting teachers' college, Oswego State Teachers College, which was a founding and charter member of the State University of New York system in 1948. In 1962 the college broadened its scope to become a liberal arts college.

Campus
Founded in the city of Oswego by Sheldon to train teachers to meet pressing educational needs, the university moved to its current location on the shore of Lake Ontario in 1913 after Sheldon Hall was constructed. The current campus is located on 690 acre along Lake Ontario. Development of the campus was planned by the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, who designed the major buildings.

The campus today consists of 46 buildings with classrooms, laboratories, residential and athletic facilities. Recent years have witnessed the launch of a $700 million campus-wide renovation and renewal program, with the new Campus Center acting as the social hub of campus.

In the fall of 2013 the outdated Science and Mathematics building, Snygg Hall, was closed, and the new Richard S. Shineman Center for Science, Engineering and Innovation was opened to all STEM students: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The building, built onto the older Piez Hall, offers views of the university's Lakeside Community and Lake Ontario from the meteorology observation deck.

The university's social hub, known as the Marano Campus Center Complex, opened in the fall of 2007, and includes new construction and renovation of the existing Swetman/Poucher complex. The $25.5 million 111492 sqft Marano Campus Center portion, the new construction, includes the Deborah. F. Stanley Arena and Convocation Hall, food court, box office, fireplace lounge, breakfast nook and reservable spaces. The renovated portions of the building house The Compass (student services), The Point (student involvement), a student media center with WNYO, WTOP and The Oswegonian newspaper, Copy Center, and Freshëns Cafe. Academic departments in the Campus Center include English and creative writing, modern languages and literatures and philosophy, while the Office of Learning Services stands ready to assist students who need help outside the classroom. In addition, the University Honors Program is located in the Campus Center.

The Tyler Art Gallery
Tyler Art Gallery is located within the Tyler Hall. The gallery showcases local and traveling exhibitions, exhibitions of faculty work and student exhibitions. Tyler Art Gallery has a mission as a teaching gallery. The gallery serves as the training base for the museum studies program and allows students to be involved in the day-to-day operations of the gallery. The Student Art Exhibition Committee curate and have sole responsibility for the annual exhibition of student work. The gallery's permanent collection comprises European, African and American drawings, prints, paintings, ceramics and sculpture that date from the 18th century to the present, including several works by artist Sacha Kolin. One subsection of the permanent collection, the Grant Arnold Collection of Fine Prints, contains over 500 prints by American printmakers from the first half of the twentieth century. Tyler Hall is in the process of significant renovations, with the first phase completed for a fall 2016 reopening.

Other buildings

Physically separate from the main campus, on the other side of New York State Route 104, is the south campus, consisting of Laker Hall (indoor sports, coaching classrooms, and athletic training rooms), Romney Fieldhouse (a Quonset hut that hosted the Laker hockey program until fall 2006) and several athletic fields. In addition, more than 400 acre of Rice Creek Field Station (for biological research and public programs) are on the South Campus.

West Campus, along with Laker Hall, Hewitt Hall (which hosted most of the student organizations until the Campus Center's opening in 2006), Tyler Hall, Culkin Hall (the administrative building), Penfield Library, Lanigan Hall (consisting of large lecture halls) and Mahar Hall are all built in the Brutalist style and date to the early 1970s.

On Campus residences
A variety of living options are available through 13 residences:
 * Lakeside Area: Scales, Waterbury, Riggs and Johnson Halls. Riggs, Scales, Waterbury and Johnson were recently renovated; the latter is the home to the First-Year Residential Experience.
 * West Campus, formerly called "New Campus": Cayuga, Seneca, Oneida and Onondaga Halls. Onondaga Hall was constructed in a suite style, allowing communal living of up to six students per suite.
 * Main Campus: Hart Hall Global Living and Learning Center, Funnelle Hall, Sheldon Hall
 * Mackin Complex: Lonis and Moreland Halls, located in the city of Oswego across the street from Sheldon Hall. Lonis consists of single occupancy rooms for upperclassmen, while Moreland is the traditional double occupancy dorm style for all class standings.
 * The Village: Due to a shortage in residential rooms in Fall 2008 caused by higher than expected enrollment and on-campus living requests than expected, several rooms were offered in renovated conference/hotel space in Sheldon Hall. The Village, a new townhouse village with apartment living was constructed south of Glimmerglass Lagoon, and opened in the fall 2010 semester.

Fewer than 100 ft from Johnson Hall is Shady Shore, the home of college founder Edward Austin Sheldon. It often has served as the residence for the college president throughout the years.

Accreditations
Middle States accredited with additional accreditations. The institution's MBA program has been internationally accredited by AACSB. SUNY Oswego's School of Education is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. Oswego's School of Business has international accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. SUNY Oswego programs in Electrical and Computing Engineering as well as Software Engineering are accredited by ABET. SUNY Oswego is one of the few universities in New York state whose art, music, and theater departments are all nationally accredited.

Schools and colleges

 * College of Liberal Arts and Sciences houses the departments of Anthropology, Atmospheric and Geological Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, Electrical and Computer Engineering, English and Creative Writing, History, Human Development, Mathematics, Modern Languages and Literatures, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Criminal Justice, Sociology
 * School of Business offers programs in Accounting, Business Administration, Finance, Human Resource Management, Marketing, Operations Management and Information Systems, Risk Management and Insurance.
 * School of Communication, Media and the Arts houses the departments of Art, Communication Studies, Film Studies, Music, Theatre.
 * School of Education offers courses in Counseling and Psychological Services, Curriculum and Instruction, Education Administration, Health Promotion and Wellness, Technology, Vocational Teacher Preparation.

Library
Penfield Library is the only academic library on campus. It is named after Lida S. Penfield (1873–1956), once chair of the English department. The current 160000 sqft facility opened in 1968, replacing a library of the same name in what is now Rich Hall. The library is home to the Millard Fillmore and Marshall Family Papers and numerous digitized collections including the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter (Safe Haven) papers.

Athletics
The university offers 24 intercollegiate varsity sports. SUNY Oswego's athletic teams are known officially as the Great Lakers but often referred to simply as the Lakers. Oswego is a member of NCAA Division III and teams compete in the State University of New York Athletic Conference for most sports. Women's ice hockey plays in the ECAC West, as that sport is not offered by the SUNYAC.

Oswego is traditionally a rival of Plattsburgh State. The rivalry currently manifests mostly in ice hockey; in the 1990s and early 2000s, Oswego fans would regularly throw bagels onto the ice when the Lakers scored against Plattsburgh, responding to a tradition where Plattsburgh fans threw tennis balls on the rink after goals versus Oswego. The tradition ended in 2006, after Oswego was assessed a delay of game penalty for the bagel throw: Plattsburgh scored on the ensuing power-play to win the game, which cost the Lakers a national tournament berth. In addition, the Campus Center arena was opened that year which allowed the university to more closely monitor and shut down fans who brought in bagels. The "Puck Flattsburgh" spoonerism is a common rallying cry. Oswego and Plattsburgh also had a rivalry in football, but Oswego ceased sponsoring the sport in 1976, with Plattsburgh following in 1978.

Oswego also has a running rivalry with Cortland State in Women's Field Hockey. The teams play annually for the "Dragon Sword" trophy, donated by Oswego alumni Michael and Kimberlee (Bennett) Champitto in 1999. As of 2021, Oswego has never won the sword.

Men's

 * Baseball
 * Basketball
 * Cross country
 * Golf
 * Ice hockey
 * Indoor track and field
 * Lacrosse
 * Outdoor track and field
 * Soccer
 * Swimming and diving
 * Tennis
 * Wrestling

Women's

 * Ice hockey
 * Basketball
 * Cross country
 * Field hockey
 * Indoor track and field
 * Lacrosse
 * Outdoor track and field
 * Soccer
 * Softball
 * Swimming and diving
 * Tennis
 * Volleyball

National championships
On March 18, 2007, the Oswego State men's ice hockey team won the 2006–07 NCAA Division III ice hockey National Championship, the first NCAA championship ever for the school.

Clubs and student organizations
Oswego has over 180 clubs and organizations, many funded by the Student Association. These include: the Division I Men's Rugby team, the student-run television station WTOP, the student-run newspaper The Oswegonian, the first-ever student-run volunteer ambulance corps (SAVAC), and the Oswego State Esports Association.

Greek organizations
Oswego has an array of Greek organizations (fraternities, sororities, or mixed) from both national and locally recognized chapters. Each semester, eligible students can "rush" a Greek organization of their choice.

Fraternities

 * Kappa Sigma
 * Theta Chi
 * Delta Kappa Kappa (Formerly the Kappa Chapter of Delta Kappa Fraternity)
 * Delta Sigma Phi
 * Lambda Sigma Upsilon
 * Psi Phi Gamma
 * Phi Beta Sigma
 * Sigma Alpha Epsilon
 * Tau Kappa Epsilon
 * Phi Iota Alpha
 * Mu Beta Psi
 * Sigma Tau Chi
 * Sigma Gamma
 * Lambda Upsilon Lambda

Sororities

 * Alpha Delta Eta
 * Alpha Epsilon Phi
 * Alpha Sigma Chi
 * Omega Phi Beta
 * Omicron Xi
 * Phi Lambda Phi
 * Phi Sigma Sigma
 * Sigma Delta Tau
 * Sigma Lambda Upsilon
 * Mu Sigma Upsilon
 * Delta Phi Epsilon
 * Kappa Delta Phi N.A.S.

Other Greek organizations

 * Alpha Phi Omega, national service fraternity (co-ed)
 * Beta Alpha Psi, accounting/finance/information systems honor society (co-ed)
 * Beta Beta Beta, national biological sciences honor society (co-ed)
 * Beta Gamma Sigma, international AACSB business honor society (co-ed)
 * Delta Phi Alpha, the national German honorary society for outstanding students of the German language (Nationale Deutsche Ehrenverbindung; Oswego Chapter: Zeta Xi, 1967)
 * Lambda Pi Eta, national communications honor society (co-ed)
 * Mu Beta Psi, national honorary musical fraternity (co-ed)
 * Omicron Delta Epsilon, national economics honor society (co-ed)
 * Omicron Delta Kappa, national leadership honor society
 * Phi Kappa Phi, national all-disciplinary honorary society of academic excellence
 * Pi Delta Phi, the national French honor Society for academic excellence in French (Oswego Chapter: Theta Delta, 1975)
 * Pi Sigma Alpha, national political science honor society
 * Psi Chi, national honor society in psychology
 * Phi Alpha Theta, national honor society in history

Traditions

 * Bridge Street Run – The Bridge Street Run is a pub crawl that now takes place during the spring semester on the last Friday before finals week. Students put on white T-shirts, start at the Front Door Tavern on East 10th and Utica Streets, and make their way down Bridge Street (New York State Route 104) in Oswego. They stop at all participating bars along the way on or within a block of Bridge Street to have their shirts signed. The event has been a tradition in various forms at SUNY Oswego for over 30 years. The college officially discourages the practice. It was finally banned by the city in 2014 following a students death caused by a heroin overdose on campus; the following year, the college set up OzFest, a campus festival, to deter partiers from participating in the Bridge Street Run. However, students still continue the tradition each spring.

Presidents

 * Edward Austin Sheldon (1st), 1861–1897
 * Isaac B. Poucher (2nd), 1897–1913
 * James C. Riggs (3rd), 1913–1933
 * Ralph Waldo Swetman (4th), 1933–1947
 * Harvey M. Rice (5th), 1947–1952
 * Foster S. Brown (6th), 1952–1963
 * James E. Perdue (7th), 1965–1977
 * Virginia Radley (8th), 1977–1988
 * Stephen L. Weber (9th), 1988–1995
 * Deborah F. Stanley (10th) 1995–2021
 * Mary C. Toale, Officer in Charge (interim), 2022–2023
 * Peter O. Nwosu (11th), 2023–present

Notable faculty

 * Soma Mei Sheng Frazier, author, editor
 * Kenneth O. Hall, Governor-General of Jamaica (Feb 2006 – Feb 2009); served as Assistant Provost and Professor of History at Oswego
 * Doug Lea, computer scientist
 * Roy Lichtenstein, pop artist; taught in the Art Department 1958–1960
 * Robert O'Connor, Associate Professor in Creative Writing Department; author of Buffalo Soldiers
 * Leigh Allison Wilson, author and creative writing professor

Notable alumni

 * Actor Al Lewis claimed that he attended the school from 1927 to 1931. Most of Lewis's claims about his early life are widely considered to be untrue.

Campus demographics
SUNY Oswego CDP is a census-designated place (CDP) covering the campus. ''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

title: State University of New York at Oswego


text:
Hypostasis

Hypostasis, hypostatic, or hypostatization (hypostatisation; from the Ancient Greek, "under state") may refer to:

 * Hypostasis (philosophy and religion), the essence or underlying reality
 * Hypostasis (linguistics), personification of entities
 * Hypostasis (literature), awareness by a fictional character that their world is fictional
 * Hypostasis of the Archons, a Gnostic text
 * Hypostatic model of personality, a psychological model, or theory, of personality masks
 * Hypostatic union, a Christian concept
 * Hypostasis, a type of boss enemy in the video game Genshin Impact
 * Hypostasis (livor mortis), corpse's discoloration
 * Hypostatic abstraction (mathematics and logic)
 * Hypostatic gene, as a result of epistasis
 * Holding current (electronics), or the hypostatic current
 * Reification (fallacy), where hypostasis identifies a reified thing, and hypostatization refers to the thought process
 * Sediment in a liquid, including:

title: Hypostasis


text:
Pierre Vallières

Pierre Vallières (February 22, 1938 – December 23, 1998) was a Québécois journalist and writer, known as an intellectual leader of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ). He was the author of the essay Nègres blancs d'Amérique, translated as White Niggers of America, which likened the struggles of French-Canadians to those of African-Americans.

Early life
Pierre Vallières was born on 22 February 1938, in Montreal, Quebec into a French-Canadian family. Vallières grew up in Ville Jacques-Cartier (now part of Longueuil) in the South Shore region, considered one of the most deprived areas of the Montreal metropolitan area. He entered the Franciscan Order, but left after a couple of years. He worked in a bookstore before becoming a journalist, first for Le Devoir, and then for Cité Libre, for which he later became the director. He then went to cover international news for La Presse.

FLQ and White Niggers of America
Vallières had been working for La Presse for two years when he was fired for taking part in "subversive activities", having become a left-wing political activist at a young age. In September 1964, Vallières and Charles Gagnon published of the first issue of left-wing Révolution québécoise magazine. In July 1965, Vallières and Gagnon led the "Fourth Wave" of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ), a separatist and Marxist-Leninist paramilitary group in Quebec, when they combined the remains of the "Third Wave" with their Popular Liberation Movement. Vallières published the group's newspaper, La Cognée ("The Hit"), and was involved in militant activities. The FLQ's bombing campaign prompted a quick clampdown by Canadian authorities, and by August 1966, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had arrested many FLQ members.

Vallières escaped the arrests and fled to the United States with Gagnon, where they conducted a hunger strike at the United Nations headquarters in New York City to protest what was considered to be Quebec's plight in Canada. While in New York, Vallières was held in the Manhattan House of Detention for Men before being extradited back to Canada, where he was immediately arrested in connection with the robbery of a Montreal cinema on 27 August 1966. Vallières, along with Charles Gagnon and five other people, was convicted of the manslaughter of Thérèse Morin, a 64-year-old secretary who died in the explosion of a bomb that was delivered to the H.B. La Grenade shoe manufacturer in Montreal on 5 May 1966, and of Jean Corbo, a 16-year-old FLQ member who died on 14 July 1966 in the explosion of the bomb he had placed himself at the Dominion Textile factory in Montreal. Vallières received a life sentence for the deaths but the conviction was overturned by the court of appeal, and in a second trial held in 1969, he was convicted again and this time sentenced to 30 months in prison. He was paroled on 26 May 1970 after spending 44 months in prison.

Vallières wrote a number of works during his four-month imprisonment in New York in 1967, the most famous of which was Nègres blancs d'Amérique (1968), translated into English as White Niggers of America. The book compared the historical situation of French-Canadians to that of African-Americans at the height of the latter's civil rights struggles, where Vallières argued the parallels between the two peoples as an exploited lower class, and called for armed struggle of liberation against their common aristocratic oppressors.

Later life and death
In 1970, during the October Crisis, the FLQ abducted and murdered Pierre Laporte, the Vice-Premier of Quebec. The following year, Vallières renounced violence as a means to achieve Quebec independence, and on 4 October 1972, under a plea bargain agreement, received a one-year suspended sentence on three charges of counselling kidnapping for political purposes. Vallières then resumed his career as a journalist, writer, and publisher.

Vallières died from heart failure on 23 December 1998, at the Jacques-Viger Hospital in Montreal.

Works

 * Nègres blancs d'Amérique, autobiographie précoce d'un " terroriste " québécois. Montréal : Éditions Parti pris, 1967 (translated as White Niggers of America: The Precocious Autobiography of a Quebec Terrorist by Joan Pinkham, Monthly Review Press, 1971 and McClelland & Stewart, 1972)
 * Vivre sans temps morts, jouir sans entraves!  Paris, 1970
 * L'urgence de choisir.  Montréal Parti-Pris, 1971; (translated as Choose!, New Press, 1972 )
 * Pour un front commun multinational de libération.  with Charles Gagnon. S.l. : Front de libération du Québec, 1971
 * Un Québec impossible.  Montréal : Éditions Québec/Amérique, 1977 (translated as The Impossible Quebec: Illusions of Sovereignty Association, 1980)
 * L'exécution de Pierre Laporte : les dessous de l'Opération.  Montréal : Éditions Québec/Amérique, 1977 (translated as The Assassination of Pierre Laporte by Ralph Wells, Lorimer, 1977)
 * Les scorpions associés.  with René Lévesque. Montréal : Éditions Québec-Amérique, 1978
 * La démocratie ingouvernable.  Montréal : Québec/Amérique, 1979
 * La liberté en friche.  Montréal : Éditions Québec/Amérique, 1979
 * Changer de société.  with Serge Proulx. Montréal : Québec/Amérique, 1982
 * Les héritiers de Papineau : itinéraire politique d'un "nègre blanc" (1960–1985).  Montréal, Québec : Québec/Amérique, 1986
 * Noces obscures. Montréal : L'Hexagone, 1986
 * Le devoir de résistance. Montréal : VLB, 1994
 * Paroles d'un nègre blanc. with Jacques Jourdain and Mélanie Mailhot. Montréal : VLB éditeur, 2002

Film

 * Freedom Outraged Vallières plays himself in a documentary by the National Film Board of Canada directed by Jean-Daniel Lafond. A 16-mm medium length, color, 1994.

title: Pierre Vallières


text:
User talk:80.185.228.29

Please leave the North American and British bird lists alone.

Neither the AOU or BOU list orders which do not have representatives in their regions, and the order is taxonomic, not alphabetical

jimfbleak 06:35, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:80.185.228.29


text:
Temasek (company)

Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited, or simply Temasek, is a Singaporean investment firm owned by the Government of Singapore. Incorporated on 25 June 1974, Temasek has a net portfolio of US$288 billion (S$389 billion) as of 2024, with S$33 billion divested and S$26 billion invested during the year. Headquartered at Orchard Road, Singapore, it has 13 offices in 9 countries around the world, including in Beijing, Brussels, Hanoi, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, New York City, Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Washington D.C.

It is an active shareholder and investor, with four key structural trends guiding its long term portfolio construction—Digitisation, Sustainable Living, Future of Consumption, and Longer Lifespans. Temasek's portfolio covers a broad spectrum of sectors. Its key focus investment areas include Consumer, Media & Technology, Life Sciences & Agri-Food, and Non-Bank Financial Services.

Temasek has held overall corporate global credit ratings of “Aaa/AAA” by rating agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's respectively since its inaugural credit ratings in 2004. It has also attained perfect quarterly scores on the Linaburg-Maduell Transparency Index, a measure of the openness of government-owned investment funds. Temasek is primarily anchored in Asia, but with a global portfolio, with a 64% underlying exposure to developed economies.

While Temasek is largely considered as being a sovereign wealth fund (SWF), there are major differences as it invests mostly in equities, is the outright owner of many assets and companies, and pays taxes like other commercial investment firms. Temasek's one-year total shareholder return (TSR) was 1.60%, with longer term 10-year and 20-year TSRs at 6% and 7% respectively, compounded annually. Its TSR since inception was 14%, compounded over 50 years. In addition to Temasek, the Government of Singapore also owns GIC Private Limited, a traditional SWF which manages about US$744 billion (S$1.006 trillion) of assets as of 2022 and the compulsory pension programme Central Provident Fund (CPF) with assets of US$397 billion (S$540 billion), giving a total publicly known AUM of approximately US$1.64 trillion.

Status
Temasek is a company incorporated in Singapore, and operates under the provisions of the Singapore Companies Act. It is neither a government agency nor a statutory board. Like any other commercial company, Temasek pays taxes that contributes to government revenue in the countries it operates in, distributes dividends to its shareholder and has its own board of directors and a professional management team. Its sole shareholder is the Singapore Minister for Finance.

Temasek is designated a Fifth Schedule entity under the Constitution of Singapore, which imposes certain safeguards to protect the government's past reserves. For instance, the approval of the President of Singapore is required for any transaction which is likely to result in a draw-down of Temasek's cash reserves. The president also has the right to appoint, terminate, or renew the members of Temasek's board of directors. In most other respects, however, Temasek operates as an independent commercial investment holding company.

In a 2009 speech, Ho Ching, then Temasek Holdings' Executive Director and CEO, said that the company had made an effort to instill discipline and professionalism, and to be tested and measured by providing public markers of performance. She noted that Temasek's bonds spreads and credit ratings have been regularly and independently monitored as public markers of Temasek's financial position and credit risks. Temasek had also openly and accurately disclosed its financial information through its annual report (although Ho said that, as a private company, it was not legally obliged to do so).

History
At the point of Singapore's independence in August 1965, the Government of Singapore had ownership or joint ownership of various local companies, such as Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (later split up into Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines) and the Singapore Telephone Board (which became Singapore Telecommunications). As part of its push for local and foreign private investment in sectors such as manufacturing and shipbuilding, the government's Economic Development Board (EDB) also bought minority stakes in a variety of local companies. During the first ten years after independence, the government acquired or established several companies, such as the Keppel Corporation (originally Keppel Shipyard, taken over from the Royal Navy after the British military withdrawal from Singapore), ST Engineering (originally a weapon manufacturer set up to supply the Singapore Armed Forces), and the shipping company Neptune Orient Lines.

On 25 June 1974, Temasek was incorporated under the Singapore Companies Act to hold and manage the assets previously held directly by the Singapore government, named for an early settlement on the island. The goal was for Temasek to own and manage these investments on a commercial basis, allowing the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Trade and Industry to focus on policymaking.

In February 2020, Temasek announced a company-wide wage freeze and voluntary pay cuts for senior management in part to help fund community programs aimed at alleviating the impact of COVID-19.

On 1 October 2021, Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, the current chief executive officer of Temasek International (TI), succeeded Ho Ching as executive director and chief executive officer of Temasek Holdings.

Investments
Temasek's initial portfolio of S$354 million comprised shares previously held by the Singapore Government, including a bird park, a hotel, a shoemaker, a detergent producer, naval yards converted into a ship repair business, a start-up airline, and an iron and steel mill.

2000s
Temasek's 2006 acquisition of Shin Corporation, owned by the family of then Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was particularly controversial, with protestors burning effigies of Lee and Ho on the streets of Bangkok. The deal was a factor in exacerbating the Thai political crisis, which eventually led to the downfall of Thaksin and a review of the transaction's legality. The military junta that overthrew Thaksin later tried unsuccessfully to force Temasek to divest a large part of its investment in Shin Corp. As of 2015, Temasek's stake in Intouch Corporation (as Shin Corporation was renamed) had reduced to 42%. In 2016, Temasek sold a further 21% stake in Intouch Holdings, the Thai telecoms conglomerate formerly known as Shin Corp.

2010s
Beginning in 2015, Temasek began making large investments in agricultural and agricultural-related companies and ventures.

In June 2018, Temasek invested S$340 million in a minority stake in UST Global, a digital technology services company. The size of the stake was not disclosed.

In February 2019, Temasek invested in Zilingo.

Temasek purchased 30 per cent of Haldor Topsoe's shares in March 2019. The investment company was selected in recognition of the value that it would add through its deep insights and connections in Asian growth and other emerging markets, according to the Danish engineering firm. The transaction price was not disclosed.

2020s
In August 2020, Temasek Holdings added a 3.9 per cent stake in BlackRock Inc, worth about US$3.5 billion, becoming one of its largest shareholders. According to people familiar with the matter, Temasek was one of several players that bought the money manager's shares when PNC Financial Services Group Inc. sold a US$14 billion stake earlier in the year.

In November 2020 Temasek with Creadev led a EUR140 million series C financing of French biotechnology company InnovaFeed.

In 2021, Temasek invested in cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Following FTX's collapse in November 2022, Temasek wrote down the value of their $275 million investment in FTX to zero.

In February 2022, Temasek led a $200 million fundraising round for a Singaporean cryptocurrency financing company, Amber Group.

In May 2022, Temasek was finalizing talks to lead a $50 million financing round for DotPe, an Indian startup backed by Google. The same year, the company together with Ventury Partners led a $108 million financing round for Indian startup Country Delight.

In August 2022, Temasek leads a $100 million financing round for Animoca Brands.

In April 2023, Temasek announced that it would acquire an additional 41 per cent stake in Bengaluru-based Manipal Health Enterprises (MHE), resulting in a total stake of 59 per cent.

In June 2024, Temasek was finalizing its sale of some assets from liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading company Pavilion Energy to Shell, with the deal worth hundreds of millions of US dollars.

Sustainability
As a company, Temasek has been carbon neutral since 2020. The firm has publicly stated that its goal is to reduce the net carbon emissions attributed to its entire portfolio to half of 2010 levels by 2030. It aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

In 2024, the company launched its inaugural sustainability report, stating that portfolio emissions were cut by 22 per cent for the financial year. Their sustainability-aligned investments accounted for 12 per cent of their net portfolio value and stood at $44 billion.

title: Temasek (company)


text:
Anthony Lacen

Anthony "Tuba Fats" Lacen (September 15, 1950 – January 11, 2004) was a jazz tubist and band leader. Tuba Fats was New Orleans' most famous tuba player and played traditional New Orleans jazz and blues for over 40 years.

Biography
Of African American heritage, Anthony Lacen was born, spent most of his life, and died in New Orleans, Louisiana. His music also took him on a number of tours of Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America.

He was known for many years to lead a band playing for tips in Jackson Square in the French Quarter, where he gave much encouragement to younger musicians. He played professionally with brass bands such as the Young Tuxedo, E. Gibson, Doc Paulin, Onward, Algiers, Treme, and Olympia Brass Bands, and with his own band, Tuba Fats & the Chosen Few Brass Band. Tuba Fats made many important jazz recordings; notably those under his own name on the Jazz Crusade label.

Lacen died of an apparent heart attack on January 11, 2004 and was buried on January 18 after a jazz funeral.

Personal life
Tuba Fats was first married to Barbara Lacen-Keller in 1980. He later married the blues shouter "Lady Linda" Young (d. 1997), with whom he often toured in Europe.

Discography

 * After You've Gone (with Linda Young) (Jazz Crusade, 1985)
 * Street Music (Jazz Crusade, 1986 & 2003)
 * A Jazz Gumbo Vols. 1 & 2 (with Linda Young) (Jazz Crusade, 1993)
 * In the Gutter (Jazz Crusade, 1997)
 * Big Bill Bissonnette's International Jazz Band Vols. 1 & 2 (Jazz Crusade, 1997)
 * Chosen Few Jazzmen (Jazz Crusade, 2003)
 * The Legendary Tuba Fats (A Wise and Barking Production, 2003)

title: Anthony Lacen


text:
Talk:Hotel class

Untitled
This should be merged into Hotel class submarine (oops) —[[User:Mulad|Mulad}} 06:52, 15 Mar 2004|UTC)

title: Talk:Hotel class


text:
Talk:Hotel-class submarine

Sourcing
This page needs some sourcing updates, so help out if you can. It would be appreciated. There is some factual errors. Willthehelpfuleditor (talk 03:43, 15 November 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:Hotel-class submarine


text:
Playing It Straight

Playing It Straight is an American reality television series broadcast by the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox). The series premiered on March 12, 2004, although it was prematurely cancelled by the network following the broadcast of its third episode on March 26, 2004. Set at the Sizzling Saddle Ranch in Elko, Nevada, the series depicted fourteen men who attempted to pursue a romantic relationship with college student Jackie Thomas. However, this group of suitors was split between men who identified as straight and gay. Through a series of group activities and one-on-on dates, Thomas was required to eliminate men from the competition who she believed identified as gay. If the final suitor was a straight man, he and Thomas split a reward of $1 million. Conversely, if the final suitor was a gay man, he alone won the reward. The series was hosted by American television presenter Daphne Brogdon.

Playing It Straight was a part of Fox's intent to capitalize on a rising interest in LGBT-themed reality television shows. The series' format was inspired by The Bachelor, with the addition of an LGBT-related twist. Playing It Straight was met with criticism from many television critics, who claimed that it reinforced stereotypes and promoted a negative portrayal of gay men. The series premiered to modest ratings, which declined with the broadcast of subsequent episodes. Following its mid-season cancellation, Fox released the full series on their website on a pay-per-view basis. The cancellation of Playing It Straight caused some network executives to reevaluate their own LGBT-related television shows. The series spawned adaptations in Australia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Format
Set in Elko, Nevada, at the Sizzling Saddle Ranch, the series followed Jackie Thomas, a 21-year-old college student from Wisconsin, as she was pursued by a group of fourteen men. Upon arrival to the ranch, Thomas learned that the group was composed of both straight and gay men; all of the gay men attempted to pass as straight throughout the course of the competition. Thomas was required to discern which of the men identified as gay; she made her determinations based on observations from a series of individual and group dates. These dates included activities such as shopping trips and swimsuit competitions. At the end of each week, Jackie was required to eliminate two men from the competition who she believed to be gay. Following their elimination, each man had the opportunity to disclose their sexual orientation and explain their reason for participating in the series. If Thomas ultimately selected a straight man at the end of the competition, then the two split a reward of $1,000,000. Conversely, if Thomas selected a gay man at the end of the competition, then he alone won the reward. The series was hosted by American television presenter Daphne Brogdon.

Concept and development
In February 2003, Kim MacQuarrie and Ciara Byrne were asked by Lion Television to come up with five proposals for a reality television series for the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox). MacQuarrie and Byrne had five days to submit their proposals, with the pair "rack[ing] our brains for reality series ideas that might be fun, rather than the dramatic series that were currently on television." After ten days of deliberation, Fox selected the pair's fourth proposal, a dating series that revolved around one woman and fourteen men, some of whom were gay.

Production for Playing It Straight began in mid-2003 under the working title Who Will She Choose? The series took approximately ten months to design, cast, film, and produce. All crew, staff, and contestants were required to sign non-disclosure agreements in the amount of $5 million.

Variety initially reported that the series was a potential cover for a new season of the reality dating show Joe Millionaire.

In 2005, nearly one year later after the show was recorded, Fox issued a press release stating that Jackie and Banks were still together. After the show, Jackie and Banks dated for about two years. For the first eight months, they had to keep their relationship quiet until the show aired. Banks went so far as to tell friends that he had to leave the show because he broke his arm, rather than reveal he won.

Filming
Playing It Straight was filmed at Red's Ranch in Elko, Nevada; however, it was renamed Sizzling Saddles Ranch for the series. According to MacQuarrie, he intentionally chose to film the series at Red's Ranch. He stated: "It was filmed on Red's Ranch ... because I grew up in Nevada, but also so that we could have fun taking 14 greenhorns—gay and straight—to a place where they would all be 'fish out of water.'"

Contestants
{{Legend|lightgreen|The contestant was safe from elimination.}} {{Legend|salmon|The contestant was eliminated from the competition.}} {{Legend|#F3F781|The contestant quit the competition.}} {{Legend|#FFEBCD|The contestant was not up for elimination.}}

Television viewership and ratings
Playing It Straight premiered to modest ratings, in which it received 5.3 million viewers. It was the highest-rated program of the night among several demographics, including adults 18–34, persons 12–34, teens and men 18–34. The series averaged 3.9 million viewers and a 1.7 rating/6 share among adults 18-49 over the course of its three-week run.

Critical response
Playing It Straight received generally unfavorable reviews from television critics. Dana Stevens of Slate criticized the series for portraying gay men as "romantic pariahs." She further commented: "[N]ot only is Playing It Straight ideologically offensive, it’s also colossally boring."

Cancellation
On March 29, 2004, following the broadcast of its third episode, Playing It Straight was removed from the Fox schedule due to lackluster ratings. The series was replaced on the network's schedule with reruns of Totally Outrageous Behavior and World's Craziest Videos. Fox claimed that it intended to air the series' five remaining episodes at some point during the summer season. However, on May 21, 2004, Fox's entertainment president Gail Berman announced that the series was cancelled; she claimed that the network would provide "any viewer that needs the information with the information of the conclusion." Two months later, Fox posted synopses of the unaired episodes on its website, in which it was revealed that the final suitor selected by Jackie was a straight man and thus they both split the $1 million reward.

On January 17, 2005, Fox published the entire series on their website, in which users could download the individual episodes on a pay-per-view basis. Despite the network's claimed reason, Jackie disputed the reason for the series' cancellation. She stated: "I can’t say it was cancelled due to ratings. It aired on Fridays, and no shows have been successful on Fridays ... [Fox] blamed it on the ratings, but I think it may have been something deeper."

The mid-season cancellation of Playing It Straight had an impact on other LGBT-related programming. Seriously, Dude, I'm Gay, another Fox produced LGBT-related reality television special, was set to air on June 7, 2004, although it was abruptly removed from the Fox schedule only eleven days before its airdate. An "insider" at Fox claimed that the underperformance of Playing It Straight was a significant factor in the special's cancellation, as it caused the network to "believe the gay reality phenomenon was on the wane." The producers of the TBS series He's a Lady viewed Playing It Straight—in addition to Boy Meets Boy and Seriously, Dude, I'm Gay—as an example of the "potential pitfalls" to avoid when producing an LGBT-themed show. The underperformance and cancellations of these series resulted in executive producers Douglas Ross and Tommy Campbell consulting GLAAD for review of He's a Lady.

Adaptations
Adaptations of the series premiered in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, an adaptation titled Herken de Homo (Dutch; the English title is Recognize the Gay) premiered on January 4, 2005, on RTL 5. The series, which was hosted by Dutch television presenter Fiona Hering, was broadcast for a single season. Filmed in Mexico, the series followed Nathalie Biermanns, a 23-year-old actor, as she competed for a €50,000 (US$55,229). She had to choose between 14 men. At the end, only Marcel remained who turned out to be straight. Both Biermanns and Marcel won €50,000 (US$55,229) each.

An Australian version of the show aired on the Seven Network starting October 2004 hosted by Natalie Garonzi. Despite much of the hype surrounding it the shows ratings dwindled and it was moved to a later timeslot. After Rebecca eliminated Campbell (who was gay) Chad, Dane and Evan were left for one non-elimination round before appearing in the final episode. Rebecca chose Chad and he was revealed to be straight.

The Australian show has also aired in the US on FOX Reality.

The series was adapted for the United Kingdom, in which it aired for two seasons. The first season premiered on April 8, 2005, as part of the network's Twisted Dating Season. The series was set on a Mexican ranch and Zoe Hardman is spending time with 12 men. Ten men started the show and two more, Lee and Marco, were added in week 3 - it was revealed when they arrived that one was gay and one was straight. The prize money was £100,000 and the show was hosted by June Sarpong. The series has been repeated on Channel 4's sister channel, 4Music.

Early reporting revealed Ben Harris to be Mr Gay UK and also said: "Ben Harris, a builder, looks to be one of the favourites to win the show after the first episode in which he played to the builder stereotype."

In October 2011, it was announced that Channel 4 had ordered a full second series. This time the location was set in Spain and the new series was hosted by T4 presenter, Jameela Jamil and comedian Alan Carr provided the narration. The prize fund was decreased 50% to £50,000 (£25,000 each). The second series made its debut on 9 January 2012 at 9pm on E4. The series was set at a Spanish hacienda - Hacienda de los Hombres. The series was also aired on Channel 4's teen-strand, T4 on Saturdays.

title: Playing It Straight


text:
SMRT

SMRT may refer to:

Medicine

 * Silencing mediator for retinoid and thyroid-hormone receptor
 * Single Molecule Real Time Sequencing, a parallelized DNA sequencing by synthesis technology

Transport

 * SMRT Corporation, a Singaporean public transport operator
 * SMRT Trains, their rail subsidiary
 * SMRT Buses, their bus subsidiary
 * Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit, a regional bus system in Wisconsin, USA
 * Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation, a South Korean subway operator
 * Southern Maryland Rapid Transit, a proposed American light-rail system

Other uses

 * St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School, a school located at Redcliffe, Bristol
 * Thomas J. Smrt (born 1928), American inventor
 * Homer Simpson's spelling of Smart in The Simpsons episode "Homer Goes to College"

title: SMRT