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Jimmy Hart

James Ray Hart (born January 1, 1944) is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician. He is currently signed to WWE in a Legends deal. He is best known for his work in WWE when it was still known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; renamed WWE in 2002) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and used the nickname "the Mouth of the South" (one that was also given to Ted Turner).

Regarded by many to be one of the greatest managers in professional wrestling history, Hart has managed the likes of Andy Kaufman, The Honky Tonk Man, Bret Hart (no relation) and Jim Neidhart (The Hart Foundation), Greg "the Hammer" Valentine, Jerry "the King" Lawler, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, Irwin R. Schyster, The Mountie, The Natural Disasters, Dino Bravo, the Nasty Boys, The Giant, and Hulk Hogan. He was briefly the AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion in 1981.

Before becoming involved with professional wrestling, Hart was a member of rock band The Gentrys, best known for their 1965 top five Billboard Hot 100 hit, "Keep on Dancing".

Memphis Wrestling (1978–1985)
Jimmy Hart was born in Jackson, Mississippi. He was brought into wrestling by Jerry "the King" Lawler, who knew of Hart because both had attended Memphis Treadwell High School. Having been asked to sing back-up with Lawler, Hart later became Lawler's manager. After splitting from Lawler, Hart created a stable known as the First Family of Wrestling to attack Lawler, which among others included Hulk Hogan, King Kong Bundy, "Ravishing" Rick Rude, "Leaping" Lanny Poffo, Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart, Ox Baker, Kamala, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert, The Iron Sheik and Kevin Sullivan.

In 1982, Hart earned national headlines doing a program with comedian and television star Andy Kaufman. Hart, Lawler and Kaufman would continue this feud for over a year. Around this time, Hart became known as "the Wimp", a nickname given to him by Lawler and chanted by fans, and was the subject of the song "Wimpbusters," which was sung by Lawler to the tune of "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr.; a music video was also made featuring Lawler, announcer Lance Russell, and wrestlers such as Randy Savage, Jimmy Valiant, Dutch Mantel, Tommy Rich, and Rufus R. Jones, along with footage of Lawler beating Hart and his "First Family". In 1981 through 1984, Hart led Austin Idol, Masao Ito, and Gilbert to NWA/AWA International titles.

World Wrestling Federation (1985–1993)
In 1985, Hart's friend Hillbilly Jim recommended him to WWF owner Vince McMahon, who hired him. He was nicknamed "the Mouth of the South" due to his loose-lipped style, often augmented by his trademark megaphone, which he used to instruct and encourage his protégés, to discourage and annoy opponents and announcers (especially Gorilla Monsoon) and also as a weapon. Hart's first acquisition in the WWF was Greg "the Hammer" Valentine, then the Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, whom Hart managed at WrestleMania. After Valentine lost the Intercontinental Heavyweight Title to Tito Santana, Hart briefly co-managed the Dream Team (Valentine and Beefcake), until he was phased out and gave full control to "Luscious Johnny" Valiant. At WrestleMania, Hart also managed King Kong Bundy as he defeated S.D. Jones. Hart later traded Bundy's contract to Bobby "the Brain" Heenan for The Missing Link and Adrian Adonis. He helped the latter to establish his "Adorable Adrian" gimmick. Hart also managed Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart. 1985 also marked the appearance of the legendary Bret "Hitman" Hart. Jimmy Hart teamed him up with Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart to form the Hart Foundation. On January 26, 1987, Hart guided the Hart Foundation to the WWF World Tag Team Title, which they won from the British Bulldogs. Disgraced-referee-turned-wrestler Danny Davis also was managed by Jimmy Hart.

In 1985, Hart took the Funk Family under his wing. The Funks included Terry and Hoss Funk, as well as their kayfabe brother Jimmy Jack Funk. Hart wrestled on house shows with the Funks. On July 12, 1986, Hart won a battle royal to receive $50,000 at Madison Square Garden. When The Honky Tonk Man turned heel, Hart became his manager. In this position, Hart was nicknamed "the Colonel" in a reference to Colonel Tom Parker, the manager of Elvis Presley. With Hart in his corner, the Honky Tonk Man captured the Intercontinental Heavyweight Title from Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat on June 2, 1987, and held it until August 1988. During that time, the Honky Tonk Man feuded with Randy Savage and his manager Miss Elizabeth. "The Colonel" moniker stuck with him for years, even after the Honky Tonk Man departed the company in early 1991. At WrestleMania III, Hart was involved in three matches and took some incredible bumps during the show. His first appearance was with "Adorable" Adrian Adonis who fought Rowdy Roddy Piper. Then came the six-man tag match, pitting the Hart Foundation and Danny Davis against the Bulldogs and Tito Santana. Jimmy Hart's third appearance on the show was when The Honky Tonk Man fought Jake "the Snake" Roberts who had rock legend Alice Cooper in his corner. Following that match, Hart was left alone in the ring where Roberts and Cooper teamed up to terrorise him with Roberts' pet snake Damien. Also in 1987, Hart managed the WWF Women's Tag Team champions Judy Martin and Leilani Kai, known as The Glamour Girls. Martin and Kai mostly feuded with Japanese team the Jumping Bomb Angels (Noriyo Tateno and Itsuki Yamazaki).

Hart was named Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Manager of the Year in 1987, an award he won again in 1994. At WrestleMania IV, Hart received a haircut from Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake, after interfering in the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship match between Beefcake and the Honky Tonk Man, helping Honky Tonk Man retain the title by getting disqualified. When the Hart Foundation fired Hart as manager (and turned face) in 1988, Hart managed The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers to feud with his former team; the angle was that Hart still retained the managerial rights to his former team and gave a portion of it to the Rougeaus, giving them the right to appear at ringside whenever the Hart Foundation wrestled. At SummerSlam 1988, Hart accompanied Demolition and Mr. Fuji to help retain their WWF Tag Team title against the Hart Foundation. Ax used Hart's megaphone as a foreign object to strike Bret in the head and secure the victory. In 1989, Hart brought Dino Bravo into his stable after the departure of Frenchy Martin. Then at a push-up contest between the Ultimate Warrior and Bravo, Hart and Bravo invited a large 460-pound man from the audience – later known as Earthquake – into the ring to sit on the contestants' backs. Predictably the large man was planted in the audience by Hart and Bravo and they eventually teamed up against the Warrior. In 1990, Hart groomed Earthquake to be the man to beat Hulk Hogan. Hart continued his war with his former tag team, the Hart Foundation. In 1990, he combined his protégés Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine into the short-lived team of Rhythm and Blues, though they had teamed previously as themselves when facing the Hart Foundation at WrestleMania V. In 1991, he managed The Nasty Boys to defeat the Hart Foundation for the WWF World Tag Team title at WrestleMania VII, this time using a motorbike helmet as a weapon.

When the Nasty Boys lost the title to the Legion of Doom at SummerSlam 1991, Hart sent The Natural Disasters, a team formed out of Earthquake and his former opponent Typhoon (formerly known as Tugboat), to depose the new champions. When the Disasters failed, Hart formed a new team in early 1992: Money Inc., composed of Hart's protégé I.R.S. and "the Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. Money, Inc. defeated the L.O.D. Their title win led to the split between Hart and the Natural Disasters, who as faces feuded with Money Inc. and exchanged the tag team titles twice in 1992. Their biggest match came at WrestleMania VIII when Money Inc. retained their titles by leaving the ring and forcing a count-out. In 1991, Hart had also brought in The Mountie, who had a short reign as Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion in early 1992 after defeating Bret Hart on January 17, then losing it just two days later to Rowdy Roddy Piper at the Royal Rumble. A few months earlier, The Mountie feuded with the Big Boss Man over who was the "law and order" in the WWF. Their feud culminated in a match at SummerSlam where the loser (in this case The Mountie) had to spend the night in a New York jail. Late in 1992, Money Inc. regaining the tag team titles from the Natural Disasters led to the Nasty Boys turning on their manager, as he had repeatedly substituted them for Money Inc. in title matches.

Hart broke with Money Inc. early in 1993 and turned face when the team attacked Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake. In the storyline, Hart, conscious of Beefcake's extensive facial injuries from a real-life parasailing accident three years prior which required extensive re-constructive surgery to Beefcake's face and all but ended his full-time career, felt that his team went too far, and tried to stop them. Hart even went so far as to cover an unconscious Beefcake with his own body to stop them from doing more harm. Beefcake's long time friend Hulk Hogan came out the following week and expressed gratitude to Hart for his uncharacteristically heroic actions. He managed both Beefcake and Hogan who at WrestleMania IX lost to Money Inc by disqualification. Later in the show, Hart for the first time would be the manager of the WWF World Heavyweight Champion when Hogan accepted an impromptu challenge by Mr. Fuji, the manager of the new champion Yokozuna who had just defeated Bret Hart for the belt. Hogan would defeat the 505 lb new champion in a short match. At King of the Ring, Hart was in Hogan's corner as he lost the WWF World Heavyweight Title back to Yokozuna. This appearance was Hart's last in the WWF, as he, Beefcake and Hogan all departed the company.

World Championship Wrestling (1994–2001)
Following their departure from the WWF, Hogan and Hart briefly toured Mexico. After their return, Hart wrote music and occasionally appeared on Hogan's television show, Thunder in Paradise. Hogan then had Hart manage him when they went to World Championship Wrestling (WCW). At Bash at the Beach in 1994, Hart managed Hogan to win his first WCW World Heavyweight Title by defeating "the Nature Boy" Ric Flair.

At Halloween Havoc in 1995, Hart turned on Hogan to help The Giant. Hart also became the manager of the evil faction, the Dungeon of Doom, created by Kevin Sullivan. During that era, he managed Ric Flair to a 12th world title victory over Macho Man Randy Savage at Starrcade '95. After the demise of the Dungeon of Doom, Hart recreated The First Family. After the demise of the First Family, Hart was placed in charge of booking TBS's WCW Saturday Night show prior to the program's cancellation. Hart wrestled on April 18, 1999, to defeat Bubba the Love Sponge by disqualification at a house show. On November 15, he wrestled WCW Monday Nitro losing to Norman Smiley in a Hardcore match. Jimmy Hart was also the first Strapmaster for the Yapapi Indian strap match in which Hulk Hogan defeated Ric Flair on March 19, 2000, at the Uncensored PPV. At Spring Stampede in 2000, Hart faced radio personality Mancow. The two had a rematch later in the year at Mayhem. In February 2001, Hart joined WCW's booking committee.

Independent circuit; Wrestlicious (2002–present)
After the sale of WCW to the then rival WWF, Hart and a close consortium of wrestlers and investors decided to create a wrestling organization—the Xcitement Wrestling Federation (XWF)—that would replace WCW as well as take wrestling back to early 1990s style of fun, family-oriented entertainment with minimal story lines and more solid wrestling. In 2002, Hart restarted his feud with Jerry Lawler by buying, for the XWF, part of the upstart Memphis Wrestling promotion. Hart would wrestle for Memphis Wrestling from 2003 to 2005. He lost to Jimmy Valiant in a Loser Eats Dog Food match on August 2, 2003. In 2007, Hart appeared at the PMG Clash of Legends. On November 7, 2008, Hart appeared at the Jerry "The King" Lawler 35th anniversary event. He also made a few appearances with Florida Championship Wrestling, WWE's developmental territory, as a color commentator in 2008. He made multiple appearances for WrestleMania Axxess during the week leading up to The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania.

In May 2006, Hart traveled to The Funking Conservatory, owned by Dory Funk Jr and Marti Funk, to shoot promos with the students. His most notable ones being with Studio Sar Ah when he discusses his move from World Wrestling Entertainment to TNA Wrestling and as well as Wrestlicious. Both promos can be found on the Studio Sar Ah fan page on Facebook and as well as YouTube. Hart continues to work at the school and shoot promos. On January 19, 2010, Hart announced that his all-female wrestling promotion Wrestlicious would be premiering on MavTV and BiteTV on March 1, 2010. He wrestled at Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's Kurt RussellReunion II: The Reunioning in a battle royal won by Roddy Piper. On January 12, 2012, he wrestled at PWS WrestleReunion VI in battle royal won by The Godfather. Hart currently appears at various professional wrestling conventions and autograph signings around the United States. He is a staple at all of the Wrestlereunion shows, and also does various appearances as part of the VOC Nation wrestling radio program in Philadelphia on 1360 WNJC. Hart is a regular guest on the VOC Wrestling Nation radio program on WNJC.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003–2011)
In October 2003 Hart made his debut for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), hyping a match between Hulk Hogan and Jeff Jarrett, which was eventually scrapped as Hogan decided to return to WWE instead. On June 19, 2005, at Slammiversary pay-per-view, The Naturals were assisted in a title defense against Team Canada by Hart, who ran to ringside and threw his megaphone to Chase Stevens, who hit Petey Williams with it and pinned him. Hart acted as the manager of The Naturals until October 3, 2005. On February 14, 2010, at Against All Odds, Hart made his return to TNA as a heel by helping The Nasty Boys defeat Team 3D in a tag team match. The alliance, however, was short-lived, as on March 29, 2010, news broke that the Nasty Boys had been released by TNA following an incident at a TNA function with Spike executives present. Hart stayed with the company following the incident, but his role was unknown. Hart was seen on the January 20, 2011, edition of Impact!, when Kurt Angle yelled at him to play his entrance music upon entering the Impact! Zone.

Return to WWE (2011–present)
On March 1, 2011, it was reported that Jimmy Hart had left Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and re-signed with WWE to work on WrestleMania-related projects. Hart has since hosted various house shows. On August 14, 2011, Hart made an appearance at SummerSlam, teasing a managerial position with R-Truth during a backstage segment. On April 10, 2012, Hart made an appearance on SmackDown: Blast from the Past, where he managed the team of Heath Slater and Tyson Kidd, but ended up getting the mandible claw from Mick Foley.

As of April 30, 2014, Hart was part-owner of "Hogan's Beach", a wrestling-themed tiki-bar in Tampa, Florida. As of April 2014, Hart was a regular cast member on the WWE Network original reality show Legends' House. Hart appeared on the August 11 edition of Raw for Hogan's birthday celebration. In April 2017, Hart purchased a beachfront property in Daytona Beach, Florida, and opened “Jimmy Hart’s Hall of Fame Bar and Tiki Deck“, which is a beach bar featuring an abundance of autographed pictures, wrestling paraphernalia, and at times an intercontinental championship belt. On January 4, 2021, he made an appearance on the RAW Legends Night where he was involved in a segment with Hulk Hogan, Drew McIntyre and Sheamus.

On January 23, 2023, Hart appeared on WWE Raw is XXX, the 30th anniversary edition of Monday Night Raw, accompanying Hulk Hogan to open the show.

Other media
His book, The Mouth of the South, was released on November 18, 2004. Jimmy has also appeared in "Life: for sale", a YouTube series created by Koncrete Inc., which has Benjamin Mallah as its lead.

Music
Before wrestling, Hart, as a teenager, was a vocalist in the 60s band The Gentrys, who had a million selling record with 1965's "Keep on Dancing". Before becoming The Gentrys, they were known as just "The Gents." Their production manager told them that if they did not change their name, then they would not succeed in the music industry. Later, after the leader of the group Larry Raspberry left, Hart took over and they had a few minor hits, most notably "Why Should I Cry" and a cover of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl", but were never able to match the success of "Keep on Dancing." Hart and the band were successful in the Memphis area nightclub circuit. The group was under contract to Stax Records at the time of its bankruptcy, and Stax could not properly promote them.

During his years in the professional wrestling business, Hart composed many theme songs for wrestlers in the WWF and WCW. Some of the wrestlers for whom he composed music were Honky Tonk Man, Jimmy Snuka, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, The Rockers, The Hart Foundation, Crush, the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, Dusty Rhodes, the Legion of Doom, the Nasty Boys, Ted DiBiase, the Mountie, Hulk Hogan, Sting, the nWo Wolfpac, and 3 Count. He also composed the themes for SummerSlam '88 (which was later reused as the theme for many early Royal Rumble events) and WrestleMania VI (which was later used for the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth events). One of Hart's most notable compositions is Shawn Michaels's entrance theme, "Sexy Boy."

In the late 1980s, Hart released a music album (also available on cassette tape) titled Outrageous Conduct. The release consisted of comical songs done in character, such as "Barbra Streisand's Nose" and "Eat Your Heart Out Rick Springfield" (the latter of which would become Hart's solo theme song in WWE). In 1995, Hulk Hogan released the album "Hulk Rules, on Select Records." Hart, as well as Hogan's wife and Brian Knobbs, were a part of the band The Wrestling Boot Band and helped write and sing many of the album's songs.

Television appearances
In September 2007, Hart appeared on an episode of The People's Court as a witness for a defendant. Hart is a close friend of Hulk Hogan and is featured on many episodes of Hogan's VH1 reality series, Hogan Knows Best. Hart was also a judge on Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling. Hart also appears in hair restoration advertisements for Medical Hair Restoration, as a client. He also does a comedic women's wrestling show called Wrestlicious, which can be viewed at Wrestlicious.com. Hart appeared on the WWE Legends' House. Hart has appeared a few times in Hulk Hogan's TV-show Thunder in Paradise. He also sang the intro music for the episode "Deadly Lessons, Pt. 1".

Youtube appearances
Jimmy Hart is a constant on Life for Sale with real estate investor Ben Mallah  —the $500,000,000 Real Estate Mogul.

Movie appearances
In 1967, Hart appeared in the film It's a Bikini World as a member of The Gentrys. In 2010, Hart appeared in the Insane Clown Posse's film Big Money Rustlas. In 2011, Hart appeared as himself in the Canadian movie Monster Brawl. Hart played the announcer to a wrestling tournament of eight classic monsters who fight to the death.

Championships and accomplishments

 * American Wrestling Association
 * AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * Cauliflower Alley Club
 * Manager's Award (2015)
 * Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame
 * Class of 2017
 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * Manager of the Year (1987, 1994)
 * World Class Wrestling Association
 * Hall of Fame (2006)
 * World Wrestling Entertainment
 * WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2005)
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 * Manager of the Year (1983)
 * Best on Interviews (1984)
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2018)

title: Jimmy Hart


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Ernest Reyer

Louis Étienne Ernest Reyer (1 December 1823 – 15 January 1909) was a French opera composer and music critic.

Biography
Ernest Reyer was born in Marseille. His father, a notary, did not want his son to take up a career in music. However, he did not actively block his son's ambitions and allowed him to attend classes at the Conservatoire from age six to sixteen. In 1839, when he was 16 years old, Ernest traveled to north Africa to work under his brother-in-law, head of accounting for the Treasury Department in Algeria. The job was not a good fit with Reyer's nonchalant and undisciplined temperament. From administrative documents, it is apparent that Reyer wrote innumerable youthful essays and stories, and original dance pieces. Some of his early compositions achieved local notoriety and received favorable comments in the Algerian press, including a Mass performed at the cathedral that was performed for the arrival of the Duke of Aumale in 1847.

Reyer returned to Paris during the events 1848. During this period, he was introduced to various eminent artists, including Gustave Flaubert and Théophile Gautier. Southern France and Provence held its allure, and Reyer returned there to socialize with local people with whom he loved to play dominoes while smoking a pipe. He said that his pipe was his best source of inspiration.

His aunt, Louise Farrenc, professor of piano at the Conservatoire and a talented composer in her own right, directed Reyer's early musical studies. In 1850, he composed a symphonic ode entitled Le Sélam for soloists and chorus to words by Gautier. Four years later, in 1854, he composed music for an opera in one act, Maître Wolfram ("Master Wolfram"), whose libretto was by Joseph Méry. Hearing a performance of this work at the Opéra Comique, Berlioz recognized Reyer's talent. He said that Reyer's output had "nothing in common with the somewhat affected, somewhat dilapidated approach the Paris muse [...]. His melodies are natural [...]. There's heart and imagination there."

Gradually, some fame came Reyer's way. In 1857, the critic Charles Monselet wrote: "Is this a musician who writes, or a writer who makes music? I do not know, but I am hopeful that this spirited boy will make his way to singing and writing." Admittedly, Reyer was not (yet) unanimously praised and some critics pointed-out that his orchestration had not achieved a level of musical genius.

The following year he composed a ballet, Sacountalâ, with a story, once again, by Gautier, the plot of which was based on Kālidāsa's Shakuntala. The ballet was given twenty-four performances through to 1860.

In 1861, Reyer composed an opéra-comique in three acts and six scenes, La statue ("The Statue"), whose plot was inspired by "One Thousand and One Nights" (also knowns as: "Arabian Nights") with a libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier. It was premiered in Théâtre Lyrique in Paris on April 11, 1861. In less than two years, La statue achieved sixty performances, an impressive figure for the period.

Reyer's work was finally universally recognized in 1862, and the composer from Marseilles became a chevalier of the Legion of Honour. The same year, he composed Érostrate, an opera in two acts, which was played in August 1862 in Baden-Baden, under the auspices of great families in Europe, which earned him the distinction of receiving the Red Eagle from the hands of the Queen of Prussia.

Little by little, however, his reputation began to decline. The same Érostate failed completely in Paris and was staged for only three performances, which deprived the work of a possible production at the Opéra.

The best-known of his five operas is Sigurd (1884); it was quite popular in France during its initial production there (it had its premiere in Brussels at the Théâtre de La Monnaie in January 1884), and is sometimes (although rarely) revived. Sigurd is based on the Scandinavian legends of the Edda Völsunga saga (Nibelungenlied), the same source which Richard Wagner drew upon for the libretto for his Ring cycle. The music of Sigurd, however, is quite unlike the music of Wagner. While Reyer admired Wagner, he developed his music more along the lines of his mentor, Hector Berlioz. Listening to Sigurd, one cannot help but hear echoes of Les Troyens or Benvenuto Cellini, imbued with the same heroic musical posture.

Reyer's last opera was Salammbô (1890), based on the novel by Gustave Flaubert, which achieved 46 performances from May to December 1892. The work had been composed several years earlier but had been met with initial resistance by administrators, as had Sigurd. It was first performed at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels in 1890, and at the Théâtre des Arts in Rouen.

Unable to live on the proceeds from his operas, Reyer succeeded Berlioz as music critic at the Journal des débats. He also worked as the librarian at the Académie de musique.

Reyer died in Le Lavandou, in the south of France, ~80 km east of Marseilles.

Selected compositions

 * Chœur des buveurs et chœurs des assiégés, ca. 1848.
 * Le sélam, 1850.
 * Maître Wolfram, 1-act Opéra Comique, 1854.
 * Sacountalâ, ballet 1858.
 * Chant des paysans (from Les Volontaires de 1814 by V. Séjour), 1861.
 * La statue, 1861.
 * Erostrate, 1862.
 * L'hymne du Rhin, words by Méry, 1865.
 * La Madeleine au désert, poems by Ed. Blau, 1874.
 * Marche tzigane.
 * Recueil de mélodies et de fragments d'opéras.
 * Sigurd, 1884.
 * Salammbô, 1890.
 * Tristesse, poems by Ed. Blau, 1884.
 * L'homme, poems by G. Boyer, 1892.
 * Trois sonnets, poems by C. du Locle.

Selected writings in French

 * Notes de musiques, Charpentier, 1875.
 * Notice sur Félicien David, Académie des Beaux-Arts, 17 November 1877.
 * Berlioz, Revue des Revues, 1 January 1894.
 * Quarante ans de musique (1857–1899), posthumous publication with preface and notes by Henriot, Calmann-Lévy, 1910, in-8°.

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

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Dead Presidents

Dead Presidents is a 1995 American crime film co-written, produced and directed by the Hughes Brothers. The film chronicles the life of Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate), focusing on his teenage years as a high school graduate and his experiences during the Vietnam War as a Recon Marine. As he returns to his hometown in The Bronx, Curtis finds himself struggling to support himself and his family, eventually turning to a life of crime.

Dead Presidents is based partly on the real-life experiences of Haywood T. Kirkland (aka Ari S. Merretazon), whose true story was detailed in the book Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans  by Wallace Terry. Certain characters from the film are based on real acquaintances of Kirkland, who served time in prison after committing robbery in facepaint. The film also is loosely based on several incidents involving the Black Liberation Army, notably the Brink's armored truck robbery.

Plot
In 1969, Anthony Curtis, a soon-to-be high school graduate in The Bronx, chooses to enlist in the United States Marine Corps rather than go to college. He deploys to Vietnam, leaving behind his middle-class family, his girlfriend Juanita, and small-time crook Kirby, who is like a second father. Anthony's close friend, Skip, later joins Curtis' Recon squad after dropping out of Hunter College. His other friend, Jose, is drafted into the United States Army. Once in Vietnam, Curtis and his squad lose several fellow Marines during combat, and commit several atrocities of their own, such as executing enemy prisoners and beheading Viet Cong corpses for war trophies.

When Anthony returns to the Bronx in 1973, he finds returning to "normal" life impossible. Skip is now an Agent Orange victim and heroin addict; Jose, forced to wear a prosthetic hand, is a pyromaniac who works as a postman at the James A. Farley Building, and Cleon, the squad's religious but homicidal staff sergeant, is now a devoted minister in Mount Vernon.

After being laid off from his job at a butcher shop, on the verge of alcoholism, and suffering from heavily induced PTSD nightmares, Anthony finds himself unable to support Juanita (who is having an affair with a pimp) or his infant daughter. After an argument with Juanita, Anthony meets her sister, Delilah, who is now a member of the "Nat Turner Cadre", a militant Black power Marxist group. Anthony, Kirby, Skip, Jose, Delilah and Cleon devise a plan to rob an armored car making a stop at the Noble Street Federal Reserve Bank.

The next day, the group strategically position themselves around the street, armed with weapons and disguised with face paint, ready to ambush the truck. The plan goes awry when Cleon is approached by a New York Police Department (NYPD) officer who unknowingly stumbles upon the robbery, leading to Kirby being shot in the arm and Skip killing the officer. At the same time, Anthony and Jose are spotted by the truck's driver, causing a shootout with the security guards.

Jose plants an explosive device on the escaping truck to blow off the door, but instead it destroys the entire vehicle. Delilah saves Anthony's life by killing one of the guards. A second guard appears and shoots Delilah multiple times, killing her. As the group collects what cash they can from the burning wreckage, they flee and split up to escape the police. Jose gets cornered in an alley by an approaching police car. When he shoots the officer, he is hit by the car and killed as the car crashes into a wall.

Not long after the heist, Kirby hears that Cleon has been giving out $100 bills and purchased a new Cadillac. Anthony drives over to Cleon's church to speak to him, only to find him being led out the front door in handcuffs by two detectives. Cleon gives up the other robbers as part of a remorseful plea bargain. NYPD officers storm Skip's apartment to arrest him, only to find that he has died of a heroin overdose. As Kirby and Anthony prepare to flee to Mexico, police raid the bar. Kirby tries to distract the officers to allow Anthony to flee, but it is to no avail, as multiple officers corner Anthony and arrest him.

In court, Anthony's lawyer pleads for a fair sentence, noting that he served his country in the Marines and earned a Silver Star. However the judge, a Marine and Battle of Guadalcanal veteran, proclaims that Anthony has forgotten his values and shouldn't use the Vietnam War as an excuse for his actions, sentencing him to fifteen years to life. Anthony, furious at his sentence, throws a chair at the judge before being escorted away by bailiffs. The final scene shows Anthony looking out the window of his prison bus.

Themes
The film depicts the struggle of returning war veterans of color who are neglected by the US government and the mistreatment of Vietnam veterans. Many black and Latino veterans of the Vietnam War were denied benefits, compensation, and recognition for their efforts in serving their country.

Production
Principal photography commenced on October 31, 1994. The production filmed through the remainder of the year and into early February across a variety of locations, including location shoots Brooklyn and Mount Vernon, New York. Sound stages in Queens and Los Angeles served as interior locations. All Vietnam scenes were shot in Florida, with former celery farm Lee Ranch serving as the outdoor sets.

Reception
Dead Presidents received mixed reviews from critics. Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 49% of critics gave the film a positive rating, based on 35 reviews with an average score of 5.8/10.

Todd McCarthy of Variety gave the film a positive review stating, "In all respects an extremely ambitious follow-up to their crackling debut, Menace II Society, the Hughes Brothers' mordant Dead Presidents may eventually box itself into a narrative dead end, but its muscular engagement of weighty themes and explosive situations makes it a powerful drama." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called the film "both expected and surprising, familiar and yet somehow different. Made with fluid skill and a passion for storytelling, its tale of how the Vietnam War and American society affect a black Marine remains accessible while confounding expectations."

Caryn James of The New York Times felt the film "takes on much more than it can handle." Comparing the film with the Hughes Brother's previous film James said, "The Hugheses obviously knew the world and generation of Menace II Society better than the past of Dead Presidents, but that is only part of the problem. In Menace they trusted the audience more, immersing them in a violent world the film explained without condoning."

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a mixed 2.5 star review, and explained that the directing duo "have a sure sense of the camera, of actors, of the life within a scene. But they are not as sure when it comes to story and meaning, and here is a film that feels incomplete, as if its last step is into thin air. Scene by scene you feel its skill, but you leave the theater wondering about the meaning of it all." The early scenes were the best, according to Ebert, and the film "goes off the rails" in the final act.

Mark Kermode placed it at number two in his countdown of top five underrated films of all time.

title: Dead Presidents


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Snapple

Snapple is a brand of tea and juice drinks which is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, based in Plano, Texas, United States. The original producer of Snapple, a company that was known as Unadulterated Food Products, was founded in 1972. The brand achieved some fame due to various pop-culture references including television shows.

History
Snapple was founded by Leonard Marsh, Hyman Golden, and Arnold Greenberg in 1972 in Valley Stream, Long Island, New York. Their company, which was originally known as Unadulterated Food Products, was first conceived as a part-time venture to supply fruit juices to health food stores. Unsure if the business would succeed, Greenberg continued to run his health food store in Manhattan's East Village, while Leonard Marsh and his brother-in-law, Hyman Golden, operated a window washing business. In a 1989 interview with Crain's New York Business, Marsh admitted that when they launched the small business he knew "as much about juice as about making an atom bomb."

An early apple juice product led to the company's name, Snapple. Golden, Greenberg and Marsh had created a carbonated apple juice. One of the batches of apple juice fermented in the bottle, causing the bottle caps to fly off. The original name of that particular apple juice product, Snapple, a portmanteau derived from the words snappy and apple, became the new name for their beverage company. Thus the Snapple Beverage Corporation was born, beginning in the early 1980s. Snapple would not manufacture their first tea, lemon tea, until 1987.

, there are many different types of Snapple: tea (multiple flavors, such as lemon, raspberry, and peach, all of which come in original and diet), juice drinks, lemonade, and bottled water. Snapple also comes in aluminum cans.

Snapple's brand slogan is "Made from the Best Stuff on Earth".

Snapple was known for a popular series of TV advertisements in the early 1990s featuring Wendy Kaufman (the "Snapple Lady") answering letters from Snapple fans. In an effort to counteract the Coke and Pepsi challenge commercials, Snapple began running a new line of advertisements in May 1992, which featured its trademark "Made from the best stuff on Earth" line in ads that spoofed earlier beer and sports drinks promotions; the ads received low marks from advertising industry observers. In addition, the company used its $15-million-a-year advertising budget to pay for a long-lived series of live radio commercials featuring controversial radio hosts Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh. At the end of the summer of 1992, Snapple conducted a five-week search for a new advertising agency that could better convey its corporate identity in preparation for a wider national push. Later that year, Snapple also signed tennis player Jennifer Capriati to endorse its products. By August 1992, Snapple had expanded its distribution to every major city in the United States and it signed new contracts with beverage distributors. The company owned no manufacturing facilities, but instead made agreements with more than 30 bottlers across the country. In this way, Snapple was able to keep its overhead low and its payroll short. The company administration consisted of just 80 employees, 50 of whom worked out of a modest office building on Long Island.

Thomas H. Lee, an American businessperson, financier and investor of Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL), acquired Snapple Beverages in 1992 on undisclosed terms. The three founders of Snapple, Leonard Marsh, Hyman Golden and Arnold Greenberg, said they would own about one-third of the new company and be involved in its management. Hellen Berry, vice president of the Beverage Marketing Corporation, a consultant in New York, estimated that Snapple, which had been for sale for more than a year and had $100 million in sales in 1991, sold for $140 million. Only eight months after buying the company, Lee took Snapple Beverages public and in 1994, only two years after the original acquisition, Lee sold the company to the Quaker Oats Company for $1.7 billion. Lee was estimated to have made $900 million for himself and his investors from the sale. Quaker Oats ran into problems and sold Snapple to Triarc in 1997 for $300 million. Triarc sold it to Cadbury Schweppes for $1.45 billion in September 2000. Snapple was spun off in May 2008 to its current owners.

Lawsuits
In 2009, a consumer lawsuit was brought against Snapple in California. The suit alleged the drinks contained unhealthy ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup and deceptive names on labels that led consumers to believe that certain healthy elements are in the drinks that are not really present.

In 2010, in a lawsuit against Snapple in the federal District of New Jersey, the court certified to the FDA for an administrative determination the question whether high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) qualifies as a "natural" ingredient. In 2010, the FDA responded by letter and declined to provide the court with the requested guidance. Stating that it would take two to three years to engage in a transparent proceeding to elicit the proper public participation, the FDA again cited its limited resources and more pressing food-safety concerns.

In 2011, a New York federal court dismissed a different lawsuit accusing Snapple of misleading consumers by labeling drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup as "all natural" when the drink contained no natural juice. The court found that the plaintiffs had failed to show that they were injured as a result of Snapple's labeling.

After the lawsuit in May 2009, Snapple was made with sugar, not high fructose corn syrup. In certain areas the older formula is still sold in stores, but this is becoming increasingly rare.

Snapple and New York City schools
In October 2003, Snapple began its sponsorship of the New York City public school system (and other parcels in the area), as part of the deal to make Snapple New York City's official beverage. The company promised an $8 million per year profit for city schools if it were allowed to sell its drinks, including juice and bottled water, in school vending machines.

Snapple was able to acquire the contract in part because New York City officials did not want to encourage the consumption of sodas, which have been linked to childhood obesity and diabetes and are generally considered unhealthy. The Snapple juice drinks, specifically created to meet rules banning soda and other sugary snacks from city schools, are marketed under the "Snapple 100% Juiced!" label. The flavors available under this brand include Green Apple, Fruit Punch, Melon Berry, Grape, Orange Mango, and Strawberry Lime. Although the juice drinks are fortified with vitamins and minerals, a 16-ounce bottle contains more sugar (41 grams) than a 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola (39 grams).

Dr. Michael F. Jacobson, the executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, called the drinks "little better than vitamin-fortified sugar water." In addition, the concentrates used in the drinks, apple, grape and pear, are the least expensive and nutritious. Dr. Toni Liquori, associate professor at the Columbia Teachers College, questioned the sale of bottled water in schools, saying "If anything, we should have cold water in our schools."

The deal also gave Snapple exclusive rights to sell its tea and juice-based drinks in vending machines on all New York City properties starting in January 2004. Snapple paid the City $106 million for the rights and agreed to spend $60 million more to marketing and promotion over the length of the five-year contract.

K symbol
In the early 1990s, the original label graphic on the Iced Tea flavor, a depiction of the United States historical event the Boston Tea Party, was replaced due to misinformation espoused by protest groups claiming the ships on the packaging were slave trading vessels in New York Harbor. Snapple also fell victim to a rumor that the small K was either a representation of the Klan, or of an imagined Jewish Tax (augmented by the fact that all three founders were Jewish). The K on the products actually meant that they were certified kosher. There were also rumors that the company donated to the controversial pro-life organization Operation Rescue.

Snapple initially tried to quell these rumors quietly, but ultimately had to launch a media campaign to squash them, pointing out it would be bad for business to support controversial issues in such a way as the rumors implied. Through a media campaign with the NAACP, Snapple successfully fought back these rumors, although occasionally they are still brought up as fact.

Real Facts
Snapple is well known for printing an interesting numbered list of Snapple "Real Fact" facts on the inside of their bottle caps. A list of these "Real Facts" is available on the company website; however, the most comprehensive list of "Real Facts" is available at https://www.snapplecaps.com/real-facts/. The "Real Facts" currently go from #1 to #1677, although many numbers in this range have never had facts written for them and have never been put into circulation.

Several of the facts on Snapple caps have been found to be outdated, incorrect or exaggerated.

Popular culture
Snapple was the official beverage sponsor of America's Got Talent from season 7 to season 9 of the NBC show (Howard Stern, one of the judges on the show, was a spokesperson for Snapple in the 1980s). It was replaced by Dunkin' for season 10.

Snapple Theater Center
In 2007, Snapple opened the Snapple Theater Center on 50th Street and Broadway in the heart of New York City's Theater District. It has two theaters, one of which is a traditional theater, the other a thrust stage which can house plays. The center also includes a 40×50 ft rehearsal space which is available for rent. The theaters are considered off-Broadway because of their low seating capacities. The theater has since dropped the Snapple name and sponsorship and is simply known as The Theater Center.

Kosher certification
Most Snapple drinks do have a Kosher certification from the OK Kosher Agency. Exceptions include:
 * Fruit Punch
 * Grape
 * Kiwi Lemon-lime

title: Snapple


text:
Luis Gonzalez

Luis Gonzalez or González may refer to:

Academics

 * Luis González y González (1925–2003), Mexican historian
 * Luis A. Gonzalez (judge) (fl. 1978–2015), American judge

Arts and Entertainment

 * Luis "Checho" González (born 1928), Chilean folklore composer and songwriter
 * Luis González Palma (born 1957), Guatemalan photographer

Politicians

 * Luis González Bravo (1811–1871), two-time prime minister of Spain
 * Luis Arturo González López (1900–1965), president of Guatemala
 * Luis Gonzales Posada (born 1945), Peruvian politician
 * Luis Eduardo González (born 1945), Uruguayan political scientist, sociologist and polling specialist
 * Luis Ángel González Macchi (born 1947), President of Paraguay, 1999–2003

Association football

 * Lucho González (born 1981), Argentine football midfielder
 * Luis Gonzalez (soccer, born 1989), American soccer forward
 * Luis González (Bolivian footballer) (born 1958), Bolivian football midfielder
 * Luis González (footballer, born 1972), Ecuadorian football midfielder
 * Luis González (footballer, born 1997), Mexican football midfielder
 * Luis González (footballer, born 1999), Venezuelan football goalkeeper

Baseball

 * Luis Gonzalez (2020s pitcher), Dominican baseball pitcher
 * Luis González (1900s pitcher) (1884–?), Cuban baseball player
 * Luis Gonzalez (outfielder, born 1967) (born 1967), American former Major League Baseball outfielder
 * Luis González (outfielder, born 1995) (born 1995), Mexican Major League Baseball outfielder
 * Luis González (infielder) (born 1979), Venezuelan Major League Baseball utility player

Boxing

 * Luis González (Chilean boxer) (born 1949), Chilean boxer
 * Jorge Luis González (born 1964), Cuban heavyweight professional boxing contender, fl. 1990s
 * Luis González (Venezuelan boxer) (born 1984), Venezuelan boxer

Other sports

 * Luis González (swimmer) (born 1925), Colombian swimmer
 * Luis González (archer) (born 1945), Costa Rican archer
 * Luis González (skier) (born 1955), Puerto Rican freestyle skier
 * Luis Alberto González (born 1965), Colombian cyclist
 * Luis Javier González (born 1969), Spanish middle-distance runner

Other

 * Luis Gonzalez (television character), a character in Chiquititas

title: Luis Gonzalez


text:
Category:Biology

Biology is the science of life. It is concerned with the characteristics and behaviors of organisms; how individuals come into existence, and how species evolve; and the interactions they have with each other and with their environment. Biology includes many academic fields that are often considered independent disciplines, some of which are listed below as subcategories.

title: Category:Biology


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A Walk on the Moon

A Walk on the Moon is a 1999 American drama film starring Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Liev Schreiber and Anna Paquin. The film, which was set against the backdrop of the Woodstock festival of 1969 and the United States's Moon landing of that year, was distributed by Miramax Films. Directed by Tony Goldwyn in his directorial debut, the film was acclaimed on release. Diane Lane earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead for her performance.

Plot
Pearl Kantrowitz and her husband Marty are a lower middle class Jewish couple in New York City. For the summer of 1969, the couple go on their annual vacation at Dr. Fogler's Bungalows in the Catskills with their family, which includes teen daughter Alison, young son Danny, and Marty's mother Lillian.

Marty, who works as a television repairman back in the city, can only visit his family at the camp on the weekends. Pearl, who got pregnant with Alison at 17 and quickly married Marty, feels at a crossroads in her life. She meets Walker Jerome, a free-spirited salesman who goes from resort to resort selling clothes. With Marty absent, Pearl starts spending more time with Walker and they begin an affair.

Meanwhile, Alison undergoes her own summer of changes and experiences teenage rites of passage—her first period, her first date, and her first kiss with Ross Epstein, a boy at the camp.

The impending Moon landing has kept Marty busy at his job, as customers are anxious to have their TV sets ready for the historic event. While the whole town celebrates Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon, Pearl and Walker have sex. Marty's mother Lillian learns of the affair and tries to persuade Pearl to break it off. But the affair continues when Marty cannot visit on the weekend because of the traffic jams caused by the huge Woodstock festival, which is taking place within walking distance of the bungalow colony.

Pearl goes to the festival with Walker. Alison goes to the festival as well with her friends, although her mother had explicitly forbidden her to do so. When Alison happens to see Pearl in the festival crowds carousing with Walker while on LSD, she becomes upset and leaves with Ross.

Marty learns of his wife's affair and confronts Pearl. Alison also confronts her mother in an emotional scene. Pearl is forced to deal with her love of her family and her conflicting yearning for marital freedom.

Pearl decides to stay with Marty and tells Walker she can’t go away with him. Walker says he understands. The final scene shows Pearl and Marty dancing together, first to Dean Martin's "When You're Smiling" and then to Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze", after Marty changes the radio station.

Cast

 * Diane Lane as Pearl Kantrowitz
 * Viggo Mortensen as Walker Jerome
 * Liev Schreiber as Marty Kantrowitz
 * Anna Paquin as Allison Kantrowitz
 * Tovah Feldshuh as Lillian Kantrowitz
 * Bobby Boriello as Danny Kantrowitz
 * Julie Kavner as P.A. Announcer
 * Mahée Paiement as Mrs. Dymbort
 * Star Jasper as Rhoda Leiberman
 * Ellen David as Eleanor Gelfand
 * Lisa Bronwyn Moore as Norma Fogler
 * Lisa Jakub as Myra Naidell
 * Joseph Perrino as Ross Epstein
 * Stewart Bick as Neil Leiberman

Development
Playwright Pamela Gray, inspired by her own experiences vacationing with her family in a Catskills bungalow colony as a youth, first wrote the script in 1992. Gray said, "I remember sitting by the pool in Dr. Locker’s bungalow colony and watching the hippies walk by on the way to Woodstock. And it was this time warp. We’ve got women playing mah-jongg and canasta and the guys are playing pinochle. We are this little ‘50s enclave, and everything outside was in the 1960s." The script was originally titled "The Blouse Man" and won the national Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award.

Gray was unsuccessful in getting the script produced, as financiers told her the story was "too small, too soft, not universal, and too Jewish." Years later, actor Tony Goldwyn, the grandson of Samuel Goldwyn, came across the script by coincidence and was immediately drawn to the story's themes of midlife identity crises and coming-of-age against the backdrop of the 1960s counterculture. Said Goldwyn, '' You suddenly see your life laid out in front of you. And you say, 'Is this the life I dreamed of having? Am I the person I wanted to become?' If the answer's no, that's a very scary moment. And sometimes what it takes to deal with that is very risky: it requires shattering the status quo."

Goldwyn originally intended to only produce, but after not finding a director who shared his passion for the story, decided to direct the film himself.

Filming
The film was shot in the Laurentian Mountains in eastern Canada over a period of 36 days in the summer of 1997. Liev Schreiber based his character Marty on his own grandfather.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack for the film was released March 23, 1999 through Sire Records. It contains sixteen tracks.

Release
Before its release, the film secured distribution from Miramax. It was first shown at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where an enthusiastic reception convinced Miramax to release the film theatrically that spring.

A Walk on the Moon went into limited release on March 26, 1999, and expanded nationwide through the month of April. Its worldwide box office total was $4,750,660.

Critical reception
A Walk on the Moon received positive reviews among critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 73% based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's consensus states: "An impressive showcase for Diane Lane and an assured debut from director Tony Goldwyn, A Walk on the Moon finds absorbing period drama within a family at a crossroads." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune wrote that the film "becomes something larger and deeper as we watch" and that the character of Allison is an obvious surrogate for screenwriter Pamela Gray. He added that what makes A Walk in the Moon interesting is its refusal to take sides or villainize any one person given that it "is about that old '60s polarity -- the hip and the square, the trapped and the free." Stephen Hunter of The Washington Post praised Diane Lane's "capacity to express the yearning that Pearl feels as authentically as the guilt she suffers." He also described Marty as a "schlumph". Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote, "Even when it turns turbulent, the film sustains its warm summer glow, and makes itself a conversation piece about the moral issues it means to raise."

Ty Burr of Entertainment Weekly gave a more mixed review and criticized the film's ending, but noted "'A Walk on the Moon ' still nails the cultural crosscurrents of 1969 — the way that a woman who has been walking the straight and narrow for years could suddenly give in to all the freedom rushing by around her."

Desson Howe, also of the Washington Post, found the film "a little too perfect and symbolically signposted for its own good". Roger Ebert gave a mixed review but singled out Anna Paquin’s performance, saying her plot line “as a teenage girl struggling with new ideas and raging hormones” is the film’s most compelling story. Readers of Entertainment Weekly ranked the film as #9 on the magazine's "50 Sexiest Movies Ever" poll in 2008.

Musical adaptation
Pamela Gray adapted her script into a stage musical, with music and lyrics by Paul Scott Goodman and AnnMarie Milazzo. The musical was first staged by the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco in June 2018. The musical was set to debut at the George Street Playhouse in New Jersey in 2020 but was delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions. The play ultimately opened on April 26, 2022 presented by the George Street Playhouse.

title: A Walk on the Moon


text:
Category:Homosexuality

Articles related to homosexuality, portrayals of homosexuality in popular culture, and the homosexual community.

title: Category:Homosexuality


text:
Category:Opera composers

Classification: Performing arts: Opera: Composers also: Music: Genres: Opera: Composers

title: Category:Opera composers


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User:Nommonomanac/standard.css

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User:Grendelkhan/monobook.css

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title: User:Grendelkhan/monobook.css


text: Category:Religion

title: Category:Religion


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Category:Medical ethics

Medical ethics (also, and somewhat more broadly "Biomedical ethics") is a branch of bioethics concerning the practice of medicine and related fields.

title: Category:Medical ethics


text:
Kristy Swanson

Kristen Noel Swanson (born December 19, 1969) is an American actress. She is best recognized for having played Buffy Summers in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer and appeared in the 1996 film The Phantom.

Her first starring role was in Wes Craven's horror film Deadly Friend (1986), followed by her portrayal of Catherine "Cathy" Dollanganger in the film adaptation of V. C. Andrews's Flowers in the Attic (1987). Swanson also starred in several films, including Hot Shots! (1991), Mannequin Two: On the Move (1991), The Program (1993), The Chase (1994), 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997), Big Daddy (1999), and Dude, Where's My Car? (2000), and appeared in Pretty in Pink (1986) and Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986).

Early life
Swanson, born in South Laguna, California at the South Coast Community Hospital, was raised in Mission Viejo, California. by her parents Rosemary Albrecht and Robert Russell Swanson, a high school teacher. At the age of nine, she expressed interest in acting to her parents, and began pursuing roles in television commercials. She landed her first job appearing in a doll house commercial, which was followed with several more commercial appearances.

Career
Swanson began her acting career at The Actors Workshop with R. J. Adams and promptly moved into TV advertising roles and several one-off appearances in TV series such as Cagney and Lacey and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1986, she debuted on the big screen in two John Hughes films: Pretty in Pink, in a non-speaking role, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off as a character who announces a convoluted excuse for Ferris's absence in class. Her first starring role was later in 1986, in Wes Craven's Deadly Friend as Samantha – "the girl next door." The next year she played Cathy in the adaptation of V. C. Andrews' best-seller, Flowers in the Attic.

Swanson described how she was cast in Pretty in Pink: "[Writer] John Hughes said, 'We're re-shooting the end of Pretty in Pink. I was wondering if you would come be in this scene with our main character, Ducky, because the way we tested it in the movie theater, it didn't work. We need him to end up with somebody else at the end of the movie. So would you play the part?'"

By 1990, Swanson had made many television appearances, including multiple appearances in Knots Landing (1987–1988), Nightingales (1989), her first starring role in a television series, although it only lasted a season, and a short-lived Burt Reynolds television series called B.L. Stryker (1989).

Throughout the 1990s, she starred mostly in films. She played the title role in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Although not a hit at the box office originally, it had a profitable rental life. She appeared in both starring and supporting roles in films such as Hot Shots!, The Program, The Chase, and her most critically acclaimed role, playing Kristen Connor, a student discovering her sexuality, in John Singleton's Higher Learning. She also appeared in the film adaptation of the comic-book The Phantom and the dark comedy 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag with Joe Pesci. Most of these films failed at the box office, and she reverted to television work in the late 1990s.

In the 1998–99 season of Early Edition, Swanson played Erica Paget, a love interest of the main character, Gary Hobson. In 1999, Swanson played Vanessa, the ex-girlfriend of Adam Sandler in the film Big Daddy. In 2000, she returned to a television series, as the star of Grapevine, a revamp of a 1992 TV series that was canceled after five episodes. The same year, she starred in the successful film Dude, Where's My Car?, alongside Ashton Kutcher, Seann William Scott and Jennifer Garner.

Swanson posed nude for Playboy magazine in November 2002 in a cover-featured pictorial. She appeared in and won in the 2006 Fox television program Skating with Celebrities, partnered with Lloyd Eisler.

In 2007, she became a spokesperson of the Medifast diet. In the following year, she guest-starred in three episodes of the lesbian web series 3Way. In the same year, she appeared in an episode Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

In 2021, a release date of June 15 was announced for Swanson's recent feature and a Jennifer Nichole Lee and Paul Schneider collaboration, Just Another Dream. She co-starred alongside long-time friend Dean Cain.

Personal life
Swanson married her Skating with Celebrities partner Lloyd Eisler in 2009. They have a son, and two children from his previous marriage.

Swanson is a Republican. Swanson co-starred in Obamagate, a stage play that focused on Donald Trump, with Dean Cain.

In 2021, Swanson was hospitalized with COVID-19 with severe respiratory complications.

Awards and nominations
Wins
 * 1989: Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a Horror or Mystery Motion Picture – Flowers in the Attic
 * 2019: Independent Women's Forum Annual Award Gala – Resilience Award

Nominations
 * 2021: Royal Starr Film Festival for Best Feature Film – Just Another Dream
 * 2012: Movieguide Awards for Most Inspirational Television Acting – A Christmas Wish
 * 2011: Movieguide Awards for Most Inspiring Movie Acting – What If...
 * 1992: Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Actress – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
 * 1988: Young Artist Award for Best Young Female Superstar in Motion Pictures – Deadly Friend
 * 1987: Young Artist Award for Exceptional Young Actress Starring in a Television Special or Movie of the Week – Mr. Boogedy
 * 1986: Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress – Guest in a Television Series – Cagney & Lacey episode "On the Street"

title: Kristy Swanson


text: Category:Legal ethics

title: Category:Legal ethics


text:
Talk:Oolite

Untitled
We have found quite a few rock formations buried in clay near Hartford, CT. Each one is a round disc with concentric circles on one side and a raised concentric circle on the other side. The size ranges in diameter from about one to 3 and a half inches. If anyone has information leading to its identification please respond to sbaldwin333@yahoo.com. Thank you.
 * Have you received any response to this question? - A photograph of the feature would be useful. - Ballista 16:49, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Replace the top image?
Would anyone object if I replaced the top image of ooids with this one: It has a scale and shows the shapes of the ooids better. Thanks for considering. Wilson44691 (talk) 19:53, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

It's a nice picture - but isn't it the same as this one, which is already in the article? DuncanHill (talk) 20:34, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

 * Yes. I meant to move it up and replace the other. Sorry -- that is a bit confusing! Wilson44691 (talk) 20:49, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

 * I was just coming back to say I thought I must have misunderstood! Yes - by all means swap them over - it's a nice clear bright picture, I think it would definitely improve the appearance of the article. DuncanHill (talk) 20:53, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

title: Talk:Oolite


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Luis González (infielder)

Luis Alberto González (born June 26, 1979) is a Venezuelan former infielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the Colorado Rockies from 2004 to 2006 and for the Yomiuri Giants of the Japan's Central League from 2007-2008.

Career
González made his debut in the 2004 season. On April 6, facing Randy Johnson and the Arizona Diamondbacks in the season opener for both teams, González went 2-for-5, including one home run and two RBI, and the Rockies topped Arizona, 5–2.

González became the fifth Venezuelan player to play in the JCL during the 2007 season, joining fellow countrymen Alex Cabrera, Darwin Cubillán, Geremi González and Alex Ramírez.

On May 26, 2008, it was reported that González had violated the anti-doping policy in Nippon Professional Baseball, resulting in a one-year ban. The Yomiuri Giants released him after the incident.

On December 31, 2008, González signed a minor-league deal with the Colorado Rockies.

title: Luis González (infielder)


text:
Rob Pilatus

Robert Pilatus (8 June 1964 or 1965 – 3 April 1998) was a German singer, dancer, model, and rapper. He was a member of the pop music duo Milli Vanilli with Fab Morvan.

Early life
Pilatus was born in Munich, West Germany, on 8 June 1964 or 1965. Sources differ on the year of his birth, with obituaries variously describing him as 32 or 33 years old at the time of his death in 1998. His father was an African-American serviceman and his mother was a German dancer. He spent his first four years in a Bavarian orphanage before he was adopted by a Munich family. He stated he was an outsider as a child in Germany, being called "Kunta Kinte" (the African hero in the film Roots) by his classmates. After leaving his adoptive home as a teen, Pilatus worked as a model and breakdancer, and appeared as a backing singer with the group Wind at the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest in Brussels. (The band finished in second place.) He met Fab Morvan on the dance scene in Munich in 1988, and after working as models, they formed a short lived group "Empire Bizarre" which consisted of three members, Pilatus, Morvan, and Charliene, who released one single "Dansez" in 1988 and was performing locally with all members dancing and Rob singing lead while playing bass guitar.

Milli Vanilli
Pilatus and Morvan both continued moving into music and were subsequently noticed by German music producer Frank Farian, who signed them to be part of a musical act. They signed contracts with Farian without taking legal advice. After a trip to Turkey, where the duo reportedly took part of their name from a local advertising slogan, Milli Vanilli was born. Pilatus and Morvan were surprised to learn from Farian that they would not be singing on their records. They initially refused, but were unable to pay back the advance they had received, which they had used to change and promote their images by investing in clothes and their trademark hair extensions. They decided to continue with the agreement for a short time until they had made enough money to pay back the advance. This meant that they were to be only the public faces for songs that had been pre-recorded with singers Charles Shaw and Brad Howell, who Farian thought were vocally talented but lacked marketable images. Farian had a history of acts, such as Boney M, in which most of the actual singers (including Farian himself) were replaced by other performers on stage.

The first Milli Vanilli platinum album, Girl You Know It's True, became a worldwide hit. It produced five hit singles, including three number 1 hits: "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You", "Baby Don't Forget My Number" and "Blame It On The Rain". Milli Vanilli won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist on 21 February 1990 for Girl You Know It's True.

Milli Vanilli quickly rose to fame and fortune, making it difficult for Pilatus and Morvan to withdraw from their agreement with Farian. Their attractiveness and appealing dance performances added to their huge on-stage success. After several years, Pilatus and Morvan became the subject of rumours of onstage lip-synching. Charles Shaw, one of their recordings' actual vocalists, told the media the truth, but retracted his statement when Farian paid him $150,000.

When Pilatus and Morvan pressured Farian to let them sing on their next album, Farian confessed to reporters on 15 November 1990 that the duo had not sung on the recordings. Milli Vanilli's Grammy Award was withdrawn four days later. Pilatus and Morvan said in an interview that they did the moral thing by initiating the withdrawal of the Grammy Award themselves. Arista Records released them from its label and removed their album and songs from their catalogue, making Girl You Know It's True the largest-selling album to be taken out of print. A United States court ruling allowed anyone who had bought the album to receive a refund.

Farian later attempted a comeback for the duo, but it was unsuccessful. Pilatus and Morvan decided to spend time apart to get their lives back on track. Months after the media backlash, they appeared in a commercial for Carefree Sugarless [chewing] Gum, where they jokingly lip-synched to an opera recording.

In 1992, Pilatus and Morvan signed with a new label, Taj, and released Rob & Fab, an album featuring their own voices, but it sold only around 2,000 copies due to its limited release. The label went bankrupt shortly thereafter.

Later years
After Milli Vanilli attempted a comeback, Morvan and Pilatus spent time apart. In 1996, Pilatus served three months in prison for assault, vandalism and attempted robbery. Farian paid for Pilatus to spend six months in drug rehabilitation before returning to Germany from the United States.

Death
On 3 April 1998, on the eve of a promotional tour for a new Milli Vanilli album, Back and in Attack, featuring Pilatus and Morvan on lead vocals, Pilatus was found dead from an alcohol and prescription drug overdose in a hotel room at Friedrichsdorf, near Frankfurt. His death was ruled accidental. The album has never been released.

Pilatus is buried in the Munich Waldfriedhof.

Rob and Fab

 * Rob & Fab (1993)

Film
German-Austrian film director Simon Verhoeven directed and wrote the 2023 Milli Vanilli biopic Girl You Know It's True, which was filmed in Munich, Berlin, Cape Town, and Los Angeles. The film was produced by Wiedemann & Berg Film, with Leonine as the theatrical distributor. The movie stars Tijan Njie and Elan Ben Ali as Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan as well as Matthias Schweighöfer as music producer Frank Farian. Associate producers are Jasmin Davis, daughter of the late John Davis, and Brad Howell, the true voices behind Milli Vanilli. Carmen Pilatus, sister of the late Rob Pilatus, Milli Vanilli’s former assistant Todd Headlee, and Ingrid Segieth aka Milli, are also attached as associate producers.

Previous attempts to produce a film about Milli Vanilli all had failed; on 14 February 2007, it was announced that Universal Pictures was developing a film based on the true story of Milli Vanilli's rise and fall in the music industry. Jeff Nathanson, a screenwriter known for Catch Me If You Can, was to write and direct the film. Morvan was supposed to serve as a consultant, providing his and Pilatus's point of view. However, the project was never completed. In 2011 German director Florian Gallenberger declared that he was reviving the project and would be rewriting the script, which also didn't eventually happen. Director Brett Ratner attempted to make his version of a Milli Vanilli biopic, but the project was eventually cancelled in 2021 after numerous Time's Up sexual harassment allegations against Ratner became public.

title: Rob Pilatus


text:
Onyx (disambiguation)

Onyx is a banded variety of chalcedony (quartz).

Onyx may also refer to:

Locations

 * Onyx, California, a census-designated place located in Kern County, California
 * Onyx, Arkansas
 * Onyx Cave (disambiguation), a common name for caves in the United States
 * Onyx River, a meltwater stream in the Antarctic
 * The Onyx Club, a jazz club in Pasadena, California, part of The Hotel Carver
 * Onyx Club (New York City), a jazz club on 52nd Street, in Manhattan, New York City

Entertainment

 * Onyx, a fictitious planet set in the Halo franchise, mentioned in the novel Halo: Ghosts of Onyx and the Halo Halo TV series
 * Onyx, a 2005 episode of the TV series Smallville
 * Onyx (wrestler), pro wrestler Kyle McNeely

Characters

 * Onyx (comics), a fictional comic book character in the DC Universe, mainly associated with the Batman titles
 * Onyx Von Trollenberg, a character from the animated series Trollz

Medicine

 * Onyx (Interventional radiology), EVOH based liquid embolic agent
 * Onyx Pharmaceuticals, a drug manufacturer

Organizations

 * Onyx (architectural collective), an architectural collective that practiced in New York City from 1968 to 1972
 * Onyx Collective, a content brand owned by Disney Entertainment championing projects from individuals belonging to underrepresented groups
 * Onyx Creative, an US architecture and design firm
 * Veolia Environmental Services, formerly Onyx Environnement
 * Onyx Grand Prix, a short-lived Formula One team, 1989–1990
 * Onyx Sports Cars, a UK kit car manufacturer

Technology

 * SGI Onyx, a line of symmetric multiprocessing computers from Silicon Graphics
 * Synaptics Onyx, a concept cellphone designed to display Synaptics ClearPad technology
 * Onyx International Inc, a company producing the Onyx Boox ebook readers
 * Onyx (satellite), a code name often associated with newer variants of the Lacrosse satellite
 * Onyx (interception system), a Swiss intelligence gathering system
 * Onyx-015, an adenovirus being researched for cancer treatment
 * OnyX, a freeware system maintenance and optimization tool for Mac OS X
 * Onyx Systems, a company that made computer systems based on the Zilog Z8000 microprocessor and Bell Labs' Unix
 * BlackBerry Bold 9700 (codenamed "Onyx"), a smartphone from RIM

Vessels

 * USS Onyx (PYc-5), a United States Navy patrol vessel of the mid-20th century
 * HMS Onyx, the name of seven ships of the Royal Navy
 * MS Onyx, a passenger ferry formerly known as Fennia and Casino Express

Music

 * Onyx (hip hop group), a Queens-based hip-hop group
 * Onyx (Cornish band), a Cornish 1960s band
 * The Onyx Hotel Tour, 2004 tour by pop singer Britney Spears
 * Onyx (DJ), an Israeli DJ

Albums

 * Onyx (Pop Evil album)
 * Onyx (Ava Inferi album), 2011

Other uses

 * Onyx (game), a strategy board game invented by Larry Back
 * Onyx: Black Lesbian Newsletter, a 1980s Californian magazine
 * Onyx, a Monotype typeface

title: Onyx (disambiguation)