Michael Jackson Singing about his rat friend, Ben!
Ben, the two of us need look no more
We both found what we were looking for
With a friend to call my own
I'll never be alone
And you, my friend, will see
You've got a friend in me
(you've got a friend in me)
Ben, you're always running here and there
You feel you're not wanted anywhere
If you ever look behind
And don't like what you find
There's one thing you should know
You've got a place to go
(you've got a place to go)
I used to say "I" and "me"
Now it's "us", now it's "we"
I used to say "I" and "me"
Now it's "us", now it's "we"
Ben, most people would turn you away
I don't listen to a word they say
They don't see you as I do
I wish they would try to
I'm sure they'd think again
If they had a friend like Ben
(a friend) Like Ben
(like Ben) Like Ben
Well, thank goodness our Raggedy made it today, folks. PA that is one fabulous collage , and I think we all know most of those faces. (especially since you labeled them)
Hey, gal. I created those animated animals. What else don't you know about this PD.(other than the fact that she has learned to do the googelo boogelo)
edgar, I have never seen a wolf, but that song is great, Texas. I recall that my mom had a terrible painting of the Lone Wolf and The End of the Trail. YUK!
Hey, Victor. You did a great song of Ben and then some. Thanks, buddy. When I looked out my window one day and saw a rat as big as Michael Jackson, I didn't feel much of a fondness, however.
Here's a nice one by Steve Lawrence, listeners.
A room without windows, a room without doors
A room where no guy but I can spy the charms that are yours
Like being marooned on a island far from civilized shores
You and me in a room without windows, a room without doors
No bells will be ringing, no telephone calls
In our little well-secluded cell of ceiling and walls
While dozens of males sit 'n' chew their nails and hate me because
I am yours in a room without windows, a room without doors
If they said "Friend, how would you like to spend the long hereafter?"
I'd tell them what we're after is a one-way ticket to
A room without keyholes, a room with no view
We'd like to reside there, hide there for an era or two
Completely wrapped up in each other while the whole world ignores
You and me in a room without windows, a room without doors
If they said "Friend, how would you like to spend the long hereafter?"
I'd tell them what we're after is a one-way ticket to
A room without keyholes, a room with no view
We'd like to reside there, hide there for an era or two
Completely wrapped up in each other while the whole world ignores
You and me in a room without windows
A room without windows
A room without windows
A room without doors
Blossoms On Broadway
Dolly Dawn
There are blossoms on Broadway
When I'm walking with you
Blossoms where trees never grew
I forget the crowd and the loud rumble of cars
And all the bright lights turn into stars
There is magic on Broadway
When you're smiling at me
Magic my heart never knew
What a joy to be blissfully wandering through
The blossoms on Broadway with you
Delightful song, edgar. Yes, I believe in that kind of magic, Texas.
I am going to say goodnight with a song for two people that I have come to know and love, folks.
And a bit of glitter dust for our Raggedy as well.
For The Good Times
by Kris Kristofferson
Don't look so sad,
I know it's over
But life goes on
And this old world will keep on turning.
Let's just be glad
We had some time
To spend together
There's no need to watch the bridges that we're burning
Lay your head
Upon my pillow.
Hold your warm and tender body
Close to mine.
Hear the whisper of the raindrops
Blowing soft against the window.
And make believe you love me.
One more time.
For the good times
I'll get along,
You'll find another.
And I'll be here if you should find
You ever need me.
Don't say a word
About tomorrow or forever.
There'll be time enough for sadness
When you leave me.
Lay your head
Upon my pillow.
Hold your warm and tender body
Close to mine.
Hear the whisper of the raindrops
Blowing soft against the window.
And make believe you love me.
One more time.
For the good times.
From Letty with love
{ Quote: Hey, gal. I created those animated animals. What else don't you know about this PD.(other than the fact that she has learned to do the googelo boogelo) quote }
I know our PD is a very mysterious lady with a surprise every day and is certainly entitled to her secrets.
I also know there is no "googelo boogelo" , but I guess it will just have to remain an unsolved mystery.
And now I can't get this Jo Stafford melody out of my head:
If you see my darling with somebody new,
Keep it a secret whatever you do.
Why should you tell me and break my poor heart?
Then foolish pride would just drive us apart.
If you see my darling in some rendezvous,
Painting the town with a girl he once knew,
Pay no attention and just let it be,
But keep it a secret from me.
Good early morning, WA2K listeners and contributors.
Ah, Raggedy. Now you know that I am no woman of mystery, right?
Jo Stafford is still alive, folks. That lady and her wonderful "vibratoless" voice is still doing her thing.
Inspired by Calamity Jane's visit in Prague, I came across this song, folks. I also did a quick check on the group's background and felt a sense of loss. Why is it that creative people are destined to quit life?
Ancient Rites
from Gallia to Germania)
I still hear the ancient warcry
(Roma to Brittania)
I still hear the ancient battlecry
The great old European heroes, the proud old European names
Like snow now melted for sunlight, today their lustre gleams
Gone are the great old empires, the proud old names are low
That shed a glory over the ancient world, a thousand years ago
But wandering the medieval cities beholding our ancient lands
Albion, Saxonia, land of Franks constructed by our ancestor's hands
(from Erin to Caledonia)
I still hear the ancient warcry
(Ellada to Helvetia)
I still hear the ancient battlecry
(from Lusitania to Hispania)
I still hear the ancient warcry
(Mycenae to Macedonia)
I still hear the ancient battlecry
In the country of our fathers on the land and sea
Can you hear a million voices? Thy forefathers summoning thee!
Summoning thee!
Many centuries ago, beyond the hazy space
In Brittany, Eire and Caledonia there dwelt a mighty race
Celts they were called, like their holy oaks, they had a giant grace
(fierce was the Byzantine empire
Spread over the Balkans, Asia, Minor and Greece
Combining eastern and western tradition
A gateway to the East)
Slavonian kingdoms, empires and tribes
Defending their ancient lands and rights
From invading hordes from the East
Thousands slaughtered (fair) men and beast
(from Byzantium to Phoenicia)
I still hear the ancient warcry
(Etruria to Cymru)
I still hear the ancient battlecry!!
As I have noted, listeners. Mankind seems to be able to cope with war, but cannot live with peace.
Blue Monday by Fats Domino
Blue Monday how I hate Blue Monday
Got to work like a slave all day
Here come Tuesday, oh hard Tuesday
I'm so tired got no time to play
Here come Wednesday, I'm beat to my socks
My gal calls, got to tell her that I'm out
'Cause Thursday is a hard workin' day
And Friday I get my pay
Saturday mornin', oh Saturday mornin'
All my tiredness has gone away
Got my money and my honey
And I'm out on the stand to play
Sunday mornin' I'm feelin' bad
But it's worth it for the time that I had
But I've got to get my rest
'Cause Monday is a mess
Saturday mornin', oh Saturday mornin'
All my tiredness has gone away
Got my money and my honey
And I'm out on the stand to play
Sunday mornin' I'm feelin' bad
But it's worth it for the time that I had
But I've got to get my rest
'Cause Monday is a mess
Good morning, Victor. Ah, yes. It is Monday isn't it. Well, Fats has had many blue days I am certain. Thanks for the reminder of this icon in the blues.
Anyone remember the Swingle Singers? They were a wonderful a capella group and did the Moog Synthesizer thing.
Here's a song by Wendy, one member of the avant garde "switched on Bach" ensemble.
The Sun's Going To Shine For Me Soon
This song goes 'round and 'round in my head
Just like I've never been fed
This song goes 'round in my head
I see and I feel
I see and I feel
That you're almost always
Are all on your own
You never say what you mean
If you see what I mean
You always mess when I am clean
I see and I can feel
I see and I feel
The sun's going to shine for me soon
the sun
You've stuck your soul in a bag
So when you need it you have
You've stuck your soul in a bag
I see and I feel
I see and I feel
The sun is going to shine for me soon
The sun is going to shine for me soon
The sun is going to shine for me soon
The sun is going to shine for me soon
The sun is going to shine for me soon
The sun is going right through your moon
Weird, but interesting, listeners
Brian McComas
You don't know what you do to me
You changed around the scenery
And now everything is new to me
But it looks just right, yeah, it looks just right
Whoa, it's strange but it's beautiful, yeah, and I know where I am
Oh, I've never been here before, I've never been loved like this
Never been tumblin', stumblin' over the words that get tangled inside of me
I've never been moved this way, nobody's ever made me say
I'm ninety-nine point nine per cent sure I've never been here before
I'm walkin' in a wonderland, one ever since it all began
And I don't even want to understand
'Cause it feels that good, yeah, it feels that good
It's a state that ain't on a map, yet I know where I'm at
Oh, I've never been here before, I've never been loved like this
Never been tumblin', stumblin' over the words that get tangled inside of me
I've never been moved this way, nobody's ever made me say
Ninety-nine point nine per cent sure I've never been here before
Ninety-nine point, ninety-nine point, na-na, na-na-na, na, na, na-na-na
Ninety-nine point, ninety-nine point, na-na, na-na-na, na, na, na-na-na
---- Instrumental Interlude ----
It's a state that ain't on a map, yet I know where I'm at
Oh, I've never been here before, I've never been loved like this
Never been tumblin', stumblin' over the words that get tangled inside of me
I've never been moved this way, nobody's ever made me say
Ninety-nine point nine per cent sure I've never been here before
I've never been here before, I've never been loved like this
Never been tumblin', stumblin' over the words that get tangled inside of me
I've never been moved this way, nobody's ever made me say
Ninety-nine point nine per cent sure I've never been here before
No, I've never been here before, I've never been here before
(I've never been moved this way) I've never been here before
Ninety-nine point nine per cent sure
I've never been here before
Morning, edgar. "ninety nine percent sure I've never been here before", is a line of your song that got my attention, Texas.
Here's an early morning song, folks
Early Morning Rain
Gordon Lightfoot
In the early mornin' rain
With a dollar in my hand
And an aching in my heart
And my -pockets full of sand
I'm a long ways from home
And I missed my loved one so
In the early mornin' rain
With no place to go
Out on runway number nine
Big 707 set to go
Well I'm out here on the grass
Where the pavement never grows
Where the liquor tasted good
And the women all were fast
There she goes my friend
She's rolling out at last
Hear the mighty engines roar
See the silver wing on high
She's away and westward bound
For above the clouds she flies
Where the mornin' rain don't fall
And the sun always shines
She'll be flying over my home
In about three hours time
This ol' airport's got me down
It's no earthly good to me
'Cause I?m stuck here on the ground
Cold and drunk as I might be
Can't jump a jet plane
Like you can a freight train
So I best be on my way
In the early mornin' rain
So I best be on my way
In the early mornin' rain
So I best be on my way
In the early mornin' rain
Good morning Letty. Lightfoot's a great way to start the day!
Ed Ames
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Background information
Birth name Edward Dantes Urick
Born July 9, 1927 (1927-07-09) (age 80)
Origin Malden, Massachusetts
Genre(s) Pop, Adult Contemporary
Occupation(s) Singer, Actor
Years active 1955-Present
Label(s) Decca Records, RCA Victor Records
Associated
acts The Ames Brothers
Ed Ames (born Edmund Dantes Urick on July 9, 1927) is an American popular singer and actor. He is best known for his Pop and Adult Contemporary hits of the 1960s like "When the Snow Is On the Roses". He also was originally part of a popular singing group of 1950s called The Ames Brothers.
Biography
Early life
Ames was born in Malden, Massachusetts to Russian Jewish immigrants.[1] He was one of nine children, five of them boys and four of them girls. Ames grew up in a poor household, but was educated in Classical and Opera music, as well as in Literature, such as Shakespeare. Ames was very athletic as a child and teenager, but he always knew that music would one day become his future destiny, as well as for his brothers; Gene, Mac, Vic and Joe. Together, while still in high school, the brothers formed a quartet and won competitions a lot around the Boston area in Massachusetts. Three of the brothers formed the Amory Brothers quartet later and went to New York, where they were hired by bandleader Art Mooney. A playwright entertainer at the time, who helped the brothers along the way (named Abe Burroughs) had suggested the brothers change their names to the Ames Brothers.
Early career
They were first signed on with Decca Records in 1948. However, because of the Musician Union's ban, their records from Decca were never released. Instead, they signed on with another label, Coral Records, a subsidiary of Decca. They had their first major hit in the 1950s with the double-sided "Rag Mop" and "Sentimental Me". Following, the Brothers continued to have success throughout the 50s with many hits like, "It Only Hurts For a Little While", "Man With a Banjo" and "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane". The brothers also made appearances regularly on variety shows, and even for a short period of time had their very own 15 minute variety show in 1955.
Acting career
In 1960, The Ames Brothers decided to split up and go in different directions. Ed decided that he wanted to pursue a career in acting, so he went to acting school called the Herbert Berghoff School. His first starring role was in an Off-Broadway production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, going on to starring performances in The Fantasticks and Carnival, which was on Broadway. He was also in the national touring company of Carnival.
Although Ames was Jewish, his dark complexion led to his being cast regularly as an American Indian. His greatest success as a stage actor came when he played Chief Bromden in the Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, opposite Kirk Douglas. Talent scouts at 20th Century Fox saw Ed in the production and invited him to play the Native American Mingo on the television show Daniel Boone.
While playing Mingo on television, Ames developed some skill in throwing a tomahawk. This led to the most memorable moments of his career, when he appeared on the The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on April 29, 1965. During the course of the show, Ames and Johnny Carson were discussing Ames' tomahawk throwing abilities. When Ames claimed that he could hit a target from across the room, Carson asked Ames if he could demonstrate this skill. Ames agreed, and a wood panel with a chalk outline of a cowboy was brought on to the stage. Ames proceeded to throw the tomahawk, which hit the "cowboy" in the tip of the crotch. This led to a very long burst of laughter from the audience and Carson's famous ad-libs; "I didn't even know you were Jewish" and "Welcome to Frontier Bris".
Singing career
During the 1960s, Ed returned to singing, this time however as a solo artist. He released his first single called "Try to Remember" in 1965. The song however, barely made the charts. However, a bigger success came in 1967 with "My Cup Runneth Over". The song was both a Pop hit and an Adult Contemporary hit. He had less success on the Pop charts soon after, and only had Adult Contemporary hits. The hits were "When the Snow Is On the Roses", "Time Time" and "Timeless Love". He did make the Pop Top Twenty one last time in his singing career with the song "Who Will Answer" in 1968.
Personal life
While maintaining his career, he attended UCLA, receiving his degree in theater and cinema arts, with highest honors, in 1975. He continues to be actively-involved in plays like South Pacific, Camelot and Fiddler on the Roof. He also continues to make many more TV show appearances and concert appearances. Today, he currently lives on his horse ranch in Utah.
Trivia
Ed Ames speaks several languages.
He is an Abraham Lincoln scholar.
He has traveled for the State Department to the Far East to encourage much ecological and environmental interest.
He has also worked for the American and Russian Marine biologist in the same areas as above.
He is very generous to charitable events, like the political right and fairness to the Native Americans.
He also played as Mingo, Daniel Boone's sidekick in the Daniel Boone TV Show from 1964-1970.
Brian Dennehy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born July 9, 1938 (1938-07-09)
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Tony Awards
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
1999 Death of a Salesman
2003 Long Day's Journey Into Night
Brian Dennehy (born July 9, 1938) is a two-time Tony Award-winning American actor who has appeared in movies, on television, and performed in live theater.
Biography
Early life
Dennehy was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut to Hannah and Edward Dennehy, a wire service correspondent;[1] he has two brothers, Michael and Edward.[2] The family relocated to Long Island, New York, where Dennehy attended Chaminade High School in the town of Mineola. He went on to attend Columbia on a football scholarship to major in history, where he also became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, before moving on to Yale to study dramatic arts. Dennehy joined the United States Marine Corps in 1959 and served until 1963.
Film
Dennehy is primarily known as a dramatic actor. His breakthrough role was as the overzealous Sheriff Will Teasle in the First Blood (1982) opposite Sylvester Stallone as Rambo. His other roles include: a corrupt sheriff in the western Silverado, and an alien in Cocoon, both released in 1985. He later played memorable supporting parts in such films as Legal Eagles (1986) and Presumed Innocent (1990).
During the 1980s, Dennehy gradually became a valuable character actor in films and subsequently gained leading man status in the thriller Best Seller (1987) co-starring James Woods. He gained his arthouse spurs when he starred in the Peter Greenaway film The Belly of an Architect, for which he won the Best Actor Award at the 1987 Chicago International Film Festival. Commenting upon this unusual venture, Dennehy said, "I've been in a lot of movies but this is the first film I've made."
Perhaps one of his most well known roles was in the 1995 Chris Farley-David Spade comedy Tommy Boy as Big Tom Callahan.
Television
Dennehy began his professional acting career is small guest roles in such 1970s and 1980s series as Kojak, Lou Grant, Dallas and Dynasty. Dennehy portrayed Sergeant Ned T. "Frozen Chosen" Coleman in the television movie A Rumor of War (1980) opposite Brad Davis. He continued to appear such high profile television movies as Skokie (1981), Day One (1989), A Killing in a Small Town (1990) opposite Barbara Hershey, In Broad Daylight (1991) and Scott Turow's The Burden of Proof.
He also had a lead role as fire chief/celebrity dad Leslie "Buddy" Krebs in the short-lived 1982 series Star Of The Family. Despite his notoriety, that show was cancelled after only two seasons.
He was nominated for Emmy Awards six times for his television movies including one for his performance as serial killer John Wayne Gacy in the miniseries To Catch A Killer (1992), for which he was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie. He was also nominated that same year in a different category, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie, for The Burden of Proof (1992). He was also nominated for an Emmy Awards for his work in A Killing in a Small Town, Murder in the Heartland (1993) and, most recently, for the Showtime cable TV movie Our Fathers (2005), which was about the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal.
In 2000, Dennehy was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie for a television presentation of his performance as Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman which he had performed on Broadway. Although he did not win the Emmy (he has yet to win an Emmy), he did receive a Golden Globe award for the presentation.
He has starred in the popular crime drama Jack Reed TV movies. His also guest starred as a re-occurring character in the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me!
Dennehy was parodied in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999). He interrupts the song "What Would Brian Boitano Do?", asking if someone called his name. When he's bluntly told to leave, he politely waves and leaves. In the episode "Jaws Wired Shut" of the Fox animated series The Simpsons while waiting for a film to start in a theater, the screen revealed a silhouette of an actor and the anagram "MOT HANKS". Lisa, believing it to be "obviously" Tom Hanks, is surprised when it is in fact Otm Shank, whom Apu explains is "India's answer to Brian Dennehy".
In January of 2007, he starred as a retired criminal who wants to reconnect with his daughter and admit his crimes thus eventually clearing a wrongfully imprisoned inmate on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Theater
Dennehy has won two Tony Awards, both times for Best Lead Actor in a Play. The first win was for Death of a Salesman (for which he also won a Laurence Olivier Award for the production's London run), in 1999, and the second was for Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night in 2003. Both productions were directed by Robert Falls and were originally produced at the Goodman Theatre company in Chicago.
On stage, Dennehy has made frequent performances in the Chicago theatre world, and made his Broadway debut in 1995 in Brian Friel's Translations. In 1999, he was the first male performer to be voted the Sarah Siddons Award for his work in Chicago theatre. He made a return to Broadway in 2007 as Matthew Harrison Brady in Inherit the Wind opposite Christopher Plummer.
Personal life
In 1989, Dennehy became a veteran with disputed status when he told the New York Times that he received shrapnel wounds in the Vietnam War. In 1993, he told Playboy that he served five years in Vietnam. However, his only overseas tour was to Okinawa. He apologized for his false claims in 1999.
At one point, Dennehy resided at West Gilgo Beach, Long Island NY and is currently a resident of Woodstock, Connecticut. He is the father of actresses Elizabeth Dennehy and Kathleen Dennehy.
Dennehy has also undergone the Lap Band weight loss procedure, being an early entry on the growing list of celebrity lap band recipients.
Richard Roundtree
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born July 9, 1942
New Rochelle, New York
Notable roles Shaft (1971)
Richard Roundtree (born July 9, 1942) is an American actor and former male fashion model famous for portraying John Shaft in the film Shaft (1971) and in its two sequels, Shaft's Big Score (1972) and Shaft in Africa (1973).
Roundtree was born in New Rochelle, New York to Kathryn, a nurse and housekeeper, and John Roundtree, a caterer and garbage collector.[1] He attended Southern Illinois University.[2]
Roundtree was a leading man in early 1970s Blaxploitation films. Prior to becoming an actor, he was a football player and a model. Although Roundtree worked through the 1990s, many of his more recent films were not well-received, but he was able to find success in stage plays. Since 1990, however, he apparently was reemerging as a cult icon. Roundtree appeared in David Fincher's critically acclaimed 1995 movie Se7en, the 2000 remake of Shaft as John Shaft's uncle, and guest-starred in several episodes of the first season of Desperate Housewives as an amoral private detective. He also starred in 1997's George of the Jungle, as well as playing a high school principal in the 2005 (General release: 2006) movie Brick.
Most recently, he has appeared in the television series Heroes as Simone's terminally ill father, Charles Deveaux.
Roundtree was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 and underwent a double mastectomy and chemotherapy.[3]
Jimmy Smits
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born July 09, 1955 (1955-07-09)
New York City, New York
United States
Spouse(s) Barbara Smits (1981-1987)
Notable roles Victor Sifuentes in L.A. Law
Bobby Simone in NYPD Blue
Matt Santos in The West Wing
Bail Organa in
Star Wars prequel trilogy
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a TV Series - Drama
1990 L.A. Law
Golden Globe Awards
Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Drama
1996 NYPD Blue
Jimmy Smits (born July 9, 1955) is a Golden Globe and Emmy winning American actor, primarily in movies, soap operas and televison perhaps best known for his long-running roles on the TV series L.A. Law as Richard Dysart's youngest uptight law partner, Victor Sifuentes, who was also the firm's pro-bono lawyer (a role he played from 1986 to 1991), and as Dennis Franz's second partner, Det. Bobby Simone, in NYPD Blue (a role he played from 1994 to 1998), as well as his role on The West Wing as congressman and presidential candidate Matt Santos, opposite Alan Alda, Martin Sheen and Dule Hill. As an actor, he is noted for his portrayal of earnest, honest men with deep moral convictions.
Biography
Early life
Smits was born in New York City. His father, Cornelis Smits, was a Surinamese immigrant from Dutch Guiana who managed a silk-screening factory. His mother, Emilina, was a Puerto Rican who worked as a nurse.[1][2] He has a sister, Diana. He grew up in a devoutly Catholic family[1] in a working-class neighborhood and spent time in Puerto Rico during his childhood.[3][4] Smits earned a bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College in 1980 and an MFA from Cornell University in 1982. Though born in New York, Smits has deep Puerto Rican roots and frequently visits the island. He was arrested for his participation in protests against U.S. Navy bombing practices in the Puerto Rican offshore island of Vieques.[5]
Career
Smits has received various nominations for Golden Globe and Emmy Awards, winning an Emmy in 1990 and a Golden Globe in 1996. A wider audience became aware of Smits for his appearance as Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan who becomes Princess Leia's adoptive father, in the Star Wars films Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
He also starred in the multigenerational story of a Chicano family in My Family/Mi Familia in 1995. Smits also played the Conky Repairman on Pee-wee's Playhouse as one of the show's memorable characters, and in one of his earliest roles. Another notable early role played by Smits was that of Eddie Rivera in the series premiere of Miami Vice. In the episode, he was Sonny Crockett's original partner, only to be shortly killed off in a sting gone wrong.
Smits played the role of Congressman Matt Santos of Houston, Texas in the final two seasons of the American television drama The West Wing. The series ended with Santos' inauguration as President of the United States after winning the presidential election. He defeated moderate Republican Senator Arnold Vinick of California (played by Alan Alda). The producers of the series reported that they had not decided early on who would win, and in fact reported to The New York Times that until co-star John Spencer's death, they had planned on electing Vinick.
Personal life
Smits was married to Barbara Smits from 1981 until their divorce in 1987. They have two children, Taina (born in 1973) and Joaquin (born in 1983). Since 1986, Smits has been in a relationship with actress Wanda De Jesus. They reside in Los Angeles. Smits helped found the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts[6] to advance the presence of Latinos in the media, telecommunications and entertainment industries.
Tom Hanks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Birth name Thomas Jeffrey Hanks
Born July 9, 1956 (1956-07-09) (age 51)
Concord, California, United States
Years active 1979- present
Spouse(s) Samantha Lewes (1978-1987)
Rita Wilson (1988-)
Notable roles Forrest Gump
in Forrest Gump
Captain John H. Miller
in Saving Private Ryan
Andrew Beckett
in Philadelphia
Viktor Navorski
in The Terminal
Jimmy Dugan
in A League of Their Own
Jim Lovell
in Apollo 13
Robert Langdon
in The Da Vinci Code
Chuck Noland
in Cast Away
Josh Baskin
in Big
Sheriff Woody
in Toy Story and Toy Story 2
Academy Awards
Best Actor
1993 Philadelphia
1994 Forrest Gump
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Directing - Miniseries, Movie/Dramatic Special
2002 Band of Brothers
Outstanding Miniseries
2002 Band of Brothers
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
1994 Philadelphia
1995 Forrest Gump
2001 Cast Away
Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1989 Big
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Best Actor - Motion Picture
1994 Forrest Gump
Best Cast - Motion Picture
1995 Apollo 13
AFI Awards
Life Achievement Award (2002)
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American film actor, Emmy-winning director, voice-over artist and movie producer. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving notable success as a dramatic actor in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. Hanks is the second highest-grossing film star of all time.[2] He is also only one of two actors to have seven consecutive US$100 million blockbusters.
Biography
Early life
Hanks was born in Concord, California. His father, Amos Mefford Hanks, was a chef and a relation of President Abraham Lincoln's mother. His mother, Janet Marylyn Frager, was a hospital worker; the two divorced in 1960.[3][4] The family's three oldest children, Sandra, (now Sandra Hanks Benoiton, a writer),[5] Rufus (now Lawrence M. Hanks, PhD, a renowned entomology professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign),[6] and Tom, went with their father; while the youngest, Jim, now an actor and film maker, remained with his mother in Red Bluff, California. Both parents remarried. The first stepmother for Sandra, Larry (Rufus), and Tom came to the marriage with five children of her own. Hanks once told Rolling Stone magazine: "Everybody in my family likes each other. But there were always about fifty people at the house. I didn't exactly feel like an outsider, but I was sort of outside it". That marriage ended in divorce after just 2 years, and Amos Hanks became a single parent, working long hours and relying on the children to fend for themselves often, an exercise in self-reliance that served the siblings well.
In school, Hanks was unpopular with students and teachers alike, telling Rolling Stone magazine: "I was a geek, a spaz. I was horribly, painfully, terribly shy. At the same time, I was the guy who'd yell out funny captions during filmstrips. But I didn't get into trouble. I was always a real good kid and pretty responsible". Amos Hanks remarried in 1965 to the former Frances Wong, a San Francisco native of Chinese descent. Frances had three children, two of whom lived with Tom during his high school years. Tom acted in school plays, including "South Pacific", while attending Skyline High School in Oakland, California. Hanks studied theater at Chabot College, and after two years, transferred to Sacramento State University. Hanks told the New York Times: "Acting classes looked like the best place for a guy who liked to make a lot of noise and be rather flamboyant. I spent a lot of time going to plays. I wouldn't take dates with me. I'd just drive to a theater, buy myself a ticket, sit in the seat, and read the program, and then get into the play completely. I spent a lot of time like that, seeing Bertolt Brecht, Tennessee Williams, Henrik Ibsen, and all that."
It was during his years studying theater that Hanks met Vincent Dowling, head of the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland. At Dowling's suggestion, Hanks became an intern at the Festival, which stretched into a three-year experience that covered everything from lighting to set design to stage management. Such a commitment required that Hanks drop out of college, but with this under his belt, a future in acting was in the cards. Hanks won the Cleveland Critics Circle Award for best actor for his performance as Proteus in Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona, one of the few times he played a villain.
Early career
In 1979, Hanks moved to New York City, where he made his film debut in the low-budget slasher film, He Knows You're Alone, and got a part in a television movie entitled Mazes and Monsters. He continued to audition and finally landed a lead role on an ABC television pilot called Bosom Buddies, playing the role of Kip Wilson. Hanks flew to Los Angeles, California where he was teamed with Peter Scolari as a pair of young advertising men forced to dress as women so they could live in an inexpensive all-female hotel. He had previously partnered with Scolari in the 1970s game show, Make Me Laugh. Bosom Buddies ran for two seasons, and, although the ratings were never strong, television critics gave the program high marks. "The first day I saw him on the set", the show's co-producer, Ian Praiser told Rolling Stone, "I thought, 'Too bad he won't be in television for long. I knew he'd be a movie star in two years." But if Praiser knew it, he was not able to convince Hanks. "The television show had come out of nowhere", Hanks' best friend Tom Lizzio told Rolling Stone. "Then out of nowhere it got cancelled. He figured he'd be back to pulling ropes and hanging lights in a theater."
It was Bosom Buddies and a guest appearance on a 1982 episode of Happy Days ("A Case of Revenge") where he played a disgruntled former class mate of The Fonz that drew director Ron Howard to contact Hanks. Howard was working on Splash (1984), a romantic comedy fantasy about a mermaid who falls in love with a human. At first, Howard considered Hanks for the role of the main character's wisecracking brother, a role which eventually went to John Candy. Instead, Hanks got the lead role and a career boost from Splash, which went on to become a box-office hit, grossing more than $69 million. He also had a sizeable hit with the sex comedy Bachelor Party, also in 1984.
Hanks also appears for a moment as an uncredited extra in the movie Real Genius 1985, when the lead character, Mitch, bumps in to him in a crowd.
Period of hits and misses
More comedies followed, but none clicked with audiences. With Nothing in Common (1986)?-about a young man alienated from his parents who must re-establish a relationship with his father, played by Jackie Gleason?-Hanks began to establish the credentials of not only a comic actor but of someone who could carry a serious role. "It changed my desires about working in movies", Hanks told Rolling Stone. "Part of it was the nature of the material, what we were trying to say. But besides that, it focused on people's relationships. The story was about a guy and his father, unlike, say, The Money Pit (1986), where the story is really about a guy and his house."
After three more flops, Hanks succeeded with the fantasy Big (1988), both at the box office and within the industry, establishing Hanks as a major Hollywood talent. "It's not easy being successful in this town," his friend Scolari told Rolling Stone, "particularly for a man of conscience. You get fed a steady diet of adulation. You get fed things that aren't necessarily bad or poisonous or toxic in any way. But they're not really on your meal plan. You have to stop and say, 'Wait a minute?-I didn't order this.' You have to take your life by the horns. You have responsibilities that have nothing to do with being an actor. Tom Hanks has dealt with his success. I have never known him to be happier."
It was followed by the 1989 movie of Turner and Hooch. In a 1993 issue of Disney Adventures, Hanks said, "I saw Turner and Hooch the other day in the SAC store and couldn't help but be reminiscent. I cried like a babe." He did admit to making a couple of "bum tickers," however, and blamed his "...deductive reasoning and decision making skills."
Hanks's choice of roles continued to land him in trouble. He had another string of box-office failures. First, there was The 'Burbs (1989), then Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and finally The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), which saw Hanks as a greedy Wall Street type who gets enmeshed in a hit-and-run accident.
Progression into dramatic roles
Hanks again climbed back to the top with his portrayal of an unsuccessful baseball manager in A League of Their Own (1992). Tom admits that his acting in earlier roles was not great and that he has improved. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Hanks called the work that he's done since his "modern era of moviemaking ... because enough self-discovery has gone on.... My work has become less 'pretentiously fake."
This "modern era" welcomed in a spectacular 1993 for Hanks, first with Sleepless in Seattle and then with Philadelphia. The former was a blockbuster success about a widower who finds true love (in the character of Meg Ryan) over the airwaves. Richard Schickel of Time called his performance "charming", and most agreed that his portrayal ensured him a place among the premiere romantic-comedy stars of his generation, making him bankable. In Philadelphia Hanks played a gay lawyer with AIDS who sues his firm for discrimination (Hanks lost thirty-five pounds and thinned his hair in order to appear sickly for the role.) In a review for People, Leah Rozen stated "Above all, credit for "Philadelphia's" success belongs to Hanks, who makes sure that he plays a character, not a saint. He is flat-out terrific, giving a deeply felt, carefully nuanced performance that deserves an Oscar."
Hanks was considered for roles in Batman Forever, Jerry Maguire, Hook, Field of Dreams, Patriot Games and Groundhog Day. Hanks's characters also have a recurring theme of bladder issues. In Forrest Gump, Forrest meets JFK and blurts out, "I gotta pee!" In Road To Perdition Michael Sullivan replies "it also makes me piss" when asked if coffee makes him sweat. In The Green Mile, Paul Edgecombe is afflicted with an extremely painful prostatic hypertrophy, which John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) cures. In A League of Their Own, Jimmy Dugan makes his entrance into the locker room highly hung over, seemingly unaware of all the female ballplayers present, and takes a very long stretch at the urinal, as the women look on in disbelief. When he finally finishes, Madonna's character says, "That was some good peein'!" Hanks's characters are also seen urinating in the movies The Money Pit, Big, Cast Away, and Apollo 13. In The Terminal, Hanks's character runs to the bathroom after waiting all day at a pay phone for a call about a job.
Hanks won the 1994 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Philadelphia. During his acceptance speech he revealed that his high school drama teacher was gay. The revelation inspired the 1997 film In & Out, starring Kevin Kline as an English Literature teacher who was outed by a former student in a similar way.
Forrest Gump
Hanks followed Philadelphia with the 1994 summer hit Forrest Gump, where the lead character moves in and out of cultural events in American history from the 60's onward.
Hanks explained what appealed to him about the script: "When I read the script for Gump, I saw it as one of those kind of grand, hopeful movies that the audience can go to and feel ... some hope for their lot and their position in life... I got that from the movies a hundred million times when I was a kid. I still do."
Hanks won his second Best Actor Academy Award for his role in Forrest Gump, becoming only the second actor to have accomplished the feat of winning back-to-back Best Actor Oscars. (Spencer Tracy was the first, winning in 1937-38.)
Apollo 13
Hanks's next project reunited him with Ron Howard in the movie Apollo 13, in which he played astronaut and commander James Lovell. Critics generally applauded the film and the performances of the entire cast, which included actors Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, and Kathleen Quinlan. The movie also earned nine nominations for an Academy Award in 1996, winning two.
1996 and on
Hanks turned to directing and producing with his next movie "That Thing You Do!", about a 1960's pop group. Hanks and producer Gary Goetzman went on to create Playtone, a record and film production company named for the record company in the film.
Hanks executive produced, co-wrote and co-directed the HBO docudrama From the Earth to the Moon. The twelve-part series chronicles the space program from its inception, through the familiar flights of Neil Armstrong and Jim Lovell, to the personal feelings surrounding the reality of moon landings. The Emmy Award-winning $68 million project is one of the most expensive ventures taken for television. Hanks' next project was no less expensive.
For Saving Private Ryan he teamed up with Steven Spielberg to make a film about D-Day, the landing at Omaha Beach, and a quest through war-torn France to bring back a soldier who has a ticket home. It earned the praise and respect of the film community, critics, and the general public; it was labeled one of the finest war films ever made, earning Spielberg his second Academy Award for direction and Hanks a Best Actor nomination. Later in 1998, Hanks reteamed with his Sleepless in Seattle co-star Meg Ryan for another romantic comedy, You've Got Mail, a remake of 1940's The Shop Around the Corner, which starred Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan.
In 1999 , Hanks starred in an adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Green Mile. The following year he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor and an Academy nomination for his portrayal of a shipwrecked FedEx systems analyst in Robert Zemeckis's Cast Away. In 2001, Hanks helped direct and produce the acclaimed HBO mini-series Band of Brothers. He also appeared in the September 11 television special America: A Tribute to Heroes and the documentary Rescued From the Closet.
Next he teamed up with American Beauty director Sam Mendes for the adaptation of Max Allan Collins's and Richard Piers Rayner's graphic novel Road to Perdition, in which he played an anti-hero role as a hitman on the run with his son. That same year, Hanks collaborated with director Spielberg again, starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in the hit crime comedy Catch Me if You Can, based on the true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr.
In 2002, he and wife Rita Wilson produced the hit movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Hanks was subsequently absent from the screen until 2004, when he appeared in three films: The Coen Brothers' The Ladykillers, another Spielberg helmed film, The Terminal, and The Polar Express, a family film from Robert Zemeckis. In a USA Weekend interview, Hanks talked about how he chooses projects: "[Since] A League of Their Own, it can't be just another movie for me. It has to get me going somehow.... There has to be some all-encompassing desire or feeling about wanting to do that particular movie. I'd like to assume that I'm willing to go down any avenue in order to do it right."
He became the youngest ever recipient of the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award on June 12, 2002. In August 2005 Hanks was voted in as vice-president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[7]
Hanks also starred in the highly anticipated film The Da Vinci Code, based on the bestselling novel by Dan Brown. The film was released May 19, 2006 in the US and grossed over USD$750 million worldwide. In Ken Burns's 2007 documentary "The War", Hanks did voice work, reading excerpts from WWII-era columns by Al McIntosh. In a play on the expression "art imitating life", Hanks will play an onscreen dad to a young man (Colin Hanks) who chooses to follow in the footsteps of a fading magician (John Malkovich) in The Great Buck Howard. Hanks's character is less than thrilled about his son's career decision. In 2006, Hanks topped a 1,500-strong list of 'most trusted celebrities' compiled by Forbes magazine.[8]
A film adaptation of Angels and Demons, the prequel to The Da Vinci Code, has been announced, and on April 11, 2007 it was revealed that Hanks would reprise again his role as Robert Langdon and that he will reportedly receive the highest salary ever for an actor.[9]
Personal life
Hanks was married to Samantha Lewes from 1978 to 1987 . The couple had two children, son Colin Hanks (now an actor in his own right) and daughter Elizabeth.[10] In 1988 Hanks married actress Rita Wilson; raised in several different Christian denominations, Hanks converted from Roman Catholicism to Orthodox Christianity when marrying Wilson.[11] The two first met on the set of Hanks's television show Bosom Buddies but later developed a romantic interest while working on the film Volunteers. They have two sons, Chester (Chet) and Truman. Hanks is a fan of the Oakland Raiders football team and English Premier League football team Aston Villa. He is also a fan of baseball's Cleveland Indians.[citation needed]
Hanks believes that he is related to James Hanks, possibly the father of Nancy Hanks, mother of United States president Abraham Lincoln. A map of his family tree showing the purported connection can be found in the External links section. If this is true, it would make Hanks a fourth cousin, four times removed, of President Lincoln.[citation needed]
Hanks named the pizza place (out by the airport) in the movie That Thing You Do!, where the band is the house band "Villapianos" after former Raider linebacker Phil Villapiano.[citation needed]
Hanks has stated that his favorite actor is James Stewart, someone with whose talents his are often compared.[citation needed] He has said his favorite film is 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). In interviews he has said that he has seen it around thirteen times in theaters and owns the VHS, LaserDisc, and DVD releases of the film.
Other activities
A fan of NASA's manned space program, Hanks said that he originally wanted to be an astronaut but "didn't have the math." Hanks is a member of the National Space Society, serving on the Board of Governors of the nonprofit educational space advocacy organization founded by Dr. Wernher von Braun and was the producer of the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon about the Apollo program to send astronauts to the moon. In addition, Hanks co-wrote and co-produced Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D, an IMAX film about the moon landings. Hanks also provides the voiceover for the Hayden planetarium show at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
In June 2006 Hanks was inducted as an honorary member of the United States Army Rangers Hall of Fame for his accurate portrayal of a Captain in the movie Saving Private Ryan; Hanks, who was unable to attend the induction ceremony, was the first actor to receive such an honor.[12] In addition to his role in Saving Private Ryan, Hanks was cited for serving as the national spokesperson for the World War II Memorial Campaign, for being the honorary chairperson of the D-Day Museum Capital Campaign, and for his role in writing and helping to produce the Emmy Award-winning miniseries, Band of Brothers.
Although he gives money to many Democratic politicians, Hanks usually keeps his opinions about politics to himself, though he has been open about his support for environmental causes and alternative fuels.[13]
Hanks is one of several celebrities who frequently participate in planned comedy bits on Late Night with Conan O'Brien while they are guests. On one visit, Hanks asked Conan to join his run for president on the "Bad Haircut Party" ticket, with confetti and balloons and a handheld sign with the slogan "You'd be stupid to vote for us". On another, O'Brien, noting that Hanks was missing Christmas on his promotional tour, brought the season to him, including a gift (the skeleton of Hooch), and a mass of snow burying them both. On yet another episode, Conan gave Hanks a painting he had commissioned reflecting two of his interests: Astronauts landing on the beach at Normandy.
Hanks appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien to publicise his new film, The Da Vinci Code. He told the audience he had met, had a conversation with, and given a present to the Japanese Prime Minister, "Fujimori". The Japanese Prime Minister Hanks met was Junichiro Koizumi; Alberto Fujimori was the former President of Peru.
Endangered Words List. . .
I came across this word in a book recently, "FENDER SKIRTS." A term I
haven't heard in a long, long time, and thinking about 'fender skirts'
started me thinking about other words that quietly disappear from our
language with hardly a notice.
Like "curb feelers" and "steering knobs." Since I'd been thinking of
cars, my mind naturally went in that direction first. Any kid will
probably have to find some elderly person over 50 to explain some of
these terms to you.
Remember, "Continental kits?" They were rear bumper extenders and
spare
tire covers that were suppose to make any car as cool as a Lincoln
Continental.
When did we quit calling them "emergency brakes?" At some
point "parking
brake" became the proper term. I miss the hint of drama that went with
"emergency brake."
I'm sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call
the
accelerator the "foot feed."
Didn't you ever wait at the street for your daddy to come home, so you
could ride the "running board" up to the house?
Most of these words go back to the 50's, but here's a pure-'60's word
I
came across - "rat fink." Ooh, what a nasty put down!
"Wall-to-wall" was once a magical term in our homes. In the 50's,
everyone covered his or her hardwood floor with, wow, 'wall-to-wall'
carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with
hardwood floors. Go figure!
When's the last time you heard the quaint phrase "in a family way?"
It's
hard to imagine that the word "pregnant" was once considered a little
too graphic, a little too clinical for us in polite company. So we had
all that talk about stork visits and "being in a family way" or
simply,
"expecting."
Here's a word I miss - "percolator. " That was just a fun word to say.
And what was it replaced with? "Coffee maker." How dull. Mr. Coffee, I
blame you for this.
I miss those made-up marketing words that were meant to sound so
modern
and now sound so retro. Words like "DynaFlow" and "Electrolux. "
Introducing the 1963 Admiral TV, now with "SpectraVision! "
Food for thought - Was there a telethon that wiped out
lumbago? Nobody complains of that anymore. Maybe that's what castor
oil
cured, because I never hear mothers threatening kids with castor oil
anymore.
Some words aren't gone, but are definitely on the endangered list. The
one that grieves me most "supper." Now everybody says "dinner."
Why not 'save' a great word today. Invite someone to supper. Discuss
fender skirts.
My word, BostonBob, glad that I don't know a lot of those words, but some I did. UhOh! Will await our Glitter Puppy before further observation, hawkman.
Hey, Tai. Love Gordon Lightfoot. It seems to me that there was a picture of a quartet including Gordon Lightfoot, Harry Chapin, James Taylor, and Cat Stevens. Sorry that I couldn't find it.
Well, folks. While we await our paddin' puppy, here's one that I love. This version is by Louis Armstrong.
I went down to the st james infirmary
Saw my baby there
She was stretched out on a long white table
So sweet...so cold...so fair
Let her go...let her go...god bless her
Wherever she may be
She can look this wide world over
But she'll never find a sweet man like me
When I die bury me in straight lace shoes
I wanna a boxback coat and a stetson hat
Put a twenty dollar gold piece on my watch chain
So the boys'll know that I died standing flat
