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Till I Waltz Again With You
Teresa Brewer

[Words and Music by Sidney Prosen]

Till I waltz again with you
Let no other hold your charms
If my dreams should all come true
You'll be waiting for my arms

Till I kiss you once agin
Keep my love locked in your heart
Darling, I'll return and then
We will never have to part

Though it may break your heart and mine
The minute when it's time to go
Remember Dear, each word divine
That meant I love you so

Till I waltz again with you
Just the way we are tonight
I will keep my promise true
For you are my guiding light

Till I waltz again with you
Keep my love locked in your heart
Darling, I'll return and then
We will never have to part
Though it may break your heart and mine
The minute when it's time to go
Remember Dear, each word divine
That meant I love you so

Till I waltz again with you
Just the way we are tonight
I will keep my promise true
For you are my guiding light
My light, my light
I will keep my promise true
Till I waltz again with you

All you young cowboys come gather around
I'll tell you a story of Abilene town
Of two young lovers as true lovers know
The girl in this story is Abilene Rose

Rose, Rose, Abilene Rose
Your memory still lives in my heart
Rose, Abilene Rose
We promised we never would part

Rose was so pretty in her gingham gown
She was the fairest in Abilene town
Her eyes were as bright as the stars up above
Every one knew when she chose me to love

Rose, Rose, Abilene Rose
Your memory still lives in my heart
Rose, Abilene Rose
We promised we never would part

We courted each other out under the moon
We planned to be married the first day of June
Then I started drinking and gambling you see
I broke her young heart and then she left me

Rose, Rose, Abilene Rose
Your memory still lives in my heart
Rose, Abilene Rose
We promised we never would part

I got into trouble and had to leave town
Rose got married and then settled down
She was as happy as happy could be
With her young cowboy and their family

Rose, Rose, Abilene Rose
Your memory still lives in my heart
Rose, Abilene Rose
We promised we never would part

This is the story I promised to tell
All you young cowboys remember it well
If you find true love don't tear it apart
Marry that true love
Don't break her young heart

Rose, Rose, Abilene Rose
Your memory still lives in my heart
Rose, Abilene Rose
Forever we must live apart

Marty Robbins

Heartaches By The Number
Guy Mitchell

[Written by Harlan Howard]

Heartaches by the number
Troubles by the score
Everyday you love me less
Each day I love you more
Yes, I've got heartaches by the number
A love that I can't win
But the day that I stop counting
That's the day my world will end

Heartache number one was when you left me
I never knew that I could hurt this way
And heartache number two
Was when you *come* back again
You came back but never meant to stay

Yes, I've got
Heartaches by the number
Troubles by the score
Everyday you love me less
Each day I love you more
Yes, I've got heartaches by the number
A love that I can't win
But the day that I stop counting
That's the day my world will end

Heartache number three
was when you called me
And said that you were comin' back to stay
With hopeful heart
I waited for your knock on the door
I waited but you must have lost your way

Yes, I've got
Heartaches by the number
Troubles by the score
Everyday you love me less
Each day I love you more
Yes, I've got heartaches by the number
A love that I can't win
But the day that I stop counting
That's the day my world will end

Chuck Jones
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones (September 21, 1912 - February 22, 2002) was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. cartoon studio. He directed many of the classic short animated cartoons starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, the Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote, Pepé Le Pew and the other Warners characters, including the memorable What's Opera, Doc? (1957), Duck Amuck (1952) (both later inducted into the National Film Registry) and Jones' famous "Hunter's Trilogy" of Rabbit Fire, Rabbit Seasoning, and Duck! Rabbit! Duck! (1951-1953), establishing himself as an important innovator and storyteller. After his career at Warners ended, he is remembered for directing the television adaptation of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966).




Biography

Early life

Jones was born in Spokane, Washington, and later moved with his parents and three siblings to the Los Angeles, California area. In his autobiography, Chuck Amuck, Jones credits his artistic bent to circumstances surrounding his father, who was an unsuccessful businessman in California in the 1920s. His father, Jones recounts, would start every new business venture by purchasing new stationery and new pencils with the company name on them. When the business failed, his father would quietly turn the huge stacks of useless stationery and pencils over to his children, requiring them to use up all the material as fast as possible (e.g., they must not draw on both sides). Armed with an endless supply of high-quality paper and pencils, the children drew constantly. Later, in one art school class, the professor gravely informed the students that they each had 100,000 bad drawings in them that they must first get past before they could possibly draw anything worthwhile. Chuck Jones recounted years later that this pronouncement came as a great relief to him, as he was well past the 200,000 mark, having used up all that stationery. Jones and several of his siblings went on to artistic careers. After graduating from Chouinard Art Institute, Jones held a number of low-ranking jobs in the animation industry, including washing cels at the Ub Iwerks studio and assistant animator at the Walter Lantz studio. While at Iwerks, he met a cel painter named Dorothy Webster, who would later become his wife.


Warner Bros.

Jones joined Leon Schlesinger Productions, the independent studio that produced Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies for Warner Bros., in 1933 as an assistant animator. In 1935, he was promoted to animator, and assigned to work with new Schlesinger director Tex Avery. There was no room for the new Avery unit in Schlesinger's small studio, so Avery, Jones, and fellow animators Bob Clampett, Virgil Ross, and Sid Sutherland were moved into a small adjacent building they dubbed "Termite Terrace". When Clampett was promoted to director in 1937, Jones was assigned to his unit; the Clampett unit were briefly assigned to work with Jones' old employer, Ub Iwerks, when Iwerks subcontracted four cartoons to Schlesinger in 1937. Jones became a director (or "supervisor", the original title for an animation director in the studio) himself in 1938 when Frank Tashlin left the studio. Jones' first cartoon was The Night Watchman, which featured a cute kitten who would later evolve into Sniffles the mouse.

Many of Jones' cartoons of the 1930s and early 1940s were lavishly animated, but audiences and fellow Schlesinger staff members found them lacking in genuine humor. Often slow-moving and overbearing with "cuteness", Jones' early cartoons were an attempt to follow in the footsteps of Walt Disney's shorts (especially with such cartoons as Tom Thumb in Trouble and the Sniffles cartoons). Jones finally broke away from both his traditional cuteness, and traditional animation conventions as well, with the cartoon The Dover Boys in 1942. Jones credits this cartoon as the film where he "learned how to be funny." The Dover Boys is also one of the first uses of Stylized animation in American film, breaking away from the more realistic animation styles influenced by the Disney Studio. This was also the period where Jones created many of his lesser-known characters, including Charlie Dog, Hubie and Bertie, and The Three Bears. Despite their relative obscurity today, the shorts starring these characters represent some of Jones' earliest work that was strictly intended to be funny.

During the World War II years, Jones worked closely with Theodore Geisel (also known as Dr. Seuss) to create the Private Snafu series of Army educational cartoons. Private Snafu comically educated soldiers on topics like spies and laziness in a more risque way than general audiences would have been used to at the time. Jones would later collaborate with Seuss on a number of adaptations of Seuss' books to animated form, most importantly How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 1966.


A still from What's Opera, Doc?.Jones hit his stride in the late 1940s, and continued to make his best-regarded works through the 1950s. Jones-created characters from this period includes Claude Cat, Marc Antony and Pussyfoot, Charlie Dog, Michigan J. Frog, and his three most popular creations, Pepe LePew, the Road Runner, and Wile E. Coyote. The Coyote was inspired by a talking coyote in a Mark Twain story that Jones read when he was six years old. Later, Jones identified with his creation, the erudite if inept Wile E. Coyote, because though he nevers wins in the end, he never gives up. The Road Runner cartoons, in addition to the cartoons that are considered his masterpieces (all written and conceived by Michael Maltese), Duck Amuck, One Froggy Evening, and What's Opera, Doc? are today hailed by critics as some of the best cartoons ever made.

The staff of the Jones unit was as important to the success of these cartoons as Jones himself. Key members included writer Michael Maltese, layout artist/background designer/co-director Maurice Noble, animator and co-director Abe Levitow, and animators Ken Harris and Ben Washam.

Jones remained at Warners throughout the 1950s, except for a brief period in 1953 when Warners closed the animation studio. During this interim, Jones found employment at the Walt Disney studio, where he did four months of uncredited work on Sleeping Beauty (1959).

In the early-1960s, Jones and his wife Dorothy wrote the screenplay for the animated feature Gay Purr-ee. The finished film would feature the voices of Judy Garland, Robert Goulet and Red Buttons as cats in Paris, France. The feature was produced by UPA, and Jones moonlit to work on the film, since he had an exclusive contract with Warner Bros. UPA completed the film and made it available for distribution in 1962; it was picked up by Warner Bros., who found out Jones had violated his contract and fired him from the company.


Jones on his own

With business partner Les Goldman, Jones started an independent animation studio, Sib Tower 12 Productions, bringing on most of his unit from Warner Bros., including Maurice Noble and Michael Maltese. In 1963, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contracted with Sib Tower 12 to have Jones and his staff produce new Tom and Jerry cartoons. In 1964, Sib Tower 12 was absorbed by MGM and was renamed MGM Animation/Visual Arts. Jones' animated short film The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Higher Mathematics won the 1965 Oscar for Best Animated Short.

As the Tom and Jerry series wound down (it would be discontinued in 1967), Jones moved on to television. In 1966, he produced and directed the TV special How the Grinch Stole Christmas, featuring the voice and facial features of Boris Karloff. Jones continued to work on TV specials such as Horton Hears A Who! (1970), but his main focus during this time was the feature film The Phantom Tollbooth, which did lukewarm business when MGM released it in 1970.

MGM closed the animation division in 1970, and Jones once again started his own studio, Chuck Jones Productions. His most notable work during this period was three animated TV adaptations of short stories from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Brothers, The White Seal and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. The 1979 movie The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie was a compilation of Jones' best theatrical shorts; Jones produced new Road Runner shorts for The Electric Company series and Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales (1979), and even newer shorts were made for Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over (1980).


Later years

Through the 1980s and 1990s, Jones was painting cartoon and parody art, sold through animation galleries by his daughter's company, Linda Jones Enterprises. He was also creating new cartoons for the Internet based on his new character, "Thomas Timberwolf". He made a cameo appearance in the 1984 film Gremlins and directed the Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck animated sequences that bookend Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). Jones also directed animated sequences various features such as a lengthy sequence in the 1992 film, Stay Tuned and a shorter one seen at the start of the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire. Jones was not a fan of much contemporary animation, terming most of it, especially television cartoons such as those of Hanna-Barbera, "illustrated radio."

In 1988 Jones contributed to the creation of London's Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI) by spending several days working high on scaffolding creating a chase sequence directly onto the high walls of the museum.

Jones' intellectualism, writing ability, and capacity for self-analysis made him an historical authority as well as a major contributor to the development of animation throughout the 20th century. He received an honorary degree from Oglethorpe University in 1993.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Chuck Jones has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7011 Hollywood Blvd.

Jones, who had been nominated 8 times over his career for an Oscar (winning twice), received an Honorary Academy Award in 1996 by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, for "the creation of classic cartoons and cartoon characters whose animated lives have brought joy to our real ones for more than half a century."

Jones died of heart failure in 2002.


Influence and critical perception


Jones is considered to be a master of characterization and timing. His best works are noted for depicting a refinement of character to the point that a single eyebrow wiggle could be a major gag as opposed to the wild, frenetic style usually associated with cartoons, and those of Warner Bros. in particular. Like Walt Disney, Jones wanted animation to gain respect from the film and art communities, and often undertook special animation projects reflecting such, including What's Opera Doc, The Dot and the Line, and the 1944 political film Hell-Bent for Election, a campaign film for Franklin D. Roosevelt that he directed for UPA.

In his later years, Jones became the most vocal alumnus of the Termite Terrace studio, frequently giving lectures, seminars, and working to educate newcomers in the animation field. Many of his principles, therefore, found their way back into the mainstream animation consciousness, and can be seen in films such as Cats Don't Dance, The Emperor's New Groove and Lilo & Stitch.

Jones had a penchant for cuteness in his earliest days as is visible in his cartoons featuring Sniffles the Mouse. Other Warners directors, particularly Tex Avery and Robert Clampett, considered "cute" to be a four letter word. By request of producer Leon Schlesinger, Jones changed his style, and began making zanier pictures such as Wackiki Wabbit and Hare Conditioned. After Avery, Clampett, and Schlesinger left the studio, Jones gradually reincorporated elements of the slow pace, sentimentality and cuteness of his previous work with characters like Marc Antony and Pussyfoot and the young Ralph Phillips. His versions of the characters he worked with often showcased a more infantile look than other interpretations, with larger eyes and eyelashes. This is especially apparent in his Tom and Jerry films, some of which are considered the weakest in the canon.

Jones, like the rest of his Termite Terrace associates after the departure of Schlesinger, has been criticized for using repetitive plots, most obvious in the Pepé Le Pew and Road Runner cartoons. It must be noted, however, that many of these films were originally issued to theatres years apart, and the repetitious factor was often done at the request of the producers, management, or theatre owners. Also, series like the Road Runner were set up as exercises in exploring the same situation in different ways. Jones had a set list of rules as to what could and could not occur in a Road Runner cartoon, and stated that it was not what happened that was important in the films, but how it happened.

Chuck Jones' reinvention of certain characters is also a controversial subject. He reimagined the wacky, Clampett-esque hero Daffy Duck as a greedy, sneaky antagonist with a slow-burning temper; and he relegated hapless star Porky Pig to being a sidekick or audience-aware observer of the action. Jones also created a series of films in which he used Friz Freleng's Sylvester in the context of a real cat. Like all the Warners directors, his Bugs Bunny characterization is unique to his films: Jones' Bugs never attacks unless attacked, unlike Avery's and Clampett's bombastic rabbits.

Quotes
" I am still astonished that somebody would offer me a job and pay me to do what I wanted to do. "

Larry Hagman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name Larry Martin Hageman
Born September 21, 1931 (1931-09-21) (age 76)
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.

Larry Martin Hagman (born September 21, 1931) is a popular American film and television actor, producer and director, primarily in soap operas and television, who is best known for playing John Ross "J.R." Ewing, Jr. in the 1980s television soap opera Dallas and as Barbara Eden's master (later husband) Major Anthony Nelson in the 1960s sitcom, I Dream of Jeannie.




Biography

Early life

Hagman was born Larry Martin Hageman[1] in Fort Worth, Texas. His mother, Mary Martin, was a popular Broadway actress and his father, Benjamin Jack Hageman,[2] was a district attorney. In 1936, when Hagman was only five, his parents were divorced. He lived with his grandmother in Texas and California. His famous mother became a contract player with Paramount in 1938, and occasionally brought him to her movies. In 1940, his mother met and married Richard Halliday, giving birth to a daughter, Heller, the following year. Larry attended the strict Black Fox Military Institute.

When his mother moved to New York City to continue her Broadway career, Larry Hagman continued to live with his grandmother in California. Just a couple years later, his grandmother died and Hagman would go back to living with his mother. In 1945, at age fourteen, while attending boarding school, he began drinking heavily which would lead to serious health problems later in life. In 1946, Hagman moved back to his hometown of Weatherford, Texas, where he worked as a ranch hand for his father's friend's company. Upon attending Weatherford High School, he was drawn to drama classes and reputedly fell in love with the stage in particular with the warm reception he got for his comedic roles.

Hagman developed quite a reputation as a talented performer and in between school terms, would take minor roles in local stage productions. In 1949, Hagman graduated from high school and his mother suggested that he try out as an actor.

Early career

Hagman began his acting career in Dallas, Texas working as a production assistant and acting in small roles in Margo Jones' Theater '50, during a break from his one year at Bard College. He appeared in The Taming of the Shrew in New York City, followed by numerous tent show musicals with St. John Terrell's Music Circus in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Lambertville, New Jersey. In 1951, Hagman appeared in the London production of South Pacific with his mother, and stayed in the show for about a year.

In 1952, Hagman was drafted into the United States Air Force, during the Korean War. Stationed in London, he spent the majority of his service career entertaining U.S. Troops in the UK and at military bases in Europe.


Stage/TV and film actor

After leaving the Air Force in 1956, Hagman returned to New York where he appeared in the Off-Broadway play Once Around the Block, by William Saroyan, and received excellent reviews. This was followed by nearly a year in another Off-Broadway play, James Lee's Career. Despite his success, his career was overshadowed by his mother's fame, which was in ascendancy due to her starring role in the TV movie, Peter Pan. Larry Hagman's Broadway debut occurred in 1958, in Comes a Day. Hagman appeared in four other Broadway plays, God and Kate Murphy, The Nervous Set, The Warm Peninsula and The Beauty Part.

During this period, Hagman appeared in numerous, mostly live, television programs. He joined the cast of The Edge of Night, as Ed Gibson, in 1961, and stayed in that role for two years. In 1964 he made his film debut in Ensign Pulver, which featured young unknown, Jack Nicholson. That same year, Hagman also appeared in Fail-Safe, opposite Henry Fonda.


I Dream of Jeannie

After years of guest-starring in many TV roles, and starring in a less successful series the previous year, he hit the jackpot in 1965, by playing Barbara Eden's TV boyfriend, Maj. Anthony Nelson in the sitcom, I Dream of Jeannie, for NBC. The show had climbed into the Top 10 in its first year and was NBC's answer to both successful 1960s magical comedies, Bewitched and My Favorite Martian.

In its first season, NBC executives decided that the show should not be filmed in color which was prohibitively expensive at the time. However, by the second season in 1966 the show was filmed in color in recognition of the widespread uptake of color televisions by the viewing public.

By 1970, Jeannie was running out of steam and during the last season, Hagman's character finally married Jeannie.


1970s work

After Jeannie was cancelled, Hagman had two other short-lived series in the 1970s: Here We Go Again and The Good Life. He made guest appearances on television shows like Love American Style, Medical Center, and McCloud. He also appeared in such television films as Getting Away From It All (1972), Sidekicks (1974), The Return Of The World's Greatest Detective (1976), Intimate Strangers (1977), and Checkered Flag Or Crash (1977).

Hagman also appeared in the theatrical films The Group, Harry and Tonto (1974), Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1977), Superman (1978), and Primary Colors (1998). He directed (and appeared briefly in) a low-budget comedy/horror film in 1972 called Beware The Blob (a sequel to the classic 1958 horror film, The Blob). Some have jokingly called this "the film that J.R. shot".


Dallas

In late 1977, after years of starring in so many roles, Hagman chose to leave the good guy image behind and took on the starring role in Dallas, which was the first long-running, 1980's prime-time soap opera to make the big time.

Hagman read the script for the role at his wife's suggestion, and they concluded it was perfect for him. Another attraction for Hagman was that as a native Texan he did not have to travel that far from his hometown, which gained great exposure and notoriety from the series.

He was cast as conniving older son and businessman, J.R. Ewing, a man whom everybody loved-to-hate. Co-starring on the show were a number of unfamiliar, yet promising actors, including Patrick Duffy and Victoria Principal, as J.R.'s younger, nice brother and his sister-in-law, Bobby & Pamela Ewing.

In mid-1978, the producers thought that the series was originally supposed to be about Bobby & Pam, and it wasn't originally intended to be a ratings bonanza, with producers anticipating having to cancel the show after only five episodes.


However, thanks to the strong fan following for Hagman's portrayal of J.R. from Day 1, he was credited as being the star who saved the show being offered a second season, on the strength of excellent first season ratings. His co-star Linda Gray also received a starring role, as JR's long-suffering wife. Overall, the cast got along very well with Hagman, particularly Duffy, who would often spend weekends with the Hagmans. The chemistry between Hagman and Duffy was convincingly like sibling rivalry which made for exciting onscreen exchanges and equal screen time for Duffy's character, something to which Hagman had no objections.

Seen in over 90 countries, the show was a worldwide success and Hagman became one of the most reliable and supportive network stars. As the star of the show, Hagman drew on many of his youthful experiences of growing up in Texas to bring depth to J.R.'s irascible character. While J.R. played out a complex love/hate relationship with his "Dallas" family, Hagman enjoyed a relaxed and warm relationship with his castmates, often playing practical jokes to lessen the tension caused by tight filming schedules and highly emotionally charged scripts.

By the end of its second season, Dallas was a bonafide hit. Producers were keen to capitalise on J.R.'s love/hate relationship with his TV family, building anticipation to a fever-pitch in a cliff hanger season finale in which J.R. is shot. An event to which the producers of The Simpsons paid homage over a decade later in one of their cliffhanger season finale, 'Who Shot Mr. Burns?'. Over 10 years on, the formula still worked, this time to heightened comedic effect.

At the beginning of Dallas' third season, audience and actors were guessing "Who Shot J.R.". During the media build up, Hagman was involved in contract negotiations delaying his return in the third season. Holding out for a higher salary, Hagman did not appear in the first episode of the show, despite all the media and fan frenzy over the fate of J.R.

Producers were faced with a dilemma whether to pay the greatly increased salary or to write J.R. out of the picture. CBS began taping different episodes of Dallas which did not include Hagman.

In the midst of negotiations, Hagman took his family to London for their July vacation. He continued to fight for his demands and network executives conceded that the show really could not go on without him. From the third season, Hagman was paid a huge amount per episode.

At the beginning of the third season, writers were told to keep the storylines away from the actors until they really found out who actually shot J.R.; and it took at least three weeks until the culprit was revealed on November 21, 1980.

By near the end of its third season, Hagman's co-star and TV father (Jim Davis) had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 1981, and despite his condition, he was retained on the show so that he not only died in real-life, but he was also written out of the show, with his character sent off to South America in a plane to work on the oil fields. The following year, Davis' character died, and the producers couldn't do a death episode for Davis at the beginning of the fourth season, but had to wait until the following season, where they aired an episode dedicated to Davis' final will and testament and its effect on the Dallas family. Hagman and the rest of the cast attended Davis' funeral, after the season finale.

For his work as JR Ewing, Hagman was nominated for two Emmys between 1980 and 1981, for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, but didn't win. He was also nominated for four Golden Globes, between 1981 and 1983 and one in 1985, but didn't win. He was nominated for a Soap Opera Digest Award seven times for Outstanding Villain on a Prime Time Serial, Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role on a Prime Time Serial, Favorite Super Couple: Prime Time and Outstanding Actor in a Comic Relief Role on a Prime Time Serial, and won five times. In 1984, his co-star (Barbara Bel Geddes) had departed from the show, when she was on a medical leave, due to a sudden heart attack. At one point, Hagman suggested to his real-life mother (Mary Martin) to play Miss Ellie, but she refused and was replaced with veteran actress (Donna Reed of The Donna Reed Show fame), who was fired from the show, just one year before her death in 1986.

Bel Geddes came back in 1985; and stayed on until 1990. In 1985, his co-star (Patrick Duffy) left the show in order to pursue a career in TV movies, and thanks to Hagman's wishes, Duffy decided to comeback at the end of the 1985-86 season, as a guest-star, and received a starring role along with his salary back in 1986, the following year in 1987, (Victoria Principal) left the show, and the following year and a half, her character had died (though it wasn't played by Principal after her departure). and in 1989, his co-star (Linda Gray) was fired from the hit soap; the ratings were beginning to slip that same year.

The decline in Dallas' was mirrored in Hagman's private life. He was drinking continuously and this led him to developing cirrhosis of the liver. During the final season of Dallas, he was with former Jeannie star Barbara Eden, who played J.R.'s conniving girlfriend. By the end of its thirteenth season in 1991, ratings continued to slip and CBS decided to end Dallas after a remarkable run. Hagman was the only actor to appear in 356 of the 357 episodes total. Due to his character's popularity, he made 5 guest appearances on Knots Landing, which itself was Dallas's spinoff in the early 1980s.

Hagman's relationship with Patrick Duffy's family began in the mid 1940s, when this teenaged actor went to spend a lot of time with Duffy's parents. In the reunion, Duffy said of Hagman's friendship with his real-life parents, "Larry knew my parents, before you ever knew me," Later, he said about working with the veteran actor on a weekly series on which it made Patrick really nervous, "I would get a phone call from them, when I was driving my truck, and they said, 'Call this nice Mr. Hagman, maybe he can help you in the business.' And I didn't know who the hell Mr. Hagman was!" Patrick also said of Hagman's tenure on Dallas: "Larry took the part that could've been a joke, just plain The Evil Master of the Universe. And he decided to play J.R. as the hero. Larry believes that J.R. was his knight-and-shining armour. He thought he'd never done something wrong!" Duffy would also say something about Hagman's character who did everybody no harm than good, "He never actually killed anybody. He fomented revolutions in South America, he had no problems with environmental disasters, he sank ships, he had babies stolen --- he made babies, God knows he was like a rabbit. In fact, my son was his on the show, figure that one out." When the "Who Shot JR?", media was surrounded, Duffy would say of Hagman's contract renegotiation, "Not only it was 'Who Shot JR?', it was 'Who's going to be JR?', and the press took a hold of that, and I think the studio is throwing out people's names, in their negotiations with Larry, and this will scare him, it won't scare him!" Upon Hagman's return to the show, Duffy said, "And he came back and it was grand, you know, it was Larry!" Years before Hagman's hospitalization, Duffy was one of the stars to be emotionally concerned about his drinking behaviour, "He came to my house and had corn flakes and Bourbon. And I realized, he was just way out of his league," he said, "We'd arrived for makeup around 7:30 A.M. in the morning and the first bottle will be popped open," the last thing he said was, "He'd continued to imbibe, not just throw it back, but to keep that buzz going, all day long." After the show was cancelled and Hagman's short battle against cancer, Duffy still remained close to Hagman.


After Dallas

In January 1997, Larry starred in a short lived TV series named Orleans as Judge Luther Charbonnet. It lasted only eight episodes. Hagman appeared without the toupee he had started wearing during the filming of "Dallas". Hagman appeared as a guest star during the fourth season of Nip/Tuck.

In November 1999, after 29 years, Hagman was finally reunited with his Jeannie co-stars Barbara Eden and Bill Daily and creator and producer Sidney Sheldon on the daytime talk show, The Donny & Marie Show for the very first official I Dream Of Jeannie Reunion. The show was filled with loving memories & clips from I Dream Of Jeannie. In 2002 when I Dream Of Jeannie was set to join the cable channel TV Land, Larry once again took part in a I Dream Of Jeannie Reunion with Barbara Eden and Bill Daily, this time on the Larry King Live show for CNN. For the first time ever fans of I Dream Of Jeannie were able to call in and talk to the cast.

On the TV Land Awards in March 2004, Larry Hagman and Barbara Eden were the first presenters to reunite on stage to give out the first award to the best TV twin. The award went to Patty Duke for The Patty Duke Show. In October 2004, Hagman & Bill Daily appeared at The Ray Courts Hollywood Autograph Show.

In March 2006, Larry Hagman once again reunited with his former I Dream Of Jeannie co-star Barbara Eden and went on a publicity tour in New York to promote the First Season DVD of I Dream Of Jeannie. Soon after, he flew back to the East Coast and reunited with Barbara Eden on stage for the play Love Letters at the College Of Staten Island in New York and The United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. This was the first time they had acted together since appearing on the TV series Dallas in 1990 when Barbara was a guest on several episodes playing an ex-lover (Lee Ann De La Vega) of Larry Hagman's character J.R. Ewing.


Personal life

In 1973, his step-father Richard Halliday died, and Hagman reconciled with his mother soon after. The two became close until his mother's own death, seventeen years later. Late in 1990, his mother (Mary Martin) was diagnosed with colon cancer and died just one month before her 77th birthday. Hagman enjoyed a warm relationship with his mother, and she was very proud of her son's accomplishments.

While in England, he dated future British actress Joan Collins (of Dynasty fame).

He has been married to Swedish-born Maj Axelsson since 1954, and they have two children, Heidi Kristina (b. 1958) and Preston (b. 1962). Longtime residents of Malibu, California, they now live in Ojai, California. He has been a member of the Peace and Freedom Party since the 1960s.[3] Hagman derided President George W. Bush, a fellow Texan, before the Iraq War. At a signing for his book he said "A sad figure (Bush) - not too well educated, who doesn't get out of America much. He's leading the country towards fascism".[4]

In 1982 he was given the honour to crown the winner of 1982's Miss Sweden competition in Stockholm. During the coronation he was wearing a traditional Lapphatt and sang a Swedish folksong.

Earlier in his career Hagman was introduced by Jack Nicholson to marijuana as a safer alternative to Hagman's heavy drinking. Although Hagman says he no longer smokes marijuana and is on a "12-step program," he explains that marijuana

"is benign compared to alcohol. When you come right down to it, alcohol destroys your body and makes you do violent things. With grass you sit back and enjoy life."

In 1967 Peter Fonda supplied him with LSD:

LSD was such a profound experience in my life that it changed my pattern of life and my way of thinking and I could not exclude it.

In August 1995, Hagman underwent a life-saving liver transplant after admitting he had been a heavy drinker. Numerous reports state he was drinking four bottles of champagne a day on the set of Dallas. He was also a heavy smoker as a young man, but a terrifying cancer scare was the catalyst for him to quit. Hagman was so shaken by this incident that he immediately became strongly anti smoking. He has recorded several public service announcements pleading with smokers to quit and urging non-smokers never to start. Hagman was the chairman of the American Cancer Society's annual Great American Smokeout for many years, and also worked on behalf of the National Kidney Foundation.

These health struggles have actually been turned into a running joke on Jim Rome's radio show, where e-mailers routinely send e-mails signed by "Larry Hagman's liver", usually in reference to things that have failed.


Hagman in popular culture

In an episode of The Simpsons, Homer Simpson in: "Kidney Trouble", Homer's father is waiting for a kidney. Dr. Hibbert says that there was one available but "Larry Hagman took it," and that now he has "five kidneys and three hearts. We didn't want to give it to him, but he overpowered us." Hagman later appeared on the show as the voice of attorney Wallace Brady in the episode "The Monkey Suit."

In the 2004 British horror-comedy "Freak Out," the killer is obsessed with Hagman, even to the point of wearing a giant J.R. Ewing mask by the end of the movie. Another scene in the movie has the killer discussing with the main character that all cool horror movie villains have four syllable names ("Jason Voorhees, Freddy Kreuger") and the killer says "Larry Hagman."

Bill Murray
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Birth name William James Murray
Born September 21, 1950 (1950-09-21) (age 57)
Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.
Years active 1975 - present
Spouse(s) Margaret Kelley (1980-1994)
Jennifer Butler (1997-)
Children Homer Murray (b.1982)
Luke Murray (b.1985)
Jackson Murray (b.1993)
Cal Murray (b.1995)
Cooper Murray (b.1996)
Lincoln Murray (b.2001)
[show]Awards
BAFTA Awards
Best Actor
2003 Lost in Translation
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Series
1977 Saturday Night Live
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2003 Lost in Translation
Other Awards
NYFCC Award for Best Actor'
2003 Lost in Translation
NYFCC Award for Best Supporting Actor
1998 Rushmore

William James "Bill" Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an Academy Award-nominated, Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-winning American comedian and actor. He is perhaps most famous for his work in Saturday Night Live, as well as for his comedic roles in films such as Stripes, Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and Rushmore, among many others. He has gained further acclaim for recent dramatic roles, such as in the acclaimed films Lost In Translation, Broken Flowers and The Royal Tenenbaums.




Biography

Early life

Murray was born and raised in Wilmette, Illinois (metro Chicago), the fifth of nine children of Edward J. Murray II, a lumber salesman, and Lucille Collins,[1] both Irish American Catholics. [2] Three of Murray's siblings are also actors: John Murray, Joel Murray, and Brian Doyle-Murray. A sister, Nancy, is an Adrian Dominican Sister in Michigan.

Murray attended Loyola Academy. As a teenager, he worked alongside his brothers as a caddy to pay for school.[1] After graduation, he attended Regis University in Denver, Colorado where he took pre-med courses. He later dropped out after being arrested for possession of marijuana at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.[1][2] He worked numerous jobs including a stint at a Little Caesar's alongside future chef Kerry Simon.



Early career

With an invitation from his older brother, Brian, Murray got his start at Second City Chicago studying under Del Close. The improvisational comedy troupe was a perfect fit for Murray's clever, dry humor and ad libbing. He eventually became a featured player on The National Lampoon Radio Hour, aired on some 600 stations from 1973 to 1974.


Saturday Night Live

In 1975, he landed his first television role as a cast member of the ABC variety show Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. That same season, another variety show titled NBC's Saturday Night premiered. Cosell's show lasted just one season.

After working in Los Angeles with the "guerrilla video" commune TVTV on a number of projects, Murray rose to prominence when he joined the cast of NBC's newly-titled Saturday Night Live the following season, replacing Chevy Chase. This was initially a turbulent experience for Murray. He often flubbed his lines and seemed awkward on camera. Chase had been the most popular cast member and some fans sent Murray hate mail stating he was a poor replacement. When Chase appeared as a guest host that season, they got into a fist fight backstage. But by the end of Murray's first season, he had begun to display his witty, laid-back persona. His characters, such as Nick the Lounge Singer and nerd Todd DiLamuca, became very popular with viewers. With the departure of Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi in 1979, Murray became the most popular member of the ensemble cast. In 1980, the entire cast left the show. Another scandal surrounding Murray was that he had had a relationship with co-star Gilda Radner, which ended badly.

Murray later revisited the troupe he started with in the TV special Bill Murray Live From the Second City in 1980.


Film career

Murray landed his first starring role with the film Meatballs in 1979. He followed this up with his portrayal of famed writer Hunter S. Thompson in 1980's Where the Buffalo Roam. In the early 1980s, he starred in a string of box-office hits including Caddyshack, Stripes and Tootsie.

Murray began work on a film adaptation of the novel The Razor's Edge. The film, which Murray also co-wrote, was his first starring role in a dramatic film. He later agreed to star in Ghostbusters in a role originally written for John Belushi. This was a deal Murray made with Columbia Pictures in order to gain financing for his film. Ghostbusters became the highest-grossing film of 1984. But The Razor's Edge, which was filmed before Ghostbusters but not released until after, was a box-office flop. Upset over the failure of Razor's Edge, Murray took four years off from acting to study French at the Sorbonne and spend time with his family in their Hudson River Valley home. With the exception of a memorable cameo in the 1986 movie Little Shop of Horrors, he did not make any appearances in films.

Murray returned to films in 1988 with Scrooged and followed up with the long-awaited sequel Ghostbusters II in 1989. In 1990, Murray made his first and only attempt at directing when he co-helmed Quick Change with producer Howard Franklin. His subsequent films What About Bob? (1991) and Groundhog Day (1993) were box-office hits and critically acclaimed, and in recent years have come to be seen as minor classics.

After a string of films that did not do well with audiences, he received much critical acclaim for Wes Anderson's Rushmore for which he won several awards. Murray then experienced a resurgence in his career as a dramatic actor. After dramatic roles in Wild Things, Cradle Will Rock, Hamlet (as Polonius), and The Royal Tenenbaums, he garnered considerable acclaim for the 2003 film Lost in Translation. He received a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA award. He was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, in what was considered to be a two-horse race between him and Sean Penn, who eventually prevailed. In an interview included on the Lost in Translation DVD, Murray states that this is his favorite movie in which he has appeared.


During this time, Murray still appeared in comedic roles such as Charlie's Angels and Osmosis Jones. In 2004, he provided the voice of Garfield in Garfield: The Movie and marked his third collaboration with Wes Anderson in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Murray also garnered acclaim for his dramatic role in Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers.

In 2005, he announced that he would take a break from acting, as he had not had the time since his new breakthrough in the late-1990s. His last film role to date is Garfield's voice in the sequel Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties. Dan Aykroyd has recently confirmed in an interview with CISN Country that Murray will be reprising his role as the voice of Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters III, which will be done with computer animation partially because Murray refused to act in a live action sequel.

Personal life

Murray wed Margaret Kelly in 1980. They had two sons, Homer (born 1982) and Luke (born 1985), before divorcing in 1994. In 1997, he married Jennifer Butler. They have four children together: Cal (born 1993), Jackson (born 1995), Cooper (born 1996), and Lincoln (born 2001).

He is a partner with his brothers in Murray Bros. Caddy Shack, a restaurant chain with locations near Jacksonville and in Myrtle Beach and St. Augustine. Murray is an avid golfer who often plays in celebrity tournaments. His 1999 book Cinderella Story: My Life in Golf, part autobiography and part essay, expounds on his love of golf. In 2002, he and his brothers starred in the Comedy Central series, The Sweet Spot, which chronicled their adventures playing golf.

He is a part-owner of the St. Paul Saints independent minor-league baseball team and occasionally travels to Saint Paul, Minnesota to watch the team's games. He also owns part of the Charleston RiverDogs, Hudson Valley Renegades, and the Brockton Rox. He invested in a number of other minor league teams in the past, including the Utica Blue Sox, Miami Miracle, and Salt Lake Trappers. He was also a part-owner of the Auburn Astros (now the Auburn Doubledays) in Auburn, NY.

Very detached from the Hollywood scene, Murray does not have an agent or manager and reportedly[3] only fields offers for scripts and roles using a personal telephone number with a voice mailbox that he checks infrequently. This practice has the downside of sometimes preventing him from taking parts that he had auditioned for and was interested in, such as that of Sulley in Monsters, Inc and Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Murray has homes in Los Angeles, Charleston, SC, and New York.

During the 2000 presidential campaign, Murray stumped for Green Party candidate Ralph Nader.

Murray is a huge fan of Chicago pro sports teams, especially the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Bears. He also is a big Michael Jordan fan and has made cameo appearances in Space Jam and Jordan documentaries. He also cheered courtside for the Illinois Fighting Illini's game versus the University of North Carolina in the NCAA Basketball Tournament's championship game in 2005.

In August 2007 Murray was cited for driving a golf cart while under the influence of alcohol in Stockholm, Sweden[4], having a blood alcohol content of 0.036% (legal limit 0.02%).[3]


Trivia


Has been adopted as an unofficial mascot by the Online Forum Football365.
Murray was the first guest on both of David Letterman's long-running late night television programs. He appeared on the first episode of Late Night with David Letterman on February 1, 1982, as well as the inaugural episode of Late Show with David Letterman on August 30, 1993. In addition, he was the first guest on Late Show on February 1, 2007, as David Letterman celebrated his 25th anniversary in late night.
Lorenzo Music voiced Murray's character, Venkman, in The Real Ghostbusters cartoon series. Music is best-known for voicing Garfield the cat in various cartoon series. Murray would go on to be the voice of Garfield in the 2004 film and 2006 film.
Murray is said to have a policy of not doing a third version of anything, which is one of the reasons Ghostbusters III has been reported to be in development hell, but his filmography would also seem to suggest that he has not been offered a third version of anything besides Ghostbusters.
In early February 2007, Dan Aykroyd revealed in an interview that Bill Murray agreed to provide the voice of Dr. Venkman in an upcoming animated Ghostbusters sequel, after having upheld his refusal to appear in a live-action sequel.
He was named #1 Smartass on Comedy Central's "List of the 51 Greatest Smartasses."
Is quoted on the DVD case and some VHS releases of Frankenhooker, saying If you see one movie this year, it should be Frankenhooker.
Appeared on TLC's American Chopper during which the Teutuls did a Caddyshack-themed bike.
Murray was once asked by Harry Caray during a Cubs game (and shortly after Murray's mother had died) "How's your mother doing?" Murray responded, "Well, she's dead, Harry...and don't ask about my father because he's dead too."
Regis University awarded actor and alum, Bill Murray an honorary degree the evening of Friday, July 13, 2007. The award was presented during the University's alumni weekend dinner at the University's Lowell campus in North Denver. The honorary degree is a doctor of humanities.[5]
Hosted the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival
The band Gorillaz made a song titled "Bill Murray" as a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the actor.
Though it was stated as fact in the short film FCU With Bill Murray, Murray does not drink a glass of warm 2% milk before he goes to bed every night.

Faith Hill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Background information

Birth name Audrey Faith Perry
Born September 21, 1967 (1967-09-21) (age 40)
Ridgeland, Mississippi
Genre(s) Country pop
Occupation(s) Singer
Instrument(s) Vocals
Years active 1993-present
Label(s) Warner Bros. Records
Website http://www.faithhill.com

Audrey Faith Perry McGraw, known professionally by her first married name Faith Hill (born September 21, 1967), is an American country singer, known for her commercial success as well as her marriage to fellow country singer Tim McGraw. Hill's "soulful and rasping voice" [1] and talent for picking songs[2] have helped her to sell over 30 million records and accumulate 11 number one singles on the Country charts.

Hill has been honored by the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music, the Grammy Awards, the American Music Awards and the People's Choice Awards. Her Soul2Soul II Tour 2006 with husband McGraw became the highest-grossing country tour of all time.[3] In 2001 she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal.




Biography

Early life

Hill was born Audrey Faith Perry in Ridgeland, Mississippi near Jackson, Mississippi. She was adopted as an infant, and raised by a couple in the nearby town of Star. Her adoptive parents raised their two (biological) sons and Hill in a very Christian environment.[2]

Hill's vocal talent was apparent early, and she had her first public performance, a 4-H luncheon, when she was seven.[4] By the time she was a teenager, Hill was a regular performer at area churches, even those not in her own Baptist denomination.[5] At seventeen, Hill formed a band that played in local rodeos. She briefly attended college, but at 19 quit school to move to Nashville and pursue her dream of being a country singer. In her early days in Nashville, Hill auditioned to be a backup singer for Reba McEntire, but failed to secure the job.[2] After a stint selling t-shirts, Hill became a secretary at a music publishing firm.[4]

Apart from her quest for entry into the music industry, Hill also began working towards a more robust family life. In 1988 she married songwriter and music executive Dan Hill, who provided the surname she would use as she became famous. Two years later she began a search for her natural mother, whom she eventually met and with whom she still corresponds.[6]

A co-worker heard Hill singing to herself one day, and soon the head of her music publishing company was encouraging her to become a demo singer for the firm.[4] She supplemented this work by singing backup vocals for songwriter Gary Burr, who often performed his new songs at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe. During one of those performances, an executive from Warner Bros. Records was in the audience, and, impressed with Hill's voice, began the process of signing her to a recording contract.[2]


1993 - 1997: Country success

Hill's debut album was Take Me as I Am (1993); sales were strong, buoyed by the chart success of "Wild One". Hill became the first female country singer in 30 years to hold Billboard's #1 position for four consecutive weeks when "Wild One" managed the feat in 1994.[7] Her version of Erma Franklin's "Piece of My Heart", also went to the top of the country charts in 1994,[4] although rock fans drew unflattering comparisons to Janis Joplin's cover.[citation needed] The album sold a total of 3 million copies.[4]

Shortly after the release of her album, Hill found her marriage falling apart. She and Dan Hill divorced in 1994.[6]

The recording of Faith's second album was delayed by surgery to repair a busted blood vessel on her vocal cords. It Matters to Me finally appeared in 1995 and was another success, with the title track becoming her fourth #1 country single. Several other top 10 singles followed, and this album also sold over 3 million copies.[4] The fifth single from the album, "I Can't Do That Anymore," was written by country music artist Alan Jackson.

In the spring of 1996 Hill began the Spontaneous Combustion Tour with country singer Tim McGraw. At that time Hill had recently become engaged to her former producer, Scott Hendricks, and McGraw had recently broken an engagement. McGraw and Hill were quickly attracted to each other and Hill broke her engagement so that she and McGraw could begin dating. The pair became engaged on the tour and married on October 6, 1996.[6] They have three daughters together: Gracie Katherine (b. 1997), Maggie Elizabeth (b. 1998) and Audrey Caroline (b. 2001). Since their marriage, Hill and McGraw have strived to never be apart for more than three consecutive days.[2]


1998 - 2004: Pop crossover

After the release of It Matters to Me, Hill took a three-year break from recording to give herself a rest from four years of touring and to begin a family with McGraw. During her break, she joined forces with her husband for their first duet, "It's Your Love". [1] The song stayed at Number 1 for six weeks[4] and won awards from both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. Hill has remarked that sometimes when they perform the song together, " it [doesn't] feel like anybody else was really watching."[1]

She reentered the music business with 1998's Faith.[1] The album moved her closer towards a mainstream, pop-oriented sound, although it retained some country sound. "This Kiss" became a #1 country hit, and was the first of her singles to place on the pop charts, peaking at #7. The album sold over six million copies and delivered more hits including another duet with McGraw, "Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me", "Let Me Let Go" and "The Secret Of Life".[4]

To follow up this new found success Hill immediately released Breathe, which debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard Country and all genre charts, ahead of albums by Mariah Carey and Savage Garden.[8] Although the album had few overt country sounds, it "complement[ed] her vocal strengths."[9] For the first time, the album consisted solely of songs about love and did not venture into the more somber territory that her previous albums had touched.[9] The title track, "Breathe", reached Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[8] "The Way You Love Me" hit the top ten as well (#6), and became one of the longest running singles in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 (57 weeks).[citation needed] The album won Hill three Grammy Awards including Best Country Album, Best Country Collaboration With Vocals for Let's Make Love featuring Tim McGraw and Best Country Female Vocal Performance for Breathe.[10].[10] It also marked a step away from her girl-next-door image, as the videos and promotional pictures all portrayed a much sexier image. Breathe has sold almost 10 million copies worldwide.[11]

Hill used her 1999 tour to support a national children's book drive. Fans who donated books at one of her concerts were entered into a drawing to meet her personally after the show.[12] The effort resulted in the donation of 35,000 children's books, which were distributed to hospitals, schools, libraries, and daycare centers in 40 cities across the United States.[13]

2000 was an especially busy year for Hill. Besides a successful tour with her husband, Hill was featured in a CBS television special, VH1's Behind the Music, VH1 Divas 2000, and the Lifetime cable channel's Intimate Portraits series.[8] She signed an endorsement deal with CoverGirl makeup.[4], performed at the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards, appeared on the cover of numerous magazine, and performed the national anthem at the Super Bowl.[8] Hill was also named to Mr. Blackwell's 10-best dressed women of 2000, the only singer listed among actresses and other celebrities. Hill and McGraw also embarked on their first Soul2Soul tour the "Soul2Soul Tour 2000".[14]

Musically, in 2000 Hill recorded a song for the movie Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas The song also appeared on the pop and country charts. Hill's success on the pop charts disturbed some country music insiders, who questioned whether she was trying to dismiss her country roots and move into the pop genre. Despite the grumbling, Hill won the CMA Female Vocalist of The Year Award, and in her acceptance speech announced, "I love this business and I love this industry...and my heart is here."[8]

In 2001, Hill recorded a song for the Pearl Harbor soundtrack. "There You'll Be" also appeared on the album There You'll Be: The Best Of Faith Hill, an international greatest hits album. The album featured some dance mixes of "Piece Of My Heart," "Let Me Let Go," "The Way You Love Me" and "Breathe."

In 2002, Hill released her new album with a more pop-oriented sound, Cry. The album "spotlight[ed] her impressive set of pipes", but also marked the completion of her "transformation into a pop diva", containing few nods to her country roots. Though the album debuted at #1 on Billboard magazine's pop and country album charts,[4] and Hill made her debut as musical guest on Saturday Night Live, the album's singles (including the title track "Cry", written and originally performed by Angie Aparo) received much less radio airplay than her previous smashes.[15] The album however, did win a Grammy Award and has sold over 3 million copies worldwide.[10]

Faith Hill's 2002 single "Baby You Belong" off her Cry album was used as the theme song for the movie Lilo & Stitch. The music video featured clips from the movie as well as performance clips, It was released and well received in Asia.

Hill was also interested in branching out into acting. Although she was rumored to have won a part in Mel Gibson's We Were Soldiers, she did not actually appear in the movie.[16] Her movie debut came in the summer of 2004, when Hill co-starred with Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick and Glenn Close in director Frank Oz's remake of the 1975 thriller The Stepford Wives.[17]


2005 - 2006: Back to country roots

In 2005, Faith Hill returned with her new country album, Fireflies. The CD debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard Country and all genre albums charts, placing her among only a handful of artists to have 3 consecutive albums debut at number 1 on both charts.[18] The debut single, "Mississippi Girl", became Hill's highest-debuting single. The song was written specifically for her by John Rich (of Big and Rich) and Adam Shoenfield of MuzikMafia, and tells the abbreviated story of her life. Hill recorded two other songs by Rich, "Sunshine and Summertime" and "Like We Never Loved at All", both of which became successful singles.[19] The album marked a return to Hill's country roots and succeeded in reestablishing her place on country radio.[20]

Her focus changed to charitable endeavors in 2005. In the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina, Hill and her husband, who was raised in Louisiana, joined groups taking supplies to Gulfport, Mississippi. The two also hosted several charity concerts to benefit those who were displaced by the storm.[21] Later in the year the couple established the Neighbor's Keeper Foundation, which provides funding for community charities to assist with basic humanitarian services in the event of a natural disaster or for desperate personal circumstances.

After a six-year break from touring following the birth of her youngest daughter,[2] in 2006 Hill and husband Tim McGraw embarked on their Soul2Soul II Tour 2006. The tour became the highest grossing country music tour ever with a gross of $90 million.[22][3] It was named "Major Tour of the Year" by the prestigous Pollstar Magazine, beating out such heavyweights as Madonna and the Rolling Stones. In a special gesture, the couple donated all of the profits from their performance in New Orleans to Hurricane Katrina relief.[23]


2006 CMA Awards controversy

In November 2006, Hill made entertainment news headlines when she appeared to react angrily to losing the Female Vocalist of the Year award to Carrie Underwood at the CMA Awards. Hill, who was backstage at the time, could be seen pacing in anticipation and throwing both hands in the air as if she had won, and then mouthing "What!?" into the camera and then stepping away from the camera after Underwood's name was called.[24] Hill claimed that her reaction was a joke, saying in a statement, "The idea that I would act disrespectful towards a fellow musician is unimaginable to me. For this to become a focus of attention, given the talent gathered, is utterly ridiculous. Carrie is a talented and deserving female vocalist of the year."[25] She later called Underwood to congratulate her and to clear up any misconceptions between the two singers.[26] Underwood has stated in public that she believes Hill meant no ill-will, and that although she did not believe Hill needed to apologize, her immediate attempt to make amends elevated Underwood's respect for her. Some fans, especially those of Underwood, remain unconvinced and believe that Hill was in fact upset at Underwood's win.[27]


Present

In 2007, Hill started work on her first domestic greatest hits package, titled The Hits, set to be released October 2. The Hits will feature two new songs, "Lost" and "Red Umbrella" (the current single). The album will also feature hits covering her entire career from 1993-2005.

Hill will be heard on Aretha Franklin's upcoming album A Woman Falling Out of Love, planned to be released later this year. She has also recorded a duet called "Sleeping with the Telephone" for Reba McEntire's upcoming Duets album, scheduled to released on September 18. Hill is also featured on husband Tim McGraw's new album Let It Go. She sings two duets with him, "I Need You" and "Shotgun Rider". Both songs were sung at the couple's critically acclaimed 2006 Soul2Soul II Tour 2006. She and Tim are doing an encore of their Soul2Soul II Tour. Soul2Soul 2007 began in June and will run through September.

Hill was recently asked to sing the theme for Sunday Night Football that airs on the NBC network. The song is called "Waiting All Week For Sunday Night". You can see the video and hear the song on September 6 when the first NFL game is played, where Hill will sing a free concert along with Kelly Clarkson and John Mellencamp during the pregame show.

It has also been rumored that Faith has began to record her next studio album of all new material, to be released in 2008

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

"House" for instance, is feminine: "la Casa."

"Pencil," however, is masculine: "el lapiz."

A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups,
male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether
"computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun.

Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computadora"), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal
logic;

2. The native language they use to communicate
With other computers is incomprehensible to everyone
else;

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term
memory for possible later retrieval; and

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find
yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for
it.

(THIS GETS BETTER!)

The women's group, however, concluded that computers
should be Masculine ("el computador"), because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn
them on;

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for
themselves;

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems,
But half the time they ARE the problem; and

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that
if you ad waited a little longer, you could have gotten a
better model.

The women won.

Hot chili peppers in the blistering sun
Dust on my face and my cape,
Me and Magdalena on the run
I think this time we shall escape.

Sold my guitar to the baker's son
For a few crumbs and a place to hide,
But I can get another one
And I'll play for Magdalena as we ride.

No llores, mi querida
Dios nos vigila
Soon the horse will take us to Durango.
Agarrame, mi vida
Soon the desert will be gone
Soon you will be dancing the fandango.

Past the Aztec ruins and the ghosts of our people
Hoofbeats like castanets on stone.
At night I dream of bells in the village steeple
Then I see the bloody face of Ramon.

Was it me that shot him down in the cantina
Was it my hand that held the gun?
Come, let us fly, my Magdalena
The dogs are barking and what's done is done.

No llores, mi querida
Dios nos vigila
Soon the horse will take us to Durango.
Agarrame, mi vida
Soon the desert will be gone
Soon you will be dancing the fandango.

At the corrida we'll sit in the shade
And watch the young torero stand alone.
We'll drink tequila where our grandfathers stayed
When they rode with Villa into Torreon.

Then the padre will recite the prayers of old
In the little church this side of town.
I will wear new boots and an earring of gold
You'll shine with diamonds in your wedding gown.

The way is long but the end is near
Already the fiesta has begun.
The face of God will appear
With His serpent eyes of obsidian.

No llores, mi querida
Dios nos vigila
Soon the horse will take us to Durango.
Agarrame, mi vida
Soon the desert will be gone
Soon you will be dancing the fandango.

Was that the thunder that I heard?
My head is vibrating, I feel a sharp pain
Come sit by me, don't say a word
Oh, can it be that I am slain?

Quick, Magdalena, take my gun
Look up in the hills, that flash of light.
Aim well my little one
We may not make it through the night.

No llores, mi querida
Dios nos vigila
Soon the horse will take us to Durango.
Agarrame, mi vida
Soon the desert will be gone
Soon you will be dancing the fandango.

Romance in Durango
Bob Dylan

The birds they sang
At the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Dont dwell on what
Has passed away
Or what is yet to be

The wars they will
Be fought again
The holy dove
Be caught again
Bought and sold
And bought again
The dove is never free

Chorus
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
Thats how the light gets in

We asked for signs
The signs were sent
The birth betrayed
The marriage spent
The widowhood
Of every government
Signs for all to see

Cant run no more
With the lawless crowd
While the killers in high places
Say their prayers out loud
But theyve summoned up
A thundercloud
And theyre going to hear from me

Chorus

You can add up the parts
But you wont have the sum
You can strike up the march
There is no drum
Every heart
To love will come
But like a refugee

Chorus

Anthem
Leonard Cohen

WHERE HAS MISS LETTY GONE ?
i see that her last entry was september 13 . have i missed a message ?
hbg

Letty took a trip, as I recall, to Virginia. Don't know any details.

Back from Virginia and my family reunion. Thank you all so much for keeping our little cyber radio on the air.

I am rather tired tonight, but I will see you in the morning.

Psssst, edgar, I don't think our listeners and contributors want all the details.

Goodnight, my friends.

From Letty with love

as the ad's for the national enquirer would say

enquiring mind's want to know :wink:

welcome back

Wellcome back Letty we missed you.

WELCOME BACK , LETTY !

this is the best that i can do for a welcome song on short notice !
hbg

Waving at Miss Letty...

Sweet dreams.

Letty my love how sweet to see your smiling visage again. Needless to say you were missed by all. Welcome home. Hugs and kisses.

your favorite hawk

Bob