Birth name Mathew Roland Lemieux
Born February 6, 1931 (1931-02-06) (age 77)
Temple, Texas, U.S.
Years active 1956 - present
Spouse(s) Ann Wedgeworth (1955-1961)
Geraldine Page (1963-1987)
Amy Wright
[show]Awards
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Supporting Actor - Comedy Series
1996 The Larry Sanders Show
Rip Torn (born Elmore Rual Torn, Jr. on February 6, 1931) is an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning American television and film actor, who is perhaps best known for his role as Artie on the HBO comedy series The Larry Sanders Show.
Biography
Early life
Torn was born in Temple, Texas, the son of Kyra Gates (née Spacek) and Elmore Rual Torn, an agriculturalist and economist.[1][2] Being given the name "Rip" is a family tradition of men in the Torn family. It has been a tradition for several generations. It was given to him by his father, who was also called Rip. He graduated from Texas A & M University in 1952. Torn introduced his cousin, the Oscar-winning actress Sissy Spacek, to the entertainment business and she was able to enroll in Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio and then the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York.
Career
Following graduation from university, Torn relocated from his native Texas to give Hollywood a shot, making his debut in the 1956 film Baby Doll. Realizing that the way to success was a hard one, Torn headed to New York where he studied at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg and started becoming a prolific stage actor, appearing in the original cast of Tennessee Williams' play Sweet Bird of Youth, and reprising the role in the film and television adaptations. One of his earliest roles was in the film Pork Chop Hill, playing the brother-in-law of Gregory Peck's character.
He has been a distinctive character actor in numerous films since then, often showing up well in roles like the rich, sleazy New Orleans blackmailer Slade opposite Steve McQueen and Karl Malden in 1965's The Cincinnati Kid or the gruff boss in Men in Black.
The part of lawyer George Hanson in the Peter Fonda-Dennis Hopper road movie Easy Rider was written for Torn by Terry Southern (who was a close friend) but according to Southern's biographer Lee Hill, Torn withdrew from the project after he and co-director Dennis Hopper got into a bitter argument in a New York restaurant, ending with Hopper pulling a knife on Torn[3]. As a result, Torn had to be replaced by Jack Nicholson, whose appearance in the film catapulted him to stardom.[4]
In 1972 he won rave reviews for his portrayal of a country & western singer in the cult film Payday. He received what many felt was a long-overdue Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek.
In 1988, he made an unsuccessful venture into directing with the offbeat comedy The Telephone, starring Whoopi Goldberg. The screenplay was written by Terry Southern and Harry Nilsson and the film was produced by their company Hawkeye. The story, which focussed on an unhinged, out-of-work actor, had been written with Robin Williams in mind. After he turned it down, Goldberg expressed a strong interest, but when production began Torn reportedly had to contend with Goldberg constantly digressing and improvising, and he had to plead with her to perform takes that stuck to the script. Goldberg was backed by the studio, who also allowed her to replace Torn's chosen DOP, veteran cinematographer John Alonzo, with her then husband. As a result of the power struggle, Torn, Southern and Nilsson cut their own version of the film, using the takes that adhered to the script, and this was screened at the Sundance Film Festival, but the studio put together a rival version using other takes and it was poorly reviewed when it premiered in January 1988.[5] In 1990, he played ultra-hawkish Colonel Fargo in By Dawn's Early Light, which despite a modest budget is replete with major name actors from the era when it was filmed.
For his role as talk show producer and TV veteran Artie in The Larry Sanders Show, Torn received six consecutive Emmy award nominations as Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and won the award once, in 1996. He has since appeared in many comedic roles in films such as Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Canadian Bacon and Rolling Kansas, as well as dramatic roles in films such as The Insider and Marie Antoinette. Torn is also known for his voice work, and has done voice-overs for many animated films, the most notable being Hercules. He lent his voice to the Jerry Seinfeld film Bee Movie. He has also made guest appearances on 30 Rock. He will next be seen in a starring role in Turn the River costarring Famke Janssen.
Rip Torn has played in several TV shows and movies over the years. He appeared on television as early as 1956 (where he played the part of a dentist in Baby Doll, as has continued to play a variety of roles in recent movies and television shows, Including the movies; Men in Black, Marie Antoinette, and the award winning NBC show, 30 Rock.
Personal life
Torn was married to actress Ann Wedgeworth from 1956 to 1961, with whom he had a daughter, Danae Torn. They divorced and he later married the Oscar-winning actress Geraldine Page. Page and Torn remained married until her death in 1987. They had three children: Tony Torn, Jon Torn and actress Angelica Torn. Torn apparently delighted in the fact that their country estate was called Torn Page.[6] He is married to actress Amy Wright with whom he has two children, Katie and Claire. Katie Torn is an accomplished painter and video artist.
In January 2004, Torn was arrested for drunk driving after colliding with a taxi in New York City. Video of his arrest in which he curses at officers and angrily refuses a breathalyzer test was aired on television news outlets. In October 2004, a jury acquitted Torn of any wrongdoing.[7] In December of 2006, Torn was again arrested for drunk driving in North Salem, New York after colliding with a tractor trailer. In April 2007, Torn plead guilty and agreed to have his license suspended for 90 days and pay a $380 fine.[8]
On-set conflicts
While filming Maidstone, Torn, apparently unhappy with the film, struck director and star of the film Norman Mailer three times in the head with a hammer.[9] With the camera rolling, Mailer bit Torn's ear and they wrestled to the ground. The fight continued until it was broken up by cast and crew members as Mailer's children screamed in the background. The fight is featured in the film.[10] Although the scene may have been planned by Torn, the blood shed by both actors is real and Torn was reportedly truly outraged by Mailer's direction.[9]
In 1999, Torn filed a defamation lawsuit against Dennis Hopper over a story Hopper told on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[11] Hopper claimed that Torn pulled a knife on him during pre-production of the film Easy Rider. According to Hopper, Torn was originally cast in the film but was replaced with Jack Nicholson after the incident. According to Torn's suit, it was actually Hopper who pulled the knife on him. A judge ruled in Torn's favor and Hopper was ordered to pay $475,000 in damages. Hopper then appealed but the judge again ruled in Torn's favor and Hopper was required to pay another $475,000 in punitive damages.[12]
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bobsmythhawk
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Wed 6 Feb, 2008 10:02 am
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bobsmythhawk
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Wed 6 Feb, 2008 10:05 am
François Truffaut
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Birth name François Roland Truffaut
Born February 6, 1932(1932-02-06)
Paris, France
Died October 21, 1984 (aged 52)
Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Years active 1955 - 1983
Spouse(s) Madeleine Morgenstern (1957-1965)
[show]Awards
Academy Awards
Best Foreign Language Film
1974 Day for Night
BAFTA Awards
Best Direction
1973 Day for Night
César Awards
Best Director
1980 The Last Metro
Best Film
1980 The Last Metro
Best Writing
1980 The Last Metro
François Roland Truffaut (French IPA: [fʁɑ̃swa tʁyˈfo]; February 6, 1932 - October 21, 1984) was one of the founders of the French New Wave in filmmaking, and remains an icon of the French film industry. In a film career lasting just over a quarter of a century, he was screenwriter, director, producer or actor in over twenty-five films.
Life
François Truffaut was born on February 6, 1932, out of wedlock. He never met his biological father, who was a dentist. His mother's future husband Roland Truffaut accepted him as an adopted son and gave him his surname. He was passed around to live with various nannies and his grandmother for a number of years. It was his grandmother that instilled him with her love of books and music. He lived with his grandmother until her death when Truffaut was ten years old. It was only after his grandmother's death that he lived with his parents for the first time.
He would often stay with friends and try to be out of the house as much as possible. It was the cinema that offered him the greatest escape from an unsatisfying home life. He was eight years old when he saw his first movie, Abel Gance's Paradis perdu from 1939. It was there that his obsession began. He frequently played truant from school and would sneak into theaters because he didn't have enough money for admission. After being excluded from several schools, at the age of fourteen he decided to be self taught. Some of his academic "goals" were to watch three movies a day and read three books a week.
Truffaut frequented Henri Langlois' Cinémathèque Française where he was exposed to countless foreign films from around the world. It was here that he fell in love with U.S. cinema and such directors as John Ford, Howard Hawks, and Alfred Hitchcock.
After starting his own film club in 1948, Truffaut met André Bazin, who would have great impact on his professional and personal life. Bazin was a critic and the head of another film society at the time. He became a personal friend of Truffaut's and helped him out of various financial and criminal situations during his formative years.
Truffaut joined the French Army in 1950, but spent the next two years trying to escape. Truffaut was arrested for attempting to desert the army. Bazin used his various political contacts to get Truffaut released and set him up with a job at his newly formed film magazine Cahiers du cinema. He soon became a film critic, and later a film director. He directed many movies.
Over the next few years, Truffaut became a critic (and later editor) at Cahiers. He was notorious for being brutal and unforgiving in his reviews, especially his take on French cinema of the day. He was called "The Gravedigger of French Cinema" and was even banned from the Cannes Film Festival in 1958. He developed one of the most influential theories of cinema itself, the auteur theory.
In 1954 Truffaut wrote an article called "Une Certaine Tendance du Cinéma Français" (A Certain Tendency of the French Cinema), in which he stated that the director was the "author" of his work; that great directors such as Renoir, or Hitchcock, have distinct styles and themes that permeate all of their films. Although his theory was not widely accepted then, it gained some support in the 1960s from American critic Andrew Sarris.
After having been a critic, Truffaut decided to make films of his own. He started out with the short film Une Visite in 1955 and followed that up with Les Mistons in 1957. After seeing Orson Welles' Touch of Evil at the Expo 58, he was inspired to make his feature film debut The 400 Blows.
In 1983 François Truffaut was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He died on October 21, 1984. At the time of his death, he still had numerous films in preparation. His goal was to make thirty films and then retire to write books for his remaining days. He was five films short of his personal goal. He is buried in Montmartre Cemetery.
Work
The 400 Blows was released in 1959 to much critical and commercial acclaim. Truffaut received a Best Director award from the Cannes Film Festival, the same festival that had banned him only one year earlier. The film follows the character of Antoine Doinel through his perilous misadventures in school, an unhappy home life and later military school. The film is highly autobiographical. Both Truffaut and Doinel were only children of loveless marriages; they both committed petty crimes of theft and truancy from the military. Truffaut cast Jean-Pierre Léaud as Antoine Doinel. Léaud was an unknown who auditioned for the role after seeing a flyer. Léaud and Truffaut collaborated on several films over the years. Their most noteworthy collaboration was the continuation of the Antoine Doinel character in a series of films called "The Antoine Doinel Cycle".
The 400 Blows marked the beginning of the French New Wave Movement, which gave directors such as Godard and Rivette a wider audience. The New Wave dealt with a self-conscious rejection of traditional cinema structure. This was a topic on which Truffaut had been writing for years.
Following the success of The 400 Blows, Truffaut featured disjunctive editing and seemingly random voice-overs in his next film Shoot the Piano Player (1960). Truffaut has stated that in the middle of filming, he realized that he hated gangsters. But since gangsters were a main part of the story, he toned up the comical aspect of the characters and made the movie more attuned to his liking. Even though Shoot the Piano Player was much appreciated by critics, it performed poorly at the box office. While the film focused on two of the French New Wave's favorite elements, American Film Noir and themselves, Truffaut never again experimented as heavily.
In 1962 Truffaut directed what some would call his masterpiece, although it was only his third movie. Jules and Jim is the story of a woman who falls in love with two friends and begins a love triangle that lasts for many years. It is almost a fairy tale in which anything is possible. In the film, you believe a woman can love two men equally. You easily believe that she is so beautiful that the two men would be willing to do anything for her. If Shoot The Piano Player is a prime example of the French New Wave Gangster B-Movie, then Jules and Jim surely is an example of youthful free-spirited love that is found throughout New Wave Cinema.[original research?]
Jules and Jim has influenced many directors of current cinema. Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky makes visual references to it, but the plot has a different take, with two male friends who fall in love with the same woman. Both films feature unstable women who drive their lovers off a bridge
Over the next decade Truffaut had varying degrees of success with his films. In 1965 he directed the American production of Ray Bradbury's classic sci-fi novel Fahrenheit 451. It showcased Truffaut's love of books. His only English-speaking film was a great challenge for Truffaut, because he barely spoke English himself. This was also his first film shot in color. The larger scale production was difficult for Truffaut, who had worked only with small crews and budgets.
Truffaut worked on projects with varied subjects. The Bride Wore Black (1968) is a brutal tale of revenge, Mississippi Mermaid (1969) is an identity-bending romantic thriller, Stolen Kisses (1968) and Bed and Board (1970) are continuations of the Antoine Doinel Cycle, and The Wild Child (1970) included Truffaut's first acting in a film.
Two English Girls (1971) is the yin to the Jules and Jim yang. It is based on a story written by Henri-Pierre Roche, who also wrote Jules and Jim. It is about a man who falls equally in love with two sisters, and their love affair over a period of years.
Day for Night won Truffaut an Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1973. The film is probably his most reflective work. It is the story of a film crew trying to finish their film while dealing with all of the personal and professional problems that accompany making a movie. Truffaut plays the director of the fictional film being made. This film features scenes shown in his previous films. It is considered to be his best film since his earliest work. Time magazine placed it on their list of 100 Best Films of the Century (along with The 400 Blows).
In 1975, Truffaut gained more notoriety with The Story of Adele H. Isabelle Adjani in the title role earned a nomination for an Best Actress Oscar. Truffaut's 1976 film Small Change gained a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Foreign Film.
One of his final films gave Truffaut an international revival. In 1980, his film The Last Metro garnered twelve Cesar Award nominations with ten wins, including Best Director.
Truffaut's final movie was shot in black and white. It gives his career almost a sense of having bookends. In 1983 Confidentially Yours is Truffaut's tribute to his favorite director, Alfred Hitchcock. It deals with numerous Hitchcockian themes, such as private guilt vs. public innocence, a woman investigating a murder, anonymous locations, etc.
Among Truffaut's films, a series features the character Antoine Doinel, played by the actor Jean-Pierre Léaud. He began his career in The 400 Blows at the age of fourteen, and continued as the favorite actor and "double" of Truffaut. The series continued with Antoine and Colette (a short film in the anthology Love at Twenty), Stolen Kisses, Bed and Board and finally Love on the Run
In most of these movies, Léaud's partner was played by Truffaut's favourite actress Claude Jade as his girlfriend (and then wife), "Christine Darbon".
A keen reader, Truffaut adapted many literary works:
American detective novels:
The Bride Wore Black by William Irish
Mississippi Mermaid by William Irish
The Long Saturday Night (filmed as Confidentially Yours) by Charles Williams
Down There (filmed as Shoot the Piano Player) by David Goodis
Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me by Henry Farrell
Novels by Henri-Pierre Roché:
Jules and Jim
Two English Girls
A science fiction novel:
Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451
A short story:
Henry James' "The Altar of the Dead", filmed as The Green Room, considered by some to be his deepest and most serious film
Truffaut's other films were from original screenplays, often co-written by the screenwriters Suzanne Schiffman or Jean Gruault. They featured diverse subjects, the sombre The Story of Adele H., inspired by the life of the daughter of Victor Hugo, with Isabelle Adjani; Day for Night, shot at the Studio La Victorine describing the ups and downs of film-making; and The Last Metro, set during the German occupation of France, a film rewarded by ten César Awards.
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bobsmythhawk
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Wed 6 Feb, 2008 10:08 am
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bobsmythhawk
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Wed 6 Feb, 2008 10:10 am
Fabian (entertainer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Birth name Fabiano Anthony Forte
Born February 6, 1943 (1943-02-06) (age 65)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Years active 1959 - 1999
Spouse(s) Kate Forte (1980-1990)
Andrea Patrick (1998-)
Fabiano Anthony Forte (born February 6, 1943), better known as Fabian, is a former American teen idol of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He rose to national prominence after performing several times on American Bandstand. In total, he charted 11 hit singles in the Billboard Hot 100.
Biography
Early life
Fabian was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Josephine and Domenic Forte. His father was a policeman and had ill health. Fabian was discovered in 1957 by Bob Marcucci and Peter DeAngelis, owners of Chancellor Records. At the time, record producers were looking to the South Philadelphia neighborhoods in search of teenage talents with good looks, and Frankie Avalon, also of South Philly, suggested Fabian as a possibility. Fabian was sitting on the front steps of his house crying because he had just seen his father taken away in an ambulance. He was spotted and, due to his good looks, Marcucci and DeAngelis asked him if he wanted to get into the record business.
Fabian's father could not work any longer and since Fabian was the oldest of three brothers, he took a chance at making some money in the music business to help his family out. He never thought of singing and recording as a career, only as a way of stepping in for his father at the time. And yet, before he knew it, Fabian's popularity soared, and soon thousands rushed to his concerts. At fifteen, Fabian won the Silver Award as "The Promising Male Vocalist of 1958".
Career
With songwriters Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, Fabian released a series of hit singles for Chancellor Records including "I'm a Man", "Hound Dog Man", "Turn Me Loose", and his biggest hit, "Tiger". His career in music basically ended with the payola scandal of the 1960s, when it was alleged that his records were doctored significantly to improve his voice.[1]
The 1980 film The Idolmaker, written by Edward Di Lorenzo and directed by Taylor Hackford, was a thinly-disguised biography of Fabian (called "Caesare" in the film), as well as songwriter/producer Marcucci (called "Vinnie Vacarri" in the film) and Frankie Avalon (called "Tommy Dee" in the film). In the movie version, singer Caesare - a pretty boy with very little singing talent - goes through a whirlwind of success in a short time, and in a fit of pique, he abruptly fires his songwriters and quits his record label. The real-life Fabian threatened a lawsuit at the time of the film's release, though the filmmakers insisted that the film presented only fictional characters (though Marcucci was a paid consultant on the film).
Fabian went on to appear in more than 30 films, including Five Weeks in a Balloon, High Time, North to Alaska, The Longest Day and Ride the Wild Surf (1964) (with Tab Hunter). Most of his early films were comedies, and cast him as a restless teenager with a penchant for singing. After 1965, his film and singing career began to fade, along with his popularity as a teen idol. Fabian also appeared in a 1982 TV record commercial, for The Idols of Rock n' Roll.
He never regained his former stature, but has continued performing for more than 40 years. He was one of the few celebrities to pose with semi-frontal nudity during the late 1970s, posing for Playgirl magazine in its September 1973 issue. Recently he has been appearing with Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell to perform concerts as The Golden Boys.
The lead characters on the hit television show, "Laverne and Shirley", frequently mentioned Fabian as their favorite star. When they said his name, they would sigh, and say his name slowly.
He appeared in the 2005 documentary film The Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania.
In his latest endeavor, Fabian hosts and headlines in the hit show, "The Original Stars of Bandstand" at The Dick Clark Theater[2] in Branson, Missouri. The show stars Fabian and Bobby Vee and features The Chiffons, Brian Hyland, Chris Montez and rare footage of the performers and Dick Clark. Former First Lady and Presidential Candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton was once President of the Fabian Forte Fan Club.
Personal life
Fabian has been married twice - to Kate Netter Forte from 1980 to 1990 and to his current wife Andrea Patrick, a former Bituminous Coal Queen and Miss Pennsylvania USA, whom he married in 1998.[3] He has a son Christian and a daughter Julie from his first marriage. Christian is a screenwriter with the 1996 movie Albino Alligator starring Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway, and Gary Sinise and directed by Kevin Spacey, to his credit. He is also the co-screenwriter for The Monkey Wrench Gang, which is scheduled for release in 2007. Christian and his wife are the parents of Fabian's granddaughter, Ava Josephine.
Fabian and his wife are actively involved in the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association and Fabian has helped raise money for veterans with his Celebrity Golf Tournament in North Carolina. Andrea and Fabian live on 20 acres in Southwestern Pennsylvania with their dog Max in a home that Andrea designed.
Fabian has always said that he went into show business because his family needed the money and that his biggest regret is that he started too soon and hit too big too early.
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bobsmythhawk
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Wed 6 Feb, 2008 10:14 am
Natalie Cole
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Background information
Birth name Natalie Maria Cole
Born February 6, 1950 (1950-02-06) (age 58)
Origin Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genre(s) Pop, R&B, jazz, soul, quiet storm, adult contemporary
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, pianist
Years active 1975-present
Label(s) Capitol (1974-1981)
Epic (1982-1983)
Modern (1984-1985)
EMI-Manhattan (1986-1990)
Elektra (1991-2001)
Verve (2002-Present)
Associated
acts Nat King Cole
Natalie Maria Cole (born February 6, 1950), known professionally as Natalie Cole, is an Grammy Award winning American singer and songwriter.
Personal life
Natalie Cole is the daughter of noted crooner Nat King Cole. In several interviews, Cole talked about her upbringing; she was raised in an affluent area of Los Angeles, and her family, which she has referred to as "the black Kennedys," lived just a few doors down from the California governor.[1] Cole also stated in an interview that she did not connect with her cultural heritage or "blackness" until she attended college.[2] She was 15 years old when her famous father died of lung cancer.
She attended the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Northfield, Massachusetts. In her childhood, she was exposed to the greats of jazz, soul and blues at an early age, and she began performing at the age of 11.
Cole has been married three times, and has a son, Robert Yancy, (by Marvin Yancy), born in 1977; her son is a musician who tours with her. She later married former Rufus drummer Andre Fischer, who co-produced her album Unforgettable... With Love.
Music career
Early career
Her debut album in 1975, Inseparable, resulted in chart success with the single "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" (#1 R&B, #6 Pop). Her performance of the song won her a 1976 Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, a category that had heretofore been monopolized by Aretha Franklin. She also was awarded the Best New Artist Grammy of 1976. She gained a new generation of fans when American Idol finalists Jasmine Trias and Kimberley Locke sang "Inseperable" on the show to extremely good reviews.
More hits followed through 1980, including her biggest Pop hit, 1977's "I've Got Love On My Mind," as well as "Sophisticated Lady (She's A Different Lady)" (1976), "Our Love" (1978), and "Someone That I Used To Love" (1980). "I've Got Love On My Mind" and "Our Love" both earned certifications as Gold singles.
Career detour and resurgence
Cole's career paused in the early 1980s as she dealt with the challenges of her severe drug problem. By 1985, Cole was back in good health, and began a comeback.
Her first step was with the album Dangerous, released on the Modern label. In 1987, she released Everlasting (on EMI Manhattan) which sold over 2 million copies in the U.S., and won Cole a Soul Train Award for Female Single of the Year for the #1 R&B ballad "I Live for Your Love". The album garnered her three major hit singles: "Jump Start," "I Live For Your Love" (#2 AC and #13 Pop as well as #1 R&B), and a successful remake of Bruce Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac" (#5 Pop, #16 AC, and #1 Dance). The album also included a remake of one of her father's signature hits, "When I Fall In Love," which did moderately well on the AC chart.
In 1989, another album, Good To Be Back gave her another chart success "Miss You Like Crazy" (#1 both R&B and AC, and #7 Pop).
Unforgettable...with Love
Cole may be best remembered for her 1991 album, Unforgettable... with Love, featuring her own arrangements of her father's greatest hits. Ironically, during her early career, Cole was reluctant to capitalize on her father's name, and wanted to forge her own identity by going after the soul market in earnest. For many years, she also found the prospect of recording her late father's songs too painful on a personal level.
Her decision to record the songs was a chart success; the album sold over 7 million copies in the United States alone, and won Cole several Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance. The album featured a duet, the title track, with her father, created by splicing a recording of his vocals into the track. As a single, it reached #14 on Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 chart, and went gold.
Additional albums
Cole has released several more albums of pop standards in the years since; as a result of appealing to the "adult standards" audience, she has made only occasional forays onto the pop singles charts in that time (for example, "A Smile Like Yours" in 1997), although her albums still sell well. Cole is considered one of the core artists of the smooth jazz format, garnering frequent airplay on smooth jazz radio stations with both her classic songs and her newer material.
In 1995 she performed in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True a musical performance of the popular story at Lincoln Center to benefit the Children's Defense Fund. The performance was originally broadcast on Turner Network Television (TNT), and issued on CD and video in 1996.
Her 1999 album Snowfall On The Sahara marked a return to the easy adult-contemporary soul that categorized her late-1980s hits, but for 2002's critically-praised Ask A Woman Who Knows, she turned more to the jazz side of the spectrum, covering songs made famous by Dinah Washington, Nina Simone, and Sarah Vaughan.
In September 2006, she released "Leavin'", a cover album of tracks made popular by Shelby Lynne, Kate Bush, Sting, and Fiona Apple, among others; the album is a hybrid of rock, pop music, and R&B.
Television and film
Cole has carved out a secondary career in acting. She has also appeared several times in live concerts or other music related programs, including the 1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute with sidemen Richard Campbell, Jeffrey Worrell, Eddie Cole and Dave Joyce. In 1990, she (along with jazz vocalist Al Jarreau) sang the song "Mr. President" on HBO's Comic Relief special, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams and Billy Crystal. After Johnny Mathis appeared on a special of Cole's in 1980, the two kept in contact, and in 1992, he invited Cole to be a part of his television special titled "A Tribute To Nat Cole" for BBC-TV in England. It had high viewer ratings and was successful. From that project, an album with the same name was released, and featured several medley and solo numbers.
Cole has made a number of dramatic appearances on television, including guest appearances on I'll Fly Away, Touched by an Angel, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2006, she made a memorable guest appearance on the popular ABC show Grey's Anatomy as a terminally ill patient. Her character visited Seattle Grace Hospital to have a fork removed from her neck that her husband had stabbed her with during a mishap; the couple had been having an intimate encounter in public.[3]
Cole has also made several appearances in feature films, most recently in the Cole Porter biopic De-Lovely. She has appeared in several made-for-TV movies, most notably as the lead in Lily in Winter. Cole was featured on Macy Gray's album "Big" singing Finally Make Me Happy.
She also sang the national anthem with the Atlanta University Center Chorus at Super Bowl XXVIII
On December 2, 2006, Cole performed for the first time in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, as part of the annual Cayman Jazz Fest.[4]
On the February 5, 2007, episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Cole sang "I Say a Little Prayer" at a benefit dinner for Harriet Hayes (Sarah Paulson).
She can also be seen in the last scene of Nas' music video for "Can't Forget About You". The song uses a sample of her father's song "Unforgettable". Cole is sitting at a piano in a cabaret-style lounge mouthing her father's song with Nas standing beside her, sharing the moment.
Substance abuse and recovery
In 2000, Cole released an autobiography, Angel on My Shoulder, which described her battle with drugs during much of her life.
In the book, Cole admitted to using LSD, heroin and crack cocaine.
Cole said she began recreational drug use while attending the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
She also disclosed that she was arrested in Toronto, Canada for possession of heroin in 1975.
Cole continued to spiral out of control - including one incident where she refused to evacuate a burning building, and another where her young son Robert nearly drowned in the family swimming pool while she and her first husband, the late Reverend Marvin Yancy, were on a drug binge.[5] She did eventually enter rehab in 1983.[6]
In concert with the release of the book, her autobiography was turned into a made-for-TV movie, The Natalie Cole Story, which aired December 10, 2000 on NBC.
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bobsmythhawk
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Wed 6 Feb, 2008 10:17 am
Here are some humorous statements made by airline flight crews...
"As we prepare for takeoff, please make sure your tray tables and seat backs are fully upright in their most uncomfortable position."
"There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane..."
"Your seat cushions can be used for floatation, and in the event of an emergency water landing, please take them with our compliments."
"We do feature a smoking section on this flight; if you must smoke, contact a member of the flight crew and we will escort you to the wing of the airplane."
"Smoking in the lavatories is prohibited. Any person caught smoking in the lavatories will be asked to leave the plane immediately."
"Good morning. As we leave Dallas, it's warm, the sun is shining, and the birds are singing. We are going to Charlotte, where it's dark, windy and raining. Why in the world y'all wanna go there I really don't know."
Pilot - "Folks, we have reached our cruising altitude now, so I am going to switch the seat belt sign off. Feel free to move about as you wish, but please stay inside the plane till we land... it's a bit cold outside, and if you walk on the wings it affects the flight pattern."
Pilot - "Folks, if you were with us last week, we never got around to mentioning that it was National Procrastination day. If you get a chance this week, please try to celebrate it. If you can't get to it, then maybe try to do it at the weekend, but no big rush. Have a nice day."
And, after landing: "Thank you for flying Delta Business Express. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."
As we waited just off the runway for another airliner to cross in front of us, some of the passengers were beginning to retrieve luggage from the overhead bins. The head steward announced on the intercom, "This aircraft is equipped with a video surveillance system that monitors the cabin during taxiing. Any passengers not remaining in their seats until the aircraft comes to a full and complete stop at the gate will be strip-searched asthey leave the aircraft.
As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Washington National, a lone voice comes over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella...WHOA..!"
"Should the cabin lose pressure, oxygen masks will drop from the overhead area. Please place the bag over your own mouth and nose before assisting children or adults acting like children."
"As you exit the plane, please make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses."
And from the pilot during his welcome message: "We are pleased to have some of the best flight attendants in the industry... Unfortunately none of them are on this flight!"
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Letty
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Wed 6 Feb, 2008 11:36 am
Thanks to the puppy and the hawk for the montage and the celeb bio's.
Well, Bob, those statements made by airline flight crews might be a bit disconcerting to first time fliers. Thanks for the smile, Boston.
We'll dedicate the following song to Rip Torn from Dennis Hopper.
Here are some humorous statements made by airline flight crews...
my first flight was in 1960 from watertown , ny to NYC with "MOHAWK" airlines .
we had to wait in a little shed with a coffee shop while the flightcrew was kidding around .
pilot to a stewardess (now FLIGHT ATTENDANT !) :
"have i ever told you how i know when it's time to lift off ? "
puzzled look from stewardess
pilot : "it's easy . the co-pilot leans out the window and looks at the tarmac . he shouts at me : 'cement , cement , cement ... graaaassss !' .
i wasn't sure that i really wanted to go on that flight !
hbg
I always liked the Alice books; through the looking glass and all that jazz. Does that count a bit towards being an erstwhile hippie, Letty?
It's been a while since we jambolayad or jambolaid or whatever. So hows about a little bit of Hank's stuff? (emphasis on the "little".)
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Letty
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Wed 6 Feb, 2008 05:01 pm
Debacle, welcome back, buddy. Of course The Alice Books count. When I was a wee thing, I WAS Alice. Banged my head several times trying to get through my Mamma's mirror.
Ah, buddy, loved that one. Isn't that kid precious?
Wow, the country music business has sooooo many Hank's. This one I love as well.
Well, folks, once again I had some equipment problems. Seems all better now, but we shall have to wait and see.
hbg, how in the world those eskimos (ahem, Inuits) managed to teach that wee thing a song and dance chant is amazing. Thanks, Canada.
Well, I read today that several WWI veterans had recently died, and it is so odd that hbg and I discussed the Kaiser helmet and the ramifications thereof.
So this song we will consider a tribute to them. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Time for me to say goodnight, and as most of you know, I love this one. I promise Raggedy that I will not get this fellow confused with "what's his name again". Oh, that's right, Sondheim.
I heard this quite often in childhood - I love t still.
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Letty
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Thu 7 Feb, 2008 04:24 am
Good morning, WA2K listeners and contributors.
edgar, I think that I recall every song that was sung to me as a child, but I can't recall the first that I ever sang. Love Teddy Bear's Picnic, Texas.
Well, folks, it's the Year of the Rat, and I am certain that Roger is celebrating.
So, we have heard from the bear, how about a utopian song from the rat.