WA2K Radio is now on the air

Good morning, WA2K listeners and contributors.

Thanks so much, dj, for sharing that cylinder song with us. <smile> I think I understand the process now, Canada.

Last evening I watched a movie that made me really laugh, folks. It was RUSH HOUR with Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. One of the songs from the soundtrack was "War, what's it good for"; however, I cannot find the lyrics, but those two guys were hilarious and made my evening.

Coffee time, so I shall be back later. Don't touch that dial.

Bird Song

All I know is something like a bird within her sang,
All I know she sang a little while and then flew on,
Tell me all that you know, I'll show you snow and rain.

If you hear that same sweet song again, will you know why?
Anyone who sings a tune so sweet is passin' by,
Laugh in the sunshine, sing, cry in the dark, fly through the night.

Don't cry now, don't you cry, don't you cry anymore.
Sleep in the stars, don't you cry, dry your eyes on the wind.

All I know is something like a bird within her sang,
All I know she sang a little while and then flew off,
Tell me all that you know, I'll show you snow and rain.

Hey, dys. I love that song, cowboy. "...dry your eyes on the wind..." WOW! love that line.

Here's an answer to dys' lovely bird song:

We'll sing in the sunshine
We'll laugh every day
We'll sing in the sunshine
And I'll be on my way

I will never love you
The cost of love's too dear
But though I'll never love you
I'll live with you one year

And we will sing in the sunshine
We'll laugh every day
We'll sing in the sunshine
And I'll be on my way

I'll sing to you each morning
I'll kiss you every night
But darlin', don't cling to me
I'll soon be out of sight

But we can sing in the sunshine
We'll laugh every day
We'll sing in the sunshine
And I'll be on my way

My daddy he once told me
Hey, don't you love you any man
Just take what they can give you
And give but what you can

And you can sing in the sunshine
We'll laugh every day
We'll sing in the sunshine
And I'll be on my way

And when our year has ended
And I have gone away
I'll often speak about you
And this is what I'll say

You know we sang in the sunshine
We laughed every day
We sang in the sunshine
Then I went on my way

Leslie Howard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Leslie Howard (April 3, 1893 - June 1, 1943) was a British film actor. Born Leslie Howard Stainer to a Hungarian Jewish father and an English Jewish mother in Forest Hill, London, Howard's classic good looks won him his first screen role in a 1914 silent film, following which he served in World War I, his military career being cut short due to case of severe shell shock.


Howard proceeded to play stiff-upper-lipped Englishmen in films such as Berkeley Square (1933, for which he was nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award), The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934), Pygmalion (1938) (in which he played Professor Higgins, and earned another Oscar nomination), and Pimpernel Smith (1941).

In 1936, Howard appeared in the film The Petrified Forest. It was Howard who insisted that Humphrey Bogart appear in the film as gangster Duke Mantee. They had appeared in the play together on Broadway. Howard and Bogart became lifelong friends; the Bogarts named their daughter Leslie Howard after him.

His blue-blood persona landed him the role of Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind (1939), but he was uncomfortable with Hollywood and returned to Britain to help with the war effort. He directed and starred in a number of World War II films, including The First of the Few (1942), a biopic of Spitfire designer R.J. Mitchell, and Pimpernel Smith (1941), an updated version of The Scarlet Pimpernel. He also starred in Forty-Ninth Parallel (1941). In 1943, he visited Lisbon (some say on a secret mission), and, on the return flight, his plane was shot down by the Luftwaffe over the Bay of Biscay, possibly because the Germans believed the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, who had been in Algiers, to be on board. The possibility of mistaken identity is increased as Howard's manager, Alfred Chenhalls, physically resembled Churchill, while Howard was tall and thin, like Churchill's bodyguard, Walter H. Thompson.

Howard was married to Ruth Martin in 1916. They had two children, a son, Ronald, and a daughter, Leslie Ruth, both of whom wrote biographies of their father (Ronald wrote In Search of My Father: A Portrait of Leslie Howard ISBN 0-312-41161-8). His younger brother, Arthur, was also an actor, primarily in British comedies.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Howard_%28actor%29

George Jessel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


George Jessel (April 3, 1898-May 23, 1981) was a U.S. actor, singer, songwriter, and movie producer. He was famous in his lifetime as a multitalented comedic entertainer, achieving a level of recognition that transcended his limited roles in movies. He was widely known by his nickname, the "Toastmaster General of the United States" (a parody of Postmaster General) for his frequent role as the master of ceremonies at political and entertainment gatherings.


Biography

Jessel was born in the Bronx. By age 10, he was appearing in Vaudeville and on Broadway to support his family after his father's death. His mother, who worked as a ticket seller at the Imperial Theater, helped him form The Imperial Trio with Walter Winchell and Jack Wiener, using the stage names Leonard, Lawrence and McKinley. At age 11, he was a partner of Eddie Cantor in a kid sketch and performed with him on stage until he outgrew the role at age 16. He later partnered with Lou Edwards and then began a solo performer. His most famous comedy skit was called "Hello Mama" or "Phone Call from Mama", in which he portrayed a one-side phone conversation. In 1919 he produced his own solo show, "George Jessel's Troubles" and appeared in his first motion picture, the silent movie The Other Man's Wife. He co-wrote the lyrics for a hit tune "Oh How I Laugh When I Think How I Cried About You" and performed in several successful comedy stage shows in the early 1920s. In 1921 he recorded a hit single "The Toastmaster". He sometimes appeared in blackface in his vaudeville shows.

In 1925 he emerged as one of the most popular leading men on Broadway with the starring role in the stage production of The Jazz Singer. The success of the show prompted Warner Brothers to adapt the show as the first "talkie" and to cast Jessel in the lead role. When the studio refused his salary demands, however, he turned down the movie role, which was eventually played by Al Jolson. His second movie role was in 1926 in Private Izzy Murphy. Whereas Jolson's career skyrocketed after the 1927 release of The Jazz Singer, Jessel remained in smaller movie roles, often intended for Jewish audiences.

In the 1930s, his personal life kept him in the public eye as much as his movies. He had notorious affairs with actresses Pola Negri, Helen Morgan and Lupe Vélez (all detailed in his 1975 autobiography The World I Lived In). It was around this time, headlining a vaudeville show, he decided to introduce The Gumm Sisters as The Garland Sisters. The three singing siblings henceforth worked under that name; the youngest sister named herself Judy and went onto become a great movie star. In 1934 he married Hollywood starlet Norma Talmadge, causing a scandal because Talmadge was married at the time that they started their affair. After their divorce in 1939, Jessel caused further scandal by breaking into her house with a pistol and firing shots at her current lover.

In the middle 1940s he began producing musicals for 20th Century Fox, producing 24 films in all in a career that lasted through the 1950s and 1960s. At the same time he became known as a host on the banquet circuit, famous for his good-natured wit aimed at his fellow celebrities. In 1946 he was one of the founding members of the California branch of the Friars Club. (A recording exists of an example of his "blue" work in front of a stag audience, although it was actually recorded at a roast hosted by the Friars' rival, the Masquers Club.) He also traveled widely overseas with the USO entertaining troops. As he grew older, he wrote eulogies for many of his contemporaries in Hollywood. He wrote two volumes of memoirs, So Help Me in 1943 and This Way, Miss in 1955.

In the early 1950s he performed on the radio in The George Jessel Show, which became a television show of the same name from 1953 to 1954. In 1968 he starred in Here Come The Stars, a syndicated variety show. His attempt to extend his career was undermined, however, by a perception that his style of comedy was outdated, as well as by his outspoken support of the Vietnam War and of conservative political causes, though he often crossed the era's stereotypical political lines with his support for the Civil Rights movement and criticism of racism and anti-Semitism. This outspokenness regarding his political opinions could sometimes get him into trouble. In 1971, while being interviewed by Edwin Newman on The Today Show on NBC, he repeatedly referred to The New York Times as "Pravda", the house organ of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union, and was ejected from the show.

By the late 1960s he had gained a reputation as being overly indulgent in reminiscing about former companions who were little known by younger audiences. Walter Winchell once said of him, "That son of a bitch started to reminisce when he was eight years old." He had achieved a somewhat iconic status, representing a Hollywood of yore, such that he extended his career by playing himself, rather than characters, as in the 1967 camp classic Valley of the Dolls.

Famous in his youth for his affairs with starlets, he also became known for keeping company with a wide assortment of younger show girls, even into his old age.

In 1969 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored him for his charity work by awarding him the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, a Special Academy Award. His last movie role was in Diary of a Young Comic in 1979. He also appeared as himself as an interviewed witness in the 1981 movie Reds.

George Jessel died of a heart attack in 1981 at the age of 83 in Los Angeles and was interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, George Jessel has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1777 Vine Street.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Jessel_%28actor%29

Iron Eyes Cody
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Iron Eyes Cody (April 3, 1904 - January 4, 1999) was an actor born in Kaplan, Louisiana. He was born Espera DeCorti, the son of Sicilian immigrants Francesca Salpietra and Antonio DeCorti. He was not born a Native American, but he claimed to be part Cherokee and part Cree. Cody and his wife Bertha Parker adopted children that were Native American. Cody began his acting career at the age of 12 and continued to work until the time of his death. In 1996, the New Orleans Times-Picayune "exposed" his "true" heritage, but Cody denied it.

He appeared in more than 200 films including A Man Called Horse (1970) and Ernest Goes to Camp (his last film appearance in 1987). However, he's most famous for his Crying Indian role in the Keep America Beautiful public service announcement in the early 1970's, an ecology commercial in which he shows a tear after looking at a polluted river.

On his passing in 1999, Iron Eyes Cody was interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. He is survived by his adopted son, the Native American flautist Robert "Tree" Cody.

The issue of Iron Eyes Cody's ancestry was featured as a minor plot device in a 2002 episode of The Sopranos. In that episode, members of the Mafia threaten to expose Cody's Sicilian ancestry in order to embarass Native American activists.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Eyes_Cody

Marlon Brando
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Marlon Brando, Jr. (April 3, 1924 - July 1, 2004) was an Oscar winning American actor who is widely regarded as one of the greatest film actors of the twentieth century. He brought the techniques of either the Stanislavski System or method acting (commonly mistaken for the same acting technique) to prominence in the films A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront, both directed by Elia Kazan in the early 1950s. His acting style, combined with his public persona as an outsider uninterested in the Hollywood of the early 1950s, had a profound effect on a generation of actors, including James Dean and Paul Newman, and later stars, including Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.


Biography


Youth and early acting career

Brando was born in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1935, when Brando was 11 years old, his parents, Marlon Brando Sr. and Dorothy Pennebaker Brando separated. His mother briefly took her three children to live with her mother in Santa Ana, California until 1937 when the parents reconciled and moved to Libertyville, Illinois, a village north-west of Chicago. The family were of primarily Dutch, Irish and English stock, although the family name originated in Germany (Brandau). Brando's mother was a kind and talented woman, although she suffered from alcoholism and was frequently absent in Brando's childhood. She was involved in local theater and helped a young Henry Fonda to begin his own acting career, and fuelled Brando's interest in stage acting. Brando was a gifted mimic from early childhood and developed a rare ability to absorb the tics and mannerisms of people he played and to display those traits dramatically while staying in character. His elder sister, Jocelyn Brando, was also an actress, albeit not of the same stature as Marlon.

Brando had a tumultuous childhood, in which he was expelled from several schools. His father was largely critical of his son, but encouraged him to seek his own direction. Brando left Illinois for New York City, where he studied at the American Theatre Wing Professional School, New School Dramatic Workshop, and the Actors' Studio. It was at the New School's Dramatic Workshop that he studied with Stella Adler and learned the revolutionary techniques of the Stanislavski System.


Brando used his Stanislavski System skills in summer-stock roles in Sayville, New York. His behavior got him kicked out of the cast of the New School's production in Sayville, but he was discovered in a locally produced play there and then made it to Broadway in the bittersweet drama, I Remember Mama, in 1944. Critics voted him "Broadway's Most Promising Actor" for his role as an anguished, paraplegic veteran in Truckline Café, although the play was a commercial failure. He achieved real stardom, however, as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire in 1947, directed by Elia Kazan. Brando sought out that role, driving out to Provincetown, Massachusetts where Williams was spending the summer to audition for the part. Williams recalled that he opened the screen door and knew, instantly, that he had his Stanley Kowalski.


On the screen

According to an article in the Times, Brando auditioned and was accepted immediately for the lead role in "Rebel Without A Cause" in 1947. He turned the role down and the film was not made until 1955 with James Dean as lead. It is not known why Brando rejected the offer but it is suggested that he did not want to sign the 6-year contract that was necessary at the time.

Brando's first screen role was the bitter crippled veteran in The Men in 1950. True to his method, Brando spent a month in bed at a veterans' hospital to prepare for the role.

He made a much larger impression the following year when he brought his performance as Stanley Kowalski to the screen in Kazan's adaptation of "Streetcar" in 1951. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for that role, and again in each of the next three years for his roles in Viva Zapata! in 1952, Julius Caesar in 1953 as Marc Antony, who was Caesar's best friend, and On the Waterfront in 1954.

Brando finally won the Oscar for his role of Terry Malloy in On The Waterfront. Under Kazan's direction, and with a talented ensemble around him, Brando used his Stanislavski System training and improvisational skills. Brando claimed that he had improvised much of his dialogue with Rod Steiger in the famous, much-quoted scene ("I could have been a contender.") with him in the back of a taxicab (Kazan disputed this).

Brando followed that triumph by a variety of roles in the 1950s that defied expectations: as Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls, where he managed to carry off a singing role; as Sakini, a Japanese interpreter for the U.S. Army in postwar Japan in The Teahouse of the August Moon; as an Air Force officer in Sayonara, and a Nazi officer in The Young Lions. While he won an Oscar nomination for his acting in Sayonara, his acting had lost much of its energy and direction by the end of the 1950s.

Brando's star sank even further in the 1960s as he turned in increasingly uninspired performances in Mutiny on the Bounty and several other forgettable films. Though even at this professional low point, Brando still managed to produce a few exceptional films; such as One-Eyed Jacks (1961), a western that would be the only film Brando would ever direct, Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) portraying a repressed gay army officer, and Burn! (1969) which Brando would later claim as his personal favourite, although a commercial failure. Nonetheless, his career had gone into almost complete eclipse by the end of the decade thanks to his reputation as a difficult star and his record in overbudget or marginal movies.


The Godfather


His performance as Vito Corleone in The Godfather in 1972 changed this. Director Francis Ford Coppola convinced Brando to submit to a "make-up" test, in which he (Brando) did his own makeup. Francis Ford Coppola was electrified by Brando's characterization as the head of a crime family, but had to fight the studio in order to cast him. Brando was voted the Academy Award for Best Actor for his intelligent performance; once again, he improvised important details that lent more humanity to what could otherwise have been a clichéd role.

Brando turned down the Academy Award, the second actor to refuse an Oscar (the first being George C. Scott for Patton.) Brando boycotted the award ceremony, sending little-known Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather (nee Maria Cruz) to state his reasons, which were based on his objections to the depiction of Native Americans by Hollywood and television.

The actor followed with one of his greatest performances in Last Tango in Paris, but it was overshadowed by an uproar over the erotic nature of the Bernardo Bertolucci film. Despite the controversies which attended both the film and the man, the Academy once again nominated Brando for the Best Actor.


Late career


His career afterwards was uneven: in addition to his iconic performance as Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, Brando also played Jor-El, Superman's father, in the first Superman movie?-a role he agreed to only on condition that he did not have to read the script beforehand and his lines would be displayed somewhere offscreen. He will rerise this role in the 2006 "loose sequel" Superman Returns, in which archive footage of Brando as Jor-El from the first two Superman films will be used. Other later performances, such as The Island of Dr. Moreau, earned him some of his most uncomplimentary reviews of his career. Despite announcing plans to retire?-which he made good on for most of the 1980s?-he subsequently gave interesting supporting performances in movies such as A Dry White Season (for which he was again nominated for an Oscar in 1989), The Freshman in 1990 and Don Juan DeMarco in 1995.


Off screen


Along with his romances and marriages, Brando's crusades for civil rights, the Native American rights, and other political causes, kept him in the public eye throughout his career. He married actress Anna Kashfi in 1957, mistakenly believing her to be of Asian Indian descent when she was in fact from Wales and of Irish Catholic extraction (her real name was Joan O'Callaghan). O'Callaghan didn't discourage Brando's mistake; in fact, she dressed and made herself up as an Indian beauty after learning that Brando gravitated toward exotic women. They divorced in 1959, after having one son, Christian Brando together.

In 1960, Brando married Maria "Movita" Castaneda, a Mexican actress 7 years his senior who had appeared in the first Mutiny on the Bounty film in 1935, some 27 years before Brando's own version was released. A remake of Mutiny on the Bounty in 1962, with Brando as Fletcher Christian, seemed to bolster his reputation as a difficult star. He was blamed for a change in directors and a runaway budget, though he disclaimed responsibility for either.

The "Bounty" experience affected Brando's life in a profound way: he fell in love with Tahiti and its people. He took a 99-year lease on part of an atoll island, Tetiaroa, which he intended to make part-environmental laboratory and part-resort. Tahitian beauty Tarita Teriipia, who had appeared in the film as Fletcher Christian's love interest, became his third wife after he and Castaneda were divorced. Teriipia became the mother of three of his children (one of whom died, see below). The hotel on Tetiaroa was eventually built; it went through many redesigns due to changes demanded by Brando over the years, but is now closed. A new hotel consisting of 30 deluxe villas is due to open in 2008.

In June 1973, Brando broke paparazzo Ron Galella's jaw. Brando's hand became infected as a result. In the following year, Galella wore a football helmet when snapping photos of Brando.

In his 1976 biography "The Only Contender" by Gary Carey, Brando was quoted as saying, "Like a large number of men, I, too, have had homosexual experiences, and I am not ashamed." Photographs circulate on the Internet that appear to confirm this. A 2006 book alleges affairs with Rock Hudson and Cary Grant.

An alleged long time lover of Brando's was the actor Wally Cox. Brando is quoted as saying: "If Wally had been a woman, I would have married him and we would have lived happily ever after." [1] After Cox died in 1973, Brando kept his ashes for 30 years, and they were eventually scattered with his own. Cox's third wife only discovered he possessed them after reading an interview in Time magazine where Brando is quoted as saying: "I have Wally's ashes in my house. I talk to him all the time." She wanted to sue, but her lawyers would not accept the case.[2]

All three of Brando's wives were pregnant when he married them. The number of children he had is still in dispute, although he recognized eleven children in his will; they were (ages as given in 2005):

* by his marriage to actress Anna Kashfi:
o Christian (47)
* by his marriage to actress Movita Castaneda:
o Miko (44)
o Rebecca Brando Kotlinzky (39)
* by his marriage to Tarita Teriipia:
o Simon Teihotu (42) - the only inhabitant of Tetiaroa
o Cheyenne (committed suicide in 1995 at the age of 25)
* by adoption:
o Petra Brando-Corval (33), daughter of Brando's assistant Caroline Barrett
o Maimiti (29)
o Raiatua (24)
* by his maid Christina Maria Ruiz:
o Nina Priscilla (15)
o Myles Jonathan (13)
o Timothy Gahan (11)

In May 1990, Brando's first son, Christian, shot and killed Dag Drollet, 26, the Tahitian lover of Christian's half-sister Cheyenne, at the family's hilltop home above Beverly Hills. Christian, 31, claimed the shooting was accidental.

After a heavily publicized trial, Christian was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and use of a gun. He was sentenced to 10 years. Before the sentencing, Marlon Brando delivered an hour of rambling testimony in which he said he and his ex-wife had failed Christian. He commented softly to members of the Drollet family: "I'm sorry. ... If I could trade places with Dag, I would. I'm prepared for the consequences."

Afterward, Drollet's father said he thought Marlon Brando was acting and his son was "getting away with murder."

The tragedy was compounded in 1995, when Cheyenne, said to still be depressed over Drollet's death, committed suicide by hanging herself in Tahiti. She was only 25 years old.

Brando's notoriety, his family's troubled lives, his self-exile from Hollywood, and his obesity, unfortunately attracted more attention than his late acting career. He also earned a reputation for being difficult on the set, often unwilling or unable to memorize his lines and less interested in taking direction than in confronting the film director with odd and childish demands. On the other hand, most other actors found him generous, funny and supportive. Although more and more reclusive in his declining years, Brando was by nature a casual and friendly man. Occasionally, the public would observe the gargantuan Brando stop by Will Wright's ice cream parlor, enjoying his treat seated on two chairs he had pushed together.

The actor was a long-time close friend of the entertainer Michael Jackson and paid regular visits to his Neverland Ranch, resting there for weeks. Brando also participated in the singer's solo career 30th anniversary celebration concerts in 2001, as well as starring in his 15 minutes long music video "You Rock My World", the same year. The actor's son, Miko, was Jackson's bodyguard for several years, and is also a friend of the singer.

On July 1, 2004, at 6:30 p.m. local time, Brando died at the age of 80. The cause of his death was intentionally withheld, with his lawyer citing privacy concerns. It was later revealed that he died at UCLA Medical Center of lung failure brought on by pulmonary fibrosis. He had also been suffering from congestive heart failure and diabetes, which was causing his eyesight to fail, and had also recently been diagnosed with liver cancer.


Controversy

The infamous Playboy magazine interview of January 1979, Brando was charged with anti-Semitism in regard to his opinion on double-standards set by Jews in Hollywood with respect to racial and cultural stereotyping. "You've seen every single race besmirched, but you never saw an unfavorable image of the Kike because the Jews were ever so watchful for that. They never allowed it to be shown on screen." (Brando portrayed George Lincoln Rockwell, the American Nazi Party leader, in the Roots: The Next Generation episode in which Rockwell gave an interview to Alex Haley; ironically, also for Playboy.)

Brando again attracted controversy by making similar allegations on Larry King Live in April 1996, saying "Hollywood is run by Jews; it is owned by Jews, and they should have a greater sensitivity about the issue of -- of people who are suffering. Because they've exploited -- we have seen the -- we have seen the Nigger and Greaseball, we've seen the Chink, we've seen the slit-eyed dangerous Jap, we have seen the wily Filipino, we've seen everything but we never saw the Kike. Because they knew perfectly well, that that is where you draw the wagons around." King replied, "When you say -- when you say something like that you are playing right in, though, to anti-Semitic people who say the Jews are --" at which point Brando interrupted, "No, no, because I will be the first one who will appraise the Jews honestly and say 'Thank God for the Jews.'"


Trivia


* Despite his later obesity, Brando would diet, run and lift weights to keep in shape in his early to mid career. He started to lift weights while in high school.

* Turned down the title role in Lawrence of Arabia.

* Turned down Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in order to make Burn!.

* He had eleven straight commercial disappointments between 1959's The Fugitive Kind till 1972's The Godfather and Last Tango in Paris.

* Made "Top 10 stars of the year", 5 times. 1954, 1955, 1958, 1972, 1973.

* When making Superman, Brando was paid $3.7 million, plus 16.86% of the gross. The film made $300 million worldwide, making his earnings $14 million for 12 days work.

* Brando's height was always listed as 5'10". However, many people believe he was closer to 5'8", and in later films at least he was known to wear elevator shoes.

* Brando was paid $1 million to appear briefly at the Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary concert a few days before the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

* Brando is mentioned in the song "Pocahontas" by Neil Young, "China Girl" by David Bowie, "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel, "Vogue" by Madonna, "Advertising Space" by Robbie Williams, "Eyeless" by Slipknot and The Ballad of Michael Valentine by The Killers.

* Frank Sinatra loathed the non-singing Brando for getting the starring role in Guys and Dolls, whereas Frank got a lesser part. Frank's nickname for the sometimes barely coherent Brando was "Mumbles."

* Only made two television appearances in his career. 1979's Roots: The Next Generations for which he won an Emmy and in 1949 on "Actor's Studio" in the episode "I'm no Hero".

* In a recent Channel 4 television poll voted for by his fellow actors, Brando was named the "World's Greatest Actor"

* Unlike many reports Brando did not die penniless. He was worth 20 million.

A computer rendition of Brando features in a 2006 video game: The Godfather: The Game published by EA Games.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlon_Brando

and, listeners. While we wait for our hawkman to finish his bio's, I opened up a pandora's box and found this heart touching song:


Nanci Griffith


Tell me how to keep your love
You know how I need your love
Tell me how you keep the love
Within your heart from me

Don't you know that I love you
Let me show why I'm true blue
When I know a love is true
Don't keep your love for me

If you would say to me today
The time for love is now
Could I sway your love my way
Then I say,"Tell me how."

Tell me how to keep your love
You know how I need your love
Tell me how you keep the love
Within your heart from me

(Instrumnetal break)

Tell me how to keep your love
You know how I need your love
Tell me how you keep the love
Within your heart from me

If you would say to me today
The time for love is now
Could I Sway you love my way
Then I say,"Tell me how"

Tell me how to keep your love
You know how I need your love
Tell me how I need your love
Within your heart from me

(Instrumnetal break)

Tell me how you keep my love
Within your heart from me

Doris Day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Doris Day (born April 3, 1924), is an American singer, actress, and animal welfare advocate. A vivacious blonde with a wholesome image, she was one of the most prolific actresses of the 1950s and 1960s. Able to sing, dance, and play comedy and dramatic roles, she was an all-rounded star whose personality permeated many popular and diverse movies.


Biography

Day was born Doris Mary Ann von Kappelhoff in Evanston, Ohio to German immigrants. The second of two children, she was named "Doris" after silent movie actress Doris Kenyon, whom her mother liked. Her family was Roman Catholic, despite her parents' divorce. She later embraced Christian Science.

Day started out as a dancer, winning a contract that enabled her, only twelve years old, to travel to Hollywood, California with her partner, Jerry Doherty, in 1936, but turned to singing when she injured her leg in an auto accident in 1937. She sang with the big bands of Barney Rapp, Bob Crosby, and Les Brown, before setting out on her own in the late 1940s. It was Barney Rapp who convinced her that "Kappelhoff" was too awkward a name and suggested "Day" after the song "Day after Day" that was part of her repertoire. She never really liked the name Doris Day, thinking it sounded too much like a stripper; this was ironic, since she eventually became associated with a nearly opposite image of wholesomeness and innocence.

With Brown, she charted twelve popular music hits, among them her first two # 1's: "Sentimental Journey" and "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time". "Sentimental Journey" earned her a flood of letters from World War II GIs. She admitted coming to hate singing "Journey", but never tired of reading the letters. On her own, she had more # 1's, including "Secret Love".

Day acted in many films, in most of which she sang. Day began her film career in musicals, starting in 1948 as a peppy, Betty Huttonesque persona. Her first film was Romance on the High Seas; in her audition she beat out over one hundred actresses, some of whom were established figures. Early publicity saddled her with such unflattering nicknames as "The Tomboy with a Voice" and "The Golden Tonsil". She continued to make saccharine and somewhat low-level musicals such as Starlift, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, and Tea for Two for Warner Brothers until the cycle exhausted itself. 1953 found Doris as pistol packin' Calamity Jane in what has become one of Hollywood's most enduring musicals, winning the Oscar for Best Song for "Secret Love". In 1955, she received some of the best notices of her career for her portrayal of singer Ruth Etting in Love Me or Leave Me, co-starring James Cagney. She continued to be paired with some of Hollywood's biggest male stars, including James Stewart, Cary Grant, David Niven, and Clark Gable.

In Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much, she sang "Whatever Will Be (Que Será, Será)", which won an Oscar. According to Jay Livingston (who wrote the song with Ray Evans) Day preferred another song used briefly in the film, "We'll Love Again", and skipped the recording for "Que Será, Será". When the studio pushed her, she relented, but after recording the number in one take she reportedly told a friend of Livingston's, "That's the last time you'll ever hear that song." "Que Será, Será" (Spanish for "what will be, will be") became her signature song, used in her later film Please Don't Eat the Daisies and as the theme song for her television show, and was covered by Sly & the Family Stone in 1973.


In 1959, Day entered her most successful phase as a film actress with the hugely popular Pillow Talk co-starring Rock Hudson, who became a lifelong friend. The film received positive reviews and was a box office favourite. It also brought a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actress for Day. She and Hudson made two more films together. Many of her 1960s films ignored her singing abilities and painted her as a good-hearted woman with a strong will, a hint of naïveté, and the purest virtue this side of a nun. Times as well as attitudes changed, but Day's films did not. Critics, comics and pundits attacked Day as "the world's oldest virgin" and audiences began to shy away from her repetitive, gimmicky roles. Day herself found many of her mid-late 1960s films to be of very poor quality (her least favorite was Caprice, co-starring Richard Harris) and did them only at the insistence of her third husband, Marty Melcher. One of the roles he turned down for her was Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (a role that went to Anne Bancroft). Later, in her published memoirs co-authored by A.E. Hotchener, Doris says that she herself rejected the part on moral grounds.

Doris, and the showbiz community, were shocked to discover when Melcher died that he had either squandered Doris's hard-earned fortune, or hid it with his business partner Jerry Rosenthal. To this day, no one is completely sure which is the case. Either way, Doris was left penniless. Doris sued Rosenthal and won the largest civil judgment up until that time in California, over $20,000,000 (USD). How much Doris actually collected is not certain. According to Doris's as-told-to autobiography by A.E. Hotchener, the usually athletic, healthy Melcher had an enlarged heart, but possibly willed himself to die rather than face Doris with the truth. Another factor is that Melcher converted to Christian Science during his relationship with Day, and his beliefs led him to put off going to the doctor for some time.

Upon Melcher's death she learned that he had committed her to a TV series. From 1968 to 1973, she therefore starred in her own situation comedy, The Doris Day Show, which had "Que Será, Será" as its theme song. Day continued with the show only as long as she needed the work to help pay down her debts.

Though generally presenting a happy, carefree image to the public, she had four difficult marriages:

1. To Al Jordan, a trombonist whom she had met when he was in Barney Rapp's band, from March 1941 to 1943. She was not yet 17 when she married Jordan, and her only child, Terry Melcher, was born from this marriage, when Day was 17, but Jordan was physically and emotionally abusive. He committed suicide after their divorce.
2. To George Weidler, (a saxophonist), from March 30, 1946 to May 31, 1949. Weidler never could accept the fact that his wife would become a bigger star than he, and they broke up after eight months. Weidler and Day met again several years later and during a brief reconciliation he helped her become involved in Christian Science.
3. To Marty Melcher, whom she married on her 27th birthday, April 3, 1951. This looked like a happy marriage, and lasted much longer than her first two. Melcher adopted Terry (thus becoming Terry Melcher), and also produced many of Day's movies. However, when he died in 1968 it turned out he had been spending her money without restraint, leaving her bankrupt, and owing thousands. Her money difficulties continued for a number of years after his death, she ultimately returned to financial security. Day also later revealed that Melcher had physically abused Terry.
4. To Barry Comden, from April 14, 1976 to 1981. Comden was her only husband outside show business. Comden was the maitre d' at one of Doris's favorite restaurants. Knowing of her great love of dogs, Comden began the practice of giving Doris a bag of meat scraps and bones on her way out. This is how he got to meet and endear himself to her.

In 1972 the name of Doris Day was included in one of the songs of the famous musical Grease side by side with Sandra Dee as an example of overly sentimental and righteous person.

In 1985 Day hosted her own talk show, Doris Day's Best Friends. The show generated unexpected press when her old friend Rock Hudson appeared in the first episode. Day was taken aback by Hudson's emaciated and wizened frame, as he had always been in top physical condition. Soon after, she and the world learned that he was dying of AIDS. Day stood by his side, but refused to accept that his illness was the result of his sexual proclivities.

In 1987, she founded the "Doris Day Animal League", and she currently devotes much of her time towards the cause of helping animals.

She wrote a best-selling autobiography, Doris Day: My Own Story.

In 2004 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom but refused to attend the ceremony because of a fear of flying. She has turned down an honorary Academy Award and a Kennedy's Center Honor for similar reasons.

In November of 2004, her son Terry died from complications of melanoma, aged 62.

She is part-owner of the Cypress Inn in Carmel, California.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doris_Day



Que Sera Sera :: Doris Day

When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother, what will I be
Will I be pretty, will I be rich
Here's what she said to me.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

When I was young, I fell in love
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead
Will we have rainbows, day after day
Here's what my sweetheart said.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

Now I have children of my own
They ask their mother, what will I be
Will I be handsome, will I be rich
I tell them tenderly.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be

Jane Goodall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Dame Jane Goodall DBE Ph.D., (born April 3, 1934) is an English primatologist, ethologist and anthropologist, probably best-known for conducting a forty-five year study of chimpanzee social and family life, as director of the Jane Goodall Institute in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania.

Biography

Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall was born in London, England on April 3, 1934. Jane was the first child of Mortimer Herbert Morris-Goodall and the former Margaret Myfanwe Joseph. Her younger sister, Judy, was born in 1938. Jane's father gave her a life-like toy monkey called Jubilee, although friends thought it would scare her. Today, the toy still sits on her dresser in London. After the divorce of their parents when Jane was only 8, Jane and Judy moved with their mother to the seaside city of Bournemouth, England, where Jane's maternal grandmother and two great-aunts lived.

Goodall was interested in animals from her youth; this, coupled with her secretarial training prompted noted anthropologist Louis Leakey to hire her as his secretary during her trip to Kenya in 1957 and 1958. It was through her association with Leakey that Goodall began studying the chimpanzees of Gombe Stream National Park (then known as Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve) in July, 1960. Leakey arranged for Goodall to return to the UK where she earned a doctorate in ethology from the University of Cambridge in 1964.

Goodall has been married twice: first, in 1964, to an aristocratic wildlife photographer, Baron Hugo van Lawick; they divorced amicably in 1974. Their son, Hugo, known as 'Grub', was born in 1967. She married Derek Bryceson, (a member of Tanzania's parliament and the director of that country's national parks) in 1975, and they remained married until his death in 1980.

Goodall is known for her landmark study of chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania. In 1977, Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), which supports the Gombe research and is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. With 19 offices around the world, the Institute is widely recognized for innovative, community-centered conservation and development programs in Africa and a global youth program, Roots & Shoots, which currently operates in 87 countries. Today, Dr. Goodall devotes virtually all of her time to advocating on behalf of chimpanzees and the environment, traveling nearly 300 days a year.

Dr. Goodall's many honors include the Medal of Tanzania, Japan's prestigious Kyoto Prize, the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, and the Gandhi-King Award for Nonviolence. In April 2002, Secretary-General Kofi Annan named Dr. Goodall a United Nations Messenger of Peace.


Professional accomplishments

Goodall was instrumental in the recognition of social learning, thinking, acting, and culture in wild chimpanzees, their differentiation from the bonobo, and the inclusion of both species along with the gorilla as Hominids.

One of Goodall's major contributions to the field of primatology was the discovery of tool use in chimpanzees. She discovered that some chimpanzees poke twigs into termite mounds. The termites would grab onto the stick with their mandibles and the chimpanzees would then just pull the stick out and eat the termites. Previously, only humans were thought to use tools. Another characteristic of the chimpanzee that Jane Goodall discovered was the cooperative hunting of red colobus monkeys.

Goodall also set herself apart from the traditional conventions of the time in her study of primates by naming the animals she studied, instead of assigning each a number. This numbering was a nearly universal practice at the time, and thought to be important in the removal of one's self from the potential for emotional attachment to the subject being studied.

Goodall is an advocate for environmental and humanitarian causes, having served as a United Nations Messenger of Peace since 2002. She was named a Dame Commander of the British Empire in a ceremony held in Buckingham Palace in 2004.

She has also appeared (cast as herself) in an episode of Nickelodeon's animated series The Wild Thornberrys entitled "The Trouble With Darwin". She's also a character in Irregular Webcomic!'s "Steve and Terry" theme. A parody of Goodall in an episode of The Simpsons featured her as a diamond-hoarding slave driver of chimpanzees.

She is on the advisory board of BBC Wildlife magazine


Far Side controversy

One of Gary Larson's The Far Side cartoons shows two chimpanzees grooming. One finds a human hair on the other and says to her husband "doing a little more 'research' with that Jane Goodall tramp?"

The Goodall Institute thought this was in bad taste, and had their lawyers draft a letter to Larson and his distribution syndicate, in which they described the cartoon as an "atrocity". They were stymied, however, by Goodall herself, who revealed that she found the cartoon amusing. Since then, all profits from sales of a shirt featuring this cartoon go to the Goodall Institute.

Goodall wrote a preface to The Far Side Gallery 5, detailing the "Jane Goodall Tramp" controversy, and also praising The Far Side for Larson's creative ideas, which often compare and contrast the behavior of humans and animals. Larson also described the controversy in detail in The PreHistory of The Far Side (p.167).

In 1988 Gary Larson visited Gombe National Park and was attacked by Frodo, a chimp described by Goodall as a "bully". Larson escaped with cuts and bruises.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Goodall

Marsha Mason
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Marsha Mason (born April 3, 1942, St. Louis, Missouri) is an American actor.

She was married to playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon, and starred in several movies based on his works, including The Goodbye Girl, Chapter Two, Only When I Laugh, The Cheap Detective and Max Dugan Returns. Chapter Two (1979) was based on her relationship with Simon up to their marriage. They divorced in 1981.

She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Cinderella Liberty, The Goodbye Girl, Chapter Two and Only When I Laugh. She has received a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

In 2001 she opened an herbal medicine shop, selling products from the garden of her home in Abiquiu, New Mexico.

August 2005: Currently appearing on Broadway in Steel Magnolias, with Delta Burke, Frances Sternhagen, Rebecca Gayheart, Lily Rabe and Christine Ebersole.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsha_Mason

Wayne Newton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carson Wayne Newton (born April 3, 1942) is an American singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He performed over 25,000 concerts in Las Vegas over a period of over 40 years, earning him the nickname Mr. Las Vegas, his longevity and popularity making him literally synonymous with Las Vegas. Most recently, he performed at the Stardust resort in Las Vegas for 40 weeks out of the year until 2001, in a showroom that was named after him in 1999.


Early life

Newton was born in Roanoke, Virginia, the half-Indian son of an auto mechanic. (His father was Irish-Powhatan and his mother German-Cherokee.) Newton was active in show business at an early age. He learned the piano, guitar, and steel guitar at the age of six. Along with his older brother Jerry Newton, he appeared with the Grand Ole Opry roadshows, performed for President Harry S. Truman, and auditioned unsuccessfully for Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour.

Wayne's severe asthma forced the family to move to Phoenix, Arizona in 1952. In the spring of 1958, toward the end of Wayne's junior year in high school, a Las Vegas booking agent saw a local TV show on which the two Newton brothers were performing and took them back with him for an audition. Originally signed for two weeks, the two brothers eventually performed for five years, doing six shows a day.


Las Vegas

Newton achieved nationwide recognition on September 29, 1962 when he and his brother performed on The Jackie Gleason Show. He would perform on Gleason's show 12 times over the following two years.

Many other entertainment icons such as Lucille Ball, Bobby Darin, Danny Thomas, George Burns, and Jack Benny lent Newton their support. In particular, Benny hired Newton as an opening act for his show.

After his job with Benny ended, Newton was offered a job to open for another comic at the Flamingo Hotel, but Newton asked for, and was given, a headline act.

From 1980 to 1982 Newton was part owner of the Aladdin Hotel, in a partnership that lead to a number of lawsuits and a failed attempt by Newton to purchase the entire hotel in 1983.[1]

In 1994, Newton performed his 25,000th solo show in Las Vegas.

In 1999, Newton signed a 10-year deal with the Stardust, calling for him to perform there 40 weeks out of the year for six shows a week. In 2005 the deal was, from all reports, amicably terminated and Newton began a 30-show stint that summer at the Hilton.

In October 2001, Newton succeeded Bob Hope as "Chairman of the USO Celebrity Circle."

In January 2005, Newton started a reality television show on E! called The Entertainer. The show features ten contestants. The winner got a spot in his act, plus a headlining act of their own for a year.

Wayne Newton is currently performing at the Flamingo Hotel, where he is scheduled to remain through April 2006. Lingering vocal problems could hamper Newton's future (source: Las Vegas Review Journal, 15 July 2005).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Newton

Tony Orlando
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Tony Orlando (born April 3, 1944, New York) is an American singer, of Greek and Puerto Rican ancestry, best known for his time with the group Dawn in the early 1970s.

Born Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis, he was raised in New York's notorious "Hell's Kitchen" in Manhattan. His best friend was fellow Puerto Rican Freddie Prinze. One of their bonding factors was their common Puerto Rican ancestry.

His musical career started with The Five Gents, a doo-wop group he formed. His first success came when he recorded the hit"Halfway To Paradise" After becoming general manager at Columbia Records, he was tempted back to a recording career when he was asked to record a demo record of "Candida." The label liked the demo so much that Tony's performance was released, under the band name "Dawn" (the name of a record executive's daughter). Joining Tony were Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson, and the trio scored a string of number ones with "Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round The Old Oak Tree", "Knock Three Times" and "Candida".

"Tie A Yellow Ribbon..." was a huge hit in 1973. Its story concerned a man just out of prison riding home on a bus. If his wife tied a yellow ribbon around a certain oak tree, it would signal she had forgiven him, and he could return home. Eight years later the symbol of a yellow ribbon tied around a tree (or anything else) was popular as a sign of solidarity with the American hostages in Iran. The symbol of a yellow ribbon continues to indicate support for troops overseas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Orlando

Alec Baldwin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958, in Massapequa, Long Island, New York, USA) is an American actor who is the oldest and best known of the "Baldwin brothers," with brothers Daniel, Stephen and William. He is of three quarters Irish and one quarter French descent.


Background

When Baldwin was young, while searching for acting jobs, he had a job as a busboy at famous New York City disco Studio 54. He claims he had to quit the job because seeing all of the sex going on around him "was making me too horny."

Baldwin shot to stardom co-starring on the prime-time soaps The Doctors and Knots Landing before deciding to concentrate on his budding film career.

He was married to actress Kim Basinger from 1993 to 2002. They were the subject of much media attention for the bitter divorce and custody fight for their daughter, Ireland, and accusations that Baldwin was an abusive husband, which many believed hurt his career in addition to allegations of him having anger management problems. He has spent over $1m trying to get access to his daughter and claims she is the subject of parental alienation syndrome.


Politics

Baldwin was criticized by Jack Valenti, Rush Limbaugh, and Brit Hume for his appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on December 11th, 1998, eight days before President Bill Clinton was impeached. In a skit that Baldwin later referred to as a "parody", he said that "if we were in another country, ... We would stone Henry Hyde to death and we would go to their homes and we'd kill their wives and their children. We would kill their families." [1] Baldwin later apologized to Hyde for his remarks. NBC has promised never to re-air the show. [2]

Baldwin, a liberal Democrat, has always had an active interest in politics and is frequently rumored to be a candidate for public office. He recently revealed in a British magazine interview that he plans to leave acting in a few years to pursue a career in politics. He recently has called Vice President Dick Cheney a "terrorist": following with "He terrorizes our enemies abroad and innocent citizens here at home indiscriminately. Who ever thought Harry Whittington would be the answer to America's prayers. Finally, someone who might get that lying, thieving Cheney into a courtroom to answer some direct questions."[3] He later attempted to rectify the situation by saying "How about … a lying, thieving oil whore or a murderer of the U.S. Constitution [4]. He and Bill O'Reilly have been in a number of conflicts, and O'Reilly criticized Baldwin because of his statements on Cheney.

On March 26, 2006, Baldwin guest-hosted Brian Whitman's talk show on WABC radio in New York. During the show, conservative talk show hosts Sean Hannity and Mark Levin telephoned the station and demanded to be heard on the air. Both Hannity and Levin complained to Baldwin about his previous comments about Cheney. After a brief conversation, Baldwin attempted to move on to the next caller, but both Hannity and Levin then began insulting Baldwin, who immediately responded in kind. The conversation quickly devolved into a series of verbal taunts hurled back and forth. Whitman made no attempt to assist Baldwin or curtail the call, and the actor ultimately walked out of the studio. On March 28, WABC President and General Manager Tim McCarthy telephoned Baldwin to "apologize for Sean's attacks."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Baldwin

Eddie Murphy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Born: April 3, 1961
Brooklyn, New York


Eddie Murphy (born Edward Regan Murphy on April 3, 1961 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American comedian, singer and actor.

Murphy began his comedy career at the young age of 16. At 19 he became a performer on NBC's Saturday Night Live television show, not long after graduating from Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School. His characters include a parody of Buckwheat from the Little Rascals and of Fred Rogers. Former SNL writer Margaret Humphert has said Murphy and Bill Murray are the two most talented people in the history of the show. Murphy left the show midway through the 1983-1984 season, appearing in filmed sketches for the remainder of that season.

Murphy later starred in many comedies including the Beverly Hills Cop series, for which he was recognized by receiving a Golden Globe nomination for best actor in a comedy for his performance in Beverly Hills Cop, as well as Trading Places, and Coming to America in subsequent years.

He is a well-known voice actor and voiced Donkey in the Shrek series and the dragon, Mushu, in Disney's Mulan. Murphy also has starred in a large number of sequels including: Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), Another 48 Hrs. (1990), Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), Shrek 2 (2004), and the upcoming Shrek 3 (2007).

In many of his films, he plays multiple roles in addition to his main character. An example of this is The Nutty Professor, a remake of the Jerry Lewis film, where Murphy plays several members of the Klump family as well as Sherman Klump's alter ego, Buddy Love. Another trademark of Eddie Murphy's is his deep, infectious, albeit considerably goofy laugh.

In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted amongst the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. Eddie Murphy's older brother, Charlie Murphy, is also an actor, best known recently for his appearances on Chappelle's Show.


Early life

Murphy's biological father died when he was quite young, and he, his brother Charlie, and step-brother Vernon Jr. with the K9 rap group, were raised by his mother Lillian Murphy, a telephone-company employee, and his stepfather Vernon Lynch, a foreman at a Breyers Ice Cream plant. Murphy was considered a bright child, but he spent a great deal of time on impressions and comedy stand-up routines rather than academics. By 15, he was writing and performing his own routines at youth centers and local bars, as well as at the Roosevelt High School auditorium. It must also be noted that while he wrote and performed these routines, they were terrible. Early on, critics referred to Murphy as, "A worthless entertainer who would never make it big". Eventually, he made it to a Manhattan showcase, The Comic Strip. The club's co-owners, Robert Wachs and Richard Tienken, were so impressed with Murphy's impressions of celebrities, along with his overall outlooks on life, that they agreed to manage his career.

Murphy was voted "Most Popular" while attending Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School in Roosevelt, New York, due to the stand-up comedy routines he would perform in the school's auditorium, and jokes he would tell classmates during lunch. Murphy then attended Nassau Community College in East Garden City, New York, before beginning his acting career.


Stand-up comedy routines

Murphy did stand-up comedy at the same Bay Area Comedy Club as Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg (who at the time was working under her real name, Caryn Johnson). His early comedy was racy, akin to Richard Pryor, whom Murphy credits as his inspiration to enter comedy. Characterized by frequent swearing and making fun of gays, singers, and others, Murphy became, in a sense, the Pryor of the 1980s, though Pryor wrote in his biography that he always thought Murphy's comedy was a little too mean. Murphy's comments about gays and AIDS in his standup routines were considered so vicious that some years later he apologized for the remarks. At the height of his popularity, Eddie Murphy appeared in the concert films Delirious (1983) and Raw (1987). Delirious contained an infamous routine in which he depicted characters Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton from The Honeymooners, as well as other notables such as Mr. T, as homosexuals. In 1983, Murphy won a Grammy for his comedy album Comedian.

Saturday Night Live

In Autumn 1980, the then unknown 19-year-old Murphy badgered and begged talent coordinator Neil Levy to give him a shot on the show. Levy repeatedly rejected him, saying that the show already had a full cast. But Murphy continuing pleading with Levy, saying that he had several siblings banking on him getting a spot on the show. Levy finally conceded and allowed him an audition. The audition performance went so well, that Neil Levy then began advocating to new executive producer Jean Doumanian (who succeeded Lorne Michaels after the 1979-1980 season) to let Murphy on the show. Doumanian initially refused, citing that another actor, Robert Townsend, had already been selected as the cast's "token black guy," and that the show's shrunken budget could not allow for any more actors. Doumanian's mind was changed after seeing Murphy's audition for herself, and then Doumanian too began pleading with the network to allow Murphy on the show. NBC only agreed after it was determined that Townsend had not yet signed a contract, at which point Murphy was cast as a featured player.

Murphy made his debut in the second episode of the 1980-1981 season, hosted by Malcolm McDowell, as an extra in a skit called "In Search Of The Negro Republican". Two weeks later, Murphy had his first speaking role as Raheem Abdul Muhummad on Weekend Update. He made such a positive impression that he was called on for more in later episodes, and was soon raised to the status full cast member.

Despite Murphy's participation, the 1980-1981 season was considered such a disaster that NBC fired Jean Doumanian and everybody in the cast, with the exception of Murphy and Joe Piscopo. Whereas Murphy had rarely been featured during Doumanian's tenure, he became a break-out star under Doumanian's replacement, Dick Ebersol. Murphy's soaring popularity helped restore the show's ratings. He created some of the period's best characters, including the former child movie star Buckwheat and a life-size version of the Gumby toy character. Murphy performed an uncanny impression of Stevie Wonder (who, sportingly, appeared in a fake ad for Canon cameras). SNL was mostly a two-man show from 1981-1984, with Murphy and Piscopo playing a bulk of the lead characters. All other cast members played supporting roles and were treated with very little patience by the producers.

Post SNL career

In 1982, Murphy made his big screen debut in the cop-buddy thriller 48 Hrs. alongside Nick Nolte. The movie was perhaps most notable for two scenes: 1) a scene involving Murphy (on a bet with Nolte) terrorizing a redneck bar, and 2) a scene in which Murphy, in a jail cell, sings "Roxanne" by The Police loudly and out of key while listening to the song on headphones. 48 Hrs. proved to be a smash hit when it was released in the Christmas season of 1982. It's considered by some to be the originator of the mismatched, police, action-adventure formula, which was followed by Lethal Weapon, Bad Boys, Rush Hour, and others.

Nick Nolte was scheduled to host the December 11, 1982 Christmas episode of Saturday Night Live, but he became too ill to host, so Murphy took over as host. He became the only cast member to host while still a regular. Murphy opened the show with the phrase, "Live from New York, It's the Eddie Murphy Show!" The decision to have Eddie Murphy host was reported to have upset the rest of the cast.

The following year, Murphy co-starred with fellow SNL alumnus Dan Aykroyd in Trading Places. The movie marked the first of Murphy's collaborations with director John Landis (who also directed Murphy in Coming to America and Beverly Hills Cop III) and proved to be an even greater box office success than 48 Hrs.

In 1984, Murphy starred in the mega-hit Beverly Hills Cop. This film was arguably Eddie Murphy's first full-fledged starring vehicle, as it was originally intended to star Sylvester Stallone. Beverly Hills Cop grossed over $200 million at the box office (thus, solidifying Murphy's status as a box office player) and when adjusted for inflation, remained in the top 40 highest-grossing movies of all time as of 2005.

Also in 1984, Murphy appeared in Best Defense co-starring Dudley Moore. Murphy, who was credited as a "Strategic Guest Star", was added to the film after an original version was completed but tested poorly with audiences. Best Defense was a major critical and financial disappointment, but Murphy was for the most part left unscathed since the entire weight of the movie wasn't on his shoulders. When he hosted SNL, Murphy joined the chorus of those bashing Best Defense, calling it "the worst movie in the history of everything". At the same time he pointed out that "If they paid you to do Best Defense what they paid me to do Best Defense, y'all would have done Best Defense too".

Eddie Murphy has also been rumored to be initially a part of hits such as Ghostbusters (featuring his Trading Places co-star Dan Aykroyd and fellow SNL alumnus Bill Murray). The part that was originally written with Murphy in mind ultimately went to Ernie Hudson. Murphy was also rumored to have been offered a part in 1986's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, a role that ultimately went to 7th Heaven star Catherine Hicks.

Also in 1986, Murphy starred in the supernatural comedy, The Golden Child. The Golden Child was originally intended to be a serious adventure picture starring Mel Gibson. After Gibson turned the role down, the project was offered to Murphy as it was subsequently rewritten as a partial comedy. Although The Golden Child still managed to be a hit (with memorable bits such as Murphy's "I want the knife!" routine), the movie wasn't as critically acclaimed as 48 Hrs., Trading Places, and Beverly Hills Cop. The Golden Child was considered a change of pace for Murphy because of the supernatural setting as opposed to the more "street smart" settings of Murphy's previous efforts.

A year later, Murphy reprised his role Axel Foley in the Tony Scott-directed Beverly Hills Cop II. Although the film wasn't as critically acclaimed as its 1984 predecessor (Beverly Hills Cop II was panned by critics for its perceived mean-spirited tone and overall plot), it was still a box office smash, grossing over $150 million. Producers reportedly wanted to turn the Beverly Hills Cop franchise into a weekly television series. Murphy declined the TV offer, but was willing to do a film sequel instead.

Eddie Murphy was one of the last movie actors to sign an exclusive contract with a studio. In this case, it was Paramount Pictures, which released all of his early films.


Singing career

Murphy was also a singer, and had two hit singles, "Party All the Time" (which was produced by Rick James) and "Put Your Mouth on Me" in the 1980s. The former is better known than the latter, and is incorrectly considered Murphy's only hit. In 2004, VH-1 and Blender magazine voted "Party" number seven among the "50 Worst Songs of All Time."

Murphy also recorded an album in the early 1990s, entitled "Love's Alright" in which he performed in a video of the single "Whatzupwitu", alongside Michael Jackson. In 1999, the "Whatzupwitu" video which featured Murphy and Jackson in a technicolor-like dream world was voted as one of the 25 worst music videos in the MTV era. In 1992, Murphy also appeared in Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time" video alongside Magic Johnson and Iman. In 1994, he attempted to strike a deal with British A&R consultant Simon Cowell, who at the time was known for signing up Sinitta, the Power Rangers and Zig and Zag, but eventually backed down.

Although uncredited, Murphy also provided vocal work on SNL castmate Joe Piscopo's hit comedy single, "The Honeymooners Rap." Piscopo impersonated Jackie Gleason on the single, while Murphy provided an imitation of Art Carney.

Murphy's singing skills were put to good use in the Shrek films. In the first film, he performed a version of "I'm a Believer" in the film's final scene; in Shrek 2 he performed Ricky Martin's hit Livin' La Vida Loca along with co-star Antonio Banderas.


Career slump

From 1989 til' the mid-90's, box office results for Murphy's films dropped, particularly with Beverly Hills Cop III, Vampire in Brooklyn, and The Distinguished Gentleman, although he did find success with Boomerang and Another 48 Hrs.. His directorial debut, Harlem Nights, was panned by critics and by some of the actors in the film. Richard Pryor had nothing good to say about the film or the star, which surprised Murphy, who had considered Pryor an idol. Murphy was also criticized by filmmaker Spike Lee for not using his show business stature to help black actors break into film.

David Spade poked fun at Murphy's career slump on his Hollywood Minute segment on Saturday Night Live. With an image of Murphy on screen, Spade said "Look children, a falling star... Quick, make a wish!" Although Murphy is one of the biggest movie stars ever to come out of Saturday Night Live, he's never attended any cast reunions, anniversary specials, or even participated in the making of the Live From New York retrospective book. Some believe Murphy feels that SNL betrayed him with Spade's comments (although he hadn't attended the 15th Anniversary special before the comments were made). Others believe it has to do with Murphy having no allegiance to Lorne Michaels, since Murphy was on SNL when Dick Ebersol was the executive producer, not Michaels.


Comeback and image makeover

Murphy's box office results began to recover in 1996, starting with The Nutty Professor. He followed with a series of successful family-friendly movies (Mulan, Dr. Doolittle and its sequel, Shrek and its sequel, Daddy Day Care, and The Haunted Mansion), along with Nutty Professor II. Most of his movies meant for adult audiences were not hits (Holy Man, Metro, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, I Spy, and Showtime).

On May 2, 1997, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies patrolling a "prostitution abatement zone" on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood stopped Murphy's car and found a transvestite prostitute named Shalimar (Atisone Seiuli) in the passenger's seat. Murphy claimed that he had just been driving through and the prostitute asked him for a ride home. This incident was later lampooned by Tim Meadows on Saturday Night Live. This particular sketch, along with the aforementioned comments from David Spade, reportedly created an even greater rift between Murphy and SNL. Seiuli wrote and sold the story of his sexual encounter with Murphy to a tabloid, but he later recanted. Seiuli died in 1998 when he fell from a fifth floor window.

Murphy's longtime romantic relationship was with Nicole Mitchell, who he met in 1988 at an NAACP Image Awards show. They eventually lived together for a year and a half, before getting married at the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza Hotel in New York City on March 18, 1993.[1] They had five children together, but in August 2005, Mitchell filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Murphy

TO: GOD: FROM: THE DOG

Dear God: Why do humans smell the flowers, but seldom, if ever, smell
one another?

Dear God: When we get to heaven, can we sit on your couch? Or is it
still the same old story?

Dear God: Why are there cars named after the jaguar, the cougar, the
mustang, the colt, the stingray, and the rabbit, but not ONE named for a
dog? How often do you see a cougar riding around? We do love a nice
ride! Would it be so hard to rename the "Chrysler Eagle" the " Chrysler
Beagle"?

Dear God: If a dog barks his head off in the forest and no human hears
him, is he still a bad dog?

Dear God: We dogs can understand human verbal instructions, hand
signals, whistles, horns, clickers, beeper s, scent ID's,
electromagnetic energy fields, and Frisbee flight paths. What do humans
understand?

Dear God: More meatballs, less spaghetti, please.

Dear God: Are there mailmen in Heaven? If there are, will I have to
apologize?

Dear God: I will try to do better so I can go to heaven. I promise...

1. I will not eat the cats' food be fore they eat it or after they throw
it up.

2. I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, etc., just because I
like the way they smell.

3 I will not munch on "leftovers" in the kitty litter box, although they
are tasty.

4. The diaper pail is not a cookie jar.

5. The sofa is not a 'face towel'. Neither are Mom and Dad's laps.

6. The garbage collector is not stealing our stuff.

7. My head does not belong in the refrigerator.

8. I will not bite the officer' s hand when he reaches in for Mom's
driver's license and registration.

9. I will not play tug-of-war with Dad's underwear when he's on the
toilet.

10. Sticking my nose into someone's crotch is an unacceptable way of
saying "hello".

11. I don't need to suddenly stand straight up when I'm under the coffee
table.

12. I must shake the rainwater out of my fur before entering the house -
not after.

13. I will not throw up in the car.

14. I will not come in from outside and immediately drag my butt.

15. I will not sit in the middle of the living room and lick my crotch
when we have company.

16. The cat is not a 'squeaky toy' so when I play with him and he makes
that noise, it's usually not a good thing.

And, finally, My last question . . .

Dear God: Why do humans only have 10 Commandments and dogs have 16?

P.S. When I get to Heaven may I have my testicles back?

Funny, Bob.

Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really. ~Agnes Sligh Turnbull


Remembering Marlon Brando with one of his first screen test photos:

Well, listeners. I see that Bob of the aerie has completed all of his bio's. Thanks, Boston, and I adore your doggie prayers. I do believe that all dogs go to heaven. <smile> Back later to review your complete list of celebs, honey.

Ah, there's our Raggedy with a young Marlon. He most definitely WAS a contender, right?

Frankly, listeners, I think I would rather kiss a cat. <smile> My oldest sister had Jane as a resource lecturer, and said that she was quite parsimonious

Dedication time, folks, and since the hawk listed Wayne among his celebs,

This is for our Walter:


- Wayne Newton Lyrics - Danke Schoen

Danke Schoen, Darling, Danke Schoen.
Thank you for all the joy and pain.
Picture shows, second balcony, was the place we'd meet,
Second seat, go Dutch treat, you were sweet.

Danke Schoen, Darling, Danke Schoen.
Save those lies, Darling don't explain.
I recall, Central Park in fall.
How you tore your dress, what a mess, I confess.
That's not all.

Danke Schoen, Darling, Danke Schoen.
Thank you for walks down Lover's Lane.
I can see, hearts carved on a tree.
Letters inter-twined, for all time, yours and mine, that was fine.

Danke Schoen, Darling, Danke Schoen.
Thank you for seeing me again.
Though we go on our seperate ways,
Still the memory stays, for always, my heart says, Danke Schoen.

Danke Schoen, Oh Darling, Danke Schoen.
I said, Thank you for seeing me again.
Though we go- on our seperate ways,
Still the memory stays, for always, my heart says, Danke Schoen.

Danke Schoen, Auf Wiedersehn, Danke Schoen